Organic lawn fertilizers have brought new options to homeowners who desire both a green lawn and a green lifestyle. Environmental issues continue to be a concern in our society, and good citizens everywhere are doing all they can to preserve the health of our beautiful planet. Using organic fertilizers instead of chemical products is an easy way to make a difference, and many would be surprised at the effectiveness of the organic solutions. Listed below are some of the many proven benefits of natural fertilizers and insecticides.

Organic Lawn Care is Safer for Your Family
The most obvious value to using an organic lawn fertilizer is to preserve the safety of your family members and animals. Commercial lawn treatments are a cocktail of dangerous chemicals and poisons that cling to shoes, skin, and hair. Even the most cautious application can result in an accidental poisoning. And if you can protect your family and pets from exposure, it is often impossible to prevent wildlife and other organisms from ingesting these chemicals.

Bio-Degradable
Scientifically engineered chemicals react with our planet in very unnatural ways. Almost every naturally occurring resource on earth has the capacity to break down and return value to the environment. Man-made chemicals on the other hand are much harder to dissipate, and often form more potent by-products in the process. Every commercial brand chemical fertilizer contains compounds that are not only initially toxic, but ultimately breakdown and multiply into more toxins.

Less Waste
A major flaw with chemical lawn fertilizers is their “kill everything” approach to lawn care. These herbicides and pesticides may indeed kill unwanted nuisances like dandelions and ants, but they also destroy thousands of helpful organisms such as bees, earthworms, and beneficial microorganisms. Even if your lawn was comprised of 50% weeds, then you would still poison the soil in the remaining 50% with unnecessary chemicals. With organic lawn fertilizers, there is no concern for toxic runoffs or harmful integration with other organisms.

Organic lawn care is not only the best choice in terms of safety for your family, but it is also an effective alternative to chemical fertilizers. The proper application of organic fertilizers and pesticides will keep your lawn green and disease free. And as an added benefit to “going green“, organic formulas can save a substantial amount of money. Many effective formulas can be created in your kitchen with inexpensive ingredients found at your local grocery store. For more resources on how to implement an organic lawn treatment schedule, visit http://naturallawnfertilizers.com and http://naturallawnfertilizers.com

Author: Xavier Gallery
About the author: Make your own natural fertilizers and pesticides by using the resources available at Natural Lawn Fertilizers

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• Red Composting Worms
• Rubbermaid Bin
• Worm bedding such as old leaves, grass clippings or shredded newspapers

You can put it under your sink, feed it anything compostable, do your part to save the environment and get some excellent fertilizer for your lawn or garden (for free).

Author: Duong Vicki

You may have heard of Cesar Milan, also known as the Dog Whisperer, but are you familiar with Vern Culteur the Worm Whisperer? Unlike his canine counterpart, Culteur is well versed and in tune with the ways of the worm and its needs for a successful and fruitful compost. Compost, you say? What in the world does a worm have to do with composting? Well, my friend let me tell you more…

According to Culteur, known to his friends as Verny the Wormy, worms play a vital part in the composting process. In fact, there’s an entire composting process called vermicomposting or vermiculture which involves food scraps, yard wastes and worms. When visiting troubled gardeners and composters alike, Culteur adamantly but gently tells each one that if they’re going to start composting with worms, then they’ll have to adapt to a few changes. For instance, one of the first mistakes that many novice composters make is using the wrong worm.

“Recycling the organic waste of a household into compost allows us to return badly needed organic matter to the soil. In this way, we participate in nature’s cycle, and cut down on garbage going into burgeoning landfills…..The great advantage of worm composting is that this can be done indoors and outdoors, thus allowing year round composting. It also provides apartment dwellers with a means of composting.” Cityfarmer.org

Earth worms, though commonly found in the soil of any backyard and along sidewalks on rainy days, make for great fishing bait but not for worm composting. The reason, Culteur explains, is that even though earth worms aerate the soil they don’t properly digest the organic matter and produce worm castings, which is what’s needed for composting. “The best worms to use in the composting world are red wiggler worms,” says Culteur. “Night crawlers work well, also, but they don’t tend to survive for long in too damp of an environment. You’d be better off with red wigglers.”

Culteur also mentions that in order to ensure a successful composting experience, you’ll have to keep your worms happy, which means you have to regularly feed them. “Things like banana peels, chopped up vegetable stalks and leaves, in addition to some grit like a cup full of soil and some newspaper strips will keep your worms feeding and wanting for more.” After a few weeks, you’re most certainly guaranteed to have rich, black gold known as worm castings to add to your garden’s soil. Before concluding, Culteur made sure to add, “Unlike dogs, you won’t have to maintain who’s the boss in this relationship; your worms will be the hardiest of workers!”

“I’ve never been a big fan of bugs, spiders, worms and other small creatures. I don’t go out of my way to step on them or anything, but I usually prefer that they live in their world and I live in mine, and hopefully, never the two shall meet. I know that they have their place in the food chain and they are beneficial in many ways, but I’d usually rather not invite them into my home. EXCEPT, when having them around will reduce waste, create wonderful organic matter, and generally benefit the environment and my garden.” - Worm Compost - A Recycling Revolution

About the author:
For an excellent selection in lawn sweepers, compost bins stop by Composters.com today.

Buy the book: Worms Eat My Garbage

“HELP! I have ants and bees and worms…all over my garden! What do I do?” Sometimes beginning gardeners are concerned that they may have a problem with the creatures they encounter while playing in the dirt. So first, let’s determine if you really do have a problem or…are those ants or bees or worms actually a necessary part of a healthy garden area?

First off, ask yourself, “Are the ants and bees and worms…or any one group of them…covering everything in the garden and threatening to take over the house?” If the answer is yes, then truly, you may have a “problem” and you may have a real need to contact your local Pest Control people before the creatures do manage to take over your house and home.

However, if you answered no, then quite possibly the ants and bees and worms are probably just doing their respective jobs and it’s perfectly fine for some of them to be in your garden. In fact, they may even be doing you a favor by hanging out in your garden. “How so?” you ask.

Suppose you have Trillium or Corydalis in your garden. In order to produce more of these beautiful flowers in your garden areas, you’ll need the help of the ant. The ant comes looking for food, finds the Trillium or Corydalis seed a yummy treat and moves it to its nest. After the ants eat the part that has attracted them, they take the remainder of the seed part to their waste disposal area (which is full of nutrient rich ant debris) where the seeds then germinate. Voila’…more Trillium or Corydalis plants grow in your garden.

Okay…so the ants may be alright then. But, what about the bees? Bees in the garden are scary; after all, they do sting people. Well, you may need to understand a little about your flowers in order to see their connection to the bees and a reason to allow bees as visitors to your garden. In order for you to have beautiful blooms next year, some of your flowers may need to be pollinated.

Perfect or complete flowers have both male and female parts. The pollen produced by the male flower part must be transferred to the female flower part. This transfer is called pollination. Like the ants, the bees are simply out gathering food (nectar and pollen from flowers) for their own use. The fact that they cross-pollinate the flowers in your garden in the process is entirely secondary to their search for food.

Okay…so the ants and bees can stay, but the worms…YUCK! They’re slimy and…YUCK! Well, in all actuality, the worms may be the hardest working of all three of these garden creatures.

The worms feed on decomposing organic matter at the surface of your soil. They then go about burrowing deeply throughout your garden areas leaving channels in your soil. This channeling breaks up dirt clods, allows air in and water to enter and drain away. As the worms burrow and digest, they also eliminate at the lower depths in your soil thus providing nutrients for your plants at their roots and amending or improving your garden soil overall.

By understanding the roles that ants and bees and worms play in your garden will help you to learn to welcome these creatures as hard-working helpers and gardening friends.

About the author:
Robin, a gardening enthusiast, published and manages a website for people wanting to get their flower garden set up quickly ‘n easily.

Buy the Book: Good Bugs For Your Garden

Some of the most important organic fertilizers are fish emulsion, seaweed, earthworm castings, bone meal, kelp meal, and rock phosphates. These natural fertilizers will improve your plants, especially yield plants, and are great for the soil. Not only do they nourish your plants but the soil as well so that it is healthy enough to support whatever you decide to plant. It is quite easy to match the organic fertilizer to the plant you need it for thus improving the plants and making them healthier. They also tell you how often to use them so that you don’t overdo. Some fertilizers are longer lasting and do not have to be applied as often.

Fish Emulsion and Seaweed
This combination of organic fertilizer is just about as good as one can get. It is high in trace minerals that plants need and help to establish root growth. The joining of the two makes the best complete fertilizer so there is no need to add anything else. Fish emulsions made from fish or fish by-products along with seaweed, a saltwater plant can give you a very healthy plants.

Earthworm Castings
Earthworms are burrowers. While burrowing in the soil they swallow the soil that contains organic matter. It is then ground up in the gizzard and expelled as castings. These castings aerate the soil and have over 60 trace minerals that are needed by plants. Do not use chemical fertilizers near earthworms as it is toxic to them.

Bone Meal
Due to the slow release of this organic fertilizer it is safer when transplanting new plants and lowers transplant shock. It promotes a healthy root system. Bonemeal contains calcium, nitrogen, and phosphorus and is one of the best plant foods.

Kelp Meal
This fertilizer is made from dried seaweed and is used as an additive with other organic fertilizers. It is high in plant food growth hormones which will help your plants to grow bigger and stronger. It is also thought that plants that this is used on develop a resistance to pests and disease.

Rock Phosphates
It is not only a natural source of calcium, phosphates, and trace minerals but it improves the soil and is one of the best fertilizers for transplanting young plants since it does not burn roots. It is also a slow dissolver in water which makes it last a lot longer than most others.

Organic fertilizers are the best for your garden, flowers, and your lawn. They provide natural elements to the soil and plants which is very beneficial to the environment. Today when everything we eat and use is chemically altered in one way or another it is refreshing to know that we can get back to the basics and perhaps be healthier in the future. After all most of these elements have been around for centuries.

About the Author:

Jim’s articles are from extensive research on each of his topics. You can learn more of organic and natural fertilizers by visiting: Organic Fertilizers

Buy Urban Organics All Purpose Fertilizer

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Not too many people realize it, but composting is one of the best ways to return your resources back into the earth. In a way, composting is our way of saying thank you to Mother Earth for providing us with the resources needed to feed ourselves and our families. Simply put, composting is a lot like recycling, except you don’t take your reusable goods to a recycling center, but rather you put it in a compost bin or tumbler and back into your garden.

Let’s start with a common scenario for households of two or more. In the beginning, there was food, and it was good. Fruits and vegetables were abundant, but so were the leftovers and food scraps. Instead of tossing all the food scraps into the trash where it would take up unneeded space in landfills, why not recycle it all back into the earth? Food scraps are easy enough to compost because there’s always such an abundance of it lying around, so what have you got to lose other than the scraps themselves?

Always consider what you can and cannot compost. For instance, it’s strongly advised to never, ever compost bones, meat and dairy products, fats and oils since they take too long to decompose or won’t decompose properly at all, smell really foul after half a day, and they attract all sorts of critters and wildlife. Unfortunately, not everything can be composted; I would recommend that you toss the aforementioned items in your trash and properly dispose of them. Veggie stalks, fruit rinds, apple cores and even coffee grounds are the goodies you want to compost. You wouldn’t think it, but coffee grounds are great for the composting process since they’re rich in nitrogen and aid in adding heat to your compost pile.

We know that composting is great for the earth, but why and how? Well, if you think about it, composting cuts out a lot of costs. You would be saving a lot of money on water and garbage bills just by making free natural and organic soil fertilizer for your garden and houseplants. And did I mention it would improve the vitality of your soil? By returning nutrients back into the soil that will be released over the course of a couple years, you would be maximizing the growth and health of your plants and veggies. The soil itself will also have improved aeration and drainage. And even if you’re not an avid gardener, composting takes very little of your time and like I’ve mentioned before, what have you got to lose other than your food scraps?

*Special thanks to C. Forrest McDowell, PhD and Tricia Clark-McDowell for their compost guide Home Composting Made Easy, available on Cortesia Press.

About the Author:

For an excellent selection in wood chippers and lawn sweepers, be sure to stop by Composters.com today.

Buy the Kitchen Compost Crock

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By Duong Vicki

Summer means barbeques, family gatherings, picnics, beach parties, and even more barbeques! Summer is the time of year that all your good dishware and silverware stay in their cupboards and drawers and you utilize nothing but disposable plates and cutlery. But did you ever consider how much waste that adds up at all the landfills? So many plastic utensils end up piling up landfills and aren’t being recycled, because who would even think to recycle that? A better alternative that does the job and is good for the environment that’s now catching on in the market is biodegradable cutlery.

Made from corn starch and other biodegradable “plastic” fillers, eco-friendly utensils are on the rise in popularity. Contrary to belief, they will not fall apart on you if you use them in hot items like soups, and they will not break if you use them in cold foods or desserts like ice cream. Biodegradable utensils work just like their normal plastic counterparts; the only difference is that they won’t pile up in landfills and can even be used in your compost bins.

For the avid gardener who likes to compost, these eco-friendly utensils can be highly beneficial to your garden. After you’re done using these utensils, toss them into your compost bin or heap instead of the trash can. In most cases, the packaging that the utensils come in is also biodegradable, which means you can add that to your compost bin, too.

Since they’re made out of corn starch and other eco-friendly materials, these biodegradable utensils will not harm your compost heap, adding to your nutrient-rich compost. Do keep in mind that if you plan to toss these utensils into your compost bin that it can take anywhere from six to 18 months for them to fully decompose.

So the next time you’re planning your big summer barbeque or food outing, consider using the eco-friendly alternative versus the regular plastic ware. Not only would you be reducing waste at landfills and giving back to the earth’s soil, you’ll feel good knowing that you’re doing your part to protect the earth while enjoying the barbeque.

About the author:
For a wide selection in chipper shredders and lawn sweepers, be sure to stop by Composters.com

Shop for biodegradable plates & utensils

A green home is one that is eco-friendly and is at harmony with the environment. You can help the environment by making your home greener. Here is how you can do so by adopting a more energy-efficient and earth-friendly lifestyle.

Read the following top ways to green your home.

1. Upgrade to greener appliances.
Make your home energy efficient by upgrading to greener appliances. Replace old appliances with energy-efficient models that are Energy Star rated to scale down your energy bill. According to the Energy Star site, use of energy-efficient appliances in just one in 10 homes is equal to planting 1.7 million new acres of trees.

2. Temperature control.
More than 50% of a home’s energy bill is from heating and cooling appliances. Moderating the thermostat according to the weather goes a long way in reducing energy consumption. Other energy saving methods include using a modern furnace, cleaning its air filter every month and the use of ceiling fans instead of air conditioners.

3. Saving water.
There are hundreds of ways one can save water and reduce energy consumption. A few include fitting faucets with aerators and installing water efficient low-flow toilets.

4. Clean with green products.
Buy green household cleaners that are made of natural, non-toxic substances instead of toxic ones. Carpet and window cleaners containing grain alcohol, detergents made of coconut or other plant oils etc. are bio-friendly.

5. Energy-efficient lighting.
Replace incandescent bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs). CFL bulbs use 66% less energy and last 10 times longer.

6. Use recycled paper.
Whenever you buy paper, get 100 % post-consumer recycled paper. These consume less virgin pulp and keep waste paper from ending up in landfills. You can also save more trees by opting out of junk mail lists. Using unbleached paper is more eco-friendly as the bleached paper process results in the creation of harmful byproducts. Also, eschew paper and plastic bags and carry your own cloth bags for shopping.

7. Bamboo floors.
Bamboo floors are more environmental friendly than hardwood floors. Bamboo matures in four to six years while it takes 50 to 100 years for typical hardwoods.

8. Shun plastics.
Plastics are not bio-degradable. They produce harmful greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming when processed, burned or dumped into landfills. The best way is to avoid plastics, the next best thing is to reuse and recycle them.

9. Eco-paint.
Use environmentally safe paints that are organic and solvent-free to paint your home.

10. Green your garden.
Avoid synthetic fertilizers and chemical pesticides. Instead use organic manure such as compost and non-chemical pest control methods.

by Real Estate Advisor
About the Author:

Poway Real Estate San Diego Condos Carmel Valley Real Estate

Buy the book: Green This!

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For some, figuring out where you can start composting can be a bit of a challenge. After all, there are a few things you should keep in mind, like how far the compost heap should be from your home, how to keep it hidden away from nosy neighbors and prying eyes, and how to keep rodents and wildlife from digging around in the compost. And while there are a couple options like keeping your compost under wraps in a compost tumbler or bin, there are consumers out there who look for other aesthetically attractive options. One such option is a bench that doubles as a composting bin.

Dual functional furniture is always a plus, and owning a bench that offers a composting bin option is a terrific way to hide your compost in plain sight. You may want to consider this alternative versus a normal compost bin or compost tumbler if you feel that composting out in the open may ruin or distract from your natural landscape. With a composting bench, you can fearlessly hide your compost out in the middle of your garden without it taking away from the landscape.

Some companies offer dual functional composting benches, but it you’re the do it yourself type, you can make a building project out of it. Just be sure to keep about 20 inches of height from the seat to the ground for a good sized composting bin. Another good design feature to keep in mind is to add hinges to the seat so that you can lift it up whenever you need to add water or turn the pile. It’s also important to keep in mind that your compost needs ventilation in order for it to decompose properly, so make sure that there’s plenty of slits all around the bottom bin. Be sure however, to make them small enough so that small animals can’t get in. And don’t worry about any smells coming out from beneath the bench; as long as you’re following the proper carbon to nitrogen ration (green parts to brown parts), and you’re regularly turning and adding water to your compost, it should smell earthy, not icky.

Composting is a fun process for everyone, and keeping it underneath an attractive bench is perfect for even the most discerning gardener. Literally, you can sit back and relax and let the compost do its thing!

by Duong Vicki
About the Author: For a wide selection in compost bins and rain barrels be sure to stop by Composters.com.

Buy the Book: Composting, A Step by Step Guide

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Red worms or red wiggler worms, which are different from earthworms, are the best worms to use for your composting process. You want to stay away from using earthworms because they weren’t made to be composting worms; red worms will take your food scraps, eat and digest them, making worm castings full of nutrients for your soil. Earthworms on the other hand, are burrowing worms; they’ll aerate the soil and take everything on the surface down with it. Therefore, they’ll be absolutely useless for what you want to do, which is compost!

In order to have a successful vermicomposting experience, always remember to feed your worms! Worms need food too, and they love food scraps, another reason why vermicomposting is so easy. Readily available, food scraps like wilted vegetables, fruit rinds, bread and coffee grounds are great sources of food for your worms. Just be sure to never, ever add scraps like meats, fats, oils, or dairy products because the worms will not be able to eat and digest these items properly. Another reason you do not want to put animal products in your compost is because they smell bad and attract rodents and other animals to your compost bin or heap.

Be sure to bury your food scraps in the dirt about a few inches deep underneath the dirt. This will keep the annoying fruit flies away, not to mention leaving some wiggle room for your little worms. It’s always a good idea to bury your food scraps in different areas of your worm bin so that the worms don’t get too used to convening in the same spot and so that all areas of the bin receives its fair share amount of worm castings.

After a few months you’ll notice that in place of the dirt bedding you laid out for the worms earlier, you have what we composters like to call black gold, rich fine worm castings that are ready to go into your garden. After that you’re ready to start over! A fun process that students, young children and adults will surely enjoy, vermicomposting is a terrific and acceptable way to get down and dirty with worms!

Author: Duong Vicki
About the author: For a wide selection in chipper shredders and lawn sweepers, be sure to stop by Composters.com

Buy the Book: Worms Eat My Garbage
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