June- Ban Unsafe Kitchen Products

 Kitchen products might seem safe, but there are hidden dangers lurking in your food as well as in the cookware you use to prepare your food with. From aluminum to bromine, your kitchen could be stock full of dangerous chemicals without you even knowing! In this article and over this month, I'll help you clean up your cookware as well as your pantry. We'll start things off with pots, pans, and utensils.

Potting Soil

When it comes to potting soil, or any bagged soil, not many people give much thought to what they're buying. Potting soil seems like a safe item that doesn't require much thought. It turns out that it contains other ingredients besides dirt, depending on what brand you buy. Main brand products, such as Miracle-Gro, are companies that cannot be trusted no matter what the label might say.

Weeds and What They Tell Us

 I have recently been asked by someone when explaining unsustainable gardening practices to them, "But without the chemicals how do you get rid of the weeds?" This is a many layered question, even if the person asking had no idea that it was. First off, perfection is an illusion. Your lawn might look good and weed free with the application of pesticides but the truth is, your lawn is dead and is only kept alive by the constant spraying of chemicals. There are other ways to keep your lawn and garden weed free, an obvious one is to 'get down and dirty' and weed by hand, or you can purchase alternatives to herbicides, such as a flame weeder. There is another, lesser known reason why weeds are so darn hard to get rid of... They're trying to get a message through to you probably about the condition of your soil.  I'll start by listing a few common families, some plants that are in that family, how to get rid of them, and what they indicate about your soil.

Biodynamics, Uniting Science and Spirituality

 Not everyone is familiar with the term biodynamics, but it is something more people should know about. Biodynamics is a growing practice created by Rudolf Steiner that unites science and spirituality into one. It is a rather complex agricultural technique, but it is well worth the extra work. Planting, harvesting, and the application of biodynamic preparations are all done in conjunction to the planets and other celestial bodies. There are biodynamic calenders that tell what can and can't be done on any day. There is a free online biodynamic calender that you can use here. There are also many biodynamic preparations that can be bought (instead of being made), to stimulate growth. They can be bought from the Josephine Porter Institute as well as other smaller businesses where you have to call them to order. (There are many other places to buy preps from in other countries, but here I'm only talking in regard to the U.S.)  

The Poison You're Spraying...

 Ever think of what might be in that pesticide you spray all over your lawn to get rid of those pesty pests? Probably not other than, This will kill all those nasty bugs! Well it turns out it will kill much more than that! Everyone loves butterflies don't they, and all those pretty birds? Well the use of toxic pesticides not only will kill the bugs you had in mind, but may eventually lead to a silent spring where it kills all up and down the food chain. After you get over that horror you might ask, but than what can I use, and what makes what I'm using so bad?