Ah-Ha Moment!

Last night the girls and I went to an organic gardening class put on by Thera Gardens and Organically Done. Kevin and I used Organically Done last year to fertilize our turf and were very unhappy with the results. But after going to the class last night, I realized that I need to check my priorities at the door. Instead of aiming to have the greenest lawn on the block, with no weeds in sight, we need to switch our goal to having the cleanest/safest yard for our family and the environment.

Here are some things that I found to be very helpful/useful from last night's class:

1. Have your garden soil tested. Call 248-858-0902 (MSU) to get a test kit. They said this is the most important step in maintaining a healthy garden.
2. Your garden needs a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight to thrive. 8-10 hours would be optimal.
3. Rotate your crops yearly to avoid depleting soil nutrients.
4. Gardeners.com is a site that you can enter the dimensions of your garden and what you want to grow and it will plot out your garden and provide care instructions.
5. Get a drip line from Lowes for $15.00 and set it on a timer for watering your garden. Have it set to water your plants before the sun comes up. The plant and fruit do not need to be watered, just your soil.
6. Call Michigan State University Extension Plant and Pest hot line for a free service that diagnoses disease and pest infestation. 248-858-0902
7. Do not rototille your garden. It typically brings up weed seeds.
8. Soil typically contains 80 trace minerals if cared for correctly.
9. Do not get soil or compost from Lowes or Home Depot. He recommended Maines in Oakland County.
10. Do not get seeds from Home Depot or Lowes. Get them online from Burpees.
11. Do not use Milorganite fertilizer. It contains heavy metals.
12. Consider using Ringer for Turf.

Girls, What were other helpful hints/tips????