Are Your Backyards Green Enough?

If not, then use these ideas!

• Leave grass clippings on the lawn. This helps to recycle nutrients (¼ pound of organic nitrogen per bag), does not produce thatch, and reduces the amount of time and money you spend on lawn care.
  
• Alternatively, clippings can be mixed with leaves and brush as a simple mulch to protect the soil, suppress weeds and conserve water.
  
• Or, make compost with the clippings, together with yard trimmings (old plants, wilted flowers, small prunings), leaves, vegetable & fruit scraps, coffee grounds & filters, tea bags, stale bread, eggshells, wood chips, sawdust from untreated wood & shredded paper (low grade paper not acceptable for recycling). Do not use meat, fish or poultry (including bones), food sauces, fats, grease or oils, dairy products, invasive weeds, treated wood (or any materials containing strong preservatives or toxins), pet wastes, ashes, charcoal or non-organic material (plastic, metal, glass, etc.)
  
• Use the bases of 2-liter soda bottles, small aluminum cans or paper egg cartons for seedlings.
  
• When taking a shower, put a bucket in the stall to collect excess water. This can be used to water plants.
  
• Place barrels under down spouts to collect rain water.
  
• Use old tires cut in half as flower planters.
  
• Cut milk jugs in half and use as planters or bird feeders.
  
• Use free yard waste mulch then dress with cypress, etc.
  
• Use crumb rubber from recycled tires as mulch.
  
• Save plastic concentrated juice cans to support melons and squash as they mature in your garden. They deter soil-borne insects and diseases.