Mommy Goes Green

Eco-Friendly Weed Control

July 14, 2010 by Tiffany 1 Comment

I finally feel like we’ve moved successfully from conventional products to eco-friendly products in our lawn and garden. The icing on the cake was finding a safe way to control our weeds:

Water plants, not weeds. We turned off the sprinkler heads in our garden beds and used a sprinkler head conversion kit to install a drip system. It’s inexpensive and very easy to install. Each drip is set to only water plants, flowers and trees, where necessary. The rest of the bed doesn’t get watered, saving water (and $$) and keeping weeds down.
Use a thick layer of mulch or bark. We’ve spread mulch too thinly for the past couple summers. At only 1-2 inches, it thinned out quickly and disappeared before summer was over. It didn’t help with weed control. This summer, we spread it 3 inches thick and it has made a huge difference. Mulch also helps keep your water needs down (and $$) as it reduces evaporation by up to 50%.
Plant drought tolerant ground cover. Ground cover acts similarly to mulch so it covers the dirt, keeping weeds down and reducing evaporation. By choosing drought tolerant ground cover, you further reduce your water needs.
Use a weed killer, if necessary. The final piece of our eco-friendly weed control puzzle was finding a weed killer that worked and WE. HAVE. FOUND. IT. EcoSmart contacted me to see if I would check out a few of their new products and I was excited to try out their Organic Weed & Grass Killer. I just hoped it worked and it does! We have some weeds in a rocky area that are hard to hand pick so I started there. It was a hot day and I sprayed all the weeds in the morning. By afternoon, all the weeds were shriveled up and dead! {I did a little happy dance}

So the good news is that you don’t need a big bottle of Roundup to kill weeds particularly because I’m not convinced on any level that Roundup is safe. For example, scientists in France evaluated the toxicity of Roundup on fetal umbilical cord cells. They found that every formulation of Roundup caused total cell death within 24 hours. And they weren’t even testing with agricultural levels of Roundup, they were using levels that would be found in food or feed. Roundup has also been linked to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. If you think you are safe using it in your yard, did you know that it’s half-life is at least 47 days? It also contaminates surface waters and is not readily broken down by sunlight or water. Scary stuff, just say no. Promise you, EcoSmart works just as well. If I get one reader to stop using Roundup, I’ll feel better 🙂

Organic Lawn Care

July 13, 2010 by Tiffany 11 Comments

A couple years ago we ditched the Round Up and chemical filled fertilizer for more eco-friendly alternatives. It has taken some time to figure out how to maintain our lawn without chemicals but this summer we’ve found some great methods that are doing the job. I know it would be more eco-friendly not to have a lawn at all but we have two young children who love to run barefoot through it. It doesn’t take any more effort than conventional methods to have a safer, eco-friendly lawn.

Know how much water your lawn needs. Your lawn only needs 1 inch of water a week and preferably, all at one time. This way the water gets down to the deep roots. To determine how much water your lawn needs, put an empty tuna can in the middle of the yard. Turn on the sprinklers and record how long it takes to fill the tuna can up. Once you know how long it takes, set your sprinkler system to water 1x per week for that length of time. Remember, different parts of your lawn may need different amounts of water. We water 30 minutes, 1x per week in our front yard and 1 hour, 1x per week in our back yard.
Don’t waste water. Water in the morning. If you water during the day, it evaporates before it hits the ground. We start our watering process at 5am. If you have a sprinkler system, turn it on and watch how each sprinkler head is functioning. Is it overwatering by spraying sidewalks or driveways? Do you have too many sprinkler watering the same area? The spray area on each sprinkler head can be modified, usually with a screwdriver applied to the top. We have turned off about 25% of our sprinkler heads totally because they were watering areas that weren’t planted yet or were overlapping with other sprinkler heads too much.
Don’t mow too short. Keeping your lawn about 3 inches long
Use free fertilizer. By leaving your grass clippings on your lawn, you reduce your fertilizer needs by 25%. To keep our garden beds grass clipping free, we bag the grass clippings while mowing and then empty the bag back onto our lawn. You also reduce your trips to the recycling center to take grass clippings.
Get chicken manure. According to SafeLawns.org, chicken manure is the best fertilizer so we picked it up. This is the product that has made the biggest difference for our lawn. It took a thin, yellow lawn and made it lush, thick and green in about a week. As long as we remember to use it every month, the lawn is awesome. We buy chicken fertilizer at Lowe’s – it’s not any more expensive than conventional fertilizer and it contains no chemicals. SafeLawns recommends one called Chickity Doo Doo. EDITED TO ADD: We don’t use plain chicken manure, it’s an organic fertilizer where the primary component is chicken manure!

Using these methods, we’ve saved money on our water bills and have a safe lawn that I feel totally comfortable having my children play on. For more tips, I highly recommend checking out SafeLawns.org.

Check in tomorrow for tips to keep your garden beds organic AND weed-free!

This is part of the Healthy Child Blog Carnival – an effort by Healthy Child Healthy World to help inspire a movement to protect children from harmful chemicals. For great posts from other green mamas, check some of them out!

The Most Expensive Egg We’ll Ever Eat by RookieMom
Clean Food, Dirty Kids by Spoonfed
Our Grass is Greener by Farmer’s Daughter
Quick Spray to Save Summer Veggies by Easy Peasy
How to Relax and Let the Kids Have (Non-Toxic) Fun by Almost All the Truth

Filed Under: Gardening Tagged With: Gardening, lawn, Organic Gardening

Reducing Your Use of Plastic Produce Bags

June 26, 2010 by Tiffany 3 Comments

Buying produce at the grocery store often requires those awful plastic produce bags that are hard to clean and reuse because they are so flimsy. There are many options to reduce your use – find one that works for you:

1. Choose paper produce bags.

2. Take a large basket, bag, or wagon to the farmer’s market and store produce there until you get home.

3. Encourage your local grocery store to carry the BioBag– a biodegradable, compostable produce bag. Compared with plastic, they have a greenhouse effect reduction by up to 49%.

4. One of choices I’ve made to get rid of plastic produce bags is to use reusable bags. I’ve been using Bag the Habit bags, courtesy of Abe’s Market, for several months now. They are heavy duty – they’ll hold several potatoes – without breaking or stretching. They have a wide opening for bigger items like a head of lettuce and a draw string to keep everything inside. Not only are they great for putting your produce in, but you can also use them for your bulk purchases like beans, raisins or pretzels. My only complaint is that I don’t have more of them!

5. If you’re crafty, make your own reusable bags with these instructions from Mother Earth News or Instructables.

If you do use plastic produce bags, here are some options to reuse them:

Packing material
Pick up doggy doodoo
Put in the diaper bag for dirty diapers
Line garbage cans

If you don’t want to reuse them, make sure you dispose of them properly by recycling them. If your curbside recycler doesn’t take these bags, many grocery stores take them back like Fred Meyer, Walmart, and Whole Foods – search for local locations here. Every couple months, I drop off any plastic bags I have ( shopping, produce or packaging ). The collection bin is usually near the entrance.

Filed Under: Crafting, Food and Drink Tagged With: plastic produce bag, reusable bag

Lead Found in Many Children’s Juices and Packaged Fruits

June 15, 2010 by Tiffany 1 Comment

Let me start by saying that NO LEVEL OF EXPOSURE TO LEAD IS CONSIDERED SAFE. So it was incredibly frustrating to read the news this morning that the Environmental Law Foundation “ELF”, found lead in children’s fruit juices and packaged fruits. And not just in one brand or a few brands, but in a lot of brands and many of them organic! Unfortunately, there is likely lead in many other products containing fruit but these are the only ones currently tested by ELF. Even more frustrating is that while by buying organic, we may avoid pesticides, it doesn’t necessarily mean we’re avoiding lead. UGH. This is the kind of stuff that just makes people give up. No win situation.

At this point, it doesn’t sound like anyone is saying where the lead comes from. It could be the fruit or the manufacturing process. When we know more, we’ll pass it on. In the meantime, stay away from the products listed below and pass this information on to your family and friends. You could also send an email to your favorite brands expressing your concerns.

APPLE JUICE

Beech Nut 100% Apple Juice
Earth’s Best Organics Apple Juice
First Street 100% Apple Cider from concentrate
First Street Apple Juice from concentrate 100% juice
Full Circle Organic Apple Juice
Gerber 100% Juice Apple Juice
Great Value 100% No Sugar Added Apple Juice
Hansen’s Natural Apple Juice
Kroger 100% Juice Apple Juice
Langers Apple Juice 100% Juice
Minute Maid Juice Apple – 100% Apple Juice
Motts 100% Apple Juice
O Organics Organic Unfiltered Apple Juice Not From Concentrate
Old Orchard 100% Apple Juice
Parade 100% Juice Apple
Raley’s Premium 100% Apple Juice not from Concentrate
Safeway 100% Juice Apple Cider
Safeway 100% Juice Apple Juice
Stater Bros. 100% Juice Apple Juice
Sunny Select 100% Apple Juice
Trader Joe’s Certified Organic Apple Juice, pasteurized
Tree Top 100% Juice Apple Cider
Walgreens Apple Juice from concentrate 100% juice
Walnut Grove Market 100% Apple Juice

GRAPE JUICE

365 Everyday Value Organic 100% Juice Concord Grapes
First Street Grape Juice from concentrate 100% juice
Gerber 100% Juice – White Grape Juice
Great Value 100% Grape Juice
Kedem Concord Grape Juice 100% pure grape juice
Kroger Grape Juice 100% Juice
Langers Grape Juice (Concord)
Langers Red Grape Juice
O Organics Organic Grape Juice from concentrate
R.W. Knudsen Just Concord Grape Juice
R.W. Knudsen Organic Just Concord
Raley’s 100% Grape Juice
Safeway 100% Juice Grape Juice
Safeway Organic Grape Juice
Santa Cruz Organic Concord Grape Juice
Stater Bros. 100% Juice Grape Juice
Stater Bros. 100% Juice White Grape Juice
Sunny Select 100% Grape Juice
Trader Joe’s Concord Grape Juice made from fress pressed organic concord grapes
Tree Top 100% Juice, Grape
Valu Time Grape Drink from Concentrate
Walgreens Grape Juice from concentrate 100% juice
Walnut Acres Organic Concord Grape
Walnut Grove Market Grape Juice
Welch’s 100% Grape Juice (from Welch’s Concord Grapes)
Welch’s 100% Red Grape Juice from Concentrate

PACKAGED PEARS

Best Yet Bartlett Pear Halves in Heavy Syrup
Del Monte Diced Pears in Light Syrup
Del Monte Pear Halves in Heavy Syrup
Del Monte Pear Halves, Bartlett Pears in 100% real fruit juice from concentrate
Dole Pear Halves in Juice
First Street Diced Pears
First Street Sliced Bartlett
Full Circle Organic Bartlett Pear Slices
Gerber 3rd Foods Pears [Baby Food]
Great Value Bartlett Pear Halves in 100% Juice
Great Value Bartlett Sliced Pears in Heavy Syrup
Market Pantry Diced Pears in Light syrup
Maxx Value Pear Pieces in Light Syrup
Polar Pear Halves in light syrup
S&W Natural Style Pear Slices in Juice
S&W Sun Pears Premium
Safeway Lite Bartlett Pear Halves in Pear Juice
Safeway Pear Halves in Light Juice
Sunny Select Pear Halves in Pear Juice
Trader Joe’s Pear Halves in white grape juice
Truitt Brothers Pacific NorthWest Bartlett Pear Halves, in pear juice from concentrate
Valu Time Irregular Bartlett Pear Slices
Walnut Grove Market Natural Pear Halves in Heavy Syrup

PACKAGED PEACHES

Best Yet Yellow Cling Peach Halves in Heavy Syrup
Del Monte Freestone Peach Slices in 100 % Juice
Del Monte Sliced Yellow Cling Peaches in 100 % Juice
Del Monte Sliced Yellow Cling Peaches in heavy syrup
Dole Diced Peaches, Yellow Cling in light syrup
First Street Yellow Cling Peaches in heavy syrup
Gerber 3rd Foods Peaches [Baby Food]
Golden Star Peach Halves in Heavy Syrup
Great Value Yellow Cling Sliced Peaches
Libby’s Yellow Cling Peach Slices No Sugar Added (Sweetened with Splenda)
Market Pantry Diced Peaches in light syrup
Polar Peach Slices
Raley’s Sliced Yellow Cling Peaches in Heavy Syrup
S&W Natural Style Yellow Cling Peach Slices in Lightly Sweetened Juice
S&W Premium Peach Halves Yellow Cling Peaches in light syrup
Safeway Diced Peaches in Light Syrup
Safeway Yellow Cling Peach Slices in Pear Juice
Simple Value Yellow Cling Peaches in light syrup
Stater Bros. Yellow Cling Peach Halves
Stater Bros. Yellow Cling Sliced Peaches in heavy syrup
Sunny Select Yellow Cling Sliced Peaches in Pear Juice
Trader Joe’s Yellow Cling Peach Halves in while grape juice
Valu Time Yellow Cling Peach Slices
Walnut Grove Market Natural Peaches Sliced Yellow Cling in Light Syrup

FRUIT COCKTAIL

Best Yet Chunky Mixed Fruit in Pear Juice
Chef’s Review Fruit Cocktail
Del Monte 100% Juice Fruit Cocktail
Del Monte Chunky Mixed Fruit in 100 % Juice (peach, pear, grape, etc.)
Del Monte Fruit Cocktail in Heavy Syrup (peach, pear, grapes)
Del Monte Fruit Cocktail No Sugar Added
Del Monte Lite Fruit Cocktail in Extra Light Syrup
Dole Mixed Fruit in Light Syrup
Eating Right Fruit Cocktail packed in Sucralose
Eating Right No Sugar Fruit Cocktail
First Street Fruit Cocktail in heavy syrup
Golden Star Mixed Fruit in Light Syrup (peach, pineapple, pears)
Great Value No Sugar Added Fruit Cocktail
Kroger Fruit Cocktail in Heavy Syrup
Kroger Lite Fruit Cocktail in Pear Juice
Kroger Value Fruit Mix (Peaches, pears, grapes)
Libby’s Fruit Cocktail No Sugar Added (Sweetened with Splenda)
Market Pantry Mixed Fruit in light syrup
Maxx Value Fruit Mix in Light Syrup (peach, pear, grape)
Mrs. Brown’s Fruit Cocktail in Heavy Syrup (peaches, pears, grapes)
Polar Mixed Fruit
Raley’s Fruit Cocktail in Heavy Syrup
S&W Natural Style Fruit Cocktail in Lightly Sweetened Juice
Safeway Fruit Cocktail in Heavy Syrup
Safeway Light Sugar Fruit Cocktail
Safeway Lite Fruit Cocktail in Pear Juice
Stater Bros. Fruit Cocktail in Heavy Syrup
Sunny Select Fruit Cocktail in Juice

Filed Under: Food and Drink Tagged With: lead

My Eco-Friendly Laundry Routine

June 14, 2010 by Tiffany 1 Comment

With the exception of detergents, my laundry routine was eco-friendly before I even wanted to be eco-friendly.

WASHING

I sort all the laundry into piles in the following order:

Adult or child
White, dark or color
Gentle or Heavy

While the sorting in itself isn’t all that eco-friendly, I do make sure that the piles are large enough to fill up the washer. No use in running half a load. If they aren’t, I’ll combine piles to make a load big enough.

I wash almost everything in COLD water. It saves $$ and energy and IT WORKS. Promise. The only things I wash in hot water are sheets, towels and anything with poop on it (thank you to my kiddos).

I use eco-friendly detergents like Seventh Generation or Earth Friendly Products. I don’t add fabric softener to the cycle but if you wanted to, Seventh Generation makes an eco-friendly version. I rarely use stain removers or bleach and if I do, they are…you guessed it. Eco-friendly stain removers or bleach. If I think something might be stained, I wash it at least once or twice to see if it will come out on its own. It generally does. If it won’t, I will use a stain remover, like BabyGanics or an eco-friendly bleach like Seventh Generation and voila – almost everything comes out. We do occasionally having a clothing casualty but it’s rare.

DRYING

Almost all clothing gets thrown directly into the dryer for 10 – 20 minutes of light drying, enough to take out the excess water and wrinkles. I never use fabric softener sheets. Then I hang *almost everything* on a drying rack or on a hanger. I consider this to be the most important part of my laundry routine for several reasons:

I rarely have to iron since everything is dried hanging and comes out wrinkle free.
Clothes don’t shrink. Believe me, I’ve compared brand new dried in the dryer pants to brand new dried on the hanging rack pants and there was a whole size difference.
Far less wear and tear. Colors don’t fade. Dark blue jeans stay dark blue. The fibers don’t get as ruffled and worn looking.
There is no static cling.
We save tons of energy and less wear and tear on our dryer.

I’m not going to lie, this does take more time than just throwing everything in the dryer but seriously, most of our clothes are wrinkle free and I could pass down my kids clothes for years because they stay in such great shape. I’ve even had friends comment on what great condition their clothes are in.

For sheets and towels, I use Seventh Generation Fabric Softener sheets. They are paper so once they are used, I can recycle them – LOVE THAT! I also dry sheets and towels in the dryer all the way. If I had the space for a laundry line outside, I would definitely put them on the line outside. The sunshine dries whites whiter!

There you have it – my laundry routine. Not as simple as most but has lots of great benefits! What is YOUR laundry routine?

Filed Under: Apparel & Accessories, Home Tagged With: laundry

Eco-Friendly Weed Control

Organic Lawn Care

Reducing Your Use of Plastic Produce Bags

Lead Found in Many Children’s Juices and Packaged Fruits

My Eco-Friendly Laundry Routine

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