For my Conway community garden friends (and anyone else interested in organic vegetable gardening!) here are some links to sites with great info on Companion Planting and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques for sustainable vegetable gardening.
Followed by links about vermiculture (worm composting).
And thank you for allowing me to participate in your great gardening adventure!
IFAS UFL Extension service documents
A great 75 page PDF of Organic Vegetable Gardening IPM
National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
EarthEasy website direct to "Guides"
Vermicomposting - worms!
Showing posts with label responsible landscaping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label responsible landscaping. Show all posts
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Reasons to Abandon 1950's Style Grass Lawns
Some interesting facts for parties! One-liners to help make the point that grass lawns are passé!
• According the US Environmental Protection Association, a gas-powered push mower emits as much hourly pollution as 11 cars and a riding mower emits as much as 34 cars (see Small Engine Rule to Bring Big Emissions Cuts).
• Lawn and garden equipment emits 5% of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the US, which cause health problems and contribute to ozone formation.
• A gas mower emits as much hydrocarbons in one hour as a car driven 100 miles. (see EPA pdf)
• Mowers in the US use 580 million gallons of gas per year.
• 40-60% of nitrogen from fertilizer runs off or leaches away, ending up in ground or surface water, including wells.
• 60-70 million birds die from pesticide poisoning each year in the US alone.
• In the US, 30 percent of water consumed on the East Coast waters lawns, 60 percent on the West Coast. (go to this site for tips on saving water! http://www.epa.gov/watersense/ )
• A 2001 Toronto Staff Report (PDF format), reported that using a commercial leaf-blower for one hour generated "498 times as much hydrocarbons, 49 times as much particulate matter and 26 times as much carbon monoxide" as a then newer-model car.
• Close to 70 million pounds of pesticides (including herbicides) are applied to US lawns each year. This is approximately ten times the amount applied to American farmland, acre for acre.
• As of 2004, about 70 million tons of fertilizers were used on US lawns a year.
• A Toronto Public Health Report on lawn and garden pesticides (PDF format) claims that between 2004 and 2006, almost half the homeowners in Toronto used pesticides on their lawns.
• The Virginia Cooperative Extension in its publication "Nutrient Management for Lawn Service Companies," states that some fungicides and pesticides can kill 60 to 90% -- or more -- of the earthworms where they are applied.
• Between 30 and 40 million acres of land in the U.S. are devoted to turf grass (see Curbing the Lawn)
• Americans collectively spend big bucks -- about $40 billion annually -- on seed, sod and chemicals.
• The top four crops in terms of acreage in the United States today: Corn, Wheat, Soybeans and Grass Clippings.
• And finally, this from me, mowing kills many beneficial caterpillars, spiders, lizards and other small creatures we are sharing our yards with.
Check out the Organic Lawn Care 101 website for more great info and tips on making your own yard more bird/bee friendly!
• According the US Environmental Protection Association, a gas-powered push mower emits as much hourly pollution as 11 cars and a riding mower emits as much as 34 cars (see Small Engine Rule to Bring Big Emissions Cuts).
• Lawn and garden equipment emits 5% of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the US, which cause health problems and contribute to ozone formation.
• A gas mower emits as much hydrocarbons in one hour as a car driven 100 miles. (see EPA pdf)
• Mowers in the US use 580 million gallons of gas per year.
• 40-60% of nitrogen from fertilizer runs off or leaches away, ending up in ground or surface water, including wells.
• 60-70 million birds die from pesticide poisoning each year in the US alone.
• In the US, 30 percent of water consumed on the East Coast waters lawns, 60 percent on the West Coast. (go to this site for tips on saving water! http://www.epa.gov/watersense/ )
• A 2001 Toronto Staff Report (PDF format), reported that using a commercial leaf-blower for one hour generated "498 times as much hydrocarbons, 49 times as much particulate matter and 26 times as much carbon monoxide" as a then newer-model car.
• Close to 70 million pounds of pesticides (including herbicides) are applied to US lawns each year. This is approximately ten times the amount applied to American farmland, acre for acre.
• As of 2004, about 70 million tons of fertilizers were used on US lawns a year.
• A Toronto Public Health Report on lawn and garden pesticides (PDF format) claims that between 2004 and 2006, almost half the homeowners in Toronto used pesticides on their lawns.
• The Virginia Cooperative Extension in its publication "Nutrient Management for Lawn Service Companies," states that some fungicides and pesticides can kill 60 to 90% -- or more -- of the earthworms where they are applied.
• Between 30 and 40 million acres of land in the U.S. are devoted to turf grass (see Curbing the Lawn)
• Americans collectively spend big bucks -- about $40 billion annually -- on seed, sod and chemicals.
• The top four crops in terms of acreage in the United States today: Corn, Wheat, Soybeans and Grass Clippings.
• And finally, this from me, mowing kills many beneficial caterpillars, spiders, lizards and other small creatures we are sharing our yards with.
Check out the Organic Lawn Care 101 website for more great info and tips on making your own yard more bird/bee friendly!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
The Most Invasive Species on Earth
Today I read a wonderful blog by about invasive plants being aggressively sold in garden stores while volunteers break their backs digging them out! http://www.beautifulwildlifegarden.com/not-all-berries-are-created-equal.html
Here's the final paragraph:
"A side note: I met a woman once who told me that she wraps netting around her Yaupons and other native berrying plants in order to keep the birds from eating up the berries. She complained that the birds were eating the berries so fast that she couldn’t enjoy how pretty the berries looked in the fall. Personally, I find the sight of birds eating berries to be incredibly beautiful and entertaining – in fact, I garden for that purpose — but this woman was willing to cover her pretty shrubs with ugly netting in order to deny a native food to wildlife. I’m truly at a loss of words to explain that one."
I had one of my many OMG moments! How hateful of nature and the earth can humans get? We've all watched the videos of humans torturing animals in the name of feeding all of us, or killing the dolphins, poisoning all the pollinators, spilling the oil into animal breeding grounds so we all can drive our cars cheaply. The summer of 2010 wasn't pretty. But when it extends to a one to one relationship like this, I find myself baffled.
So I looked up the definition of "Invasive Species" and what do you think I saw? Judge for yourself. Here is the definition of invasive species from a couple sources.
From http://www.invasivespecies.org/resources/DefineIS.html
""Invasive species" means an alien species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health."
From http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/whatis.shtml
"An "invasive species" is defined as a species that is
1) non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration and
2) whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. (Executive Order 13112)."
Anyone else noticing a pattern here? Humans are and always have been very human-centric but this was a surprise to me. I have always thought of invasives as primarily bad for the native wildlife. As Ms. O'Reilly mentions in her blog, non-natives out compete natives and usually have less nutrition for the native wildlife, leaving the animals and insects without enough food and shelter. But as far as the officials are concerned, it's about human health and harm. Here we really have circular logic, since it doesn't seem most of our officials have figured out that what's good for wildlife IS conducive to human health and welfare!
In the meantime humans continue to over populate the planet. Digging into eco-systems they shouldn't even be in, such as the latest Russian exploration into an under-ice lake in the South Pole.
NPR Article 2/3/2011
We humans spread disease, pollute, dump garbage, kill and destroy everything including our own children and fellow beings. We slice off the mountain tops, flood valleys large enough to shake the earth, and even throw debris up into space! Then we're surprise that gentle nature seems to turn against us!
There is only one answer from nature's point of view, lower the number of humans. From my point of view, as a human, I'd like to see us use our brains to wake up and change our ways. We might make some progress in the United States, but I don't know what we can do about dense populations like China.
Nope, there's no doubt in my mind about it; humans ARE indeed the most invasive species on the earth.
Photo Credit: Edward Burtynsky
Here's the final paragraph:
"A side note: I met a woman once who told me that she wraps netting around her Yaupons and other native berrying plants in order to keep the birds from eating up the berries. She complained that the birds were eating the berries so fast that she couldn’t enjoy how pretty the berries looked in the fall. Personally, I find the sight of birds eating berries to be incredibly beautiful and entertaining – in fact, I garden for that purpose — but this woman was willing to cover her pretty shrubs with ugly netting in order to deny a native food to wildlife. I’m truly at a loss of words to explain that one."
I had one of my many OMG moments! How hateful of nature and the earth can humans get? We've all watched the videos of humans torturing animals in the name of feeding all of us, or killing the dolphins, poisoning all the pollinators, spilling the oil into animal breeding grounds so we all can drive our cars cheaply. The summer of 2010 wasn't pretty. But when it extends to a one to one relationship like this, I find myself baffled.
So I looked up the definition of "Invasive Species" and what do you think I saw? Judge for yourself. Here is the definition of invasive species from a couple sources.
From http://www.invasivespecies.org/resources/DefineIS.html
""Invasive species" means an alien species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health."
From http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/whatis.shtml
"An "invasive species" is defined as a species that is
1) non-native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration and
2) whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. (Executive Order 13112)."
Anyone else noticing a pattern here? Humans are and always have been very human-centric but this was a surprise to me. I have always thought of invasives as primarily bad for the native wildlife. As Ms. O'Reilly mentions in her blog, non-natives out compete natives and usually have less nutrition for the native wildlife, leaving the animals and insects without enough food and shelter. But as far as the officials are concerned, it's about human health and harm. Here we really have circular logic, since it doesn't seem most of our officials have figured out that what's good for wildlife IS conducive to human health and welfare!
In the meantime humans continue to over populate the planet. Digging into eco-systems they shouldn't even be in, such as the latest Russian exploration into an under-ice lake in the South Pole.
NPR Article 2/3/2011
We humans spread disease, pollute, dump garbage, kill and destroy everything including our own children and fellow beings. We slice off the mountain tops, flood valleys large enough to shake the earth, and even throw debris up into space! Then we're surprise that gentle nature seems to turn against us!
There is only one answer from nature's point of view, lower the number of humans. From my point of view, as a human, I'd like to see us use our brains to wake up and change our ways. We might make some progress in the United States, but I don't know what we can do about dense populations like China.
 |
| China's Three Gorges Dam: An Environmental Catastrophe? |
Photo Credit: Edward Burtynsky
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
May Day in Sanford
Sanford, Florida is a historic place filled with historic homes and a historic downtown Main Street. This May Day Celebration has been going on a long time! This year the proceeds benefit the wonderful Student Museum - see: Student Museum Website
Saturday, January 16, 2010
How Green Is Your Garden? - National Wildlife Magazine
This is a great article and I initially posted it here as a draft so I could refer to it. Then I figured I should share it since there are so many good tips for "greening" your yard. I hope it can be of help to you! Let me know if it was, leave a comment!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Advice to a gardener newbie
http://www.floridayards.org
Check out this site and find something similar for your location. The "right plant/right place" concept will minimize your maintenance requirements. Using natives helps keep the need for fertilizers and pesticides down. And plant the more water hungry plants closer to your hose with the more drought tolerant farther from the water sources. I am against auto sprinklers only because most people don't monitor them and they wind up wasting a lot of water. Consider habitat gardens too. Butterfly gardens are the most popular. http://www.nsis.org/butterfly/butterfly.html
Familiarize yourself with the IMP (Integrated Pest Management) and BMP (Best Management Practices)in your area.
I recommend the Master Gardening program to all homeowners. There is one in every state, look up yours and consider taking the course.
http://www.ahs.org/master_gardeners/
Remember that exotic invasive plants are a huge and expensive problem in all of N. America. And to this day places like Lowe's and Home Depot continue to sell these plants. They are destroying the native habitats and directly responsible for nearly half of all the species on the endangered list! http://www.invasive.org
Most of all, take your time, nature does. Enjoy it!
Check out this site and find something similar for your location. The "right plant/right place" concept will minimize your maintenance requirements. Using natives helps keep the need for fertilizers and pesticides down. And plant the more water hungry plants closer to your hose with the more drought tolerant farther from the water sources. I am against auto sprinklers only because most people don't monitor them and they wind up wasting a lot of water. Consider habitat gardens too. Butterfly gardens are the most popular. http://www.nsis.org/butterfly/butterfly.html
Familiarize yourself with the IMP (Integrated Pest Management) and BMP (Best Management Practices)in your area.
I recommend the Master Gardening program to all homeowners. There is one in every state, look up yours and consider taking the course.
http://www.ahs.org/master_gardeners/
Remember that exotic invasive plants are a huge and expensive problem in all of N. America. And to this day places like Lowe's and Home Depot continue to sell these plants. They are destroying the native habitats and directly responsible for nearly half of all the species on the endangered list! http://www.invasive.org
Most of all, take your time, nature does. Enjoy it!
Friday, June 5, 2009
Mosquitos, not all bad, since they are food for many!
Most fish eat mosquito larva. I use the goldfish in my ponds for this since a) they are very hardy and b) they don't cause any trouble with the other critters.
There is a fish called the mosquito fish -
http://www.mosquitoes.org/
Apparently in CA they are given away for mosquito control. Here in FL they are not used as much mostly because they seem to interfere with native species.
Tadpoles, goldfish and even some meat-eating bugs (like dragonfly larva) all eat mosquito larva. I don't have a mosquito issue here at all. Dragonflies also eat the adult mosquitoes, as do frogs/toads, bats, spiders and birds. For that reason I stopped using my "Mosquito Magnet".
http://www.mosquitomagnet.
A Mosquito Magnet totally collapses the population of mosquitoes in 3/4 to 1 acre within 6 weeks - and it works!
So if you have a serious issue, like a potential disease issue, I'd get the Mosquito Magnet going (you can get them at Home Depot). After 6 weeks all your mosquitoes will be gone. Then just keep normal fish and wildlife in your pond and you should be fine.
In general, we need to consider NOT just killing off everything, since other critters that we like and need depend on these pests for food. And it seems all our chemicals are just creating super bugs that nothing can kill. Seems like that is a much more serious issue. Just MHO, but I'm sticking to it!
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