GardeningNude

Building a Green Community and Making A Difference With Depression and Isolation – Is It Help For The The Medical Crisis?

With over 307,042,234 habitants in the United States currently, it seems absolutely shocking that we are the largest consumer of anti-depressants in the world. As a nation, the power of isolationism, stress, and poor economy is working to pull individuals apart at the seams. With so many on prescriptions of this nature, it bears the question – does every person need anti-depressants who are prescribed them and how can we make a difference to improve the situation?

Building community, particularly a green community, is a fantastic way to relieve isolated souls, not to mention relieve the insurance and medical crisis we have here in the United States. More importantly, it is a pro-active thing we can do to help people stay emotionally and physically healthy. Green living means more than simply “reduce, reuse, and recycle.” In my opinion, it means caring for your neighbors and working to make a difference to help them.

Some in our society who live without being active in their communities feel powerless, isolated, and disconnected from other people and the world around them. These are key symptoms of depression. Yet, it is important to distinguish loneliness from depression. Does everyone who feels lonely also need anti-depressants to get through the day?

There are many who truly need to be medicated, yet the question remains who really does and who really does not?

Perhaps if more people are connected to others in a supportive way, being an integral part of community, we could reduce isolation. Not only that – imagine the possibilities of how we might increase our economy.

Communities that come together to beautify and maintain their neighborhoods encourage more businesses and residents to move there. Thereby significantly improving their economic standing as compared to other communities in the area who are not doing the same community effort. Pulling people from the community who feel lonely and isolated helps improve mental health on a larger scale. Doing physical activities together enhances this concept even more because physical exercise can help reduce depression. Here you see photos of America In Bloom volunteers from a recent container planting effort made within my own community.

There are many non-profit community building organizations such as churches, clubs, and other more specific community beautification groups such as the America In Bloom group I work through. They are all places you can go to help or be helped. With so many of these groups trying to promote community improvement and activity, it seems a wonderful time to come together and help others. Do it now and help individuals in your community feel less isolated, more empowered, and wonderfully needed. You can make a difference.

Please leave a comment and let me know how you are making a difference for your community members.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Your Health - How Being In Nature and Regular Exercise Can Help Improve Allergy Symptoms

Ten years ago I suffered from debilitating allergies. I took over a dozen  prescriptions a day, yet still I felt horrible; nothing seemed to help me feel better. Suffering with non-stop sinus infections, asthma, and bronchitis; my head, neck, and back were constantly in pain. Breathing was a challenge. It truly kept me from enjoying life. Often, allergy sufferers - children and adults alike – find it difficult to live with their condition.

What saved my life, in my opinion, was getting outdoors and becoming more active. Chiefly, when my allergies act up I pay attention to the symptoms and focus on eating healthier. Keeping strong chemical exposures to a minimum and eating foods which are not allergen triggers is a beginning. Although I am allergic to a lot of the outdoors (as well as the indoors), staying active in nature seems to be one of the key  elements which helped me find my health again.

Gardening, walking, and any exercise I can do helps stimulate sinus drainage so I do not need as many drugs to cope with the problems associated with my allergy symptoms. Jeremy Glasgow (seen teaching a class at right) from Underground Core Fitness has helped me this season as well by encouraging me to exercise in his outdoor fitness boot camp. Starting the day with a vigorous exercise routine will help reduce allergy symptoms significantly for me.

There have been many days I have wanted to sleep in and not go to the class. However, my travel schedule (airplanes sometimes intensify my sinus issues), and a wet/moldy summer season aggravated my allergies this year and I know that going to Jeremy’s classes as well as gardening out in nature help get the blood pumping so my sinus region and chest will feel better.

There are several tricks I do to help my allergies during intensified aggravation – get outdoors in nature (see photo below of my front lawn veggie garden), regular exercise, facial/sinus massage, taking vitamins, and less chemical exposure all help. It is still necessary to use medications, but I use them minimally as necessary. Right now I am only on three medications per day instead of over a dozen thanks to my regimen of positive habits. Even more important is diet. Understanding what you are truly allergic to will help you eat a diet which will help your system cope.

For example, I am allergic to molds. Although I am strongly allergic to airborne molds, these compounds also exist in food. Therefore, I avoid moldy foods such as beer, cheese, and mushrooms. Initially this was a difficult sacrifice, but now I have gotten used to it and it is not too bad. Without a doubt, it is better than living the utterly debilitating lifestyle I existed in before I started this regimen.

Surprisingly, exposure to nature, exercise, nutritious foods and plenty of rest is a healthy answer to what was once a life-sentence of torture.

If you or a family member has allergies, you can live a healthier lifestyle too. It IS possible for you to feel better again and take control of your health. First step – get out in nature and exercise. Next step – do your research and understand what is causing the trouble for you so you can eliminate this exposure.

Consult a doctor or allergist for advice and help in further reducing your allergy issues. You can change your life for the better. To learn more about allergies go to the online resource for the American Academy of Allergy and Immunology.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Monday Whazzup – Attractive Rain Barrel Makes A Splash

 

Dear Gardening Nude Chick,

I cannot find an attractive rain barrel! Help!

Signed,

Frustrated in Frankfort

= = = = = = = =

Dear Frustrated,

Thanks for the email. I have a wonderful solution for you. Rain barrels can actually be quite attractive. Above you see a very beautiful rain barrel I have on the front corner of my home which I got from Clean Air Gardening . It looks like a real clay pot, but is actually made of a heavy-duty plastic.

According to the below statistics quoted from the American Rivers website, you can really save a lot of water by utilizing a rain barrel:

• 40% of the average homeowner’s water use [in the summer] is outdoors.
• 700 gallons of water runs off a 1,200 square foot roof after only one inch of rainfall. Using a rain barrel is an excellent way to conserve some of this water.
• A quarter inch of runoff from an average roof will easily fill a rain barrel. If you have five storms a season, that equals 275 gallons of free water.
• Rain barrel use reduces the stress on municipal water systems during the summer months and improves stormwater management.

Get a rain barrel today to help make a difference for your community – rain barrels can be functional and beautiful.

Here is a little video discussing the importance of having a rain barrel. It features the Clean Air Gardening rain barrel you see in the above photo so you can get an even better idea of how it looks attached to your downspout. Enjoy!

To order the rain barrel and diverter used in the above video, please go to www.cleanairgardening.com.

Oh yeah – and my name is Shawna, not “gardening nude chick” – LOL!

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

How 14 Days In The Yucatan Made Me Realize The Value of Planet Earth – Part 3

Sweating from the 90 degree heat, we silently descend into another world – a deep cavern below ground. Gripping the rope carefully, we rappel forty feet down through a narrow hole in the ground, feeling the cold cave air assault us.  Bats dip and dive as we inch our way down through the dark abyss, ropes burning our hands, until finally we drop into the cold waters of the cenote.

Water is the most precious resource in the world. In no place is this more clear than when swimming in an underground cenote in the Yucatan Peninsula. While most of the world-over humans have access to extensive lakes and rivers, people living in the Mexican Mayan Riviera region do not. There are virtually no above ground rivers in the Yucatan –  all the fresh water comes from an extensive limestone cave system deep within the peninsula.

Cenotes are often surface connections to subterranean water bodies. Cenote water is very clear and clean because the water comes from rain water infiltrating slowly through the ground. All the cenote systems in the Yucatan eventually connect together. Because it is a major source of fresh drinking water for the Mexican people, it is extremely important to keep the cenote’s free of chemicals and litter. Warnings are repeatedly given from tour guides on the importance of keeping the water clean so the Mayan locals will be able to drink from it.

As we drop into the cold, black water of the immense underground cave, I look up at the ceiling and see a very thin crust of earth which covers the top of the cavern. An achingly thin layer of ground stands between the top soil and the fresh water below. Roots hang forty feet deep before they touch the water. Our guides provide inner tubes to float with because the water is an additional forty feet deep below us. Tiny fish swim and nibble the dead skin on our toes and legs. In that intense moment of touching nature, a shiver of understanding touches my soul. It occurs to me that we in the United States should be following the more cautious mindset which the inhabitants of the Mayan Riviera exhibit about our own precious drinking water.

Whenever you use pesticides and chemicals on your lawns, you are allowing these chemicals to eventually percolate down into our water system. If you live in a home which has its own well, that well water is being exposed daily to chemicals and carcinogens which we have put in the water ourselves by peppering our lawns and gardens with poisons which have a long life. Therefore it is possible to contaminate our water system over a period of many years, not just at the time when we apply the chemicals.

Next time you reach for a lawn chemical remember the caves and cenotes of the Yucatan. It took a trip to another part of the world for me to finally understand the connection and significant importance of my personal responsibility to our earth. Imagine if the chemicals I had put on my lawn several years ago managed to get into our eco-system and another human being somehow ingested it? Even in trace amounts? Does anyone completely understand what causes leukemia – a chemical triggered cancer? Does anyone REALLY know what is safe for humanity?

If you care about your fellow man, you have to see that this is not someone else’s problem. It is YOU who are responsible for caring for the water systems in our communities – not your neighbors, not your government - YOU. It is YOU who might be poisoning the child next door. Stop. Think. Use chemicals wisely. Now is the time to make a difference.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

You Can Reduce Crime In Your Community By Going Green With Landscaping and Sharing Plants

Want to reduce crime and encourage greener living in your community? Share your plants and help others to landscape in your neighborhood.

Research conducted by the University of Illinois Landscape and Human Health Laboratory team has been doing on the subject of human interaction with the natural environment. Most significant is the 2001 study on how Chicago public housing residents who lived in apartment buildings which were surrounded by trees and greenery had forty-eight percent fewer property crimes and fifty-six percent fewer violent crimes than identical apartment buildings barren of greenery. It is quite remarkable to note that even modest amounts of greenery were linked with lower crime rates.

The researchers suggested one of the reasons crime was reduced might be that exposure to greenery reduces aggression by helping people to relax and de-stress. They based this claim on prior research showing an association between viewing nature and less mental fatigue.

Another reason suggested for their findings was that crime was reduced partly because the green space around those buildings have encouraged more people in the community to come outdoors in nature, thereby discouraging criminals by increasing community supervision. They also suggested that buildings and communities that have a landscaped appearance might be more likely to show potential criminals that residents care about and watch over their property. Based on this research, taking a calming exercise break by gardening or walking outdoors in a green environment seems a more positive way to relieve stress and help a community become infinitely more social.

National organizations built to promote community improvement such as America In Bloom can help encourage crime reduction in your neighborhood and city, while also enhancing landscaping and neighborhood improvements.

Above you can see I am doing my part – this is a recent photo of the community garden I built on a public sidewalk behind my back fence. Helping your community look beautiful and have less crime is not the job for others – it is a job for you. Get out there and make a difference today!

(To learn more about the studies which I have based this article, please go here - University of Illinois Landscape and Human Health Laboratory.)

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Ladybird Johnson’s Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas – “Green” and Beautiful!

What do you do when you are in Texas, it’s 110 degrees outside and you want to see something green and get closer to nature? Go to Ladybird Johnson’s Wildflower Center just outside Austin. Above you see Tom Myer, President of the Austin American Marketing Association, smiling with me in front of a cool pool of water. I would have done just about anything to jump in that water – it is hot in Texas! Hot as heck - sweltering beyond imagination. With this in mind, it’s amazing to me that anyone even considers growing grass there. All grass in the region is brown and dead looking, while native plants and natural eco-environments are rich with green life and vivid color.

According to the wildflower center experts, “Lady Bird Johnson, former first lady, and actress Helen Hayes founded an organization in 1982 to protect and preserve North America's native plants and natural landscapes. First as the National Wildflower Research Center and later as the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, this special place exists to introduce people to the beauty and diversity of wildflowers and other native plants.”

What a perfect place to get in touch nature – most of the center’s public gardens grow prairie and xeriscaped plants as well as beautiful native woodlands and meadows. In 2006, the Center became an Organized Research Unit of the University of Texas at Austin and helps the national and international community understand more about its eco-system.

Grass is not very “green” or environmentally friendly because it takes tons of fuel every year to cut grass, and in most of the country grass also requires an unreasonable amount of water and chemicals to be maintained. Why not grow native and xeriscaped plants in your garden for a more sustainable and beautiful green environment? It’s the better choice! If they can do it it sizzling hot Austin, Texas, you can do it too!

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

How 14 Days In The Yucatan Made Me Realize the Value of Planet Earth – Part 2

Visiting the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve was one of the most interesting and powerful experiences I have ever had with nature. Sian Ka’an is recognized under UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme and is considered a World Heritage Site. My eight year old daughter and I were able to truly touch this unique and beautiful reserve.

Definitively, UNESCO sees a biosphere reserve as an ecological area with three core needs and functions: conservation, sustainable development and logistic support for scientific research and education.

Natural World Heritage sites must be of outstanding universal value in accordance with the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage and indeed, Sian Ka’an is an absolutely amazing property.

Located on the Mayan Riviera, it is a large area - nearly 1.3 million acres. It has 23 known archeological sites with relics dating up to 2,300 years old, 103 varieties of mammals and 336 species of birds. Currently it is home to over 2,000 inhabitants who are mostly native Mayan Indians – one of which was our guide to tour the jungle and cenote lake system.

Jungles are noisy places. Birds, insects, wind, and the creaking of branches combine to make a beautiful symphony of sound. Our Mayan guide, Antonio, pointed out many medicinal plants and warned us away from treacherous ones.

Amazing canals stretched for miles through the system of mangroves and wetlands. On one side of the canal system is mangroves, and on the other side of the canal system is wetland savannah which is quite beautiful.

My daughter and I were plopped into a canal – without our guide or any protection beyond a life vest – and we floated in our bathing suits down a one mile stretch of canal. As Antonio dropped us in the water, I was concerned about crocodiles and predators – it left both of our hearts pounding with excitement. However, there was no need to be worried; the sound of the wind blowing the mangroves and savannah grasses was quite amazing. Touching mangrove roots while we floated and really feeling a part of this special environment was powerful for both of us.

Having all your senses tantalized by nature is something everyone should experience, particularly children. Understanding that the jungle helps provide earth’s inhabitants with oxygen, the mangroves help protect the coastline from eroding, and that key medicine’s and antibiotics needed for mankind’s survival are found in this diverse world is enough to humble even the most confident human.

By introducing your family to nature you are educating them on the world’s needs and therefore helping them to understand the value of our eco-system as well as the value of our humanity. It is the green thing to do – the right thing to do.

What are you doing to introduce your family to nature? Whatever it is – do it today.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Get Yo’ Green On Tuesday – How Do You Make Extra Money In A Recession? Recycle Metal!

Has the economy got you down? Darned-tootin! And you are not alone. With so many of our neighbors losing jobs and an economy still on the downswing, it has become more important than ever to find money where ever you can.

Yesterday my daughter and I went to S & S Metal Recyclers to recycle 10 pounds of aluminum cans which we crushed with the cool aluminum crusher from Clean Air Gardening (in the video above). Talk about entertaining – everyone who comes to our home wants to try this crusher because it’s fun to use. We earned $3.50 cold hard cash for our efforts (inset photo shows the scale weighing the 10 pounds at S & S). If you send the same metal off with your community recycle collection truck, you get absolutely nothing beyond the knowledge of having done a good deed. Personally, I like the bonus of cold hard cash in my hand!

Now – I know what you’re going to say to me, “it takes FOREVER to save up 10 pounds of aluminum cans!” Below you see my youngest daughter holding the two bags of cans we took to S & S. You may be right – it took us several months of collecting because we do not drink a lot of sodas at our home. However, I have a creative solution for earning even more dollars.

Metal recycling companies recycle far more than aluminum cans. Typically most recycling companies will give you cash for copper, iron, aluminum, brass, wire, stainless steel, sheet metal and much more. S & S also recycles batteries, metal automotive parts, refrigerators, washer-dryers, old bath tubs and the list  goes on.

Why not go to all your local friends and family. Explain that you need extra cash and would like to come and collect their metal once a week. If you could get enough people to help you out, you just might collect $3.50 per day instead of $3.50 once in a great while. For your efforts, that’s an extra $100 per month you could use on your family’s grocery’s or pharmaceutical bills. With a little work, you could make even more.

This would be an awesome fund raising idea for churches and community organizations, particularly if you could collect larger items. No matter your goal – financial or eco-oriented - the good news is you will be doing something good for the earth as well as yourself.

Keep metals out of our landfills! Recycle!

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

How 14 Days In the Yucatan Made Me Realize the Value of Planet Earth – Part 1

 

Summer is here and most of us are looking forward to a respite from our life.  The summertime getaway. Might I suggest a green solution? Take an eco-trip. You will see beauty, have an adventure, and learn about our world.

My family and I took the eco-journey of a lifetime this year into the jungles, caves, and ocean of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. Above you see me getting ready to zipline across a jungle – note the giant grin – it was a blast! I wrote and posted a blog every day for fourteen days about our journey using greening and eco-nature information as a tool to educate readers about environmental concerns in the world.

Understanding the fact that we impact all of the world, not just our little corner is so important. For example, areas of coral are dying out in the Yucatan from our fertilizer run-off. If the chemicals do not go down into our water aquifer, they are whooshed out through the storm water system. All those chemicals then react with ocean life – ultimately causing green blooms and death where ever the chemicals settle. This is disastrous for coral.

Who taught me that? An amazing man in Akumal, Mexico named Paul Sanchez- Navarro who is the Director of Centro Ecological Akumal (Photo to the right). He explained how nearly one quarter of all marine species are believed to depend on coral at some stage of their development. Many fish live their entire lives on reefs, while others use them as nurseries; if the coral dies out it is assumed the fish will too. The economic impact of losing coral is also significant – in the billions of dollars worldwide.

There were so many questions I wanted answered when I returned from the trip. What will happen if we are unable to provide fish for the world to eat? Will people starve? Without the coral and fish, millions of people will lose their jobs and be unable to support themselves. Without smaller fish which inhabit the coral reefs will all the larger fish die such as tuna and shark – the very same fish we use to feed our nation?

We went to jungles, beaches, caves, and protected eco-parks throughout the Yucatan Peninsula area and experienced some incredible things in nature, but one of the most powerful messages I saw everywhere we went is that you have an impact on planet earth. What we do here in the U.S. directly touches the rest of the world.

Make a difference for planet earth – start paying attention to the chemicals, fertilizers, and products you use at home that might be making a difference half-way around the world.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Get Yo’ Healthy On – Exercising in Nature Bootcamp – Learning About Stretching

Jeremy Glasgow of Underground Core Fitness is leading a group of dedicated exercisers (including me) into health via his all-outdoor-in-nature boot camp.

According to Jeremy, “People tend to think they need to spend hours working out, but you can achieve healthy benefits with a 20- to 30-minute workout three or four times a week.” One of the marvelous things I have discovered is he is right!

My weekly routine already consists of a lot of walking, so I am regularly active. Yet spending time outdoors in nature exercising has made it easier to exercise - during our outdoor workouts I feel so much more energized. We do challenging interval training for about 40 minutes. Working with a team of people helps because we all cheer each other on. Happily, I am getting stronger and have to say I am surprised to be able to finally make it through the classes.

Jeremy works to have us all stay limber and go home with no injury – this involves post-exercise stretching. One of the common stretches he has our class do at the end of our cardio workout is seen in the photo above - I am doing the “Downward Dog” – stretching out all those tight muscles.

Be sure, whether you are working out with a trainer or working out on your own to concentrate on the post-exercise stretching to help reduce muscle soreness and fatigue.

Get started exercising the “green” way – outdoors in nature. It is healthy and functions as a wonderful anti-depressant in your life.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Buy Local Handmade Soaps and Make a Green and Clean Difference

 

Why buy local?

Simple – it’s green. Studies on buying local show that locally-owned businesses generate a premium in economic impact to the community and our tax base. Locally owned business contributes less to urban sprawl, congestion, habitat loss and pollution. generally speaking, local businesses tend to set up shop in town, farmers markets, or city centers as opposed to developing on the outer “mall” areas.

Most importantly, local businesses are owned by people who live in or near the community, are less likely to leave, and are more invested in the future of the community. In other words – they are promoting positive economic impact both because they want to practice honesty in business and because they are directly connected to the community economic growth.

One of my favorite local businesses is a soap maker who comes to my weekly community farmer’s market. Her name is Kassandra Hesek and she runs Black N’Tan Soaps. While she does not have significant online ordering capability yet, she does have a website – www.blackntansoaps.com. Her main way of selling her product is hands-on - by directly touching the community through farmers markets.

Kassandra’s handmade soaps are delightful. Above you’ll see several “flavors” of soaps she sells including Lavender, The Gritty Gardener, and Bugger Off. After trying her Bugger Off soaps and oils, I can say in the last week I have not had a single mosquito bother me. The Gritty Gardener sit on my kitchen sink and I use it every time I come in from gardening. All the soaps are heaven, plus I am reassured that her ingredients are natural, green, and good for my family.

Look into your local businesses like Black N’Tan Soaps and help make a green difference for the world and a financial difference for your community. Buy local today!

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Get Yo’ Green On Tuesday – Compost 101 – How To Compost

Food scraps and yard clippings make up one quarter of the United States’ solid waste piling up in landfills. The book, True Green, says, “When this organic matter ends up in landfills and decomposes without air, it produces methane, a greenhouse gas twenty times more potent than carbon dioxide.”

Composting is the way to cleanly convert kitchen and garden waste into productive soil matter without producing toxicity and it is one of nature’s best mulches and soil amendments. You can make it without spending a cent, which helps save you money. Which type of composter should you use? Above is a video which discusses two really fantastic composters – both different styles – sold by Clean Air Gardening.

When adding material to the composter, keep in mind the pile needs a proper ratio of carbon-rich materials, or “browns,” and nitrogen-rich materials, or “greens,” and moisture. Below is a list of browns and greens you might use in your compost pile.

Examples of browns:

• Newspaper, black-and-white print preferred.
• Brown paper bags from the grocery store.
• Shredded cardboard or cotton and paper-based tissues and towels.
• Floor sweepings.
• Straw.
• Aged grass clippings.
• Dead leaves. Do not use dead leaves from diseased plants.

Examples of greens:

• New grass clippings.
• Plant prunings. Do not add prunings from diseased plants.
• Spent flowers and pulled weeds.
• Coffee grounds.
• Tea bags with metal staple removed.
• Kitchen scraps. Avoid items that will root, such as potato skins and onions, unless ground completely. Do not add meat or bones or it will stink to high heaven!
• Barnyard animal manures such as cow, horse, chicken, goat, sheep, and rabbit. Do not use dog, cat, or human manure/feces as they may contain pathogens or diseases that could be harmful.

Managed composting involves active participation, including turning the pile occasionally. On average, it takes between three and four weeks to create compost. The speed is determined by the products you add, if they are chopped up, and how often you turn the pile. A good balance of carbon and nitrogen encourages quicker composting.

The temperature of the managed pile is important—it indicates the activity of the decomposition process. It should be warm or hot to the touch. If it is not, then the microbial activity has slowed down and you need to add more green materials. This heat can be encouraged if you place your compost pile in full sun.

Keeping the pile moist is also important as organic waste needs water to decompose. Gray water, in other words, old dish water or clothes washer water from your home can be drained into a compost pile regularly. The rule of thumb is to keep the pile as moist as a wrung-out sponge. If you actively manage the composting, within a few weeks you will have a rich additive for your garden.

To order the awesome composters used in the video, please go to www.cleanairgardening.com.

Today’s post is a “Two For Tuesday” – this blog is on both my greening blog – www.gardeningnude.com AND my gardening blog – http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com – ENJOY!

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com.

“Plant A Row For the Hungry” and Feed America Healthy Food – You Can Make A Difference!

This year I wanted to truly make a difference for my community with the garden and encourage people to grow their own vegetables. Locally grown food is the freshest, plus growing your veggies organically ensures your family has a    healthier meal on the table. Happily, I have taken it a step farther and joined the “Plant A Row For the Hungry” movement. 

The Garden Writers Association has built the wonderful food program called “Plant A Row For the Hungry.” Launched in 1995, Plant A Row is a fantastic organization which encourages gardeners to give surplus garden produce to local food banks, soup kitchens, and service organizations to help feed America's hungry.

Since its inception, Plant A Row and the Garden Writers Foundation has helped to organize concerned citizens across the United States. Amazingly, according to the Plant A Row website, “over 14 million pounds of produce providing over 50 million meals have been donated by American gardeners” through the Plant A Row organization. It has truly made a difference for thousands of families.

My extra row is intermingled in a 200’ perennial bed I have built as a community garden out behind my back fence. Above you can see I posted signs to reduce veggie robbery and let the community know I am donating the produce to help feed the hungry. Every day this garden inspires me to smile in my heart. It makes me feel fantastic to know that I am trying to make a difference.

You can make a difference for your community too – if you have produce you are not going to use, please donate it to a local food bank and help your community.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com

Get Your Children Out In Nature – Study Cabbage Caterpillars In The Garden

We discovered cabbage worms in our broccoli. Ick. Gross. Blech. Nasty. Then my eight year old and I discovered that the Cabbage Worm Butterfly (known as the “Cabbage White”) is what the Cabbage Worm Caterpillar develops into. What a fantastic way to get your children out in the garden to learn about nature! You can see our discovery in the video above. 

In hopes of seeing the butterflies in our own front yard, we are now rescuing wayward cabbage worms and placing them on all our broccoli. The idea is to save the cabbage, kale, cauliflower, but to use the brocooli as a breeding ground for the little green caterpillars.

We are already finding chrysalis’s around the garden filled with the sleeping babies and cannot wait to see the butterflies emerge.

Get your children out in nature – it is a very green and healthy thing to do and they will love the time you spend together learning. Happily, the front yard veggie garden has turned into a wonderful experiment for our family.

Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com