Category — Green Garden

A lot of the heating and cooling energy you are paying for each month could be going right out the window.  Whether you live in a warm climate or a cool climate, insulated drapes, curtains, or window blinds can help you save energy and reduce power bills by providing a barrier that reduces drafts, and blocks hot sunlight in the summer months.

And, no, insulated drapes don’t have to look like the ones your grandma bought in 1972!  Insulated window treatments are widely-accepted as a green living necessity, and are available in lots of modern styles.

These tab-top drapes come in several shades, and are insulated on the back side with a 100% acrylic lining.  They come in several sizes, up to 160″ x 84″.  Matching valances are optional.  I found the insulated curtains at Plow and Hearth.

Before you whisk away your autumn leaves with a garden rake or leaf blower, consider these green living tips for using them around your yard.

Mulch- Leaves make a great environmentally-friendly mulch for nourishing flower beds and even the lawn.  Although you shouldn’t leave them whole, simply running over your leaves with a lawn mower will chop them up enough to create a leaf mulch for spreading around plants and dispersing around the yard. It’s important to chop the leaves to provide for air circulation when placed around your plants.

Compost- Autumn leaves make an excellent addition to your compost bin.  Toss them in with grass clippings and they’ll break down into a nutritious mix for your garden soil.

Important Note about Leaf Burning: Although it once was a common practice across the US, burning leaves is now considered a health hazard due to the toxins  (including carbon monoxide and formaldehyde) released. Read more about the dangers of burning leaves from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Even if you’ve already made the switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs, you may not have seen the “Anti-Bug” CF light bulb for use in your porch light fixture. The 15-watt yellow glow is apparently not-so-friendly for insects that like to swarm around porch lights.

The Anti-Bug CF light bulb comes with a cover to prevent it from shattering. This looks like a nice alternative to incandescent light bulbs, and a good method of non-toxic pest control for your green home. I think these would also be good to use in light fixtures around your outdoor furniture or pool area.

I found the Anti-Bug CF light bulb at Gaiam for $14.

Putting your kitchen waste and lawn clippings to work through composting is an excellent way to live green. Not only are you making use of would-be trash, you’re creating rich, nutrient-dense soil for your garden. Although many green living advocates use simple barrels or bins for creating compost, here’s an alternative if you want a faster way to create compost.

The Tumbleweed Compost Tumbler claims to create compost in as little as four weeks. With a daily spin, the tumbling bin rotates on a center axis to allow users to spin the tumbler around, breaking down the contents of the bin, introducing more oxygen to the contents, and ultimately creating compost in a shorter period of time. I found the Tumblweed Compost Tumbler at Green Living for $199.

Here’s an environmentally friendly way to illuminate your front yard or garden. This set of 12 solar powered LED light fixtures recharges with direct sunlight, so there is no power required. Manufactured by Malibu Lighting, these green light fixtures are constructed of stainless steel so they should hold up to rain and other outdoor elements.

In case you’ve never purchased an LED light fixture, they’re a great green lighting option. Cool-burning LED bulbs last many time longer than incandescents and they use just a fraction of the energy. Many people prefer LED lighting because of the clean, very white glow the lights cast.

The solar powered LED light set above will illuminate your outdoor area for up to ten hours. I found the set at 1000Bulbs.Com.

With summer in full swing, the lawn watering season has certainly begun. While you may normally think of a sprinkler as a simple convenience, check out this motion-activated garden sprinkler available at Hammacher Schlemmer. It has an infrared sensor which detects movement on you lawn or in your garden causing it spray anything that gets near it. Looks like this would be an easy and harmless way of ridding your garden of squirrels, rabbits or other would-be eaters of your fresh vegetables. This lawn sprinkler works during the day and at night,is powered by a 9 volt battery which will last several months with normal use, and it even has an adjustable dial for adjusting the spray for the type of pest you’re warding off.

A friend told me last week that she has been using banana peels left from her breakfast to fertilize her flower garden. I know that almost everyone has heard about the benefits of organic composting, but she’s doing something a little different. After eating a banana, chop the peel into 2 inch strips and save it in a container in your freezer. When it’s time to feed your plants, simply remove your frozen banana strips from the freezer and push them into the soil around the plants just as you would any store-bought plant food spikes. Your eco-friendly banana peel fertilizer spikes will quickly thaw in the warm summer temperatures and feed your flower garden with rich nutrients like potassium and phosphorous, both of which are great for your plants. Just a note on freezing banana peels: It may be helpful to freeze your banana peel strips in a single layer on a baking sheet before placing them in your freezer container to prevent them from freezing together.

In today’s LA Times Local News section, there is a marvelous story about LA’s Guerrilla Gardening movement. The cautious green neighborhood heroes are planting on land that is not legally theirs, but they are only ameliorating what’s already there. They are determined to turn abandoned patches of grass into flower or vegetable gardens, and they have the neighbors’ full support. To avoid getting caught, green guerrillas usually plant and “seed bomb” at night. They convert traffic islands, and any other unwanted piece of soil they can get their green thumbs on. The movement originated in New York in the 70’s and has since spread to London, Berlin, Miami, San Francisco, LA and virtually all over the world! Cultivating and caring for neglected land should be applauded! I think it’s admirable and genius!

LA Times via Outdoor Urbanite