Healthy Self Reliance
Jodi Avery 
At very low pH levels, aluminum and manganese are dissolved by acids and escape into the soil. These are poisonous to some plants. On the other hand, plants growing in a lime soil (where the pH is too high) can also be adversely affected.
Well, the tomatoes are getting ready to be RED! Eugene has pulled it off again this year and has supplied the compost pile with over forty five bags of grass clippings. It is making a fine mulch as well! I came by an old chipper/shredder just collecting dust in someone’s barn. What a BOON! for …
In late April, at the first of a series of planned sustainability events at California Whole Foods markets, professional skateboarder Bob Burnquist performed stunts for his audience of young skateboarders and taught them about organic food, renewable energy, and green living. Sponsored by the Action Sports Environmental Coalition (ASEC), the event also drew environmental activist …
Okay. So I moved to town. I sold out… through no real choice of my own (long story) I moved from out in the country with five acres and a large home to a small town. Yes, we are large enough to have a ‘Wal-Mart’ and we recently even got our own Lowe’s store… wow. …
Tomato container gardens are an alternative to a traditional tomato garden. Tomatoes are one of the most popular vegetables, well in this case fruits, of people around the world. They can be used in so many ways, in a salad or to make a sauce for pasta and a myriad of other ways in your …
Green lacewings — scientifically known as the Chrysoperla rufilabris — are aggressive aphid predators that have an appetite for other soft-bodied pests as well. Lacewing larvae are tiny when emerging from its egg, but grow to 3/8 of an inch long. They are often referred to as aphid lions since they voraciously attack aphids by …
In order to understand compost’s carbon:nitrogen ratio, know that everything organic has a carbon:nitrogen ratio of carbon to nitrogen (C:N) in its tissues. See below for a list of C:N ratios of common organic wastes. It is the combination of materials that creates the ideal climate for compost microbes – a C:N ratio of 30:1. …
From Whence Came the Carrot? Where do you think carrots originated? We’re not talking about the wild carrots that only a rabbit might consider delectable. We’re talking about the nice thick tuber, orange (now) and full of Vitamin A. How does Afghanistan grab you? Yup. But it wasn’t orange. It was likely deep red or …
Solve it by appealing to their problem drinking. If you have slugs in your garden, there is a natural, organic way to decrease their population and increase the life of the plants that those slimey creatures so love to eat: lure them into beer traps and drown them. Slugs are attracted to beer for the …
Got closets and basements full of stuff you never use? Need stuff but don’t feel like paying for it? Try Freecycle – a never-ending garage sale of free stuff. Freecycle is a network of over 9 million people connected via online community groups who give and/or receive stuff for free in their own hometowns everyday. …