Tomatoes Do Love Compost
Everybody knows that compost is good for your garden, but now we have proof from the U.S. Composting Council (USCC), which implemented the Million Tomato Compost Campaign last April to help community gardens across the country improve their soil and grow fresh produce for food pantries. The campaign harvested more than 1.2 million tomatoes at one hundred gardens.
The USCC coordinated the donation of 540 dump trucks’ worth of compost from 85 compost manufacturers to jumpstart the project. Tomatoes can be tricky for new gardeners to grow successfully, but high-quality compost-amended soil really helps. Compost helps soil retain water and can help to reduce the need for chemical fertilizers, according to the USCC.
Celebrity chef Nathan Lyon, who wrote Great Food Starts Fresh, was the spokesperson for the campaign, as he encouraged gardeners and provided tomato-based recipes.
“The Million Tomato Compost Campaign has proven that people across the country are hungry — not only for fresh, healthy sustainable food, but also for the tools they need to grow healthy food on their own. That starts with good soil and compost,” Chef Lyon said. “Starting with the soil is so important because healthy soil leads to healthy food, which builds healthy people and communities.”
Community gardens across the country participated in the USCC’s campaign.
The campaign’s success was largely due to bringing together various groups and individuals in the community in order to produce local food. Compost manufacturers, community gardens, and food pantries all contributed to the positive outcome.
For information about where to buy compost for your garden and how to use it, visit the USCC’s website: compostingcouncil.org
Yoga in the Garden
When you are in the garden, there are simple things you can do to help your body cope with the hard work of gardening. For example:
• When you spade, rake, hoe, or weed, do the action on both sides of your body. • When you bend over, bend from the hip joints not the waist. Bend your knees to make it easier. Then you will be more likely to support your movement from the legs and abdominals. • When working down a row for planting or weeding, use a variety of positions: on hands and knees, squatting, bending over at the hips with bent knees, sitting. • Stand up and stretch once in a while as you survey your handiwork and listen to the birds around you.
— Sandra Helpsmeet, The Yoga Center, EC
Protection from the Ground Up
You should expect more from your bug repellent. Most people think to get effective protection you have to settle for chemical sprays, or worse, clip expensive units to your pocket and try not to inhale the fumes. And to find a good smelling repellent; well, there isn’t any. Nature Barrier® is for the outdoor lover who wants to sit and enjoy the sunset. We’re the original granular repellent for ground application using pure essential oils for 95 percent repellency and a gentle fragrance. So when you’re ready to relax and soak up the great outdoors, sprinkle Nature Barrier® first and expect more from your outdoor experience.
? Amazingly sweet soothing scent ? Long lasting – Up to 24 hours ? EPA exempt – Surpasses EPAstandards ? No clean up required – 100 percent biodegradable ? Safe around free range chickens ? Safe around free range children ? Use on any dry ground surface, including sand ? Made and sold locally in Cornell, Wisconsin.
A Safer Alternative
Chickity Doo Doo™ Organic Fertilizer is derived from 100 percent chicken manure. It contains all the desirable benefits that have made chicken manure extremely beneficial to vegetable farmers and organic gardeners for decades. As individuals become more conscious of traditional synthetic chemical fertilizers and the long-term damage they cause to the environment, the demand for family-friendly and environmentally safe products continues to grow.
Think Out of the Box: Conditioner
No shaving cream? No problem. Hair conditioner does everything shaving cream is engineered to do — softens hair, creates a barrier between blade and skin, and leaves skin hydrated. “It’s formulated to soften and protect,” says Susie Galvez, a Richmond-based esthetician and author of The Thrifty Girl’s Guide to Glamour. A pea-size amount should be enough for both armpits, while a quarter-size dollop will take care of each leg.
Great Gifts for…
Find these and more at uncommongoods.com
The Connoisseur You know that moment on a pleasant evening with friends, when the room starts to feel a little more relaxed, the conversation a little more entertaining, and your worries a bit farther away? Well, these tipsy wine glasses are already there.
College Bound Go 20,000 leagues under the shower with this friendly squid, equipped with nine adjustable tentacles for gripping your shampoo, soap and washing extras, without disappearing into the bathroom void!
Anyone Really!! Let this mother duck and her ducklings waddle into your home; and your heart. Completely hand-carved from recycled bamboo root and teakwood, these adorable ducks sport bright yellow rain gear, inquisitive eyes, and delightful webbed feet.
92 Percent
Steel is the most recycled material in North America. The recycling rate for steel packaging is 70.8 percent while the rate for automobile recycling is an impressive 94.5 percent. When we’re looking at percentages that high, those tons of material do add up.
Curbside Recycling
Many Americans now have access to curbside recycling, and in 2012 we saw some great advances in what those programs will accept. For example, the first curbside textile recycling program began in Queen Creek, Arizona, that year, and many cities including Denver have started accepting cartons.
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