Green Gardening

Victory Gardens - How To Start A Community Garden

On March 19, 2009, the New York Times reported that First Lady Obama was preparing the ground for the first vegetable garden at the White House since the time of Eleanor Roosevelt’s Victory Garden, during World War II.  The garden was to be organic, and would provide fresh-grown vegetables for the White House dinner table.  Children from a nearby school would help her prepare and plant the garden, and the garden was to be used as a teaching tool – to educate children about healthful, locally grown fruit and vegetables at a time when obesity and diabetes have become a national concern.  Mrs. Obama told the reporters that it was her hope that the children would then begin to educate their families “and that will, in turn, begin to educate our communities.” The White House Garden was not the first of its kind, of course.  Many schools and even communities have had established vegetable gardens for several years. If you would like to start a community garden, there is, of course, a website chock-full of information on how to do so, called communitygarden.org.  It’s the website of the American Community ...

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Recycling Water In Your Garden

Do you live in a city or state where it is illegal to collect rainwater? It used to be illegal in Colorado, for example (although the law was very infrequently enforced).  The reasoning was that the rain was needed to replenish the aquifers.  However, in June 2009, Colorado passed two new laws that does make it legal to do so. In Utah and Washington State, however, it is still illegal to collect rainwater from the roof, unless the roof owner also owns water rights on the ground. But if you live in a locality where it is legal to collect rainwater, here’s how to do it. Acquire a rain barrel or two, depending on the size of your home.  If you pick up a container barrel from a junk yard, make sure it has never contained toxic waste.  Drums that were used to contain vegetable oil are fine – simply wash out the interior a few times with soap and water, then rinse thoroughly. Are there rainspouts on the four corners of your home already that guide the water down and out and away from the foundation of the home?  Simply take ...

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Water Crystals - Save Water in your Garden

With the coming of spring and summer, watering the garden is a natural part of the process. However, the process of watering is wasteful because plants require lots of it and sometimes there is a lot of evaporation which further depletes the supply. Some things that people do to help offset this watering crunch, especially during droughts is to switch to plants that are more suited to less water and drought. While this works in the short-term, it's not always the best solution. Introducing water crystals which are special crystals designed to absorb up to 50 times their weight in water can help gardens immeasurably during hot months when water is at a premium. According to the manufacturers, these Polyacrylamide crystals absorb the water, form a gel and then slowly release the water as the plant needs it. This not only cuts the number of times you need to water your plants, but it also reduces the loss of nutrients and fertilizers. Polyacrylamide crystals last up to five years and are biodegradable which means that they breakdown over time in the water, nitrogen and carbon dioxide all substances which ...

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Organic Lawn Care

What better way to impress your neighbors than to show off your beautifully luscious green lawn? Switching to organic lawn care is not only easier than you think; it can drastically help the environment too. Follow these steps to make sure your beloved lawn will become disconnected from all the harmful chemicals and pesticides for good. You as well as your garden are better off with these harmful chemicals. The life-support of your lawn should become an eco friendly one. The land that is treated with chemicals and pesticides is likely to provide you with infested products that will damage your overall health. Learn how to cure these toxic and chemical dependency to take full advantage of all the environmental benefits. For instance, the synthetic fertilizers are likely to damage the soil which will result in depriving your lawn of nutrients and vitamins. Start with the soil itself in order to eliminate all the pesticides and chemicals from your use. Your goal is to start with an empty canvas. Every product that comes from your soil is as healthy as the soil itself. Healthy soil is ...

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What to Grow, Part 2

Don't listen to those who say green gardening is more labor intensive than any other type of gardening. If you have a perfect balance of nature in your garden then you may actually find you have more time than conventional gardeners, as the frogs are eating your slugs and the mulch is smothering your weeds. Having only a small space in which to garden is also not as limiting as many believe it to be. There are a wide variety of miniature fruit and vegetable plants that can be grown in containers, herbs take up very little space and a natural sanctuary can be made out of even the smallest, concrete-filled backyard, flat roof or balcony. However, for the green gardener there are other considerations when it comes to choosing what to grow. Obviously, growing your own organic herbs, fruit and vegetables is a great way to use your garden as you will be saving money, getting food you can trust and reducing the polluting effects of transporting the food you ...

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