Archive for September, 2010
Going Green! Organic Gardening
Organic gardening is all the rage and for good reason. Risks to pets people and the environment are just beginning to be understood. Becoming an organic farmer takes a little planning. Typical garden problems need to be proactively managed as opposed to correcting them after they happen.
Pesticides and toxic chemicals can build up in your system or have longterm effects on your health. Pesticide exposure has been linked to nerve damage cancer and birth defects.
Children and infants are at a dramatically increased risk for damage done by chemicals and pesticides. Children have excretory systems that are still developing. This means that they are less able to rid their bodies of chemicals consumed. Chemical damage can alter the biology of their bodies permanently causing all sorts of problems. Developing organs and tissues can suffer when chemicals block absorption of nutrients.
Needless to say avoiding chemicals and pesticides in your garden is a good step towards protecting the health and well being of yourself and your family.
To grow an organic garden you need to anticipate problems that you may encounter. Keep a garden diary to document problems that you encounter and treatments that were effective for you. This way you can adjust your planting patterns and types of plants each year. Many people find that it takes a bit of research to really have a successful organic garden.
If you have had a garden in your area before you probably already know what to expect. For example you may be able to predict that your garden will get fire ants and rabbits will make themselves at home. If you already know what you will be up against preventing problems will be easier. Talk to your neighbors if you are not sure.
Prevention is key. You really do not have to worry about many bugs. Nature has a good balance of its own and over ninety percent of bugs will not harm your plants. Simple organic solutions can help you keep bugs and animals that you do not want out of your garden.
For example human hair spread around the garden will keep out rabbits. Lavender and basil deter ants. Rosemary will repel mosquitoes. The way that you arrange your plants can help protect certain vegetables too. Garlic and peppers planted around tomatoes and squash will help protect them from harmful insects and rodents.
Finding the right balance of beneficial bugs and plants may take a little time and effort but the fruits of your labor will be well worth it. Once you have the right combination of plants caring for your organic garden is as simple as watering. Keep your garden hose on a hose reel for quick and easy access. You will love your organic garden and how easy it is to take care of.
About the writer: About the Author: Stacy Pessoney is an award winning author and writer of web content for many different web sites. She is well versed in many different areas including gardening hose reel lawn care and landscaping.
Getting Rid Of Pest Crows
Youre as intelligent as a crow wouldnt be an insult! This pest bird is amazingly intelligent. Crows are capable of memorizing garbage routes and they will forage around every Tuesday when your garbage is hauled out to the curb. They may even show up every Sunday afternoon to the family BBQ in the back yard to scavenge for leftovers. In no time at all this pest crow has parked his whole family and friends in the trees on your property. They too are family oriented and have a tendency to stay where they are born and raised. Remember the opening scene of Steele Magnolias as Drum Eatenton is shooting at birds in the trees of his back yard with his shotgun in preparation for his daughters afternoon wedding reception.
Using state of the art technology as a bird deterrent in a movie scene might not be as humorous as a shot gun in everyday life it would be a much more humane and safe way to rid your trees of pest birds. The results however would be as dramatic.
Most can spot a crow easily by its two obvious characteristics. They are big black birds about the length of a large cereal box and they make a very loud and distinct caw sound. By changing the sound of their caw they are able to communicate danger and distress as well as sending out the ring the dinner bell call to alert other crows and other species of birds. While their distinct caw is language to them to us it is not a melodic chirping of a bird but a loud and disturbing nuisance.
By day the crows are dispersed over a fairly wide area and about an hour before dusk they start to cooperatively fly back to the communal roost while gathering more flocks as they near their evening resting spot. Before this pest bird settles in for the night the noise level can be tremendous as the crow finds suitable space on its tree branch all collectively crowding into the roost bickering for their resting spot. These communal roosts can be in one location for numerous years.
It is also important to keep infested areas clean of the health risks associated with the roosting crows. The most serious health risks for people nearby an active roost site are the disease organisms growing in the accumulation of droppings feathers and debris found under where they roost. Crows and other birds that roost in one place over a period of time may harbor the fungus Histoplasma capsulatum that causes the acute respiratory disease histoplasmosis which is caused by breathing in the spores spawned from the roost.
Humane and effective bird control products are available to keep pest crows away from your property. Sonic devices work well in outdoor areas that crows inhabit. They have the ability to scare birds away using the target birds own distress calls and predator calls. These units can cover up to six acres. The sonic sound system from Absolute Bird Control the Bird Chase Super Sonic can work to rid over 20 different types of birds. You simply select your target bird and it plays a distress caw for 2 minutes it then stops for 10 minutes and repeats. You can adjust the volume and time to play day or night. For larger areas as in agricultural regions parks golf courses and campuses there are satellite speakers that can be added to expand the range of effectiveness covering six acres.
As easy as watering the lawn with a sprinkling system you can get rid of pest crows with the Bird Chase Super Sonic.
For more information on the Bird Chase Super Sonic or to purchase visit www.absolutebirdcontrol.com
About the writer: Kathy lives in Southern California where she enjoys writing knitting and crochet.
Gardening Mistakes – Common Issues
If you are a novice or even an experienced gardener it’s probably very likely that you have made more than a few gardening mistakes in your past. Sometimes these mistakes may have been very minor and completely unnoticeable. Other times these mistakes may have cost you a great deal of time effort and money. So before you begin gardening this season let’s take a look at some common gardening mistakes some people make and try to learn from them.
When you begin gardening your first concern should be the soil. Many people overlook the importance of this and skip this step. You must prepare the soil before planting anything. If you skip this step you have set you plants up to fail. Your soil must be loosened and replenished. You can add topsoil but this alone is too heavy and must be mixed with peat moss or something similar. You want to start your plants off in a healthy environment.
Planting too early is also a mistake. The first sign of warm weather makes us want to break into our soil and fill it with plants but if we plant too early our plants can be ruined or weakened from the night’s low temperatures. You shouldn’t plant until temperatures stay above 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Planting too close together is also a mistake. We try to compensate by crowding our plants to have a fuller look. But what we really need to do is space them properly. So consider a plant’s width when putting them in the soil. They need room to spread and grow.
Sometimes we also plant too deep committing yet another mistake. This may not allow for the sunlight to reach the roots for proper nutrition. The hole we dig should be almost the same size as the root ball. In addition when removing the plant from the plastic tray you bought them in you must check the root balls. If they are bound up and twisted open them up and spread them. This will allow the roots to spread for good growth.
Also it is important to know where your plants should be planted. A plant that does better in shade will not fare well in direct sunlight all day. In addition consider a plant’s height you don’t want your tallest plant in the front row of your garden bed hiding the plants behind it.
Once planted you will need to weed. If you don’t it will be yet another mistake. Weeds compete with plants for nutrients water and light. By weeding you will be promoting strong growth for your plants.
Watering is another area where we make mistakes. Plants should be watered well when first planted and frequently thereafter. Frequent daily watering is not any good if you don’t water them deeply enough. You need to water the plants sufficiently to create a water reservoir for them under the soil. This will keep the soil around the roots moist in hot weather. Also never water during the hottest part of the day.
We all make mistakes no matter what we are doing. In gardening mistakes can have a devastating effect. The more knowledgeable we are about gardening the fewer mistakes we will make. By caring for out plants and being aware of the plant’s conditions we can avoid many mistakes and have a lush garden to relax in all summer.
About the writer: More Gardening Articles at http://www.eGardeningToday.com. Learn how to operate a Successful Adsense Website Network at http://eWebCreator.com. Matthew Hick has been designing profitable Niche Adsense Websites for over 5 years.