Earth Friendly Cleaning

Since my garden is kinda at a stand still (I have some tomatoes sprouting now after the frost killed my other plants :( - and my compost lasagna is only in it's beginning stages, I decided to write about something else I feel strongly about - using chemical-free cleaners... For years I gasped and choked as I was cleaning my toilets or showers or where ever else needed cleaning as I prayed to not asphyxiate on the harmful chemicals I was breathing into my lungs...

Well, in 2007 I was diagnosed with Emphysema - I was a whole 35 years old and couldn't understand this - I can't be completely held unaccountable - I did smoke (emphases on DID - I have been smoke free for 2 years, 6 months and 4 days) but when I did smoke, I didn't smoke like a chimney - about 1/2 pack a day habit... not great, we all know that but not horrible either - but after I had my daughter (and NO I didn't smoke while I was pregnant - I'm not a complete moron) but after I had my daughter, I went back to smoking - STUPID - but then felt so horrible all the time, couldn't breath, coughed, wheezed - so I decided to quit smoking - then about a year later - BAM - diagnosed with Emphysema... I know the smoking had something to do with it but even my docs don't think it was the only culprit... so now, I have to try to find ways to eliminate harmful fumes from my home - and the biggest, nastiest smelling, foul "aromas" most definitely come from cleaning products - at least in my opinion...

So what are some NON TOXIC ways I've found to clean different areas of my house?

• Cleaning Windows: Earth Friendly Product: Dish Soap, vinegar, water and occasionally rubbing alcohol. On the outside of the windows, I start with just dish soap and water and wash the gunk that has built up since the last time I washed them - I use a squeegee to get the extra water off after I'm finished, Then, if needed, I'll spray on a light layer of rubbing alcohol (this removes any left over waxy coating that commercial cleaners can leave - learned that from my Organic Gardening Magazine) and rub it dry with a clean soft, lint free cloth (or newspaper). Then I use my vinegar/water solution (2 teaspoons vinegar to a quart of water) and dry with either a lint free cloth or newspaper.



• Cleaning the Tub and Shower: Earth Friendly Product: Baking Soda and liquid detergent. Mix only as much as you need at one time OR you can add a teaspoon of veggie glycerin to keep it soft for longer periods. Mix about 1/2 cup of baking soda with as much liquid detergent to make the mixture kinda to the consistency of thick pancake batter. This concoction rinses easily and won't leave any grit behind :)



• Wood Dusting: Earth Friendly Product: Vegetable Oil and vinegar or lemon juice. Mix 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil (olive or joba work well) into 1 cup of either vinegar or lemon juice into a glass jar, dab a soft cloth into the solution and wipe down your wood furniture or other wood products - cover and store forever!



• Killing MOLD: Earth Friendly Product: Tea Tree Oil and water. Mix 2 teaspoons of tree tea oil into 2 cups of water. The smell of the Tea Tree oil is nice but can be overpowering itself but it will dissipate after a bit. Combine the 2 products in a spray bottle and mist over the mold areas - don't rinse!



• General Surface Cleaner and Floor Cleaner: Earth Friendly Product: vinegar and water or just straight vinegar. For just regular surface cleaning (counters, sinks, etc) I use a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water. If I have a stubborn mess, like soap scum, hard water, toilet bowl stains (YUCK) or the like, I'll just use straight white vinegar. and for floors - a cup of vinegar to a gallon of water.
  

I guess now I can see why people think I'm making pickles when they come over... ROFL!

June Happy Gardener Specials

From Founder and CEO of The Happy Gardener, Annette Pelliccio

Hello Garden Consultants and Club Members,

I hope the start of this year's gardening season has been a rewarding and green experience so far for you and your family.The Happy Gardener is excited to help you continue to grow your business and organic garden and lawn through our exclusive line of Happy Naturals (TM) products.
We thank you for your commitment to helping the health of our communities and environment and we are offering you our June Specials on our top-selling organic products to show our appreciation.
June Specials:* Receive a FREE Bug Repellent Spray (retail value $12.50) with your purchase of our Top-Selling Outdoor Foliar Spray (sale price $15) PLUS 50% off standard shipping! This offer is good through June 15th. A great time to stock up on non-toxic pest control for the upcoming pesty months! To receive this offer, go to http://eco-gardeners.com/outdoor-foliar-feed-plus

* Receive a FREE trial-size All-Purpose Drop n' Feed Packet with your purchase of our #1 selling organic plant food, SeaResults Micronutrient Solution (sale price $12) PLUS 50% off standard shipping! This offer is good through June 15th. A must-have for your containers, roses, perennials and indoor plants! To receive this offer, go to http://eco-gardeners.com/searesults-micronutrient-solutionTHERE'S MORE.......

* June Host Reward Special:
Host a June Garden Party and receive DOUBLE HOST REWARDS! Hosts with Garden Party retail sales of at least $500 will receive double the Earned Garden Dollar Value. All Master Orders must be received by midnight EST June 30th to qualify for double host reward incentive.Please let me know if you have any questions. Together we're making a difference.

Happy Gardening!
Annette Pelliccio
Founder & CEO
The Happy Gardener, Inc
804-798-9280
www.thehappygardener.info

The Happy Gardener Weed N' Feed

I just received a picture from Sharon in NH after using The Happy Gardener's Organic Weed N' Feed and all I can say is WOW! Check out where she used the product vs. where she didn't!!! Look how lush and dark green the area that she used the Weed N' Feed on is. That's a thumbs up in my book!

Composting Jackpot!!!

I was talking to a good friend of mine and telling her my woes about not having enough brown material for my compost lasagna and she tells me she has tons of decaying leaves behind her house - her and her neighbor both rake up their leaves and toss them back in the woods in a big pile!!! OMG I almost shrieked with joy - so today I went over to her house to gather up a couple bags of nutrient rich decaying leaves... what a find! I'm going back to get more when I finish putting the card board down in my beds...

Here is the current retaining wall that eventually will house some beautiful plants and maybe even some yummy veggies -

Here is the inside before adding the cardboard - we put in some old cinder blocks to take up some space - nice weeds huh?

Here's the beginning of the cardboard to choke out the weeds....

OMGoodness - it just doesn't get any better than this... there is really such a perfect balance of pine needles, rotting leaves, grass clippings... it truly brings a tear to those of us so fascinated with composting :)

4 glorious bags of black gold and plenty more where that came from - I think she's my new best friend!!

Collecting Rainwater

How did it go: Water, Water Everywhere but not a Drop to Drink...
That quote is soon going to be an utter lie when we consider what's happening to our natural water resources. The earth's major water sources come from 1) Oceans (salt water) 2) Fresh Surface Water and 3) Fresh Ground Water. Fresh Ground Water makes up the vast majority of all fresh water. This water remains in the underground aquifer for over 1,000 years - and so do pollutants that contaminate that water.

HORRIFYING WATER POLLUTION FACTS From epa.gov :

• 40% of America's rivers are too polluted for fishing, swimming, or aquatic life.


• Even worse are America's lakes—46% are too polluted for fishing, swimming, or aquatic life.


• Two-thirds of US estuaries and bays are either moderately or severely degraded from eutrophication (nitrogen and phosphorus pollution).


• The Mississippi River—which drains nearly 40% of the continental United States, including its central farm lands—carries an estimated 1.5 million metric tons of nitrogen pollution into the Gulf of Mexico each year. The resulting hypoxic coastal dead zone in the Gulf each summer is about the size of Massachusetts.


• 1.2 trillion gallons of untreated sewage, stormwater, and industrial waste are discharged into US waters annually. The US EPA has warned that sewage levels in rivers could be back to the super-polluted levels of the 1970s by the year 2016.


• In any given year, about 25% of beaches in the US are under advisories or are closed at least one time because of water pollution.'


• Asian rivers are the most polluted in the world. They have three times as many bacteria from human waste as the global average and 20 times more lead than rivers in industrialized countries.


• In 2004, water from half of the tested sections of China's seven major rivers was found to be undrinkable because of pollution.'


• In one week, a typical cruise ship generates:
  -210,000 gallons of sewage;
  -1,000,000 gallons of "gray water" from showers, sinks, dishwashers and clothes washers;
  -37,000 gallons of oily bilge water;
  -more than eight tons of solid waste; and
  -toxic wastes from on board operations like dry cleaners and photo processing laboratories.

So what can we do about all of this...

Well for starters, I'm going to start collecting my own rainwater to recycle for watering my yard and garden. There are lots of expensive rain water collection systems available to purchase but I suggest using this as a DIY project to save money.

DIY ways to make a rain barrel -

1. From the City of Bremerton Website
2. EPA's How to Make a Rain Barrel Page
3. Southwest Florida Water Management District this site even has a video!!

Don't forget to check ebay and craigslist for inexpensive barrels - just be sure they were not used for chemical storage.

Once I get my barrel up and running I'll take some pictures :)

Happy Naturals Organic Outdoor Foliar Feed

As I've mentioned before, I am an independent garden consultant for The Happy Gardener. Just the other day I received an e-mail that I just have to share about our line of Outdoor Foliar Feed - In particular our Outdoor Foliar Feed with Garlic. As listed on the Happy Gardener Website, this Foliar Feed is a micronutrient solution that is great for roses, vegetables and edibles, lawn, trees and aquatics. It's effective for controlling insects including mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, grasshoppers and small mammals but it does NOT harm bees, butterflies or birds.

But I never imagined results like I was shown here... Colette Crabill sent The Happy Gardener Home Office this picture with the quote:

"I just had to share this photo with you. I planted a lemon tree yesterday and started spraying it with the foliar feed with garlic and for some reason the sprayer stopped working so I only got a few leaves covered. Well, I went out there today and this is what I saw... the leaves that I sprayed are SO green and healthy looking, it is crazy."

I am so impressed by this amazing photo and testimonial that I'm running a special for all my in-home parties for the rest of May - All guest of my home-garden parties who spend $60.00 or more can receive a 32 oz. bottle of any of the Happy Naturals Outdoor Foliar Feeds (Cinna-mint for ant control, Soy for disease control, Garlic for insect control and the All-Purpose formula) for only $10.00!! (Retail price $19.50). This offer is only valid through contacting me by e-mail at happygardenerNY@gmail.com and can not be used in my on-line store. Contact me if you are interested in purchasing this incredible product!

Mason Bees

Pollinators are probably by far the most important part of a garden.. .without them... you will have no veggies, fruits, flowers, and the list could go on and on... with the scares about Africanized Honey Bees and the major decline in domestic honey bees, what are we left with? MASON BEES!!! Keeping mason bees is a simple way to ensure you have pollinators for your crop every year.

So what are Mason Bees?

Mason Bees (Osmia lignaria) also called Blue Orchard Bees are a gentle beneficial insect that is perfect for pollinating fruit trees, veggie gardens and flower patches. These bees are NON-AGGRESSIVE and will only sting if handled roughly or if they get caught under clothing. The females will nest in existing holes that are slightly larger than her body - once she fills that hole with nectar and pollen, she'll start laying eggs. A female Mason Bee will only live for a month or so but can lay 2 eggs a day (if given enough nectar). Those eggs will stay in their holes during the winter and will emerge in springtime - just in time to help pollinate the new crop!

So how can I get Mason Bees?

Mason Bees can be purchased within tubes ready to emerge for the spring at many beekeeping stores (typically I get them on-line) although it's too late for this season to get them - the cocoons sell up til February usually.

• Home Orchard Supply


• Rincon-Vitova Insectaries


• ATTRA's List of Alternative Bee Pollinator Suppliers

The Happy Gardener also sells Mason Bee houses (and a helpful book) that are easily attached to posts near your garden or orchard.

SKU: OCBSK
Orchard Mason Bees are superb early season pollinators of fruit trees, strawberries, raspberries, & blueberries. Bee Box has (32) 6” nesting tubes, includes clamp, information booklet and “The Mason Bees” 34- page book.
Price: $34.50

To Compost or Not To Compost... Is that really a Question?

Lately I've been really into composting. Not just the "doing" but the "science" behind composting. How much green material vs. brown material? Vermicomposting vs. "regular" composting (which honestly - I think we all should be vermicomposting)... I've been reading composting articles from my subscription to Organic Gardening Magazine and Mother Earth News and have found some really worth while reads...

• From Mother Earth News: International Compost Awareness Week: Is It OK NOT to Compost? Compost expert Barbara Pleasant calls on people everywhere to take responsibility for their yard and kitchen waste.


• From Mother Earth News: 5 Steps to Simple Compost


• How to Make Compost: A Compost Guide


• ATTRA: Composting 101


• Composting Blog: making the most of your compost


• EPA: Science/Technology - Understanding the Composting Process

The last link from the EPA is (IMO) a MUST read for anyone starting a compost pile - I'm sure there are more MUST reads out there but this is a short, concise, to the point overview of things you probably should know about composting before starting a composting program... the article discusses the 5 variable you need to understand and control when composting...

1. Feedstock and nutrient balance: balancing brown and green materials


2. Particle Size: Chopping, shredding and grinding materials helps to increase breakdown rate BUT if particles are too small it can inhibit oxygen flow.


3. Moisture Content: Decomposition needs moisture.


4. Oxygen Flow: Turning a pile helps to aerate the pile but don't do it too much or it will dry out.


5. Temperature: Microorganisms require a certain temperature range for optimal activity.

So how much green material (grass clippings, kitchen waste, manure) vs. brown material (shredded newspaper, dry leaves, wood chips) should the average compost pile take? From what I've read - it depends on what you are using your compost for.

For Veggie Gardens - 50-50 mixes seem to be adequate although some compost guru's prefer slightly more brown (carbon) than green (nitrogen) and I've seen as high as a brown:green ratio of 25:1 listed as "ideal"

For an orchard - most prefer 75% brown to 25% green.

So, I guess it all depends - I'm going to start with a 50:50 mix and see what happens... now my problem is going to be how to find enough green material to compete with the brown - Looks like I'm taking a visit to my local organic dairy soon :)

Heirloom Tomatoes

Currently I work at a facility that has over 5,000 different varieties of tomato seed!! Amazing to think of... 5,000 different varieties - now, granted most look horrible, taste worse but we keep them anyways to be sure we (as a nation) will have whatever seeds needed to regenerate any possible tomato if there was ever a need. Anyways - the point I'm trying to get to is that the vast majority of those varieties are OPEN POLLINATED and many are heirlooms! What a joy it is each year to be able to grow at least 50 - 100 different varieties and see what new and exciting characteristics I will find. There are those wonderful occasions when I find some real gems that I want to try to grow in my own garden at home.


So, what's the big deal with open pollinated and heirloom tomatoes... Open pollinated varieties (vs. hybrid varieties) are a great thing for those of us who keep the seeds to grow next year (and many years to come). If you try to keep the seeds of a hybrid variety, you will NOT get a plant that is "true to type", meaning - it won't look, taste, smell anything like it's parent plant. But open pollinated seed will grow exactly like "Mom and Dad"... So if you are interested in seed saving (a task close to my heart) make sure you are looking for open pollinated varieties!!



What do I mean by Heirloom tomatoes? Well, depending on your source, I found a great definition at GardenPlate.com

From Gardenplate.com's Glossary: Heirloom Tomato: A variety of tomato grown from open-pollinated seeds that produce a fruit that is very flavorful and well textured. This fruit has a depth of history, since it was one of the first developed many years ago. The Heirloom tomato is produced in a wide variety of colors, shapes and sizes. As a general rule, the darker the color the more acidic the flavor. Correspondingly, the red varieties will be much sweeter than those being green in color, which are typically more tart, while the purple and black colored varieties provide fruit that is rich in flavor, and very acidic.

So why do I love those heirlooms? Flavor Flavor Flavor! I'm going to admit something that I'm ashamed of... I never really liked tomatoes... UNTIL I tried an heirloom - specifically the SUNGOLD!!! OMG like no tomato I had ever tried...

So while I don't plan to have tons of varieties in my garden this year (maybe next year), I want to share with you the best heirlooms I've had the pleasure of working with!

SUNGOLD: My Winner for Best Taste! This cherry variety is the sweetest tomato I've ever tasted! CONS - it's a hybrid, so I can't keep the seed of this little beauty but it's worth the price of the seed - Trust me on this one! Make sure you trellis this one - it grows tall and will mature in 55-60 days!

Russian Black: An heirloom from the lower Ukraine, this one does really well in colder climates (like where I live in Upstate NY). Maturing in 60 -70 days, these mahogany tomatoes grow pretty compact (although still you need to trellis). These blend sweet and acidic perfectly!

Caspian Pink: This tomato beat the "original heirloom - Brandywine" in taste tests!!! You'll get great yields of large (12 oz) tomatoes that taste unbelievably wonderful!

COPIA: Not only is this little one beautiful with yellow and red stripes but OHHHH the flavor! Very Juicy and Sweet! Even the inside is marbleized - You have got to grow this one!

Mexico Midget: This sweet cherry will produce all season and can be grown wonderfully in a container for those who don't have extra garden space! Maturing in 60- 70 days these 1/2" fruits are great sprinkled on a salad!

So that's where I'll stop but there are tons more I"ll have to share with you on a later date!

Here are some other blogs that spotlight heirlooms:

• First Tomato 2008: Tiny Farm Blog
• More Heirloom Tomato Discussion: Home and Garden Blogger
• Plants from "The Tasteful Garden" to your Backyard: Veggie Garden Tips
• Heirloom Tomato Classic Dishes: Heirloom Tomatoes WOW What Flavor

Ants - How to keep them from your plants!

Trying to keep the ants from decimating your plants is a common garden problem but I think I have found a product to help... The Happy Gardener sells a Foliar Feed with Cinnamint - This product has everything..

• Micornutrient foliar feed
• Great for indoor plants, roses, vegetables & edibles
• Effective for controlling ants
  

Hear what one user had to say:

I have a 128 sq. ft. strawberry garden (for a family of three - we love strawberries!!) I used the Foliar Feed with Cinnamint because we have ants, the plants grew all over the place and the ants stayed away. The 48 plants have outgrown their bed in the first year! I've already got some flowers coming up and can't wait to taste the first berry of the season!
- Jen from OH

I also read some great Ant Deterrent Tips from GreenLivingTips.com which also endorse using cinnamon...

- Sprinkle cinnamon or place in cheesecloth bags in affected areas. Cinnamon was a very popular choice with quite a few readers reporting it being highly effective
- Quite a few readers found cinnamon sprinkled across ant scent trails to be very effective

and Mint...

- Planting mint around vegetable patches, flower beds and around the house

Worm Castings

So, as I have a little time before I can start planting my veggie garden - I have been doing some research about worm castings...



I've found some great sites for lots of advice about this incredible biological product.

• Check out Dirt Works to find out tons of valuable information. This stuff can be used for just about anything.. disease control, drought control, algae, fertilizer, increased root growth, insect control, soil conditioning, and the list goes on!


• From The Wacky World of Worms, they claim that worm castings have anywhere from 5-11 times more Nitrogen, Potassium, Calcium, Phosphorus, Potash, and Magnesium than topsoil!

The Happy Gardener's Vermicomposter is used to convert kitchen waste to rich organic fertilizer! Not only can you get an unlimited supply of worm castings by incorporating the vermicomposter into your kitchen but worm castings are also available in all the Pour N' Feed Products.

But being an environmental biologist makes me want to dig deeper (no pun intended)... I need scientific evidence that worm poo is going to work on my soil, plants, and veggies. So I did some more research and low and behold:

From the Happy D Ranch:

-Analysis of earthworm casting reveals that they are richer in plant nutrients than the soil, about three times more calcium and several times more nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. (K.P. Barley, Advances in Agronomy, Vol. 13, 1961, p. 251)
-Redworm castings contain a high percentage of humus. Humus helps soil particles form into clusters, which create channels for the passage of air and improve its capacity to hold water. Humic acid present in humus, provides binding sites for the plant nutrients but also releases them to the plants upon demand. Humus is believed to aid in the prevention of harmful plant pathogens, fungi, nematodes and bacteria. Blueprint for a Successful Vermiculture Compost System. Developed by Dan Holcombe and J.J. Longfellow 1995.
-"Vermicompost outperforms any commercial fertilizer I know of." continues [Professor. Clive A.] Edwards, who began his earthworm research in his native England in the early 1970s before coming to Ohio State. "I think the key factor is microbial activity. Research that I and others have done shows that microbial activity in worm castings is 10 to 20 times higher than in the soil and organic matter that the worm ingests." Dr. Clive Edwards, in "Worldwide Progress in Vermicomposting" by Gene Logsdon in BioCycle October 1994, p. 63.
- Earthworm castings are the best imaginable potting soil for greenhouses or houseplants, as well as gardening and farming. It will not burn even the most delicate plants and all nutrients are water-soluble, making it an immediate plant food. Earthworm castings, in addition to their use as a potting soil, can be used as a planting soil for trees, vegetables, shrubs, and flowers. They may be used as a mulch so that the minerals leach directly into the ground when watered. The effects of earthworm castings used in any of these ways are immediately visible. They make plants grow fast and strong. Nematodes and diseases will not ruin gardens or plants if the soil is rich enough for them to grow fast. It is the weak plant in poor soil that is destroyed by nematodes and diseases. R.E. Gaddie and D.E. Douglas, Earthworms For Ecology and Profit, Vol. I "Scientific Earthworm Farming," 1975, p. 175.

So there you have it! I think I'm investing in this and going to try to work it out for my garden - First thing is first - get a Vermicomposter!

Compost Lasagna

Recently I've been reading a short little book about Backyard Composting and it mentions what they call Compost lasagna.. I'm going to try this in my compost bin but also going to use it to make a new veggie garden bed and flower bed in my front yard. I think I'm going to take a stab at this method since I need to move my veggie garden for next year (I'm moving it closer to the water supply - I'm sick of lugging water over to the garden). The basic concept is that it's 1) No till (since tilling can upset the carbon storage in the soil and unearth new weed seeds that will germinate given the new sunlight exposure) and 2) well, it just looks so darn interesting! My understanding is that once my bed is 18-24" tall I should be able to either plant into it for this year OR just let it sit for next year (most likely what I'll do)

I'll try to update with pictures when I start it (also I'll update the books title and author)
I found this great on-line tutorial that definitely can do more justice to Compost Lasagna than I can so check out ThriftyFun.com Introduction to Lasagna Composting also Cornell CCE of Tompkins County has a great PDF to describe Lasagna Composting...

Edited to add the name of the book I was reading was from my subscription to Organic Gardening Magazine called No-Toil Power Soil (A Rodale Organic Gardening Book) -

Ahhh Spring... and the garden and yard look HORRIBLE!!

Well, it's worse than I thought - here are some before pictures of my yard and garden. After these pictures were taken I spread out my Happy Naturals Vegetable N' Edibles Pour N' Feed Soil Conditioner in my garden and then spread my Happy Naturals Lawn Weed N' Feed on my yard (just on the left side of my driveway - wanting to keep the right side untouched so I can do a comparison!)
BEFORE:

My Daughter Emily wanted to help too :)

After Tilling - I'm leaving that aisle way in the center for walking...

The Happy Gardener Introductory Video

The Happy Gardener just published an awesome introductory video to help people learn about what we do... check it out!

SeaResults Micronutrient Solution

SeaResults works wonders on everything gardening... Since I became an independent gardening consultant at The Happy Gardener - I've heard nothing but wonderful things about this top selling product!
The following is an excerpt from The Happy Gardener Website: Our #1 Selling Product! Benefits include:

• increases flower/fruit/vegetable production
• enhances plant color & vigor
• reduces transplant shock
• increases resistance to drought & frost
• improves seed germination
• speed & rate reduces fungal, insect & nematode damage

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. Use monthly as a fertilizer supplement. Effective to use on houseplants, roses, vegetables, herbs, seedlings, flowers, shrubs and trees. 8 oz concentrate makes 50 gallons of plant food!

8 oz bottles sells for $16.00
If you would like to try Happy Naturals Sea Results, Email Me!

Who Am I???

Well, I guess I'll try once again to get this squared away in my mind by writing it down on a blog - I'm a 35 year old wife and mother of 2. I work in the agricultural field with organic farmers throughout the Northeast US - mainly in seed processing but also with participatory plant breeding (fancy way of saying that farmers help with plant breeding). I'm just getting started with The Happy Gardener, an organic gardening and lawn care company which uses the network marketing strategy to widen sales. If anyone is interested, please let me know - I'd be happy to help out anyway I can.