Green Options

You’ve worked hard getting that garden planted and tending it with care, but inevitably nature takes its course and the bugs find those veggies. Is it any surprise they’d want to eat the delicious fruits of your labors? You can’t blame them, after all. But you can prevent pest damage and control problems.

Bare, exposed soil rarely exists in nature, so why should it be in your garden? Mulching with an organic mulch like straw will build healthy soil, conserve water, and help keep weeds at bay. In other words, it creates less work for you! Mulch is truly a gardener’s best friend!
It seems like all I’ve been doing lately is weeding and mulching. It’s taken longer than I wanted, but slowly but surely my garden beds are enjoying a nice layer of straw to help insulate the soil, form a layer that’s harder for weeds to penetrate, and retain moisture. I usually wait until plants are established before mulching, but I’ve recently learned about year-round mulching, which doesn’t sound like such a bad idea.

What is mulch? It’s basically any material (usually organic matter) that is used to cover exposed soil in the garden, and can be used for beds, containers, and even paths. Exposed soil can dry out quickly and be easily eroded by water and wind, so a covering helps keep it moist and healthy. The type of mulch you choose depends on the needs of the area you’ll be mulching, but I recommend staying away from unnatural materials like black plastic and choosing organic materials like straw, hay, decomposing leaves, rice hulls, or even dead & dried out weeds. Organic material will break down slowly and help add humus to the soil, making it richer and healthier for gardening.

Soil is one of a gardener’s most important resources, and preserving its health and vitality one of our most crucial responsibilities. Nourish the soil sustainably and you’ll be rewarded with healthier plants and bountiful harvests for years to come.
I was reading National Geographic the other day, and came across an article on soil called “Our Good Earth.” The article discusses the problems facing soils all over the planet, and made me realize just how precious healthy soil really is. We’re losing topsoil rapidly as we consume more and more land to house and feed the ballooning human population. It can take nature over a thousand years to produce just one inch of soil, but erosion, compaction, and contamination can wipe it away much faster. This precious resource, the means to sustain and feed us and the entire planet, is often just treated like dirt. It’s time that changed. And it can start in your very own backyard.

With the economy on the downturn, more and more people are starting gardens to help ease grocery bills. Growing one’s own food is a step towards living sustainably, so this is great news. However, more gardens mean more water use,  and 40% of water used during the summer is used outdoors. So, as you plan your garden this spring, be sure to keep water in mind and take measures to reduce water usage.

Reducing water usage in an organic garden not only conserves our most precious resource, it also lowers costs and in many cases, benefits the plants as well. By paying attention to how your garden is watered, you can be sure to give plants just the amount of water they need to thrive without overdoing it. Many of the water saving methods mentioned below also benefit the soil and enrich your garden in other ways. Water should be a key part of your garden planning from day one. Read on for ways to garden sustainably and save water.

April showers may bring May flowers, but they also bring some very anxious, antsy gardeners! Before you pick up a shovel or plant a single seed, there’s much to be done while you wait for the spring planting season.

Planning your garden during the winter and early spring can help you get a jump start and give you an idea of what you’ll need for the season so you can be prepared.

If you’re starting a garden for the first time, you’ll first want to take stock of the area you have available to garden. Will you have a container garden on your porch or a big veggie patch in your back yard where the lawn used to be? Determining where you’ll garden well in advance will allow you to be ready to dig in as soon as the weather warms up. If you’ll be converting a lawn into garden space, you may need to rent or borrow a tiller and start preparing the soil a few months before the last spring frost. If you’ll be starting seeds indoors, you might want to clear a sunny windowsill or a closet for seedlings until they’re big enough to plant out. So it helps to think ahead and have a plan in mind.

No garden would be complete without its own natural recycling system, a compost pile. Without a way of dealing with compost, weeds and scraps are waste. But why create more trash when you can turn your garden and kitchen waste into valuable soil-building fertilizer?
One of the first steps to starting an organic garden should be to begin a compost pile. Composting will break down organic matter into nutrient-rich material that builds soil and nourishes plants. And just like anyone can garden, no matter their situation, there are composting possibilities for everyone! Read on to learn how to close the loop and start composting…

“The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses.”  ~Hanna Rion
There is no doubt that human beings have become far removed from the natural world. It could be that this separation from nature is a root cause of many of society’s problems. When we deny ourselves access to the natural world, we lose a part of ourselves, our culture, and our sanity. Want to get it back? One of the simplest ways to reconnect with nature is to dig right in and grow something.

In two vague bills introduced both in the House and Senate of the US Congress, a vast reorganization of America’s agriculture system aimed at tracking and regulating foods for public safety could endanger organic farms and gardens.

The bills, S.425 and H.R.875, attempt to modernize food safety and regulate and standardize agriculture by creating an agency called the Food Safety Administration, but in the process they could threaten organic farming.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) recently re-launched the ‘McCruelty’ campaign against the fast food giant McDonald’s, saying of their treatment of animals, “I’m hatin’ it.”
The original campaign against McDonald’s was launched in 2000, and after the company worked with PETA to make some basic animal welfare changes, the campaign was withdrawn. Now, PETA says, there are more humane methods of killing animals such as chickens, but McDonald’s won’t use them. Controlled Atmosphere Killing (CAK) would allow chickens in McDonald’s suppliers’ slaughterhouses to die relatively painlessly, but they have refused to consider asking their suppliers to switch to CAK—a move that would cost McDonald’s nothing—and so PETA has unleashed their wrath at McCruelty.com. PETA says:

This year, one of my new year’s resolutions was to eat more raw and living foods. I recently started attending a monthly raw food potluck and have been inspired by all the delicious recipes and information. I have learned that eating uncooked plant foods is healthy for several reasons: raw fruits and veggies contain lots of fiber, are packed with nutrients, and also retain many useful enzymes that cooking destroys. Having a plot in my local community garden has definitely helped me eat more raw fresh produce as well as eat more sustainably.

As I try to add more living foods to my diet, I’ve tried eating salad with just about every meal, eating raw snacks like trail mixes and fresh fruit, and making more food from scratch. One way of incorporating raw foods into my diet that has been really easy is making fresh juices and smoothies. With the help of gadgets like my Green Star juicer and Vitamix blender, I’ve made many a healthy and scrumptious snack.

One word of juicing wisdom that I’ve learned is that you don’t want to overdo it with fruit juices. Because of their high sugar content, fruit juices can raise blood sugar levels. It’s healthier to drink vegetable juices, or a blend of fruit and vegetable juices. Juices are best in moderation because they deliver many nutrients but since the pulp is removed, they don’t have much fiber. Smoothies, on the other hand, use the entire fruit or vegetable, so the fiber is included. Both juices and smoothies are a great way to get digestible nutrients and add more raw fruits and vegetables to your diet.