• Keep crumbs off the floor; especially in well hidden areas like under the fridge, under stove burners and in-between the fridge and cupboards.
• Never leave standing water anywhere in the house – bugs like to drink your standing water so eliminate it. Watch for leaks and puddles under the fridge and in the basement.
• Block them – try caulking holes and gaps in the walls, especially around baseboards and doors. Most bugs move into your home via cracks.
• Be tidier – I know, it sucks but bugs (other than cockroaches) like it messy. Be sure to clean up piles of paper especially.
• IF you go with poison – DO NOT use a bomb or spray, instead try a bait or gel trap with will won’t fume into your home, but the poison will end up back with the bug wherever he’s hanging out (usually in the wall).
• Try some natural bug barriers. There are tons of herbs, spices, and oils that bugs hate.
• See more pest prevention methods.

[image via stock.xchng] 1

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Conventionally Grown Cotton:

-Accounts for a quarter of the pesticides used worldwide.

-Pollutes our groundwater, leaving a mess for future generations.

-Also, preparing conventional cotton (after farming ends) means applying even more chemicals.

Organic Cotton:

-Sets a good example for conventional cotton growers. Farmers who haven’t gone organic with their cotton production need some motivation to change their farming practices. And nothing motivates more than demand.

-Does not require as much irrigation as conventionally grown cotton.

-Never uses genetically modified seeds. Plus, the dyes (if any) used on organic cotton are more natural.

-Gives fish and wildlife a sigh of relief. They don’t like chemicals in their homes.

Learn more about organic cotton clothing at the Sustainable Cotton Project.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Today let’s look at your actual lawn. Following are some tips I picked up from a local Oregon green resource newsletter and my collection of organic gardening books.

While not all the tips are specific to my region, a good tip is to check with your local natural gardening specialists for your city or state. Some regions will have very specific issues related to organic yard care and gardening. For instance, in New Mexico we were focused on water conservation, but in Humboldt the tips you got pertained more often to keeping plants from getting too soggy – what with the ocean and fog.

To locate local resources go to the National Gardening Association and visit their regional site which will hook you up with a regional newsletter and regional blogs. Another cool way to find resources is to visit your local home and garden shows – most cities have them and local cooperative growing teams are always there.

Tips for greening your lawn without the use of pesticides or other harmful chemicals:

Sun is good: What grows in a shady lawn naturally is moss, not grass. If you have too much shade you might want to consider a different landscaping approach, such as shade loving flowers.

Grasscycle: Mow your grass 2 – 2 1/2 high and let the clipping stay. This is almost like adding compost to your yard. It improves the soil with nutrients and organic matter.

Water sparingly: You only need to water so that your lawn receives about one inch of water a week. If you live in a rainy area, this means you really don’t need to water at all during the rainy season. One of the best ways to water is with collected rainwater.

Aerate: Use a core aerator, overseed with grass seed, and top dress with a small layer (1/2 inch) of fine compost. You should do this every year.

Pull, don’t kill weeds: You know what’s good exercise? Pulling weeds. Grab some gloves, and yank them out. You can overseed bare spots on your lawn caused by weeds.

Mow smarter: You know what else is good exercise? Push mowers! Visit Clean Air Gardening for reel mowers. You can also get an electric mower – which is more green than a gas powered mower, but has that cord (yikes) and really a push mower is healthier for you and the planet.

Reduce: Reduce your lawn’s size. Instead of all grass you could have a nice deck, some beautiful low water flowers, or yummy organic veggies. Reducing the size overall of the yard you have will reduce water consumption and your workload. Plus, trees and shrubs both grow better when the soil covering their roots is grass-free. Try a mulch instead, so that grass and your trees aren’t fighting over nutrients.

Forget the yard: How important is this yard to you? Could you toss regional wildflower seeds everywhere and enjoy flowers instead? What about a rock garden? Think about the reasons you have a lawn in the first place. If the reasons feel unnecessary consider ditching the yard all-together.

Relax: This has got to be the number one tip. Just chill about the lawn. Most of the most beautiful places on earth are wild, less tame, and never perfect. Your yard doesn’t have to be the perfect shade of green or the right height to be useful. Weeds won’t kill anything – but harmful pesticides might. You can live with a few weeds. Cookie cutter yards are unnecessary.

What else can you think of? What will improve your lawn (i.e. your grass) without chemicals and harmful toxins?

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Organic seeds are the way to go as most offer the following:

• GMO-free (i.e. not genetically modified)
• No chemicals added.
• Buying organic seeds from companies or farms supports the organic movement as a whole.
• Many organic seed companies have, or are, introducing organic seeds that are breed to fare well in organic growing conditions.
• The most obvious point – if you’re into organic gardening; why start with a non-organic seed?

There are all sort of places to find organic seeds. Some place sell conventional as well. It’s a better plan to support an entirely organic organization. Here’s where to get real organic seeds with no hassle.

Seeds of Change

High Mowing Organic Seeds

Turtle Tree Seed

Horizon Herbs

To learn more about organic seeds visit the Organic Seed Alliance. If you happen to live in the Pacific Northwest like I do, you may be interested in the Organic Seed Alliance’s, Organic Seed Growers Conference. It’s coming up – February 14-15, 2008. I’d go, but they’re holding the conference in the one and only town in Oregon I don’t like. Too bad though; it sounds very cool.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Because these specific waxes are so costly, it’s unlikely you’d be using them unless you had cash to spare or happen to be an advanced or pro ski racer. Still, since wax rubs off onto snow, which then melts; the chemicals end up in everyone’s water supplies. Lastly, these aren’t chemicals that ever go away. PFOAs just continually build up in your body according to the EPA. There’s not much of a solution here, other than banning PFOAs, which the EPA has failed to do.

The best thing you can do is wear a face mask when coating your own skis – there have been documented cases of folks falling ill from the wax fumes. After that, well, we’re back to the ban. Unless of course you’d like to quit drinking water and playing in the snow at the mountain.

Read the whole story.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family