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5 Ways to Make Back to School Fun

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

Anticipation, fear, excitement, dread, relief, joy: There are few things in this world that can match the great mixture of feelings that are evoked with the time of year notoriously known as “back to school.” For parents, teachers, and students everywhere, the late summer season means shedding swim suits in favor of starched shirts, and sunglasses in favor of study time. But year after year, there is one aspect of back to school that makes it merry. That, of course, is back to school shopping! Here at aHa! Modern Living, we have a great selection of items to make back to school fun.

(1) The Popoutz Seed and Peanut Feeders

These eco-friendly and 100% recyclable bird feeders make a wonderful first day of school gift for any teacher. The Popoutz Seed Feeder holds small varieties of bird food such as sunflower seeds and dried mealworms, while the Popoutz Peanut Feeder holds larger types of feed such as suet pellets and peanuts. Both varieties come in an array of colors, so you can choose them to match your son or daughter’s school colors.  And at just $3.50 each, you can afford to select several! These fun little feeders are great for kids and adults alike, as well as a terrific way to keep hungry birds fed when food becomes more scarce in the fall and winter.

(2) The Plant Nanny and Petal Drops

If there is one thing we know for sure, it’s that back to school is a super busy time of year for every parent. It’s time for school open houses, PTA meetings, parent-teacher conferences, and the transformation of your Chevy to a kiddie shuttle bus. And because of this, we know that every little thing you can do to help simplify your hectic schedule is a good thing. Plant Nanny and Petal Drops make it a snap to ensure that your indoor and outdoor plants are adequately watered every day. Just allow the Petal Drops to collect rain water in your yard into a recycled water or soda bottle, then turn the plastic bottle onto your Plant Nanny. Simple.

(3) Cacao and Spice Hand Wash

Back to school time also means sniffle and cough time. What is the best line of defense against these late summer sniffles? Plenty of hand-washing, of course. Keep a bottle of Daub and Bauble Cacao and Spice Hand Wash by each sink in your home. The delicious chocolatey cinnamon scent guarantees that they won’t forget to lather up before their after-school snack. Plus, Vitamin E and Aloe will leave their hands feeling soft and luxurious, not stripped of moisture. Daub and Bauble Hand Washes also come in 3 other yummy scents too, so you can select different ones for each sink in your house.

(4) Felt Wine Sleeve and Roost Menagerie Bottle Openers

If you are a first year college student, stop and take a moment to think about all the things you have to thank mom and dad for right now. They helped you pack up your bedroom at home, and haul all your boxes up 3 flights of stairs into your new dorm room. Dad helped you figure out how to screw together your bunk beds, while mom organized your sock drawer and stretched your new extra-long twin sized sheets onto your mattress. This is all on top of the hefty check they wrote for your first year of tuition. Wow, mom and dad are major champs, and it’s time to pick out a nice thank you gift for them.

Check our Gifts by Recipient section, where you can choose the perfect thank you gift based on mom and dad’s interests, whether they are bird lovers, entertainers, or gardeners. Two of our favorites are the Felt Wine Sleeve and the Roost Menagerie Bottle Openers. You can slip a pretty bottle of sparkling french lemonade into the felt sleeve, and let them pop it open with a fun wooden sculptured bottle opener. (The apple shaped bottle opener is definitely appropriate for back to school.) What a sweet and refreshing way to say “thanks.”

(5) Sprouts

As a parent, of course you care deeply about making sure that your child receives adequate nutrition during the school year. Plenty of studies have shown that when kids eat well and avoid junky processed foods, it enables them to be attentive in class and do their best in school. Sprouts are a bonafide super food that will help to keep your kid fueled throughout the school day, as well as help boost his or her immune system.

Try mixing a little bit of alfalfa sprout juice in with your child’s apple or orange juice at breakfast. The sprout juice is mild and practically tasteless, so it mixes easily. Or, toss a few sprouts onto a ham and cheese sandwich and pack it up for lunch. Their unique crunchy texture makes them fun for kids to eat. For little kids, get them interested by giving the stringy strands a goofy name, like baby spaghetti.

Alfalfa sprouts are one of the highest sources of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals in nature. Plus, they, along with other types of sprouts, can easily be grown on a counter top at any time of year. Check out our Sprouting section for a selection of sprouts, including mungbean sprouts and broccoli sprouts. All of our Botanical Interests seeds are now 25% OFF, so it is a great time to start sprouting!

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Late Summer Planting Sale: 25% OFF All Botanical Interests Seeds!

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

Did you know that late summer, from mid to late August, is a terrific time to sow seeds in your garden?  It’s true!  Come fall, when most of your friends are turning to their stock of pickled and canned veggies in their basement, you can still be plucking fresh produce from your backyard. You can check out our Cool Season Starting from Seed selection for a whole variety of vegetables that can stand up to cooler fall temps.

Not just any vegetable will survive and thrive when planted in August. Planting during the late summer requires some strategic planning, since you must make sure to plant only crops that can handle the extreme heat of August afternoons, as well as the chillier temps of cool autumn evenings.

Save 25% OFF all Botanical Interests Seeds. Click to view all seed varieties.

Hardy Vegetables for Late Summer Planting

Carrots- Carrots may be sown from August through September in 10 day intervals for a steady supply.

Chard- You can plant chard in your garden up until mid-August. In milder areas, you can even overwinter your chard by covering it with a protective coat, such as fleece. Tender baby leaves are ready to be picked and consumed after just 4 weeks.

Peas- Peas can be sown up until mid-August. They are extremely tolerant plants, and are super versatile, since they are perfect for eating raw, canning, freezing, steaming, mashing, and more.

Coriander- You can sow coriander seeds up to the end of August, and if you repeat plantings every 2 weeks or so, you’ll have plenty of cilantro leaves to use in your cooking and cocktails.

Broccoli- Broccoli is one of the best and easiest crops to grow in the late summer. You can even plant broccoli seeds in your garden through early September.

Salad greens- Oriental greens, kale, arugula, spinach, mesclun, and a variety of lettuces all thrive in the late summer.

Radishes- Radishes, as well as other root crops such as potatoes and turnips, all thrive when planted in the late summer.

Snap beans- Late summer planted snap beans often thrive better than those planted in the spring. This is because snap beans benefit from cooler temps once the plants begin to produce. Plant them in August of late September to take advantage of this.

Tips for planting in the late summer:

  • Make sure to plant cool season crops, and plant them early enough that they can get a good head start on growing before there is any chance of frost in your area.
  • Plan not only what you plant, but where you plant. Your spring-planted garden may still be flourishing in August. Make sure you do not plant your late summer crops in a spot where the seedlings will be choked out by other plants.
  • Your veggies may take a couple weeks longer to mature than you would expect. This is simply a result of cooling temperatures.
  • Appropriately prepare your garden spot for new seedlings by clearing away any old, finished vegetable plants and weeds. Turn over your soil to a depth of at least 8 inches, and add a good layer of compost. This helps to re-nourish the soil where you have previously planted.
  • Whiteflies, stink bugs, aphids, and caterpillars are all commonly seen in late summer, so monitor your garden closely for pests.

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What is a CSA, and Why Does It Matter?

Thursday, August 12th, 2010

Fresh, local produce

We have a dream here at aHa! Modern Living. Our dream is that all of the produce we consume will be fresh, organic, and locally grown. If we don’t grow it ourselves, we want to know exactly where it comes from. Ideally, we’d even like to have a relationship with the farmer, and the opportunity to visit his or her land. Sound like a far off and starry-eyed hope? Well, by participating in CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture, it can be a reality rather than a distant dream.

Becoming a member of a CSA is an excellent way to ensure that you will have a steady supply of fresh produce, as well as to support a local farm. Therefore, it is a great way for you to maintain a healthy diet, try new foods, avoid giving your money to large farming corporations, and bolster your local economy all in one.

When you become a member of a CSA, you make a financial contribution to a local farm, therefore becoming a member or shareholder. In return, you are supplied with a season’s supply of fresh food from the farm, (with a season typically running from late spring through early fall.) Check out this video to learn more about how CSAs are formed, and why they matter:

To find out if you have a CSA in your area, you can visit the Local Harvest website and type in your zip code in the space on the right side of the screen. CSAs have gained popularity in recent years, so it is likely that you can find one near you. While in 1990 there existed only approximately 100 CSAs in the United States, today that number has grown to over 1,000.

7 Questions to Ask When Joining Community Supported Agriculture:

  1. What does the farm grow? Ask for a harvest schedule and a list of crops. Make sure to consider that you may also find farms that offer meat, eggs, dairy, herbs, and/or flowers.
  2. What is the farm’s season? Most farms do not harvest during the winter. But depending on where you live, you may find one that does.
  3. Is the farm organic? Some farms practice organic farming, yet do not undergo the costly process to receive legal organic certification. Decide ahead of time what your standards are in regards to organic farming, and find a farm that meets your standards.
  4. Does the farm offer delivery? Most farms deliver produce on a weekly basis to their shareholders. Find out if you will receive home delivery, or if you will need to pick up your food at a local headquarters, such as a Co-op. Make sure that delivery dates, places, and times fit your schedule.
  5. How big is a standard share? Will you be receiving one pound of produce per week, or five pounds, or ten?
  6. How are payments made?Most farms require the season to be paid for up front. However, some will accept weekly or monthly payments.
  7. What happens when you go on vacation? You don’t want your lovely fresh produce to be delivered to an empty house.

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The Plant Nanny & Petal Drops Make Watering Fun and Easy

Monday, August 9th, 2010

Petal Drops

Every year when we plan our steamy-season summer vacation, we make a list of things that must be cared for in our absence. Take the dog to the kennel, contact the post office to stop our mail delivery, set a timer so the living room lights automatically go on and off, and ask the neighbor next door to water our plants. Yet every year when we return, our foxglove doesn’t look so foxy, our potted geraniums hang their red heads sadly, and our sweet basil looks more dried out and crusty than sweet. Drat!

Well, we recently discovered an easy way to insure that our plants are watered while we’re on vacation. No offense to our neighborhood kids, but we think that the Plant Nanny is a more sure-fire way to make sure our gardens are reliably watered in our absence!

Earn TRIPLE aHa! Rewards during the month of August when you buy Plant Nanny Singles & Petal Drops Rainwater Catchers.

Enjoy Peace of Mind with Plant Nanny Singles

All you need in order to use the Plant Nanny is a used plastic soda or water bottle. (So this is a cool way to recycle plastic, too.) The Plant Nanny consists of a special ceramic stake and a drip-free bottle adapter. All you have to do is place the ceramic stake in the soil, and overturn the filled plastic bottle, with the adapter attached, into the ceramic stake. As your soil dries out and becomes filled with air, the bottle releases just the right amount of water. Since the stake is in the soil, this is a super efficient way to water, wherein the water is delivered directly to the roots, allowing your plants to develop healthy, hardy roots.

Plant Nannies come in two different sizes to fit pretty much any need. Plant Nanny Singles are great for if you’re just going on an extended weekend trip, or if your container garden consists of smaller pots. The single size uses a plastic bottle up to one liter in size. For a longer vacation, or if you have a window box or larger pots, you should try the Plant Nanny Add-A-Bottles. These adapters can accommodate up to a 2 liter sized plastic bottle, so even if you’re gone for a week, your windowsill herb garden will still stay healthy and hydrated.

If you love the idea of recycling an old plastic bottle rather than letting it sit in a landfill, then you will love this second product that we just recently added to our gardens as well. We’ve recently begun using Petal Drops in our gardens, and we think they’re just adorable!

Price: $3.99
Buy Plant Nanny Singles Now!

Repurpose Rainwater in Style with Petal Drops

Petal Drops are just as simplistic and easy to use as the Plant Nanny. They are not only a useful way to recycle plastic water and soda bottles, but also a handy way to re-purpose rain water. All you need to do is attach Petal Drops, which are cute little flower-shaped funnels, to the tops of emptty plastic bottles, then place them outdoors. The Petal Drops utilize the same concept as a rain barrel, but are much more space efficient. You can use Petal Drops even if you just have a small cement porch or iron balcony.

Recently, after a glorious, heavy July thunderstorm, we found that all five of the Petal Drops bottles we had placed throughout our backyard were filled with water. So what did we do? We took the bottles and overturned them into our Plant Nannies. We are thrilled- watering our plants has definitely never been so easy, or so earth friendly!

Price: $6.00
Buy Petal Drops Rainwater Catchers Now!

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10 Ways To Become a Locavore

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

What is a locavore, you ask? The term was first coined in 2005 by four women in San Francisco who proposed that people try to eat only food that has been raised, grown, or produced within a 100-mile radius of their hometown. So if it makes it easier to remember, you can think of “local-vore” instead. To be a locavore means to eat locally.

Over the past 5 years, the locavore movement has picked up steam. In 2007, the New Oxford American Dictionary made the term itself their word of the year, which helped to garner some support and attention to the movement. Many people are discovering that eating locally has numerous benefits: food is more nutritious and tastes better, the conservation of fuel is promoted by avoiding supermarket fare that has been trucked hundreds of miles to get there. The locavore way of life is both nutritionally and ecologically sound.

When preparing to become a locavore yourself, you may find yourself wondering, what is the most logical first step? The first step to the locavore way of life is to embrace the fact that no effort you make is too small. Any step you take to support farmers in your area, protect your family’s health, and save the environment is a worthy step.

Here are ten ways to become a locavore:

(1) Shop at a farmers’ market. Farmers’ markets are a wonderful way to support local businesses because you buy directly from the farmers; the middle man is eliminated. While many people assume that a market will contain only produce, we would encourage you to attend one in your area- we think you will find that much, much more is available. You can often find local meats, cheeses, and even handmade beauty products such as lotions and soaps. One of our aHa! contributors shops her local farmer’s market in North Carolina for everything from local honey to goat cheese. So bring your own canvas shopping bags and prepare to stock up. To find a farmers’ market in your area, you can search the USDA’s guide to farmers’ markets.
(2) Closely examine your supermarket. Some grocery stores have recently made a concerted effort to carry local products. If you are not able to clearly identify where your meat, dairy, and produce come from, ask your supermarket manager. Inquire as to where your favorite products come from. Grocery stores do have the ability to change their purchasing practices. So make sure you voice your opinion, and encourage others to do the same. You can affect a change if you lobby!
(3) Choose 3 foods per week that you can swap out for local products. It is not practical to throw away every item in your pantry and fridge all at once and replace it with all local products. Instead, make an effort to select 3 to 5 different local foods that you can stock your fridge and pantry with each week. Make a gradual, slow transition. Overall, this may take a few years. That’s okay.
(4) Find your local Community Supported Agriculture. A Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, is a program that allows you to be directly affiliated with a local farm. You invest in the farm in exchange for a weekly supply of its products. Being a member of a CSA is a wonderful way to introduce yourself to various types of fresh local produce that may not otherwise find their way into your cart. It also gives you the opportunity to eat ultra-fresh and nutritious produce, and develop a relationship with a local farmer. To find a CSA in your area, visit this website and type your zip code in the box on the right hand side.
(5) Learn to preserve local foods. Eating locally means that depending on where you live, you may have a lack of fresh fruits and veggies during the winter. So take the time now, when summer veggies are delicious and plentiful, to pickle, freeze, dry, and can them. Come winter, you’ll have a great supply of yummy, local fruits and veggies available to you. Chutneys, sauerkrauts, jams, jellies- you have many different options.
(6) Frequent restaurants in your area that support local farmers. Most restaurants have websites now, so do your homework! Look for the restaurants in your area that use local produce, meats, fish, and cheeses. Depending on where you live, you may be surprised by what you find. There are hundreds of seafood restarants in coastal areas, but many of these restaurants serve imported, rather than local, seafood. Don’t make assumptions based on location.
(7) Host a 100-Mile Thanksgiving. The first Thanksgiving was celebrated with a feast of all locally caught, hunted, and harvested foods. So this year, host a Thanksgiving celebration in which you ask all of your friends and family members to bring a dish that was made only from foods that have come from a 100-mile radius of their homes. And while you’re at it, why wait til Thanksgiving? Try hosting a local dinner party or brunch.
(8) Buy from local vendors. While the local coffee house down the road from you may not have grown their own coffee beans, you are still helping to support your local economy by buying your beans from them. There is a difference between “locally grown” and “locally produced.” You can support your economy and the locavore way of life either way.
(9) Keep a journal of the instant and long-term health benefits of eating locally. A locavorian diet is not a weight-loss plan, but it does stand to improve your health in many ways. Be aware of how good and energized you feel; this will help you stay motivated to continue to make the effort to eat locally. One drastic change that you will notice right away is that you will eliminate nearly all (if not all) processed foods from your diet. And unless you live on the corn-belt or near a factory that produces corn-derived food additives, you’ll find that you will eliminate corn syrup from your diet.
(10) Prioritize your expenses. Local, organic milk may be more expensive than the cheap stuff at the grocery store. But if you cut out just one cup of espresso per week, it makes up for the added expense. When making a transition to the locavore way, accept that there will be a few start-up costs. Your first year of being a locavore will require the most time, effort, and monetary expenditure. You must research the best sources for local products, and be willing to spend time picking up and preserving certain foods that may be available for only a brief period of time each season. However, remember that when you buy a tomato locally, you are paying for just the tomato. You are not paying for the gas that was used to truck the tomato hundreds of miles across the country.

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Successive Veggie Plantings for Prolific Harvest

Monday, July 5th, 2010

Planting SeedsFourth of July has come and gone, but it’s not too late to plant certain seeds directly into your garden. Additionally, there are some vegetables and herbs that need to be re-planted several times during the season in order to provide a continual harvest. Here’s the skinny on when to plant and when to re-plant certain vegetables for your garden.

Successive Plantings

These plants do well with plantings either throughout the growing season or in spring, and again in the fall.

Mid-Summer Plantings

Some seeds will give you more bang for your buck if you plant them later in June, rather than in early May. The ground is warmer, certain pests that like to munch are gone, and a later planting will give you more harvest after your neighbors plants have produced themselves into exhaustion. Here’s what to plant now:

  • Squash (summer and winter-if you have a long growing season)
  • Corn (if you have a long growing season)
  • Pumpkins

Check out all of our Botanical Interests Seed varieties, many heirloom and organic edible seed varieties. Enjoy a 20% discount on our bush bean and pole beans.

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Grow Your Own Garnishes

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010
Herb Garnish

From Left: parsley, basil, cilantro

One of the easiest and most fun ways to dress up your party platters is with edible garnishes. Flowers like nasturtium, marigold and chamomile make good garnishes.  Herbs are great, too. You can buy the garnishes at your local farmer’s market or grocery store, but many of them are so easy to grow, and expensive to buy, that it makes sense to grow your own.  It isn’t too late in the growing season to start growing your own garnishes. aHa! Modern Living has seeds for many of these, and we’re having a seed sale!  Save 15% OFF all Botanical Interests Seeds – many organic and heirloom varieties.

Here are some of our favorite edible garnishes, and their suggested food pairings:

Photo Credits from left: Earth Spirit Organics, LeeAnn Smith, Smithsonian Blog

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Growing Food When You Don’t Have the Space for a Garden

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

Photo from apartmenttherapy.com

It is easy to feel dismayed when you would like to plant a fruit, vegetable, or herb garden of your own, and you simply don’t have a yard in which to do it. Don’t feel like you’re alone here; there are literally millions of people who are urban dwellers and in the same situation as you!

All is not lost when it comes to growing your own food. In fact, far from it. You have several terrific options for planting food in a barely-there space, whatever that space may be!

Gutter Gardening

We just adore the idea of sowing, tending and harvesting a gutter garden. Gutters mounted on the side of your house maximize the heat from your home, help to keep your crops out of the reach of wildlife, and are inexpensive as well as practical. We think they look really cool, too! Check out the one that is pictured to the left. We found this photo at Apartment Therapy, and learned that this particular garden was planted by Suzanne Forsling of Juneau, Alaska. Another great gutter garden discovery can be found on Fern Richardson’s Life on the Balcony blog. Awesome!

Here are some tips to remember when planting your gutter garden:

  1. Mount the gutters on the side of your house that receives sunlight.
  2. Drill holes in the bottom of the gutters in order to allow water drainage.
  3. Each time you water, water with a discerning hand. You do not want excessive moisture to get trapped between gutter and your siding.
  4. If you can’t drill into your siding to mount the gutters, try hanging them from chains. In this photo, the gutters have been painted copper and hung at various heights to create a sort of privacy screen, such as this one this is pictured on the left below.
Gutter Gardening

Photos from left: MarthaStewart.com & LifeontheBalcony.com

Recycled Objects Garden

Photo: Real Simple

If you are all about going green, then a garden planted in objects from around your house is the perfect option for you. And using recycled objects isn’t just about being trendy. It’s about saving money, and showing that you care enough about the environment to re-use things instead of pitching them into a landfill.

To the right is one of our very favorite ideas, and we found it in Real Simple, where they used some old Crocs as hanging planters. We think this is the perfect idea- they already have holes for drainage and the sturdy plastic will hold up well when filled with soil.

Don’t have any old Crocs collecting dust in your closet? Try out some of these other planting ideas using objects from around your house:

  1. Try turning an old spaghetti colander and a wire hanger into a hanging basket. These create an especially cool impact when hung in groups of 3 or more. For a hanging colander, try planting strawberries, cherry tomatoes, peas, or beans. Any plant that usually grows vertically and needs to be staked up can also grow hanging down.
  2. An old shoe holder makes a terrific herb planter, with each herb in a different shoe pocket. You may also wish to try planting leaf lettuce in a shoe pocket. Before you plant, pour water into a pocket to check the drainage. You can find other helpful tips for a vertical garden in a shoe holder here at Instructables.
  3. Try using objects from your kitchen to create a container garden. Old Tupperware, mugs, mixing bowls, and coffee cans all make great planters. Just make sure to either drill holes in the bottom, or add a layer of gravel at the bottom of each planter to allow for water drainage. Check out this Do It Yourself article for 5 household objects you can re-use to create a container garden for your balcony, porch, or deck.

Window Boxes

windowbox garden

Flickr photo: stephadamo

There are many types of vegetables and herbs that lend themselves well to window box gardens. Consider crops that take up a relatively small amount of space, such as radishes and herbs such as cilantro, basil and dill. Browse through more Botanical Interests’ organic and heirloom seed varieties to find the herbs and veggies that make your mouth water.

You don’t have to go out and drop a pretty penny on window boxes, either. You can do it yourself! Take a look at this article from Marigold Lane on how to construct your own window boxes.

Here are a few tips for maintaining a successful window box garden:

  1. Plant vegetables together that have the same sun requirements. For example, tomato, cucumber, and chives will all grow well together since they all are warm season crops and have similar sun requirements. Chives grow exceptionally well on a sunny windowsill!
  2. Before you paint your windowboxes, consider that dark colors tend to attract and absorb more heat. You may therefore wish to stick with light colored paint.
  3. Again, you’ll need to make sure that the planter has adequate water drainage. Consider this before deciding where to place your windowboxes. You probably do not want to let your plants drain out onto the balcony of the person who lives on the floor below you!

 

 

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What is Integrated Pest Management?

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, is a responsible, effective, and environmentally friendly way to manage insects in your garden. To understand how IPM works compared to using chemical pesticides, think about the comparison of an antibiotic on the human body.

Antibiotics are commonly taken in order to kill a bacterial infection or illness within the human body. But did you know that there is no such thing as a “smart” antibiotic? They kill all of the good bacteria in your body along with the bad. This is why, when you take antibiotics, you may experience a secondary infection, or nasty side effects such as digestive ailments. A chemical pesticide is essentially an antibiotic in your garden. It will kill off the nasty pest that you want to get rid of, but it will kill all of the beneficial insects, too, therefore upsetting the natural balance of your garden.

Why do people use IPM?

Because antibiotics upset the natural balance of the body, many people instead opt to treat bacterial infections with homeopathic remedies and probiotics, which encourage the growth of positive bacteria. This is the equivalent to using IPM in your garden. It will take a bit more time and patience, but in the long run you will be creating an environmentally friendly way to manage bugs in your garden instead of wiping them all out with one nasty chemical. Broadcast spraying of a pesticide, whether it is natural or chemical, is an absolute last resort when using IPM. Therefore, IPM is successfully used by many organic farmers.

How do I practice IPM?

There is not just one quick step when it comes to beginning IPM. Practicing IPM is instead a process or a system that is made up of 4 main steps. You can think of these steps as an investment in your health, your garden’s health, and the health of the environment. In other words, the time it takes is totally worth it! The 4 steps of Integrated Pest Management are:

(1) Set an Action Threshold

Setting an action threshold means that you will have a predetermined point at which you will take action against the pests in your garden. Just because you spot one bug munching away at your tomato plants does not mean you need to control these pests. Your action threshold may be that if you see one or two aphids, you simply pluck it off with a gloved hand. If you see three to ten aphids, you will spray them with Safer 3-in-1 garden Spray, an organic insecticide that’s made from sulfur and plant oils. If you see eleven or more aphids, you will purchase and release ladybugs in your garden so that they will eat the aphids.

(2) Monitor and Identify Pests

Not all bugs are bad! Insects such as green lacewings, ladybugs, praying mantis, and spined soldier bugs are all beneficial for your garden because they eat harmful bugs. Other bugs may not necessarily be beneficial, but they may just be hanging out and not hurting anything. If you see a bug, don’t just assume that it’s bad.

If you do have a swarm of harmful insects, make sure to properly identify them so that you can determine the best course of action to get rid of them. Remember, you don’t want to use something that will wipe out everything in your garden- you specifically want to treat the problem. Spraying isolated areas is used only when truly necessary in IPM.

(3) Prevent

As we like to say, “prevention is better than an ounce of Roundup.” The very first line of pest control in IPM is prevention. It is important to work to prevent pests from becoming a problem in the first place. This may mean using agricultural methods such as crop rotation. For example, a recent infestation of rice pests in Thailand called brown plant hoppers was exacerbated because farmers planted continuously in the same fields.

Another integral part of prevention is maintaining healthy soil and watering practices. Check out Annie Haven’s Compost Tea, which is a totally natural way to nourish your soil, therefore increasing flower bloom and crop yield. Adding nutrients from manure tea is one of the most beneficial things you can do for your indoor and outdoor plants. The tea naturally breaks down the soil, which allows your plants root systems to more readily absorb needed nutrients and strengthen their own defense systems. (It’s kind of like the effect of green tea on the human body- super nutritious!)

(4) Control

Once your action threshold has indicated that action is required, you will need to determine what type of pest control you wish to employ. It is a very important part of IPM that you use the least risky and least invasive method of control possible. For example, trapping may be a good solution, or using pheromones to disrupt mating patterns.

If you have fruit flies buzzing around your indoor potted plants, veggies from your garden, or the produce you bought yesterday at the farmer’s market, try using a Glass Fruit Fly Trap in your home. The trap uses an environmentally safe bait to lure in the fruit flies, and you can hang it anywhere in your house because it just looks like a pretty, colorful glass lantern. For an awesome natural and biodegradable insecticide, fungicide, and insect anti-feedant, try Dyna-Gro Neem Oil. It can be applied to indoor or outdoor plants, and will not harm beneficial insects such as ladybugs, bees, and spiders.

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Garden Starter Kits Make Great Mother’s Day Gifts

Monday, April 12th, 2010

Basil Container Garden

For first time gardeners, getting started can be quite intimidating. Many people would love to experience America’s #1 most popular outdoor hobby, but simply don’t know where to begin. A trip to the local Big Box gardening store is less than helpful. There are so many mass-produced products from which to choose, how could one possibly sort through them all?

Well, we at aHa! Modern Living have a terrific solution for the aspiring or novice gardener. We have assembled a wonderful little collection of Garden Starter Kits to take the guesswork out of beginning a home garden. With three different kits from which to choose, we’ve designed one to fit any green thumb’s needs.

Don’t forget that Mother’s Day will be here before you know it! Mom is sure to love a gift that will allow her to spend time outside in the lovely, warm May weather. Check out all of the Garden Starter Kits for the one that will best suit Mom:

The Urban Seed Starting Kit – $46.43

If you want to take the guesswork out of gardening for your mom, then the Urban Seed Starting Kit is the perfect Mother’s Day gift. We’ve designed it to accommodate the first-time gardener who’s just starting to get her handy dirty, but also for the more experienced gardener who just loves convenience and efficiency.

Each Urban Seed Starting Kit includes:

  • One 8 quart bag of Black Gold Seedling Mix- a mix of Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss, perlite and Dolomite lime, and yucca extract, which creates the perfect medium for starting seeds.
  • One 12 pack of 3-inch Cow Pots- made of biodegradable, re-purposed cow manure, these pots are perfect for starting seeds because you can stick them right in the ground.
  • Three bags of Annie Haven’s Cow Manure Tea- each bag makes 5 gallons of all natural soil conditioning tea.
  • One pair of Eco Bamboo Garden Gloves- super soft and stretchy gloves made of bamboo.
  • One 16-ounce Garden Spray Bottle- serves a wide variety of uses, from mixing up fertilizer concentrates, to blasting off insects, to watering seedlings.
  • One Grow Your Own Food Made Easy Handbook- packed with tips and information on how to grow more veggies in less space.

The Stylish Girl Gift Set – $54.50

The Stylish Girl Gift Set is perfect for gardening within a small space, such as an apartment or retirement home. All of the items are compact, easy to store, and designed to bring a little bit of colorful life into a city dwelling.

The Stylish Girl Gift Set includes:

  • One Chrysanthemum Eggling- just crack open the white ceramic shell and water the peat and seed mixture to easily grow your own little chrysanthemum garden.
  • One Daub & Bauble Hand Wash & Lotion Set- both the hand wash and lotion are luxuriously formulated with moisturizing ingredients such as Aloe Vera and Vitamin E. Read more about why to use Daub and Bauble’s natural ingredients.
  • One Elephant Watering Can- Adorable! Need we say more?
  • One Matchstick Wildflower Garden- all you need to do is tear off a little matchstick, which is already packed with seeds, and pop it in a pot. Storing and planting seeds couldn’t be simpler.

Modern Container Garden Kit – $65.99

If mom loves to garden, but doesn’t have a backyard in which to do it, no problem! The Modern Container Garden Kit has everything she needs to turn a small space, such as a window ledge, front step, or back patio into a lovely container garden:

The Modern Container Garden Kit includes:

  • One 8 quart bag of Black Gold’s Organic Potting Soil- the ideal mix of Canadian sphagnum peat moss, perlite, worm castings, which is perfect for indoor and outdoor potted plants.
  • One Aqua Genie Watering Can- this this sleek watering can’s mini size helps prevent over watering and makes it easy to store.
  • One Write + Erase Plant Stakes (Herb or Botanical)- these pretty tags can be used again and again. All you have to do is wipe off the name and re-write!
  • One All-Purpose Fertilizer Concentrate- contains all the nutrients needed to grow healthy vegetables, herbs, flowers, trees, and container gardens.
  • One Roost Wood Dibber Hand Tool- No, it’s not a stake for vampire hunting. A wood dibber allows you to plant bulbs and seeds at the correct depth. It makes planting a snap.
  • One 4-pack Pot Pads (green, brown, blue or red)- an essential little addition for any successful container garden. Pot pads lift the pot in order to provide water drainage and air circulation, and also prevent ugly pot stains on your patio or deck.
  • One set of Herb & Floral Clippers- these non-rust clippers make trimming and pruning a breeze.

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