Flowers Of Happiness

By Nathan Knightley

 Flowers can symbolize different sentiments, and even produce or renew those that faded from awareness to lift a person outlook; it is in nature’s bounty for all of us to see the natural beauty in life.

There are a lot of flowers that can be considered beautiful of course, and more assortments still that are believed to be problematic in the maintenance of lawns and backgardens, all these plants share the commonality of being nature’s own development of itself. These days, flowers are seen as means by which to heal emotional wounds that may otherwise be made worse by saying the incorrect words, and it is these items that can come to be linked with the emotion that many can’t otherwise materialize.

Nature corresponds to where we are and what we live with, coexisting with nature is not an easy thing, but with a little effort we can all see the magnificience inherent in all the things that nature has to provide. There are not a lot of other things that can represent this emotion more than flowers, but these days we are riddled with publicities that point us in the direction of buying flowers to merely impress others with our implied choice of emotional feeling, a flower to brighten up the smile or to give to a suspect of romantic desires. These are some of the most frequent ideas that fly around in the new civilization as known things that have protruded past the hardened surface of the world as we look at it these days, and all to produce images of pre fabricated emotional substance to make our lives just that much more a convenience.

Though this has not always been the truth of the situation, it surely has become that way in particular, and it is this prefabricated emotion that we need to break free from. That is not to say that flowers offered to a nice friend may not signify indisputable love, but this idea has so permeated the land of concrete and asphalt that we always see, that it can be quite difficult to get past without aid from your own intuition. There is no resentment represented in the flower’s simple beauty, but there is no need to make the flower represent anything that it has no need to, not everything in life is so simply assessed. onkeyup=”cntWords(this,document.postform.c)”>

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Nathan Knightley a busy writer is also an Internet aficionado and undoubtedly enjoys sharing his infos with people like you. Learn more

now about Flowers and regarding Healthy Flowers Information at his web site
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Organic Gardening: Why Not?
By Louanne Baelde

 Organic gardening is growing and marketing health foods that have not been treated with commercial chemicals. Only natural fertilizers and pest repellents are used to qualify for the higher, health food prices.

The primary equipment for health food growing is to not use the chemical fertilizers or toxic pesticides. Natural and organically grown foods command higher prices because they cannot easily be mass-produced and generally require more TLC.

Not only are natural foods more expensive, they are mandatory for people who cannot tolerate many of the chemicals commonly used by the majority of growers today. There are also many people today who feel very strongly about chemicals and are willing to pay extra for all natural products.

The organic grower screens pests from the garden, uses insect repelling plants (like marigolds) and natural enemy insects (praying mantis, ladybugs) and natural, nontoxic pesticides to reduce crop damage.

Some organic growers confine their operation to green houses or shade houses, where control is easier.

Natural foods include fresh fruit and vegetables, dried, frozen or canned foods, as well as seeds, powders and juices.

They can be sold through health stores, directly from your garden roadside stands, or to markets in the area. It is also important to note that processed natural foods are equally as much in demand.

When advertising your organically grown produce, be sure to emphasize the “all natural” aspects, which is one of your best selling points.

Setting up to grow health foods is very much like readying a normal garden, except that you take special care to avoid the use of “forbidden” chemicals.

Fertilizers are restricted to barnyard products and natural plant leftovers which can be combined into an excellent (and low cost) garden fertilizer.

In the natural food garden business, you will soon develop a routine to make your own compost almost exclusively from waste products, plant trimmings, and fruit hulls. All plant parts that are not otherwise used (or diseased) are recycled into compost, along with other materials that you have on hand or can buy inexpensively.

The degree of isolation needed for an organic garden depends on its location. If you live in a hot area, consider a shade cloth enclosure to screen insects as well as the direct rays of a hot sun.

Greenhouse enclosures are often used in the more temperate areas where frost is a consideration.

If your garden is in a relatively insect free and not down wind from fields that are sprayed with commercial chemicals, you may need no special considerations other than some of the accepted insect deterring techniques.

Perhaps the most needed assistance for your organic garden will be compost, which is sometimes called (ironically) artificial fertilizer.

The purpose is to fertilize and simultaneously, add humus (decayed animal and plant matter) to your growing medium.

Depending on the needs of your soil, it may be necessary to add specifics to attain the desired composition.

If you cannot test it yourself, take several small samples from different locations in your garden and have them analyzed.

State universities and some large (especially, chain) nurseries will often provide this service at little or no charge. Call your county agriculture agent to find other sources of soil analysis (and remedial actions that may be unique to your area).

In a commercial operation, you will undoubtedly want to generate at least some of your own compost. You should have at least two compost piles so you can be using one while the other is “working.”

One way to build an inexpensive compost box is to make an enclosure of wood and chicken wire, some 3 feet wide, 15 feet long and perhaps 4 feet high.

Use metal or treated for the four corners and re-enforcing posts every 3-4 feet on the sides. There should be no bottom (just bare soil).

Add the compost materials: dry leaves, grass clippings, cotton hulls, straw, fruit peelings, sawdust, vegetables, and manure (clean sacked is fine) in one foot layers.

Kitchen scraps are usually avoided because they give off odors and attract flies, as are any diseased plant parts. Mix in a shovel full of regular garden soil here and there, along with some hybrid earthworms if available.

Between layers, sprinkle well with some 8-8-8 or 5-10-5 commercial fertilizer (about a pound per square foot of compost surface).

This small amount of commercial chemical doesn’t count as a directly applied chemical. It acts as a catalyst to speed the decomposing action.

Keep the compost pile moist and use a fork to turn and stir the material every few days to help foster decomposition. Add more clippings as the pile shrinks (decomposes).

When restarting a compost pile always leave a couple inches of the old compost on the ground to act as “starter”. Depending on the weather and how well you take care of your compost pile, it should be “ready” in 6 to 8 weeks. Of course, if you use heavier products, such as wood that has gone through a compost machine, it will take a little longer.

Tip: If you can’t afford a compost machine, put leaves and other small clippings into a clean metal garbage can and insert your weed-eater. This won’t work with larger pieces, but does fine with the light material.

Another idea is to mount a barrel so it can be turned daily. Have one made with a door and good latch so it can be turned without its contents falling out. The barrel can either be mounted on rollers or have axles welded on each end and fit into receptacles on a sturdy stand.

Organic gardeners learn which insects and garden denizens are helpers and which are “bad news”. Some may look bad but do a lot of good.

Examples are garden snakes that eat mice and insects, spiders and eat insects, wasps that each roach eggs and lay their eggs in insects, dragon flies, and ground beetles and caterpillars. Other beneficial creatures may be more easily recognized: praying mantis (insects and aphids), ladybugs (aphids, scales, spider mites), bees (pollination), lizards (large quantities of insects), frogs, toads (ditto), pirate bugs (mites, eggs and larvae of other insects), birds (worms, bugs), dragonflies (flies, mosquitoes, etc.).

There are also “organic” pesticides that are used, but one must be very careful not to step over the line to toxic chemicals and lose their “organically grown” label!

As you learn more and more about organic gardening, you will discover many other tricks that work in your area. Some are ironclad rules; others may be debatable, but in the final analysis, what works for you is best for you! Some organic gardeners NEVER plant anything in the same row twice, to reduce the possibility of pests and disease.

For example: Tomatoes are especially sensitive to nematodes (root insects) as well as tomato worms. A crop of tomatoes may be followed by onions of cereal (not regular winter) rye for a winter green fertilizer (turned) under in the spring).

The latter is reputed to kill nematodes which become tangled in the thick rye roots. Many organic gardeners routinely place marigolds and other insect repelling plants between rows and/or 5 castor beans to help repel flies and moles.

By subscribing to a good organic gardening magazine, and trial and error in your particular locale, you will soon become an expert for the products you raise.

Louanne welcomes you to visit EZ-Gardening-Tips.com http://www.EZ-Gardening-Tips.com for a large data base of extremely helpful gardening articles, gardening videos and gardening resources.

Send Flowers To Someone You Love

Five Great Things To Do With Coffee (Besides Drink it!)
By Hannah Jennings

 I have developed quite a sophisticated palate in my older age. I like my beer dark (Guinness), my wine strong (Zinfandel), and my coffee dark, but not burned.

I also like to not waste things. It pains me to toss the last drops of coffee down the sink. Coffee doesn’t grow on trees (Well, it does actually, but not here in the US). I have found several uses for the remainder of the pot after my slightly-over-doctor-recommended- acceptable 3 cups of coffee.

Use #1 - Freeze in ice cube trays to make iced coffee with. Watery coffee is gross. Especially when you start with the perfect mixture of coffee and milk. Then the ice melts and it is just, well, yuck. Frozen coffee all but eliminates that problem. Sure, the coffee is a bit stronger toward the end, but oh, so preferable to the alternative.

Use #2 - Use instead of water in all chocolate and desert related recipes. Chocolate cake with coffee in the mix is like having a dark, rich, indulgence that doesn’t require you clean up after him. It is just that good.

Use #3 - Occasionally waters your plants with a 50/50 water/coffee mix. The caffeine is good for acid loving plants. Other houseplants like African Violets can benefit from the nutrient-rich compounds. All of my plants, from the violets to the roses, are always a little perky a few days following the once-a-week mix.

Use #4 - In the morning use a little coffee in your facial wash to both awaken your senses, lift your mood, and tighten those lines that formed during the night. The acid will help slough off dead skin cells, and create a more radiant you. Then you can drink your cup of coffee (or three) and feel how great you look.

Use #5 - If you use organic coffee, then saves those grinds. I use an old sour cream container and then once-a-week deposit the remains in my garden. Our soil here is very calcium rich so the acid in the coffee seems to really balance things out. If you find that you have a lot of acid in your soil naturally, then save the grounds to add to a neighborhood compost pile.

See, coffee isn’t just excellent for drinking. There are a lot of really great uses that will help you stretch every dollar you spend. Waste not, want not and all that sort of a thing that our grandparents knew about. Besides, it means that I get to create more reasons to go to my “Happy Place.”

Hannah Jennings is the Co-Founder of Nectar of Life Organic Coffee Company. Nectar of Life is a gourmet coffee roaster that specializes in shade grown, certified Fair Trade organic coffees. Visit their website at www.nectaroflife.com to learn more.

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