greenliving

If your home does not have a garden, then an alternative option is to consider an indoor wormery. Worms eat up to half their body weight and breed rapidly. This is an excellent way to get rid of your kitchen scraps and peels, while producing small amounts of rich compost, ideal for an indoor or balcony garden. The wormery also produces a liquid, which when diluted makes nutrient rich plant food.

If worms are not to your liking (and you really can’t be blamed for that!), then you may want to try the Japanese method of Bokashi composting. By purchasing a bin and Bokashi bran, you can get your composting done right in your kitchen. Simply sprinkle the purchased bran onto your food layers. The bran acts as a fermenting agent, helping the food to decompose rather quickly. Bokashi bins are odor free and amazingly easy to use. They are best bought in pairs. Once one bin is full, leave it to ferment while draining off the liquid. This liquid can be used as plant food. Start using the second bin and by the time it’s full, your first bin should be converted into compost.

Yesterday, I wrote about composting and a friend asked me what I would do if I didn’t have a garden. The answer is to try joining a local composting scheme. In many areas, you can choose to either deliver waste or have it collected from your doorstep. It’s then made into compost to be used in local gardens and parks.

If you do have your own compost heap, remember to protect it from the rain with a rain cover. Or alternatively, invest in a compost bin with a lid. This might also be a good idea if you have animals visiting your garden or of course, have pets and children at home.

If you are worried about insects being attracted to your heap, one solution would be to dig a hole in the center and bury your kitchen waste in the middle of it. And to keep it fresh, try adding lemon peel and basic, both which smell good and are excellent fly and bug deterrents.

Did you know that one third of the waste we put into our trash cans is made up of compostable matter? Once this material reaches landfills, it breaks down into ‘methane’ gasses, which are far more potent than even carbon dioxide.

Compost is the final result that occurs when hundreds of thousands of organisms such as worms, bacteria and fungi feed off the compost heap, breaking down the organic material into rich mulch that your soil will love. Composting is a man-made way of creating what nature intended. Besides producing excellent nutrient rich soil to fertilize your garden, making the compost creates heat which will destroy plant diseases and weed seeds in the pile.

What can be made into compost? Almost any organic material, such as vegetables, fruit, peels and even fish and meat, can be used in a compost pile. The pile needs a proper carbon/nitrogen mix. Carbon is produced from dried leaves, grass clippings, hay, straw, dead flowers and wood chips; nitrogen comes from your kitchen waste. An ideal ratio needs to be achieved, with more carbon producing substances in the mix. While using kitchen refuse, remember that meat will eventually decompose, but can also smell and attract insects. Everything you add to the pile should be chopped for quicker decomposing. Some other excellent organic compostable material includes seaweed, sawdust, tissue, peanut shells, feathers, teabags and coffee dregs. Avoid pet refuse and disposable diapers.

How does one select a site? Selecting a compost site depends on the kind of area you have available, but generally, a sunny spot works well. Use a compost bin or build the pile over grass if possible, to encourage earthworms and other insects to visit it. Remember to turn it over regularly, and keep it moist, especially during hot summer days. If you want to continue composting over winter, you would need to invest in an insulated compost bin.

To collect kitchen scraps, keep a closed container in your kitchen, and remember to top it off with grass clippings, leaves or wood chips. Tip it into your compost heap on a weekly basis. Compost will be created depending on the time and effort you invest in it. Once finished, it has a crumbly texture and should smell like fresh earth. Spreading on a layer over your soil, should serve as an excellent organic fertilizer, especially for your flower beds and herb gardens.

And finally, if you don’t have a garden or even a small patch of grass to fertilize, you may still want to think of composting and donating the final product to your local nursery, garden or municipality.

My husband recently got an invite to participate in a group clean up day at work. That in itself is a great thing for companies to organize. However, what was even more interesting was the invite itself. It came on 100% post consumer recycled paper, and was embedded with seeds. The idea is to plant the sheet in soil, add water and wait to see the plants grow! Over 1000 invites went out. This translates as that many times 10 seeds per person. And if they were all planted, think of the amount of greenery it would generate!

With summer coming, and invites to barbecues, beach parties and camping trips going out; if you can’t do the greenest thing of all, which is to send an email, then think of using this option for your invites. Do a Google search and you’ll come up with quite a few companies that produce this kind of paper. Some, like www.flowerseedpaper.com offer custom made paper, with 2 ingredients, for $6 per sheet. They also give you over 30 different flowers, herbs and vegetable seeds to choose from. The paper itself is tree-free and made from 100% natural cotton fibre. www.greenfieldpaper.com offers you various options such as grow a note and grow a card. Select the appropriate one and you’re good to grow!

I spent the weekend getting rid of the bugs that were attacking our veggie patch. Now for those of you out there with active imaginations, I’ll bet you’re envious of me spending a hot summer’s day in my huge veggie garden. Hold that thought right there! It’s a 2ft by 2 ft plot of land that comprises exactly half my entire garden space. So, how many plants and bugs can there be? Well, considering we don’t use fertilizers or pesticides, a lot! I try not to grown animal-attracting fruit like strawberries and tomatoes, but I still find there are a lot of smaller insects who seem perpetually hungry and ready to feast on my plants.

Some simple, yet effective ideas:

Ants: Ants hate cucumbers (a fact probably discovered by a 5 year old trying to get rid of her cucumber sandwich). Try leaving a few slices around. Cayenne pepper, lemon juice and cinnamon work equally well.

Aphids (Plant lice): Open a bagful of native ladybugs into your garden and watch the aphids disappear.

Fleas: If you home does get infested by fleas, it’s most likely to have come through your pets. Bath and comb them regularly. Citrus works well to deter fleas. Use fresh lemon boiled in water or citrus oil to dab onto your pet. In your yard, plant fleabane to deter fleas from taking up home there.

Flies - Mint, bay leaves and cloves work well to keep flies away. Scatter a few around your picnic table.

Mosquitoes - Keep your garden clear of any freestanding stagnant water and empty water fountains and bird baths. Citronella candles work well to keep them at bay. Another effective repellent is garlic juice mixed with water and sprayed onto the body. Neem is also very effective and a number of health stores carry neem oil which can be rubbed onto your body.

Slugs and Snails: You can get rid of snails and slugs with beer (just do it when beer drinkers are not on the premises). Dig an indentation in the ground and place a jar lid with some beer in it. If beer is not your scene, then try coffee. Spread used coffee grounds around the area. Works well to keep them at bay.

Many pests really don’t like certain plants such as mint, marigolds, garlic and basil. Try planting a few of these interspersed with your regular foliage to ward off unwanted insects.

The next few weeks, greenliving is going to be a bit silent, as I pack my bags and head off with the family to visit the Canadian Rockies. I am very excited as it’s only something we’ve seen in pictures and documentaries, and I can’t wait to explore its wilderness and soak in its beauty.

If like me, you’re going to be heading outdoors, then I hope you think of taking certain precautions to protect your favorite sites and spots from what I call, camping decay.

Many of us litter and abuse the sites we love, often unknowingly. It takes only a few people, to do a few random acts against nature, to destroy it forever.

SOAP/CLEANERS – Have you seen people sprinkle dish powder around their site to keep it ant free? When it rains, the powder which contains bleach is going to soak into the earth, polluting it. Similarly, emptying your dirty dish water into areas meant for drinking or bathing causes water pollution. Use designated sewer areas or drains for this. Better yet, use environmentally friendly cleaners, when you go camping (and otherwise too).

LITTER- You know that being a litter bug is not very nice. But you may do it anyways.

The following items are non biodegradable and are in fact, harmful to pets, children and the general wildlife around campsites- Aluminum foil, Diapers , Cigarette butts, Styrofoam and PVC, Beer and Coke cans. Other litter may include wrappers, disposable plates and cutlery and the biggest offender, food. The latter not only takes a long while to disintegrate, but also will attract a whole host of wildlife and insects to the site. Take a couple of bags with you and dispose of your picnic into it. And then drop it off in the appropriate bin. Leave the site cleaner for its next visitor.

GRAFFITI- Graffiti is not only offensive to the eyes, often it is impossible to clean off and stays on for a long time. When going outdoors, think of alternative ways of expressing your love for Suzie or Ronald, by taking them to see the sun set from the top of the hill. Or vent your angst by going for a long jog or hike. Not only will Suzie appreciate the gesture and you feel better, but the rest of the site visitors can enjoy the view as nature intended it to be.

With spring already here, and the warm weekend perfect for being outdoors, most of us will be donning our gardening gloves and getting set to mow the lawn. But hold on. Longer grass retains moisture better than short turf. As the weather heats up, let your grass grow at least 1.5 inches before you decide to give it a trim. You’ll be saving on water and your grass will not suffer for it.

And while you’re at it, switch to an electric mower, or better yet, a push mower, which will also get you in shape as you mow the lawn. A gasoline mower, can produce as much pollution per hour, as 40 cars! That’s a ridiculously high price to pay to get your lawn in order.

And finally, instead of throwing your clipped grass away and putting on expensive fertilizers, let it lie there. The clipped grass will provide the nutrient rich supply your plants need. Just make sure the clippings are dry, so they get distributed evenly and don’t clump.

Now you’re all set to have a truly green lawn.