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Posted by CathySullivan on January 8, 2012 at 5:06 PM under
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Growing up in Detroit, I didn’t learn about the process of growing and raising food. But, my family used to go to Ontario, Canada a lot to visit my grandparents, and on the way we would stop to get fresh eggs and bushels of fruits right off the trees from small farms along the way. I remember the produce always tasted so fabulous, and now that I'm grown, and I know how long it can sit in storage areas or on trucks or railcars, I know exactly why food straight from a farmer's doorstep tastes so much better. So it makes complete sense to me that folks are getting into growing their own food and even having backyard chickens and goats!
I mean, look at the benefits:
· You know what you're eating, what's gone into it and what hasn't
· It's fresher, so it’s better for you
· Growing your own reduces transportation and storage costs and expenses
· It tastes better when you've worked for it
· A sense of accomplishment
· It should be less expensive
There are some people who worry about odor arising from the keeping of livestock, but using a product called BiOWiSH-Odor™ will eliminate that potential problem! BiOWiSH-Odor™ reacts bio-chemically with odor-causing molecules, catalyzing their transformation into smell-free non-toxic end products, which are consumed in nature. It does not mask the odor, but rather, it rapidly accelerates decomposition. BiOWiSH-Odor™ has been tested by independent laboratories and confirmed to be non-toxic, non-irritating, non-flammable, non-pathogenic and non-hazardous! Some of the benefits to using BiOWiSH-Odor™ are that it is:
· fast acting
· cost effective
· operative at low dosage rates
· known to work in a wide range of operative conditions
· has a long residual effective period
· all natural anti-microbial action – sanitizes as it works
· 100% organic
· harmless to humans and the environment
So think about joining the growing ranks of backyard chicken farmers. It's fun watching them, they can eat slugs and bugs in your yard, and provide your family with fresh, healthy eggs. If our covenant controlled enclave has decided to allow them, I can’t imagine many that won’t. (More about hens vs. roosters later!)
Ah, fresh from the chicken eggs once again!
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Posted by Cathy on August 4, 2010 at 9:31 PM under
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We have a friend with a miniature golf course close by who was lamenting to my husband the other day about having to clean the bathrooms every night after the 'mishaps' of their cherished customers. Of course while they appreciate the business that their clients bring in, it's not a lot of fun cleaning up after them!
But they're closing times been much less gruesome now that they have BiOWiSH™ Cleaner-Deodorizer helping them. These hard working folks deserve a few breaks, after all. Their stinky, germ filled chore is taken care of with a quick spray of BiOWiSH™ Cleaner-Deodorizer. It eliminates, instead of masking odors, because it digests the bacteria. And one package of BiOWiSH™ Cleaner-Deodorizer equals 2.5 gallons of cleaning and deodorizing power, so it costs under $5 per. An all-natural cleaner, completely safe around children and pets, and economical too!
Cleaner & Deodorizer is a unique chemical-free cleaning treatment for every household and office surface. Rid yourself of the worry of chemical cleaners with all BiOWiSH™ cleaning products, including Floor Wash, Odor, Septic Tank Aid, BiO-Stix Drain Cleaner, Pond & Fountain, Aqua and Cleaner & Degreaser. View product details on our BiOWiSH Products page. Happy cleaning!
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Posted by Cathy on June 8, 2010 at 6:11 PM under
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If you want to learn about gardening while enjoying fresh air and a community spirit, check out the gardening festivals that may be available to you locally. We attended our first gardening festival as exhibitors this past weekend in the beautiful city of Fort Collins, Colorado. The town has plenty of gardens to enjoy, and lots of folks interested in gardening. There was a plethora of information to be gathered at the various booths and lots of gorgeous flowers and vegetable plants. One thing that I particularly loved was how many people came out with their children, to help them learn how to garden, how important honey bees are to gardens, and best of all - about composting! We had examples of things that we use in our composting on our table: grass clippings, coffee grounds, straw and alfalfa, dried leaves, drier lint, pet hair and vacuum bag contents. Since we, like most composting folks, have plenty of greens (nitrogen) to contribute to the compost pile, but struggle to keep the mix of browns (carbons) high enough, we add the drier lint and animal hair. Still usually not enough, we add BiOWiSH™ Compost Boost to keep the organisms activated and breaking down that compostable material. This ensures that we have a new batch of compost to add to our garden every 4-6 weeks. Our garden loves it! And we love the produce that we are getting from our garden. And thinking of the zucchini to come, I always keep an eye out for new ways to use zucchini. Here is a recipe I found for Chilled Zucchini and Green-Bean Soup with Pesto Swirl:
(Start to finish: 1 hour. Servings: 6)
Ingredients
2 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil
1 small sweet onion, chopped
1 lb zucchini, ends trimmed and thinly sliced
4 cups chicken broth (reduced sodium works great)
10 oz package frozen shelled edamame
1/2 lb green beans, ends trimmed
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
1/4 cup store bought basil pesto
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream or plain greek yogurt(optional)
Directions
In a large saucepan over medium high heat, heat the oil. Add the onion and zucchini and saute' until very soft, about 10 minutes. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Stir in edamame and green beans and simmer, uncovered, until the vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool for 15 minutes.
Transfer the soup, in batches if necessary, to a blender or food processor. Puree', then season with salt and pepper.
Serve the soup chilled or at room temperature. When serving, divide the soup among 6 bowls and swirl a spoonful of pesto into each. Top with sour cream or yogurt, if desired. Enjoy this low calorie (135), refreshing soup, and build up your intake of healthy vegetables! Happy Composting!
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Posted by Cathy on May 30, 2010 at 9:02 PM under
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The news is rife with articles about gardening and I'm loving it! We have the Grow insert in our Denver Post weekly which overflows with information about plants and gardening, and there was the article about the woman who had survived WWII teaching school children about victory gardens, and then the school that dedicated a portion of their grounds for some third graders to grow a garden and learn about where food comes from. It's all the rage, I tell you! The reasons are varied, but one of the best reasons that gardening is popular is that it's just plain good for you.
Gardening provides physical exercise that helps prevent heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. It helps prevent osteoporosis if you're lifting water jugs, pushing a garden cart or turning compost.
When you're working in the garden you're most likely relieving stress and getting lots of fresh air. There's a connection to nature, and a brain boost as you plan your garden and research tools and plants.
Then there's the obvious: if you grow it, you'll eat it. Fresh vegetables and fruits improve your physical wellbeing. You can control the use of pesticides and fertilizers. You will notice how much better the food tastes when it's picked and consumed the same day, and need we talk about using fresh herbs to enhance the flavors of your meals? Think about how much sugar and salt you can cut back on when fresh herbs are used instead.
So get out there and dig in. Garden with your kids, or the neighbors, and build relationships through gardening. Don't forget to add organic compost in your garden for healthier, more productive plants, and a healthier you. Happy Composting!
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Posted by Cathy on May 26, 2010 at 9:33 PM under
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This time of year is so exciting with all the new growth going on in my garden! I enjoy checking it every day - ok, sometimes two or three times a day - to watch for the first leaves of the beet plants, see how the peas are almost tall enough to start reaching for the bean poles set out for them to climb, and the flowers as they appear on the tomato plants. Glorious birth!
I can really tell a difference this year in the growth and health of my garden vegetables with the addition of home grown organic compost. It ‘s my hope to have a bumper crop this year, and I plan on filling my freezer with produce. I've also started to think about whom else might benefit from the abundance I've planned for. The article in yesterday's Denver Post about school children in Denver who are learning about where food comes from made me think about how many families could benefit if every school had a vegetable garden. So many kids would be empowered with the knowledge of how to feed themselves and their families, as well as the nutritional benefits that they would reap with their harvests. Surely someone at each school could find the time to sponsor a garden; if not a teacher, then a parent, volunteer from the neighborhood or an employee of nearby nursery. I’d like to donate my time to teaching students how to compost and it’s various uses in a garden. Some schools might even find themselves being able to donate their garden produce to food banks and co-ops. With good weather, and the good soil that I’ve laid down this year, that’s what I plan to do!
Maybe we need a grass roots movement to contact school districts and request that space be made available at each school for a classroom garden, rather than the lawns that most schools have surrounding their facilities. Oh, how my mind does travel along a meandering pathway at times, leading me to consider ideas and dreams that crop up along the way!
And speaking of composting, I’d better get the latest batch of kitchen scraps into the composter, and put on my to-do list to shred some cardboard to mix in as well. After all, can one have too much compost?
Happy Composting!
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Posted by Cathy on May 4, 2010 at 8:39 PM under
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You may be astounded, like I was, to find that approximately 3 thousand TONS of garbage are added to our landfills each year! The EPA further estimates that almost a ton of waste is generated by each person in the US each year, and that 70% of that can be recycled and composted. That's a heck of a lot of what could be wonderful soil amendment that's instead getting added to the landfill each year!
I know that it's easier to throw it out than to compost it, but the benefits, to me, far outweigh the drawbacks. After all, nobody wants a landfill in their neighborhood; the smell, pests, the eye sore, decreasing property values, etc. And most of us these days are fairly good at conserving our water resources, but don't realize that about 3 gallons of water is used each time we run the garbage disposal to grind up kitchen waste. Instead of building better bigger landfills and wasting precious water, we could be making our own compost that will provide our gardens and lawn with a valuable boost of natural fertilizer. We can also be sharing this activity with the next generation, spending time with the children in our lives and teaching them how to better care for our world and ourselves.
Composting can be accomplished many different ways. My grandparents had a pile next to their garden that they added to each day. I don't remember them every turning it, so it may have taken quite a while to break down. A three sided apparatus can be put together with almost any materials: cinderblocks, old pallets, cyclone fencing, almost anything that you can build with can be used to build an area for compost. It just needs to allow for air circulation and a surface to keep things together. This method is inexpensive, but you'll need to put your back and arms into it, turning it over with a pitchfork or a compost 'tiller'. You'll almost most likely be dealing with pests...the kind that like decomposing food. Ick! Finally there are bins commericially available that can be sealed up pretty tight to keep pests out, but there would still be the issue of having to manually turn it at least once a week.
Or you can splurge a little and get yourself and your family a tumbling composter. www.BestComposters.com has a selection of the finest tumbling composters available anywhere. An easy turn of a handle and you’re providing your compost with the aeration that it needs to keep all those wonderful organisms happy and heated up. You'll be helping reduce the amount of trash added to landfills, reducing the water consumption and waste, and making some great soil amendment that will help your garden and lawn prosper! Come on in and order yours today!
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Posted by Cathy on April 7, 2010 at 9:56 PM under
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Gardening is a lesson in self-sufficiency that can begin in early childhood. I had always helped my dad with the Spring planting in our backyard garden. Even though it wasn't extensive, the care of plants helped me understand about nurturing. Dad taught me that if you are careful when the new life begins, and provide the necessary elements of water, sun and nutrient soil your efforts will pay off in beautiful blossoms all summer long. We also grew rhubarb, which I was in charge of harvesting by the time I had lost my first baby tooth. Mother would remove the leaves, wash it, and cut it into one inch pieces. I helped. Then she'd boil it for what seemed like hours until it had the consistency of a watery applesauce. Then the frozen chunk of strawberries would enter the pot, to be boiled down to reduce the liquid. When the sauce had thickened, it would come off the stovetop and I would be in charge of adding the sugar and mixing it in. Of course this also meant that I was the taste tester! Seems like we always had a container of rhubarb sauce in our refrigerator in the summer.
When my folks moved from their single family home to a townhome, my dad sorely missed his garden. He found out that there were plots available at a community garden in our area. He got himself a plot and began his experiment with growing vegetables seriously. I was at college by then and didn't help with the soil preparation or planting. I don't remember if he had seeds that he started inside, or store bought plants. But I do remember that he loved to spend time in his garden, watching over and nurturing the plants, visiting with fellow gardeners, and then harvesting the bounty. Neighbors all around benefited from his garden, since he'd planted way more than he and mom could consume. Mom was never that domestic, so there wasn't a thought given to preserving the crops. Just like his folks had, he and mom enjoyed gathering their fresh picked vegies and cooking them up the same day!
Community gardens are a great opportunity to meet fellow enthusiasts, learn new techniques and get your gardening fix. The produce you grow can feed your family, and if you're not into preserving the excess, it often can be donated to local food banks to provide for those in need. Get some kids involved in your gardening. They can learn about the soil, the elements required for growing plants, how eating right can make you feel better, and how to care for others.
Happy Composting!
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