Cool Blue Composter!
This unusual composter from Blue Planet Smart looks beautiful in your yard and works like a charm. Spin it to mix the compost. You?ll also be rewarded with a rich compost tea, which is a byproduct of the composting process. Compost tea serves like an organic fertilizer and will make your plants very happy! The Blue Planet Smart composter runs about $179. Read more here.
Tuesday ~ February 02, 2006 by kswanson56 Posted in Garden Tools, Gardening Lifestyle, Natural Pesticides and Fertilizers, Organic Gardening, Serious Gardener | Add Your Comments
Soil pH Tester
Do you know your soil pH? You should! Having the correct soil pH can make the difference between thriving flowers and veggies or struggling ones. One of the best ways to monitor your pH is with an electronic soil tester. This handy tool allows you to gauge not only your pH, but also other important factors such as soil moisture and light levels. One of the best ways to maintain the correct pH is with the addition of organic compost.
Monday ~ February 02, 2006 by kswanson56 Posted in Uncategorized | Add Your Comments
Rake? No. Trowel? No. Trake? Exactly!
This unusual looking garden tool does it all. Want to dig? Sure! Want to use a fork to break up soil? Go for it! It’s called the Trake, which is supposed to be a clever combination of rake and trowel, I assume. In spite of the somewhat goofy name, the tool itself is pretty cool. Made from aluminum so that it won’t rust, it is strong and still light weight. Available from Clean Air Gardening for $16.95.
Saturday ~ February 02, 2006 by larsdh Posted in Garden Tools | Add Your Comments
Biodegradable Bags for the Garden
When you’re collecting scraps from your kitchen for your compost, try out these biodegradable biobags, made from corn. They breathe to allow moisture to escape, which also reduces odors. These bags contain corn from countries that don’t allow GMO, so they’re guaranteed GMO free! They will fully decompose in 2-3 weeks. This is a fantastic product made by the leader in biodegradable technology.
Friday ~ February 02, 2006 by kswanson56 Posted in Uncategorized | Add Your Comments
Classy Address Plaque
Your house number and street name can be displayed on this attractive address marker from the Address Plaque Store. The design of this address plaque allows up to 5 four inch characters on the first line, and 14 characters on the second line. If you want to be creative, you can put your family’s name or some other colorful phrase on the second line. Cost is $99.95 plus shipping and handling.
Thursday ~ February 02, 2006 by kswanson56 Posted in Gardening Lifestyle | Add Your Comments
Solar Powered Light Up Address Number keeps your house well marked
Keep your house safe with a light up, solar powered address number. It charges up during the day with the solar panel, even with only indirect lighting. And then it lights up at night, so that you can see the numbers from at least 100 feet away. The numbers are white in the daylight, but glow red at night. $19.95
Wednesday ~ February 02, 2006 by larsdh Posted in Gardening Lifestyle | Add Your Comments
Dragonfly Bird Feeder
Attract wildlife to your garden with a beautiful high quality Heirloom Birdfeeder, which has a unique dragonfly design. This feeder works with a large tube that gradually feeds bird seed to your hungry friends. It is made with cast aluminum so you know that it?s very durable. Avoid cheap plastic feeders and invest instead in a unique, functional piece of garden sculpture.
Wednesday ~ February 02, 2006 by kswanson56 Posted in Gardening Lifestyle | Add Your Comments
Compost Tumbler that Makes Compost Tea!
This Compost Tumbler and Compost Tea Maker is a wonderful product that greatly simplifies composting and also provides you with a high quality compost tea. It has an attractive design that won’t take up too much space. All you need to do is add organic kitchen scraps and garden waste and spin the drum. Your compost virtually mixes itself! If you have houseplants, vegetables, flowers, or a greenhouse, compost can help your plants smile! Compost tea acts as a natural liquid organic fertilizer. And this composter makes up to 900 pounds of compost a year!
Tuesday ~ February 02, 2006 by kswanson56 Posted in Garden Tools, Gardening Lifestyle, Natural Pesticides and Fertilizers, Organic Gardening, Serious Gardener | Add Your Comments
Ergo Trowel
If you suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis, or general wrist pain, this Wrist-Easy Ergonomic Trowel is a great way to help ease any aches and pains you may associate with gardening. It is also great for elderly gardeners whose wrists tire easily. With a comfortable arm pad, this trowel will keep your wrist in a perfect neutral position to avoid excess strain. Built with high strength steel and coated to resist rust, this trowel will last a lifetime! 
Monday ~ February 02, 2006 by kswanson56 Posted in Ergonomic Gardening, Garden Tools, Gardening Lifestyle | Add Your Comments
Garden arbors great for using with climbing plants
Want to add a touch of class to your landscape? Add a garden arbor. (They are also called garden arches sometimes.) Garden arbors look particularly cool after they have been installed for a year or two and someone has planted some type of a climbing or flowering plant to grow around the arch. Climbing roses work great with a garden arbor, and so do many types of ivy or other flowering vines, like Honeysuckle.
Sunday ~ February 02, 2006 by larsdh Posted in Garden Furniture | Add Your Comments
Affordable copper weathervanes, in cottage size
Copper weathervanes are totally cool, but the full sized ones cost $200 and up. If you’re on a budget but still want to stick with copper instead of an aluminum weathervane, consider one in a cottage size. At around $100, it won’t break the bank.
Friday ~ February 02, 2006 by larsdh Posted in Gardening Lifestyle | Add Your Comments
Gardening Gift Set
This apron tool set is a great gift for the novice gardener. It comes with several handy tools, and includes an adjustable belt, and an apron. These are all the tools you need to start a basic flower or vegetable garden. This is also the perfect first garden tool set for the young gardening enthusiatic. Introduce your kids to a great new hobby with their first serious garden tools!
Friday ~ February 02, 2006 by kswanson56 Posted in Garden Tools, Gardening Lifestyle, Kids | Add Your Comments
Rolypig UK compost bin hits the USA
As previously mentioned in the Hippyshopper blog, the Rolypig compost bin has made its way over to the United States, where it is available online at People Powered Machines and Clean Air Gardening. Sell for around $330.
Thursday ~ February 02, 2006 by larsdh Posted in Garden Tools | Add Your Comments
The Truth About Garden Remedies
There are dozens of natural garden remedies that have been handed down from generation to generation and from family to family. In “The Truth About Garden Remedies,” things like putting a cup of beer out to trap slugs and snails and playing music to get your houseplant to grow are put under the microscope and analyzed by a professor from the University of Minnesota. Those gardeners who like to pick things apart with science will love this book. Those of a more “faith-based” persuasion may be better off avoiding it. Read a review of the book in the Seattle Times here. Buy the book here.
Thursday ~ February 02, 2006 by kswanson56 Posted in Books, Natural Pesticides and Fertilizers, Organic Gardening | Add Your Comments
Make your own upside down planter
The MAKE blog has a great post about making your own Upside Down Planter, if you are too cheap to buy something like the Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter or just so dang handy that you feel like you need to build it yourself. I kind of like the way the one made of a two liter plastic bottle looks, because you can see the soil through the clear plastic of the bottle.
Wednesday ~ February 02, 2006 by larsdh Posted in Garden Tools | Add Your Comments
New Asparagus coming soon?
News.com reports that researchers at the University of California Riverside have bred a new type of asparagus that grows better in North America. The new variety, a hybrid bred from existing varieties of the vegetable, will essentially be more resistant to the vagaries of weather and water in North America and thereby give farmers in California a better chance at competing globally. Growing conditions are more optimal in Latin America, where labor is cheap too. Latin American nations also often more lightly regulate pesticide use.
Wednesday ~ February 02, 2006 by larsdh Posted in Vegetables | Add Your Comments
Folding Debris Container
If you’ve got a compost pile or a compost bin, you may want to consider this handy collapsible debris container, which makes collecting garden waste very easy. It’s made from durable PVC fabric with a steel coil that holds the container upright. Simply line it with a plastic bag and you’re good to go! The Pop-UP-Bag is about three feet tall, and with an 18″ diameter, it’s wide enough to scoop in plenty of leaves and debris. When you’re finished for the day, simply fold it up and store it neatly in your garage or storage shed. It takes up virtually no space!
Wednesday ~ February 02, 2006 by kswanson56 Posted in Garden Tools, Gardening Lifestyle | Add Your Comments
Seed Saver’s Kit
A great gift for serious gardeners, this seed saver?s kit includes all you need to collect and store your most precious seeds. Air tight tins, seed envelopes, labels, and an attractive design will make saving and trading seeds easy. Available from one of our favorite eco-friendly companies, Seed of Change!
Tuesday ~ February 02, 2006 by kswanson56 Posted in Gardening Lifestyle, Hard to Find Seeds, Organic Gardening, Serious Gardener | Add Your Comments
Organic Flowers
For that special someone, why not order a wonderful certified organic pink passion boquet of roses, which includes the pictured vase and a box of chocolates. Organic Boquet is the place to shop for organic flower displays and gifts. They’ve got a huge collection of roses, tulips, lilies andmore! All their products are USDA certified organic! They also have a monthly gift club, which is a great way to buy eco-friendly gifts for friends and loved ones.
Monday ~ February 02, 2006 by kswanson56 Posted in Gardening Lifestyle, Organic Gardening | Add Your Comments
Tomatoes the Upside Down Way, with a Topsy Turvy
Although most people use them to grow tomatoes upside down, you can actually use the Topsy Turvy upside down planter to grow just about any kind of vegetable. Now you can achieve dramatic success growing tomatoes, other vegetables or even flowers from a small area. This planter is ideal for decks, patios, porches, balconies, or even hanging from a tree. You don’t have to dig any holes, or bend over to work or water. Weeding is eliminated. Feeding and watering is easy. You just pour it in to the top funnel while standing up. You don’t have to worry about tomato cages or stakes because the plants grow upside down with gravity. Plants grown upside down will curl upward, looking for the sun. It creates a very interesting and unusual plant with no ugly sprawling. Flowers look particularly interesting grown upside down. You can use several different Topsy Turvy planters at the same time. Grow tomatoes in one, green peppers in another, and flowers in a third one. The possibilities are unlimited. Upside Down Tomato Planter. $19.95 from Clean Air Gardening.
Sunday ~ February 02, 2006 by larsdh Posted in Vegetables | Add Your Comments
