Join us on Earth Day 2012!

Join us April 21st 11am- 3pm for Earth Day 2012! We will be at Peck Farm Park in Geneva, IL. Let us help you grow your own food! Come see our raised bed gardens! Grow your own mushrooms! and More!

Milo Shammas- Dr. Earth- Visits The PURE Gardener!

Milo Shammas, AKA Dr. Earth, recently visited The PURE Gardener. He and Craig exchanged ideas and discussed organic gardening and the tremendous benefits it has on plants and the earth. The PURE Gardener carries Dr. Earth soils and fertilizers, uses them on our personal gardens, and highly recommends them for your garden. 

Herb made it to the Dr. Earth Website!

click here to see him!

Kitchen Composting & Worm Castings Now available in our online store

Worm Castings 1lb bags- perfect for house plants! $1.99 each

Kitchen Composter

$ 19.99 USD This high quality compost caddy is sturdy, yet lightweight and has a tight fitting lid. Caddy features an activated charcoal filter in the lid to neutralize odors. Filters last up to four months. Made in England. 8.5"L x 6.5"W x 14"H. 1.5 lbs recycled plastic To purchase go to ThePUREGardener.com

Paul Newman & Father Dom

Paul Newman & Father Dom

The above photo is of Father Dom and Paul Newman.

Father Dom volunteers at The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp. There Fr. Dom met Paul Newman (founder) and the two became friends . As you know Paul Newman has his own range of good stuff Newmans Own and so he offered Fr. Dom help with the marketing.

Originally Fr. Dom wanted to see if they could bring it under the Newmans Own brand, but the marketing people said…we dont want to mix food and compost. Fr. Dom thought that was the end of that until he got a call from the Manager of Newman’s Own who had received a fax from Paul Newman. He warned Fr. Dom that it was bit rude…..Fr. Dom told him that he had probably heard it all before and to go ahead - it said, ‘Dear Tom, Help Fr. Dom with his shit, Paul’. Classic.

So the similarity between Fr. Dom’s packaging and Newmans Own…no coincidence.

Father Dom, Craig and me

Craig and I bumped into Father Dom at the 2008 IGC show. We hadn't seen him in a few years so we posed for a photo opt!

Organic Tomatoes Have Higher Nutrional Value!

More reasons to grow your own food!

MORE PROOF THAT ORGANICS HAVE HIGHER NUTRITIONAL VALUE
A new study in The Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry found that organic tomatoes are twice as high in flavanoids as conventional tomatoes. Flavanoids protect against heart disease and other chronic ailments. Researchers analyzed and compared organic to conventional tomatoes over a ten year period. The organic tomatoes not only scored better, but their flavanoid levels actually increased over time. Prior similar studies have found organic foods to have higher levels of a variety of vitamins and minerals. Scientists attribute the higher quality of organic foods to the healthier soil on organic farms. Read full study here: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_6181.cfm
Another related study, published this month in the British Journal of Nutrition, showed that organic dairy and meat products in a mother's diet positively affect the nutritional quality of her breast milk by increasing beneficial fatty acids. "These findings provide scientific support for common sense, by showing that organic foods are healthier," says Dr. Lukas Rist, who is the lead author of the study and the head of research at the Paracelsus Hospital in Switzerland. The study involved 312 breastfeeding women with 1-month old infants from the Netherlands. Read the full study here:http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_6245.cfm

Mr. Green Thumb

Mr. Green Thumb, originally uploaded by The PURE Gardener.

He's A Great Sales Man!

Mr. Green Thumb

Mr. Green Thumb, originally uploaded by The PURE Gardener.

Create a Certified Backyard or Frontyard Wildlife Habitat

Quite a few years back I took the steps to have our home gardens certified as a wildlife habitat. I felt that it was a good thing to do to raise awareness to my neighbors, friends and family about what we put into and onto our urban environments and how it effects all the wildlife around us. Including the birds, butterflies, and so on.

The National Wildlife Federation has made it much easier for those of us want to take action to help nature around us. All one needs to do is log onto their website and complete an application by answering a few questions. The requirements are as follows.

All you need to do is provide elements from each of the following areas:

• Food Sources. For example: Native plants, seeds, fruits, nuts, berries, nectar
• Water Sources. For example: Birdbath, pond, water garden, stream
• Places for Cover. For example: Thicket, rockpile, birdhouse
• Places to Raise Young. For example: Dense shrubs, vegetation, nesting box, pond
• Sustainable Gardening. For example: Mulch, compost, rain garden, chemical-free fertilizer

Click on the link below and Join the thousands of wildlife enthusiasts across the country who have been recognized for creating havens for neighborhood wildlife in their very own yards. These individuals have provided the essential elements for healthy and sustainable wildlife habitats and have earned the distinction of being part of National Wildlife Federation’s Certified Wildlife Habitat™ program.

Click on link below

Certify Your Habitat Let's get Started!

Meet the Queen!

Meet Mary, the Queen of Compost & Recycling (among other things) ! Most of you already know Mary. She has been with the Geneva Greenhouse forever and with The PURE Gardener since day one. She was the president of the Geneva Garden Club until she recently passed along the gavel. Mary does a fair amount of our custom containers for Spring, Fall and Christmas. Mary is very passionate about composting and recycling. She even composts her used Kleenex! She planted a lasagna garden a few years back and is quite knowledgeable on the subject. She does well with us common folk and anyone that knows her can't help but smile when they think of her! If you have any composting or recycling questions that you would like Queen Mary to answer, please post and she will get back to you!

Natural Fertilizer Sale!

Now is the time to fertilize your lawn, vegetable, and flower gardens!

All Espoma, Cock-A- Doodle Doo, Merrill's Tea Compost, Cricket Poop now on sale for 25% off! Available at The PURE Gardener for a limited time.

Father Dom's Duck Doo on SALE NOW!

BUY 3 BAGS GET ONE FREE! REGULAR PRICE $7.99 EACH
for a limited time only- hurry in!
Now is the time to add Father Dom's Duck Doo to your soil as a mulch or soil conditioner. Give your plants a much needed summer boost.Available at the shop now!