Household Items to Improve Your Garden

Improving your garden can be easier than one thought by using everyday household items.  The following items are not just great for the garden but they are items we use daily and, best of all, eco-friendly:

• Coffee Grounds - Sprinkle your used coffee grounds around the base of your plants to add valuable nutrients into the soil.  They are rich in nitrogen and tannic acids and acid loving plants like Rhododendrons respond the best to coffee grounds.
• Egg Shells - Place crushed eggs shells at the base of your plants to add valuable nutrients into the soil.  They are rich in calcium which aids in cell development in all plants.
• Vinegar - Spray on weeds especially on areas that are difficult to weed e.g. between interlocking bricks.  It will kill anything it touches so do not spray on grass or plants.
• Nylons - Use to tie back or support trees and bushes.
• Food scraps - Add to compost for rich nutritious soil.
• Dish soap - mix with water and wash the interior and exterior of your windows for a spotless view into your garden.
• Corn Gluten Meal - prevents the germination of weeds. Sprinkle around problem areas to prevent weeds.

Happy Gardening!

Eco-Friendly Ways to Eliminate Pesky Summer Pests From Your Garden & Home

Garden:

• Mosquitoes: Rub a dryer sheet all over clothing and place additional dryer sheets in pockets of clothing.
• Snails: Use copper around your plants and at the bottom of your pots.
• Ants: Sprinkle cornmeal at the base of plants and on flower buds.
• Red Lily Beetle: If you are noticing holes in your lily’s (any variety) you probably have these beetles. Remove the red lily beetles when you see them and spray plants with neem oil (read directions on the bottle for proper usage).
• Squirrels & Rabbits: Do not use chili peppers and/or cayenne pepper even though many suggest. It can cause blindness if the animal rubs it into their eyes. We recommend one or all of the following:
• Human/Pet Hair
• Ferment chopped garlic in luke warm water for 1-2 days and pour around plants.
• Sprinkle Bone Meal at the base of your plants which will also act as a fertilizer.

Home:

• Fruit Flies: Pour ½ a cup of apple cider vinegar + dish soap into a bowl and place near fruit & near your green bin.
• Fungus Gnats: Place Sticky Stiks® in your indoor plants. If you have a large Fungus Gnat infestation check out our blog on “Organic and Safe Ways to Eliminate Fungus Gnats”