Our limitations are guided by our climate, seasons, water availability and even soil type. So, to expect that we could all grow 100% of our vegetable intake is a tad idealistic. The compromise comes when we have to source fruit and veggies and we're unsure as to their growing pedigree.

At the top of the list of fears that we hold when buying produce is how much pesticide has been used to nurture each item to maturity. Fortunately most of the work has been done for us by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) who after completing 43,000 tests between 2000 - 2004 have compiled a list of the 12 Foods that MUST be bought or grown organically. Here they are;

1. Peaches
2. Apples
3. Sweet bell peppers
4. Celery
5. Nectarines
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Lettuce
9. Grapes (imported)
10. Pears
11. Spinach
12. Potatoes

Not surprisingly all of these items are eaten without peeling, bar the potatoes. So it makes sense that consuming these fruit and vegetables without careful washing can be detrimental to our health. However, the report recommends that washing isn't enough and residue pesticides on these items are still evident. It seems then that growing, or sourcing, these food items organically is a much safer option.

While the above list are the twelve worst foodstuffs to buy without being organically grown the report also shows that the 12 fruit and vegetables listed below could possibly be bought from any grocer without too much risk from pesticides. Here they are;

1. Broccoli
2. Eggplant
3. Cabbage
4. Banana
5. Kiwi
6. Asparagus
7. Sweet peas (frozen)
8. Mango
9. Pineapple
10. Sweet corn (frozen)
11. Avocado
12. Onion

Source: Healthy Kitchen

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (6)

So when I started reading this article "Drought Resistant Wheat Beats Australian Heat" I was a tad mystified especially as I had just finished reading this one, 8 Ways to Green Your Garden. The latter post marked its territory with the very first point, "Plant Within Your Environment". It went on to state;

In a perfect world, you could grow cactus in a tundra climate and a lawn of Bermuda grass in the desert. Guess what? Plants don't work that way. Before you start growing something, do some research to see what it needs to survive in your area. Otherwise, you may end up using lots of water and other resources to have "something different" in your backyard.

So, with every area of the world's focus going green and trying to be creative with our resources, why are scientists obstinately forging ahead trying to develop food sources able to grow in areas where they naturally wouldn't? Surely they see the stupidity of their endeavours?

See, the problem with wheat production is that it utilises broad-acre farming. This method removes all trees and plant life and turns the soil into a level tundra for hundreds, if not thousands, of hectares. Its great for farmers because they can get their shiny big John Deere harvesters around without any problems but its the epitome of worst farming practises ever. It's responsible for salinity problems, soil erosion and not to mention topsoil degradation.

So, here's some bright scientist who has just produced a strain of wheat that will aid farmers to continue their archaic practise. I always thought that regular droughts would be a clue that maybe these areas aren't sustainable for growing these cereal crops. Instead, it appears that it's the new frontier to be exploited. And what better way to do it than with a technology that's already suffering from some bad PR.

Does GM technology scare me? Yes. But only because some scientists are far more interested in displaying their stupidity rather than their common sense. The last time that happened, our country was subjected to a humble toad that was meant to aid our sugar industry. Today that toad is wiping out our crocodile population.

Isn't it time we started using our brains fellas?

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (7)

Just finished reading Susan's Organic Top Soil rant - and the subsequent comments that drew off on tangents. But the post was correct - when are legislators and companies going to become more transparent in this whole 'organic' process?

Admittedly they are getting better, but the rate at which consumers are buying into the organic hype is far exceeding regulations. It seems every man and his dog - albeit an organic dog (the man is half organic and half preservatives) - now produces organic stuff. Yet very few of them are willing to disclose what constitutes 'organic' and whether every step of the process has been stringently adhered to.

Forgive my cynicism but I'm getting a little disenchanted with this whole issue.

Basically it's source is based on ethics. If your morals are wildly different to mine that's okay - we can agree to disagree and still be friends. Yet, when someone sells me something 'organic' they try to sell it to me assuming my view on organic is the same as theirs. Even if they know it's not they're happy to proceed with the sale hoping that I'll blindly trust their use of this term.

Are we likely to see more regulation in this area? Will opportunists finally be flushed out of the system? Time will tell I 'spose. In the meantime, if you're going to claim your product is organic you better educate me as to how you arrived at the use of this term.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (1)

If you have a few 200 litre drums laying around the yard, or you can get your hands on some, then this project may be worth your time and effort.

Most people are keen to save their stormwater and reuse it in the garden. Apart from figuring things out yourself there aren't too many practical steps given to these ideals that everyone purports.

Fortunately, the City of Bremerton have a PDF brochure that you can download and if you can do it without pictures all the steps are outlined here.

Interesting to note that the PDF brochure advises that it will cost $30 while the online steps suggest only $20. Maybe those PDF's cost more - lol.

Found via MAKE >> DIY Life.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (2)

It appears that the evolutionary process that many ascribe to has reverted back on itself. Where once the home dunny was a little shed out the back we moved it indoors for convenience sake.

Now, we're moving it back outside again. And all in the name of sustainable gardening.

I can just picture Amazon.com selling gazunders (those ceramic bowls that people would keep under their beds) to a whole new generation.

While there are many companies working on, and already providing, composting toilets that reside in situ in our homes, there's still a raw desire to have one of these in the yard. It seems earthy, more organic and somewhat more natural to leave your waste from whence it came than to deposit it within our dwellings.

But, can we go back to drop toilets that turn our waste into reusable compost or is this just a little too obscure? Have we come to appreciate deep sewerage as far more convenient?

How do composting toilets work?

There's not too much that opens and shuts when it comes to the technical aspects of a composting toilet. Look under the hood and you'll be instantly gratified with a stench that makes a day in hell seem appealing.

The main elements to this type of waste system are a breathing hole that draws in oxygen and emits most of the odorous smells. At the bottom is just plain earth with the sides surrounded by straw bales.

The concept is very simple, and innately natural. Just make a deposit as per normal, add a handful or peat moss, or better still some coir fibre, and prepare to move your outdoor loo every 12 months or so. Leave the composting material for a further 3 -6 months and then it's ready to put back into your garden.

For some people, using your own waste products on your garden may seem implausible. But remember that it's been fully composted and recycled into organic matter. Applying fresh human waste is not good for the garden at all, but as it's already been composted you can't go wrong.

A composting toilet in my backyard?

The idea is probably not the most palatable, let alone desirable, thoughts that will cross your mind. However, in the interests of self sustainable gardening practices it may be one that needs to be seriously pondered, and hopefully adopted.

At the very least, installing one of these Sun-Mar Indoor Composting Toilets (aff.) in your bathroom will certainly help our ecosystems.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (2)

It's not hard to start changing our gardening practices and becoming a little more organic in our thinking. Actually, it can be as simple as turning a few storage tubs into a fully-functioning worm farm.

Sure, you could race down to your local hardware and pick one up for between $70-100 or get Amazon to send a Can-O-Worms (aff.) out to you.

But, if you're into saving a few dollars and don't mind doing some of the work yourself you can get started with a tub worm farm using these DIY plans [PDF], for less than $40.

All you require is two Plastic Recycling Tubs (aff.) and lid, a piece of wood, some fine mesh and a few screws. And a few worms.

You can start the stack with only 2 plastic tubs - even though it's recommended that you begin with three - and enlarge later if you choose. Basically you need one storage bin for the first level and then another on top for the worms to escape.

The only proviso in using two tubs for your worm farm instead of three is that you will need to be more vigilant in harvesting the castings and keeping the temperature right. As the worms travel upstairs into the next tub you will know it's time to remove the worm fertiliser and store or use on your garden.

Then the bottom tub becomes the new top tub as you replace the organic bedding encouraging your worms to continue their journey.

It's a very simple system that has proved its worth for gardeners for many years. In fact, it can be even cheaper if you already have the materials stored around your home.

So, rather than reaching for that brand-name fertiliser, start to make your own and recycle some of your waste products at the same time.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (4)

As all good gardeners know, pests such as aphids, mealybugs and other revolting nuisances can't be allowed to feast on our plants at their pleasure. Yet, extinguishing them with an ozone-depleting chemical spray isn't an option either - maybe 20 years ago, but not now.

Some have even attempted their own spray concoctions: two liverwort petals, a clove of petrified garlic, a dried toad's leg, all blended with a cup of Absinthe (mmm...on second thoughts replace with stale beer: keep the Absinthe for a necessary nightcap). But soon you realise that most 'natural' sprays are completely ineffective.

If the aphids in your garden have gained more territory than they should it might be time to bring in a few reinforcements - 1500 live ladybugs (aff.) might do the trick.

As ladybugs are natural predators towards aphids and mealybugs it makes sense to stock your garden with more of them and leave nature to do what it does best.

The trick is trying to find these companions of our gardens. The lifecycle of aphids compared to ladybugs is much faster allowing the aphids to get a good head start on their dinner guests. By the time ladybugs have hatched and grown to maturity most of your roses and citrus plants are inundated with an infestation of epic proportions.

So it's great to see that Amazon.com are now stocking these helpful bugs. It will make pest control much easier in our gardens by getting the upper-hand before our unwanted insects devour our favourite plants.

UPDATE:

Trey, from The Blogging Nurseryman, commented yesterday that his nursery had stopped selling this product and quotes this article as one of the reasons.

I set off to find out the deeper issues and after reading the article I came out with more questions than answers. Here's the quote that perplexed me;

My research has shown the following: With the best of intentions, you purchase a package of 1000 ladybugs. By the time you get it home at least 300 have perished, leaving at most 700. So now you follow the instructions telling you to release them at night, at the base of an aphid infested plant, but actually you let them out just after sundown so you and your family can watch the action. Many take to the sky in search of food or love within 10 minutes, leaving you with 200 rather sluggish ladybugs. Of these, many will eat up to 7 times their body weight in aphids each day, which is not bad until you calculate the reproductive rate of aphids. Alas, within one week you will be left with not one living ladybug. None…zero.

And these are the reasons why;

1. Firstly, I'm sure that when people buy insects in these quantities they do so because they expect that a good proportion aren't going to make it. While 1500 ladybugs in the garden would be an awesome sight, I'm not sure that number would hang around my garden for long anyway.
2. If the user has been informed to release them at night and does so at another time, is that the (a) producer's fault, (b) ladybug's fault, or (c) the user's fault?
3. Why will there be no ladybugs left after a week? The ladybug has a lifespan of between 1-2 years and their lifecycle only takes 4-8 weeks to regenerate.

   I'm guessing that if I had no ladybugs after a week then I would also assume that I had no aphids left either. And isn't that the reason you bought them in the first place?

4. The article also seems to highlight that there will only be "200 sluggish" ladybugs left. Okay, so we're working with a 20% survival rate. Therefore, one would assume that you would have 100 more remain from a box of 1500.

   That means you will have 300 ladybugs in your garden. Have you ever, at any time, seen 300 ladybugs in your garden? I think the most I've ever seen could be counted on one hand.

5. And finally, while this article seems to mock the use of ladybugs as an effective aphid repellant they don't offer any other alternatives. Why? Because there aren't any. For less than $10 you could quite conceivably put a serious dent in any aphid infestation.

   Sure they won't hang around after the job's done but who cares. The job's done.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (8)

With Starbucks, and now other cafe's, giving away their used coffee grounds to home gardeners what are we supposed to do with this free resource?

Fortunately Sustainable Enterprises have come up with a few pointers to help us out;

• Sprinkle used grounds around plants before rain or watering, for a slow-release nitrogen.
• Add to compost piles to increase nitrogen balance. Coffee filters and tea bags break down rapidly during composting.
• Dilute with water for a gentle, fast-acting liquid fertilizer. Use about a half-pound can of wet grounds in a five-gallon bucket of water; let sit outdoors to achieve ambient temperature.
• Mix into soil for houseplants or new vegetable beds.
• Encircle the base of the plant with a coffee and eggshell barrier to repel pests - this is the one that most interests me. I'm going to give it a try around my agapanthus and see if it does the trick.
• If you are into vermi-posting, feed a little bit to your worms

If you have other uses for Starbucks coffee grounds in the garden let me know.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (2)

Have you ever wondered what goes into that bag of Blood n Bone? Or, how they make fish fertiliser smell so good?

Well...wonder no more. This great resource will answer all your questions from which fish are used, how they are pulped into emulsion and bonemeal and even some of the more controversial questions.

One Q&A I enjoyed was the response given by Bill Ginn, Marketing Coordinator of Alaska Fish Fertilizer, when asked how they could call their product organic when they added synthetic additives.

Because of the unique properties of Fish Emulsion, the states- who handle the certification of both fertilizers and organic farming- have decided that if less than 1% by weight of fish emulsion is synthetic, then it can pass muster as Natural Organic (the proper term for non-chemical fertilizers). Without this additive, the emulsion creates fermented gases, which can cause rupturing or exploding (with glass bottles like we once used) bottles on the store shelves, or on your workshop bench.

Could you imagine shopping in store or nursery and having a bottle of fish emulsion explode over you? Hardly a pretty sight...and, ohh...that smell!

I'm sure we can allow 1%.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (2)

By definition potash is any compound that contains potassium. It can be sourced from plants such as comfrey, from ash from your fireplace or in chemical forms such as Nitrate of potash (potassium nitrate) or Sulphate of potash (potassium sulphate).

Potash is an amazing element to be used in the garden as potassium is the key to helping plants produce fruit. While nitrogen (N) increases foliage and plant growth and phosphorous(P) helps root structure, potassium (K) is the chemical lacking if your plants don't flower or fruit.

One of the easiest ways of getting potash is from your fireplace. Wood ash is a great source of potassium and can be sprinkled liberally around your plants. Lemons and citrus trees are great lovers of potash and sprinkling wood ash to their drip line will encourage new fruit to set and help the plants hold more fruit.

If you leave the wood ash out in the weather before applying it to your plants it will gradually become useless. The potash will seep out of the ashes and it will lose its effectiveness. Therefore, it's actually better to allow your fire to burn out by itself than dowsing it with water as the wood ash will retain all its potassium.

Many organic gardeners grow comfrey for their source of potash. The comfrey can be used as a mulch around the base of plants or even inserted into a planting hole. Mixing the leaves after soaking them can produce a great liquid fertiliser as well.

But for those gardeners who lack the space to grow crops of comfrey or who don't have a fireplace, the next best source is available from your nursery of hardware store. Sure, the puritan organic gardeners won't approve of using chemicals but regardless of whether it's come from a plant or out of a box - it's the same thing.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (2)

There has been much written on the subject of organic gardening. We're constantly told to tiptoe through this world so that we don't leave our footprint on the environment. And, we've been told that many of our diseases are caused by pesticides, herbacides, insecticides and any other cides that you can classify.

No matter which way you turn someone, somewhere is finding something that's bad for us. Every other day a new discovery becomes the reason for some non-genetic cancer or virus.

And as gardeners, we don't want to find our pastime becoming our past-time.

So how can we traverse through the myriad of negative information and become more organic in our approach to gardening? Well here's a few steps that should at least point you in the right direction;

1. Replace your chemical poisons Many of the chemicals that we keep in our gardening sheds can easily be replaced with organic substitutes. Most times it is merely finding a natural inhibitor of the insect, weed or disease that we are trying to combat and using it to our advantage.


2. Soil is King Past generations have viewed the plant as the overall ruler in the garden and have remedied their failings by prescribing to the plant rather than the soil. If your soil is built up with organic material that drains well, many of your plant problems will fall by the wayside.


3. Use organic liquid fertilisers Apart from dosing the soil up with organic composted manure each year the best fertiliser you can give to your plants is via a liquid form. Plants will readily take up liquid fertilisers far easier than any other feeding pellet.

   The best source of organic fertiliser is either worm castings or a compost tea.



4. Grow complementary plants together Plants require different minerals so grouping them together can offset the negative effects of another which is not only wise but beneficial to your plants and their growing environment.


5. Encourage natural predators Ladybirds enjoy a feast of fresh aphids so rather than spend money on chemical sprays buy some ladybugs instead. Most bugs have a natural predator so it is merely discovering what they are and how to encourage them into your garden.


6. Rotate your crops This is a good practice so that soil-borne diseases won't build up and therefore ruin successive croppings. Use a four-bed rotation system moving every group of plants each season.

This list should at least help you in becoming an organic gardener. It doesn't take much to do but it may require a new way of looking at your garden and solving some of its problems without reaching for the spray.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (3)

Susan Teitelbaum, assistant professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, recently completed a study looking at the effects of household pesticides on breast-cancer risk among women on Long Island.

Her research concluded that many pesticides contained DDT (or at least other carcinogens) that increased the risk of woman contracting breast cancer.

Studies had been performed before in occupational settings but it was until this research project that household gardeners were under the microscope for their use of these chemical sprays.

In an article by Christine Dellamore it was reported that there was a direct association between women using pesticides in the home and garden and an increased risk in breast cancer.

The study, published online Dec. 13 in the American Journal of Epidemiology, found an association between lifetime residential pesticide use and breast-cancer risk in a sample of 1,508 women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1996 and 1997, as compared to 1,556 random controls.

And the biggest culprits were;

In the analysis of the blood samples for organochlorine, it was interesting to find women who reported using pesticides especially for lawn and garden problems did show an increased risk for breast cancer.

It makes searching out organic remedies for pest control a little more tempting, doesn't it?

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (2)

Ok all you Inconvenient Truth groupies out there answer me this - is this the first time the earth has heated up?

If you take the above Reconstructed Temperature graph as gospel then the answer is undoubtedly yes - (Reconstructed means that the data has come from analysis of tree rings and ice core samples). But if you take another graph of the first 1million years of earth's existence then you will notice that heating and cooling looks quite similar to the ebb and flow of our tides.

So while the USDA Zones have all been changed in accordance with the increased earth temperatures we may see that they actually revert back within the next few decades.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (0)

If there is one comment I hear by garden visitors the most it's a discussion regarding how annoying bees can be. Some gardeners even choose which plants they won't grow in their gardens because they don't want their children stung. Fair enough, if your child has an allergic reaction to bee stings but otherwise we could always try and educate our children to be careful of these important garden labourers.

According to this article in a recent TIME Magazine, the bee population is reducing. In fact, over the last 50 years (in the US) the bee population has halved. It's a sobering thought when you consider that the human population increased 300% over the same period.

TIME's Jeffrey Kluger and Kristina Dell vividly display what we stand to lose should the bee population be wiped out;

Honeybees are responsible for up to 30%* of food in the U.S. diet that relies on pollination--and that includes alfalfa-fed beef
•ORANGES 17.8 billion lbs.
•GRAPES 15.7 billion lbs.
•APPLES 9.9 billion lbs.
•WATERMELONS 3.8 billion lbs.
•CUCUMBERS 2.2 billion lbs.
•ALMONDS 915 million lbs.
•SQUASH 815 million lbs.
•CHERRIES (sweet) 502 million lbs.
•HONEY 175 million lbs.
*2005 production

And if this wasn't enough to highlight their importance, horticultural scientists are understanding their relevance more and more by using them in greenhouse pollination tests. Tomato plants which were once hand-pollinated are now being cultivated successfully by bumblebee pollination to where nearly every tomato grown in Europe has been naturally pollinated.

The same article went on to illustrate some light at the end of the tunnel;

About a quarter of a million colonies are reared artificially every year (1997), and they are used in over thirty different countries on over twenty-five crops. So bumblebees are of great economic importance, and with the increase of glasshouse cultivation, and the spread of the mite, Varroa jacobsoni, causing a decline in honeybee populations, their importance can only increase.

Here are some of the crops they are now employed to pollinate;

•aubergines •peppers •cabbage and carrot for seeds •kiwi fruits •strawberries •courgettes •cranberries •blueberries •and tomatoes for fruit.

So, the next time you squash one underfoot consider the environmental impact you just made to our world. As gardeners we should be promoting plants in our gardens that invite them and allow them to do their job.

Long live the humble bee.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (3)

I've often wondered what happens to ladybirds (ladybugs) in the winter. Do they fly south (north) as migrating birds? Or, do they all die out and wait until the spring before their pre-birthed larvae hatch?

Apparently not. Christa from Calendula and Concrete has pointed us in the direction of this great article by Tom Turpin, Professor of Entymology at Purdue University.

The juice is that they find warm places, such as our homes, to rest their weary souls in preparation for the upcoming aphid-ridding season. Voids in walls and attic spaces are the preferred sleeping quarters where there is warmth and a high level of non-disturbance.

Which got me thinking...where do flies go? If we could find that out I'm sure we could nuke the site and enjoy our barbeques undisturbed forever.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (1)

Described as the hybrid saint of soil-based gardening and hydroponic gardening there are many gardeners who profess to this style in the same way that devout followers of Islam espouse their religion.

But is it a veritable gardening method or just another way to sell a heap of DVD's and books?

If you want to know the truth, you need dig a little below the surface because the proponents of the Mittleider Method are the ones making the most from it.

To understand the method you need to understand the man. Dr. Jacob Mittleider was certainly an enigma in the sustainable gardening world and his efforts have helped families, communities and nations. He transitioned traditional gardening practices into a method that did more than become another alternative.

Mittleider understood that food production was more a management system than it was an environmental rape and pillage. Fruit and vegetables required minerals in the soil to produce better yields and healthier foods and that crop rotation, while it's good, cannot give everything back to the soil. So he developed a 13 mineral formula (which you obtain when you buy the books and DVD's) that fertilised the soil and continued to build it up regardless of what was being planted.

History has proved Mittleider's methods and I would certainly advocate on behalf of implementing his philosophy. Whether you need all the books and DVD's to start practising his methods is another question entirely.

So where does Jim Kennard and the Food For Everyone Foundation come into the picture? Kennard has been a Mittleider gardener for more than two decades, even teaching courses with Dr Mittleider. He started the FFEF in 1998 with the aim of helping gardeners implement better gardening practises.

Dr James Mittleider took his method throughout the world, especially developing countries where good gardening knowledge was in short supply. There have been projects in more than 30 countries and currently the Food For Everyone Foundation is working in Madagascar.

I'm really intrigued to know who has had experience with this method and what results they have had with it. If you have implemented the Mittleider method in your garden please share via the comments.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's a great gift idea to share the love and be garden friendly.

Grow-A-Note cards are produced by 3r Living and actually have flowering seeds embedded into the paper stock. Once you've finished with the card it can be buried in a garden bed or container and watered. The seeds germinate and shortly afterwards the reciever is rewarded with a some beautiful flowers.

It's the perfect gift that keeps on giving. And it's environmentally friendly.

Each set of 8 costs US$17.50 (which is comparable to buying cards by themselves) and are available in Lavender or Speckled Yellow.

If flowers aren't your thing then maybe you could send your friends a "Plant a Tree" card.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sure. I read the news about Heronswood closing down. Heronswood in Washington, that is. Heronswood in Australia is doing just fine, and...thanks for asking.

While I can understand the outpouring of grief that has been shared via many blogs, here, here and here, I can only empathise from a distance.

Here in Oz, we have our own Heronswood. A living, breathing heritage of horticulture found near Dromana in Victoria's south along the Mornington Peninsula.

Heronswood was first built in 1871 and has become famous for it's seed mail-order business Digger's. Clive Blazey started the company with their first catalogue released in 1978 and today is a flourishing business. They specialise in heirloom vegetables saving seed for their own use as well as passing them on via sales.

While I've never been to Heronswood (yet!) I've seen many reports on how this Australian gardening instituion operates and it is impressive. Clive and Penny Blazey, the 8th and current owners of Heronswood, have a great philosophy of gardening growing fruits and vegetables not only as a food source but also for their ornamental value. Their garden beds comprise much of this notion as limited space is granted to the most useful and productive plants.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've never been keen on planting seedlings only to watch them eaten overnight by snails, slugs, slaters and any other pest that starts with 's'. I've tried pellets, powders, sawdust, copper [Insert others I've missed] yet while they may stop one pest they don't stop them all.

That is until a friend put me onto this great idea for a garden cloche - the humble 2L (4 pint) plastic PET bottle. It works a treat.

Just cut the bottom third completely off and remove the lid and these can be placed straight over seedlings and even propagated cuttings. They act as a barrier for most, if not all, pests and as an added bonus create a mini-greenhouse effect for your plants.

I've used these ones for my sweet basil not only to stop the pests but the soil is still a little too cool for them. By placing this cloche over the basil it will help warm up the soil at the same time that it warms the seedling.

I like this idea because it has so many benefits. The obvious is the garden cloche and mini-greenhouse but it also is great environmentally. Re-using is far better than re-cycling because there are no increased processes. And, these little cloches can be used more than once.

If you're looking for some ideas for larger, more permanent, garden cloches then take a look at Travis' How to Make a Cloche

Posted by Stuart | Permalink |