by Laurie Keit

Compost in a home garden. © Goldution | Dreamstime.com.

Sept. 1, 2010 —  Going green is nothing more than turning back the clock and gardening the old-fashioned way, using your body for power and natural products instead of chemicals. There is nothing more annoying than the sound of power mowers, blowers, hedge trimmers and even chain saws reverberating through the neighborhood.

Home remedies, beneficial insects and actively aerated compost tea combine nature and science for complete pest and disease control. Your kitchen contains many items that can be used in the garden: baking soda for black spot, dishwashing soap for insect control, and buttermilk for mites. The Internet, farm supply stores, hydroponic stores, nurseries and hardware stores are resources for other natural products.

I’ve talked about rain barrels before, but water is so important it’s worth another mention. A rain barrel is inexpensive to make. Simply cut an opening in the lid of a garbage can, line it with contractor bags if necessary, and screen the opening. Shower water and vegetable cooking water are also great for watering plants. My mom used to put eggshells in a plastic jug filled with water. The smell of sulfur was unbelievable, but her plants were beautiful.

Hand lawn mower. © Tomasz Niewęgłowski | Dreamstime.com.

Composting is highly recommended, but there are other ways to recycle items for garden use.

For example, aluminum foil is a useful tool for keeping birds away from fruit and tender seedlings. It can also be used to reflect heat onto seedlings and starts. Egg cartons can be used to germinate seeds, and plastic cat litter tubs can be used to hold potting mix.

Does your garden produce more than you need? Neighbors and community groups such as Freecycle provide a way to share starts and excess harvests.

Even if you are not able to grow your food, you can support the community and save gas by buying locally. Organic produce is readily available from local growers like Pastorino Farms, Beeson’s Produce Stand and the Abundant Farmer in Half Moon Bay.

Home-grown veggies. © Mustafanc | Dreamstime.com.

The Abundant Farmer produces USDA certified organic herbs, fruit and veggies, leafy and micro-greens, plus a variety of fresh fish using aquaponics — a combination of aquaculture and hydroponics. The fish are raised in tanks and produce nutrient-rich water for the plants, which then clean the water for the fish. According to the company’s website, aquaponics uses 98 percent less water and 92 percent less energy than conventional in-ground farming, while it produces 10 to 20 times the yield in the same amount of space.

The Abundant Farmer offers Saturday greenhouse tours and aquaponics workshops. It is located on Highway 1 in Half Moon Bay.

Laurie Keit is the owner of Seasonal Celebrations: Gardens, Flowers, Events. She designs with plants and flowers to increase the natural beauty in our lives. Visit her website at www.seasonalcelebrations.com.