Fix a Leak Week – March 12th - 18th

According to the EPA WaterSense website, March 12th – 18th is Fix a Leak Week – a great time for everyone to check their household fixtures and irrigation systems for leaks.
Their website says that leaks can account for, on average, 10,000 gallons of water wasted in the home every year, which is enough to fill a backyard swimming pool.
Their site lists plenty of ways to check for and repair water leaks. Here’s what they say about the great outdoors:

Outdoors:

• An irrigation system should be checked each spring before use to make sure it was not damaged by frost or freezing.
  
• An irrigation system with pressure set at 60 pounds per square inch that has a leak 1/32nd of an inch in diameter (about the thickness of a dime) can waste about 6,300 gallons of water per month.
  
• To ensure that your in-ground irrigation system is not leaking water, consult with a WaterSense irrigation partner who has passed a certification program focused on water efficiency; look for a WaterSense irrigation partner.
  
• Check your garden hose for leaks at its connection to the spigot. If it leaks while you run your hose, replace the nylon or rubber hose washer and ensure a tight connection to the spigot using pipe tape and a wrench.

To help consumers save water and improve water efficiency in the home, the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water) encourages citizens to find and fix household water leaks during "Fix a Leak Week."
At a special Fix a Leak Week event on Wednesday, March 14 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., DC Water representatives will distribute water conservation information and demonstrate how to install water-efficient plumbing fixtures. The event will be held at the Frank W. Reeves Municipal Center, 2000 14th Street, NW. DC Water’s mascot, Wendy the Water Drop, will also make a special appearance. For more water-saving tips and information, consumers can visit DC Water’s Facebook page.

How to Use old Pantyhose in the garden

I was so bored last night, that I decided to clean out some dresser drawers. I can’t BELIEVE how many pairs of old pantyhose and stockings I found, which is pretty bad, because I can’t even remember the last time I wore any of them.

Anyway, rather than just throwing them away, I decided to take a look on the internet to see if I can find some logical uses for leftover pantyhose. Here are some that I found for the garden:

1. Use the leg of a pair of pantyhose to store flower bulbs out of season.
2. Place seeds in a pantyhose leg and hang to dry.
3. Repel deer with bundles of human or pet hair tied in a piece of pantyhose and hung in the garden.
4. Use strips of pantyhose to tie up and stake plants.
5. Drop leftover slivers of bar soap into the foot of a pair of pantyhose and tie it shut. Hang it next to the outdoor faucet for a quick wash before going inside.
6. Line the bottom of plant pots with old pantyhose  to keep soil from leaking when you water.
7. Shape a wire hanger, covered with pantyhose,  into a “nature net” to help kids catch tadpoles and other critters to observe.
8. Use a rubber band to secure a piece of pantyhose over the top of a jar when your child is catching fireflies, bugs and other critters to observe.
9. Slide new melons into the foot section of a leg of pantyhose and tie or stake them off the ground to eliminate ground rot, mold and invasion by insects.
10. Plant water plants in them for your garden pond.
11. Fill them with compost, submerge them in water and make compost tea.
12. Slip them over flowerheads and secure with twist-tie to collect seeds.

How about you? Do you have any other garden uses for old nylons and pantyhose?

Sources: How to Use Pantyhose in the Garden | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2093661_use-pantyhose-garden.html#ixzz1opMhe4WC

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/frugal/msg071704365281.html

25 Re-uses for worn out pantyhose

Keeping a River Running

Volunteer Opportunity with the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission

Saturday, March 17 from 9 a.m. to Noon-“Keeping a River Running”

Join WSSC as we pull trash, branches and other debris out of culverts next to the Patuxent River.  This is an opportunity to enjoy the beautiful serenity of the river-while making a difference to the Chesapeake Bay.  

Supplee Recreation Area, 16904 Supplee Lane, Laurel, MD.

For more information, visit the WSSC website.

Dog poop in the compost?

As a thrifty, eco-friendly gardener, it’s hard to throw away anything that might have some value as compost. Composting, after all, is a great way to create our own natural soil additives at home, eliminating the need for chemical fertilizers that could cause problems for the environment.

Certainly most green food waste and plant waste makes its way into our compost pile, along with eggshells, wood chips, hair, dryer lint and many other items that would otherwise get thrown out around a home.

The question of composting pet poop, however, has always been a messy one. Even websites such as the EPA page on composting lists Animal Manure on the IN list for items to compost while at the same time listing Pet Waste on the OUT list, for items to avoid.

My friend Susan McCullough recently tackled this question on the Metro DC Dog Blog.

Apparently the folks in the Fairbanks, Alaska Soil & Water Conservation District “performed a study aimed at developing ‘easy yet effective dog waste composting practices that reliably destroy pathogens found in some dog feces.’  The study found that good composting not only removes dog waste but also saves energy (from transporting the waste to a landfill) and also enriches the soil.”

To read more about this study, you can read Susan’s post entitled The Compost Post. And be sure to subscribe to the Metro DC Dog Blog for more fun about our four-legged friends.

By the way, I mentioned animal poop a couple of weeks ago when I was going out to Jackson Hole, Wyoming for a short trip. I wondered what they do with all of the elk poop on the huge National Elk Refuge that feeds about 10,000 elk during the winter. Well, I just wanted to pass along this tongue-in-cheek conversation I had with one of the rangers out there.

Me: “Excuse me. Can you tell me what you do with all of the elk poop on the refuge?”

Ranger: “Why? Do you want some?”

Me: “Well, not now, because I am getting ready to get on a plane to head home, but it just seems like all of those nice, compact pellets would make great fertilizer.”

Ranger: “Hmmm. I have to say, we have never had that question before. How would you suggest we collect the poop?”

Me: “I know you let boy scouts pick up elk antlers and sell them to raise money. Why don’t you let them pick up elk poop and sell it for fertilizer.”

Ranger: “Right. We could have a new kind of merit badge for collecting poop.”

Me: “Or maybe just the bad boy scouts would get elk doody duty.”

Ranger: “Haha. Actually we just leave all of the poop right where it lands. And it does act as great fertilizer for the grass that grows there that helps to feed the elk. So none of it really goes to waste.”

Which just goes to show you, sometimes the simplest answer is really the best one.

You may also enjoy reading: Can I put *bleep* in my compost heap

Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment Annual Meeting

Wednesday, March 14, 6:30 - 8:30 PM.

The theme for this event is alternative transportation with a look at electric cars, bikesharing, electric charging stations and more. Several electric/hybrid cars will be on display.

The meeting will include an overview of ACE events for 2012, ACE board of director elections and light refreshments.  

Arlington Central Library, 1015 N. Quincy Street, Arlington.

New gardening product – Is it Good or Bad for the environment?

I’m always on the lookout for new products that help make eco-friendly gardening a little easier. So when I read the teaser about the Pure Rain watering tools on a website called  pollutiononline.com, I had to take a look.

The teaser read : Pure Rain oxygen-infusing garden products provide chemical-free way to increase plant growth by up to 30 percent.

The article goes on to say :

“When people think of water pollution, they often imagine large oil spills or waste from industrial plants as the primary culprits. But according to the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, nonpoint source pollution--or pollution from smaller, scattered sources, including residential lawn and garden chemicals--is the leading source of water quality problems. "Some of the chemicals put on landscapes gets taken up by the plants, but a lot of it washes off into the lakes, rivers, oceans, and streams and eventually winds up in the ground water," says Paul Tukey, author of The Organic Lawn Care Manual.”

So how does a watering nozzle help prevent water pollution? According to the article, when attached to a hose, the Pure Rain products infuse more oxygen into the water supply, which is crucial for the plants growth and vitality.

“Ultimately, plants grew up to 30 percent larger without the use of potentially harmful chemicals or other soil amendments that often end up back in the water supply.

And improving the dissolved oxygen content in tap water means less need for water overall, enabling homeowners to save money while saving the planet.”

Of course, eliminating harmful chemicals and soil amendments is a great thing, when it comes to preventing pollution. But in our landscape, we primarily use water from rain barrels and drip irrigation to water our plants, so it would SEEM like a waste of water to use spray nozzles, unless they don’t require a lot of pressure and can be used on a garden hose attached to a rain barrel.

We do sometimes use oscillating sprinklers on our lawn, but do we really want our lawn to grow faster?

What do you think? Has anyone out there ever used these products or do you know enough about the value of oxygenized water to have an opinion on these products? 

Helping Small Trees Thrive this Spring

Volunteer Opportunity with the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission

Sunday, March 11 from 9 a.m. to Noon-“Helping Small Trees Thrive This Spring”-

We will be preparing 250 small trees to thrive this spring with watering, mulching and weeding.  Scott’s Cove, 11000 Harding Road, Laurel

For more information, visit the WSSC website.

Endangered Species in your own backyard?

We are on the last days of our trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We come out here often for several reasons. First, its a great place to ski, and my husband LOVES to ski. But its also a great place to view wildlife, which is what I usually do to fill my time while we are here. On the day we arrived, we saw moose, bighorn sheep, coyotes, elk and mule deer, all on the short 45 minute drive from the airport to our condo.

Tonight we are hoping to attend a lecture by Joel Sartore, a National Geographic photographer who uses his superb photographs to deliver his important message: We are living in a pivotal time, when many species are on the edge of extinction and ecosystems are on the brink of collapse.

“Most can be saved,” Sartore says, “but you have to know they exist.”

To make his point, Sartore  uses photos of some of the more notable and recognizable endangered species.  But the truth is, there any many endangered species all around us. Perhaps some as close as our own backyards.

If you get a chance, take a look at Sartore’s website to see some of his spectacular photos. And then, take the time to learn about some of the endangered species where you live. And consider that perhaps, maybe the things you are doing in your own landscape are part of the problem…or part of the future solution….for these local species.

As Sartore says: "...if we just pay a little attention, many of these species can be saved. But we have to see them, we have to respect them."

Endangered Species: Plants and Animals, Maryland
Threatened, Endangered, Sensitive, and Other "Species of Concern" in Virginia
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Endangered Species Program

Leap Day great time to “Leap” towards more water savings

The EPA Watersense program is encouraging people to use Leap Day as a reminder to checkout irrigation systems to make sure that they aren’t wasting water.

Here is an excerpt from the Winter 2012 Issue of The WaterSense Current

Do you have a landscape watering system with preset controls? Experts estimate that as much as 50 percent of water applied by irrigation systems is wasted due to overwatering caused by inefficiencies! 

Leap Day, February 29, is a great time to stop and use a few of those extra minutes to check your irrigation system’s control settings and schedules. 
 
It’s important to adjust your irrigation controller based on the season; in most climates, plants don’t need summer levels of watering during the rest of the year. A simple check and adjustment can ensure that your system operates at its maximum efficiency. 
 
If your system uses a traditional clock timer, you may want to consider installing a WaterSense labeled irrigation controller, which uses local weather data to automatically adjust watering schedules and systems to better match plants’ water needs. WaterSense recently released a final specification for these controllers, which do the thinking for you in terms of when and how much to water. WaterSense labeled models of these weather-based irrigation controllers should be available soon; visit the WaterSense website for more information.
 
Even if you don’t have an irrigation system, it’s still a good time to consider low-maintenance landscaping that uses less water and still looks lovely. Consider some new, drought-tolerant plants for your yard this spring. Native plants that don’t require supplemental irrigation will help you keep your water bills low and provide a beautiful landscape. You can find a local plant list from your water utility, cooperative extension service, or on the WaterSense website.
 
And for those who like a lush lawn, take a little leap on your grass this spring to avoid overwatering. If you step on your lawn and the grass springs back, it does not need to be watered. Use this easy method to save on water while still keeping your lawn healthy and learn more outdoor watering tips.

And here are some previous blog posts from this blog that might interest you:
Find a WaterSense Irrigation Expert
Beneficial Drought Tolerant Plants for the DC Area – Part 1
Beneficial Drought Tolerant Plants for the DC Area – Part 1

Spring Lawn Care for Northern Virginia

Tuesday, March 6, 6:30 - 8:30 pm. 

Join Virginia Tech Specialist Dr. Mike Goatley for a discussion of best management practices for establishing, renovating and maintaining lawns in Northern Virginia.  Topics to be covered include turf selection, soil test and preparation, fertilizing, mowing, weed control, water and drought management, and insect and disease management.  

Fairlington Community Center, 3308 South Stafford Street, Arlington.  

Free parking on- and off-street.  To register, call 703-228-6414 or email mgarlalex@gmail.com.  For more information, visit mgnv.org.

Offered by the Arlington Office of Virginia Cooperative Extension with Support from Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia.