Photo courtesy of SenninhaSenninha at Flickr.com.

If you don’t have gutters on your home’s eaves, you’re missing a great opportunity to collect rainwater for your yard and garden. For every inch of rain that falls on it, the average roof collects more than 500 gallons of rainwater and sends it toward the eaves. Without gutters, it just drips off onto the foliage — or worse, onto the ground, eroding away your soil.

It’s not all that expensive to add gutters to a house; oftentimes, contractors can do the job for less than $500, and if you’re a do-it-yourselfer, it might not cost much more than a hundred bucks for the materials. Once the gutters and downspouts are in place, it’s a simple matter to siphon off the water into rain barrels or, even better, a cistern.

Popularity: 8% [?]

There has been a lot of talk lately about the need to conserve water today since it’s becoming a limited resource. And, since the best way to conserve water in the home is in the bathroom, I decided to try out a water-saving showerhead.

At first, I thought it would be hard to install, but it took less than 10 minutes and required very little effort. If you’re curious how installing a water-saving showerhead works, check out this post where I explain how easy it is.

My husband was a little skeptical of the whole “water-saving” aspect and worried that he would no longer be able to enjoy strong water pressure showers. I think we’ve both been pleasantly surprised by our new showerhead! Our new water-saving showerhead hasn’t reduced the comfort of taking a shower at all! I actually like it much more than our old showerhead!

Many water- and/or energy-saving showerheads work differently. The showerhead that I chose has a “pause” feature that stops the flow of water when it reaches bathing temperature, and when I’m ready to hop in, I pull the lever and take a warm shower. That precious warm water isn’t wasted down the drain while I’m running around, brushing my teeth, making coffee or on the phone.

Even though it’s just the two of us in a small apartment, we are seeing the benefits of this showerhead after only a week. Since we do live in an apartment, our hot water heater is smaller than most, so our hot water is extremely limited. With this new water-saving showerhead, we can each take a warm shower without the water getting cold before the last person is ready to get out.

I could totally see how this would work the same way in a house with a normal size water heater and a family.

I love my new showerhead, and I am recommending them to everyone I know! These showerheads don’t strip you of your comforts and they pay for themselves over time with amount of water you save! Duh, get one today!!!

Popularity: 10% [?]

Photo courtesy of rafamerchan at Flickr.com.

Mulching is a great way to aerate your soil and increase its organic content, but if you’re an organic gardener, you need to be very careful about the kind of mulch you use. Using mulch from the wrong sources can introduce pesticides and other chemical poisons into your soil.

To avoid this, don’t use mulch from conventional farms, even if it’s cheap or free. Similarly, you should think twice before using the free mulch your city may offer, because you have no control over whether the mulched material comes from plants that have been sprayed with pesticides. If you elect to buy mulch at the local garden center, look for the word “organic” on the label.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Photo courtesy of Paki Nuttah at Flickr.com.

If you live in an area that gets substantial amounts of snow in the winter, treat your houseplants to some melted snow every once in a while.

Experiments at the Siberian Botanical Garden have revealed that veggies watered with snow melt grow twice as fast as those fed regular water. Similarly, a recent NASA study revealed that snow melt triggers huge aquatic plant blooms in the ocean. It seems that snow contains about 40% fewer water molecules with a heavier-than-normal form of hydrogen called deuterium than normal water does.

For reasons having to do with the way that plants take up water molecules, this “heavy water” tends to slow down growth, while snow melt is easier on the plant. It all sounds like science fiction, but it’s a perfectly natural process that you can easily take advantage of.

Popularity: 3% [?]

If you’ve been considering installing a water-saving showerhead, but are worried that it’s too hard or may require the help of a plumber, I’ve got great news for you! It’s really simple and takes less than 10 minutes to install.

If I can do it by myself, I know you can, too!

Ok, so first your have to remove your existing showerhead. Get a rag and a pair of pliers or a wrench and unscrew your showerhead. This is the hardest part of the project, so hang in there, it gets much easier.

Once your old showerhead is off, you need to wrap the pipe with plumbing tape. Most showerheads these days come with a supple of it, but if not, it’s easy to find at any hardware store.

Wrap this tape tightly around the pipe in a clockwise motion along the thread. This prevent water from seeping out and rusting the pipe and your showerhead together.

I went a little crazy with my tape and wrapped it until I was out of tape, but once around the whole thread is fine. Pull it tightly and it will rip.

Then, simply screw on your new, water-saving showerhead, and you’re done! It’s that easy. Seriously, get going and start saving water and energy today by purchasing and installing your own water-saving showerhead.

Popularity: 24% [?]

Photo courtesy of M.Barkley at Flickr.com.

Rechargeable batteries are a bit like plants. Too much heat or moisture can kill them, and they perform best when taken care of properly. Here are some steps you can take to get greater endurance per battery charge and longer overall life:

1.) Protect your batteries from overcharging

When a battery is fully charged and additional energy is pumped in, the energy has to go somewhere. That’s why batteries get hot - it’s a sign of energy overload. If your batteries overheat, that can reduce the number of total usable charges. Instead of getting 1,000 charges out of the battery, you might only get 200 before it has to be thrown away. Many chargers have temperature sensors, but relying on them to protect your batteries is a little bit like relying on an air bag to protect your car from accidents (both only work after damage occurs).

To protect your batteries from overcharging, you should avoid plugging them into the charger for longer than they take to reach maximum capacity. When you plug in the charger, set an alarm clock to remind you about unplugging the batteries. And, you should charge the batteries in a cool, well ventilated place to reduce heat buildup.

2.) Watch out for water

Batteries and water don’t mix.

Batteries should be kept clean and dry. Moist accumulations of dirt on a battery may cause it to lose its charge due to current flowing through the moist dirt from one post to the other.

Even small amounts of moisture can sap the energy from your battery and cause corrosion. If your tool shed or garage gets humid, that might not be the best place to store your battery between uses.

3.) Avoid shaking or rattling batteries

It’s a common misconception that shaking batteries can get the last “juice” out of a nearly empty battery. That’s not true, and shaking batteries can cause damage to the cell walls which reduces their long-term ability to hold a charge. In fact, vibration damage is a leading cause of battery failure. That really makes you wonder about cell phones in vibrate mode, doesn’t it?

You can avoid vibration when storing batteries too. For example, if you’re carrying lawn mowing gear in the back of a truck, it’s a good idea to tie down the equipment tightly. If you’re driving on a really rough road, you can go one step further and bring the battery packs into the cabin with you (truck beds tend to have lousy suspension systems compared to the crew cabin). Likewise, storing batteries on the edge of your work bench should be avoided if you use the same bench to hammer nails.

4.) Charge the batteries right before they’re needed
Batteries lose charge over time, even when they’re not used. For example, Nickel Metal Hydride batteries lose about 1% of their charge per day. So, to get the most performance from a battery pack, it helps to charge it shortly before use.

There are also trickle chargers and float chargers that steadily add small amounts of power. The idea behind these chargers is to gradually replace electricity at the same rate that the battery loses it. Unfortunately, many of these trickle chargers can still overcharge batteries.

5.) Clean the contacts

The contacts of a battery (and the contacts of a charger too!) will get dirty over time. Any dirt or corrosion will disrupt the flow of electricity across the contact. So, after unplugging the charger and discharging the battery, you can use a gentle cleaner to remove corrosion. Make sure to use proper safety precautions and avoid electrical shock.

6.) Charge your batteries before they’re totally empty

When you drive your car, you generally put gas in before the tank runs dry. Likewise, you should recharge batteries before they run down completely. In certain applications, you’ll have much better battery life with a shallow Depth of Discharge.

Photo courtesy of ditzlerphoto at Flickr.com.

With these tips in mind, you can get the most possible battery life from your electric gear. If your batteries run a little low, you can also juice them up with a booster pack, such as this solar charged battery booster, which we offer for $79.99.

We also carry several lawn mowers and trimmers powered by high endurance battery packs. If you want to take a slice out of your gas bill and enjoy some clean air in your garden, you might consider the Earthwise Cordless 20-inch Electric Mower for $349.99.

A manual reel mower with battery assist is an even more efficient choice. These reel mowers help you exercise and supplement their battery with muscle power. If the battery runs low for any reason, you can keep using the mower! We carry the Brill Accu ASM380 cordless electric reel mower for $374.99.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Photo courtesy of t13hman at Flickr.com.

Although some organic gardeners frown on the practice for purely social reasons, you can use tobacco stems as a mulch to deter many types of insects, including thrips, flea beetles, and aphids. The naturally-occurring nicotine in the stems drives them away. You can also steep the tobacco stems in water to create a nicotine foliar spray.

However you use tobacco stems, be sure to obtain them from an organic source if you can, so you won’t have to deal with pesticide residue. You’ll need to use any tobacco-based products sparingly, because applying too much can kill beneficial organisms as well as pests.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Photo courtesy of spike55151 at Flickr.com.

Compost is more than just a good garden fertilizer — it makes an excellent base for growing seedlings and young plants.

Instead of purchasing potting mix at the garden supply store, buy some river sand instead (play sand, which is made for kids’ sandboxes, won’t work nearly as well). Then head to the back of the garden and collect some black gold from your compost bin.

Combine the sand and the compost thoroughly, and you’ll end up with a mix that has the ideal texture, concentration of nutrients, and water retention/drainage properties to give your seedlings a great head start.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Spring doesn’t arrive until March 20th, 2008. But spring cleaning can start before the official first day of the season! Already this year, there have been a few days that were perfect for gardening. If your yard is buried under winter debris, we even have a few new lawn tools that can help.

While you’re clearing your lawn, you may want to try the Bagmaster trash bag holder. This tool holds bags open for easy loading. It frees one of your hands for gathering leaves, trash, or weeds, and it saves effort by preventing waste from falling out of the sides of the bag.

Spring is also a great time to cut weeds out of the picture. Get to the root of the problem with a Multiweeda long handled weeding tool and make room for new bushes, vegetables, or turf. When you’re done weeding, you’ll have a ready-made spot for new plants! The Multi-Weeda also aerates soil and prevents damage to neighboring plants.

The Compost Fork is a lightweight tool with the tines of a pitchfork and the scoop of a shovel. If you have piles of fallen leaves or a compost pile that needs to be turned, this tool will get the work done without straining your back.

Popularity: 15% [?]

Photo courtesy of ailie* at Flickr.com.

Dead leaves can make excellent compost, but if you try to compost them whole you come up against two problems: 1) They take up far more room in the composter than they should; and 2) They take a lot longer than you’d expect to compost.

The answer is to shred them first. You can go the old fashioned route and run them over repeatedly with the lawnmower before you gather them up and dump them in the composter, or you can take advantage of modern technology and use an electric leaf shredder. One of these handy gizmos can reduce ten or eleven bags of leaves to just one in next to no time.

Popularity: 12% [?]