Rechargeable batteries are better for the planet — and less expensive in the long run. Americans throw away 3 billion batteries a year. My parents and grandparents lived by the adage, “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” Our generation’s version lacks the frugal connotation, but we reduce, reuse and […]
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Tag: issues
Pesticides in Fruits and Vegetables
Grow your own vegetables when you can, especially those that appear on the “dirty dozen” list: sweet bell peppers, celery and strawberries Unless you grow your own or buy organic, you can be fairly sure that the canned, frozen, and fresh fruits and vegetables you drop into your shopping cart have been sprayed with chemicals. […]
Spinosad: a New Option for Control of Li...
Products with spinosad offer one more control option for lily leaf beetles. Flower gardeners are a peaceful lot—at least until someone comes between them and their favorite blooms. Then, they get mean. At least some of us do. It was about three years ago that I first heard whisperings in the halls at Gardener’s Supply […]
Composting Near and Far
Gardener’s Supply has been promoting organic gardening techniques and composting since 1984. During these past 25 years, our customers have produced millions of tons of carbon-rich compost to make their gardens more productive. Here in Burlington, Vt., the community composting program that we started about 15 years ago, is now converting hundreds of thousands of […]
Tomato Cages and Ladders Face Off
Like many good ideas, it all began with a casual hallway conversation. Back in the office after a sunny May weekend, Cindy and I were talking about which gardening chores we’d managed to cross off our lists. We had both planted our tomatoes that weekend, but she had put up tomato ladders and I had […]
Let Them Eat Blueberries!
Volunteers turn abandoned land into neighborhood treasure. Two of the Park’s most committed volunteers, Mel and Delona, took a quick break to show me a new section they’ve begun clearing. Charlotte told me later, that these two, and another volunteer named Terry, logged 136 volnteer hours during October alone. Left to right: Mel, Me, Charlotte […]
Update on Bats
Make these mosquito-eating fliers welcome in your garden. Bats taking flight from the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin, Texas, home to the largest bat colony in the U.S. Silverwing, one of the books my kids and I read when they were in middle school, made a lasting impression on us. The hero of the story […]
Harvest for the Hungry
A great way for a company to share with the community: Collect fresh, wholesome, locally grown vegetables for the local food shelf. Mark, a Gardener’s Supply employee, holds freshly picked vegetables from his community garden plot that he delivers each week to the local food shelf. When Pat arrives at the community food shelf with […]