I just received my latest ‘Mother Earth News’ - yet another juicy issue, full of interesting articles! Now that I’m completely in the ‘grow zone’ myself, it’s no surprise that several cool gardening articles caught my interest - and whadya know two of the three are available online!
1) 8 Strategies For Better Garden Soil
You may recall in my first post about Mother Earth News (after receiving my first issue) I mentioned a great article by Harvey Ussery called “Our 21st Century Homestead”. Well that article actually marked the start of Harvey’s “21st Century Homesteading” column - something I look forward to reading each issue. In this issue (June/July), Harvey chats about eight strategies that will help enrich your garden soil - primarily revolving around the approach of disturbing your soil as little as possible. One strategy I find particularly intriguing is the idea of ’soil mining’ with certainly plant species - very cool!
Anyway, be sure to check out the article (link above) - definitely worth the read.
2) Maintain a weedless organic garden
To be totally honest, I have not yet had a chance to really take a close look at this article. Based on my brief ‘look-see’, it looks as though the author covers some of the same ground (no pun intended! haha!) as Harvey Ussery - talking about reducing soil disturbance, use of mulches etc etc.
Yet another cool article in the June/July issue (but not available online) is called “Wise Watering”, which declares in the subtitle that “organic mulches and the right watering equipment will keep your crops healthy and your yields abundant”.
This year I too am very focused on conserving water while maintaining lush gardens - so this one certainly caught my eye as well! I may chat more about it once I read it!
I’ve spoken earlier about my 2007 Water Conservation Project in one or two other posts, and will be writing a full article (with pictures) all about it for our upcoming newsletter (believe it nor not, we ARE indeed close to finally releasing our inaugural edition - apologies for the delay).
I’m absolutely LOVING my new rain barrel so far, and have been implementing some other key strategies inside the house as well!
Anyway - enough for now. Be sure to check out those articles!
Cheers
B.
Technorati Tags: gardening, water conservation, organic gardening, rain barrel, mother earth news, mulch, compost, garden, vegetables, farming
Written by Bentley on June 1st, 2007 with 2 comments.
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Just caught this interesting press release from Newswire:
The City of Toronto and Green Roofs for Healthy Cities successfully bid for the 2009 World Green Roof Congress
TORONTO, May 31 /CNW/ - “Green Roofs for Healthy Cities,” the North American green roof industry association and the City of Toronto are pleased to announce that they will be hosting the 2009 World Green Roof Congress.
The Congress will bring more than 1,000 delegates to Toronto from around the world to discuss the latest research, policy and technical advances in the rapidly growing green roof industry. The World Green Roof Congress is organized through the World Green Roof Infrastructure Network, an international organization made up of the leaders of national green roof
industry associations from around the world.
“I’m extremely happy the Green Roofs for Healthy Cities has chosen Toronto for its 2009 Congress,” said Toronto Mayor David Miller. “This is a heartening endorsement of our policies and practices, and an acknowledgment that Toronto truly is a global leader in the fight against climate change.”
“This is a tremendous opportunity for Toronto to showcase its progress on sustainable communities and demonstrate significant progress in developing the green roof industry in North America,” said Steven Peck, President of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and co-host of the event. “Green roofs have really captured people’s attention as a beautiful way to help fight climate change and save money. Green roofs deliver more public and private benefits than any other green building technology.”
In 2006, The City of Toronto passed “Making Green Roofs Happen,” a comprehensive report on policies and programs that will advance the use of green roof technology among City buildings and in the private sector.
Green roof infrastructure involves the use of technologies that incorporate drainage/filtering systems, quality waterproofing,
root-repellancy, engineered growing media and plants. The benefits of green (vegetative) roofs include a reduction in storm water run-off, better heat and sound insulation, energy savings, improved air quality and reduction in the urban heat island. Other benefits include increased park space, improved aesthetics, community gardening and habitat restoration.
Toronto is Canada’s largest city and sixth largest government, and home to a diverse population of about 2.6 million people. It is the economic engine of Canada and one of the greenest and most creative cities in North America. In the past three years Toronto has won more than 50 awards for quality and innovation in delivering public services. Toronto’s government is dedicated to prosperity, opportunity and liveability for all its residents.
Visit our website at www.toronto.ca
Technorati Tags: green roof, toronto, green roof congress, water management, rainwater recycling
Written by Bentley on June 1st, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on Water Conservation and Eco Events and News.
