Gardening 101

I am in the process of getting my vegetable garden ready for planting and my flower beds cleaned up from all the leaves that have dropped from the trees. This got me thinking about the products that we put on our plants to keep the disease free, etc. Those chemicals have to stay on the produce which means we have to be eating those chemicals...so what is the difference between buying produce with chemicals on them at the store and growing produce with chemicals on them? Other than it costs less to grow them...I can't think of anything else...so I was on a search for chemical free vegetables to grow and what I found, I will be sharing with you each week...Here's the first installment...

Do you have a mole problem? They can destroy a yard by making tunnels and they can damage plant roots. Here is a very simple way to take care of your mole problem:

1 Cup warm water, divided in half
4 Tablespoons dishwashing liquid
Blender
3 ounces Castor oil
1 quart glass jar with lid (for storage)
Rubber spatula

You need to mix half of the water and all the dishwashing liquid in the blender. Blend for a few seconds. Keeping the blender going, you will want to pour the Castor oil into the blender. Blend for 30 seconds. Make sure it is blended well.

Pour this mixture into the glass jar. Pour the leftover water into the blender. Use the spatula to scrape the sides of the blender and blend again. After about 30 seconds, stop the blender and pour this into the jar with the other mix.

To use:

Mix 2 Tablespoons in a gallon of warm water. Find the mole tunnels, and poke a hole in the top of it with a stick. Pour about a cup of the mixture in the hole and then stomp on the hole to close it up.

Moles hate the smell of Castor oil, so they will be on their way to another lawn...and leaving yours alone.

Although, moles don't eat your plants, their digging can damage the roots which does harm your plants. If you have moles...then you have bugs. This is what the moles are after, so you want to keep the bugs to minimum also.

You can try a couple of these things:

• Place an old sheet or a piece of plastic or even an old newspaper underneath your plants and gently shake the plants. When the beetles fall off, you can ball up the plastic, newspaper, etc. and toss them both away.
• Pick beetles off of your plants and drop them in a jar with soapy water...

Good luck with your gardens...


And we can't forget your houseplants. Why not try a more natural fertilizer to keep them healthy...