How to make this summer a little more green!

Now that I have my own yard, garden and home, I have been doing a ton of research on how to lessen my impact on the planet while I garden, BBQ and relax in the sun this summer - even if it is something small and seemingly insignificant, even these small steps can add up to overcome great feats. I am determined to make my garden chemical free, and be confident that I will grow safe fruit and veggies for me, my family, and probably some friends, while giving the environment a break! I know I've posted this on Facebook and previously on the old blog, but here it is again - because its a great reference!

Our garden - picture from sale listing last summer.

Here are a few tips that I have come across and have already, and will be executing during my spring and summer lawn and garden care:

Looking for a chemical free all purpose fertilizer? Make one yourself! Add 1 teaspoon of horticultural molasses, 1 tablespoon of liquid kelp, and 2 tablespoons of fish fertilizer to 2 quarts of water (all available at your garden center) and then sprinkle away! (Apparently helps your tomatoes taste as sweet as ever!)

Weeds won’t kill you, but toxic pesticides will! Here are a few eco-friendly options for you, and your lawn! Over seeding and mowing regularly to a height of 3" keeps weeds at bay. Remove weeds by hand before they go to seed, and make your own herbicide by spraying a mixture of gin and vodka with water on weeds (carefully avoiding other plants). Straight vinegar and flat Cola also works. They'll be dead in a week.

Trying to choke out weeds with more grass? Plant low maintenance fescues or perennial rye grasses. Over 90% of grass seed sold in garden centers contains Kentucky bluegrass - rethink that option because it is super thirsty and needs lots of water and chemical inputs to look happy and healthy. I picked up a 2kg bag of "Canada Green" high density premium grass seed, which is a mixture of perennial turf-type ryegrasses, and creeping red fescue for about $17 at Canadian Tire!

In the market for a new lawn mower? Did you know that running a two-stroke gas powered mower for one hour can puff out as much pollution as driving a new car for 550 km? If you must have a gas model, opt out for a 4 stroke instead – they are 70% more efficient and choke out less smog-inducing fumes that two-stokes. Electric models are even 90% less polluting then their gas cousins. Check out Mow Down Pollution – the largest dirty mower take back program in Canada (through Home Depot)! To date, the program has retired over 35,000 inefficient mowers and trimmers and has prevented more than 1,500 tones of greenhouse gas and smog-forming emissions.

Watering your lawn and garden isn’t always a walk in the park. Try to water early in the morning or late evening to avoid the water from being evaporated in the hot sun. Instead of sprinkler watering, water deeply with drip and soaker hoses (about $25 each from Canadian Tire) which you can bury in the soil or place along plant beds. Make a point to save and use rainwater for garden watering to save yourself on water costs!

But don’t just grab for any rubber hose! Several leach unsafe levels of LEAD into your water, and then into your plants, fruits, and veggies! Look for hoses labeled “safe for drinking”! I picked up some “Apex” Healthy Habitat hoses at Canadian Tire for about $25 each. They are lead and phthalate free, and are even made with reduced material with equal strength as any other hose!

You’re probably thinking about replacing those broken, cracked and stained plastic patio chairs... probably a good idea to exchange them for something more renewable, healthy, and stronger! Naturally weather-resistant bamboo is an exotic option that’s actually sustainable compared to a material like teak. If you’re looking for strength, take a gander at wrought iron – it will last forever! If you still want plastic, opt for patio furniture made from recycled plastic – its sturdy and low maintenance – but it can be pretty expensive! Wooden furniture would be best bought in cedar – cedar has natural oils which allow it to age naturally and stay strong, that means no chemical sealants or treatments are needed.

Time to kick that broken BBQ to the curb eh? Just remember that charcoal and wood BBQ’s send soot and smog inducing carbon monoxide into the air – these should be curbed as well. When looking for a new BBQ – beware of cheapies! Steer clear from chrome coated aluminum, which chips easily, leaving you with bare aluminum cooking surface – not good for the brain cells! You’re safest bet is cast iron or stainless steel grills. The porcelain coated kinds are very common, and also quite good. Did you know BBQ’ing with either natural gas or liquid propane are both more efficient that cooking in your kitchen oven! So go get some fresh air already!

Source: "Ecoholic" by Adria Vasil
If you have any eco friendly tips or tricks or anything, please share!

OH SNOW!

Mikey and I spent all night working in the garage getting ready for the garage sale this weekend (starting tomorrow at noon) while there was a snow storm happening outside! Crazy strong winds, and lots of sticky snow! (Boo!!)

The new patio furniture that we put out was completely covered in snow, and then as it got later in the evening, all the snow started to freeze - the roads are going to be horrible!





It was really something watching the snow "fog" roll in from the west over the hills behind our house, like a blanket of white! The winds were so strong, that I was also a bit worried that another tree might snap.

After a while spent in the garage, we took a break to get a drink and take the dog out for a pee, and the sky was bright pink and purple! It was amazing! I ran out to the back of the yard, and took a few pics quickly before my camera died! Kinda hard to believe that this is the exact same spot as the pic above, and just a few hours later!

Spring Cleaning

A little chickadee poking his head out of a hole from the tree in our front yard:


Mikey and I have been on the ball this week about getting our yard into shape for spring, and making some lifestyle changes to be more Eco-friendly. After that nasty windstorm that sent a huge branch into the greenhouse, our yard was covered in branches and leaves and twigs that would have to be picked up before we decided to mow it. I spent one whole day raking up as much as I could (our yard is huge!) and also pruned a few trees.

Some branches on a few trees were so low that they were touching the ground, so I pruned a few pieces off here and there, trying to allow the branch to sit more upright again. Some trees needed more help, I took whole branches off - if they were dead or just too low in general. I like the idea of having some room to maneuver around the base of the tree, and hopefully it will allow the rest of the tree to fill in a bit better.

Mikey and Colt helping out with the yard work:


It was so nice out yesterday, I actually sat out in the sun, and it felt as if I was going to get a tan! I definitely made use of the new patio furniture we got (the whole set was only $200 from Wal-Mart!) which fits perfectly on our front deck! Its a smaller round glass table, with 4 chairs and an umbrella! I was so excited to find this set, because everywhere else I was looking had larger sets, for $700-$1000, and we dont have enough room for a whole dining set on our small deck. Here are some photos: (the green is a lot nicer looking in person!)



Another addition to the house to make out summer a bit more Green, is a clothes line! We purchased a kit for about $40 from Canadian Tire, and hung it up in about a half an hour. Now I just have to master the art of clotheslining! Honestly! You have to hang everything a certain way to make sure it all fits, and that you dont use up all of your clothes pins. You have to time all your loads right so that you dont have wet clothes waiting in the washing machine, and then you have to throw some items into the dryer after they are already dry on airfluff with a wet cloth to remove pet hair, etc... But all the work its worth it, especially when we get out electric bill this summer.

Here is the cat (Rocksteady) walking under the new clothesline:


All thats left now is organizing the garage to have a Garage Sale this weekend! Yay!