New Stuff!!! And just in time for New Year's! Wooot!

• POSTED ON DECEMBER 30, 2013
• BY LADY BRITT
• IN BLOG
• { EDIT }

We came out with something new and awesome!!! Again. Yup. Aside from all the other awesome products we have, we’ve decided to unleash . . . (drumroll please) Enzyme Powder. Ahhhhhh yeah.

So – Benefits!!! Well, our Enzyme Powder is just as effective as other enzyme growth boosters! But, of course, being Kelp4Less, we’ve figured out how to make it WAY less expensive!!! Similar products cost about $32.00 per liter!!! Holy Crow! Ours is only $13.39 for an ounce of powder! So – you mix 1/8 of a teaspoon in 5 GALLONS. Which means the cost of our product is only $1.67 per teaspoon. Now, you only need to use 1/8 of a teaspoon for every 5 gallon batch (by the way – we have 8 teaspoons in an ounce – roughly,) which means the cost per 5 gallon batch is only 20¢. MEANING, the cost per gallon of our product is only (wait for it): 4¢. Yup. It’s INSANE not to get our Enzyme Powder, just by cost alone!!!  Now – you can pay 4¢ per GALLON, or $32.00 per liter – let’s hear it folks: “Paying for Water Sucks!!!”.

Okay, we’ve established it’s WAY more cost effective to purchase your Enzyme Powder through us – naturally. But what is the POINT of using Enzyme Powder, anyway? Well – Enzyme Powder is great for keeping your roots clean – meaning you’ll avoid that nasty, slimy brown root problem that happens so often in Hydro systems. Enzyme Powder applied to the roots will help out with bud formations on your roses, and any other plants which produce buds.

Enzyme powder is a great addition to your compost, as well! As the Enzyme Powder works, it naturally converts compost material into beneficial, plant-accessible food! Also – ladybugs will use the Enzyme Powder as protein – fuel – to keep eating those aphids!!!

In short (kinda, lol) – our product is, as always, as good as or better than the competitor! And, we’ll provide it to you at a FRACTION of the cost!

ENZYME POWDER

Need therapy? Naaaaaaaaaaah, you just need to garden!

So, anyone who has ever had “that moment” in a garden knows why gardening is therapeutic. But for someone new to the gardening culture, or someone who just has an interest in gardening, it seems a little . . . well . . . odd. Gardening as therapy? Why? Well, there’s a certain moment, in the garden, when you’re all alone, and you catch a whiff of compost, and look over your garden, and you just feel . . . satisfied.

Gardening has long been recognized as therapeutic, and calming, to say the least. But, there are actual quantifiable benefits to gardening, too. Not just the feeling of well-being. Which, for most gardeners is enough, but still! I have a blog post to write, people! lol!

Benefit #1: One hour of consistent gardening (weeding, mulching, digging, pulling, wheeling in the ‘barrow, etc) is the equivalent of 10,000 steps or walking about 5 miles! So it’s good exercise! Awww yeah! Gardening combines coordination, balance, and strength training to give you a really good, well-rounded workout.

Benefit #2: There has been quite a bit of research done in the field of Horticultural Therapy (I love that there is a field researching this). There are many people who are recovering from illnesses and they do the majority of this recovery in a garden. Being in nature and in touch with nature has the effect of reducing tension, stress, muscle tension, and even blood pressure!

*Tip! Skip the power tools! Use manual tools like rakes, clippers, lawnmowers, and trimmers. They are harder to use, but as a benefit, they are usually less expensive than their powered counterparts.

Benefit #3: There has been some research to suggest gardening helps your mental health in more than just recovery. Some studies show gardening has been linked to a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s Disease. How cool is that?! In patients who already have Alzheimer’s,  According to Cath Burley, a consultant from North West Anglia Healthcare Trust was quoted as saying, “Being involved in something constructive and creative, like a garden, can help. Gardening may help slow the loss of short-term memory, one of the first facilities to be lost in Alzheimer’s disease. Skills that are learned and practiced can be retained despite the decline in overall brain function that occurs in the later stages of dementia.” Also, it can give those with this serious illness hope – which is incredibly important.

Benefit #4: There is also significant research suggesting gardening helps ward off Osteoporosis (because it more closely mimics weight-training than cardio, which builds bone strength), as well as Diabetes (because of the physical activity – a significant preventative measure against Diabetes).

Benefit #5: PRODUCE!!! You have fresh, healthy food available to you, which is going to significantly increase the chance you’ll eat it.

Benefit #6: Along the same lines as Benefit 2, the field of Horticultural Therapy has discovered gardening helps calm those with dementia and anxiety, leading to better sleep patterns and better quality of sleep. Who doesn’t want that?

So there you have it. Gardening is good for you! But you don’t have to take my word for it . . . (hah!) Here are a few recommended reads:

Why Gardening is Good For You

Gardening’s Surprising Health Benefits

Nighty-night!!! How to put your garden to bed for the winter!

Well, it’s that time. Seems like it flew, huh? But, winter is very close at hand, and it’s so important to put your garden to bed properly for the year. Otherwise, you wind up with a soggy mess to work with next spring. At least, you’ll wind up with one if you live in an area where it snows or rains most of the winter months. However, I’m a firm believer that cleaning up the garden is healthy, and motivational, at least twice a year. So regardless of where you live, it’s a good idea to do maintenance anyway.

So, on that note – here we go! For the record – The Old Farmer’s Almanac is a great resource (www.almanac.com), and where most of my research came from, aside from personal experience. 

1. Before the first freeze (a frost can usually be survived by simple cover – a freeze is not quite so forgiving), or as soon as you know it’s coming, pull as much produce as you can from your garden. Now – don’t do it before the first frost – you’ll be jumping the gun! If you live in a northern area, we tend to get a real good week or two of frost at nights, then some nice Indian Summer weeks before it freezes for good. This is a great time to harvest more food! But once that freeze hits, you’re not going to see any more ripening. That’s it. Curtains. Game over. Uhhh . . . can’t think of any more analogies now, but you get the point, lol.

A beautiful fall harvest

2. Weed. Sorry. I hate this step, too. Gotta be done. However, it’s nice because you can see up-close where there are any insects or diseased plants you need to pull. While you’re at it, go ahead and just pull your annuals. Use them for compost as long as they aren’t diseased, but don’t throw the weeds in the compost!!!

3. Leave your tubers. Carrots, garlic, horseradish, radishes, turnips, leeks, and parsnips all stay good into the winter. Do, however, cover them with a thick layer of mulch as protection.

4. Till or turn over the soil. Add as much compost and mulch as you can. This does double duty – the compost will continue to break down over the winter, albeit slowly. Also, the mulch/compost layer protects the soil from the bitter winds that accompany winter. It certainly wouldn’t be a bad plan to add some nutrients in with your compost/mulch layer, too. Kelp would be a great bet.

5. Sit back and relax. You’re done out there for the winter. You can begin an indoor crop for fun, if you like, or you can start looking at canning/preserving recipes, like I do!

KELP

What is nutrient lockout and how can I fix it?

Ahhhhh, nutrient lockout. Even worse than losing your keys, (sorry lol) nutrient lockout is when your plants are not absorbing any of the nutrients in your soil. The sad part of this particular issue is – well – adding nutrients won’t help. The plants aren’t taking up what is already there, so adding more is useless.

What causes nutrient lockout? Well, there can be a number of things. Your pH is too high or too low (a little usually won’t hurt you unless the plant is extremely sensitive – but if you are extremely alkaline or acidic, you will see nutrient lockout as a result). There can be a chemical reaction between two nutrients which cause your plant not to uptake nutrients, and you can even have a buildup of salt in your soil. Also, if you are using amendments which have been sitting mixed for too long.

Plant displaying signs of nutrient deficiency.

So how do you know if your plants are experiencing nutrient lockout? Well, you are going to see the same symptoms as a nutrient deficiency, because that’s basically what it is. Most often, you will notice because of foliage discoloration. Your leaves will be yellow, limp . . . the plant just kind of looks “sad”, for lack of a better description. They can also look scorched, and if so, this is most likely a salt buildup.

The best way you can get rid of nutrient lockout is to do a good flush of your soil, making sure to water with pure water for a few days. If you are growing hydroponically, do a full flush and start with pure water again. You need to also check the pH of your soil, as too high a pH is a pretty common cause of lockout. We have pH adjusting products available to help you with the results here.

So, in short, nutrient lockout isn’t terminal. It’s fixable, you just have to flush everything (the purpose of that, by the way, is to remove excess salts), adjust pH, and kind of start from scratch with the nutrients. Extreme Blendis a great nutrient for after a flush, as are our Kelp products.

PH UP PH DOWN EXTREME BLEND SOLUBLE KELP

When is the right time to pick my veggies and fruits?

If you are a beginning gardener, it can be so tricky to figure out when to pick your fruits and veggies. Picking them too early will mean you don’t get their full flavor. Picking too late can mean you let them rot right on the vine. There isn’t much worse than an overripe watermelon . . . ew. So, to get started – here is a list of some common veggies and fruits, and the best times to pick them.
Tomatoes: Tomatoes are tricky. For your absolute best flavor, you want to pick them when they are a very deep color (whatever color you’ve chosen to grow), with no trace of green on the skin. However, if you live in a climate like, say, Idaho, where the nights get very cool, you can pick them once you see a blush of color and let them ripen indoors. Obviously, not in the fridge. Fridges are bad for tomatoes.

Ripe tomatoes on the vine

Cucumbers: Cucumbers are actually pretty simple. As soon as they are a decent size, pick them. They will double in size overnight, too, so you have to check them pretty regularly. Also, if you let them get too large or sit too long, they will get slightly bitter and seedy, so don’t wait. A cucumber plant self-regulates how many cucumbers it will have on a plant at one time, so the more you pick them, the more you will get! Mother Earth News has a great article on cucumbers here, I highly recommend it.
Peppers: Peppers are fun. If you are growing bell peppers, let them grow and then start to turn colors. If you want a green pepper, pick them green. If you want yellow or red, wait until they turn that color, then pick them! Lol!

Bowl of ripe peppers – yum!

Corn: Corn is ready when the ears are rounded at the base, and the fluffy stuff at the top is dark brown but not dry. You can also check the kernels if you peel them back and they look rounded and milky. Not much is better than sweet fresh garden corn.
Melons: Although, I think Melons might be a good contender for better than fresh corn. If not better, definitely equal. I found a great article on reneesgarden.com, with a breakdown of a TON of veggies and fruits and when to harvest them, (here is the article link) but here is what they had to say on melons: Cantaloupe: should be heavy and tan-colored (with a slightly yellowish tone). The cantaloupe’s netting will be slightly more raised than it was before, and it will be cracked around the stem. You will also be able to feel a softer skin toward the bottom, and they will be fragrant (I love the smell of cantaloupe). Also, they should come off the vine easily, but you don’t want them if they have already fallen off.
Watermelon: Watermelon become slightly dull, and the light patch at the bottom will change from light green to yellow when they are ready. The leaf on the tendril nearest the fruit will also turn brown and wither. The skin should be hard, as well.
Gardens are wonderful, and eating the fruits of your labor is such a wonderful experience. Learning when and how to harvest your garden is such an important part of growing one. Feel free to ask us any questions we didn’t answer, and make sure to check out the articles above!
Don’t forget to enhance your garden’s chances with Kelp, Extreme Blend, and our Grow and Bloom Packs!

Kelp Extreme Blend Grow Pack Bloom Pack

What is Silica? Why should I use it?

Silica . . . ahhhhh, Silica. Well, technically, Silicon Dioxide, but still. Silica is an organic compound with a ridiculous amount of benefits for your plants. Silica increases the strength of cell walls, actually fortifying the cells from the inside out. Stronger cell walls are good, this means your plant will be able to support the weight of the flowers, fruit, and/or buds you’ll eventually see.

Silica also increases resistance to stress – due to both climate (helps plants withstand extreme temps, both high and low – which is great if you live somewhere with a big temperature variance between day and night) and drought. Silica protects your plants against drought in a really cool way – it actually forms a protective coating on an intracellular level, which decreases the amount of water loss through transpiration – this is great because your plants will be able to withstand a drought much longer than plants not treated with silica.

Silica increases resistance to pathogens, too, including powdery mildew. Now, if you’ve ever dealt with powdery mildew, you KNOW what a big deal that is!!! If you haven’t dealt much with powdery mildew, or just want to know more about it, check out the blog we wrote on it: here. Basically, the plants build up an additional mineral barrier, using the silica, which lines the cells and makes it more difficult for diseases and pathogens to penetrate the plant at all. Silica also helps the plant resist sucking bugs by accumulating in the outer walls of leaves – when used as a foliar spray, you’ll see good results.

Also, Silica increases the metabolic rate in your plants, and, just for fun, silica has been shown to increase chlorophyll concentrations. This is great, because your plants will be greener, and you also see less wilt to your leaves.

So . . . why can’t I just use Potassium Silicate for all those things? Well . . . you can. However, potassium silicate is not listed as an organic product, whereas Silicon Dioxide is. There are many of the same properties among both substances, but if you are looking for an organic way to increase cell strength, metabolism, and resistance to pathogens and environmental factors, then Silicon Dioxide (silica) is most definitely the way to go!
Silica

Silicon Dioxide (Silica)

So when is it good to use Silica? Should I use it in the grow cycle or the bloom cycle? That’s an excellent question – so far, we’ve seen benefits to Silica in every stage. So basically, from seed to fruition. Plants grown in soil tend to uptake trace amounts of silica from the soil, whereas if you are a hydroponic gardener, there is no silica in your growing medium unless you manually add it in!

Also, plants grown with silica tend to show less shock during root growth from transplanting, as well as the flowers having a longer shelf life than those grown without silica.

Silica

Yucca Yucca . . . slim shady . . .

Okay . . . Yucca Extract has nothing to do with Eminem, or any other famous person. But it’s awesome! Yucca extract is used to increase water uptake in your plants.

And why is this beneficial? Well, not only will water uptake increase, but with the water come the nutrients in your soil, making sure your plants are getting all those beneficial nutrients you’ve spent so much time and effort putting in your soil in the first place!
But, you may ask yourself, “how does it work”? Well, basically Yucca is a surfactant. This means Yucca changes the surface tension of the water, making it so the plant can absorb it more easily. You can see the surface tension effect by pouring milk into a plate, dropping a drop of food coloring in, and dipping a dish-soap-soaked-Q Tip into it.

It’s actually pretty fun . . . lol! Yucca extract also contains something called “saponin”. Saponins are a component which increase water absorption, but which can also inhibit microbes and fungi. Now – please keep in mind Yucca Extract most likely will not keep away all the pests in your garden. But it can help your plants build up their own natural resistance, which is great!
Our Yucca Extract can be used as a foliar application, or hydroponically. Yucca Extract starts at $12.95 for a pound.

Yucca Extract

Yucca Extract

Best crops to plant late in the summer!

So, you’ve been slacking. It happens! If you haven’t been able to get a garden planted, you might think you’ve missed your window. This is soooooooooooo not true! There are several crops which do well in the late summer, and have a short time frame before you see fruit.
For example: Radishes, basil, mustard greens, and spinach take as little as one month to mature and can survive a light frost. Lettuce, swiss chard, kale, and collard greens all take about 40 days, and can withstand temperatures in the 20s. Also, you can plant garlic to harvest next summer. It does great over the winter.   Beets and cabbage can take two months to mature, but they can also withstand temperatures in the 20s.

Collard Greens

If you live in a climate which cools significantly over winter, you will want to stay away from crops which need steady temperatures and/or warm days and nights, obviously. Here in Idaho, we have 50-degree temperature variations in the fall, so it’s not a great idea to plant something which is going to struggle with that. One great resource is this website, which will help you determine your hardiness zone and which plants do well within it.

Kelpification at it’s finest . . . continuation of the benefits of Kelp

• POSTED ON AUGUST 22, 2013
• BY LADY BRITT
• IN BLOG
• { EDIT }

Still not sure if Kelp really works? Well . . . there are some real benefits to Kelpification.

Heh. Sorry. Couldn’t help it. Anyway. . . . So we have proof! Not just a fancy word! We had a pretty good windstorm here last night, and we got home to find our poor peppers looking like this . . .

  

That poor plant was just about ready to die. We do have some pretty awful wind here. But then, we decided to help it out and add some kelp. We did, and when we woke up . . . Kelpification!!!

This guy was so happy! His leaves were perky again, and we are so glad! Just to remind all of you, Kelp has some crazy benefits – over 60 different nutrients for your plants, it’s organic, and look at the results! So trust us, it really works! All we did was add kelp, and literally overnight we saw this difference. You can order your own kelp here.

KELP KELP AND HUMIC BLEND

Organic Mechanic answers your questions!

That’s right folks! Our very own Organic Mechanic is going to answer YOUR questions!!! All you need to do is . . . ask them!!! We have so many videos on our YouTube channel . . . did you know we have a YouTube channel!? Well we sure do!!!

Check out our YouTube channel here. You can view some of the questions we’ve already answered:

 How do I strengthen the roots of my plants?

How to create a strong root system in your plants with Mycorrhizae and Inoculants.

How do I mix the Kelp to make fertilizer?

How to make Kelp fertilizer with Kelp4Less.com

 So what questions do you folks want to see answered in a video? Let us know!!!

Meal Fertilizers - what good are they?

You may have seen them. You may have even cringed when you saw them (blood meal – really?). But what arethey? Well, we have 7 types of Meal fertilizers, and they are all beneficial to your garden.

So let’s break them down:

Alfalfa Meal

Alfalfa Meal is a great source of trace elements. It’s an awesome mulch – earthworms love it, as do roses. You can use it as mulch during the planting and growing stages of your plant’s life. Alfalfa meal has a wonderful nitrogen-to-carbon ratio, which is awesome for your compost.

Blood Meal

Blood Meal is great because it slowly, naturally, releases nitrogen plus plenty of extra trace minerals. It will also help keep rabbits and other unwanted animals away from your garden.

Cottonseed Meal

Cottonseed Meal is useful in a low-pH soil with low-pH requiring plants. It’s reputed to be great for roses, azaleas, rhododendrons, and potatoes.

Crab Meal

Crab Meal is used to encourage hardy root growth, and can be used in a watering program or just applied dry. Crab meal has the highest calcium rating available in organic fertilizers, and this is great for all plants. Calcium helps develop cell walls and root tips. Obviously – very necessary.

Feather Meal

Feather Meal is a good source of protein. It also uses a slow release (about 6-9 months) of nitrogen, which is useful in such plants as corn, leafy greens, trees, shrubs, and plenty of other veggies.

Fish Bone Meal

Fish Bone Meal is infused with seven different strains of beneficial soil microbes and is high in trace elements. It’s an excellent organic source of Calcium and Phosphorus. Fish Bone meal benefits plants in all stages of their life cycles, and is especially beneficial for roots, buds, and blooms.

Kelp Meal

Kelp Meal has innumerable benefits. In fact, I wrote a blog post just about the benefits of Kelp. You can check it out here. But for continuity’s sake – here are the benefits of kelp. Kelp contains over 70 different vitamins and minerals, and – wonderfully – won’t burn your plants if you use it at full strength. Kelp meal will gently feed almost any plant.

So there you have it. There are so many different ways to use Meal supplements. Call us if you have any questions!

ALFALFA MEAL BLOOD MEAL COTTONSEED MEAL

CRAB MEAL FEATHER MEAL

FISH BONE MEAL KELP MEAL

Community Gardens . . . a seriously cool project

• POSTED ON AUGUST 15, 2013
• BY LADY BRITT
• IN BLOG, HEALTHY GARDEN
• { EDIT }

So what do you do if you live somewhere that you literally don’t have space to plant a garden? Like – you don’t have soil. At all. If you live in an Urban area, this might be your situation.

So where, exactly, are you supposed to put plants? There are only so many places you can put a pot in your apartment, for crying out loud!!! Well, entrèe the community garden.

What is a community garden? Well, it’s basically a single piece of land gardened collectively by a group of people. You usually see them in more urban areas, because in a more rural area, people just garden their own land. There are some massive benefits to community gardens, above and beyond fresh produce (which is a huge benefit if the garden happens to be in a low-income area). Fresh produce is usually expensive for those on a budget, so it’s nice to be able to grow your own food. Not to mention we know how much more nutritious food is when it’s home-grown.

Community gardens also foster a sense of . . . well . . . community. In a world where people are more and more distant in person and more involved online, this is a pretty valuable trait all on its’ own. There are some really cool community gardens around the country, one of which is Growing Power.Will Allen, author of “The Good Food Revolution”, started Growing Power in 1993 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He offers teens a chance to work to grow their own food in an urban area, an area where many kids don’t even know what a tomato is supposed to taste like, if you can imagine that. Their website (linked above) is a wealth of information, and very cool to check out.

There are also grants to help you get started and to maintain a community garden if you are interested. Here is a link I found while perusing the vast internet: http://growingsafergardens.com/grants/. Some pretty great information, including links to get you applications on some of them.

So, if you don’t have the ability to grow a garden in your yard (because you don’t have one), you should check out your local community garden, if there is one. If there isn’t, start one!!!

Starter Packs - Featured Products - Grow Starter Packs

So we’re going to take a look at why each of the products in our Starter Packs are worth your time. We’ll start out with our Grow Starter Packs, and then we’ll work our way down the list, focusing on Bloom Starter Packs, Soluble Starter Packs, Soil Amendment Starter Packs, Foliar Spray Starter Packs, Compost Tea Starter Packs, and the Organic Starter Packs.

So. We are so excited to get these Starter Packs together for you folks! This is going to be such an effective, easy way for you to get the right nutrients without having to formulate them yourselves! Of course, you can always custom-order, just like normal.

The Grow Starter Packs are going to include the following key nutrients to boost  your plants’ grow cycle:Calcium and Magnesium, Kelp, Humic-, Amino-, and Fulvic Acids, as well as Silica!

Why are we combining all these products into one? Well, let’s break down what is going to be in here and what benefits each brings to the table:

Calcium and Magnesium:

Calcium and Magnesium are essential to your plants’ health. Your plants utilize Calcium for cell wall development and growth. They use Magnesium for photosynthesis, to carry Phosphorus, to synthesize sugars, and to control nutrient uptake.

Kelp, Humic Acid, Fulvic Acid, and Amino Acids

Kelp is amazing stuff. It contains more than 60 nutrients to help stimulate plant growth naturally. We have a blog post which will tell you all about the benefits of Kelp here.

Humic Acid improves your plants’ immunity, metabolism, root development, and improves the supply of nutritional elements.

Fulvic Acid is a powerful organic electrolyte, enhances cell division and elongation (beneficial as it increases root growth, which increases the plant’s ability to withstand drought), as a foliar spray increases the plant’s oxygen uptake capacity, also improves the nutrient uptakes, enhances photosynthesis, dissolves silica (also included in this bundle) which increases the plants’ ability to uptake silica. On top of all this, Fulvic acid stimulates the plants’ immune system. Whew!

Amino Acids are effective chelating agents, and activate phytohormones. Amino acids increase the growth and vitality of your plants, and are highly soluble.

Silica:

Silica is enormously beneficial in hydroponic settings (although it’s not only useful there, we’ll highlight its’ use in hydroponics because it’s just so amazing). Silica help to thicken leaf cuticles, which reduces powdery mildew (blog post on PM here), fungus, and insects by making it more difficult to penetrate the leaf surface and cause harm to the plant. It offers protection from heat and drought stressors, promotes better harvesting of light (which increases growth), strengthens stems, thickens cell walls on fruits and flowers, and triggers natural defense mechanisms within the plant.

So, as you can see, there are some really good things to come. And don’t worry – we’ll make it through all our Starter Packs, so you can see just how beneficial they really are going to be!