Fall Fertilizing

With fall in full swing, it’s time to starting think about fertilization…for your lawn and garden that is.  Why now? Fall fertilizing nourishes and strengthens your plants’ and lawn’s roots.  And stronger roots will give them a stronger base on which to thrive next spring.  Many of the fertilizers you find in the store are of the chemical variety and while they may force your plants to grow, they are actually quite harmful to the environment, especially the waterways in which they will eventually runoff.  For help in finding organic fertilizers that are good for both my yard and the planet, I turned to Harold Enger, franchise support director of training for , and Certified Turfgrass Professional.  Here are Harold’s fall fertilizing tips for green parents:

There are numerous choices now available to the average homeowner when it comes to selecting an organic fertilizer.  It is not as simple as going to the local hardware store and picking up the a bag or two of the most popular brand of fertilizer.  Part of the decision making process is determining the source of the organic part of the fertilizer.  You can purchase fertilizers that are derived from compost, humus compost, compost tea, fish, poultry waste, manures, bio solids, seaweed, molasses, fulvic acid, humic acid, etc.  Regardless of the type you choose, there are a few considerations you should think about before completing your purchase.

1. Test your soil to determine what it needs. Soil tests can range in price for about $25.00 to several hundred dollars.  A basic test will provide a pH level and often the amount of amount of nutrients that are available in the soil.  The more complex tests will provide such things as the Cation Exchange Capacity, micronutrient amounts, per cent of organic matter, and the amount of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, molds and fungi present in your soil.  Understanding and interpreting the results is as complex as you think it is, so be sure to choose a lab that can provide recommendations based on the results.  There are many fine soil testing labs, so do an Internet search on soil testing labs in your state.  Follow these recommendations when determining the amount and type of products to apply.
2. Look for products that have the symbol.  According to their website, “The Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) is a national nonprofit organization that determines which input products are allowed for use in organic production and processing.  OMRI Listed-or approved-products may be used on operations that are certified organic under the USDA National Organic Program.”
3. Review the product label before purchasing.  Some organic products require a large quantity of material to be applied to meet soil test requirements, which can cost a lot more than you expect.  Also look for special application equipment that may be needed to apply the product.  Finally, check the odor.  Some products, especially the manure and fish based products can be rather pungent.

The Green Week

This week’s roundup of green parenting stories from around the greenosphere:

CalFinder asked, Is the Energy Star Falling?…and found some disturbing answers.

Beth from Coming up for Air wrote an important guest post on 5 Minutes For Going Green about High Fructose Corn Syrup: The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing.

And Cruncy Domestic Goddess announced her latest green challenge to help green parents Ditch The Disposables.

I also came across this cool company and wanted to share…Forget about plastic dollhouses or flimsy particle-board castles, Streamside Farm makes authentic wooden barns made from wood recovered from historic barns in Michigan.

Now, before you head off to click around the web, don’t forget to enter to win today’s giveaway: an eco-friendly gift bag from Baby Swags loaded with enough green gear to make your baby feel like an eco-celebrity.  Contest ends 9/15.  To enter, just leave a comment below!

The winner…

Here are your random numbers:

12

Timestamp: 2008-09-17 14:49:25 UTC

Congrats Marisa M!!

Eco-Baby Goodies

I just love the smell of a new baby’s skin.  It’s so sweet, and soft, and well, new.  It’s also extremely delicate…just like your baby herself.  So it’s really important to be finicky about the stuff you use to clean, freshen and protect your baby’s skin.

If you’ve got a new baby or a little one on the way, you are going to LOVE today’s giveaway…a trio of of uber-pure vedaBaby baby care products from (my new one-stop shop for natural, organic maternity and baby goodies.)  VedaBaby concoctions contain nothing but straight-from-nature goodness like almonds, apricots, chamomile, and green tea….and they’re all free of chemicals, parabens, sulfates, artificial fragrances and dyes. So you’ll feel good about using them on all of your baby’s pieces and parts.

One lucky winner will take home these 3 goodies:

vedaBaby Butt ~ a zinc-free diaper balm to prevent and heal diaper rash. Ideally suited for babies with cloth diapers, but effective with regular or compostable diapers, too. Retail value: $40

vedaBABY Fresh

~ a body wash and baby shampoo with all-natural, safe ingredients. Formulated for gentle, comforting use on even the most irritated, sensitive skin. Retail value: $40 v

vedaBABY Splash ~ a therapeutic bath powder that soothes and encourages healing for diaper rash, eczema and other types of inflamed baby skin. Retail value: $30.

There’s 3 ways to enter:

1. Subscribe to The Green Parent via or . If you’re already a subscriber, just leave me a comment below and say so!

2. Join The Forum (already a member? leave a comment below!)

3. Spread the word about this contest via , , , , , etc.

Leave a comment below each time you do one of these things...each comment equals one entry. The winning comment will be chosen by Random.org. Contest ends Sunday!

And the winner is…

Here are your random numbers:

5

Timestamp: 2008-09-15 22:25:53 UTC

Congrats Sandi!!

A green parent of two young boys, Melissa Goldberg is a committed environmentalist who has decided to change her life and her community by changing the way her family lives. Melissa’s biggest passions are family, food and fitness. She has been thinking about, talking about, and acting on environmental and food issues for her entire adult life.

Melissa runs her own public relations firm and continually takes on environmental/sustainable clients pro-bono to help spread the word on important environmental issues.  Goldberg is on her town’s Sustainable Task Force working to make her community a better, greener place to live.  She is also a founding member of her town’s community supported agriculture group. Melissa blogs about her the ups and downs of making her world a little greener at .  Here’s what Green Parent Melissa Goldberg has to say about going green.

TGP: What does “green” mean to you?

MG: I believe we need to look at every aspect of our lives and see if there is a way that we can make a change that is better for our health and the environment.  Green to me is recognizing that the buying decisions we make impact on planet as a whole as well as our health.  For example, the concept of locavore is all the rage right now.  We’re told to buy local, but there are times when buying local might be better for the environment but not for our health.  Also there are times when buying locally is actually NOT in the best interests of the environment.  Understanding how to make these choices is at the heart of being “green”. Walk into the supermarket today and there are tags all over the produce department touting that the vegetables are from local farms but many of these local farms are industrial farms that use tons of pesticides and fertilizers damaging the environment and providing us with inferior nutritional quality food. Green to me is looking at our environment and health holistically and demanding better policies and habits that improve the human health and the global environment.

TGP: Do you think it is more difficult to be green as a parent?

MG: I think our society makes it difficult for all of us to green – parent or not.  We are constantly bombarded with advertisements on TV, direct mail, messages via the internet and radio ads about products and services that we are told we absolutely need.  It is hard to break through all that clutter to discover what is really important.  At least as parents we can instill “green” values in our children that we hope to continue throughout their lives to make our world a better place.

TGP:How do you get your kids involved in going green?

MG: My husband and I believe it is very important for our kids learn where food comes from. So we have our own garden where we grow our own fruits and vegetables. Our boys help us out a lot in the garden and love to eat what they pick.  We are also involved with a CSA (community supported agriculture).  The kids meet the farmer each week and see all the produce he delivers.  We have taken them to the farm to help weed and learn about how the farm works.  They know what is to recycle and what goes in the garbage.  They see that we bring reuseable bags whenever we go to the market, Target, even the toy store.  We try to make living in as sustainable manner as integrated into their everyday life as possible.  We believe that if it all becomes daily routine rather then a change or a chore they will carry these lessons and decision-making paradigm with them for the rest of their lives.

Check out Melissa’s previous post on and be sure to read more about her challenges in going green at .

This week’s roundup of green parenting stories from around the greenosphere:

• EcoChild’s Play tells us

• USAToday reports on a scary finding:

• In a guest post for 5 Minutes For Going Green, The Green Parent’s own Jenn Savedge says, and she also showed parents

• Treehugger anticipates a busy school fundraising season and responds with an idea:

• The Smart Mama is spreading the word about

Now, before you head off to click around the web, don’t forget to enter to win today’s giveaway: a super cute and uber-green organic hat and onesie set from . Little Chickie Wear duds are made from 100% organic cotton and feature original images that are hand-designed and hand-produced by Gwen designs.  To enter, just leave a comment below!

Green Your Hair

Here’s a little known fact about me…I once had green hair. No, it was not on purpose. Yes, it was one of those home-dye-jobs-gone-bad scenarios. And no, it was not attractive. It was so long ago that I can’t quite remember what I did to remedy the situation, although I’m pretty sure it had a lot to do with baseball caps and ponytails.

Fortunately, that’s not the kind of green hair I’m talking about today. I’m talking about organic, all-natural hair care products like those you’ll find in today’s giveaway. Why green hair care? Because the stuff you put on your head affects your body and your planet as well as your hair…why not keep them all healthy and clean and beautiful?

Learn more about green beauty products by checking out my previous post, .  Ready for some green hair of your own (minus the ball caps and ponytails?)  Enter today to win a complete regimen of organic, all-natural hair care products from .  I’m giving away the complete line of shampoo, conditioner, leave-in conditioner, hair nourishing serum, and hair nourishing creme .  That’s $65 worth of all-natural, all-beautiful, all-green hair care!  Enter today.  Here’s how:

After you’ve done one of these things, leave me a comment below telling me what you’ve done. That’s it, you’re entered. Do as many of the things above as you’d like and leave a new comment for each one. The more you do, the more times you’ll be entered. Need more info? Check out the official here.

UPDATE 9/7/08: Due to a computer glitch (probably caused by a green parent glitch) some folks had a problem finding the “Comments” section for this post and didn’t know how to enter the contest.  I got entries in several different places, some via email, some on other posts and some here.  Never fear, ALL entries were submitted for the contest.  I used a traditional, scientific method to choose the winner…I wrote all entries down on a piece of paper, tossed them in a hat, and let my daughter pick!  And the winner was….

Congrats!  And thanks to all for entering!!

Here are the general rules for all contests and giveaways offered through The Green Parent:

Must be 18 years of age to enter.

If no time window of eligibility is stated in the article, comments will be open until 12AM PST on the date the contest is posted. Any comments received after that will not be eligible.

No purchase necessary to win.

Unless otherwise stated, contest winners will be randomly chosen by Random.org. Winners must respond within 72 hours or another winner will be chosen.

Make sure the email address you use to comment is valid. Anonymous posts will be deleted.

Unless otherwise stated, contests are only open to U.S. residents, or those with a U.S. address

Void where prohibited by law

It’s rare but possible that The Green Parent will have to cancel a contest before a prize is awarded. If that happens, The Green Parent will not be held responsible, but we will make every effort to line up an equally cool contest, pronto!

No cash substitutions.

Winners are responsible for any tax consequences of winning.

The Green Parent reserves the right to disqualify contestants that attempt to cheat the system.

The Green Parent will not sell, offer, or trade your personal information. I take that stuff seriously. However, in an effort to cut back on the number of times prizes are shipped around the country, prizes will be shipped to winners directly from the contest sponsor. As such, The Green Parent will provide the sponsor with the contact info for winners and will not be held responsible for what these 3^rd parties do with your contact info. That said, I only work with reputable companies and they have all been warned not to add you to their mailing lists. If they give you grief, send me an email and they’ll never have a contest here again.

The Green Parent is offsetting the eco-costs of shipping these awesome prizes with a donation to TerraPass.