It is fall again, and we have harvested all of our garden produce and are making sure our outside faucets are protected against winter’s freeze. The leaves are changing color and tumbling from the trees—and that means fall cleanup in the yard and garden. For many people fall cleanup means cutting all the seed heads and stems off the flowers and raking up all of the leaves. A tidy garden and yard are what many people strive to achieve. Everything clipped back, leaves raked and removed, messy piles of branches put in the green bin for pick up. This tidiness may look nice to us, but it is not good…
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Save Our Pollinators
Convert Your Backyard to a Bee Lawn Dear EarthTalk: What is a “pollinator lawn” and how can I make one in my backyard? —Jane W., Westbrook, CT Bees and other pollinators are essential for growing a great deal of nature’s finest foods. These include coffee, chocolate, beans, many fruits including apples, avocados, blueberries, cherries, and peaches, nuts like almonds and cashews, and vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussel’s sprouts, just to name a few. More than 100 U.S.-grown crops rely on pollinators. Small birds and animals also depend on a variety of pollinated wild fruits and seeds to survive. Unfortunately, the populations of bees and other pollinators, including hummingbirds, butterflies,…
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Cordless Electric Yard Tools
About 6 years ago, we ran an article on switching your gasoline-powered lawn and garden tools to all battery-electric versions, and since then, there have been a lot of changes—time for an update. The first change is in the number of makes and models available today. A Google search for electric yard tools will bring up more than 30 brands, and each brand can have multiple types of tools (lawnmowers, edgers, leaf blowers, etc.), as well as a selection of models for many of the different tools. For instance, walk-behind lawn mowers are available in 14-inch cut to 25-inch cut and as either push or self-propelled. This range of choices…
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Herbs can be a Green investment
Green investing typically brings to mind backing practices that support sustainable pro-environment practices. What better investment than the green in your garden? Specifically with herbs! Besides having many benefits for people and animals, herbs can be easily grown in all kinds of spaces, even containers. Furthermore, their fragrance, flavor, and fun can only be considered sustainable, definitely pro-environment, and even joyful. Here are some of the benefits of investing in herbs, along with specific ideas for herbs to focus your investing energy on. Culinary We think of herbs as delightful additions to whatever we cook and eat. Fresh or dried herbs bring out tastes from tangy/ spicy to sweet/tart. A…
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Strong Organic and Non-GMO Sales are “Silver Lining to Catastrophic Dark Clouds” of Pandemic
Sales of both organic and non-GMO products have accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Errol Schweizer, advisor to the natural food industry and board member of the Non-GMO Project Speaking at the Organic & Non-GMO Forum, Schweizer quoted data from market research firm SPINS, showing that in October 2020, sales of organic products had increased by 13.1% and that sales of non-GMO products were up by 13% over the previous year. These numbers are significant because organic sales had grown by just 3.1% and non-GMO by 0.5% a year earlier. “These are the highest numbers (for organic and non-GMO) that I’ve seen by SPINS in years,” said Schweizer, who…
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EIGHTH ANNUAL MORROW COUNTY HARVEST FESTIVAL
FREE COMMUNITY EVENT CELEBRATING LOCAL ARTISANS, PRODUCE, AND FAMILY FUN October 2, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm101 Olson Road, Boardman, OR SAVE THE DATE! We’re so glad to be back in any fashion for the 8th annual Morrow County Harvest Festival presented by the SAGE Center. The Morrow County Harvest Festival will be exclusively outdoors. It will feature a variety of vendors with high-quality, regionally produced agricultural goods, and handmade artisan crafts. Returning this year, Threemile Canyon Farms will provide an opportunity for attendees to “fill-a-bag” full of locally grown produce in exchange for a small donation to a local 4-H program. Pack a grocery bag full of traditionally…
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Urban Singles and Food Waste;
How to Use What You Already Have As someone who wastes an extraordinary amount of food, The Earth Day celebration during a pandemic and economic uncertainty has me changing my ways. No more pretending “cleaning out the fridge” every two weeks doesn’t impact others and the natural world we share. My love of food and the joy of cooking leads me to make frequent complicated meals while living alone. My raccoon-like interest in the next shiny thing kept leftovers I’d already eaten a few times in the back of the fridge. Even if I did want some of that marvelous vegetable lasagne, I wasn’t sure if it was safe to…
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Native Plants in the Pacific NW
& How You Can Incorporate Them Into Your Garden The last twenty years have seen a growing interest in gardening with native plants. The term “native” has several meanings, depending upon the context. “Native” is used to mean a plant species that has been in a specific region for hundreds of thousands of years and continues to be present in the landscape. Dinosaurs were surrounded by Araucaria, known today as Monkey Puzzle trees, and other conifer species; ferns, rhododendrons, and horsetail. So, these plants may be as old as 135- 180 million years. It doesn’t get more native than that. Another definition of “native” plants is that the species has…
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Why You Should Consider Keeping a Garden Planner & Journal
Whether you have a container garden on your patio or a 4000 sq. foot garden like me keeping a garden planner and journal is one of the best investments you can make. At least, that’s what all the experts say. I have a confession: I have failed miserably at this important task. I have tried all kinds of planners: purchased and self-made, simple and complex, paper, and digital. But usually around June, I have abandoned my efforts to keep records. In the dark days of winter, I lament my absence of notes, relying on my mid-life brain to recall things that quite frankly, it can’t. But this year is different:…
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How to Compost in Your Apartment
While tossing orange peels and coffee grounds in the garbage might seem inconsequential, sending food waste to landfills has a real impact on climate change. When trapped without air, decomposing food in landfills produces methane: a greenhouse gas that’s at least 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in the short term. As much as we try to cut down on food waste in our kitchens, there will always be leftover banana peels, apple cores and other things that can’t be used – much of which can be diverted from landfills by composting. Composting recycles organic material and allows for the natural processes that decompose food, yard waste and other organics to create a nutrient-rich, natural fertilizer. Compost piles heat up…
