"Green" Lawn & Garden Care

Updated on April 15, 2009
M.M. asks from Green Bay, WI
17 answers

Hi Moms and Dads,
I'm looking to weed and feed and generally care for my backyard/garden with out a lot of harsh chemicals. I'm concerned about the chemicals in such products as scotts weed 'n feed staying in the soil and getting into the water table. Not to mention into the vegetables I'm going to plant and feed to my family. Anyone have any nature and family friendly suggestions? Thank you, M.

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M.F.

answers from St. Cloud on

M., I use Miracle Grow for just about everything, but especially the vegetable and flower gardens. It works wonders. Good luck.

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P.G.

answers from Des Moines on

I have used the Jerry baker method with beautiful results. All it's an easy DIY and safe for kids and pets!
www.jerrybaker.com

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H.J.

answers from Milwaukee on

Go to www.gardensalive.com they are all natural non-toxic lawn and garded care.

1 mom found this helpful
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B.W.

answers from Minneapolis on
1 mom found this helpful
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E.M.

answers from Des Moines on

to keep weeds down you can put newspaper around the plants or inbetween rows and cover it with mulch, then to fertilize compost grass clipping, coffee grounds, egg shells and other non meat food pieces that would other wise get put in the trash

1 mom found this helpful
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K.J.

answers from Minneapolis on

Basic H by Shaklee has been used for years by organic Farmers to retain moisture in the soil and has a natural insectaside quality. Safe for the kids to use. Highly concentrated and can be used for cleaning aswell. find a distributor in your area to help you. see the website www.shaklee.com

1 mom found this helpful
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A.E.

answers from Dubuque on

HI there M.,
I have the same concerns as you. I use organic everything outside!! My mom owns a greenhouse, so I just ask her. It is really scary what is put in everyday cleaners and outdoor chemicals. I am a mother of four and I take this very seriously. If you can believe it, there is even formaldyhide in Johnson and Johnson Baby Shampoo!! So don't use it for you little one!! I would love to share what I use in my home as well. You are definitely wanting to protect you family, I can help you! ____@____.com

1 mom found this helpful
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V.G.

answers from Minneapolis on

M.,
Check out www.gardensalive.com All of their producs are natural. I've used several products and have been happy with them.

Ginny

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C.S.

answers from Grand Forks on

My husband has tried every chemical out there (the non green kind!), it seems, but none of those has actually worked on our yard. I think for us, it's the old fashioned see a weed and dig it out. My aunt said that she did that on a patch of her yard, and it's the greenest, nicest looking part of it!

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A.F.

answers from St. Cloud on

Hi M.! I also use Garden's Alive. Have you considered composting? You can buy composters online or make your own composting bins.

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M.L.

answers from Green Bay on

Hi M.,

I use Garden's Alive to get my lawn products and some garden. It's all organic. It may take a little more time for the results to show but you don't have to worry about all those nasty chemicals. I also use Shaklee's Basic-H2 to water lawn, plants occasionally. (It's actually a multi-purpose non-toxic cleaner but is environmentally safe and is used for all kinds of stuff...awesome!) You may want to check out Shaklee's Get Clean line especially since you have little ones...safe stuff and works great!

M. :)

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S.K.

answers from Milwaukee on

milorganite (sp?) is a natural fertilizer
corn gluten is a natural weed suppressant
I don't know a lot about them, but you can start some research there.
Good Luck

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B.J.

answers from Minneapolis on

HI M.-
One way you can get great tips is to join sparkspeople.com with the gardenening group. Just an idea to have a free master gardener giving tips.
I bury garbage as natural fertilizer- use no chemicals (other than those already in the food we eat sad to say not all organic) So we save all but meat products in bags and every couple days, go bury it in our garden. It decomposes as natural fertilizer. We have massive, healthy veggies and our soil rarely needs amendments!
Happy growing.

About me- 48yo perfusionist, wellness coach for a nationwide online biggest loser to win $, and mom to 7 yo twin girls.

B. J

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M.G.

answers from Minneapolis on

We have used GlobalCare™ Lawn Power for a few years. Works great. There is also Plant Power which would be great for the garden. You can use the Lawn Power on the garden also. Here is a link if you would like to check out some information on the product. I do sell it.

http://www.marketamericascience.com/index.cfm?action=shop...

For the lawn there are varieties with a deeper root system that need less water and grow everywhere. They also grow slow so you don't need to mow.

Eco-lawn is one. I think there are others as well.

Happy Gardening!

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L.G.

answers from Minneapolis on

Great question! We don't use any of those chemicals on our lawn either and we're blessed to have next door neighbors who also do not use them. (One of these days I'm going to have to stop in next door and tell them how much I actually appreciate their dandelions! They make great salad greens too.) :) To be honest, our yard doesn't really look as great as some of our other neighbors who spray consistently, but we found that if we mow the lawn, it looks just about the same as everyone else's. Plus, we don't mow super short or often, so our yard is actually greener looking in the dry summer months.

My husband found a neat trick. Put vinegar in a spray bottle and spray it directly on dandelions at the peak sunlight hours on a very sunny day. It burns the plants up and they're dead by the next day. I'm not sure if it kills the roots though. It's labor intensive, but it works. (OR I suppose you could just pick the dandelions, put them directly into a salad bowl and then spray the vinegar with a little olive oil once you get inside. Add croutons, tomatoes, onions, maybe some lettuce, and you have a gourmet salad! I have yet to try this myself, but now that we're going on our 4th year of having our yard as a yard and not as a conventional farm field, I figure our turf is close enough to being organic.) ;)

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D.R.

answers from Tampa on

Hello M.,
I work with a green wholesale manufacturer, and I can definitely make recommendations for products that can be used as: fertilizer, soil surfactants, bug spray, pest control ect... for your lawn and garden.
And best of all, these aren't costly, one-use products. These are actually, non-toxic, environmentally responsible household products that are multi-purpose. What a huge savings for you, and safe too!
You may visit my website to request more information.

www.HealthyShoppingHealthySavings.com
Happy gardening,
D. R.

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H.S.

answers from Minneapolis on

corn gluten -- my borther in law uses it and I will too this year. He said it takes a few seasons to really get established but its natural and works great.

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