Sparky's Safe Lawn Tip - You Might Be a Lawn Geek If..

Well, we can't take total credit for this one.  Checkout this humorous post from our friends at GreenerGreenGrass:

Are you a lawn geek?  

In my line of work I am fortunate to interact with a lot of lawn geeks.  Seriously, you wouldn’t believe some of the detailed questions I get.  I like it because I get to be helpful, but I also often end up learning something at the same time.  So, please consider this a tribute to all the lawn geeks out there. 

• You have ever started a sentence with ^%#&ing bindweed / crabgrass / chokeweed / [insert evil weed nemesis here]
• You have spent hours looking for funny lawn pictures (that one might just be me..)
• You follow GreenerGreenGrass on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+  (You know you want to…)
• You have your own worm bin to collect castings
• You brew compost tea, not English Breakfast
• You use a home-made device (AKA a tuna can) to measure rainfall and/or how much your sprinkler emits
• The word “Bermuda” does not make you think of a sunny island getaway or the Triangle of certain doom
• You get excited by the smell of manure being spread on your luscious green lawn
• You have ever trimmed a single grass blade with a pair of scissors (I’ve seen it happen…)
• You count the days until your soil test results arrive in the mail

Any of these ring a bell?  What are some of your "unique" lawn behaviors? 

Sparky's Safe Lawn Tip - Lazy Compost Recipe

From our friends at Compost Junkie. 

Easy composting is a lazy gardener's dream come true. That's right, I said it..."L-A-Z-Y gardener". I never thought those two words would come out of my mouth in the same sentence, but something changed recently...

In the last week or so, I've had several conversations with the folks in our Compost Tribe and they each said the same thing...

"Dave, if you want to motivate more people to compost, you have to start tailoring your message and material to the 'Average Joe'". That is, the person who has little to no experience in gardening, and perhaps a deficiency of time, but still wants to do his part to be GREEN.

For instance, maybe Average Joe won't turn his compost, but he will save his kitchen scraps and dump them into a backyard compost pile. Maybe Average Joe doesn't have the time to shred his compost ingredients, but he will throw everything into a compost tumbler and flip it every couple days.

So Average Joe, let's make a deal...

Every couple pages that I write from now on will be catered directly to you! I'll do my absolute best to simplify, refine, and condense everything I know into a set of what we'll call the easy steps to composting.

To get started let's review what I consider to be the the ultimate recipe for easy composting...

Easy Composting 101

Step 1
Pick an area in your yard where you will build your compost pile.

Step 2
This step is optional but highly recommended.
Grab some old wire fencing, or welded wire (12.5 gauge is preferable) and wrap it into a circle. Make sure it's at least 3' across from one side of the circle to the other and approx. 4' high. Secure the ends of the fence together with zip-ties, shoe strings, concrete ties, etc.

Step 3
Start filling your new compost bin.
When doing this try to remember the following - For every 6" of brown material (e.g. dried leaves, newspaper) you add to your pile, you also want to add 2" of green material (e.g. fresh grass clippings, kitchen scraps).  Continue layering until your bin is full.

Step 4
Sit back and wait.

Depending on your climate and season, the majority of this pile will breakdown into usable compost within 6-12 months. If you want the compost more quickly, you can always turn it, but that wouldn't be very easy now, would it?

By the way Average Joe, I was only kidding when I said "sit back and wait". This is actually the perfect time to revisit Step 2 and build a second compost bin. If you time it properly and build your piles right, you can rotate between these two (or three) bins and always have a ready supply of compost to feed your garden.

Now that's my idea of easy composting! Don't you agree Average Joe?

As I bring this article to a close, I need you to lean in so I can tell you a little secret...
Pssssst...the truth is, we all have an Average Joe inside us, so why not slow down, take a deep breath and take a lesson from the easy composting steps above. Remember - Life's too short to try and garden quickly.

Would love to hear some of your other lazy - but green! - composting tips!

Sparky's Safe Lawn Tip - Lazy Compost Recipe

From NYT - Has "Organic" Been Oversized?

From our friends at Beyond Pesticides:

 
(Beyond Pesticides, July 17th, 2012) On July 8, The New York Times ran an article indicting the organic food industry and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for their involvement in advancing a number of standards, practices, and decisions allowed under the organic label. The Times piece, “Has ‘Organic’ Been Oversized?,” written by Stephanie Strom and featuring organic food industry critic and chief executive officer of Eden Foods, Michael Potter, concentrated on the outsized role large corporations have assumed economically through organic market share, and politically through the decisions of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). While the article reinforces organic advocates’ ongoing call for public vigilance, there is general agreement that organic offers consumers the safest place to spend their food dollars, the best protection for the environment and those who farm, and the highest degree of public input into the standard setting process.
Beyond Pesticides’ Executive Director Jay Feldman, current NOSB member holding an environmentalist seat, wrote a response published in the Times article. Mr. Feldman said,

“The article noted the involvement of big agriculture and food companies in establishing organic standards, as well as in several controversial decisions. But that discussion only diverts public attention from the urgent need to grow organic systems of any size, as defined by the Organic Foods Production Act. The best way to protect our planet is through the exponential, rapid growth of the organic sector, and by rejecting mainstream chemical-intensive agriculture. The nation’s organic law offers a unique opportunity for small farmers and others to ensure adherence to the core values and principles of the organics statute. But it all requires public involvement.”

The focus of the Times article on processed foods and allowed substances is important, but advocates point out that it represents only a small segment of the entire scope of the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA). An article in Mother Jones Magazine, “How the NY Times Went Too Far in Slamming Big Organic,” looks deeper into the issue and provides a more balanced assessment of the state of organic standards. The piece adds to the criticisms directed towards the USDA for appointing agriculture industry representatives to NOSB seats reserved by law for farmers and environmentalists. While raising the issue of organic integrity, it stops well short of calling organic production “mostly pure fantasy” as the Times piece does.

Grist Magazine also published a response to the Times article titled “The latest New York Times exposé won’t stop me from eating organic.” In it, author Twilight Greenaway gives credence to the charge that consumers should be concerned about the materials being approved in organic food, but also recognizes that this type of coverage could steer people away from organic certified products. Concerning the controversial issues of carrageenan and DHA she notes, “In the case of most conventional food, there is no discussion at all, let alone an intensive investigation.”

Some of the charges that the Times piece levels against the organic industry and organic regulators were recently highlighted by The Cornucopia Institute’s paper “The Organic Watergate.” The report provides an overview of some of the recent contentious issues and looks into the motivations behind industry representatives’ push to have questionable synthetics approved.

It is important that the USDA recognizes and addresses the criticisms of organic advocacy organizations, but consumers should not allow these controversies to overshadow the numerous benefits that come with organic certification. Certified organic production systems represent a striking contrast to conventionally produced foods in terms of both the environment and public health. OFPA was written with the intention of ensuring that organic food embodies an ecological approach to farming that does not rely on or permit toxic pesticides, chemical fertilizers, genetically modified organisms, antibiotics, sewage sludge, or irradiation. All these destructive inputs are allowed in conventional farming. The end result of these practices are apparent from studies of disappearing pollinators, poisoned farmworkers, hypoxic “dead zones”, degraded soil, and antibiotic resistant bacteria.

Instead of using these harmful products and practices, organic agriculture utilizes techniques, such as cover cropping, crop rotation, and composting, to produce healthy soil, increase biodiversity, prevent pest and disease problems, and grow healthy food and fiber. The standards dictate that organic farmers must maintain or improve soil organic matter content, which decreases nutrient runoff and topsoil erosion, and eases the strain on aquatic ecosystems and our water supply. Moreover, the prohibition of petroleum-based fertilizers and increased carbon sequestration in soils rich in organic matter decreases overall contributions to global climate change.

In order to understand the importance of eating organic food, we need to look at the whole picture —from the farmworkers who do the valuable work of growing food, to the waterways from which we drink, the air we breathe, and the food we eat. Organic food offers a vision of a healthy future which doesn’t produce the toxic spillover effects of chemical agriculture. However, this vision cannot be realized without the input of vigilant and vocal consumers. In order to keep organic as a safe place free of harmful synthetic chemicals, we must all participate, and join in its defense.

To this end, Beyond Pesticides encourages concerned citizens to become involved with the organic review process. The NOSB meets two times a year. Each meeting, the topics and materials up for discussion and review are open to public comment. The public comment process represents the best opportunity for consumers, as well as farmers and processors, to have a voice as these standards are debated and adopted by the NOSB. The fall meeting is scheduled to take place in Providence, RI on October 15-18, 2012. The public can submit their comments online, or attend the meeting in person to voice their concerns. Individuals and organizations can also file their own petition to amend the National List of approved substances in organic production.

To read more about Beyond Pesticides’ vision for an organic future, visit our Organic food program page. For our take on recent NOSB decisions, see our page on Keeping Organic Strong.

All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.

Sparky's Safe Lawn Tip - Winter Worm Composting

Checkout this great article from Mother Earth News about Winter worm composting:



Even in the heat of summer, it's not to early to consider ways to keep our garden friends, our composting worms, fully employed over the winter months. For now, use that vermicompost for some worm "compost teas" to help your gardens with the stress of this summer’s heat. When cold weather comes, gather your materials and try overwintering your worms outside.  

Cold weather (remember that?) will definitely slow the activity of a worm colony. Although my experience is that worms can be incredibly hardy, there’s no reason to miss a beat over the winter. The two key factors are shelter and heat.

Last winter I chose had to replace my compost bins cause they were rotten. They were oak pallets and they had lasted about seven years. I took the old pallets out, but wanted to level the site, so I started digging. What I found was a very rich layer of vermicompost between and under the pallets. Remember, I’ve been filling my bins with worms and managing for their happiness for the whole seven years.

I ended up with a level site and nine wheelbarrows full of vermicompost! As I shoveled the black gold aside, I tried to put the material with the most worms farthest from the compost bin pad. I spread the vermicompost on my garden and mulched it for the winter.

What was left over was perhaps three wheelbarrows of finished vermicompost and most of my worms. I covered the pile with some clear plastic greenhouse glazing. I never stopped putting my household food scraps on the south side of the pile. I simply came outside, lifted the plastic and a layer of straw and threw the scraps into the pile. What happened was that I started an active composting pile. There was enough food coming in, getting mixed in and covered to get hot and keep the whole area well above freezing. The winter sun helped warm the pile through the clear plastic. On cold nights there was condensed moisture on the inside of the plastic but the pile was plenty warm enough to keep going.  

The worms were hanging out at the edges of the pile, staying warm and well fed. Although last winter was mild, this strategy will work well as far north as Minnesota, as I found out on a tour of compost education programs to St. Cloud in 1993. I visited Compost Guru, Jim McNelly (founding board member of the U.S. Composting Council) as he brought me in to educate in the schools there. He had a busy worm colony in a small black plastic compost unit outside his house in a tough winter.

Cool article, huh?  What are your experiences with our friendly creepy crawler?  


Top photo: On the left is the windrow full of vermicompost that I harvested from the dark flat area on the right. Notice the clear plastic covering the pile, the pallets that will become the next bin and the stored bags of leaves. 
Lower photo: The worms are hard at work under the clear plastic and the straw layer. The 2 x 4's are not a part of the system, just left overs from the compost bin being built in the background.

Natural Compost for Rose Bushes & Tomato Plants

Checkout this great article from Mother Earth News about natural compost for rose bushes and tomato plants.

This story is from Michelle Corbett and submitted as part of our Wisdom From Our Elders collection of self-sufficient tales from yesteryear. 

My grandmother and great grandmother taught me to put ground-up eggshells and coffee grounds under rose bushes and tomato plants which will make them grow strong and true. Also, you get twice the blooms and fruit from them. It is a great natural compost.

Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/homestead-skills-from-days-gone-by/natural-compost-zb0z1207zjma.aspx#ixzz20QEjnqIG

What's some of your compost recipes? 

Sparky's Safe Lawn Tip - Drought Tips for a Greener Lawn

Seems like the last week's news has been filled with unfortunate stories of HEAT, HEAT, HEAT for a good part of our country.  So what does that mean for keeping your lawn healthy?  Well, an Illinois-based paper, The Journal-News has some great tips for protecting your lawn in the extreme summer heat. Though they're not described as purely organic methods, these do qualify.

The main tips they highlight include:

• Mow high – Longer grass blades mean longer roots, which can access deeper water sources.
• Water deeply – When you water frequently and not deeply, grass roots will come toward the surface of the soil, which means the plants will be more susceptible drought.
• Leave clippings on the lawn – Grass clippings are a natural source of nitrogen. Leaving them on the lawn allows you to use less fertilizer. When you do use a fertilizer, make sure it is a summer fertilizer so your lawn won’t burn.
• Use smart landscaping – Some areas of your property may not be suitable for grass. In these cases, put in plants that are suitable and save on both water and time. You can also use mulch around plants to help keep moisture in the soil.

Check out the full article for more great summer lawn tips:

Lawns are another matter. Whether climate change is rearing its ugly head or maybe Old Ma Nature’s just on another rampage, there’s a simple way to lessen lawn damage without watering. Just let it grow a little longer! Grass roots tend to be approximately the same depth as the above-ground blades so are more able to absorb deeper moisture.

Following are hints for a healthier lawn from Susan Littlefield, horticultural editor for the National Gardening Association, who writes:”…you won’t have that putting green look, but the grass stays healthier, and shades out germinating weeds.”

I mow my lawn at four inches, and have friends who keep theirs at five inches. Yes, it takes a little getting used to, but it’s worth it.Will you mow less? No, because you should never take more than a third of the grass blades each time you mow. It will take a bit to get used to longer grass, and it may not have that manicured look many homeowners prize, but it will be much healthier.

And unless you water deeply, don’t water at all. Surface moisture lures tender grass roots toward the surface, making them more susceptible to drought damage.

Got any good tips during this heat wave?   Love to hear 'em!

Pesticides Linked to Sleep Disorder

From Beyond Pesticides:

(Beyond Pesticides, June 29, 2012) New research from the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) in Montreal suggests that pesticide exposure, as well as smoking, head injury, farming, and less education, may be a risk factor for a rare sleep disorder that causes people to kick or punch during sleep, according to a study entitled “Environmental risk factors for REM sleep behavior disorder: A multicenter case-control study” published in the June 27, 2012, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

People with the disorder, called REM sleep behavior disorder, do not have the normal lack of muscle tone that occurs during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, causing them to act out their dreams. The movements can sometimes be violent, causing injury to the person or their bed partner. The disorder is estimated to occur in 0.5 percent of adults.

“Until now, we didn’t know much about the risk factors for this disorder, except that it was more common in men and in older people,” said study author Ronald B. Postuma, MD, MSc, with the Research Institute at MUHC and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. “Because it is a rare disorder, it was difficult to gather information about enough patients for a full study. For this study, we worked with 13 institutions in 10 countries to get a full picture of the disorder.”

The disorder can also be a precursor to neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease and a type of dementia. Studies have shown that more than 50 percent of people with REM sleep behavior disorder go on to develop a neurodegenerative disorder years or even decades later. “Due to this connection, we wanted to investigate whether the risk factors for REM sleep behavior disorder were similar to those for Parkinson’s disease or dementia,” Dr. Postuma said.
The results were mixed. While smoking has been found to be a protective factor for Parkinson’s disease, people who smoked were found to be more likely to develop REM sleep behavior disorder. Pesticide use, on the other hand, is a risk factor for both disorders. Studies have shown that people who drink coffee are less likely to develop Parkinson’s, but this study found no relationship between coffee drinking and REM sleep behavior disorder.

For the study, 347 people with REM sleep behavior disorder were compared to 347 people who did not have the disorder. Of those, 218 had other sleep disorders and 129 had no sleep disorders. Those with REM sleep behavior disorder were 43 percent more likely to be smokers, with 64 percent of those with the disorder having ever smoked, compared to 56 percent of those without the disorder. They were 59 percent more likely to have had a previous head injury with loss of consciousness, 67 percent more likely to have worked as farmers, and more than twice as likely to have been exposed to pesticides through work. Those with the disorder also had fewer years of education, with an average of 11.1 years, compared to 12.7 years for those without the disorder.

For more information on how pesticides affect human health, see Beyond Pesticides’ Pesticide Induced Diseases Database.
Source: American Academy of Neurology

Sparky's Safe Lawn Tip - 9 Tips to Make Your Business Greener

Courtesy of GreenerGreenGrass from July 2:

Today we have a guest post that is an excellent follow up to my last post about being “green”.  Guest post writer Maire Hunter shares her thoughts on how to make businesses greener.  Thanks for the great tips Maire!  Remember, all of these ideas can also be applied to your home.

Making business greener

An awareness of how people use energy, and what they do to be eco-conscious in their homes, is also entering the business world as companies of all sizes become more aware of the impact of behaviors on the environment. Things like paper consumption, energy use (including the way a building is heated or cooled), the type of lighting, and outdoor landscaping are all factors that determine how green a business is.

Request an Energy Audit

Inc.com magazine suggests that an easy way to make a business greener is by starting with an energy audit, designed to help the company and its executives see what activities are using the most energy and what energy use can be curtailed or stopped entirely. Once the audit is completed, concrete work can begin to make the company greener and more energy efficient.
Many of the changes that have to be made will require a bit of money in the beginning, but will save money in the long run. When a company decides to do an energy audit, they should keep this in mind to avoid having a surplus of great ideas with no room in the budget to implement them. Ideas like using solar energy panels to provide for some or all of a company’s energy needs will save costs, but require quite a bit of money to begin with. Saving room in the budget will let your company implement ideas while everyone is still excited about the changes and willing to endure some headaches to get it done.

Encourage Alternatives to Commuting

Employees who live close to their workplace can benefit from biking or walking to work instead of driving. Providing bike racks on the premises gives people a place to store their bikes, while also subtly encouraging them to engage in healthier and environmentally friendly behaviors. Offer incentives to employees who carpool to work by awarding them premium parking spots. Encourage employees to take public transportation, and consider subsidizing transit passes for employees.

Telecommuting

Allow employees the option of telecommuting instead of working in the office, even if it’s only a few days per week. Telecommuting can reduce stress for parents if their children catch the latest bug while saving them time and money that would otherwise be spent traveling to work. Non-parents will enjoy saving the commute and being in their own home.

Limit Paper Use

Instead of sending memos out to every employee to announce company news or policy changes, send out a bulk email. The same goes for clients. Instead of sending them information through snail mail, send the information by email and provide a link from which they can download specific information that pertains to them. When paper is absolutely necessary, or when the company receives information in paper form, shred the paper as soon as it is no longer necessary. Shredded paper makes excellent filler for packing boxes and is easily recycled.

Switch to CFL Light Bulbs

Since incandescent light bulbs are no longer sold, businesses and individuals have no choice but to switch to alternative lighting methods, such as Compact Fluorescent Lights. Though generally more expensive up-front, CFLs are much more efficient, generating the same amount of light while using less electricity. They use what are known as ballasts to increase the efficiency of the bulb and eliminate the strobing you’ve probably noticed in failing fluorescent lights. Depending on the type of ballast used, the lamp could have up to 9 percent higher efficiency when compared to another CFL.

Purchase Energy Star Appliances

Whenever it’s necessary to replace an old, obsolete or broken appliance, be sure that the replacement meets Energy Star specifications. Although the appliance purchase may cost more, a company may be eligible for rebates on certain types of Energy Star appliances and the energy savings over the life of the appliance can more than make up for the increased expense.

Install Gray and Rainwater Catchment Basins

If the company is very large, there may be a considerable amount of outside space that could be used to improve both the efficiency of the building and change the aesthetics of the area. Instead of planting grass and flowers that consume large amounts of water, consider planting drought tolerant or water saving plants such as succulents. If there is grass around the workplace, save the clippings to use as mulch, since this will cut down on weed growth and help the soil hold moisture longer. 

Choose Eco-Friendly Landscaping and Plants

In areas where the weather tends to get especially hot, the use of trees will add an attractive element while also shading areas of the building, potentially reducing utility costs inside the building. Instead of installing an in-ground irrigation system, install soaker hoses that direct water to the plant roots instead of allowing inefficient sprinklers to spray water everywhere.
Avoid the use of chemical fertilizers and insecticides. Instead, surround plants with mulch to suppress weed growth naturally. The use of companion plants is effective for providing nutrients to nearby plants, replacing the need for synthetic fertilizers. Replacing grass with native plants will result in less need for maintenance and water.

 

Chicago’s Green Rooftop

Chicago’s former Mayor Richard M. Daley took advantage of the flat roof on the city hall building by allowing gardening experts to create a spectacular outdoor garden. The garden used rain barrels to collect rainwater for the plants. Chicago’s dedication to creating a more environmentally friendly city even earned it an article in National Geographic Traveler in Sept. 2010 titled “Chicago: America’s Green City“.

When it comes to going green, there are as many options for businesses as there are for families. By taking the time to weigh all of your options and investing in these solutions, your business can create a reputation for environmental conservation and garner the trust and respect of your community.
Author bio: Maire loves it when she can make something green. She also loves her Scottish Terrier, Pete, and baking delicious treats.