Day 68 of our Green Year: A Natural Weed Killer

We have some weeds in our garden, and while I am one to leave weeds in the yard since they aren't really doing any harm, I do have to remove them from the garden. This is because they can choke out our vegetables, and those vegetables are feeding us over the winter.
Obviously, we are not going to be using herbicides on the weeds because we are a 'no chemical zone' here. Therefore, we can use our muscles and pull the weeds out by hand, but there is another way that goes along with our message of 'Re-use, then recycle'.

In this sense, we have chosen to use something we make nearly every day to get rid of weeds. That something, is boiled water. Whether it is making pasta, boiling potatoes, making tea or whatever, we have boiled water nearly on a daily basis. Now, instead of just dumping that water down the drain, which is a big waste, we are pouring it on weeds. Boiled water is a great weed killer because it essentially destroys the entire plant and the root system if it is shallow enough. No herbicides, or pulling it out by your hand. Just reusing the water you just boiled to kill a weed.

Many gardeners are going with this method over other methods because it is healthier for the environment without herbicides floating around everywhere. This, of course, is not to say that we will not be pulling weeds by hand. Nor will we be boiling water to specifically pour on weeds. Instead, we are only using the water that was already boiled for something else, on the weeds. Remember the motto of Our Green Year, "Reuse, then Recycle"

Got any other natural weed killers? Let us know!

Day 13 of our Green Year: Controlling Pests Naturally

As you have read in previous entries, Layla and I are going natural with a garden in our backyard. We are doing it to help the environment, as well as save costs for ourselves with rising fuel and food costs.
As we grow the garden, we are beginning to find ways to get rid of pests, without worrying about hurting the environment. We have chosen not to use pesticides or anything else chemical, and are choosing natural ways to protect our garden plants.

As a result, we have a list of the things you can do to keep pests out of your garden and keep your garden looking lush.

1. If you have cats going in your garden and using it as a litter box, you can circle the garden in lemon peels, or you can put together an orange peel/coffee ground mixture and scatter it around the garden. Can't will not go in as a result.
2. Fill some grocery sacks with air and tie them shut. Afterwards, place stakes around your garden and tie the bags to them. The rustling sound it creates will scare rodents and birds away.
3. If you have birds taking your strawberries, then simply get some small stones and paint them red and put them around the plants. The birds will eventually tire with trying to eat the 'hard strawberries' and will move on.
4. Insects cause a lot of problems in the garden, and if you have spider mites, just spray leftover coffee where they are and they should leave. You can also create a mixture that will get spider mites off your plants. The mixture is 1/2 cup buttermilk, 4 cups of wheat flour and five gallons of water (try to use rain water). Spray it on your garden and you should be able to keep spider mites out, as well as ants, caterpillars and cabbage worms.
5. You can mix up black pepper and flour and sprinkle it around your plants to keep the insects out.
   
6. If slugs are moving into your garden, simply take an old recycled sandpaper disk, cut it open and put it around the plant. Slugs won't cross the sandpaper.
7. Plant garlic throughout your garden. Doing this will keep insects out of it because they do not like the smell or taste.
8. While some bugs are bad for the garden, others help. Spiders eat insects that destroy plants, so to encourage them, lay some mulch at the beginning of the year. This will attract them and they will eat the aphids that come into the garden.
9. Are dogs digging in your garden? If they are, you just have to mix a clove of garlic, onion, Tabasco sauce and cayenne pepper in a bucket of water. Let it steep, then let it dribble into the garden where you don't want the dogs. If you have cats digging in your garden, then use powdered mustard and flour instead of garlic and onions to deter them. Mice will keep out of the garden, as will squirrels because the sauce, powder and pepper will stick to the bottom of their feet, which will frustrate them and keep them away.
10. Spray vinegar at the base of trees and walls to keep cats away and hide the scent of tomcats who have been in the area.
    

These are just a few of the natural ways you can keep your garden safe without killing anything, or resorting to chemicals.

Day 10 of our Green Year: Starting the Garden

As part of our Green Year, Layla and I have decided to put in a garden. We are doing this for a variety of environmental reasons, as well as to help save some money on the rising costs of food.
When you put in a garden in your backyard, on a windowsill or on your deck, you are actually giving Mother Nature a helping hand.

It may not be hard to see why a garden is something good for the environment, but here are just some of the reasons Layla and I have decided to put a garden in the back and in the front of our house:

1. When you grow a garden, you are helping take CO2 out of the atmosphere through the plants that grow in the garden. As well, you reduce food miles because now the effort to transport food to your home is zero.
2. We will not be using pesticides in our garden and it will all be organic, which means less pesticides in our bodies and the air of our planet.
3. Gardens are habitats for a wide variety of insect species. Instead of trying to get rid of them with chemicals, we are going to try to use natural messages to deal with them.

To deal with our garden, we will be watering minimally, using rain water to water the garden, and we will be composting certain food scraps and other compostable items and using that in the garden instead of buying fertilizers. This will help the soil and the plants, while recycling waste products such as used vegetables and fruits.

If you have any area in your yard, deck or window sill, build yourself a garden. It can be a flower garden to help pollinating insects, it can be vegetables that will put organic food in your diet, or it can be a mixture.
Gardens are easy to make, fun to maintain, the rewards are beautiful and the garden produce tastes great.