Posted by Sean Kennedy on Wed, Nov 25, 2009 @ 08:47 AM
Normally I use this space to promote the benefits of our product and services or provide tips for mulching, planting, water conservation and other environmentally sustainable projects. Today I just want to give a "shout out" to everyone involved in making our global community the best it can be.
In the US the Holiday season is here and the social media is ripe with "Black Friday Boycotts" "SEO" techniques to get your paged ranked #1, "MLM" concepts for you to get rich and just about anything imaginable depending on who or what you follow. I guess the irony here is that next week I will be up to the old tricks of the trade of trying to keep my subscribers informed and improving my Google ranking, but today I just want to thank the folks that made this all possible.
Before anyone, I want to thank our armed forces. Their sacrifice to protect our way of life so I can do what I do is remembered on a daily basis, but rarely do I thank them. For you, I give thanks!
My wife, family and friends always come first. They support me every way imaginable and I am fortuante for such a great support system. Having this pillar to lean on makes coping with the unknown bearable. For you, I give thanks.
The team I work with, who ultimately fall in the friends category, and could be considered family since we all spend so much time together, are tremendous group who share in providing excellence. Anthony and Antonio are always ready to assist with my projects as I try to provide any and all support they need in the field. Our President and CEO, Bob Russo, has empowered us all to make decisions and move his vision forward to create growth, quality and provide our patrons with every tool necessary for thier landscape projects. For you, I give thanks.
The associates of Pike Family Nurseries should get a great big thanks too. I am very fortunate to have their knowledge and ideas to bring our product to the masses. They have provided so many great ideas on ensuring the EnviroColor® brand is one that stands for integrity and sustainability. We are proud that Pike is our launching pad into the retail arena and are looking forward to being in all of there stores in 2010! For you I give thanks.
Finally, all the customers who have taken the leap and tried EnviroColor®, I give many thanks. Especially those of you who take the time to send me photographs and tell me your success stories. Keep them coming! For you I give thanks.
Without any of the above mentioned individuals this blog and all the others wouldn't have the same meaning. Thanks again. When I gorge myself and sit down to watch my Green Bay Packers beat the Detroit Lions tomorrow I will be thinking of and thanking you all.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Posted by Sean Kennedy on Wed, Nov 18, 2009 @ 10:26 AM
Fall is the time everyone recommends mulching your garden beds. Garden calendars, magazine articles, websites, and blogs (like this one) all tout the benefits of mulching and the advantages of doing it in the fall.
Mulching in fall -
- adds organic matter to the soil to lighten and enrich it
- prevents erosion by winter rains
- helps keep roots from freezing
- warms soil for earlier spring planting
- prevents weed seedlings from getting started
So, you're sold. Mulching is good. But, what do you use - exactly? There are quite a number of bags in the nursery or garden center to choose from.
A mulch can be any type of organic material - bark dust, bark nuggets, shredded bark, compost, compost/bark blends, pine needles, fallen leaves, straw, and so on. There isn't really one "right" choice.
Fallen leaves are best chopped up before being used either in the garden or in the compost pile. Straw may not break down fully over the winter season, but it is a great garden cover and can be tilled into the soil come spring.
If you desire color for your landscaped beds EnviroColor is an inexpensive and safe way to top spray the color you desire. We know color is a choice or opinion and is not for every gardener. We are proud that our product meets the Mulch and Soil Council (MSC) Colorants Sub-Committee meet the requirements.
EnviroColor recently went the so called "six-pack" test for toxicology. The test is commonly used to check the toxicity of things like pesticides and insecticides and is used to ensure that products are labeled properly to guide consumers use of potentially toxic products. Six test are performed, checking the material on:
- Acute oral toxicity
- Acute dermal toxicity
- Acute inhalation toxicity
- Eye irritation
- Dermal irritation
- Skin irritation
Depending on the toxicity discovered in each test, different labeling must be on the packages containing the product.
Posted by Sean Kennedy on Thu, Nov 12, 2009 @ 09:17 AM
With the recent flooding here the Metro Atlanta area some may consider this post unnecessary. Remember that our water is a finite resource and as individuals we need to take the steps to ensure future generations have the privilege we have enjoyed. I am stealing ideas from Southern California landscapers who are faced with difficult design decisions due to the lack of water available, plus several have joined the 20 Gallon Challenge and have provided great tips plus 50 of the best plants for drought conditions.
Since I like to talk about mulch these are my concepts on why mulch is good for your landscaping beds and a few myths I would like to dispel.
Mulching is one of the simplest ways to enhance your garden. It insulates the soil, protects it from erosion, conserves moisture, prevents weed growth, reduces soil compaction from heavy rain, provides a beautiful finishing touch to your garden, and may even improve soil quality. Mulching, or top dress, refers to covering the bare ground in your garden by spreading an organic material, or some sort of rock. Many materials have been tried and proven effective as mulches: compost, animal manures, ground bark, leaves, sawdust, straw, processed by-products (grape and apple pumice), lawn clippings, and old newspapers. Most medium and high water-use plants will benefit from a two-inch protective layer of organic mulch on the soil surface above the root area. Mulch will moderate soil temperature (keep soil cool), reduce water evaporation between watering, and reduce undesirable weeds. For plants that live in dry climates, substitute crushed rock as a cover for bare ground. It also reduces evaporation and weeds.
Mulch Myths
Myth No. 1: Mulch provides a permanent barrier to weeds. While mulch reduces the number of weeds, some pesky nuisances may still manage to grow through the mulch, or on top of it. Weeds will appear in new landscapes for the first year or two, even with mulch, because of the abundance of weed seeds in the soil. However, once the weeds are brought under control, fewer will follow. Organic mulch needs to be replenished when decomposed to less than 1 inch thick.
Myth No. 2: Mulch placed against your house will attract termites. In reality, it's moisture, not mulch, which attracts termites. So any landscaping, including shrubs, can lure the unwanted critters. Irrigation systems up against the house also create a termite-conducive environment. Even gravel or rocks around the base of a house can hold in the moisture attractive to termites.
Myth No. 3: There's no wrong way to mulch. When mulching, keep the bark or rock one to two inches away from stems. Mulch creates a warm and humid environment that is perfect for the establishment of various fungi that can injure or kill the plants. Also, avoid covering the crown of dormant perennials
Posted by Sean Kennedy on Wed, Nov 04, 2009 @ 11:52 AM
What do we know about Biofuels? What I have learned in the past couple of weeks is that the food based ethanols from corn and soybeans work, but there is growing concern on how this can impact food supply and prices. In Europe and China there are major developments in turning wood into the next biofuel. He in Georgia at UGA a team of engineers has developed a new biofuel and unlike previous fuels derived from wood, the new and still unnamed fuel can be blended with biodiesel and petroleum diesel to power conventional engines.
"The exciting thing about our method is that it is very easy to do," said Tom Adams, director of the UGA Faculty of Engineering outreach service. "We expect to reduce the price of producing fuels from biomass dramatically with this technique."
Since this is very embryonic in its development there are several tests to effectively evaluate its long term impact on engines, its emissions characteristics and the best way to transport and store it. The research team is especially optimistic about the fuels impact on the environment.
Adams pointed out that the new biofuel also offers environmental benefits. The fuel is nearly carbon neutral, meaning that it does not significantly increase heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as long as new trees are planted to replace the ones used to create the fuel.
The researchers have also set up test plots in Tifton, Ga., to explore whether the charcoal that is produced when the fuel is made can be used as a fertilizer. Adams said that if the economics work for the charcoal fertilizer, the biofuel would actually be carbon negative.
"You're taking carbon out of the atmosphere when you grow a plant, and if you don't use all of that carbon and return some of it to the soil in an inert form, you're actually decreasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere," Adams explained. "We're optimistic because in most types of soil, carbon char has very beneficial effects on the ecology of the soil, its productivity and its ability to maintain fertility."
So it seems that wood is the next generation of biofuel. This is important to our industry simply because of the impact it could have on the cost of wood mulch. This is a great example of how EnviroColor ® top spray is prepared to help the consumer keep the look they desire at their respective properties while continuing to strive for an environmentally sustainable solution to the incoming price increase of wood mulch.