Using Organic Fertilizers

We are beginning our second year of organic fertilization, and thought we'd show you that the lawn looks just as good as when we were using a chemical fertilizer. We put corn gluten on in the spring and chicken manure on in the fall. We do have to pull out a few dandelions at the beginning of the season, but that's the only difference we have noticed so far.
Learn more about organic lawn care

Rain Barrel

This spring we have planted about 120 native plant plugs, in addition to a number of other flowers, and have not turned on the hose yet. When we need to water, we just fill up a bucket or watering can at our rain barrel. It takes just the tiniest rainfall to fill it up. We still have not turned our sprinklers on, either, and we think we'll keep going as long as we can without using them.

Learn how to make a rain barrel

Reuseable Shopping Bag

I bought this bag at Urban Outfitters to take with me while shopping at the mall, or any place other than a grocery-type store. I keep it in the trunk of my car and use it for all of my purchases. Last time I was at the mall, I made 4 stops and everywhere I went the salesclerks wanted to know where I got the shopping bag. They all thought it was a good idea - they themselves indicated that they feel the plastic bags or big shopping bags are a waste.

And if you want to see how mainstream reuseable bags are, please note that Oprah has her own bag that she is now distributing.

My bag was $16. It is made of a material that feels like oilcloth.

Gesu Garden Site Visit

Martha and Tom headed down to Gesu Elementary School to check out the children's garden and to meet with Michelle, the science teacher who is overseeing this project. Tom was able to firm up a couple of dates to get some work done. We will be installing some gutters and a rain barrel on the garage that is located across the parking lot from the garden (about 100 yds.), helping to improve the soil conditions by adding compost, soil and mulch, and putting in some lasagna gardens.

Visiting the Clinton River Watershed

On Tuesday Dan Keifer, development director of the Clinton River Watershed Council, hosted a group of us at their offices in Rochester. What a great guy...very knowledgeable and committed. He started by explaining about the 10,000 year history of the Clinton River Watershed. The glaciers made the river and the moraine landscape. The Clinton River is very unique in that it is so close to Detroit, yet it has the natural characteristics of a northern Michigan River. Dan talked about the great progress that has been made from the days when the Clinton River was known as one of the worst rivers in Michigan to now when the trout and salmon have returned. The challenge now is dealing with all the development pressures on the river. Dan is personally meeting with developers and trying to find an eco-economic balance where both business and river can thrive. He believes that we have been disconnected from the natural world that surrounds and sustains us and that it is vital for both ourselves and for our environment that we begin to reconnect. This is a personal mission of Dan's that is very inspirational.

Mass Transit on Vacation

We've lately been trying to combine vacation travel with an opportunity to use public transportation. This past week we went to Washington DC for 5 days and used public transportation only. We used trains to get us to and from the airport, and to get us everywhere we needed to go. DC has an excellent transit system and it's pretty inexpensive - $6.00 per person for a daily pass. That's a whole lot less than renting a car. And where would you park in this city, anyway? Here we are boarding one of our trains.

One more thing: rolling luggage and backpacks help immensely.

Raising Gardens with Fallen Trees

This past Saturday, the Brennans and the Bradleys went to work building the frames for lasagna gardening. After trooping through the woods next to the Brennans' home to gather the fallen ash wood, they laid out the logs, cut them to the length they wanted (3 for each side - 12 in all), stacked them on top of each other, drilled down into all 3 layers, and then put bamboo stakes into the holes to hold them together.