I have just been reading about gardeners in the 18th and 19th centuries, and I have been quite amazed at the similarity of the problems that gardener’s face today.

Organic gardening was alive and well in those days, as I outline in my soon to be released ebook “How To Master Organic Gardening.”

Although, I think,the double purpose of a garden has been forgotten in landscape gardening. It seems that we now have a useful kitchen garden, but they can be quite ugly, or a flower garden that is not useful, but has flowers to redeem its purpose

The charm of a garden, as it used to be, was in marrying the two together.

In an English garden of old, vegetables and flowers were grown together, as the household had only a small plot of land, and they had to support themselves with food as well as providing flowers for the table. Carrots, celery, and other root crops would reside quite happily with delphiniums, foxgloves and other flowering plants.

In my own garden, I like to go my own wild way and do things wrong, and then find out by myself the mistakes I may have made.

I do recommend, if you have space, to have an experimental garden. Here you can try all sorts of new things before they go into your flower beds. It allows you the luxury of trial and error, without the stress of trying to place new plants in an already established area.

It is also a good plan, when a plant fails in one area of your garden, to try it in another area, and if it does not do well when relocated, then discard it. There are plenty more to try!

To the left is my organic garden as seen from the edge of my yard.

I am a Master Gardener specializing in organic gardening and for 20 years I have been working with not only my own organic gardens but helping people with their organic gardens as well.

Here at GoOrganicGardening.com I will share with you my general gardening, and specifically organic gardening, thoughts and experiences so you will also know what it is to work in harmony with Mother Nature.

All too often the act of growing plants and food for pleasure sets the gardener at odds with the natural world around us. As cities grow and natural wildlife habitat diminishes, it is, in my opinion, necessary for us to include places where wildlife can share the planet with us, while at the same time making our gardens whatever we want them to be. This is easily accomplished within the environment of an organic garden.

Spend time with me in my organic garden; get to know my methods for growing plants without the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers and you will be able to create an environment where animals and plants coexist in your own back yard free of pesticides just as they do in the wild.

You will discover such things as how to make your own blend of organic fertilizers to make good soil, which will allow the soil to produce good healthy plants for you. You will learn how to be your own ‘plant doctor’ as you will see how to recognize and correct nutrient deficiencies.

I have been guilty in the past of reaching for the ‘quick fix’ out of a bottle that I purchased in my local store, without taking the time to think of how I could gain the same result had I applied my own remedies.

As an organic gardener, you probably spend more of your time outdoors than most people, allowing you to see more of the wonders that wildlife can provide. Have you seen the fence lizard doing push ups? Do you know why skunks dig holes in your lawn? Maybe you have seen the frogs on the lily pads, waiting to flick their tongues at a passing fly. All of these wondrous things are to be seen in the joy of an organic garden.

An organic gardener is still faced with the same problems as any other gardener, but I believe that chemical pollution has harmed our environment, so I have come up with methods to deal with these problems, while keeping the air and water around me, poison -free.

For instance, did you know most of the bugs in your garden are good ones? They are there to help us in the fight against those that would do your plants harm. It is not beneficial just to open the spray can and kill every insect in sight, you are doing more harm than good.

Very soon my new Ebook “How to Master Organic Gardening will be available for you. You will want to get a copy to discover a lot of what I have proven over the past 20 years really works while working with organic gardens, and hopefully understand the delicate balance that we have with nature.

If you garden in a chemical-free way, you will give back to the environment that has given us so much.

- Ena Clewes

A fertile soil has a balance of minerals and micronutrients so subtle, that I do not think that any chemical could add
them all. However it is known that manure, compost and leaf mold will.

Organic fertilizers improve the soil to allow it to hold water, fixes nitrogen and makes nutrients accessible to plants
when they need it, this is probably one of the most important factors that organic fertilizer has.

Nitrogen makes leaves grow, and if you see yellow leaves then there is a nitrogen deficiency in the plant. For nitrogen, add compost, manure, blood meal, grass clippings and any other garden wastes.

Next comes phosphorus, which is crucial to seed development plant growth and disease resistance.

Potassium is necessary for early growth, stem strength and is also essential to the formation of carbohydrates necessary for the protein in the plant.

Using Organic fertilizers is much better for your soil, than any commercial product.

{This article was originally published in 2007}

The only reason why I know as much as I do about gardening-the scientific stuff-is that I went to school for six years, ending with two degrees in horticulture.  Little did I know, Horticulture is taught mostly as a science, less as an art.  I have come to believe, firmly, that it is both.  I have written many times about how the scientific knowledge I gained from school and from books has helped me create a more beautiful, healthier and thus, more artistic, garden.

While I was slogging through biochemistry and organic chemistry, I was certainly thinking more about the art side of things.   (I have to confess, my brain retained NOT ONE molecule of organic chemistry.  I got a “B” and I can’t even tell you what it is, besides something involving carbon.  I think.  I remember more about biochemistry, because it was more about systems and processes and I like those.)  Today, I am glad to know about the science of horticulture, as well as the environmental impacts, the artistic importance and its place in the food supply.

Lots of new gardeners is a good thing, in my opinion.  I want to do my part to help gardening newbies-especially organic gardening newbies-get a good start for their own sake and for the sake of the environment.  At the risk of sounding like a keyed up, freaked out environmentalist, home gardeners can do a LOT of damage to their environment without even realizing it.  I want to just touch on a few points I have learned, either in school, in the field (actually gardening) or from keeping up on my reading, to help folks new to gardening and organic gardening be 1) not scared and 2) better stewards of the earth and 3) have good results.  These are my top five pieces of advice.  For what they’re worth.

Katie’s Top Five Tips for Successful Organic Gardening

Some of these are specific to organic gardening, and others are good tips for gardening in general.

• Don’t bite off more than you can chew.  This probably sounds like common sense.  In the world of gardening, I can assure you, it is not.  Especially now, when everyone is beyond tired of winter and just ready to see ANYTHING green, it is easy to buy too many plants, dig up too much ground and then burn out quickly.  Especially if you are new to gardening or vegetable gardening, start with a little plot-five feet by five feet, or the side of your house.  Grow that for a year and see how it goes.  The next year, you might not even want to dig up more ground.
  

  Katie's Back Garden in 2008

  I decided this year, instead of digging up more room for veggies, I would just re-purpose the gigantic bed in the back yard.  I didn’t think I could handle more garden than I already have.  My husband, on the other hand, was chomping at the bit to dig up tons more space.  I won the battle to delay, at least for now.  (The below picture is our strategy for this year.  You probably can’t really tell, but the area surrounding the patio is the vegetable area.  The boards are our “raised bed thingymajiggers.”  It is only MARCH, so give it a little to fill in!)

  

  Katie's Back Garden 2009

• READ THE LABEL.  Sorry for screaming in type, and for incessantly repeating myself, but I’m really sold on that piece of advice.  That is the best way to avoid what the twitter guy was worried about:  over-application of fertilizer, herbicides and pesticides.  It doesn’t matter whether you are an organic gardener or a conventional gardener–if you over-apply any inputs to your garden, you will do damage to the environment.  Nutrients that are not used by plants flow from your back yard, out of the soil, into the groundwater, to lakes and streams and eventually to rivers and the ocean.  At every step of the way, this unnaturally high concentration of nutrients causes all kinds of problems.  Algal blooms, death of native species and destabilization due to both are just the beginning.  More is NOT better.  The best way to add or apply anything in your garden is to do it correctly.  If you are new, or don’t know how, read the label or consult a book.
• Go easy on the pesticides-whether organic or conventional.  I learned this from a real-world experience I had while working at Fort Ticonderoga.  The entire driveway in from the outside road to the fort is lined with maple trees.  My first summer in charge of the landscape, there was a major fungal problem that caused all of the leaves on the trees to fall off in about the beginning of August.  I’m not exaggerating when I say I woke up many nights worrying about the trees.  I had emails, voice mails and actual SNAIL MAIL from people asking what was wrong with the trees.  I had to write a story in the newsletter about it. There was no way we could have sprayed the trees.  It is a good thing we didn’t.  As I learned that summer, then had re-confirmed when I took pesticide training (more on that later), pests will maintain themselves pretty well if you leave them alone.  A population will increase to the point where it cannot sustain itself, whereupon it will crash and you will have several pest-free years.  (Or low-level pest years).  The population will gradually build up again.  It is a cycle.  If you treat for pests, you will kill beneficial organisms, too, and you will always have some level of pest problem.  The good guys are fine at taking care of the bad guys if you let them.
• Take a cooperative extension pesticide training class.  This also sounds very strange coming from an organic gardening blog.  However, if you have never had much formal training in horticulture the certification and re-certification classes are great sources of information, and they are usually low cost or free.  Most pesticide training classes teach integrated pest management, or IPM techniques, which is a holistic approach to gardening.  You will learn about plant systems, insects, and how to grow a garden that is partially pest-resistant.
• Avoid monocultures.  The only times I have had serious problems with insects or diseases is when I planted all of the same plant together, with no other plants interspersed, and without another grouping of the plant in another location.  Plants help each other.  (See the post on companion planting for more about that.)  They attract beneficial insects and repel harmful insects.  That is a good reason to interplant.  A good reason to plant two or three groupings of the same plant in different areas of the garden is that if one group gets eaten, you’ll still have the other.

So, that’s my 2 cents for what it is worth!  Go forth and garden!

{This article was originally published on the site in 2009}

There are many places that you can find the temperature zones for Canada and the United States. These countries are divided into 11 regions based on the lowest average temperature, starting from zone 1 (sub arctic) to zone 11 (subtropical).

Cold is not the only factor to be considered in plant selection. There is also rainfall, snowfall, and the number of hours of light. However, since cold easily kills some plants, it becomes the most important factor.

How much cold a plant can stand determines its hardiness. Climates tend to overlap so the lines of separation are not always clear. Many plants that are recommended for one zone will do well in the southern part of an adjoining colder zone and likewise in the colder portion of the next warmer zone. Many gardeners call this ‘pushing the envelope’.

Using the hardiness zone map as a guide, gardeners can determine when to plant tender plants outdoors in the spring with reasonable assurance that they will not be killed by frost. Usually by June 1st, the North American continent is frost-free , except at high elevations and latitudes, and by December most of the continent is susceptible to freezing weather, except for the warmer parts of Florida, Texas, Pacific Coast and Hawaii.

Even if a plant is hardy in a particular zone, it may not grow as expected if summer temperatures are too high or rainfall is much less than usual in that zone.

By observing the plants that flourish and the weather that is designated normal in a given area, gardeners can get a good idea of which plants can be counted on to do well and those that will be stretched to their limit to perform or even survive. Wise gardeners use those plants that thrive in their hardiness zone as it saves disappointment and cost.

Finally, consider the native plants that grow (or used to grow) in your area. By reintroducing them, you not only help native species recover, you know they will thrive because they are designed for your local climate and soil.

{This article was originally published on the site in 2009}

There are a number of towns and cities in the nation who are attempting to find out what that would look like; while educating groups of people, particularly in low-income communities, to become more self-sufficient.  This has been largely successful in the areas where a commitment has been made to this effort.

Wattle

Why Community Gardening?

A funny thing happens when you get people out of their homes, into the fresh air, and remind them that they can become a provider of some of their own sustenance.  Low income areas in particular have notoriously been linked to crime, accused of living off of the government, and in general have been marginalized.  When people are perceived that way, sometimes those ideas become what they think of themselves, and motivation to become anything else diminishes.

Self Sufficiency Through Gardening

No matter how much you enjoy or hate your job, there is a sense of pride in knowing that you are providing a service, producing a product, or contributing ideas to the greater world.  You make money, and you buy food to feed your family.  Perhaps intentionally or unintentionally, you roll your eyes at the gentleman in front of you who pulls out his welfare card to pay for his food.

For low income families, there has to a certain extent become a reliance upon “the system”.  Immigrant families in particular may come to this country having been used to farming for their food, then find themselves in an apartment building, or small public housing facility with little or no land to till.

Some low income families have never been out of the city and do not know the first thing about gardening, and may have heard the word organic, but do not know what it means.  Educating people about how to grow their own food, to take ownership for a piece of land, and to be able to produce something to help their family is good for everyone.  Not knowing how to take care of yourself without government intervention is a dangerous thing.

This is true of mid to high level income families as well.  Talk to your neighbors.  If they answer you honestly, do they find it silly that you garden, preserve food, and bake homemade bread.  The “developed” nations have two generations taking it for granted that food will always be available at Wal-Mart, and that water will always spill from the tap.

Building Self-Esteem

In working with low income families, it is apparent that for many of them, having to rely on the government is not something that they want to have to do.  They feel that there is no way that they can provide for themselves any other way, and this robs them of an important part of who they are.  Community garden initiatives are a great way to give a parent and family a sense of self worth.

Community gardens are generally run by master gardeners, extension offices, universities, and happy volunteers who treat these neighbors with respect and as equals.  Anyone who gardens knows that it is a great social activity.  Being outside makes it much more likely that a you will run into another human being.  Teaching each other in the meantime is a bonus.

Does Community Gardening Really work?

Yes. When organized and coordinated properly, this has worked for decades in some communities (read one such initiative here.)  The people who farm their garden plots take pride in what they have, and keep the program going effectively.  Neighbors get to know each other, they get to know each other’s kids, and suddenly neighborhoods begin to work the way that they are supposed to.

Owners/leasers of community plots generally will not allow this privilege to be ruined or taken away due to it becoming a public nuisance, or a magnet for crime activity.  These gardens are kept very well, and are respected by others in the community and are off limits to vandalism etc.

The benefits of these gardens are too many to answer in one article.  Children are outside, they are interacting with their parents and neighbors positively, and families are learning that they can feed themselves on their own.  They are receiving better nutrition, and are also receiving nourishment of their spirit.  Unused and ugly parts of the community are being made beautiful and alive.  It might make you wonder what you could do to get the ball rolling on that empty field down the street from you.  If you have an idea, run with it, and then share it here and with everyone you know.

I can think of few actions that are as simple or as important.  Good Luck!

{This article was originally published on the site in 2009}

What Do the Terms Even Mean?

For the purpose of this article, conventional gardening and farming refers to growing practices that do not take the health of the soil, the plant, or the person into account.  Organic is a touchy word in The States that has been regulated by the USDA to mean certain things, and the word can only be used if a garden or farm is certified.  However, it is the easiest term to use in a short article when talking about gardening in a sustainable, chemical free and earth friendly way.  So that is the word that will be used.

Conventional farming is about bigger, better, faster, and on a large scale.  Easy solutions to common food growing issues are used no matter the consequence.  Both plants and animals are treated with various chemicals without thought given to the soil, the water, or the nearby humans and animals who may be harmed by these chemicals.

Organic gardening focuses first on the soil, and building the soil through the use of compost, leaves, grass, or manure.  This provides the soil with beneficial nutrients and organisms that will ultimately help the plants, and that do not leach out of the soil in a dangerous way. 

So, What is the Difference?

There is skepticism about organic food, and why it makes a difference to support this type of farming.  Conventional food is cheaper, more conveniently packaged for quick cooking, and looks better than organic food.

Many of these articles are true.  However, there are hidden costs of conventional food that no one ever considers. 

1. Conventional farming is very reliant upon fossil fuels.  Farming hundreds of acres, then shipping those crops to manufacturers and stores create “food miles“.  Sometimes an apple at the local grocer has travelled hundreds of miles to get there.
2. Conventional farming uses monoculture.  What this means is that they often plant the same crop over and over in the same place.  This leads to more insect infestation and disease, and depletes the soil of nutrients which leads to more fertilizer use.  It becomes an endless cycle that also very often leads to massive topsoil erosion.
3. Conventional farming releases pesticides and harmful chemicals into the environment.  This cannot be undone.  These chemicals generally do not stay in the soil, and have to go somewhere.  Very often ending up in the water supply, and into the air that we breathe.
4. Food grown conventionally is bred to be tasteless.  It needs to keep for a long time as it needs to get to the store in pristine condition.  Vegetables are treated to slow rotting, and sprouting. 

Organic food is generally produced in a way that takes the entire ecosystem into account.  Gardeners understand that nature will take care of most of it’s own problems, and that adding poisonous chemicals is counter intuitive.

1. Organic food tastes more like what it is supposed to.  When a carrot is pulled from the garden, and bitten into, it tastes like a carrot.
2. Organic food is generally sold locally.  There are not preservatives that will help the food to keep, so it needs to be shipped only to local markets.  That is why buying local is another slogan in the organic world.
3. Organic gardening adds to the soil.  Instead of stripping away the precious topsoil that is available, the organic gardening is continually being fed with nutrients and composts that occur naturally.  It is the ultimate recycling project.
4. Organic gardening is no longer as expensive in comparison.  As fossil fuel prices rise, conventionally grown food prices are starting to rise, and are not that much less expensive than organic food.

Choosing organic and local.

Conventional gardening cannot continue indefinitely.  The practices used are inefficient, lack diversity, and will be compromised as fossil fuel availability becomes more scarce.

It is unclear when and if large scale farmers will begin to get this message.  The bottom line for the consumer is that money does talk, and where and how you spend your few dollars does make a difference.  Organics are becoming more mainstream as the demand for them increases.  If you are unable to grow your own food, spend your food dollars at a local market, on products that have been produced with the earth in mind. 

Believing in organics should not be an isolated activity.  Share it with your community, your politician, and anyone else who will listen.  When people really begin to understand, they may also decide that conventionally grown food is not the right choice.

So Is It The Dog or The Garden?

If your furry friend is digging his way to China it is possible you will never stop his digging completely. But many people have dogs and beautiful gardens. So you do not really have to choose.

This is a great opportunity for you to train your dog at home, in the garden. This is not the kind of behavior that will be dealt with in puppy or obedience classes.

The same way you have rules for inside the house, you can have rules for the garden. You can teach him where to redirect his energy and can properly train your dog to dig in one area rather than in your gardenias. You can also have some off limits areas in the garden.

Your course of action is going to depend on why is your dog digging the garden.

Let ‘s First look at Why is Your Dog Digging?

• Gardening soil smell, feel and taste good to a dog taste bugs and it is fun.
• He wants to bury a bone or a toy and the garden has nice and loose soil, it is easy to dig and fun.
• It is a hot summer day and digging a hole to curl up is a great way to stay cool down.
• Your dog is a terrier and this is what terriers are bred for: dig up rodents and critters.
• You have a puppy or a young dog that is not getting enough exercise. This is a way to release energy and have fun.
• Your dog spend to much time alone in the garden and has found a way to keep himself entertained

Here Are Some Solutions to Keep Your Garden Holes Free and Have a Happy Dog

Give Him His Own Puppy – Dog Play Pit

If your dog is just being playing and having fun, you can train him to play in a designated area of the garden.

1 – Set a place aside in your yard that will be puppy digging heaven. Try to choose a portion of your yard that is shaded in the summer and offers protection from cold winds in the winter. The size will vary with the size of your garden and your dog.

2 – Next, dig a bit and add some sand in for drainage – remember you want a digging pit not a mud bath! Try to make this fun for your pup by allowing him to join in creating his new play area.

3 – Now, how do you get him to actually dig in the pit?
Take some of his favorite toys and tasty treats and bury them. Make a fuss so that he knows what you’re doing. Call your puppy over (if he’s not there already), and help him dig them up. When he understands that you want him to dig there, praise him and tell him “dig in your pit, dig in your pit.”

He’s being rewarded instantly the moment he digs up a treat and eats it. When he finds a toy, play a game of fetch or tug of war with him, then bury it again. Encourage him to dig it up again, while repeating “dig in your pit.”

Put him inside for a few minutes while you bury some more treats and toys. Let him out and say “dig in your pit.” Praise him if he goes there, and play with him if he digs up a toy.

This in home dog training is fun for both you and your dog. He’ll probably learn what “dig in your pit” means in just one afternoon. Continue this day for a few minutes to reinforce it. Every morning bury some toys and treats in the sand box before you go to work. You can bury a toy that you can stuff with food, like a Kong. When he digs it up, that will keep him happily occupied for quite a while.

Exercise … Exercise

When dogs do not get enough exercise and play time, they will find a way to use up their energy. This usually show in the way of destructive behaviors such as digging or chewing up.

If your dog is high energy, make sure walks, play time and socialization are part of the day.

By the way, for most dogs being out in the yard is not sufficient exercise. You have to take your dog out for walks or play with him.

Boredom

If your dog is spending to much time alone in the yard he will find something to amuse himself: digging the garden is one, chewing on the plants is another one or laying in the middle of a flower bed because it feels good is a possibility.

Do not leave your dog alone for a long period of time. Dogs are pack animal and most do not do very well when left by themselves especially puppies.

Know What Your Dog Breed is About

As I said before Terrier are great diggers. So if your dog is a terrier or a terrier cross, digging is part of what he is bred for.

Working dogs such as terrier, shepherd, hounds for example are always looking for something to do. Small or large, they require a lot of stimulation , exercise and training.

You can redirect that energy with extra training activities such as agility, flyball or tracking. When a dog has to use his brain to perform, learn new things, he gets more alert and calmer and stay out of trouble.

Fence or Enclosed Beds and Gardening Area

Sometimes this might be the only solution to keep your dog out of the garden especially with a puppies or an adult dog that require more training.

Your garden is another perfect training ground for your dog to learn the rules of the house. This is the time to apply some basic training, have some fun and play together.

Catherine Potin is the editor of HappyDogConnections.com and offers free online dog training tips and resources from various experts so you too can understand and train your pooch better. From basic dog training to solving behavior issues, you will find solutions to get better result and create a deeper bond with you dog.

Elements and Tasks That Produce a Great Backyard Habitat

• Feed the Birds (and squirrels if so inclined) – There are multiple benefits to providing food and shelter to the birds in your area throughout the year.  Birds are an excellent form of insect control in the organic garden.  I counted a number of robins and jays this year snacking on the green worms attacking my broccoli and cauliflower bed this summer.  If you have cutworms or wireworms that cause problems in your garden, robins are good at ferreting them out as well.  One drawback is that some birds, grackles and crows in particular are very likely to go after freshly planted seed.  Cover new seed beds with straw to avoid this problem.


Female Cardinal Feeding in the Snow

• Provide Safe and Clean Shelter – There are many forms of shelter that are suitable for many types of birds.  Dead tree stumps with woodpecker holes drilled in them make nice nesting places for chickadees, shrubs and dense bushes also make nice nesting places.  Allow part of your yard to grow wild for birds who nest on the ground.  Throw prunings, dead branches and large rocks into a corner of your back yard.  Many critters will find this an inviting hideaway, and sheltering places for the cold winter months.  Of course, various homemade or retail birdhouses will also give birds adequate shelter, and nesting sites.
• Other Items That Birds Require – Birds do not have teeth, and rely on their gullet to crush and grind food.  Provide a tray or other flat surface that birds have easy access to.  Fill with course sand (like the sand that you may dig into your garden to break up clay), or very small pebbles. 

  Birds also need a clean supply of water.  This can be a difficult challenge in winter weather as the water will freeze easily.  An immersion heater, or bubbler will help with this problem.  Bird baths should still be cleaned when needed to prevent disease.  Provide nesting supplies.  We brush our long haired dog once a week, and hang the fur in an onion bag along with pieces of yarn, string, and dryer lint.

• Ugly Birds, and Pesky Squirrels – Birds like grackles and starlings will quickly clean out a feeder, and squirrels are particularly adept at bypassing any method that you use to keep them away.  Provide a tray feeder with cracked corn or chick scratch which can be obtained from most feed stores. 

Cheap and Easy Ways to Feed During the Winter

• Start Saving Gone By Fruits and Berries-As the late summer and fall harvest continues, throw apple cores, peelings, shriveled berries into a freezer bag to provide to your voracious eaters in the winter when such high energy foods become scarce.
• Bread Crusts -In the same manner, save bread ends, extra pancakes and waffles and other grain based products to provide in a tray feeder during the winter months.  This cuts down on garbage waste, and provides a nutritional source for your backyard friends.
• Forage for Them -There is an oak tree in my neighbors yard which is quite large, and hangs over my patio.  I try to beat my squirrels and chipmunks to the acorns that litter my yard, and save them for winter use.  They need to be cracked before setting out, so that small birds can access them as well.
• Commercial Bird Seed – Seed does not have to cost as much as you may think.  50 pound bags of sunflower seeds can usually be obtained for $20 to $25 at the local feed store, or farm supply store.  This amount should last pretty well through the winter months.
• Cover Crops, Perennials and Bushes – As fall approaches, planting cover crops in your garden beds is a good idea to prevent soil erosion, and green manure to dig in next year.  Many of these will provide seed and grains to hungry birds.  Perennials left to go to seed, and bushes that produce berries inedible to humans are also a great free source of food.

Once you decide to feed your backyard birds, commit to it.  They will come to rely on the food source, and suddenly taking it away can lead to starvation. 

Additionally, if you follow the steps above, you can have your yard certified as a wildlife habitat!

Whatever your reasons, creating a safe habitat helps to keep birds and other wildlife healthy through the hard winter months.  It does not have to be difficult, and additional resources on bird feeding recipes, etc can be found online.  It is a great family activity, and a great way to teach your kids about nature, and responsibility not just for the land, but also for the creatures who share our world with us.

A very ... blah ... lawn

1. Start by preparing the ground. Either mow the existing grass very short—set your mower blade as low as it will go, or, to completely kill the vegetation underneath, spread some thick, dark plastic over the ground and leave for about a month. (Yes, we know that seems like a long time, but it will work!)
2. Next, top-dress with lightweight compost or a compost/topsoil blend. Rake it out until it is smooth. Remember, if there are lumps in the lawn at this point, there will be lumps in the finished product!
3. Seed the lawn with a mix of grass and white clover. The clover will naturally add nitrogen to the soil.
4. Water frequently until the seed begins germinating. At this stage, watering is critical. If the seeds dry out, you will have to re-seed.
5. Once the grass is about four weeks old, you can put down an organic pre-emergence herbicide, corn gluten, to keep weeds from sprouting.
6. Mow once the grass reaches about three to four inches tall.

Voila! Follow those easy steps for a new, lush lawn.