Return of the "Backyard Chickens"- Mad City Chickens

MAD CITY CHICKENS DVD
The backyard chicken saga continues.....

Mad City Chickens is a sometimes serious, sometimes whimsical look at the people who keep urban chickens in their backyards. From experts and authors to a rescued landfill chicken or an inexperienced family that takes the poultry plunge—it’s a humorous and heartfelt trip through the world of backyard chickendom.

A must see feature-length documentary on people who keep backyard chickens in the city.
Go Here for more info & to purchase.

Live Beneficial Insects are In!

Live Lady Bugs, Praying Mantis, and RedWorms are in!

LIVE REDWORMS REDworms eat and burrow twenty-four hours a day! All of this tunneling aerates the soil (getting oxygen to the roots), allows for easier root growth, and improves water retention. And they speed up the decomposition process in cold composting. Redworms help keep the soil loose. Mother Nature doesn't own a spade! Redworms are sold by the pound, with 1 pound containing approximately 1800-200 worms per pound. They are available  in "Bed-Run", Which means there will be a variety of sizes and life stages in each pound. $19.99

$14.99

PRAYING MANTIDS  These ferocious looking creatures eat a wide variety of insects: beetles, caterpillars, grubs, aphids, grass-hoppers, crickets, and almost anything that moves. They are so much fun that sometimes people buy them for pets. And since they don't fly, they stay right in the area where they are released. Praying Mantids are completely harmless to people, pets, and the environment. Each egg case, about the size of a ping pong ball, contains about 200 eggs which hatch when the weather becomes warm.

$14.99 LADY BUGS A favorite "good bug," ladybugs have been a popular line of beneficial insects at The PURE Gardener. When released at sundown (because they don't fly at night), ladybugs eat aphids, mealy bugs, scale, leaf hoppers, various plant eating worms and other destructive soft bodied pests. And they keep on eating until the bad guys are gone, laying their own eggs in the process. When new pests arrive, fresh ladybugs will be waiting, and, as an alternative to chemicals, these lady bugs will be doing something favorable.

Live Lady Bugs, Praying Mantis, & redworms- Beneficial Insects

Our Live ladybugs, praying mantis, & red worms are in! Find them in our little refrigerator at the front of our shop! Using beneficial insects in your garden is not only educational but also is a superior way to fight garden pest without using harmful chemicals. Happy Gardening!

Praying Mantis Snacks in Geneva

My daughter and I found a Praying Mantis checking out my tomato plant for bugs. We watched it find and eat one!
Julieann Shourie

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.

Woodman's- Stupefied in the Cheese Isle

Yesterday, Craig and I went to Woodman's to fill up Ethel ( our suburban) with E-85. We didn't have much time and thought that we would kill two birds with one stone and do some grocery shopping at the same time- save the trip to Wholefoods and maybe a little $. They have a pretty good organic section. We also needed some cheese for the kids lunch sandwiches.


We found ourselves standing in the middle of the huge cheese isle almost comatosed. Not by the large selection of cheese but by the many packages marked with labels of "Wisconsin Fresh", "Farm Cheese", "Local". But there were no organic cheeses. We were flooded with visions of "The Meatrix" movie in our heads. What were the cows fed? Did they eat GMO corn? Stale junkfood? Were they fed hormones and antibiotics? We thought that we might be safe with a foreign cheese because most countries other than the USA have banned hormones and GMOs. But, the selection was poor.We realized that we were both standing there stupefied and frozen. Since one of the reasons we went there in the first place was to save time we decided to leave- cheese less. We will need to make a visit to Curds and Whey!

Then the thought had occurred to me just how sad and stressful it is to shop at ones local grocery store. And, in today's economy it is almost a luxery to strictly shop at a health food store. When I was a child, eating cold cuts, cheese, tomatoes, and lettuce on my lunch sandwich was only as bad as the fat content. Nowadays, there is BHT, BHA, radiation, pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, GMO's, artificial colors and flavorings and more! I don't want my children to eat school lunches because they are bad for them. And, it is mind blowing to pack their lunches with safe meals. I need to schedule a ton of time to grow veggies, bake cookies and bread, popcorn treats, etc..

It is a sad statement that we as consumers need to be so on the ball and informed in order to provide our families and ourselves with something so basic as safe, healthy food to eat. And there are so many people that are not even aware of the dangers of food that is going onto their plates.

There is much work to do! And then there is this....

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!

The Courier News

Shauna Bittle | Staff Photographer

Annette MacLean sets out tubs of ladybugs and red worms at Pure Gardener in Geneva, IL on Friday, Jun. 13, 2008. The Pure Gardener takes its name both from its location in a former Pure Oil building, and from the owners' approach to gardening. It offers a line of organic products for the body, as well as garden decorations made from recycled materials.

Japanese Beetles! The Madness is Almost Over!

OOOHHH! Those nasty little buggers. They are out of control! First they were devouring our hibiscus trees and roses- at the shop- and then they decided to attack our Contorted Filbert tree at the house. We tried the Neem sprays and I don't have time to stand around all my plants knocking the invaders into soapy water or spraying all my plants- repeatedly with a soap concoction. So, I opted for the bag ( now sold out at The PURE Gardener, but we do have the refill bags ).

The way to reduce the beetle's population, if it’s possible at all, is to reduce the population of grubs they come from, with natural inoculates like beneficial nematodes or Milky Spore. The Japanese Beetle is the adult stage of a grub that starts out underground.I've applied Milky Spore ( available at the shop) to my yard last fall but haven't re-applied the additional treatments needed to knock out the nasty intruders. I am going to opt for the beneficial nematodes ( available at the shop ) treatment. Both Milky Spore and Beneficial Nematodes need to be applied in the Spring and Fall. The Japanese Beetle emerges from the ground- like a bad Godzilla movie, or Godzilla vs. Turtle Monster, anyway-in June and retreats back into the ground sometime in August to lay its eggs and start the cycle all over again. So the madness is almost over! Then it is our small window of opportunity to fight back. I have used Beneficial Nematodes in my back vegetable garden around my garlic a few years back and had success. A fall day like today, a rain day, is perfect for watering in the microscopic beneficial invaders. They multiply (in the ground) on their own and also go after other nasty pest like flea eggs which will make my 4 chihuahuas happy! What horrors are you experiencing with your own gardens? I would love to hear about your battles!

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!

Praying Mantis

This is a photo of an adult praying mantis. I just let around 200 of these little guys loose in our back garden. They are hanging around the terrarium that I hatched them in. This morning I checked and a little one was munching on an intruder insect near my tomatoes.