The Garden Insect DVD
“Son, what’s this one? Should I kill it?” “No Dad. That’s a Patagonian whooping caterpillar…they kill mosquitoes and find truffles. People pay good money for these” “Oh …How ‘bout this one? “That’s the dog, Dad. Not an insect,” “Are you sure? He looks kinda shifty…” “Yeah…See, the collar? That’s our phone number there…it’s a dead giveaway” “That’s our old number…that’s why I thought….” “Trust me” I think he’s just getting revenge on me. If you don’t have a entomologist for a son, or just don’t trust the little monster this DVD could help. It’s 50 minutes long and was made by filmmaker who also is a organic gardener. It teaches you which bugs are which and which ones are helpful and which ones will eat your socks. The Garden Insect DVD is available from Clean Air Gardening for $24.99
My kid knows everything about bugs. It’s my fault really; when he was just a toddler I used to tell him that whales were insects and giraffes lived in the ocean and all sorts of nonsense. I never expected him to believe this stuff but when he started school and found out I’d been messing with his head he set out to find his own answers rather than asking me. Well, it’s paid off because now when I come across some insect in the back yard I just drag him away from the video games and get him to identify it
Sunday ~ January 01, 2008 by Steve W Posted in Garden Tools, Natural Pesticides and Fertilizers, Organic Gardening, Outdoors | Add Your Comments
Venus Flytrap
Venus Flytraps are found in nitrogen poor environments (such as bogs) of if you prefer to not slog around in bogs looking for carnivorous plants they are available from California Carnivores for $7.95. And you thought all those folks out on the west coast were vegetarians.
What better way to get your kid interested in plants; a plant that eats stuff. I had one of these when I was a kid and it was great fun. Venus Flytraps are a native plant of the Carolinas; and actually trap and eat insects unlucky enough to land on them. The trap portion actually secretes mucilage and when something touches the hairs along the edge they snap shut, shutting tighter the more the unfortunate victim struggles; eventually creating a hermetically sealed “stomach” that digests the prey over 10 days.
Friday ~ December 12, 2007 by Steve W Posted in Houseplants, Kids, Natural Pesticides and Fertilizers | Add Your Comments
Glass Wasp Traps
Sure, if you have a wasp problem there are a plethora of effective poisons you can buy in a spray can to take care of the problem but there is a better solution: These glass wasp traps. All you have to do is hang these specially designed glass containers with a bit of fruit juice in the bottom wherever you see the wasps hanging out. The wasps fly in, can’t find a way out, and eventually drown. It’s an earth friendly solution that is non-toxic, reusable and best of all doesn’t harm the more useful bee population. You get three glass bottles when you order the Glass Wasp Trap set from Skymall for $24.99
Every since I was a kid I’ve been creeped out by wasps. While exploring my Grandfather’s farm I found an old fallen down farm house with a hand pump water spigot. Being a curious lad, I had to give it a couple of pumps not realizing that a family of wasps had set up housekeeping in the pump body and were none too happy to be disturbed. I learned an important lesson that day — wasps are not your friend.
Thursday ~ November 11, 2007 by Steve W Posted in Natural Pesticides and Fertilizers, Organic Gardening | Add Your Comments
Biotal Leafmould / Leaf Compost Maker
Here’s another great product to help you with your fall gardening chores. Biotal Leafmould / Leaf Compost Maker quickly turns your leaves into quality compost, faster than through a normal decomposition process. Here’s what they have to say about the product: Leaves – converts leaves into rich leaf mould in months rather than years * 10ml of Compost Maker, mixed with a full watering-can, treats about one-and-a-half bin bags of waste. Anybody used this stuff? Does it work?
* Compost ready for use after ten weeks of rotting.
* Can be used to re-activate partially-composted or dead heaps.
* Suitable for use in all types of compost bins
Wednesday ~ October 10, 2007 by kswanson56 Posted in Natural Pesticides and Fertilizers, Organic Gardening | Add Your Comments
Citronella Candle in the shape of a garden gnome!
A citronella candle is a great choice for keeping flying insects away when you are on the porch or the back deck, but they just don’t have much personality. But now you can get the usefulness of a citronella candle, along with the fun weirdness of a garden gnome, with this Citronella Candle Gnome. $19 at Clean Air Gardening.
Monday ~ August 08, 2007 by Ulrich Posted in Garden Sculpture, Natural Pesticides and Fertilizers | Add Your Comments
Give the gardening gift of organic lawn care!
Have any friends who are big into chemical fertilizers and would never try an organic fertilizer because they don’t believe it works? Well, give them a bottle of this OMRI listed liquid organic lawn fertilizer, and you’ll probably have an organic convert on your hands, because this stuff is awesome. This organic liquid lawn fertilizer delivers more than just NPK. The fertilizer contains macronutrients, micronutrients, minerals, amino acids and peptides that are readily absorbed by grass and plants. A study by Mississippi State University showed that it outperformed chemical fertilizers. Although the NPK number appears lower than with a chemical fertilizer, your lawn and plants actually get more nitrogen. Synthetic nitrogen in chemical fertilizers is water-soluable. So what isn’t immediately absorbed by the plants with a chemical fertilizer runs off into ground water, streams or lakes. And if too much chemical fertilizer is applied, it will burn your plants. The nutrients in this liquid OMRI listed organic fertilizer remain as solid amino acids in the soil, so they break down naturally until the roots absorb them all. An impressive 97 percent of the nutrients from this liquid organic lawn fertilizer can be absorbed by plants, compared to a mere 20 percent with typical chemical fertilizers. Available from Clean Air Gardening. 
Thursday ~ July 07, 2007 by Ulrich Posted in Natural Pesticides and Fertilizers | Add Your Comments
Organic fertilizer made from chicken poop
Here’s a fun organic fertilizer gift for someone who loves their houseplants! It is an OMRI listed organic fertilizer with an NPK of 4-2-3. Comes in two 1 1/2 pound bottles. Available from Clean Air Gardening.
Tuesday ~ July 07, 2007 by Ulrich Posted in Natural Pesticides and Fertilizers, Organic Gardening | Add Your Comments
Organic Products for the Garden.
Park’s Seed is now offering a wide selection of organic products for the garden called Pharm Solutions. They’ve got products for roses, veggies, and all variety of garden plants. Keep Your Garden Healthy the Natural Way with Pharm Solutions!
Friday ~ July 07, 2006 by kswanson56 Posted in Natural Pesticides and Fertilizers | Add Your Comments
Tree Guard
Tree Guard
is a safe product that will keep deers away from your trees. It is made of an extremely bitter substance that deers dislike. This is a latex-based products that dries clear. Safe for pets, the environment, and people.
Tuesday ~ July 07, 2006 by kswanson56 Posted in Natural Pesticides and Fertilizers | Add Your Comments
MycoMinerals™ Garden Fertilizer
MycoMinerals™ Garden Fertilizer is a natural fertilizer that will help you grow healthy plants through mycorrhiza, tiny beneficial organisms that attach to the roots of your plants, helping them absorb important nutrients and minerals. This product also contains volcanic minerals, meaning that your plants will have plenty of trace minerals to thrive, without the use of chemical fertilizers. 
Wednesday ~ July 07, 2006 by kswanson56 Posted in Natural Pesticides and Fertilizers | Add Your Comments
Skunk Smell Remover for Dogs and Cats
Now here’s a cool product if you are looking to get rid of skunk smell, or bad smells in general. This XO stuff is made from essential oils from herbs, shrubs and trees. It neutralizes odors, and it is actually so safe that you can spray it directly onto your cat or dog (keep it away from the eyes, please!) to get rid of skunk smell on pets. I wish I would have had some last time our Jack Russell got sprayed, because tomato juice just didn’t work very well. But here’s the best part. It also works to get rid of other bad smells, so you can use it in a refrigerator, on dirty laundry waiting to be washed, in your car, in stinky shoes, on carpets and just about anyplace else you can think of. You can find the regular version of the XO odor eliminator here.
Tuesday ~ June 06, 2006 by larsdh Posted in Natural Pesticides and Fertilizers | Add Your Comments
Eco-Friendly Products for the Garden and Home
I was doing some research on environmentally friendly companies and products last week and found the Green Home Environmental store. Green Home sells a ton of cool gifts, gadgets, and useful products for a more eco-friendly garden and home, including these low-flow hose attachments, natural and organic pesticides, etc.
Monday ~ June 06, 2006 by kswanson56 Posted in Clothes for Gardening, Garden Furniture, Garden Tools, Gardening Lifestyle, Hard to Find Seeds, Kids, Natural Pesticides and Fertilizers, Organic Gardening, Vegetables | Add Your Comments
Slug Trap
Slugs got you down? Try out this all natural slug trap! How does it work? Just fill the container with beer and wait! The slugs are naturally attracted to the beer, and will fall in the trap. The manufacturers claim that you can catch as many as 40 slugs in one night. Mmmmm….fried slugs ‘n’ beer. Sounds like a great snack combination for Super Bowl 2007!
Tuesday ~ March 03, 2006 by kswanson56 Posted in Natural Pesticides and Fertilizers, Organic Gardening | Add Your Comments
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
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
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
Natural Insect Repellent for Organic Gardeners
Garlic Barrier is a great gift for the organic or natural gardener. It is super-concentrated and works to repel a variety of insects from your precious vegetable or ornamental crops. Their website includes a list of insects that Garlic Barrier repels. Just one gallon of this product will cover over 10 acres of row crops or 5 acres of fruit orchards. If you’re worried about your crops tasting and smelling like garlic, not to worry. The smell goes away in less than one hour after being applied. It also works on your lawn, and does not pose a health threat to your family or your pets.
Tuesday ~ November 11, 2005 by kswanson56 Posted in Natural Pesticides and Fertilizers | Add Your Comments
