Lucky for me, gardening in August took a back seat with the major tasks of just keeping shrubs, flowers and whatever was still growing in the garden alive by watering. We had over ninety days of 90 plus degree heat with heat indexes often over 100. Everything was suffering. It has been so hot that even though it is time to plant the fall garden we have delayed it because of the heat.
Our chickens have also suffered from the heat but seemed to have adjusted. For those that are interested this blog is about how the little chicks my brother sent me in the spring have survived, all 24 of [...]
The Chicks from the Spring Do Their Thing in August
Organic Dry Cleaners?
It seems that everywhere you look these days, an “organic” dry cleaner is popping up. As with anything labeled organic without a certification system in place, buyer beware, this is one industry where greenwashing runs rampant. It’s important to choose a cleaning method that doesn’t harm the environment or workers, or introduce hazardous chemicals into your home. It seems the industry has quite a way to go as a whole but a small percentage is certainly taking some steps in the right direction. Let’s take a look at some of the methods used by dry cleaners and explore [...]
July’s Meltdown
July has really been a hot month in the Southeast, USA. In some parts of the South, the heat index has remained 100 + for a number of days in a row. We are having the usual afternoon thunderstorm that sometimes cools things off a bit, but also adds humidity in the air to deal with. So on we go, pretty much normal for July in the ole South.
The Extension System checklist is fairly simple this month. The main goal is to keep plants and outside animals healthy. The primary thing to do is to offer plenty of water if it doesn’t rain enough to keep plants alive and well.
Another [...]
Manure Tea Twitter & Me
Manure Tea, Twitter & Me
Annie Haven, owner of Authentic Haven Brand could not be more pleased with what’s Growing on around the ranch these days.
Growing a Green business in a Brown economy is what woman rancher Annie Haven has been doing. Haven, introduced her 100% natural premium soil conditioner teas to the world of Container, Patio, Balcony and Home gardeners several years back and she has never looked back.
As our economy began to unravel on Main Street USA Haven had been feeling the pains of short purse strings for several years. Below normal rain fall, high fuel prices forced Haven to scale back her livestock herd in order to not [...]
Simple Steps for Sustainable, Green Living
Greening your life isn’t rocket science
You do have the power to change the world. Maybe not all at once, but little by little you can make this a better place. It turns out the little choices add up. Going green, even in little steps can make a big difference.
Naked Binder encourages you to do one thing a day to help lower your impact on the planet. One thing. It is crazy to think that everyone can change to super green overnight, but we can all start down the path.
A couple of ideas for today:
1. Bring your coffee cup [...]
Parking Lots to Parks: Designing Livable Cities
By Lester R. Brown
As I was being driven through Tel Aviv from my hotel to a conference center in 1998, I could not help but note the overwhelming presence of cars and parking lots. It was obvious that Tel Aviv, expanding from a small settlement a half-century ago to a city of some 3 million today, had evolved during the automobile era. It occurred to me that the ratio of parks to parking lots may be the best indicator of the livability of a city—an indication of whether the city is designed for people or for cars.
Tel Aviv is not the world’s only fast-growing city. Urbanization is the second dominant [...]
Spring and Springing into Action
Spring is just a busy time of the year. For me it seems busier than the fall holidays. There is just so much to do. A lot of it is just plain hard work as well.
The Extension Service in Alabama furnishes a calendar for gardener’s which is a great asset for those like me who need help with keeping all the spring chores in mind and organized. It starts with January and has a ‘to do’ list for the garden for every month, even the cold months in the dead of winter. Granted, the warmer months have longer lists. But if I faithfully followed this calendar, I’d be very busy [...]
OMG– the springlings are taking over my house!
I did not expect nearly all of the 250 seeds I planted in my project to take hold.
I have spent the past two days scrambling to get them transplanted and come up with a plan for them to get enough sun as there is no way for them all to fit on the light table at once.
Stay tuned!
2010 Dawn Marie Kelly all rights reserved
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How to grow your veggies and eat them too!
It has occurred to me that while many folks believe that they can not afford to buy organic produce, everyone can certainly grow their own. (I also see the bit of extra money I spend to buy organic as my health insurance premium as my husband and I fall into the uninsured americans list.)
To illustrate that point I have taken on a new project this year. I am growing a garden using nothing but containers with veggie plants I’ve started from seeds. Then throughout the growing season I will keep you updated here on my blog!
I am growing; 2 types of hot peppers, sweet peppers, eggplants and summer squashes, 5 [...]
Really? Bread in 5 Minutes a Day? YES!
Really? Bread in 5 Minutes a Day? YES!
I have a confession to make. I completely ignored all the, “Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day’” for quite a long time. I was unusually closed minded about it and resisted any and all information on it.
That was a mistake. A seriously, dumb, mistake that has since been rectified.
The very odd thing was that I had been following Zoe on Twitter for a year and still resisted. I do not even have a good excuse why.
If you haven’t joined the, in 5 Minutes a Day, army of fans, or haven’t heard of this bread making method yet—run, don’t walk to the [...]