Posts Tagged: organic

Babies-Toddler — Comments Off
26
Jun 11

Buying Organic Cotton Baby Clothing

People are nowadays becoming increasingly aware that we need to protect our environment. That is why we are seeing a lot of sustainable development plans that have been produced by many companies. Many companies are now manufacturing organic baby clothing for infants and parents are quickly adopting these materials.

Organic cotton baby clothing has recently made its apparition in the world of baby clothes and there are many parents that are switching to this material. They are finding it helps look after the future of their world for all the family.

One of the disadvantages of organic cotton baby clothing is that it is relatively expensive compared to ordinary clothing. Despite this difference in price parents are ready to buy organic baby clothing for their kids because it is safer for their health.

Organic Cotton

Organic cotton is cotton that has been made without the use of chemicals. In this way the environment is not affected. Natural methods for fertilising the cotton plants are used and pesticides usage is avoided or kept to a minimum to ensure that there is the minimal possible impact on the environment. This kind of production method ensures that the cotton that is obtained is natural.

Organic cotton baby clothing

Organic cotton clothing are made from these organic cotton in strict conditions that ensure that the environment is not adversely affected. There are even companies that use dyes that are not that harsh to ensure that their clothes are as natural as possible. Parents should be aware that organic baby clothing are clothes that has gone through the most rigorous quality control to ensure that they are as natural as possible.

Cautions when buying organic clothing

There are some companies that sell clothes that are made from standard cotton and label these clothes as organic cotton. When buying organic cotton baby clothing parents are advised to check the label to know the composition of the clothes. Parents should insist to get only clothes that are made of 100 per cent organic cotton to ensure that they are getting the best product.

Parents will also be better off in trusting a well known brand when buying organic baby clothing in order to avoid some unpleasant surprise.

When choosing organic cotton baby clothing for their infants they are not only providing an additional protection to the health of their kids but also ensuring that they are leaving the Earth in a good state for them.

Gardening — Comments Off
8
May 11

Organic Gardening – How Organic Matter Fuels the Soil Food Web

Organic matter that is stored in your gardens soil is the energy and nutrients that are needed for plants and other organisms to survive. Bacteria, fungi along with other soil dwelling organisms are what transforms this organic matter into the nutrients that plants need to thrive.

There are many different kinds of organic matter compounds and there are ones that are more useful than others. There is organic matter that is in the form of humus and active. Humus is the decomposed organic matter that has reached a point where it will no longer decompose or further breakdown and the active organic matter is what is readily available to the living organisms in the soil to feed from and decompose into a nutrient rich humus.

Excessive turning of your gardens soil will increase spurts of activity with the bacteria and other organic matter consuming organisms but will deplete the active potion first. Building up organic matter and reducing the amount of times you turn over the soil will raise the active portion of the organic matter which in return will provide an environment that the soil dwelling organisms will call home and work hard for you to improve your gardens soil structure.

No- Till, Lasagna and even Straw Bale Gardening are all good methods of gardening that will greatly benefit the highly diversified community of life that lives in your gardens soil. This life is what makes for a healthy garden soil that in return will provide for a healthy, high yielding and very productive crop. It not only make for a healthy garden but by growing healthy plants it will also benefit by keeping the air that we breathe and the water that we drink clean.

A environment friendly and healthy way of gardening. Organic Gardening is away of gardening in harmony with nature. Growing a healthy and productive crop in a way that is healthier for both you and the environment.

John Yazo

Gardening — Comments Off
6
May 11

Leaf Mold is an Excellent Soil Conditioner

When fall comes around there is no shortage of leaves. There is something that you can do with the leaves that will benefit your garden. Turn your leaves into a free soil conditioner.

Leaf mold is a soil conditioner with low fertility. It is mainly used to improve the structure of soil by improving both water retention and drainage. It is also excellent to be used as a mulch,it can suppress weed growth and prevent evaporation. The earthworms love it and work hard to blend it into the soil for you. It is also good to use as a potting mix amendment for raising seedlings. A Mixture of equal parts of leaf mold, loam and compost make a good multi-purpose potting compost mix.

Leaves also are a great way to cover exposed soil in your garden beds over winter,piling leaves onto the soil surface will protect the soil from erosion due too heavy winter rains.This will protect the soil structure and the leaves can be dug into the soil or added to your compost pile in the spring.

Leaf mold is very easy to make. Just rake and collect all your leaves then put them into one place and let them to rot. You can also make a leaf mold bin just like a compost bin with 4 stakes and some wire mesh, or you can even put leaves into plastic bags to decompose. The containers that you use don’t really matter, as long as the leaves get moisture either by rain or you will have to wet leaves. If you’re using plastic bags then you will need to provide a few air holes in the bags.

Now all you need is time and patience. Some of the leaves will take longer to break down than other ones will. Once spring comes around you will have partially rotted leaves that can be used as a mulch. If you want fully composted leaves then leave them decomposing until fall. Once you start making leaf mold year after year you will soon have a full steady supply.

Gardening — Comments Off
29
Apr 11

Organic Gardening – How to Improve Your Garden’s Soil to Best Benefit Your Heirloom Tomatoes

Tomatoes can be a very productive crop if the condition they are planting in are favorable for them. They are a crop that likes a loose, nutrient rich organic soil structure.

Improving the soil where tomatoes are planted can be very beneficial for a good crop. Tomatoes need a loose, rich soil so they can spread their root system deep and easily. By mixing plenty of organic matter into the garden is an ideal way to improve the soil that you plant them in. Compost and composted manure are two of the best organic amendments to use when improving the soils structure for your tomatoes. another important part of improving the soil is to do a pH test of the soil. Tomatoes do best in a neutral to slightly acid soil, they absorb nutrients they need best when the pH level is between 6.5 to 7.0. Keeping the soil in the lower part of this range will help prevent a condition tomatoes get known as “yellow shoulder.”

To prepare your gardens soil for your tomatoes, dig in compost or composted manure deeply into your garden beds. Using aged or composted manure when amending your gardens soil can also be done in the spring. Remember that roots of tomato plants love to travel and will grow out as well as down. when preparing the soil for your tomatoes you can at the same time mix in a slow release organic fertilizer, along with some lime if needed.

When you take care of your gardens soil it will take care of you by providing a healthy, high yielding crop for you to enjoy.

Gardening — Comments Off
12
Mar 11

Home Vegetable Gardening – Recycling Food Waste

San Francisco, California recently enacted a law where people will put their food scraps in a red container and have that container picked up by the local municipality waste collection department. The idea is to separate the food waste from other garbage so the food wastes can be recycled into compost.

While the concept of what they are doing is a noble one, the cost to do it makes no sense whatsoever. The reason being is the fuel used to power the trucks to pick up the food waste is a far much more expenditure than the resulting compost that can be produced.

A better solution to recycling food waste into useable compost is the one I am about to outline here in this article. It requires little effort on your part and absolutely no cost in fuel and transportation. The best part is the ecosystem does all of the work for you.

Every person in North America creates some kind of food waste. Obviously the larger family you have the more likely you are going to create a larger amount of waste. Most people do one of two things with that food waste. They either flush down their sink via the means of a garbage disposal, or they simply throw it in the regular trash. Both methods are wasting what could be the best fertilizer for your soil.

When food waste is broken down by bacteria and other living organisms the result is compost. This compost, when added to your soil, increases the amount micro and macro nutrients required to grow strong and healthy plants.

The food recycle method I am about to describe is what I call the lazy person’s method. Why? Because it requires no “real” physical activity on your part. Here is how it is done.

Get yourself a container of some sort, I like to use a large Tupperware bowl. This is the container where you will putt all of your food scraps. Any food waste that would normally go into the trash or down the sink will now go into this container.

What goes into the container? Left over dinner, shredded newspaper, cotton clothing with plastic and metal pieces removed, coffee grinds and filters, tea bags and so on. What does not go into the container? Chicken or steaks bones, aluminum foil, plastics, laminated paper etc.

Now that your container is full what do you do with it? Grab yourself a shovel, go to your backyard and dig a hole about 18 inches deep. Then pour the contents of your container into that hole and then cover with the dirt. You have just now recycled your food waste. From this point forward the ecosystem that lives underneath your soil will take over. Worms, bacteria and other organisms will break this down for you and turn it into compost.

That’s it! You just recycle your food waste and didn’t have to pay someone to haul it away. Just remember to mark the spot where you buried the food waste and do not dig in that same spot within 60 days.

I have been using this method my entire life, first helping my dad with his garden and now with my own and the results to my vegetable gardening have been incredible and I know yours will too. Watch as you continue to use this method as the volume of your soil will actually increase!

Parenting — Comments Off
16
Feb 11

Creating Dinner Without a Plan

Planning dinner every night would be ideal. In reality, life just doesn’t work that way, at least not in our house.
Tonight my husband asked “What’ for dinner?” My response? Uh, what do you want. As usual he had no opinion so I was left to think of what was in the back of the freezer that I could pull together. Of course, we could have eaten out, but we are really conscious of those decisions #1 for the chemicals it the food and #2 the economy right now takes the buzz out of restaurants.

So here are the results of the dinner scavenger hunt:

  • Organic chicken wings, frozen, cooked in skillet with all natural HOT sauce.
  • Organic pulled roast with bbq sauce, in the freezer from a few weeks ago
  • Buns
  • A pretty, almost rainbow, salad including pine nuts and a variety of organic dressings

I served it all up with pretty plates and wine glasses filled with water and a splash of organic juice for color. The family was happy and tummy’s were full. They were impressed with the presentation & taste. I was impressed at the full meal in under 20 minutes simply from what was hiding in our house.

Total Cost Organic Meal for a family of four: $15-$17, including all the trimmings.

Ever worry about the family not getting what they need in a meal? Pull together some fruits and veggies and supplement with a toxin/chemical free meal shake that will feel just like dessert! Most importantly remember that dinner is not a chore, but a an excuse to get the family together and fill yourselves with both the nutrition and the connections that we all need to make it through the day.

Gardening — Comments Off
12
Jan 11

Organic Gardening – The Opalka Heirloom Tomato

A heirloom original from Poland. The Opalka Heirloom Tomato is one of the best tasting paste tomatoes. It has a 5-inch long fruit shaped like a banana pepper and with a pronounced tip on it end. It has very few seeds and is extremely meaty, along with being loaded with a rich sweet flavor that makes it appealing for sauce.

The Opalka was brought from Poland to New York around 1900. This variety of tomato has a wispy foliage, and is very productive. Without a doubt it is one of the best tasting sauce tomatoes. It’s flavor is much richer and sweeter than most other paste tomatoes. This tomato is so delicious you can eat them straight off the vine. Sauces using this nearly seedless fruit are something special. This bright red elongated 3 to 5 inch fruit is produced in clusters of 2 to 5 on a vigorous growing, high-yielding, indeterminate plant and it’s fruit hold well on the vine.

There is nothing better than growing heirloom varieties of the crops you and your family enjoy the most. Being a heirloom tomato you can save the seed from this plants fruit and pass it down to family members and friends for years to come. That is one of the enjoyable parts of growing heirloom crops. They are a way of sharing the crops you love and grow.

The bull horn shape Opalka Heirloom Tomato is outstanding for canning, sauces and salsa. With it’s refreshing sweetness and favorable taste, makes it excellent for fresh eating right off the vine.

Gardening — Comments Off
17
Dec 10

It’s Never Too Early to Think About Planting Your Garden

Winter is here and there is nothing that can be done about it. All we can do is just sit, wait and stare out at the garden in the backyard and dream about the lush green foliage and ripe juicy vegetables that we wish you can be growing right now. Cabin fever is a depressing time for gardeners.

Believe it or not, this can be the most productive time you have to get you garden planned out the way you always wanted it. There are allot of things that can be done that can make the winter months go by quicker. This is the best time to plan the garden, search out new varieties that you can plant, organize your supplies and put a list together of things you will need to start your garden.

Start by first drawing your garden out on a sheet of paper and making a list of the crops you want to plant. Once you have this done put a number, letter or symbol next to each crop that can be used to mark the location you want to plant on the drawing.

The next step is to decide what your goals are for your garden, method of soil maintenance, crop rotation and companion planting. These are three major techniques that are greatly beneficial to an organic garden. When including these methods you will need to make three copies of you drawing and list so that you can put a three year plan together. Crop rotation is very beneficial to the improvement of the soil structure and the replenishment of nutrients back into your gardens soil.

Soil maintenance is a very important part of organic gardening. The use of techniques like crop rotation, companion planting and the use of cover crop are a great way to improve the structure of the soil in your garden.

Organic weed control is another part of gardening that can be planed out. Are you going to mulch with compost, straw or leaves that you have saved from your fall yard cleaning. Different mulches effect the soil differently. Testing your soil and having the results for that specific area and knowing what crop you are planting there will help you decide what mulch you should use for that specific crop.

Putting a good plan in place for your organic garden will benefit your garden greatly. Having a good system that improves the soil structure will also benefit in the prevention of insect and disease control. Once the plan is established stay with it. Changing from your plan half way through it wont have any benefit to you or your garden.

Gardening — Comments Off
5
Dec 10

Treating Your Growing Garden With Care

The plants are all nestled and snug in their beds. So…. what’s next? Depending on what you’ve planted and your zone, will determine how often you will need to water. I usually爓atch my plants to see telltale signs of their needing water. Wilting is a DEAD give away爃owever, and we don’t want to wait till that happens.

I stick my finger straight down into the topsoil to see how much resistance I get. If I燾an’t get up to my second knuckle then it needs to be watered. Water deep to promote strong爎oots and then wait a day. If the weather is exceptionally dry and hot you may need to爓ater every day. Other wise it is beneficial to let the soil dry a little so you don’t燾ultivate any damaging fungus or bacteria.

Feeding your beds should be done according to the type of plants you have planted. Using爐he directions provided on the organic or inorganic fertilizers bought from the store will爂uide you in a feeding regimen. However if you use a homemade solution, once every other爓eek should be enough.營 usually weed weekly to keep the plants from being choked by the roots of the weeds. If爐he weeds are difficult to pull out, just soak the ground and the weeds will pull out爀asier.

Lets try a few tricks to keep the animals from eating up our efforts. I use Human hair. Yes that’s right, human hair on the soil to keep rabbits, skunks and many other pests from entering the garden. I usually go to the nearby barber who will always have enough hair for爉e to use. I also plant marigolds around my garden, which also deters these animals.燭he combination of爐hese combatants爑sually does the trick. I also put a low garden爁ence around it but that’s for my dog. He likes tomatoes.

Now we are into the part where we can enjoy our efforts. The flowers will start flourishing燼nd the veggies will start growing and become ripe,juicy and ready for eating. My favorite爉eal is stuffed peppers made with my homegrown peppers and tomatoes. I am sure you could爐hink of many other things to make with your veggies. Then you can top it all off with a燽ouquet of the prettiest flowers grown in the neighborhood, from your very own garden.

Gardening — Comments Off
22
Oct 10

Home Vegetable Gardening – Growing Arugula

Arugula is a very popular green to add to any salad or as a stand alone side to your dinner or lunch. And who can resist, it is enriched with plenty of Vitamins A, C, K and Folate as well as the nutritional minerals Calcium and Potassium. Its rich peppery taste also makes arugula a good choice to use in pasta dishes. Here is how you can grow some great tasting arugula in your home vegetable garden.

Arugula is a colder weather crop and germinates best in a soil temperature in the range of forty to fifty-five degrees Fahrenheit. As soon as you work the soil (after the freeze is over) you can begin planting arugula.

Arugula is typical to many other vegetables in that it likes a pH level in the soil to be as neutral as possible. Test your soil to make sure the level sits above six and as close to seven as possible. You can get a pH soil tester at any home or garden center for a few bucks.

Sow the arugula seeds no deeper than a quarter inch and no closer than six inches. This gives the seed the ability to break through the top soil and the roots to spread out and grow strong underneath.

Arugula requires moderate and even watering and if you are growing it in a cold frame you can lighten up the water even further. It can grow in full sun but also grows well in partial shade making this plant very versatile as far as where you can place it in the garden.

When the arugula leaves are two to three inches they are ready to be harvested. This usually occurs as soon as 3 weeks after the seeds germinate. Simply cut the leaves off, give them a quick rinse and pat dry with a paper towel and they are ready for consumption.

Good companion plants include beets, carrots, cucumbers, potatoes and spinach where as bad companion plants include pole beans and strawberries.

There are many healthy benefits to this great addition to your home vegetable garden, but as you can also see, it is very easy to grow, and you can add it to your early spring and late fall crop.

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