Green Pest Control for Your Garden

Good news- it's nice enough to garden outside, and your plants have been getting plenty of rain.
Bad news? That also means that common garden pests will soon be out full force. If your garden contains edibles it is understandable to be hesitant towards chemical pest repellants, because you'll be eating what you're spraying them on later. So, today's blog features some great ways to deal with pests without the insecticide.

Increasing Garden Diversity
While it may seem simple, increased diversity in gardens can help deter many pests and minimize the threat of others.

Adding Compost To Your Garden
Adding compost to your garden is a great way to protect your plants from many pests, while still drawing in beneficial organisms. Before they get thrown in the compost egg shells, nut shells, and coffee grounds sprinkled around your plants will also greatly deter creepers and crawlers from entering your garden. Similarly, Banana peels deter aphids from your plants, so the finished compost overall will have a great effect on the garden and your pest problem.

Attract Natural Pest Predators 
Bird baths and feeders are a great way to lower your pest problem because to local birds these pest provide a tasty treat! Just making your garden bird friendly will lower your pest problem immensely.

Natural Made Pest Control
Mixing a small amount of soap with water does a great job at driving away a lot of pests. One great recipe we've found is:

• 1 Table Spoon Canola Oil
• A Few Drops of Ivory Soap
• 1 Quart of Water
• Shake well, poor into spray bottle.
• Spray plant from above down, and from below up to get the undersides of the leaves.

The Oil will smother the pests in their tacks.

Have any other pest problems? Let us know in the comments and we'll do our best to get you an answer!

Photo Friday

Happy friday everyone! This weekend is our Free Day at the Yard & Tree Waste Site in Ames. We figured a wood related picture would be best! This is from a wood grinding job we did last year.

Featured Article: 5 Reasons You're Killing Your Indoor Plants

With all the rainy weather we've been getting lately, we thought that a shift to indoor plant life might be better. Indoor plants often times seem much harder to keep going. Today's article goes over the most common mistakes people make with their indoor plants, and how to remedy them.

What do you think are the most common reasons for house plants dying? What are your remedies? Share in the comments!

Read the article here.

Featured Article: Turning waste into compost

We admit, we're a bit biased in our thinking that today's article is pretty great. This story features one of the customers of GreenRU, who's material is all dropped off at our Eddyville facility. As today is Earth Day, it is important to remember the real impact that a company can make by choosing to compost their organics, and just how much of the waste stream this can alter. 

GreenRU is doing some great work across Iowa to divert organics for both large and small scale customers. If you want to learn more about GreenRU and their services or Chamness Technology and ours, feel free to contact us at our respective number: 855-RU-VERDE and 855-4U2-GROW.

Read the article here.

Photo Friday

Happy Friday, everyone. Today's photo was taken earlier this week, early in the morning. What do you think?

Make sure to share your favorite shots from this week in the comments!

Featured Article: Why Bother Composting?

As a company that offers commercial composting solutions, we're a little biased when it comes to composting. However, the Huffington Post's article from yesterday summerizes our feelings on the subject particularly well.

While composting may not be glamorous or first nature for many people, the positive outcomes can't be overlooked. With less organics going to the landfill there will be less methan gas being released in the atmosphere, and it reduces the rate at which landfills are rapidly filling.

We could make our own arguments, but why not read them from an outside source. Be sure to contact us if your business is interested in diverting it's organics as well!

Read the article here

New Items to Try In Your Garden in 2013

Well, Spring has officially been here for almost a month (even if nobody told the weather)! It's about time to start finalizing projects large and small that you are planning for your garden. We love adding new items to give our gardens some personal flair. All of these items are new ideas (at leaste to us) that we love for this year's garden additions. 

Mailbox turned Tool Organizer

 Have an old mailbox laying around that you're not using? We love this idea to reuse it as a Tool Organizer for your garden.  It's a great way to keep everything at hand when you need it!

Concrete Planter

 These concrete planters are very cute! These could be great path liners in a garden or on a patio, or a centerpiece for an outdoor table.

Found Object Outdoor Art

 This Owl is made from a variety of lids and looks great on a fence or hanging from a tree. He's a quirky and fun way to add a little personality to any outdoor space!

Cedar Storage Side Table

It seems like Cedar is the unofficial wood of outdoor furniture. That works for us, especially on lovely pieces like this one, which is stylish and will keep your outdoor cushions dry!

Have another great idea that you don't see above? Be sure to share it in the comments! We'd love to see it! 

Photo Friday

Well, it's Friday again, and we will definitely take rain over snow! The snowfall we had yesterday thankfully melted quickly and it's been all rain since!

Did you get any great snap shots this week? Be sure to share them in the comments!

Featured Article: Create a Butterfly Garden

With all this rain we've been moved to indoor garden planning once more(although we're loving the rain). This beautiful DIY gives you tips and tricks to creating your own Butterfly Garden! Butterflies make a lovely addition to any garden, so we're eager to try this garden plan out.

Will you try this in your garden? What do you think are the pros and cons? We love that it's pretty easy to understand and follow! Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Read the full article here

Featured Article: Tips for Growing Food in a Small Space

Wow! Can you believe the weather today? Here's to hoping it sticks around!

Weather like this makes us even more excited to plant both flowers and gardens! Are you feeling left out by your small spaces? Fear not! Today's featured article is all about growing food in small spaces. We love how much you can actually grow in pots! We've even seen pins for fruit trees in pots! What a great idea!

This article is chalk full of ideas to best utilize your small space for your own garden, so check it out! What is your favorite tip to try?
Read the article here.

Photo Friday

Wow! How about this weather? We're happy to let it stay, and we don't even mind the April showers forecasted for the weekend. It's definitely a good Friday today!

Our Wood Waste Site in Ames opened up this week! We're excited to get to work with our neighbors to take all of their yard and tree waste. In honor of that today's photo is another shot of our Grinder! Check it out!

Look at that closeup! Make sure you share your photos from this week in the comments!

Featured Article: Advice for Getting Summer Bulbs in the Ground

With above freezing temperatures during the day for about a week, we're really getting ready for Spring. Stores are agreeing with us and starting to stock their garden centers for all of the eager gardeners. If you've ever wondered how people get their summer bulbs in the ground, today's featured article is sure to help.

HGTV Gardens goes into great details about how to get your summer bulbs going. Now is the time, so don't delay! Read the article today and then run out to get yourself some bulbs to plant!

Read the article here

Tips for Growing Tomatoes

In the spirit of the U.S. Composting Council's Million Tomato Compost Campaign, we thought we'd give you some tips on growing your own tomatoes this year. We've collected a few of our favorite tips and tricks to growing big and beautiful tomatoes! Be sure to share any additional tips you might have in the comments.

Location, Location, Location!

Tomatoes love sunshine, so make sure you place them where they can get about 8-10 hours of sunshine a day! However, wind can be detrimental to them if it is too strong, so make sure that it's also an area where they won't get blow away.

Timing

You want to make sure you plant after the risk of frost has abated. Freezing can cause a whole slew of problems for your tomatoes, so it's better to be safe and wait until the risk has gone.

Chose your Type of Tomato Carefully

Certain types of tomatoes flourish, while other wither in specific climates. Find out what kind of tomatoes do best where you are! One way to test it out is to try a couple different kinds of tomatoes your first year planting. There are also many other resources for finding out which ones do best where you live, such as searching online or inquiring at local greenhouses.

Start your soil off right

One great way to ensure your tomatoes flourish as much as possible is to mix in compost with your natural soil prior to planing. This will help fight off diseases, pests, and encourage your tomatoes to grow better (and larger).