http://www.ted.com/talks/cary_fowler_one_seed_at_a_time_protecting_the_future_of_food.html
Biodiversity warrior Cary Fowler wants to save the world from agricultural collapse, one seed at a time. The varieties of wheat, corn and rice we grow today may not thrive in a future threatened by climate change. Cary Fowler takes us inside a vast global seed bank, buried within a frozen mountain in Norway, that stores a diverse group of food-crop for whatever tomorrow may bring.
Tea Tree Oil (Melaleuca Oil)
In mixtures of 5% or greater tea tree oil kills fungi and bacteria but in mixtures of less then 5% it promotes fungal and bacterial growth. Unlike other bacterial fighting agents tea tree oil does not irritate skin. Tea tree oil should never be ingested or applied in or around the mouth or eyes. If ingested, tea tree oil could cause up to 12 hours of comatosis.
Lemongrass
Lemongrass extract a great homemade mosquito repellent. As a tea it is also great for treating symptoms related to the common cold.
Comfrey
Comfrey root extract breaks down cells and speeds scabbing of cuts and wounds. Comfrey should not be ingested as it is carcinogenic (it causes cancer).
Whether you’re rich or poor, its generally agreed that saving money is a good thing. If you give it enough thought and aren’t afraid of a little hard work, you can cut some corners on your gardening budget while helping to do your part to save the environment, too. In most cases it’s not as much work as you may think, either.
Insecticidal Soap
Reusing a spray bottle in the garden as opposed to continually buying and throwing away spray bottles from the store is obviously much better for the environment. A glass or stainless steel spray bottle would be best but are unfortunately cost prohibitive and rather bulky for most of us to want to lug around the garden. I recommend buying a few pesticide sprayers available at most Home & Garden stores.
To make insecticidal soap, I recommend Dr. Bronner’s Liquid Peppermint Castile Soap. Peppermint makes a great addition to insecticidal soap because the strong smell repels insects. Use 1 to 2 teaspoons of Castile Soap per gallon of water. Be careful not to use more then 2 teaspoons per gallon or you may harm your plants when you spray them.
To improve your mixture so it will work on a wider variety of pests you may also wish to add any strong-smelling spices or roots. Onions, garlic, horseradish, ginger, cayenne pepper and any other hot peppers are all known to work well.
Mosquito Repellent
If you live in a region where there are a lot of mosquitoes, its probably best you not be outside during the dawn and sunset hours when mosquitoes are most active without wearing a mosquito repellent of some kind. Growing your own organic lemongrass can provide you with plenty of lemongrass to make an extract from, which can then be sprayed directly onto your skin. To get some lemongrass buy some from an Asian supermarket and make sure to get some that have some of the root portion of the stalk at the bottom. Then place the lemongrass stalk in a glass with an inch or so of water and once you see the roots beginning to grow you can plant it in your garden.
Lemongrass is a very drought tolerant plant, it actually stores reserves of water at the base of the plant. It prefers a sandy soil so if you can add liberal amounts of sand to your soil mixture. These generally low-maintenance plants grow quickly and yield plenty of lemongrass for you to make a batch of extract every so often.
If you have access to a tincture press this probably the best way to extract the liquid from the lemongrass. Otherwise you can simply cut the lemongrass into small bits and place it in water for a few hours. You should measure the lemongrass cuttings and use 2 cups of water for every cup of lemongrass.
Stay Tuned, More To Follow
I will be adding to this list more in the future, but in the meantime if you have any other ideas you want to mention please feel free to comment.
By Ezra Free
Everyone has their own style of mixing their soil. The following is my current recipe for soil amendments in my container gardens. I am, of course, very open to suggestions or criticisms so I can take them into consideration.
One of the most important things most (but not all) plants need is well aerated soil. When you buy a pack of seeds they generally state on the back some instructions and you will notice many plants mention they require “well-drained” soil. So how do you mix your soil so it will be well-drained? By amending your soil with something that will provide aeration. In this case, by aeration we are referring to the amount of air gaps in the soil.
To provide aeration I amend my soil mixture with perlite and cocoa coir.
Coco coir is processed from the fibrous husk of coconuts. I have found coco coir to be better then peat moss because peat moss has had a tendancy to become water logged after a while causing very poor aeration in the soil. This can be fixed usually by tilling the soil a bit, but the shock of this situation can cause a delay in growth.
The perlite used in agriculture is actually “expanded perlite”. Perlite is an amorphous volcanic glass which is then expanded to 7-16 times its own volume by heating it to 850-900° C which releases the water as vapors, leaving an inorganic material of low density. Perlite makes composts more open to air, while still having good water-retention properties.
I mix 1 parts coco coir and perlite to every 4 parts soil.
Each gardener should mix their soil in a large bin of some sort and feel the soil as they go along until they get the consistancy they feel is right.
More on this subject later, but in the meantime if you have a better recipe we’d love to hear it so don’t be afraid to comment!