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!

5 Natural Cures for Weeds

Gardening season is fast approaching, and we're so excited to start planting ours. However, there is one chore we haven't missed, weeding. Weeds, while being a good stress release method occasionally, are mostly an obnoxious chore. Chemicals used to rid yourself of weeds sometimes leave you hesitant, are aren't always the safest. Natural remedies can work wonders and you might even have some of the ingredients in your kitchen! Here are 5 examples of natural cures to rid yourself of those pesky weeds this year.

1) Vinegar
Vinegar is great for so many things, weed killing is just one of a long list. Just take a squirt bottle and fill it up, and you'll have a weed killer. However, vinegar is one to be careful with, as it can have adverse affects on anything it is sprayed on, regardless of whether it's a weed or your favorite petunias. Spray with caution.

2) Boiled Water
Treating weeds with boiled water destroys them down to their roots. However, this is another method that can also easily kill plants that you want to keep as well as the weeds. Be careful about where you pour and you'll be fine.

3) Liquid Dish Detergent
Mix dish soap with water at a 1:10 ratio, and you'll have a full force weed killer on your hands. This is also handy because it will give the plant a more oily appearance, so you can see what you have sprayed.

4) Cornmeal
Sprinkle a little on the soil after your planned plants have begun showing and this kitchen essential will keep weeds out and attract worms, which will improve the overall health of your soil.

5) Newspaper
Layer at least 5 pieces of Newspaper on top of your undesired weed. This works best for weeds in areas populated by plants that you actually want, because you can control the spread by where you actually put the Newspaper. This technique essentially smothers the weed.

Especially with the liquid cures on this list be careful when applying. Do not saturate the soil, or you could end up doing long term damage to your soil as well as killing other nearby plants.

Which of these have you used? Have you used any different remedies? Be sure to share in the comments!

Steps to a Greener 4th of July

Happy 4th of July! We're blogging a little early today, so we can get to you before your cook-out! According to an estimate by the U.S, Department of Energy, around 60 million Americans have BBQs today! With all the celebrations going on it is hard to remember to keep your grilling 'green'. However, we have a few simple steps to make your holiday cooking a little more eco-friendly.

Compostable over biodegradable- We hate to say it, but the word biodegradable has been tainted. Companies use the term all the time, even if their product is only biodegradable over 50 years. Compostable products, however, can go straight in with your compost and have to be certified in order to be labeled compostable.

Clean your grill- leftover food and grease in your grill leads to excess smoke, and just isn't healthy for your grill or the environment. Make sure to thoroughly clean your grill and you'll be good to go! Baking Soda is a great, natural grill killer too, just use a wire brush and an equal parts mixture of Baking Soda and water and you'll have a clean grill in no time!

Recycle your cans and bottles- Make sure you're sorting and recycling your waste. Americans use 2,500,000 plastic bottles every hour on average, and the majority are thrown away. Recycling your bottles and cans is an easy way to make your cook-out a little bit greener.

Use organic charcoal in your grill- Overall, charcoal grills aren't great for the environment, however if you use an organic charcoal it will burn cleaner, as it is made from untreated wood, rather than traditional charcoal which is treated with chemicals and other additives to make it burn longer.

Buy a vinyl tablecloth, rather than a paper or plastic throw-away- This will save you the money of buying a flimsy tablecloth each year, and you're keeping that paper/plastic one out of landfills.

Use recycled aluminum foil for your grilling- Some brands now offer 100% recycled aluminum foil, most in cases made from 100% recycled paperboard.

Buy your food locally- buying from local farmers means you can find pesticide-free produce and you'll boost your local economy! It also doesn't hurt that those farmers just have to drive it into town, rather than across the country.

Use natural pest remedies- Nobody likes having bugs at the party! We have a full post about natural bug repellants, but another trick is to throw sage and rosemary on hot coals, if you're using a charcoal grill. They will make your yard smell great, and it will keep Mosquitos away. Citronella candles also make great bug repellants.

Summer DIY: Creating a nature-friendly bug repellant

It's summer time, which means we're all spending a lot more time outdoors. It also means that bugs are out in full force. The problem with commercial bug sprays is that most are made up of harmful chemicals. Making your own eco-friendly, homemade bug spray is easy, and you'll have your choice of ingredients!

The first thing you need to know about making your own bug spray is that most bugs have an aversion to many natural things. Heres a quick cheat sheet as to what certain pests dislike:

• Mosquitoes- Cinnamon Oil, Castor Oil, Lemon Eucalyptus/Eucalyptus Oil, Citronella Oil, Peppermint Oil, Lemongrass Oil
• Ticks and Lice- Lemon Eucalyptus/Eucalyptus Oil, Rose Geranium Oil
• Biting Flies- Citronella Oil
• Fleas- Orange Oil
• Stinging Insects- Lavender Oil

There are a lot of other natural oils that repel insects, but these are a few of the most effective ones.

You can also choose one of the following as a base for your natural repellant:

• Olive Oil
• Sunflower Oil
• Cooking Oil 
• Witch Hazel
• Alcohol

Be careful using the cooking oils if you are going to be in direct sunlight. Many have found the Witch Hazel to work the best as a base. 

Once you choose your ingredients, mix 10-25 drops of the essential oil(s) of your choice with 2 tbsp of your base liquid. Feel free to make a double batch or larger if you need more spray than this. Then put this mixture in a spray bottle of your choice, and voila! Homemade, nature-friendly bug repellant!