As the Garden Grows

What's blooming today?


You are here: Home / Archives for list

Autumn garden maintenance

by

It’s only September, but it feels like both autumn and winter are fast approaching. If the weathermen are correct we are in for an early winter this year. How depressing is that?

Here in Toronto the days and evenings are already getting cooler. I know we still might get some nice warm weather, but as I said above it sure seems like winter is just around the corner as it’s usually quite nice and pleasantly warm around here in early September.

Perhaps it’s time to start thinking about maintaining and preparing the garden for autumn? If you do a little bit at a time now, there’ll be less to do if winter suddenly rears up it’s ugly head!

I went searching to see if I could find other sites talking about fall cleanup and autumn garden maintenance and guess what? I found some great articles! So if you aren’t sure where to start in your own garden, take a look at what these authors have to say and you’ll begin to form your own fall garden maintenance plan for your garden.

September Lawn & Garden To-Do List

Now’s the time to be outside to enjoy the beautiful weather while taking care of some of the following lawn and garden tasks for September. Colorful caladiums are hardy in zones 10 and 11 and can be overwintered indoors in colder …

Autumn Maintenance

I am sure we all had enjoyed our backyards at some point this summer, but autumn is the time for garden clean-up! I know it seems like a chore, but it really isn’t. The work you do now, will make for an enjoyable spring and summer. …

September Lawn & Garden To-Do List

September heralds the fall gardening season with cooler temperatures and a first taste of autumn in the air. Zones 1-4 will likely experience a first frost, while warmer zones look forward to relief from the late summer heat and drought …

Fall Cleanup: Best Practices and Tips

Autumn is a beautiful time of year and we should all enjoy it. However, there is still work to be done! A good fall cleanup is perhaps one of the most important steps in preparing your lawn and garden for the spring. …

September Maintenance Tip

It is September, and now what to do? The nights are cooling off, the days are still very warm, and the vegetable garden should needs a makeover. September is a the best time to fertilize your shrubs and perennials. …






Worried about pesticides in your food?

by

Are you worried about the pesticides that might be contaminating the fruits and vegetables that you eat? If you are, you’re in luck.

The Environmental Working Group has come out with a list of 45 fruits and vegetables ranked according to the level of pesticide contamination. The results were based on U.S. Food and Drug administration testing.

The most contaminated fruit and vegetables include strawberries, apples and celery. The top of the list of most contaminated food items is Peaches with a pesticide load of 100.

The cleanest fruit and vegetables include mangoes, pineapples, onions, and avocados. The least contaminated of the list has a pesticide load of 1.

I never realized that peaches had such a high contamination load. I always thought apples were the worst of the bunch.

What the report lacks is actual amounts of pesticides. The items rated on the list are organized on a scale that shows which produce has more pesticides, but without knowing the exact amount of contamination it’s hard to say if the pesticide contamination in peaches is harmful or if the low amount found in pineapple really is a safe level.

If you are worried about pesticide contaminants the best thing to do is limit your exposure.

Not everyone can grow all of their own food supply, nor necessarily do it organically, but you can limit your exposure to pesticide contaminated fruit and vegetables by trying to make some of your purchase organic produce. Know what’s on the list and try to make sure that when you want to buy some of the items that are listed as being most pesticide contaminated, like peaches and apples, that you make those purchases organic.

If you do happen to have a garden try to grow organically. My garden is organic and I find it quite easy to maintain and as you can see from all the photos on this site my plants are very healthy.

We’ve had a death in the family

by

For those of you visiting today for Green Thumb Sunday I might not be able to get my GTS post up today.

My husbands cousin passed away on Friday and we’ll be in and out of town over the next few days as we visit with mourning family members, go to the visitations and the funeral.

I know that there are several people still waiting to be added to the GTS list. I’m sorry that I haven’t managed to check your sites and get them added to the list in time for this weeks Green Thumb Sunday posts.

However, if you are new to GTS and are participating this week, please feel free to leave a comment on this post (or my GTS post if I get it up before we leave later today) and other members will know you are participating and hopefully visit to see what you’ve posted.

Meta