Remember someone with the wonderful and inexpensive gift of flowers from Arlene’s Home Farm Flowers. Fresh, fast and direct to the one you love. Flowers are for every occasion. Sending flowers isn’t unique, but sending them direct from the grower is!
Isn’t it time you sent someone flowers just for no reason? Arlene’s flowers are the freshest, least expensive and fastest from our grower to your recipient. Give us a try by clicking either the banner above or the link.
Sign up for Arlene’s free arts and crafts monthly newsletter.
 Consider Mulch Blocks©By Arlene Wright CorrellThere are a lot of benefits to old age and one of them is getting older and wiser and that usually comes from learning lifeís lessons in the “trial and terror” school of learning. There are also a lot of disadvantages and for me it is no longer being able to open a jar of pickles, a bottle of champagne or the safety cap on many of my medications to say nothing of hauling around those bags of mulch I need to buy every gardening season. These bags seem to get heavier every year I get older. They most often have holes or tears in the bags at the nursery centers and the spillage then fills up the back of our car. Often I find these bags filled with some form of mildew as a result of moisture content once I open them up. As I continually try to think green and consider alternatives to help our environment I realize that these bags of mulch are usually made from timber by products and the manufacturer and me the buyer, may be contributing to deforestation. I do not care for the colored mulch, though pretty, they often contain chemical dyes that are added to create the color and those that donít, though they look pretty spiffy once they are spread around, quickly loose their color and look gray and washed out. With all that in mind I am now considering my next purchase of mulch to be in the form of mulch blocks which are made from coir which is 100% biodegradable, natural, organic coconut husk fiber and chips. My research shows these blocks contain lignin which is a natural polymer resistant to decay. I have also discovered that coirís absorption properties repel snails. The mulch block is much lighter and easier to carry and will expand to contain the same amount of mulch as in a 2 cubic foot bag of loose mulch and that is right up this old gardenerís alley! It also has high air porosity which is good for better aeration and will retain its color much longer. Not only does the mulch block last longer it retains water longer which is an important issue as we experience more higher temperatures each growing season from global warming. For some reason the water evaporation is less with the mulch block ingredients than with plain wood mulch and it wets and rewets faster. It is supposed to keep the soil cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. I like the idea that the coir mulch block is a renewable resource because it is a by product of the coconut and since peat moss is extracted from environmentally sensitive swamp areas this makes coco peat or coir a proven alternative to those of us who are concerned about these things. Yes, I know my next order of mulch will be these new mulch blocks. “Tread the Earth Lightly” and in the meantimeÖ May your day be filled withÖPeace, Light and Love, Author Arlene Wright Correll Resource: For more gardening or cooking information click http://www.learn-america.com/ To see Arleneís Gardens and to read her gardening diaries and to take a walk through her pictorial garden or click on Arleneís Books where you can download or buy her gardening & cook books, including her new book, “The ABCís of Wine and Beer Making”. Many of her articles written for Greenthumbarticles have paintings she has created of the subject and they can be seen at her “How to Do It” site. Remember to check out her artwork, especially of her fruits and vegetables. Many of her paintings are sold internationally and many of her works of art have been reproduced on note cards, post cards and other functional items and you can get Giclee prints of her artwork starting as low as $11.89 Arlene says, “All my royalties from the sale of my books, art, etc. go to the St. Jude Childrenís Research Hospital and I thank you for visiting my sites.” Article Source: Consider Mulch Blocks© Article From: Organic Gardening Articles |
Get a FREE PayPal account now!
Free Classifieds from USfreeads!
Try a free trial to sell your arts & crafts at Yessy Gallery
