Photo courtesy of zoomzoom2 at Flickr.com.

As much as most of us adore wildlife, woodland creatures can become annoying when they treat your garden as their very own salad bar. Wild rabbits can be especially damaging.

One way to handle your rabbit problem is to plant aloe vera in your garden, and smear or spray the leaves of your other plants with its juice. Aloe juice is very bitter, and your unwanted visitors will soon turn up their wriggly little noses at the fare. Another option is to try some granular rabbit repellent. This is an organic product that smells like dead deer to both deer and rabbits, which causes them to avoid the area like the plague.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Photo courtesy of Atelier Teee at Flickr.com.

If you’ve got a dehumidifier running in your home, you’ve got a great way to conserve water right at your fingertips.

The water produced by a dehumidifier comes straight out of the air, so it’s clean and fresh. It may not be potable for you, but your plants will be happy to get it. It’s just fine for both houseplants and your garden. In some climes, even a relatively small humidifier will produce up to 30-40 quarts of water a day. Even if you don’t have a use for all of it, you can still dump it in your rain barrel, or use it to water your lawn.

Popularity: 6% [?]

It’s 2008, and Clean Air Gardening is the new US importer of the terrific German made Brill push reel mowers.

We’re unloading our first container of Brill Razorcut 38 reel mowers today.

This is a great day for me, because the Brill was the very first product that I started with when I founded Clean Air Gardening back in 1998, 10 years ago.

Who would have thought back then when I bought my first car load of mowers that I stored in my apartment that Clean Air Gardening would go on to become the exclusive US importer? I sure wouldn’t have! I still had a day job back then, to make ends meet.

The first container is unloaded and stored in the warehouse, and we have more on the way from Germany. We’re ready for spring!

Popularity: 5% [?]

Photo courtesy of threecee at Flickr.com.

We’ve already discussed the virtues of xeriscaping in an arid environment, but the truth is that you don’t have to live in a desert to redesign your yard to conserve both water and money.

Most regions of the United States have a whole suite of native, drought-resistant plants that can save you a fortune on water. This includes not only trees but also drought-resistant bushes, vines, perennials, annuals, grasses, and even herbs.

For an excellent source listing drought-resistant plants native to all parts of the country, check out the Low Water Use Plant Lists at the Water: Use It Wisely website.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Photo courtesy of Ennor at Flickr.com.

With their raspy little tongues, snails and slugs can be just as damaging to your plants as many insects. Fortunately it’s easier to control them organically than it is to control most insects, since slugs and snails are limited to ground travel.

To keep them back very easily and effectively, you can lay a layer of wood ash, sawdust, or a mixture of both around the plants they’ve been attacking. Although it might not seem like much of a deterrent to us, at the size of the average slug, crawling over sawdust or ashes would be akin to a human crawling over broken glass. And not only does it stop these critters cold, it’ll enrich your soil as it decays.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Photo courtesy of wing of kaz at Flickr.com.

Nations that share borders also tend to share rivers, lakes, aquifers, and other water supplies. Around the world, these shared water supplies are disappearing. There’s a danger that some countries will stop pointing fingers at each other and start pointing guns and missiles instead.

Some of the flashpoints where water wars are possible include:

Some potential solutions include:

Rain barrels and cisterns can reduce the water lost to evaporation and runoff. Also, new technology and rising water costs are making it
more affordable to convert salt water into drinking water.

On the home front, it’s easy to reduce waste in the bathroom with water saving toilets, but there are lots of other areas where progress can be made.

If you think that water shortages aren’t a problem in your neighborhood, this site has a great roundup of water news throughout the US. Check it out - you might be surprised about what’s going on under the radar in your own back yard!

Popularity: 4% [?]

Photo courtesy of Just B Cuz at Flickr.com.

Planting trees and shrubs is an excellent way to contribute to the sustainability of the environment, as long as you do so in a logical and responsible way. You’ll do especially well if you plant bare root specimens.

These plants are shipped in a dormant stage without any dirt around their roots. This decreases their cost and weight, while increasing the root mass by up to 200 percent. They’re easier to plant and they establish themselves more easily, which decreases waste and effort. On a wider scale, they’re cleaner and easier to transport than plants in containers or burlap, and the lack of soil around the roots decreases the possibility of the introduction of insects and plant pests.

Popularity: 13% [?]

Photo courtesy of Homer Simpsons Donut at Flickr.com.

Since even some organic pesticides can endanger beneficial organisms, it’s better to promote healthy plants that can resist predatory bugs rather than douse them with bug-killer. One way to do this is to offer them a shot of the micronutrients that strengthen their immune response.

Seaweed brew is a great source of these compounds, and collecting your own gives you an excuse to go to the beach. Once you’ve returned from your day of fun in the sun, clean the seaweed thoroughly and soak it for a while to remove the salt, then rinse it and soak it in a bucket of fresh water for a few weeks. Then you can pour or spray the rich, brown brew over your plants.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Photo courtesy of paulansorge at Flickr.com.

Although limestone-derived soils like the kind we have here in Dallas tend to be thick, black, and rich, they’re also highly alkaline. Some garden plants, however, prefer a lower pH than alkaline soils can offer.

One way to provide it is by working certain types of mulch into the soil: pine and cypress bark, oak leaves, peat moss, and pine needles are all high in natural acids, and can help cut down on alkalinity if regularly worked into the soil. Be prepared for a lot of work, however: limestone basically weathers into clay, so you’re likely to be presented with a thick, hard-to-work mass that might require a lot of moisture and a rototiller to do much with.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Photo courtesy of LIV∑ ¥OUR ΩWN LIƒ∑! at Flickr.com.

A safe and effective way to live-trap marauding mice is as close as your nearest five-gallon bucket.

Bait the bottom of the bucket with peanut butter or grain, and set it out in an area where the mice have been working. Be sure to give them a way to get to the top of the bucket so they can see the bait. When they jump in they won’t be able to climb out, due to the slick sides of the bucket. Once you’ve caught the little critter, it’s a simple matter of taking them on a drive out in the country and relocating them far, far away from your garden.

Popularity: 4% [?]