Comments on: The Green Way to Lose a Lawn

By: Bonnie Manion

Bonnie Manion — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:08:52 +0000

LeeAnn, I’ve never heard of having problems with composting and termites. An active compost is around 130F degrees, and kills seeds, and most insects. A compost bin should be away from your home in a convenient spot in your yard. Termites shouldn’t be attracted to newspaper, and if you have wood pieces large enough to attract termites, they are not small enough for compost piles and to break down. I use pine shavings, bedding from my chickens, and have never had problems with termites. My suggestion it to stay on top of a regular termite program for your home and garage, and begin composting or creating a flower bed by the composting method. I don’t think you will have a problem. Thanks for your great comment….VintageGardenGal

By: LeeAnn

LeeAnn — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:01:57 +0000

I showed hubby the article. He’s concerned about termites. Termites love wood and thus newspaper in his mind. Does anyone have thoughts on this? We have battled termites in the recent past.

By: Bonnie Manion

Bonnie Manion — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 20:18:05 +0000

Maddienne, if you go to the left side bar on my home page under categories, look for “trees” category. My talk was a combination of two of my posts under “trees”, The Art of Espalier Fruit Trees, and How To Fan Espalier a Tree. Both of those posts have detailed information for you.Thanks for your wonderful comment…VintageGardenGal.

By: maddienme

maddienme — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:04:59 +0000

I am interested in espalier. do you have a printed copy of the talk to gave to the nursery on the basics of espalier?

By: Bonnie Manion

Bonnie Manion — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:57:22 +0000

Amy, yes you’re right, it doesn’t have to be pristine lawn. Active composting done right, should kill any seeds, too…..Thanks for sharing…VintageGardenGal

By: Bonnie Manion

Bonnie Manion — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:55:45 +0000

Diane, thanks for sharing your info, I’ll look for your article and recommended book. I just love this concept, it is so simple and easy. Thanks for your great comment…VintageGardenGal

By: Diane

Diane — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:18:43 +0000

Great minds! We just posted a newsletter article about sheet mulching too – http://yardfairy.com/sheet-mulching.html
and I’m reading a book by Toby Hemenway called ‘Gaia’s Garden’ and he has a really good chapter all about this. I guess the time is ripe for us all to make these changes. Great post.

By: Amy blogs @ River Rock Cottage

Amy blogs @ River Rock Cottage — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:50:34 +0000

Last summer I read Patricia Lanza’s book Lasagna Gardening. She explains this method in easy to understand terms. If I HAD a bunch of grass this would be the way to go to convert over to a garden bed. However, I think this should work great even in areas that are just a big “weedy” and what I call “no man’s land” (my “back 40″). I have a pile of newspapers ready to go!