Garden Solutions With James

James Burns ^(1,036) Unverified Account

Save the Rainforests, Just Not in Your Landscape!

Posted Saturday, August 02, 2008 (335 days 13 hours ago.) Viewed 45 times.

One of the most pressing problems confronting the world today is the loss of biodiversity to "non native" plants. Most people in America readily recognize this as it relates to human causes in such places as the exotic rainforest regions of the world. Unfortunately, not as many are aware of the ecological destruction occurring through the loss of biodiversity right here in our own back yards.

Twofold destruction.

This destruction has reached major proportions in such places as Hawaii, and the Southern portion of the United States. It has become a serious threat to our rangelands, forests, and our public waters. Billions of dollars are spent annually on control efforts, and billions more are lost to destruction. They effect our water intake systems, power plants, timber production, cattle production, and many other critical areas of modern life. The uncounted cost due to the loss of biodiversity, may be even higher!

While it is important to save as much of the biodiversity existing in exotic rain forests as possible, it is equally important to protect the home front. This is one place where thinking globally, and acting locally can really help. You can make important changes, and take important steps right here at home!

What can you do? Well, I am glad you asked!

Start by buying and using native plants in your landscape. These are better anyway, and will save money on upkeep. The natives will be more disease resistant, require fewer nutrients, and less water than the exotic plants.

When biking, hiking, or boating. Be careful not to bring home any hitch hikers. Check your pets, check your vehicles, check your clothes. If you are boating, please check the prop, the bilge, the live well, and anything that went on or near the water, including other recreational vehicles like four wheelers.

Avoid such things as dumping out an aquarium in a lake or pond, The Hydrilla which has invaded the Southern part of the United States resulted from such actions. No matter how cute that floating exotic plant is, do not bring one home to put in your pond or lake! It may be a lake killer! The devastation from exotic aquatic weeds has reached millions of dollars, and we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg. This hits us where we live. In our water supplies. No matter how tough you are, you can't live without water!

Where do these invaders come from?

Most of the exotic invaders come from the same tropical regions we are trying to save. South America, Brazil, Africa, parts of Europe, and Asia. They are fine when living in their own regions, where natural conditions and natural predators keep them in check, but in an unguarded environment they can take over, and destroy all other plant life, leaving a mono culture.

Ironic, is it not? The rainforests are destroying us as well! Yes, save the rainforests, just not in your landscape!

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12 Green Reasons For Using The Greenest Pest Control

Posted Saturday, January 05, 2008 (1 year 179 days ago.) Viewed 64 times.

Thinking of going green with pest control? Superb idea! Before you place an order, or head to your local retail outlet for a car load of earth friendly products, I have some suggestions that might just save you some money, and do a favor for the planet!

What I prefer, is the use of pest prevention, the greenest form of pest control. Let me explain what I mean and why.

It has to do with mindset, with our tendency to put out fires, instead of preventing them. We seem to have no problem understanding this as it relates to disease.

Preventing the flu, preventing the common cold, or any other virus or disease is the standard. Controlling the flu, or treating the flu is understood to be the least appealing scenario outside of dying from it! Would you prefer to avoid pneumonia, or control and treat it with a non toxic remedy? Yet somehow, we can't seem to make the logical next step of applying this to the problem of pests.

Allow me to offer some environmental incentive. 12 reasons why preventing pests is the greenest form of green pest control, greener even than the use of green pest products:

1. No energy spent on the shipment of raw materials for the product to a factory.
2. No energy to manufacture the product.
3. No energy spent to ship raw materials for packaging.
4. No energy to manufacture packaging.
5. No energy to ship raw materials for labeling.
6. No energy to manufacture and print labeling.
7. No energy spent on storage at the factory.
8. No energy spent on shipment to a warehouse.
9. No energy for storage in a warehouse.
10. No energy for shipping the finished product.
11. No energy for displaying in a retail store.
12. There is no packaging to end up in a landfill.

By using prevention, you will not only avoid the use of commercial pesticides, but you will also reduce your need for organic or natural pesticides. This will reduce your carbon footprint!

I hope this has been an encouragement for you to give pest prevention a try before you try any other means of control.

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Caring for a Cut Christmas Tree: 12 Tips For Your Tannenbaum

Posted Tuesday, December 11, 2007 (1 year 205 days ago.) Viewed 39 times.

"O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, dein Kleid zoll mich was lehren:

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, with faithful leaves unchanging."

Caring for cut trees can be difficult. They can be fire hazards at there worst, or you can find your tree devoid of needles before Santa arrives if you don't use proper care. Don't disappoint Santa. Almost everyone loves the fragrance of a real tree. It blends well with hot chocolate and Christmas carols. These are a few tips on keeping your Tannenbaum's leaves from changing.

1. Please measure carefully, be sure the tree will fit into the living room without massive cutting. If you have to take off too much, your tree may start to resemble "Charlie Browns" tree!

2. If you are not cutting your own tree from the farm, check to make sure that it is fresh. Brush it with your hand a few times and watch for falling needles. Drop the base on the pavement and check for the same thing. It will drop a few, even if it is fresh, but they should not fall out in hands full.

3. Cover it well for the ride home. 70 mile per hour winds will tend to desiccate, and defoliate.

4. Make sure it is well secured. Dragging it along the highway will leave it a little lopsided.

5. Please check your tree for pests, before you bring it inside. Just give it a few good shakes, and a visual inspection just to be sure you are not inviting any hitchhikers in to enjoy the cookies left out for Santa.

6. When you arrive, makes sure that everything is in place, you should have a good tree stand with plenty of room for water.

7. Water is the key to longevity. The trees from a lot, probably were sprayed with an anti desiccant spray before they were cut, or soon thereafter. You should trim an inch or two off of the base of the trunk, to assure that the tree can absorb the water.

8. Make sure that the tree is held firmly in place by the stand, and is stable.

9. Add water.

10. Check the water pretty often. The tree can soak up a lot of it. Evaporation will also lower the supply. It will need a constant supply to keep it fresh.

11. Decorate, and enjoy!

12. Something to consider: Go to a local nursery and buy a living Christmas tree! Buying a container grown tree can be fun and you can use it in your landscape when it outgrows your containers! You can re-pot the tree as needed, and use the same tree for several years, then when it grows too large for practical use, plant it in your landscape! This is a nice, environmentally friendly way to celebrate the season.

Don't forget to leave some milk to go with those cookies!

Merry Christmas!

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How To Trap Gophers

Posted Monday, October 15, 2007 (1 year 261 days ago.) Viewed 1,137 times.

Southern Pocket Gophers, are the nemesis of golf course superintendents, athletic field managers, and home lawn enthusiasts throughout the South.

Tunneling is what they like to do, and, what they do best. They can drive you to insanity with the tunnels and the tell tale mounds cropping up in the most unexpected and inconvenient places on your property.

They do provide a certain recreational aspect to life in the South, it involves a six pack of cold beer, a folding lawn chair placed downwind from a fresh mound, and a shotgun! Recreational value aside, they can be pretty destructive to lawns.

There are several methods of dealing with them, ranging from a propane gadget, that fills the tunnels with gas, ignites the gas, and blows the toothy little vermin to "kingdom come," various types of strychnine laced grain, and of course, the beer and shotgun method.

There is another way. The least expensive, and least hazardous route is by using gopher traps created for the job. Let me warn you from the outset, that this is not a job for the squeamish!

You will need:

1. Thick leather gloves.

2. A probe, this can be the type of long thin rod with a handle used by plumbers, or a piece of any other thin, but sturdy rod to pierce the ground.

3. A shovel.

4. Some gopher traps, at least two.

5. Some wire or very light light chain, about two feet or so for each trap.

6. A flag for each trap. This can be the wire type flags like the phone company uses to mark cable, or a long bridge spike or a stake with surveyors ribbon tied around the top so you can find it easily.

The stake or flag should be attached to the wire or chain, and the other end attached to the trap in a way that will not interfere with it's operation. You need the stake and the wire or chain, to keep any trapped gophers from stealing your traps.

You will need to probe about two feet away from the mound. all the way around the mound until you feel the probe hit a void. You will know you have hit a void, by the sudden lack of resistance.

The tunnel you need is the same one exposed above ground, but will not take a straight path. It will take a more circuitous route, because the gophers want to make it difficult for any predators. You are now the predator!

When you find the void, dig around until you find one tunnel entering the hole and one exiting it. You will need to put a trap in both ends of the tunnel, because you have no way of knowing whether the gopher is entering, or exiting.

Set the traps, according to the manufacturers instructions, and carefully place the trap inside the tunnel with the "flap" at the hole end of the tunnel, and part way inside the tunnel, it should not be forced. Traps should be placed in both tunnel openings, and the stakes set in solid ground outside the hole.

If the trap part has you puzzled, it will all be clear when you see the device. The traps themselves can cause some minor injury if you are not careful. Do yourself a favor, wear the gloves!

The waiting is the hardest part! If you have a lot of territory to cover, buy several pairs of traps, and set them all, maybe you will trap one in the first one by the time you set the last one.

Then, you check the traps, and you find you have caught one! Did I mention that you should wear thick gloves? Well you should! Carefully remove the trap, avoid getting any of your fingers or any other appendage near the gophers mouth! They have extremely sharp teeth and chew through tough roots for a living, don't let it chew into you.

Well, I said that the waiting is the hardest part, but that is really not true. The hardest part, is figuring out how to deal with the gopher once he is trapped. This is, as I said, not an activity for the squeamish, and if you are faint hearted, you might want to leave the trapping to someone else. Dispose of them in the most humane way possible. I have never found a pleasant way to accomplish this. If you find a way, let me know!

Be sure to remove all traps if any children or pets will be playing in the vicinity, and of course you will want to cover the holes when you are done.

If all this trapping business is a little to much for you, there is always the shotgun and folding chair. Keep the beer cold, it may take a while!

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