Compost and Pharmaceuticals

...concentrated animal operation facilities. But we’ve got a lot of hormones making their way into the environment due to agriculture, according to a study done by Temple University, Animal manures (poultry manure and cow manure) contribute to a significant load of estrogen hormones in the natural environment. Conclusions Clearly we may have some big societal problems caused by the overuse of pharmaceuticals and waste generated by industrial livesto...

Read…

Cat Litter Compost, Installment #3

...orants or coloring or “magic crystals” or tiny unicorns. It must be made of 100% plant based material. I approve of both World’s Best and S’wheat Scoop. Pine pellet litter, like Feline Pine, is much less expensive than the clumping brands, and suitably plant based, but under ordinary circumstances, since its not scoopable, you have to dump the whole tray rather often, which leads to a fast build up of material. If you have room for it, this might...

Read…

Eight Things to Consider When Saving Vegetable Seeds

The directions for seed saving in our last book, Making It, almost got cut. Perhaps we should have just changed those directions to “Why it’s OK to buy seeds.” The fact is that it’s not easy to save the seeds of many vegetables thanks to the hard work of our bee friends. That being said, Shannon Carmody of Seed Saver’s Exchange gave a lecture at this year’s Heirloom Exposition with some tips for ambitious gardeners who want to take up seed saving...

Read…

How to Deal with Extremely Root Bound Plants

...ts are often dehydrated plants, because the pots are mostly full of roots, making the soil hard and water repellent. If this is so, it helps to give the plants a good soaking before you un-pot them by placing them in a bucket of water for a few minutes. Method A) Mildly root bound plants can be helped along by gently massaging the root ball with your hands just before planting to loosen the roots and open the ball if it has become hard-packed. If...

Read…