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The Lawn & Garden Owner's Manual
by Lewis Hill, Nancy Hill
Full of useful information on refreshing tired-out lawns and
gardens, The Lawn and Garden Owner's Manual is a terrific, comprehensive
guide to ongoing care and maintenance of those long-suffering lawns, fruit
trees, and ornamental trimmings. Emphasizing care of plants that are already
installed and in need of some tender loving care, there are lots of helpful
charts and calendars to help you time your tasks properly. Troubleshooting
areas are especially helpful for the lawn--you'll learn just how to fix
those spots of patchy growth or yellow grass. Plant choices are aimed
at providing attractive, low-maintenance options for all types of growing
conditions. From grasses to vines, you'll find lots to update your existing
lawn.
There's both organic and chemical solutions to pest and disease control.
The authors caution you never to expect an instant fix for long-term problems--rather
than being discouraging, this tactic will be reassuring to novices. There's
lots of insight provided into why all these types of upkeep are necessary,
and questions like "is pruning really worth it?" are answered
in a straightforward manner. Whenever possible, replacements are offered
for high-maintenance areas such as enormous lawns or disease-prone roses,
and these replacements are often more attractive than the originals. Plenty
of eye-pleasing color photos round out this handy, colorful addition to
the gardening shelf. --Jill Lightner
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Successful Small-Scale Farming: An Organic Approach (Down-To-Earth
Book)
by Karl Schwenke
Synopsis
Instructs the beginning farmer in evaluating and preserving the soil,
acquiring and maintaining machinery, and raising a successful crop through
sound farming practices.
From the Back Cover
"When I first wrote Successful Small-Scale Farming eleven years ago,"
writes Karl Schwenke in the preface to this new edition, "an 'organic
farmer' was synonymous with a 'lonely hippie troublemaker.' Today he is
classed somewhere between a high-priced elitist and an opportunistic liar."
So begins this classic guide to organic small-scale agriculture, fully updated and revised for the 1990s -- for a new generation of readers who would like to live closer to the earth.
Successful Small-Scale Farming introduces anyone owning (or planning to own) a small farm to both the harsh realities and the real potential involved in making a full- or part-time living on the land. Karl Schwenke's clear-eyed approach to the best farming methods covers a wide range of proven techniques and practical advice, including:
* How to improve, conserve, and enrich your soil organically, to ensure
the highest (and healthiest) yields.
* What machinery you'll need and how to use it.
* The best "cash crops" and specialty crops to grow for profit
and how to raise them.
* How to use innovative strategies to find or create a market "niche"
for your farm's crops or services.
* A concise overview of essential farmstead skills, such as haying, fencing,
and managing a woodlot.
* Numerous charts and tables that put useful calculations at your fingertips.
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With today's increased concern for the quality of the food we eat and the health of our environment, Successful Small-Scale Farming offers a unique and invaluable perspective on the future of agriculture. Karl Schwenke's message -- that small-scale farms can be cleaner, smarter, and more efficient than corporate agribusiness -- has never been so relevant as it is today. top of page
About the Author
Husband-and-wife author team Karl and Sue Schwenke live on a farm in Newbury,
Vermont, where they have raised strawberries, pigs and hay among other
crops. Sue is a teacher and Karl has been a professioanl writer for over
30 years. Together, this couple has written the book Build Your Own Stone
House and Karl wrote the Storey title Successful Small-Scale Farming.
His other work includes Sierra North and Sierra South from Wilderness
Press, an organization in Berkeley, California, that he co-founded after
graduating from college. Karl has also written In a Pig's Eye (Chelsea
Green Publishing). top of page
Mosquito Facts & West Nile Virus Update
Mosquito Facts
Mosquito,
the name is Spanish for little fly. There are 3000 different kinds
of mosquitoes and a worldwide population of 100 trillion!! Most are in
tropical climates, but there are mosquitoes in arctic and desert regions.
They can fly up to 10 mph, dart between raindrops and even fly backwards. Most live and die close to where they hatch, but some are strong flyers that travel many miles in search of a victim.
Only female mosquitoes bite. They require a blood meal in order to develop eggs to make more mosquitoes. Most female mosquitoes lay their eggs on standing water. Stagnant ponds, ditches and fresh or salt water wetlands are favorites, but even a few tablespoons of water in a flower pot or old auto tire will do. The eggs hatch, become swimming larvae, then pupae and finally flying adults. Mosquito larvae are an important source of food for certain fish, birds, bats and other animals. To reduce Mosquito infestation we recommend using the following products Mosquito Bits or Mosquito Dunks. A SkeeterVac is a long term and highly effective solution for eliminating mosquitoes. SkeeterVac's patent pending scientifically proven technology creates an atmosphere biting mosquitoes can't resist: warmth, water vapor, carbon dioxide and odorants. Then it finishes off the job by trapping and killing those biting pests so your outdoor experiences are safer and more enjoyable.
What's being done about Mosquitoes and what you can do.
In their quest for blood, mosquitoes may bite birds, frogs, snakes, and mammals, including people. Some, called peridomestic mosquitoes actually live and breed around homes just to be near us.
24 hours or so after hatching, a female mosquito flies off in search of a meal. She homes in on body warmth, odor, moisture and the carbon dioxide we exhale. When she bites, the mosquito injects a bit of saliva that slows coagulation so blood flows freely. It's your body's allergic reaction to the saliva that caused the welt and itching sensation.
Mosquitoes can also transmit canine heartworm, which is fatal to dogs once contracted. For protection, pet owners can purchase a preventative medicine from their veterinarian.
Generally, the trend in the U.S. is away from spraying adult mosquitoes with chemicals. Whenever possible, government health authorities control large tracts of mosquito breeding land by larviciding. They use low toxicity biopesticides like B.t.i. (Bacillius thuringiensis subspecies israelensis), a live bacteria that's deadly to mosquito larvae, harmless to other living things.
The mosquito that bit you last night may have hatched in the birdbath right in your own back yard. At home or with school or community groups, you can effectively reduce mosquito problems using common sense and environmentally-conscious methods.
Organize a neighborhood cleanup. Its great community project that will eliminate lots of potential mosquito breeding spots and improve the view! Look for places where rainwater collects and stands. Old car tires, drain flower pots, children's wading pools and tree holes.
Goldfish and fresh water minnows (Gambusia affinis) will both eat mosquito larvae. Microbe Lift is an ideal supplement to protect pond areas for excessive mosquito hatchlings. Check with your local mosquito control agency about availability and local regulations. Flush birdbaths and fountains weekly. Clean clogged gutters and drains, cover cesspools.
Let Yardiac.com help you!
To Humans and domestic animals, mosquitoes are a nuisance and a health hazard since mosquitoes can transmit a variety of diseases.Fortunately Yardiac.com is there to help and protect you from the health risk mosquitoes present. When you can't flush or drain stagnant pools, low-lying wet areas, tree holes, unused swimming pools and rain barrels, use a B.T.I. product like Mosquito Bits or Mosquito Dunks.
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