Brummet's Conscious Blog

Tips for Chemical-Free Gardening This time of year, gardeners are re-evaluating the season they had, talking about what worked or didn't work and the problems they had with their online groups and social networks. With this in mind we feel it is important to look at how we intend to garden next year. Every year, thousand of chemicals are poured into the environment and millions of gallons of water are needlessly wasted. How? By growing plants. Sure, most of this is done by large agricultural producers, but some of it is still done in personal gardens. And that means that you can make a difference by changing your gardening practices. There are many agricultural producers who have done it, and you can use the same tricks to help your own garden, and the planet. Pick appropriate plants. Not all plants are appropriate for the area you live in. While you might be able to control the temperature, humidity, and rain conditions inside your house, you cannot do it out in the garden. ...

-- Brummet's In the Media --   http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ladytalklive/2014/02/04/lilly-brummet-author-and-expert-on-bio-dynamic-gardening Drop by the link (above) to find today's interview on the Lady Talk Live radio show. The 3 hosts, Kimmie, Lorne and Nasima (sp?) asked me questions about zero waste, how gardening plays a role in zero waste... and we focused mainly on biodynamic gardening techniques. We touched on a lot of aspects from ancient gardening, moon gardening, amendments like green sand, kelp meal, compost and glacial rock dust, as well as organic garden applications of diatemacious earth and neem oil. We also covered (briefly) the first r's of zero waste (rethink, reconsider, rent, repair and refuse) but didn't have time to talk about the others (reduce, repurpose, recycle, rot). The hosts asked some fantastic questions and of course I could have talked all day about these topics! lol I had a wonderful time there and I hope you'll check it out....

-- Quote of the Day --  "Perfection is achieved,  not when there is nothing more to add,  but when there is nothing left to take away.” ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry -- Sunday Gardening, Conscious Discussions Talk Radio --    Sunday Gardening episodes air every 2-3 weeks from March - October annually featuring topics like bio-dynamic, sustainable, organic gardening and landscaping using square foot, inter-planting and succession crop methods, permaculture and layering in landscaping practices. Today's topic: June Garden activities We always welcome questions from gardeners around the world – if you are having problems or questions pertaining to the topic of the day simply call in or drop in the live chat room. If your question is outside of the topic of the day, just send your question our way via www.brummet.ca   and we will make sure to cover it in an upcoming segment.   ...

  -- Quote of the Day --    “The most powerful moral influence is example.” ~ Huston Smith     -- Conscious Discussions Talk Radio --  * Airs live @ 10-11 AM (Pacifc)  - all episodes are archived indefinitely within moments after they air live, and are available for you to listen to later on at any time of day.   Sign up via itunes for the Conscious Discussions Radio show: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id262138144   Sunday Gardening episode today! Learn about organic waste, composting, resources to check out and more! Sunday Gardening episodes air every 2-3 weeks from March-October annually; feel free to scroll through the archives to find previous episodes in this genre. You can find the hosts @: http://brummet.ca...

-- Conscious Discussions Talk Radio Show --  Sign up via itunes for the Conscious Discussions Radio show: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id262138144   Sunday Gardening episodes have been airing since 2008 – and this is our way of sharing information about bio-dynamic, sustainable, organic gardening and landscaping using square foot, inter-planting and succession crop methods. This includes perma-culture and layering in landscaping practices. We always welcome questions from gardeners around the world – if you are having problems or questions pertaining to the topic of the day simply call in or drop in the live chat room. If your question is outside of the topic of the day, just send your question our way via ldbrummet(at)yahoo(dot)com and we will make sure to cover it in an upcoming segment.  Visit us at: www.brummet.ca  Today we'll cover information on how to bring houseplants outside, how to take softwood cuttings and common chore...

-- Quote of the Day -- “ Life is full of beauty.  Notice it.  Notice the bumblebee,  the small child, and smiling faces.  Smell the rain,  and feel the wind.  Live your life to the fullest potential,  and fight for your dreams .” ~ Ashley Smith -- Conscious Discussions Talk Radio --  Sunday Gardening episodes air every 2-3 weeks during the typical gardening season for zone 5 every year, (from March-Sept)... offering information on bio-dynamic, organic, sustainable gardening - answering listener questions - dealing with common issues, pests and diseases - learning succession and square-foot techniques... and seasonal chores. Today is the first episode for this year - and will offer information on the realm of composting. Access the live (10-11 AM Pacific) show and drop in the live chat room ...or listen to the archived show later on at your convenience: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/consc...

-- Quote of the Day -- “…Microclimates are an area of your yard that may be cooler or warmer than other areas of the yard. …pay attention to what grows – Do you have weeds or flowers that come up sooner in the spring, or die down sooner, than other areas of your yard? A way to confirm this is to take a soil thermometer and …take the temperature and then another area, and take the temperature there – and all around the yard.  – Succession Crops is planting a crop right after another crop in order to keep the harvest going. …it allows you to get more out of your land.”  ~ Sheri Ann Richerson Today's quote originates from the Sunday Gardening's Aug 14th episode featuring special guest, Sheri Ann Richerson. * Access the full discussion via the hyper-linked show title (above) -- Conscious Living Event -- Oct 5 - 7 Recycling Council of Alberta - 2001 Waste Reduction Conference Location: Edmonton, Alberta Info : http://Recycle.ab.ca ...

-- Quote of the Day -- “… I like to water in the morning, because the water has a chance to soak in the soil, and if the leaves or stems get wet – they will have a chance to dry off before the cool of evening sets in. …Succession crops involves planting the same crop a week or two apart to allow for succession harvest – it allows you to extend the garden, grow more. …and you have more ability to go with the seasons. …It is just a great way for gardeners to harvest what they can eat that week, without being overwhelmed. ..and it is really good if you are doing open-pollinated plants and  you want to save the seed because you can stagger the crops so that they flower at different times – keeping the seed pure .”  ~ Sheri Ann Richerson Today's quote originates from the May 8th Sunday Gardening episode featuring Sheri Ann Richerson as our special guest. -- Reusing Plastics -- An assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at ...

-- Quote of the Day -- “… You can see all different kinds of bees with every flush of flowers (throughout the year). Bees see in UV – so red is not the most popular color, blue, orange, yellow, and white are the hot colors if you are a bee. …What we can do …in our own little small lots… like people with an apartment with only one flowering basket… you can make ensure that you have a range of different plants that flower at different times, having hummingbird feeders… there are many different things we can do. …Bees will pollinate on rooftop gardens, which are more than 20 feet in the air, and are becoming more popular. (Gardeners can) ensure there is adequate pollen from February to early November, plan for pollinators by giving them a strip of undisturbed south-facing sandy-silty soil… or leave a snag (old log) in the landscaping for them to nest in, and stop using pesticides .” ~ Nathalie Chambers Today's quote originates from the May 1st Sunday Garden epis...

 -- Chatter -- Well it is Sunday - and it seems even the dogs are exhausted. Neither of them wanted to get up this morning and after eating breakfast they are fast asleep at my feet in the office. Their little grunts and twitches and warm breath on my ankles is making me want to lay down with them for a good solid Sunday morning nap! lol - However duty calls... -- Conscious Discussions Talk Radio -- Today I've got a special episode of the Sunday Gardening segment for the Conscious Discussions Talk Radio show. Join in live and drop in the chat room, where you can ask questions, present gardening issues or techniques you use, and network with others. Or access the archive show later on at your convenience. Today, listeners will learn about pesticides, herbicides, etc and also beneficial insects. Live @ 10-11 AM Pacific: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/consciousdiscussions/2011/07/03/sunday-gardening Find Dave and Lillian Brummet , ...

 -- Quote of the Day -- " Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves ." ~ John Muir -- Conscious Discussions Talk Radio -- Sunday Gardening segment today covering: Nutrition, wall gardens, volunteering, community gardens ...  Join in the chat room if you can while listening live at 10-11 AM Pacific, or access the archived episode at your convenience:   http://www.blogtalkradio.com/consciousdiscussions/2011/06/05/sunday-gardening-1 -- Conscious Living Event -- June 5-11… I just learned through the local West Kootenay Advertiser Newspaper that the National Commuter Challenge Week is happening throughout the Kootenays. Columbia Basin Trust ( www.cbt.org ) and Osprey Community Foundation ( www. ospreycommunityfoundation .ca ) are helping to make this possible. The p...

-- Quote of the Day -- “ I wondered how many more people are in jobs that they don’t like but they are staying there for all the wrong reasons. Unfortunately, most of us live like we are never going to die. …I want to help empower people to live now, shine their light strongly now because ‘later’ may never come. …Follow your passion and you’ll find that the universe will conspire to help you get there .” ~ Susan Alexander-Heaton Today's quote originates from the Conscious Discussions Talk Radio show interview that aired back on March 24th, titled: Finding Your Bliss -- Chatter -- Apologies to our readers here on this blog - I couldn't sign in to this site for some reason yesterday, though I tried several times throughout the day. So here I am, back in action! I'm under a big crunch right now in the office as this is the time frame for me to get all the outlines for the upcoming month completed and scheduled to air on the Conscious Discussions Radio show. I...

-- Quote of the Day -- " There is pleasure in the pathless woods, there is rapture in the lonely shore, there is society where non intrudes, by the deep sea and music in its roar; I love not Man the less, but Nature more ."  ~ George Gordon Byron -- Conscious Living Event -- May 8 - 11 Waste - The Social Context 2011 Location: Edmonton, AB - Canada Info: www.ewmce.com -- Conscious  Discussions Radio -- Sheri Ann Richerson is our guest of the day – She is the co-author of a fantastic gardening guide book titled: Complete Idiot’s Guide to Year-Round Gardening and several other books including 101 Organic Gardening Tips , 101 English Gardening Tips and numerous other published books.  Her work with the Plant-A-Row For the Hungry and the National Wildlife Federation , among other organizations, are certainly impressive and inspiring. We’ll learn about all of this today – and most of all we’ll discover some great gardening tips!  Live @ 10 - 11 AM (pacific) ...