caroline’s taking a little break today, so i’m here to share some useful gardening q&a with you!  we often get questions from readers, and caroline’s answers are just to good to keep from you!

{abby lanes}

Question: Recently I have noticed that my tomato plants – all 8 of them – are not producing anything. I got a little concerned because they are 3 feet high – they look great and happy – but no fruit! Boo!! So, i asked my gardening girlfriend what she thought I should do and she suggested that my soil may be lacking calcium. Hmmm… since I’m new to this gardening gig I think to myself: “where do you get calcium? Do I give them a little milk?” (kidding) So, i called another friend that gardens and he said to try some osmocote (sp?). I have used osmocote in the past on porch plants and they love it- but is it OK for food?? I don’t want to put any chemically stuff on something I’m going to eat. Do you have any tips? Suggestions??

Also, I have an old brick coop in the back – that needs major cleaning up – its sturdy with a tin roof (made probably circa 1930) but the open windows will need some chicken wire – and the door opening has no door (rats!). I’m pretty sure there are black widows in there and there is no way this gal is going in there to tidy it up with those monsters in there. Any tips on how to get them out? – Kristen

Answer: Hi Kristen! Non-flowering tomato plants are usually a sign of too much nitrogen in the soil. Have your soil tested at your local cooperative extension center and let them know you are experiencing non flowering tomato plants. Calcium depletion in the soil usually shows up as tomato blossom end rot – so a calcium deficiency would not be my first guess. I’m thinking they will probably have you add potash or potassium to the soil, but don’t go guessing! You can also try stressing the plants a bit – lessen up on the water for a few days. I would not use osmocote on food products – that stuff is pretty toxic to ingest. Don’t feed them anything until you get that soil test done. At this time of year it should not take long at all to get results.

Black widows! How timely as well – I found some black widow carcasses in my garage this past week and I’m on high alert now….but I’m not going to do much more than diatomaceous earth, a flashlight and a long broom to clean up the cobwebs. You can spray the chicken coop with water or use a hose end sprayer with some liquid soap mixed in to flood/kill the spiders before you actually go too far inside to clean up. Neem is also pretty effective…but you knew I would say that, I’m sure! Good luck, go in the covered up…no flip flops for you, wear a hat and long gloves. Be careful and be brave!!! -Caroline

{allison trentelman}

Question: I need help! I planted windowboxes, organic, with zinnias, sweetpeas, nasturium and cilantro. And they have bugs! Ugly little buggers, some look like beetles, others fly… but I need to get rid of them pronto. I was thinking maybe a salt water mix, or baking soda? But I really don’t want to try without advice. If you can help I would SO appreciate it! :) – Anna

Answer: Hi Anna. Thanks for your question. I would advise you to never ever use regular salt in your garden. Salt is actually really toxic for your soil and not a good idea to spray on plants. Epsom salts are a different story, but they are not effective as bug control. I would recommend knocking the beetles into a bowl of soapy water and then spraying with Neem. Here is a link to a safer, organic Neem product I have found very effective.  Beetles are tenacious and you do need to spray every few days to control them.” – Caroline

{chives}

Question: I have something eating the leaves and new buds of one of my pansies and one of my dianthus in my small flower garden…guessing they are slugs since I can’t see them during the day (better go out one night to see if I can spot ‘em!)…anyway, read to put epsom salt around the plants…did it today…think it’ll work? any other tips? (update): Went to the local landscaper today b/c the epsom salts did NOT work AND I caught one of the little buggers this morning…at the other end of the garden! anyway, she is ordering me “sluggo” – said it is safe for kiddos and pets! hope it does the trick…- Jes

Answer: Jes answered her own question! Sluggo is great for slugs and safe around kids. – Caroline

{pink princesses in the garden}

do you have any gardening questions? leave your questions here, or visit the ladybug landscaping facebook page to ask caroline directly!

wrap up: {answers} {black widows} {gardening} {organic gardening} {questions} {slugs} {tomatoes}

i would like you to meet a recently found favorite of mine, alexandra grecco. her handmade apparel including some 100% organic lingerie make me feel beautiful just looking at them!  you can certainly tell that she understands and loves the female figure, because every piece seems to hug, drape and flow in all the right places.  the creamy colors and cuts that do the body right made me fall in love with her shop at first glance.

elsewhere :: {shop} {blog} {facebook}

wrap up: {apparel} {handmade} {lingerie} {organic gardening}

happy earth day lovelies!  in celebration, i’m going to giveaway one of my reusable grocery bags!

how to enter:

leave a comment explaining what you do (or will commit to do) to be more earth friendly.  you can leave as many comments as you like- the greener you are, the more chances you get to win! you must comment by midnight est sunday, april 25.  a winner will be drawn on monday using random.org and will have 48 hours to claim their prize after it’s announced.  good luck, and go green!

now for some more earth friendly finds!

clockwise :: organic cotton t-shirt with ferns, tiny bird, pure organic mineral eye color, the organic spy bag, bag envy, how sweet of you- pot of honey card

wrap up: {earth day} {giveaway} {go green} {organic gardening}

i recently discovered this very accomplished photographer, jennifer causey.  she grew up in the south and is inspired by simplicity, the handmade, nature and organic farms.  no wonder her work spoke to me!  they each have such an elegant stillness to them, don’t you find them peaceful? you can see the entirety of her work on her website, and she offers prints, post cards and notebooks in her shop, simply photo.

wrap up: {elegant} {nature} {organic gardening} {pastels} {photography} {simple}

i love coffee. in fact, i’m sipping on my second cup right now.  and, i have to admit, i’m a sugar and cream kinda a gal.  the hub won’t touch my coffee as he thinks it’s nothing but a blob of sugary goo.  i’ve tried to drink it black, but i just can’t. you know i’ve been reading those beekeeping books?  there’s a point to this, i promise.

{coffee pot with wallpaper}

for now, i think the only think i got out of those (extremely) interesting books, is how good honey is for you!  i knew honey was healthy and that local honey would help your allergies but i had no idea that it had so many ‘healing’ properties.  there are all these studies showing how traditional beekeepers never get diseases like arthritis and the like, and they think it’s because of the honey and the bee’s stings.  i’m not saying go out and get stung (lol) but i am saying you should try to eat more honey!

for 1000′s of years honey has been used to help everything from skin conditions to digestion issues to diabetes and high cholesterol.  so, i thought i should get on this!

here’s what i learned:

- their are hundreds of health benefits to eating honey (here’s a start: honey)

- honey naturally contains so many vitamins and minerals!  niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid (b vitamins), calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, potassium and zinc.  whoa!

- you should always buy local honey, especially to help relieve your allergies.

- buying organic honey is important!  many beekeepers put antibiotics in the bee’s water supply, which end up in the honey.  go organic!

- the darker the honey the more antioxidants it has.

so, what’s my point?  well, i’ve started using honey in my coffee instead of sugar.  and, it’s *delicious!!

how do you drink your coffee?

p.s. since i’ve recently been converted to the amazing wonderfulness of honey, you might find me ranting about it even more with some beauty and food recipes. stay tuned!

wrap up: {books} {coffee} {honey} {organic gardening} {read} {recipes}

{standing tall}

would you be interested in writing for going home to roost? i’m looking for a weekly contributor to take us through the growing season of organic gardening.  from seed starting to harvesting we need a weekly article of tips and know-how to get us through the season.

requirements and commitments:

- one article a week through the end of the growing season.

- experience in writing and gardening.

- depth of knowledge in organic gardening.

- great photos (either taken by yourself or found online w/ credits) to accompany the article.

if you’re interested, i would love to hear from you. send me some examples of your work (links or otherwise) and tell me a bit about yourself and your credentials.

if chosen, you’ll receive free advertising on going home to roost for one year (150×150 premium ad), a ‘contributor’ icon in the side bar and your material posted every week, linking back to you.

i look forward to hearing from you, just send me an email!

xoxo! bonnie

wrap up: {contributor} {garden} {organic gardening} {submission} {submit} {write}

i can’t believe it’s friday already! have you had a good week?  i feel like ours here has kind of been all over the place, but i’ve really enjoyed it and appreciate you hanging in there with me!  now for the news i’ve been wanting to share with you…

i opened a new etsy shop! haha, yes that’s right. feel free to whop me up side the head and ask, what are you doing?! i concluded that it was time to get all of my kitchen goods in one shop separate from the other, so alas, the kitchen roost was born!

to jump off the new shop, i’m also introducing a new line that i’m calling the organic kitchen. in addition to my usual aprons and tea towels, i’m now offering new tea towels, veggie produce bags and reusable shopping bags, all made from 100% organic cotton canvas. and, the appliques are all scraps leftover from aprons, so i’m saving those from heading to the dump.  what do you think?

i’ll be busy this weekend transferring all of my aprons and tea towels to the new shop, so when you’re looking for my kitchen goods, make sure to head to the kitchen roost! xoxo!

wrap up: {eco friendly} {etsy} {organic gardening} {produce bag} {roost} {shop} {shopping bag} {tea towels}

clockwise :: herbal eye pillow :: heaven scent simmer sachets :: silk road linen spray :: mum’s the word business card sleeve ::

sit back and relax with elan vital anthology! the name elan vital means ‘life force’ and anthology means ‘collection’.  very appropriate for this eclectic and intriguing shop that offers herbal eye pillows and sachets, business card holders, organic linen sprays- and more!  they are offering 15% off on all of their vintage items through the end of the year and also donate 1% of their proceeds to healthy child, a national non-profit inspiring parents to protect young children from harmful chemicals.

{shop} {blog}

wrap up: {eye pillow} {herbal} {linen spray} {organic gardening} {sachet}