Organic Housekeeping Chapter 9

In and Around the Garden

Use biodegradable, chlorine-free and phosphate free cleaning products. Avoid using pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. Try a rain garden to absorb more water therefore there is less runoff. Native plants are not the same as naturalized. Contact your department of natural resources for native plants to use in your yard. Use rain barrels to conserve water. If possible, have a permeable pavement driveway. For your compost, add red wriggler worms in the spring. Use non-toxic mulches, such as bark, un-dyed and untreated wood chips, wine-grape pumice, rice hulls, licorice root, and pine needles.

Do some research about which trees are native to your area, and which thrive before you go shopping. Plant deciduous trees on the south side of your home to add shade in the summer but not in the winter, to help reduce your ac and heating costs. A regional plant book will come in handy and don't choose any tree that is considered brittle or messy, there is a lot more clean up involved. Check out Wow! by Gardens Alive fertilizer, www.gardensalive.com.

For the yard, use tough lawn grasses, low-growing white Dutch Clover, chamomile, creeping thyme, English Daisy, Irish and Scotch moss, creeping speedwell for a beautiful lawn. When there is bald spot through some seed down and cover it with compost. When you water, water enough to get one inch deep to inspire the roots to grow deep. Don't over fertilize. Use compost, it will break down slowly and fertilize over time.

Some online resources to refer to:
www.gardensalive.com
www.groworganic.com
www.plantnatural.com
store.arbico-organics.com
www.wormsway.com

Garden hose should be labels "drinking water safe" your plants drink water too. Vinegar and steel wool will get rust off of garden tools. Wood handles tools, sand smooth and ass olive oil or mineral oil. Paint tools bright colors so they don't get lost in the garden or yard.  Full strength vinegar or boiling water will kill weeds, but will also kill other plants so use carefully. Insecticidal spray for plants- rhubarb spray: Remove the rhubarb stems and make a pie. Put the leaves in a stockpot and cover them with water. Bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and let the pot sit and cool for an hour. Strain the leaves out of the cooled liquid. Use a spray bottle to apply rhubarb tea to infested plants.  A very diverse garden will encourage beneficial bugs and discourage pests.  Invest in a well illustrated bug book so you know which bugs to kill and which to let go.

If your rice, dog treats, pasta etc gets infested with grain moths, beetles or other bugs, keep a cinnamon stick, bay leaf or peppercorns in the food. Strong smells will deter the bugs. Peppermint repels mice. Plant it around your foundation. Use parasitic nematodes for insect control.
www.groworganic.com
www.gardensalive.com
For misquito larvae in standing water, get some BTi mosquito dunks. Ultrasonic mosquito repellers and bug zappers are counter productive. Bite Blocker is a plant based and is 97% effective for 3.5 hours. Put lavender, rosemary, yarrow and bay leaves in the dogs bed to repel fleas. Use olive oil to relieve ear mites (in your dog). After the dog's bath rinse her or him in one part vinegar and 3 parts water to restore the natural oils of the skin and brush him or her frequently so there will be less hair to clean up around your house.

And that (finally) concludes the Organic Housekeeping book. There is more suggested reading that I will put on my list. I'm not sure which book I'm going to read first.

The China Study or
Diet for a Poisoned Planet By: David Steinman or
Eat More Dirt By: Ellen Sandbeck