by Neko James
It is easy for anyone to enhance the look of their lawn. Lawn chemicals are easily available anywhere to treat lawn pests and ensure green lawns, but have you considered the risks these products present to you, your family, pets, and the environment. Waste material from chemical lawn treatments are absorbed into underground streams, or run-off into nearby streams and water sources polluting the drinking water. Chemical lawn materials may also harm various components of your local ecosystem causing irreversible problems. You can avoid these problems associated with chemical lawn care by switching to organic lawn care.
Soil varies from place to place and it is important to know the acidity or alkalinity of your soil in order to treat it effectively. Acidity and alkalinity are measured by pH. You can test your soil to find out the pH level. Then you will know whether it is more heavily alkaline (pH above 7.0) or acidic (pH below 6.5). Knowing this information will help you choose the right organic treatment for your soil.
The biggest problem with organic fertilizer is offensive smell. Many people are so turned off by the smell of organic fertilizer that they refuse to use it. You need to know that organic fertilizers can now be bought in granular form. Granular organic fertilizer is made of treated sewage. It complies with all safety regulations and provides your soil with much needed nutrients. The best thing is that this organic fertilizer is odorless, providing lawn treatment without harmful side effects.
There are a number of good organic fertilizers from which to choose. One of the best is Coconut Fiber. It is great for use with plants in acidic soil, with a pH of 5.5 – 6.3. Coconut Fiber, like other organic fertilizers should be easy to find in your local gardening store. Another good organic fertilizer is earthworm fertilizer. Earthworms themselves can be used to enrich the soil, as well. Use only small layers of fertilizer for in order to grow healthy, green plants and lawn.
The use of organic pesticides is much better for your lawn and the environment than chemical pesticides. Organic pesticides include diatomic earth, specialized lawn care sand, oatmeal, vinegar, and cinnamon. These can be used to help control pests without harming the environment.
Switching to organic lawn and garden care will benefit your health and the environment. It will also return you to the methods of gardening used by your grandparents that produced such great results just a few years ago. They produced beautiful lawns and gardens without the use of chemical treatments and pesticides.
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August 17 2009 | Landscaping | No Comments »
by Peter Emerson
Household owners nowadays prefer using solar lights for decorating their outdoors and you can see them in many people’s outdoor as they are gaining popularity. They do absolutely no harm and are very friendly to the environment.
The reason why solar lights are so well known to be safe to the environment is because they don’t need electricity to work, all they do is feed on the natural energy they get from sunlight and that’s exactly how they glow in the dark.
This also means that they are budget friendly as well, since they use absolutely no electricity this means no electricity bill no matter how long your solar lights remain glowing.
Solar lights are meant to provide your garden with extra unique beauty at night. But they are not only used in gardens, solar lights are used in almost anywhere you want to decorate. They are good for decks, patios, backyards, sidewalks and even your front door.
And being solar, they are capable of glowing in any place you put them without having to worry if electricity wires reach that place or not. They are far more convenient that any regular electricity light bulb.
It’s very important that you don’t forget that solar lights need the sunlight to recharge in order for them to work properly after sunset, this means your choices in placing them might be somewhat limited.
For your outdoor solar lights to work the way they’re supposed to, they should be getting at least 7 hours of bright sunlight a day. Remember, the sun is like a recharger to your solar lights so it’s necessary that sunlight is provided.
If you start to realize that your solar lights aren’t as bright as they should be, or some of your solar lights aren’t glowing at all, the most likely reason is that they need a change of battery.
Solar batteries die naturally after many uses, but many things can speed up their limited life span and one of those is not getting enough sunlight. The less sunlight your solar batteries are provided with, the longer it’ll wear out and the more often you’ll have to replace it.
Solar lights aren’t exactly the kind of bulbs that require a lot of care, they need to be washed continuously because of being outside day and night, day after day can wear people out sometimes.
Cleaning your solar lights and making them look as good as new is unbelievable simple, all you need is a damp cloth and wipe off al the dirt on each and every solar light there is. Also make sure you do not expose it to too much water.
Solar lights are very durable because they are made of LED bulbs, in other words: light emitting diode. So there’s no need to worry much about causing damage.
A great advantage of having solar lights is that there is a much less chance of starting a fire when regular light bulbs can start a huge fire any time somebody acts too clumsy around them and starts an accident.
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August 16 2009 | Landscaping | No Comments »