Organic Gardening Tip- Solarize for Summer

So as the summer heat is upon us and your garden is winding down for the season, now is the perfect time to solarize you garden beds. Many gardeners are looking for ways to reduce pests and disease without the use of chemicals and summer solarization is one of the organic gardener’s best tools.

What is solarization?

Simply put, solarization harnesses the power of sunlight to reduce many gardening problems. A clear plastic sheet is used to cover a garden bed. The heat generated from the sunlight will be trapped under the plastic. This greenhouse effect will increase soil temperatures to a degree that will dramatically reduce harmful garden pests such as nematodes, fungi and weed seeds. 30 days of soil solarization can reduce the incidence of disease and pests by up to 80% all without the use of chemicals.

How to:

Remove spent plants and weeds and till the soil gently to loosen it. Cover with clear plastic sheeting and weight edges to secure in place. (Clear plastic creates higher soil temperatures than black plastic.) To be effective, the soils must start out moist and maintain a fairly high soil moisture content. Moisture increases the heat sensitivity of many soil-borne pests. Leave plastic in place for at least 30 days. Make sure that your beds are raised slightly in the center so that water does not pool up in the center of the plastic following rains and contribute to mosquito breeding.
Solarizing is particularly effective for areas that will be planted with tomatoes as solarization is the most effective organic treatment for nematodes and other tomato pests.

Green Roof for Your Garden Shed

Like a lot of you out there, I wish I could put a green roof on my house. The benefits of green roofs are many including reducing urban heat effects, stormwater runoff, and curbing your carbon footprint. They are also, let’s just be honest, incredibly cool. I have visited homes with green roofs installed and left with a longing to implement this green tool in my own life. Sadly, my home was constructed in the 1950’s, and would require substantial and costly reinforcements to support the additional weight associated with a green roof.

So I was thrilled with a recent discovery that may allow us to implement the idea on a much smaller scale. We have been in need of a garden shed for some time and I have been loathe to purchase a plastic or metal monstrosity. I had decided to construct my own and was looking at my options for roofing when I stumbled on a green roof idea for, you guessed it, a garden shed. Not only is this a wonderfully attractive option, it also fits well with the overall “green” theme of our home and yardscape. Installing a green roof in this manner also turns out to be a much more cost-effective option than traditional shingles or metal roofing. The basic green roof structure involves stapling a PVC or plastic lining onto the wood roofing materials and creating a box structure out of 2 x 4’s to hold the greenroof substrate in place. I would love to plant our garden shed greenroof with native Florida plants and ferns. Not only would it be a great way to reduce impervious surface associated with our home, it would be a wonderfully attractive place to store our electric lawn mower.

See the link below for more information on this project.
http://www.greenroofs.com/projects/pview.php?id=455

Green Up Your Holidays- How to Have an Eco-friendly Holiday on a Budget

This year more than ever people are looking to green up their holiday experience without doing too much damage to their wallets. The holidays can be a time of celebration and getting together with good friends, however, often our holiday mirth can contribute a lot of excess waste to our landfills as well draining our pocket books. Want some simple solutions to greening up your holidays? Here are some tips we’ve tried implementing to make our holiday fun as well as eco-friendly.

Plantable Christmas Trees

Ever drive down the side of the road after the holidays and see all the discarded trees by the side of the road? It always makes me a little sad. (It is important to note that most Christmas trees have an average lifespan of 5 to 15 years depending on the size and species so at least these trees have been growing somewhere, albeit in planted rows, for quite some time and do provide some environmental benefit.) Several other publications have recently cited that cut Christmas trees are still more environmentally-friendly that their fake counterparts in terms of waste, pollutants, and the resources used in producing artificial plastic trees, however, doesn’t it seem like there could be a better way?

For the last couple of years we have been experimenting with live, plantable trees as an alternative to cut trees or plastic trees. A couple of great options:

- Potted table top trees from your local supplier. Here in Sarasota, Target stocks tabletop spruce and rosemary trees for about $15-20. Larger potted spruce trees around 4 feet tall can be purchased for around $40. Although, these spruce trees are not native, and shouldn’t be planted here in Florida, they do quite well as a potted patio plant. My hope, is to keep a rather large one in a pot out on our deck and drag it in every year for the holidays. (Of course I have to remember to water it.)
- Try starting a new tradition of planting a tree rather than cutting one down. Check your local suppliers for a wide range of native trees that can be planted for the holidays. We tried planting a native longleaf pine last year and it is thriving. Or consider planting a not-so-traditional tree. This year we are thinking of planting a fruit-bearing tree to contribute to our edible landscape. Check out http://www.floridanativeplants.com/ for a great selection of native plants and trees that can be planted this holiday season.
- Lastly, many Christmas tree farms are now providing B&B (balled and burlap) trees which can be used as a traditional tree and then planted or potted shortly thereafter. I have been having difficulty locating a local Christmas tree grower that provides this option, but there are several out-of-state companies that will ship to Florida. Shipping costs might be a little restrictive for this option, but I thought it worth posting nonetheless.


Give Handmade Gifts

There are dozens of great options for simple handmade gifts, ornaments and other fun holiday projects that can provide a personal touch to your gift giving and save you money in the process. Check out some of the fun ornaments made from simple supplies and recycled materials for gift giving and fun home decorating. One of my favorites were the recycled aluminum can stars that can be used as ornaments or to create mini-lanterns for a string of lights. Want to have some fun while ticking off gifts on your list? Try hosting a mini get together with friends to make handmade gifts for others. Keep it simple. No need to go overboard. Have a little nog and some festive treats and you can easily turn your get together into a fun holiday “create” party.


Cut Down on the Stuff


We all have too much stuff. I am in a constant battle with my bedroom closet. Where does all this stuff come from? A lot of it I accumulate during the holidays. A couple of ideas to stop the ‘stuff’ avalanche:

- Give food! Nothing says happy holidays more than good food. Try creating a gourmet basket for loved ones featuring locally grown products like citrus or good organic preserves. Keep in mind it doesn’t always have to be sweet. We all get way too much sugar over the holidays. Try making fresh soup or bread, or if you are not wanting to spend more time in the kitchen, try giving prepackaged gourmet goodies of the savory variety.

- Give memories rather than goods. Try giving your friends and family tickets to a concert or event they have been wanting to attend. Or take everyone ice-skating. Doing stuff together creates more memories and chances are you’ll have more fun this season than you would running yourself ragged trying to find the perfect gift at the mall. (Anyone who knows me, knows how much I dread shopping malls.) I have to provide a plug here for one of my other side endeavors, Biotica EcoTours www.bioticatours.com . We are providing gift certificates for the holidays for guided kayak tours of some of the most beautiful waterways on Earth. Ours.

Why Mulch Matters

Just about every gardener knows how wonderful mulch can be for your yard and garden. It helps the soil retain moisture (which is great for low water situations), helps feed your garden by breaking down in to valuable compost, and acts as a chemical-free weed suppressant…and the list goes on and on.

However, one question I get repeatedly is “What kind of mulch should we buy?” When it comes to mulch there are definitely some more environmentally friendly options out there for the eco-savvy consumer.

Good:

FloriMulch- This fantastic mulch is made from 100% non-native Melaleuca. Melaleuca is an invasive tree species which is strangling Florida’s wetlands, most notably the everglades. The mulch is cured to prevent seed germination and burrowing nematodes. FloriMulch has some added benefits. It is naturally termite resistant, the fibers interlock to provide excellent weed suppression and it provides an economic incentive to remove non-native Meleleuca trees from natural areas. (a big plus) FloriMulch is endorsed by the Friends of the Everglades and many other environmental groups.

FloriMulch is available at these local retailers:
http://www.floridanativeplants.com/
http://www.hibbsfarmandgarden.com/hibbs_welcome/index.htm
Sarasota Lowe’s


Other good options include pine straw (available at most landscaping supply stores) and leaves and yard waste from your own yard. Using leaves and clippings from your own yard is definitely a cost-effective method for adding mulch to your landscape. Why take all those great nutrients to the curb? Leaves and other materials can often be used as a base layer for other mulches to provide greater water retention and weed suppression.

Avoid Cypress Mulch:

Native Cypress trees have been mined for decades in Florida to provide building materials and other products. However, recent demands for attractive landscaping mulch have resulted in a renewed demand for Cypress logging and deforestation. Mature trees are often harvested and ground down to provide mulch for new developments and landscaping projects. This creates an economic incentive for landowners to log previously pristine tracts of cypress trees. Cypress trees provide important habitat for wildlife and are one of the most impressive and important tree species in Florida’ river corridors. The picture at the beginning of this post is of a mature cypress tree that has been scaled by Spartacus, our feline hiking partner.