Here’s how to say see ya to lawn pesticides and still have a healthy and great looking lawn…

1. Water is not all it’s cracked up to be: Lawns really only need about one inch of water per week. Anymore and you’re just overly soaking the lawn which can ruin it, increase weeds, and waste water. Note, in rainy areas, you’ll need to water even less.

2. Sunshine rocks: A naturally shaded area won’t grow grass as easily and may just grow moss. Too much shade is not perfect for grass landscaping. If your lawn is shady, and you can’t fix the shade issue you may want to consider shade loving ground covers or flowers instead of grass.

3. Would it kill you to pull some weeds?: In a word no. BUT spraying them with harmful pesticide poison could affect your health negatively. Instead of weed killer try pulling weeds out. Use a trowel to dig out deep weed roots, and overseed any bare spots the weeds may have created on your lawn.

4. Quit raking: If you mow your grass, then leave said grass on your lawn, it’s sort of like composting naturally. This is called Grasscycling and it improves your soil making it nutrient rich.

5. Aerate annually: Each year you should use a core aerator on your lawn then overseed with grass seed. Afterwards top dress with 1/2 inch of fine compost.

6. Grow native plants: Native plants are made to survive much better in your location than exotic plants. They’ll need less watering, less care, and yup, fewer chemical additives to grow well.

7. Big lawns can be a drag: Keeping a smaller lawn healthy is easier and more efficient when it comes to resources like water. Instead of a huge lawn, make your grass area smaller and put in a nice cedar deck, mulch and add a play set for the kiddos, or grow veggies. Another perk for tree and shrub owners is that both trees and shrubs grow better when their roots remain grass-free. If you mulch over the soil atop the roots instead of grow grass the grass and trees and shrubs won’t be fighting for the same nutrients. mulch instead, so that grass and your trees aren’t fighting over nutrients. In fact some people go totally lawn-free and manage just fine.

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Blisstree

Seven tips for a pesticide free lawn

“Sometimes an insect does more than develop resistance to a pesticide. It grows to depend on the pesticide. A species of bee in Brazil actually eats the pesticide DDT! Normally, a deadly dose of DDT for bees is 6 parts per million. Scientist have found that the bees in Brazil accumulate DDT in their bodies to concentrations as high as 42,000 parts per million. That is more than four percent of the bee’s total body weight! Yet the bees show no ill effects from the DDT. Scientists have identified more than 400 insect pests that can resist one or more pesticides. They have found about 150 species of bacteria and fungi, more that 50 species of weeds, and several species of rodents that have also developed pesticide resistance. When a new pesticide is substituted for an old one, pests often come to resist the second pesticide as well as the first.“

Yay! Super charged bugs rock my world.

Beyond the growing of super bugs, the use of pesticides to kill bugs is not healthy. Products that kill bugs contain all sorts of harmful ingredients – hence the MAJOR warnings you see on the packaging. Pesticides kill – that’s what they do, that’s what they were made for. They can kill bugs and they can harm or kill people you care about when ingested in large amounts. Furthermore because these pesticides are often used inside, they’re not exposed to elements (sun, rain, wind) and can take longer to break down, which means they stay in your home a good long while.

BUT I HATE BUGS!

I don’t love them either. Here are some better, pesticide free options for bug control that won’t harm your home or family.

PREVENTION! If you keep a cleaner house, you’ll keep bugs at bay. Don’t leave dishes out, trash overflowing, or garbage around the exterior of your home. With the exception of cockroaches (who actually are pretty tidy and like a clean environment) most bugs find dirt and sticky and grime appealing.

Fight ants: Keep ants out before they come in by planting mint near your doorway or sprinkling chili powder or dry peppermint near entryways.

Limit fleas: Brush pets often with flea comb (outside) and use a powerful vacuum often. You can also confine pets to specific rooms of the house, and wash their bedding more often.

Bugs hate bay leaves and garlic: Cockroaches and other buggies who like to infest food are turned off by the smell of bay leaves and garlic. You can place a few leaves on top of grains like flour, sprinkle bay leaves in your area, or blend up some garlic, bay, and water in a blender and spray to your hearts content.

Traps: Use traps for yellowjackets and bees who nest near your doors and windows or have their nests removed.

Mothballs are toxic!: Use cedar blocks to keep moths at bay, and always clean clothes and textiles before storing. Keep cloth items packed into air tight containers and shake and air clothes periodically.

Flies are easy: One word “Screens” – the easiest bug repellent ever. If they’re already inside crush citrus peels and leave them in bowls around your home. If you’ve got annoying fruit flies, try a really gross trick – Grab a banana peel, stuff it in a recycled 2-liter bottle, fill with water (leave a few inches at the top) and set near fruit fly gatherings. Fruit flies aren’t so clever. They’ll fly into your bottle thinking, “Banana!” and once in there, get confused and can’t get out. Gross but totally effective. I HATE fruit flies so I’m not opposed to exploiting their weakness for bananas.

[image via Flickr]

Post from: Blisstree

Greener Bug Management

Baby steps through the office, baby steps out the door, it works! It works! All I have to do… just take one little step at a time, and I can do anything! Baby step throughout the office, Baby step throughout the office.

My Baby Steps plan is to make a small change each time I learn about a new method/product. Or, more likely, when something runs out (like shampoo), I’ll replace it with an eco-friendly method.

My first step is actually quite a big one: The Diva Cup.

The Diva Cup is similar to the Keeper – though the Keeper is no longer available in Canada. The Diva Cup is an alternative to tampons and pads. Made of medical grade silicon, the cup avoids any risk of carcinogenic or other toxic effects because it doesn’t have any dioxin (found in bleached tampons). As their website states, The Diva Cup “holds market approval by the U.S. FDA and is the only menstrual cup that holds market approval by Health Canada.”

The reason for it’s appeal, at least for me, is threefold:

1. waste of tampons and pads
2. cost of tampons and pads
3. toxins from tampons and even pads

I had recently heard that a friend of mine uses the Diva Cup and that made me strongly consider it. Within days, I found myself at Grassroots on the Danforth talking with their buyer, Amanda Montgomery who showed me the difference between regular tampons and the alternatives. Among the alternatives was the Diva Cup.

Here’s the video of our conversation, including a shocking look at how tampons can fall apart:

Image Source: TreeHugger.com

Post from: Blisstree

Baby Steps: The Diva Cup

So I approached the panel discussion eager to hear from environmental experts, on detoxing your life. The panel discussion followed the screening of a film called Toxic Bust, which I posted about previously, and aimed to equip us with the knowledge to detox without breaking the bank.

Here are the TOP 5 steps you can take to begin making toxins history:

1. Avoid all plastics
   Anything made of polycarbonate can introduce toxins into your system when the plastic seeps into your food/beverage, especially when warming these plastics. A very simple step to take: Exchange your plastic water bottle and use regular dishware when using the microwave.
2. Do a thorough check of your personal care products for phthalates
   Phthalates are not listed on the labels of your personal care products. Instead, look for “scented,” or “parfume.” Any fragrance has phthalates. Even if your product claims to be 99% natural, if that last 1% is parfume, you’re at risk! Stick to pure essential oils for your scents.
3. Get rid of teflon non-stick items in your kitchen
   Teflon non-stick has very strong links with cancer. Consider investing in a cast-iron pan instead.
4. Avoid anti-bacterial anything
   Alcohol-based anti-bacterial is safe to use, but avoid tryclosan.
5. Say no to mercury
   Choose smaller fish over bigger fish to avoid higher levels of mercury. In terms of tin cans, all are lined with bisphenol-A, and pressure needs to be exerted on our government to regulate this. Rinsing my help but chances are good that anything in a can has had enough time for bisphenol-A to seep into its contents.

View this list as a way to make small changes every week and you’ll find the effect is cumulative.

Do you know of any ways to reduce toxin exposure while still enjoying your regular lifestyle? Let us know!

Post from: Blisstree

Toxins Linked to Breast Cancer

You may wonder why this breast cancer film is relevant to Daily Tomorrow, well here’s your answer, straight from the makers of Toxic Bust. “The film raises questions about the long term health costs associated with early childhood chemical exposure revealing the relationship between degradation of our bodies and of our environment, and highlights the disproportionate toxic burden carried by low-income communities and workers.”

It was really hard for me to not look at this from a cancer perspective and to instead focus more heavily on the environmental issues. However, it did remind me how intricately linked all of these issues are.

There was a panel discussion following the film, moderated by Rick Smith (Executive Director, Environmental Defence) and included Gill Deacon (Author, Green for Life), and Amanda Montgomery (Owner, Simply, Buyer for Grassroots). You can look forward to a future post where I will share details of the film as well as lessons on detoxifying your life.

For now, here is the movie trailer:

Post from: Blisstree

Toxic Bust