Plant a tree seed, save a planet

© Malcolm Romain / istockphoto

It's the smallest thing but possibly the grandest gesture you can do today... Plant a tree seed.

It can be a pip from an apple, an acorn from an oak or a winged nut from a maple - you can even go crazy and buy a whole packet of tree seeds from your local garden centre if you want.

All you have to do is make sure they are the seeds of trees that found naturally - or "native" -  to the place in which you live.

But where do you plant it?

On the side of the side of the street, in your garden, in the park, by a lay-by, on the side of a field or next to a wood... anywhere where there's space and light. Then all you have to do is

1. bend down,
2. push your finger into the soil about to about 2cm (1 inch) depth -  or use a pen - and pop that seed in.
3. Then stand on the hole to close it over and tuck it in.

That's it.

That's all you have to do.

You've taken a step, an action, that helps our only planet  - the planet we depend on and cling to - breathe a little easier (quite literally).

It may be a simple act.

It may have been easy to carry out. But given half a chance that seed will grow and grow and mean more and more as your life goes on.

Your one single action gains significance as it grows, as you grow.

How easy was that? How good do you feel?

And if it does make you feel good, go do it again!

And again.

Whenever you're feeling blue or a little down, or even just for the sake of it, go do a bit of planet saving by popping a seed in a hole the next time you're out and about.

Go crazy and buy a packet of tree seeds from your local garden centre if you wish.

Or go round your neighbourhood at the right time of year (usually autumn for most of us), and collect seeds from the many different trees that grow naturally in your area, and stock up for the year of planet-saving seed-planting ahead of you...

It's not the only seed you just planted

You just planted one in your own mind.

The idea, the thought, perhaps the hope that you can do something to save this planet.

That you can help maintain the majesty of life as we know it.

Doing small things can achieve big things.

The very seed you planted in the soil is proof of that.

A living example of how from small things even greater things emerge and grow.

Can you save a planet? Yes you can.

© Claudelle Girard / istockphoto

Why are trees important?

Trees prevent soil erosion, are pretty vital in maintaining and regulating most water cycles, and help check global warming by using carbon dioxide in photosynthesis.

So it's quite scary that over the past 50 years, about half the world's original forest cover has been lost.

Read more on why trees and forests are important to life on Earth but checking some great websites online

* When you're planet saving - be careful!

Remember - you're planting for the future.

So when you plant your seed try and imagine what it will be like when it is all grown up.

Will it cause problems for anyone?

After all, in a few years we don't want someone cutting down what you have so carefully sown all those years ago.

What if my tree seed doesn't grow?

Don't worry. This can happen for a variety of reasons (lack of water, poor soil, competition from other plants etc).

Simply plant another seed, but maybe in a different place.

If there's one thing about planet saving, it's that you don't give up at the first attempt :-)

The Tremendous Benefits of Organic Gardening


The art of organic gardening is simply growing food in an environmentally andorganicgardenblogspotcom"> health friendly manner. Because an organic garden is produce without the use of pesticides and commercial fertilizers you are not only providing yourself and your family withorganicgardenblogspotcom"> healthy foods, you are also helping the air, water, and soil within our environment.

organic gardening carries many benefits that you may not be aware of. This article will help you identify the benefits of an organic garden and determine whether organic is the way for you to go.

When you produce organic foods, you are producing all natural, safe, and muchorganicgardenblogspotcom"> healthier foods. These foods will have a greater amount of nutrients and minerals within them than those grown with the help of commercial products. You are reducing your family's risk of ingesting harmful additives and pesticides, and increasing their nutrition at the same time.

Let us have a look at some of the otherorganicgardenblogspotcom"> health benefits of organic gardening. One important benefit that research has discovered in organic foods is the fact that by eating foods grown organically, you are building your body's immune system, thus giving it the ability to fight of many different types of diseases, one of which is cancer.

organic vegetables have been proven to contain a higher concentration of nutrients. A team from Rutgers University did a study comparing produce from a grocery store and the same items grown organically.

While the Rutgers team expected the organic food to show a slight increase in minerals compared to the non-organic, they were astounded by the results of the tests. The organic produce contained much greater amounts of essential minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium and potassium.

Non-organic spinach had only three percent of the iron contained in organic spinach. Non-organic tomatoes had only a tiny fraction of one percent of the iron found in organic tomatoes. What was more surprising was that many essential elements were completely missing from the non-organic produce.

Not only are organic foods higher in vitamins and minerals but they also lack the harmful chemicals found in non-organic foods. Thanks to the lack of chemicals within organic foods, you are reducing the amounts of toxins such as fertilizers, hormones, and pesticides in your body. Furthermore, while reducing the harmful instances, you are increasing the amounts oforganicgardenblogspotcom"> healthy minerals within your body such as vitamins, phosphorous, magnesium, and iron.

Another great benefit of organic gardening is that the foods you produce will have a longer shelf life and taste a whole lot better. Research has shown that without additives and other such elements, organic foods can be stored better and longer than foods with chemicals and processes.

Furthermore, without the chemical additives, the foods from your organic garden will simply have a better taste, which is delicious. The taste of a fresh, organic tomato is far superior to a tomato bought at the local grocery store which was probably pulled from the vine weeks earlier when it was still a bit green.

These are some of the great benefits to growing your own organic produce. There is also the benefit you get from working in your garden, out in the sunshine and fresh air, reducing any stress from a day at the office. organic is simply better for your overallorganicgardenblogspotcom"> health.

HEALTHY Dessert! Raw Coconut Ice Cream Recipe!

This book can be very useful for the small space gardener as it discusses at length, basics of gardening. Anywhere the book describes use of horses, logic would indicate that a tiller of varying sizes could be substituted. Crop rotation is also discussed, and multiple acres are not needed for this.
I enjoyed the instructions on constructing a manure-driven hotbed. This was the way it was done before electric seedling heat mats were around. Also prepping sods for seed starting. It reminded me of the way things were done years before pellet pots, plastic seed flats and cell packs were common.
The book is old enough to resurrect much of the forgotten techniques used by our grandparents and great-grandparents -of the way things were, the way things could be again for those trying to garden more naturally and self-sufficiently... not buying everything from the garden store. It might also be helpful for the budding survivalist who no longer wants to rely on manufactured products.

I found the list of seed varieties in the book to be fascinating. Recognizing many of the listed varieties to still be available today. It was neat to see some of the Heirloom seed choices i made were also the Author's picks.

The age of the book in most cases matters very little when it comes to gardening basics, things don't change much at all. In fact, this book might be better for beginners since it is a book that encourages a do-it-yourself and a 'from the ground up' tone. It is almost void of any pre-made devices and there are no gimmicky products being hocked.
The old standby tools are recommended, time tested and readily available.

My only real problem with the book at all is that the rewrite of the eBook version omitted a number of images and pictures that would have been helpful. But a quick internet search of the names of the described items in most cases will quickly locate images.
The book itself is full of sound instruction, good logic and the author has a friendly writing style.

The book is about 100 years old and free... just download it already. It is well worth the time spent to read it.

The Tremendous Benefits of Organic Gardening

The art of organic gardening is simply growing food in an environmentally and health friendly manner. Because an organic garden is produce without the use of pesticides and commercial fertilizers you are not only providing yourself and your family withorganicgardenblogspotcom"> healthy foods, you are also helping the air, water, and soil within our environment.

organic gardening carries many benefits that you may not be aware of. This article will help you identify the benefits of an organic garden and determine whether organic is the way for you to go.

When you produce organic foods, you are producing all natural, safe, and much healthier foods. These foods will have a greater amount of nutrients and minerals within them than those grown with the help of commercial products. You are reducing your family's risk of ingesting harmful additives and pesticides, and increasing their nutrition at the same time.

Let us have a look at some of the other health benefits of organic gardening. One important benefit that research has discovered in organic foods is the fact that by eating foods grown organically, you are building your body's immune system, thus giving it the ability to fight of many different types of diseases, one of which is cancer.

organic vegetables have been proven to contain a higher concentration of nutrients. A team from Rutgers University did a study comparing produce from a grocery store and the same items grown organically.

While the Rutgers team expected the organic food to show a slight increase in minerals compared to the non-organic, they were astounded by the results of the tests. The organic produce contained much greater amounts of essential minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium and potassium.

Non-organic spinach had only three percent of the iron contained in organic spinach. Non-organic tomatoes had only a tiny fraction of one percent of the iron found in organic tomatoes. What was more surprising was that many essential elements were completely missing from the non-organic produce.

Not only are organic foods higher in vitamins and minerals but they also lack the harmful chemicals found in non-organic foods. Thanks to the lack of chemicals within organic foods, you are reducing the amounts of toxins such as fertilizers, hormones, and pesticides in your body. Furthermore, while reducing the harmful instances, you are increasing the amounts oforganicgardenblogspotcom"> healthy minerals within your body such as vitamins, phosphorous, magnesium, and iron.

Another great benefit of organic gardening is that the foods you produce will have a longer shelf life and taste a whole lot better. Research has shown that without additives and other such elements, organic foods can be stored better and longer than foods with chemicals and processes.

Furthermore, without the chemical additives, the foods from your organic garden will simply have a better taste, which is delicious. The taste of a fresh, organic tomato is far superior to a tomato bought at the local grocery store which was probably pulled from the vine weeks earlier when it was still a bit green.

These are some of the great benefits to growing your own organic produce. There is also the benefit you get from working in your garden, out in the sunshine and fresh air, reducing any stress from a day at the office. organic is simply better for your overall health.

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Turn Worm Poop into Cash

Two University students, Tom Szaky and Jon Beyer, entered their "Worm Project" into a business plan contest at Princeton. The project involved taking organic garbage from the dining halls at Princeton University and feeding it to worms. The worms processed the garbage into organic fertilizer for flowers, house plants, and vegetables.

- Most fertilizer products available today use synthetic chemicals which destroy the microbes that improve the soil and promote plant growth. In addition , runoff from fields into water supplies causes harm to the environment.

- The popularity of organically grown foods is growing. As a result, more farms are using organic fertilizers. The USDA projects that sales of organically grown food will be $20 billion this year and are expected to grow at an annual rate of 20 percent.

Szaky decided to drop out of school and dedicate his time to turning the Worm Project into reality. His company TerraCycle International Inc. www.terracycle.net signed contracts through which it will receive 130 tons of organic garbage daily from clients throughout northern New Jersey.

In his manufacturing process, the garbage is fed to millions of red worms. The worms take about three weeks to turn the garbage into solid worm poop. The worm poop is separated out, liquefied, and put in bottles.

- The resulting product is superior to other brands on the market because most fertilizer has had chemicals added. TerraCycle's process is entirely organic, creating soil the same way it's created in the forest.

Since the product became available in stores, about 15, 000 units have been sold. A 20-ounce bottle sells for $6. 95. TerraCycle now has 11 employees and expects revenues to reach $1 million in its 2004-05 fiscal year.

Tom Szaky and Jon Beyer have created a brilliant "garage operation" farming business using worms as their "live stock". All you need is a source of organic garbage and you too can turn worm poop into cash.

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The Tremendous Benefits of Organic Gardening

The art of organic gardening is simply growing food in an environmentally and health friendly manner. Because an organic garden is produce without the use of pesticides and commercial fertilizers you are not only providing yourself and your family with healthy foods, you are also helping the air, water, and soil within our environment.

organic gardening carries many benefits that you may not be aware of. This article will help you identify the benefits of an organic garden and determine whether organic is the way for you to go.

When you produce organic foods, you are producing all natural, safe, and much healthier foods. These foods will have a greater amount of nutrients and minerals within them than those grown with the help of commercial products. You are reducing your family's risk of ingesting harmful additives and pesticides, and increasing their nutrition at the same time.

Let us have a look at some of the other health benefits of organic gardening. One important benefit that research has discovered in organic foods is the fact that by eating foods grown organically, you are building your body's immune system, thus giving it the ability to fight of many different types of diseases, one of which is cancer.

organic vegetables have been proven to contain a higher concentration of nutrients. A team from Rutgers University did a study comparing produce from a grocery store and the same items grown organically.

While the Rutgers team expected the organic food to show a slight increase in minerals compared to the non-organic, they were astounded by the results of the tests. The organic produce contained much greater amounts of essential minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium and potassium.

Non-organic spinach had only three percent of the iron contained in organic spinach. Non-organic tomatoes had only a tiny fraction of one percent of the iron found in organic tomatoes. What was more surprising was that many essential elements were completely missing from the non-organic produce.

Not only are organic foods higher in vitamins and minerals but they also lack the harmful chemicals found in non-organic foods. Thanks to the lack of chemicals within organic foods, you are reducing the amounts of toxins such as fertilizers, hormones, and pesticides in your body. Furthermore, while reducing the harmful instances, you are increasing the amounts of healthy minerals within your body such as vitamins, phosphorous, magnesium, and iron.

Another great benefit of organic gardening is that the foods you produce will have a longer shelf life and taste a whole lot better. Research has shown that without additives and other such elements, organic foods can be stored better and longer than foods with chemicals and processes.

Furthermore, without the chemical additives, the foods from your organic garden will simply have a better taste, which is delicious. The taste of a fresh, organic tomato is far superior to a tomato bought at the local grocery store which was probably pulled from the vine weeks earlier when it was still a bit green.

These are some of the great benefits to growing your own organic produce. There is also the benefit you get from working in your garden, out in the sunshine and fresh air, reducing any stress from a day at the office. organic is simply better for your overall health.

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