We always seem to have an abundance of these three items filling our compost bin or garbage.  While great additions to the compost because of their high mineral content, you can actually get at least one more use before throwing it into the pile.  Below are ways to reuse three common items considered kitchen waste – egg shells, lemon rinds, and banana peels.

Eggshells:
1. Add crushed eggshells to the bottom of planting holes, especially for tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. These crops are susceptible to blossom end rot, which is caused by calcium deficiency. While this deficiency is most often caused by improper watering, there’s no harm in making sure your plants have a steady source of calcium. As the eggshells break down, they’ll nourish the soil, and your plants.

2. Use eggshells as tiny pots for starting seeds. Then plant the seedling, “pot” and all, into the garden.

3. Use crushed eggshells to deter slugs, snails, and cutworms. These garden pests are a real pain in the gardener’s neck, and cutworms are the worst, killing seedlings by severing the stems at soil level. All three of these pests have soft undersides, and dislike slithering across anything sharp. Crushed eggshells, applied to the soil’s surface, may help deter these pests.

Lemon Rinds:
Use lemon rinds for cleaning and degreasing. Many commercial cleansers contain lemon oil since lemon oil will naturally cut grease. Save your lemon rinds and use them like a sponge on hard to clean areas.

Gather up 12 or more lemon rinds, put them in the bathtub and fill it with cold water. Let sit overnight, then drain and wipe with a sponge. The bathtub is left sparking clean with very little elbow grease.

Banana Peels:
Polish your silverware and your leather shoes. First, remove any of the leftover stringy material from the inside of the peel, then just start rubbing the inside of the peel on your shoes or silver. When you’re done, buff up the object with a paper towel or soft cloth.

Wipe down your plants with the inside of a banana peel to remove dust and grime. Your plants will be left with a lustrous shine.

Bury dried or cut-up banana peels an inch or two deep around the base of the aphid-prone plants to deter aphids. Don’t use whole peels or the bananas themselves since they tend to be viewed as tasty treats by raccoons, squirrels, gophers, rabbits, and other animals, who will just dig them up.

Blend up banana peels to use as a fertilizer. Banana peels, like the fruit itself, are rich in potassium — an important nutrient for both you and your garden. Dry out banana peels on screens during the winter months. In early spring, grind them up in a food processor or blender and use it as a mulch to give new plants and seedlings a healthy start. Many cultivars of roses and other plants, like staghorn ferns, also benefit from the nutrients found in banana peels; simply cut up some peels and use them as plant food around your established plants.

There are many ways to compost. You can use a compost bin or tumbler, you can compost indoors using worms or you can just create a pile in an out of the way place.  The compost bins and tumblers that you see on TV or at garden centers can be pricey and directions for how to compost can be overwhelming.  Here’s an easier way – Blender Composting.

All you need is a blender and a large air tight container.  Throughout the day,  put all of your compostable scraps into an airtight container.  Old Tupperware or Rubbermaid containers work just fine, but so do empty ice cream pails – basically any type of container with a fitting lid to keep flies from noticing your scraps.  During the hot summer months, it is a good idea to keep this container in the fridge.

At the end of the day or first thing in the morning, put all the scraps into the blender, add water and blend it to a slurry or smoothie consistency.  Then pour it in the garden, in flower beds, around shrubs and trees, even some in outdoor potted plants.  If in a hurry, I just pour and go.  If you have more time, I turn a little dirt around it with a spade or hoe to mix it in.  It’s like composting at warp speed.  The organic material is instantly broken down and quickly adds nutrients to the soil.

The instant compost attracts worms like crazy which is great for your garden.  Worms cluster around the root balls of plants and feed on the decaying matter, fungi and bacteria.  They mix the soil, improve water infiltration rates, increase the humus levels and leave behind tons or rich castings each year.

So if you are not up to buying an expensive composting bin or building your own, try Blender Composting.

Weeds are not inevitable, and synthetic chemical pesticides are not the only answer. If fact, it has been known that the use of pesticides weakens the soil’s ability to retain water and beneficial nutrients. A strong healthy lawn will naturally reduce weeds and pests.  Below are several easily correctable lawn conditions that promote the growth of weeds.  Correcting these conditions is easy and inexpensive. It will invigorate your lawn and create a healthy clean environment for all.

Compaction – Compaction is an invitation for weeds. If your lawn is hard, compacted, and full of weeds, aerate to help air, water and fertilizer to enter. If you can’t stick a screwdriver easily into your soil, it is too compacted. Get together with your neighbors and rent an aerator. Once you have an established, healthy lawn, worms and birds pecking at your soil will aerate it for free!

Note: Do not aerate when it is extremely hot and dry. The best time to aerate is in spring and early fall when the soil is naturally moist and the grass is growing rapidly.

Low Mowing Height – Bad mowing practices cause many lawn problems. Mowing lower than 1 ½ to 1 ¾ inches can kill the root system by preventing photosynthesis, and mowing with a dull blade makes the turf susceptible to disease. A low mowing height also invites sunlight in for weeds to sprout.

While grass species vary across the country, most lawns are a mix of Kentucky bluegrass and fine fescue. Generally, you should keep a lawn at 3- 3 ½ inches. Mowing high allows the grass to develop deeper, drought-resistant roots systems. For the first and last cut of the season, mow to 2.5 inches. Do not mow more than 1/3 of the grass blade at a time. Keep your mower blades sharp to prevent the development and spread of fungal disease, or ask your service provider to sharpen their blades frequently.

Unbalanced Soil pH – Low pH means acidic conditions and high pH indicates alkaline conditions. If the pH is too high, your grass cannot properly absorb nutrients. Ideal pH should be between 6.5-7.0 which is slightly acidic.

Generally, lime is added to raise the pH and sulfur is added to lower the pH, and adding compost can naturally correct your pH. A soil test is highly recommended to determine the soil pH and specific nutrient needs. Contact your extension service to find out how to take a soil sample or buy a kit at your local garden center. In addition to nutrients and pH analysis, ask for organic content analysis, and request organic care recommendations. Organic content should be 5% or higher.

Low Fertility – Soil testing is the best way to determine your soil’s specific nutrient needs. Using an organic, naturally balanced fertilizer in early fall ensures good growth and root development for your grass. Nitrogen, the most abundant nutrient in lawn fertilizers promotes color and growth; however, adding too much nitrogen or quick-release synthetic fertilizers can weaken the grass, alter the pH,  and promote disease, insect, and thatch build-up.

Your grass clippings contain 58% of the nitrogen added from fertilizers, improve soil conditions, suppress disease, and reduce thatch and crabgrass. So, leave the clippings on your lawn. You can use a mulching mower and leave the leaves too.

Compost is an ideal soil conditioner adding the much-needed organic content to your soil and suppressing many turf pathogens. In the fall and spring, preferably after aerating, spread ¼ inch layer of organic or naturally-based compost over your lawn. Compost tea and worm castings are also great additions and/or an organic fertilizer.

Thatch is a dense layer of grass stems and roots on the surface of the soil. Thatch is a symptom of shallow watering and chemical fertilizer usage. When thatch layers become half inch or more, the roots will grow up within the thatch instead of in the soil, making grass susceptible to insects, disease, and weather stress. If your lawn feels spongy, you may have thatch buildup.  Thatch is reduced by aeration, topdressing with organic matter, or power raking.

In healthy lawns, earthworms and soil microorganisms break down the thatch.

Over/Under Watering and Poor Drainage – Drought conditions, excessive watering or poor drainage due to soil type are all invitations for weeds. Watering needs are very site specific, but generally speaking, a deep watering of about one-inch once a week in the early morning is best.

Your type of soil affects your drainage and is also site specific. Once you establish a deep root system from mowing high, you will need less water. Check with your local nursery for more specific recommendations and your soil type.

Low quality Grass Seed and Seeding – Grass varieties differ enormously in their quality, resistance to certain pests, tolerance to climatic conditions, growth habit and appearance. Some weeds are the result of using poor quality grass seed.

Overseed with the proper grass seed for your region to promote a dense turf that out competes weeds. Consult your extension service website to learn the best grass variety for your region and site conditions (sun or shade).

Your work to create a healthy lawn will help to protect your health, the health of the public, and the environment.

The following article is from www.beyondpesticides.com.  The study conducted at Harvard proves that natural and organic lawn care techniques will improve your lawn and lower your costs over time.  You don’t have to go about it as scientifically as they did at Harvard; however, the information here can help anyone create beautiful, environmentally friendly lawn and garden and at the same time save money. Yes, save money by going organic.

(Beyond Pesticides, October 6, 2009) What started as a one-acre pilot project and grew into a 16-acre test, is now going to be taking over the entire Harvard University campus grounds. Harvard has committed to managing its entire 80-acre campus with pesticide-free, natural, organic lawn and landscape management strategies, all the while saving tens of thousands of dollars a year.

According to the Harvard Yard Soils Restoration Project Summary Report, the pilot project was modeled after New York City’s Battery Park City Parks’ 37-acre organic landscape program that began back in 1989. The goal of the project was simply to improve soil health, develop knowledge base on how to run such programs as well as educate the campus community about the many benefits or organic lawn care.

For eight months, the one-acre test plot was extensively compared to a control plot of conventional management techniques. That one-acre underwent a process that included eliminating all toxic pesticides, testing for soil nutrients and organic material content, and adding compost teas to balance soil nutrients and reduce irrigation and nitrogen applications. The compost tea, a liquid biological amendment from the brewing vat located nearby, is made up of liquid humic acid and North Atlantic kelp as well as granular humate. In the tea are living organisms that will control pests and nourish the soil. In the spring, the turf area is core aerated, over-seeded and ½ inch layer of compost is added. A slow-release organic fertilizer is also added in late spring.

Root measurements, taken bi-weekly, were compared to the control plot. The results show that the organic plot lead to greater vitality of the turf and trees and greater soil nutrients and soil microorganism, improved root growth to five inches, and a reduced need for irrigation.

The success of the one-acre plot showing that halting synthetic toxic pesticide and fertilizer use and using only natural, organic approaches to reinvigorate soil health drew the attention of Harvard’s president, Drew Gilpin Faust, Ph.D. The one-acre blossomed to 16 acres last year and this past spring about 10 more acres were added. The pilot project and its expansion over the past months has demonstrated that the campus grounds grown organically are self sustaining, lush, and beautiful, despite heavy foot traffic. Now Harvard is calling for a phase-in of the entire campus over the next few years. Part of the campus-wide project success is in Harvard’s own composting facility, which is currently being expanded.

The September 24, 2009 New York Times article, “The Grass Is Greener at Harvard,” states that managing the grounds with an organic management approach saves the school two million gallons of water a year as irrigation needs have been reduced by 30 percent. It cost Harvard $35,000 a year to get rid of “landscape waste” from its campus grounds. Now that cost is gone, now the school keeps all grass clippings, leaves and branches it can for composting and making compost teas, which in turn saves the university an additional $10,000 from having to purchase fertilizers elsewhere.

As a kind of “soil lab,” the brainchild of Harvard’s Graduate School of Design (GSD) Professor of Landscape Architecture Michael Van Valkenburgh, these pristine plots are managed by GSD Loeb Fellow Eric T. Fleisher and carefully tended by Wayne Carbone, Manager of Harvard’s Landscape Services, and his crew. “Unlike conventional soil improvement, we are taking a very different approach,” explains Mr. Fleisher. “Instead of applying a topical, chemical fertilizer, our biological approach is to create a chemical change by infusing the soil with biological organisms from the bottom up.”

It all started with a conversation Mr. Van Valkenburgh had with Harvard University President Drew Faust as they walked through the Yard. Asked what one thing he would do to protect the Yard, Mr. Van Valkenburgh recommended soil remediation, pointing to the loss of trees in the Yard due to soil degradation and compaction. Two rows of tulip trees that once graced the area outside Massachusetts Hall died some years ago, and others have also taken the count only 12 years after they were planted due to soil degradation around the root systems. With that, a pilot study was launched.

“Michael has been working for many years on correcting the plant palette and planting conditions at Harvard Yard,” said Mr. Fleisher. “I have been working on building a program at Battery Park City for the past 19 years focusing on managing public space through completely organic means, my main focus being on soil. One of my goals as a Loeb Fellow was to prove the transferability of my program at Battery Park City to another organization.”

Unlike creating a new lawn from scratch, the challenge of remediating established soil is that it cannot be aggressively removed. Instead, the lawn is fed periodically with an “organic tea” that promotes beneficial microbial activity in the soil and promotes growth.

“The lawn takes longer to green up,” said Mr. Fleisher, “but it’s more enduring and resilient with our properly executed organic approach.”

He is often quoted as saying, “It’s not product-based. It’s knowledge-based.” In a Harvard Gazatte article he talks about the fact that “adding chemicals denies the biological, chemical, and structural complexity of soils… and that healthy plants begin with healthy soils.”

You don’t have to go to Harvard to start an organic lawn program at home or in your community. Harvard has developed materials on starting your own organic landscaping program and a calendar of when to do what to your lawn.

The New York Times article also does a good job of explaining the how’s and why’s to managing lawns and landscapes organically.

Products and articles that can guide anyone to become an expert:

Year Round Tips to maintain a beautiful, organic lawn that is safe for your children and pets – without going broke!

Organic Lawn Feed n’ Weed

Organic Lawn Conditioner

The Happy Naturals™ line of plant nutrition is made out of sea vegetables.  Why would you want to use sea vegetable fertilizers on your own lawn and garden?

The answers can be found in the book Sea Energy Agriculture The following is an excerpt from the back cover of the newest edition of the book:Sea Energy Agriculture recounts Murray’s experiments and presents his astounding conclusions. The work of this eco-ag pioneer was largely ignored during his lifetime, and his book became a lost classic – out of print for more than 25 years. Now this rare volume is once again available, with a new foreword and afterword bu the founder of Acres U.S.A., Charles Walters.” by Maynard Murray, MD.  Years ago, the prominent agricultural scientist determined that sea life is far superior in health and disease resistance compared to land plant and animal life.  Dr. Murray attributes this to the fact that sea solids including sea vegetables are full of trace minerals in a naturally balanced state.

Sea life and sea animals live much longer than land life and are naturally resistant to disease.  The sea is such a rich source of trace elements because for thousands of years, rains have rinsed and leached minerals from the land into the sea.  Dr. Murray estimates that about four billion tons of minerals along with the best quality trace elements are rinsed from the land every day.  The good news for us is that Dr. Murray’s research determined that animals and plants that are consistently fed sea vegetables can also become nutritionally balanced, strong, and disease resistant.

Soil depletion is a well known issue in modern agriculture.  While over 70 trace elements and minerals have been identified, modern agriculture only advocates the addition of four major minerals as fertilizers – Nitrogen, Potassium, Phosphorus and Lime (calcium chloride) to the soil.  While initially these fertilizers cause yields to increase, there is growing evidence that the excessive buildup of these four elements blocks the uptake of other vital trace elements from the soil and weakens plant life over time.  Because our modern soil and food supply is so seriously weakened, Dr. Murray states that he is surprised that we are able to function at all and it’s no wonder that land organisms, i.e. all plants and animals, including humans, are so vulnerable to disease.  The sea on the other hand is naturally renewing and is constantly recycling so this depletion never happens in the sea.

Dr. Murray concludes that taking advantage of the trace elements that sea vegetable fertilizers have to offer is a must for gardeners that wish to grow nutrient dense foods.  It’s no wonder that the number one selling product of The Happy Gardener is the SeaResults Micronutrient Solution™.

SeaResults Micronutrient Solution™ is made from certified organic sea vegetables. It contains over 70 trace elements, 17 key amino acids, and root growth hormones for healthy root development and lush plant growth.  One 8 oz concentrate bottle of SeaResults Micronutrient Solution™SeaResults is made from certified organic sea vegetables. It contains over 70 trace elements, 17 key amino acids, and root growth hormones for healthy root development and lush plant growth. Should be used monthly as a fertilizer supplement. Effective to use on houseplants, roses, vegetables, herbs, seedlings, flowers, shrubs and trees. makes 50 gallons of plant food, so not only is it a safe product that increases yield, nutrition, and disease resistance, it is lower cost per application compared to competing products.

Read more about Dr. Murray and his findings

Do we really understand the hazards of using conventional pesticidesPesticide – a chemical used to kill pests (as rodents or insects) in our home, lawn, and garden? There are many groups out there trying to educate us. Check out this except from Lawn Pesticide Facts and Figures at www.beyondpesticides.org, a national coalition against the misuse of pesticides.

HEALTH & EXPOSURE RISKS

• Of 30 commonly used lawn pesticides 19 have studies pointing toward carcinogensAny substance that initiates or promotes the development of cancer., 13 are linked with birth defects, 21 with reproductive effects, 15 with neurotoxicityNeurotoxicity occurs when the exposure to natural or artificial toxic substances, which are called neurotoxins, alters the normal activity of the nervous system in such a way as to cause damage to nervous tissue., 26 with liver or kidney damage, 27 are sensitizers and/or irritants, and 11 have the potential to disrupt the endocrine (hormonal) system.

• Pregnant women, infants and children, the aged and the chronically ill are at greatest risk from pesticide exposure and chemically induced immune-suppression, which can increase susceptibility to cancer.

• Scientific studies find pesticide residues such as the weed killer 2,4-D and the insecticide carbaryl inside homes, due to drift and track-in, where they contaminate air, dust, surfaces and carpets and expose children at levels ten times higher than pre-application levels.

CHILDREN & PESTICIDES

• Children take in more pesticides relative to body weight than adults and have developing organ systems that make them more vulnerable and less able to detoxify toxins.
• The National Academy of Sciences estimates 50% of lifetime pesticide exposure occurs during the first 5 years of life.
• A study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute finds home and garden pesticide use can increase the risk of childhood leukemia by almost seven times.
• Studies show low levels of exposure to actual lawn pesticide products are linked to increased rates of miscarriage, and suppression of the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems.
• Exposure to home and garden pesticides can increase a child’s likelihood of developing asthma.
• Studies link pesticides with hyperactivity, developmental delays, behavioral disorders, and motor dysfunction.
• Children ages 6-11 have higher levels of lawn chemicals in their blood than all other age categories. Biomonitoring studies find that pesticides pass from mother to child through umbilical cord blood and breast milk.

Click here to view the full factsheet.

Happy Earth Lawn and Garden offers a line of products from The Happy Gardener that are all organic non-toxic alternatives to conventional lawn and garden care. Using organic lawn care products helps reestablish healthy soil and a strong root system making lawns and gardens more naturally resistant to pests, disease and drought. Most of all using organic lawn and garden care products is safe for children, pets, backyard habitat, and the environment. We recommend the Happy Naturals™ Lawn Conditioner Part of the Happy Naturals™ line of products THG’s Lawn Conditioner increases lawn’s resistance to disease, drought, and pest. Increases root development, and enhances lawn color & vigor to create that strong healthy root system and vibrant color and Lawn Feed n’ WeedPart of the Happy Naturals™ line of products, the Lawn Feed n’ Weed is an organic blend of nitrogen and micro nutrients. It does not contaminate ground water with harmful chemicals and it’s safe to use around children and pets for pre-emergent weed control this spring.

Did you know that the air inside your home can be much more polluted than the air outside? According to scientists, indoor air can be much more polluted than outdoor air due to the materials used to build our home as well as the things we bring into our home.

Common air pollutants found in a regular household include:

Formaldehyde: Found in foam insulation, plywood, clothing, carpets, furniture, paper goods, and household cleaners.

Benzene: Found in tobacco smoke, gasoline, synthetic fibers, plastics, inks, detergents, and rubber.

Trichloroethylene: Found in dry cleaning, inks, paints, varnishes, lacquers, and adhesives.

So what should you do? Maybe buy an expensive air filtration system? There is actually a much easier way – get some houseplants! Through plants natural process of respiration, houseplants filter out toxins while increasing oxygen levels and moisture, leaving the air inside your home cleaner and healthier to breathe.

But don’t just take our word for it, ask NASA! NASA actually did a houseplant study about 20 years ago. NASA, together with the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA), conducted a study designed to find ways to purify the air in space stations, but like many of NASA’s scientific findings, their results also provided information useful to average earth-dwellers.

As we all remember from our fifth grade science class…all plants take in carbon dioxide and produce oxygen during photosynthesis (turning sunlight energy into plant food), but the NASA/ALCA study revealed that many houseplants also remove harmful elemental pollutants from the air.

The researchers tested 17 common houseplant varieties and determined that for optimal air purification, each room should have at least 2 plants in at least 6 inch containers. All tested plants were commonly available from local garden centers and did well in both moderate and low light environments.

Top 10 Houseplants (based on being easy to grow and ability to clean air):

1. Reed palm (Chamaedorea sefritzii)
2. Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
3. Janet Craig dracaena (Dracaena deremensis `Janet Craig’)
4. Weeping fig (Ficus benjamina)
5. Peace lily (Spathiphyllum `Mauna Loa’)
6. English ivy (Hedera helix)
7. Heartleaf philodendron (Philodendron scandens `oxycardium’)
8. Elephant ear philodendron (Philodendron domesticum)
9. Golden pothos (Epipiremnum aureum)
10. Selloum philodendron (Philodendron selloum)

What’s even better, these natural air filters run on sunshine; no electricity required! What could be greener than that?

Have a black thumb? Haven’t been successful with houseplants in the past? The Happy Gardener line of products can help. Check out the section on Indoor Gardening on for products that will make your houseplants green and lush. The two products that you really need are SeaResults Micronutrient Solution that you add to your plants once a month and the Pour n’Feed for Houseplants and Potted Plants that you add to your soil only twice a year. These two products plus a weekly watering is all you need.

Article was written by Rashko Dorosiev

Growing fruit, vegetables, salad greens and herbs in containers is the perfect solution for those with limited gardening time, space and resources.  There are many varieties that can grow very well in containers on your deck, patio, and balcony or anywhere with at least 6 hours of sunlight.

The Happy Gardener recently introduced an eco-friendly “Just Add Dirt” collection of container garden kits. These kits provide everything needed to successfully grow nutritious and organic vegetables and herbs.

Here is a step-by-step “how to guide” for planting and maintaining your homegrown edibles:

Step 1: Gather enough soil or soil/compost (50/50 mix) and add 1 packet of Happy Naturals Organic All-Purpose Soil Conditioner to the base soil.

Step 2: Add 2-3 inches of conditioned soil mix to the bottom of your biodegradable Eco-Pot.

Step 3: Place 1 Store n’ Feed Mat on top of the soil. The mat acts as a reservoir and provides plants with water and nutrients for up to 5-7 days.

Step 4: Fill the pot to the brim with the remaining conditioned soil mix.

Step 5: Soak your seeds in Organic SeaResults Micronutrient Solution™ (mix packet into 1 gallon of water) for 15 minutes before planting.

Step 6: Remove seeds from solution and plant at the recommended depth found on the seed packet.

Step 7: Place Eco-Pot in a location receiving at least 6 hours of daily sunlight. You may want to place a saucer under the pot to collect excess water.

Step 8: Spritz top soil every day with plain water until sprouts appear.

Step 9: Once seedlings have 2-3 leaves, add a layer of Coir Fiber to the top of the soil surrounding seedlings. This coir fiber will help keep the soil cool and retain water.

Step 10: Feed your plants once a month with Organic SeaResults Micronutrient Solution™ following the directions on the packet.

Step 11: Water as needed. Soil should be consistently damp, not wet during the hottest part of the day.

Crops well suited for container gardens include herbs such as mint, sage, rosemary, basil, thyme, parsley, dill, cilantro and lemongrass; vegetables such as potatoes, chard, lettuces, cherry and bush tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, summer squash, Asian greens and pole beans; and fruits such as strawberries, blueberries and goji berries.

The article was written by Annette Pelliccio, Founder of The Happy Gardener, and it is being published here with per permission

Toads are excellent insect eaters! Ceramic house, dimensions: 7 5/8” x 3 ¾”

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Get rid of aphids naturally with ladybugs! House is made of wood & metal, dimensions: 9” x 7” x 4”

Regular price: $30.00

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