Posts Tagged ‘green living’

Make Your Garden Bloom with a Starbucks

To be honest you probably won’t find many Eco-warriors hanging around Starbucks drinking over priced coffees.   But I’d like to try and make an important point if I make, about how we simply do not make enough use of the resources we have.   There is a reason that probably one of the most important mantras of the ‘green’ movement is – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.  It is important because if everyone applied this to their own lives it would have a simply stunning effect on the resources we use on this planet.

So what’s with this Starbucks example and how does it help my carnations?

The answer is simple – it lies in a waste product produced by any coffee shop – coffee grounds.

They are extremely rich in nitrogen and can provide a huge boost for any garden soil.   Normally coffee is far too acidic to put on the soil but the brewing process actually removes this.  In fact the coffee grounds are almost neutral having an average pH of about 6.9 depending on the type of beans used.  They also have a carbon nitrogen ratio of about 20 – 1. 

You can apply these grounds directly to your garden but they are especially useful when put around nitrogen loving plants.   There are many gardeners who suggest that using coffee grounds produces wonderful carrots, melons and vegetables too.  In fact there won’t be a problem using on almost any plant in your garden as long as you don’t over do it.

Another use, although I have to admit I have never tried this is to use coffee grounds to deter slugs and snails.  Many gardeners swear by this so it might be worth a try.  The idea is though, coffee grounds sound like waste but in reality they have as much value to a gardener as buying an expensive bag of compost or fertilizer from your local garden center.

So save your coffee grounds, reuse them in your garden.  Next time you’re having a coffee somewhere ask the proprietor what he does with his coffee grounds.  If he throws them away remind him of the garden benefits, you could even suggest that he uses it as a promotional tool.  Give away bags of used coffee grounds when you buy a coffee, should help attract  more customers and help the environment too.

If you search around the internet you’ll find much, more detailed information on what sort of plants and vegetables benefit from the nitrogen high coffee grounds.

Some Lil’ Green Changes You Can Make to Your Life

One thing you are going to find is that green living isn’t just about what we can do to help our planet, but it is also something which will help peoples over all health. One thing that a lot of individuals don’t understand is that as our planet becomes more and more polluted every day, and the health of the individuals that live in the world is also going to be effected. Here we are going to be talking about a few things that will be able to help both our own health and the planet at the same time.

One thing that more and more individuals should stop using is disposable plastic products as well as disposable Styrofoam, plastics and Styrofoam products are a small number of things that can take thousands of years to decompose. This means that each time someone places a plastic bag or Styrofoam container in their garbage and it ends up in our land fills, we are contaminating the earth. One of the largest culprits are the grocery stores as they use plastic bags now as opposed to paper bags, of course some stores will still enable you to ask for paper bags and if you do use the paper bags be sure you recycle them. Or even better, you could get the reusable canvass totes for your shopping.

You can also start to plant trees as well as other types of plants, regularly to help re-build their population. Our world is consuming a lot more trees every year than we’re planting. If you consider it, if we keep using more trees than we plant each and every year, in time there will be no trees left in the world. For us to keep the tree population where it ought to be, everybody should be planting a minimum of one tree a month. You need to also realize that when there are less and less trees in the world, that also means that the volume of oxygen in our air will also be reduced every year.

One more thing you ought to start doing is to start using as many organic and naturally developed products as you can. The fantastic thing about consuming organic foods is that farmers are not going to need to use as many pesticides and chemicals that wind up in our air, soil and also in the foods we consume. You have to understand that pesticides are a poison to kill insects and when these chemical compounds enter our bodies it is still a poison that can do damage to our health. Then when ever possible, you ought to only be purchasing products which have been made or grown using only organic methods.

Saving our earth in addition to our health is a thing that every single person is accountable for. If everybody was to do their part you would realize that the health of our planet and our personal health would both benefit from these kinds of efforts. Obviously you additionally have to realize that if people don’t start taking care of our planet, in time it will no longer be able to sustain life.

What’s all the Hype about Organic Cotton Clothing?

Organic Cotton

You may not have known this, but more pesticides are used on cotton than any other crop in the world!! It’s a proven fact that the pesticides used on cotton are harmful for the environment. They may very well be harmful to human health as well. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stated that at least 7 of the top 15 chemicals used on cotton crops are “likely” or “known” human carcinogens. Because I try to do what’s right for the earth, and because I prefer to stay healthy myself, this knowledge doesn’t thrill me.

I can’t give up cotton, I simply can’t do it! I wear cotton all the time…my kids wear cotton all the time. We’re a laid back, casual sort of family and we MUST have our cotton.

Enter Organic Cotton Clothing! Thankfully, there are now a growing number of cotton farmers that grow organic cotton. These farmers grow their organic cotton crops under extremely strict guidelines, so besides just growing their crops without the use of harmful pesticides, they also deal with things like soil erosion and nutrient depletion.

Look for USDA Organic Cotton

The best news is that Organic Cotton items are really not much more expensive than cotton that is treated with pesticides.

All is well in my home again, now that we know we can wear our cotton while doing the right thing for the environment at the same time. If you’re interested in making the change to organic cotton, just look for the 100% organic label on cotton clothing or sheets that you are considering purchasing.

To see some of the great options available in organic cotton, check out the links below:

Organic Cotton Sheets

Organic Cotton Boys Clothing

Organic Cotton Girls Clothing

Organic Cotton Women’s Clothing

Bamboo Bedding ~ Eco Friendly, Comfortable, and Affordable

By now, you've probably heard of Bamboo flooring, and maybe even Bamboo counter tops, but have you heard about Bamboo Bedding? It's available and there are so many advantages to bamboo that I don't even know where to start.

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Ten things you can do to become more green – TODAY

My friends and family know that I'm all about being "green." As a result, I'm often asked about what changes they can make in their lives, quickly and easily, that will make them more green.

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