Organic Lawn and Garden Products
With green being the big buzzword in everything from cars to clothing, shouldn't your lawn and garden be green too? There are many benefits to using organic lawn and garden products on everything from maintaining the perfect lawn to growing healthy vegetables in a backyard garden for your family to eat.
Organic lawn and garden products protect the Earth, the water supply, and your family. Many common pesticides and chemicals used on lawns and gardens are toxic to children and pets, the very family members who probably come in the closest contact with your lawn! Organic gardening is also pro-active. By putting in a little time and effort at the beginning to make your property organic, you also ensure less work, and money, later on. Organic lawns and gardens are healthier than lawns and gardens assaulted by chemical sprays after problems spring up so they require less attention and maintenance.
The first step towards a worry free lawn and garden is by preparing your soil. Soil tests can usually be completed yourself or can be done for you for a small fee. Once you find out the make up of your soil, it is easy to use some organic compost or go truly green by making your own from your own kitchen refuse, to make up for any deficiencies in your soil. Next, use plenty of mulch, a lawn and garden product that is easy to find in almost any store come spring time. Mulch not only keeps weeds out and protects plants, it keeps in moisture so you water less.
Effective Uses for Plastic Spray Bottles
Plastic spray bottles are incredibly cheap, usually only a few dollars brand new, and can be found at any local hardware store. They are one of the most necessary and versatile lawn and garden products to have on hand. You probably already have plastic spray bottles around the house for misting plants, but they also can be used to eliminate pests in the home and garden.
You may have noticed that many insecticides are bought in powder form. This is because a powder easily gets into the pests lungs and the insect has no way to get rid of it, so it is guaranteed to be effective. However, powders are messy and often toxic to pets and children. If you have plastic spray bottles around, you can make a cheap non-toxic alternative to pesticides by mixing up a batch of soapy water (one half water and one half dish soap) and filling the bottle with it. When you find a pest and spray them with the bottle, it works much like a powder. The mixture fills the air and is inhaled by the insect.
Plastic spray bottles can also take care of pesky fruit fly problems. Just fill a plastic spray bottle with rubbing alcohol and spray any clouds of fruit flies you find. The alcohol won't kill them, but it will cause them to fall to the floor where you can sweep them up and dispose of them. Best of all, you don't have to worry about any strange chemical sending up on your fruit.
Minimize Water Waste with Your Water Hose
A water hose is a traditional lawn and garden product that everyone seems to have, but no one puts much thought into. It may surprise you to learn that the average garden hose can use as much as ten gallons of water per minute. Ouch! That's rough on the environment and often rough on your wallet too. However, there are several things you can do to get the most out of your water hose without wasting so much water.
Try to use water hoses only when you really need to. Sidewalks, patios, and driveways should be swept clean, not sprayed down with the hose. This goes for leaves too. If your water hose has a high water pressure, you may be tempted to spray those leaves into piles, try raking instead.
Put a spray nozzle on the end of your water hose. This will not only make it easier to water you plants, covering a larger area with less force, but many current nozzles come with a shut off handle. If you place the water hose down for a minute to do something else or are walking a short distance between flower beds, the water hose will shuts itself off.
Squirrel-Proofing and Pest Control with a Galvanized Bucket
No matter what you do, squirrels will find their way to your bird feed and feeder. However, you can use a galvanized bucket (most come in 5 and 7 gallons) to protect feed you are storing. Galvanized buckets are your best bet because squirrels can chew their way through plastic and other material used to store seeds. This way you contain the eating of seeds without harming the squirrels.
Galvanized buckets also serve to protect seeds from other rodents as well as insect pests. A galvanized bucket also keeps seeds fresh when properly used. Get one with a lid that can be closed tightly so that it is airtight. Not only will it keep out squirrels and other pests that would feed on the seeds stored, but it will also make the seeds last longer and prevent spoilage. Galvanized buckets are durable and will stand up to water without exposing seeds to moisture.
|
