Healthy News and Information by Hannah Kastoryano Cinnamon. It’s delicious AND nutritious for us. BUT did you know it’s beneficial for plants too? We’ve written countless times about adding more cinnamon to our diets. 1-Seedlings Imagine little sea turtles tucked away in their little sandy womb, breaking their little shells, climbing to the harsh surface, and running to the ocean for shelter. There may be no birds or sharks attacking the seeds, but there are diseases. 2-Wild Mushrooms As mentioned earlier with my little sead turtle analogy, mushrooms don’t like cinnamon. 3-Rooting Hormone Rooting hormone stimulates root growth. 4-Ant Deterrent We love cinnamon. 5-Plant Wounds Accidentally cutting or wounding your plants may make you feel guilty and apologetic to your plant. 6-House Plants Don’t forget about your indoor plants while pruning your outdoor ones. Cinnamon is a natural and affordable way to keep you and your plants healthy and flourishing! Source: Share: Comments comments
Composting: A timetable Everyone knows that composting your fruit and vegetable scraps and other biological material is much better than sending those scraps to the city dump, where they would turn into methane gas. But one thing people usually don't consider when starting a compost pile is how long it will take to turn into ripe compost. Here is a simple guide to give you an idea of how long it will take, using different composting methods. Hot Turn: 20 Days Hot turn piles are the most labor intensive and have more demanding basic requirements, but they produce finished compost much faster than other methods. Slow No Turn: 3-12 Months The easiest way to compost is to set up a pile in your yard where you dump your food scraps, leaves, lawn and yard clippings and simply let them naturally decompose. Worm Bin: 1-3 Months With worm bin composting, the more well-established the worms are in numbers the quicker they are able to process food scraps. Black Soldier Fly: 3 Weeks This article was reprinted with permission.
Building a Two-Can Bioreactor Purpose Two-can bioreactors are designed to be used as small-scall indoor composting units for families, and for composting as an educational tool in the classroom. Materials 32-gallon plastic garbage can 20-gallon plastic garbage can drill brick spigot (optional) duct tape (optional) insulation (optional) Construction Using a drill, make 15 to 20 holes (0.5" to 1" diameter) through the bottom of the 20-gallon can. Note: A system of 10-gallon plastic garbage cans that can fit inside 20-gallon cans can be substituted if space is a problem. The composting process in the cans will take from three to five weeks. Credits
30 Unexpected and Unusual Things You Can Compost | Green Composting isn't just for food, silly! You'll be surprised at all the strange, random junk you can toss in the compost bucket. Don't draw the line at peach pits and coffee grounds - start chucking the following items into that bucket and watch your garbage bill go down while you create top-drawer dirt (and help the planet, of course). 1. 2. 3. magazines 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. cereal boxes 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. matches 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. It may seem like weird science, but all of the above objects are fully compostable. Sources: Cheap Like Me, Gorgeously Green by Sophie Uliano ALSO CHECK OUT: 5 Steps for Better Recycling10 Bearable Alternatives to Indoor Composting12 Clever Ways to Reuse Coffee Grounds10 Things You Can't Recycle Images: johndan, theseanster93, pawpaw67, laszlo-photo
Healthy News and Information by ARIANA MARISOL Peanuts are not actually nuts, they are a vegetable that belongs to the legume family. Learn how to grow peanuts in your garden and enjoy the benefits of this hassle free, delicious crop. Peanuts are native to South America and take about 120 days tomature. The plant is hardy and can withstand light spring and fall frosts. Although peanut plants are normally considered to be Southern crops, Northern gardeners can grow them successfully if they start the plants indoors, and use certain varieties that can withstand cooler climates. Planting Peanuts require full sun and soil with good drainage. Peanut seeds can be planted hulled or unhulled but be sure not to remove the thin, pinkish brown seed coverings, otherwise the seed will not germinate. If you live in a cooler climate, start your peanut plant indoors in a large pot about a month before the last frost. If you live in a warmer climate, plant your crop outdoors around the last expected frost. Growing Harvesting Share:
Compost in 18 Days - Iceweasel Compost in 18 Days: The Berkley MethodBy Douglas Barnes We all know that compost is an excellent fertilizer for plants. It is also a sensible way to deal with organic wastes. Image by Scott A. Lovely things bacteria. So you’ve guessed by now that we are going to partner with these little bacteria to create our compost. Again, you don’t need a scale. When I was a boy, I was not too good at cutting meat, particularly steak. Mix up your material – a pitchfork can really help you here. With the mixing done and the watering right, set a tarp over the pile and leave it 4 days. A pile near completion. On the sixth day, take the tarp off and stick your arm in the pile. After day 6, turn the pile every 2 days, checking the water content as you go and putting the tarp back over the top each time. Troubleshooting Things don’t always go according to plan. On day 6, you grit your teeth, stick your arm in the pile and find it is not hot. Inside the pile is there a white powdery substance?
Butler SWCD: Pond advice What information is available regarding pond construction and maintenance? The Butler SWCD has a wide variety of fact sheets and other publications which focus on different aspects of pond construction, wildlife, fish, and plant life. Stop in and ask to see the "Pond Reference Guide". Some of the items on our "suggested reading" list include, but are certainly not limited to those listed below. Ponds: For Work or Play- includes pond types, spillway requirements, design suggestions, construction hints, site selection tips, sealing and safety. Pond Clinics Two programs are held each spring to provide information about a variety of pond issues; management, stocking, weeds, wildlife, etc. Before the program starts, someone is available for plant identification, so bring in a wet sample of your pesky plant. Is someone able to come out to my property and provide some advice? Yes, but scheduling is tight. Is there someone you would recommend to build my new pond?
Healthy Facts About Those Roly Poly Bugs In Your Yard Photo credit: bigstock.com Everyone knows what roly poly bugs are! You might call them by a different name: Woodlice, pill bugs, wood louse, even armadillo bugs. No matter what you call them, almost every child in the world had pulled up a log or brick and found these tiny grey bugs, touched them so that they rolled up into a ball, and then played with them for a while. What few people realize is that these roly poly bugs feed on decaying matter, improving our soil. If you have previously dismissed these little guys as nothing more than bugs, you should think twice. It’s good to know that pill bugs love fungus! When you first plant seeds or very small seedlings, you might want to remove any pill bugs you find, and put them in a pot with lots of decaying matter until your plants get a bit larger. One really cool thing about these little grey garden workers is that they remove heavy metals from the soil. READ ALSO: DIY Insect Traps: No Chemicals, No More Bugs, No Diseases! References:
Hot Compost – Composting in 18 Days « Deep Green Permaculture - Iceweasel Regular composting, also known as “cold composting”, involves placing a variety of organic materials in a compost bin, enclosure, or even just in a large heap, and leaving it there until it breaks down several months later. It’s a very slow process and typically takes 6 to 12 months. It can be sped up by turning the compost, that is, moving around the material at the bottom of the heap to the top and vice versa to mix it up and get more oxygen in there, but it’s still a long wait. The other approach to composting is “hot composting”, which produces compost in a much shorter time. Cold composting does not destroy pathogens either, so if you put diseased plants into your cold compost, the diseases may spread into the garden, hence the common advice not to (cold) compost diseased plants. The requirements for hot composting using the Berkley method are as follows: With the 18 day Berkley method, the procedure is quite straightforward: Composting Materials and the Carbon-Nitrogen Balance
Rain barrels: Butler SWCD Rain barrels, considered by many as outdated technology, are on the comeback. Sure, they are old fashioned. In fact, collecting rainwater for use in barrels or other containers is an ancient practice. Historical records show that they have been used in Thailand as far back as 2,000 years ago. Residential water use typically increases 40 to 50 % during summer months due to outdoor water use. A rain barrel can reduce this usage by collecting and storing storm water from your rooftop. To keep your rain barrel safe, make sure it has either a small enough opening that a child cannot fall in, or a safety strip reducing the size of the opening. Where Can I Get A Rain Barrel? Rain barrels are becoming more popular, and so there are many sources: Butler SWCD sells rain barrels through a partnership with the Butler County Storm Water District. Check with your local garden center or stores such as Tractor Supply, Home Depot, and Lowes as they sometimes have rain barrels for sale. Tools: Supplies
Monsanto Buys Up Heirloom Seed Suppliers The NM Tree and Garden Center located in Rio Rancho, New Mexico has discovered that Monsanto is buying heirloom seed companies. They are also buying the trademarks to a number of heirloom seeds. This means that you may think you are supporting an heirloom seed company but in reality the company is owned by Monsanto. Monsanto are also buying trademarks so that no matter where you buy certain seeds, they get money from it. Here's some tips on how to avoid Monsanto. We need to all do our research when buying seeds (or any organically labelled product for that matter). In Europe we have witnessed a proactive corporate programme to buy up ethical/organic companies. This is a deliberate strategy - so much so that Triodos Bank actually have a European fund to help small organic companies stay independent and resist being bought up. Why are small organic/heirloom marques being acquired by the big global corporates? Ethics in Action Permaculture is all about Earthcare, Peoplecare and Fair shares.
Composting 101 - How to Make Compost Welcome to COMPOSTING 101, Planet Natural’s go-to guide for making nature’s most rewarding soil amendment. Time or money invested in your garden’s soil always brings the best returns: healthy, vigorous plants and great harvests. And when you keep yard waste and kitchen scraps from the landfill you’re doubly rewarded. Here you’ll find all you need to know about getting started as well as maintaining the process no matter which composting method you’ve chosen. Want to learn even more about composting? 3 Essential Elements for Perfect Compost It’s time to let you in on a little secret: soil building done like this is the perfect lazy person’s gardening project. 1. Compost bins are of two types, stationary and rotating. When using the stationary bin method, locate the pile in a sunny location so that it has as much heat as possible. 2. Skip meat, fish and dairy for outdoor bins because they tend to attract pests like mice, raccoons and dogs. 3. Avoid Common Mistakes • Don’t start too small.
Rain Gardens: Butler SWCD A rain garden is a planted depression in your yard that captures rainwater from roofs, driveways and walkways where rain water cannot be absorbed by the ground. The rain garden reduces runoff by allowing rainwater to slowly soak into the ground instead of flowing to storm drains and creeks. This reduces erosion, water pollution and flooding. Rain gardens usually are filled with native plants. Remember before you dig to call the Ohio Utilities Protection Service (OUPS) at 1-800-362-2764 to find out if there are any buried pipes or lines. "How To" Guide The Mill Creek Watershed Council of Communities, a member of the Greater Cincinnati Rain Garden Alliance, has information on rain gardens, typical plants, and a how to guide on their website. Visit Local Rain Gardens Here is a list of local rain gardens with contact info for the main contact person at each site.