Green And Natural

If you’re one of those homeowners who prides themselves on a lush, healthy lawn, then here are a few tips for how you can help keep the planet lush and healthy, too.

Surprised? You shouldn’t be. Let’s think for a minute about the rain that falls on your yard. You know that the water that soaks into your yard helps your grass grow and thrive. That’s great –  but the water that runs off the lawn ends up in the local creek. So how you take care of your yard can make a difference for how clean your nearest creek is, and how healthy the water is for people and animal who depend on it.

Here are a few tips for how green thumbs like you can do their part for a healthy environment.

Tip #1) Set the Mower Blade to 3 Inches or Higher

From the perspective of our planet, three inches is an “optimal” height for grass. Grass this high retains water better shorter grass. It’s more resistant to disease and leaves less room for weeds. When you mow your grass to three inches, you’ll have to water it less often won’t have to use herbicides and fungicides that wash into the creek.

You can still mow every week to keep that neat, well groomed look. Just set the blades a little higher and you’ll feel great about doing your part.

Tip #2) Leave Grass Clippings on the Lawn

Chemical fertilizers can help grass on your yard grow, but when they wash into the local creek, they have the opposite effect. Fertilizer in the water helps the algae grow, and this chokes out the grass. So what’s a lawn enthusiast to do? It’s simple — when you mow the grass, leave the clippings on the lawn. They are excellent fertilizer for your lawn. They contain nutrients such as potassium, phosphorous, and nitrogen, which are essential to lawn health.

A great way to do this is to use a mulching mower. This is a special kind of lawn mower designed to chop up grass clippings finely. They are then able to sprinkle down in among the grass and break down, nourishing your lawn.

If you don’t have a mulching mower, you can use an ordinary one, too. Simply set the front wheels slightly higher than the back. This will double cut the grass – once as the front wheels roll over it, and again as the back wheels do. As the grass is being cut a second time, the clippings created when the front wheels rolled over will be cut into finer bits as well. Keep in mind that mulching works best when grass is dry.

Tip #3) Dispose of your clippings properly.

It’s tempting to dump those clippings down a storm drain, or pile them in the woody patch along the stream bank. “It’s biodegradable,” you might tell yourself. Don’t do it. If you’re not going to leave your clippings on the grass, bag them and put them on the curb for your friendly neighborhood sanitation workers to dispose of.

Your lawn needs a lot more nutrition than the local creek. Dumping your clippings into a storm drain or stream bank is like feeding your kids nothing but chocolate cake — it’s not good for them.

You’ve mowed your lawn. You’ve followed these tips. And now it’s time to relax and enjoy the rewards! Next time your guests are over for that backyard cookout, enjoy the admiration they express over that lush green grass you’ve worked so hard to care for. Then, tell them about these extra steps you’ve taken to do your part for the environment and watch the look on their faces.

Enjoy!

Are you a green thumb in the Washington, DC or its suburbs? If so, check out the Metro DC Lawn and Garden Blog, your source for “green” news and tips in the area. This article was placed in this directory by the Water Words That Work, LLC, an environmental communication company.

In most ways greenhouse gardening is like regular gardening except for a few things. You have the accountability to keep check on the environment for the plants growing in the greenhouse but the fundamental skills required are the same. You will have to give more time to greenhouse gardening in comparison to the regular from of gardening. Six important tips for greenhouse gardening have been suggested below o help an amateur greenhouse gardener.

1. Planning the site for your greenhouse garden is very much like the one which you will do for a regular garden. It is good to choose a place with less traffic and a lot of light. If you want your greenhouse to grow all through the winter plant the garden with winter lights.

2. The space which is used for greenhouse garden should be sufficient. There is no need to choke the greenhouse with numerous seeds and plants. You should plan in a way that there is ample space for you to maintain greenhouse gardening.

3. Greenhouse gardening is largely different from regular gardening in that you have to monitor and control the environment. To do this properly you will need to install a thermometer near the middle of your greenhouse. If temperatures get too high for your plants to be healthy you will need to ventilate the greenhouse to cool things down for your greenhouse gardening.

4. A normal garden as well as the greenhouse garden needs similar type of soil for growing plants. The difference comes in watering as they need much less water due to the temperature inside being monitored. The soil remains moist for a longer time as the air in the greenhouse retains the moisture for long. The plants should be given water only when the soil is dry in your greenhouse garden.

5. You will need to disinfect your greenhouse as a part of your greenhouse gardening. This will help prevent mold from growing on the walls of the greenhouse. This can occur due to the levels of heat and humidity in the greenhouse, so regular cleaning is important.

6. The water which is given to the plants should be at room temperature as your plants inside can die due to the shock of very cold water. Generally there is chlorine in tap water so you should keep the water for a day for it to disperse before watering green house plants.

Gary Pearson is an accomplished niche website developer and author. To learn more about Alcohol Rehab Facilities visit Alcohol Addictions for informative articles and discussions.

It seems all you hear today is about living a greener lifestyle. You need to reduce your carbon footprint and your environmental impact. We all know that this is important, but it can feel like being lectured at times.

However, there are some easy ways to live a greener life. Curbside recycling is in place in most cities, where you can simply place your recyclables out with your trash for pickup (in a separate container, of course). It’s easy to separate your plastic, aluminum and other recyclable materials. The recycling pickup service takes care of the rest ? all you have to do is to take it outside!

There are many things you can do to cut down on driving. Try to do everything in one trip if possible. You will save money, cut down on traffic, and reduce emissions into the environment. Driving is stressful and stress is not good for you so less driving means less stress. Ride with someone or use public transportation if you can. You can ride a bike or walk in some cases and it will also give you some healthy exercise.

When you do things around the house, there are a lot of green products you can use that cost very little. If you replace your standard incandescent light bulbs with energy-saver bulbs, you can save a considerable amount on your energy bill, and the costs of the bulbs are very similar to the incandescent bulbs. These compact fluorescents last much longer than a traditional bulb as well as using less energy.

Making your home more green will also make it more comfortable. Big windows will let in more light, so you can leave your electric lights off longer, fluorescent bulbs and energy efficient appliances will save energy and money too. Turn off the air when you are away, fix those hot water leaks, hang clothes on the line when weather permits. These seem like little things but they will make a big difference in your energy bill.

Another place to go green and save money is with batteries. Today’s rechargeable batteries last a long time, recharge easily, and save you money. When they finally do run out of their charging ability, rechargeable batteries are recyclable. Just drop them off at your local hardware store for recycling along with any broken fluorescent bulbs.

Contrary to popular opinion, it is easy to be green and even easier too go green. It saves you money while doing something good for the environment. Before you know it, living green will be second nature and you’ll be looking for ways to add some more green living to your lifestyle.

Simon Skinner is the owner of green-base.com. Green-base.com is your base for all things green, providing news and views as well as news and services to assist you in your new eco-friendly lifestyle! Bookmark www.green-base.com for all of your eco-friendly news.