Got Mildew?

I'm just one little back-yard farmer, plugging along, trying to grow my own food and maybe some to share when the weather permits. Which is, I must admit, pretty much year-round. There are however, some very climate specific issues around organic gardening around the Bay. We get aphids and white flies like no ones business and all my references say "Ladybugs". Then comes powdery mildew and all I hear is "baking soda and water" but the darn stuff just won't go away--unlike the Ladybugs who had decamped after a couple of days, leaving my broccoli and cabbages to the grotty little leaf eating critters!
So, research, pestering other gardeners, trial and error and --voila! I have, if not fool-proof solutions, then best practices for two common garden problems.

First bugs, Ladybugs will indeed happily devour aphids and white fly larvae, but they are migratory insects and must be released at night--otherwise their drive to head to the mountains for some reproductive endeavors outweighs their desire to eat aphids, and, well, you know the rest. I tried it and two weeks later I still have Lovely Ladies crawling around laying waste to unwanted brussel sprout eating nasties!

Second, powdery mildew, bane of zucchini, cucumbers, melons, roses and many other plants. Like I said, I've tried the baking soda and water (2tbs baking soda in a standard spray bottle of water, saturate infected areas during hot weather, repeat as necessary) to mixed results. Sad to say I don't have time for mixed results. On to bigger and better--and no, I don't mean chemicals.
It's milk, yep, milk. Dilute skim milk in water (10-30% milk but not more) and spray --and I mean saturate-- infected leaves, no need to rinse, just wait! The majority of my mildew was dead and gone within two days of treatment. I waited a week to see what else happened and gave a final spritz to any stubborn areas and now have a mildew free garden!!! Added benefits, cats don't seem to particularly like the smell and have been rethinking their "other" use for my raised beds!

Check out more info and scientific benefits at: http://www.appalachianfeet.com/2010/07/02/how-to-spray-milk-to-prevent-powdery-mildew-disease/
and
http://www.thefrugallife.com/mildew.html

Pumping Plastics

I was just speaking with an ex-Chevron employee who informed me that only 30% of oil pumped is used for gas or fuel--so where does the rest of it go? Plastic. Well, plastic and Vasoline but still. It's just another shocking reason to avoid single-use plastic products (water bottles, take out containers, plastic bags &c) here are a couple of sites with great info and tips to drinking and living a bit more sustainably--http://www.allaboutwater.org/environment.html, and, http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/china-plastic-bags-47010907.

So, what else to do? If you don't have a stainless steel water bottle, get one. Reusable shopping bags, ditto--and bring them to pick up take-out at your favorite "to go" restaurant. Wax paper bags work just fine for sandwiches and snacks are recyclable. Suggest potato or corn starch utensils and cups to your local cafe--and be willing to find another "regular" spot if they won't switch! Also, you could post your suggestions here--the more the merrier--we can all use some new ideas!

Volunteering with Rebuilding Together

Had a great time on Sunday volunteering with Rebuilding Together. We scraped and painted this fence. The elderly homeowner was very happy and so were we.
Thanks to my friend Christy for getting me involved. That's me in the white and Christy in the red and our very clean fence!

Finally!

What you've been asking for, a durable, green counter surface in a matte finish - welcome to Squak Mountain A surface material composed of 49% post-industrial recycled content and 2.5% post-consumer recycled content.

As defined on the Squak Mountain site this product is: A Fibrous-cement material comprised of recycled paper, recycled glass, and low-carbon cement. Material is hand-cast into “slabs” as an alternative to natural or quarried stone. Resembles soapstone or limestone. And it's gorgeous! Has the look of nature – varied and irregular, just the thing for our new green kitchens!

If you've used this material in your remodel, send us a picture, we'd love to see it. If your interested in it for your upcoming remodel, you know where to find us!

Helping Others

It's said that what comes around goes around and I'm a firm believer that we should utilize the skills we have for the benefit of others at least some of the time. So when my friend asked if I would volunteer with Rebuilding Together, an organization that helps low income seniors with repairs and renovations on their homes, it took me about 2 seconds to say yes. If you'd like to lend a hand, whether or not your have professional skills, join us this weekend. Find out about volunteering in Oakland here.

If your not local, check out a chapter near you and tell us about your experience.

Wowza it's been awhile

Sorry for the long break folks, March turned out to be a doosey, but I'm back with some updates. Here's a peak at a project we just finished.





Our client was out of the country while we created this luxurious shower and bathroom for her. Wouldn't you like to come back from vacation to this!

Vetrazzo makes a spectacular guest bath

A client recently had Charisma Blue Vetrazzo installed in her guest bath and it looks amazing. We wanted to share how our clients have solved difficult spaces with the utmost creativity. The door swing in this guest bath dictated how the counter could be shaped. In the beginning the idea was to cut out the path of the door swing in the counter, but on final analysis that was a bit cumbersome. The final resolution was this banjo cut. Notice how the wall to wall counter with a depth change provides that necessary landing space while adding dimension to a really tight space.



AND this counter is a super green product, especially in our area where all the glass content is sourced from our county's waste stream. Ah, now doesn't that feel good?