As a gardener, there is no doubt that you want your garden soil to be fertile. But instead of buying fertilizers to add to your soil, you should focus on how to maximize the diversity, population and health of your soil organisms.

Some practices are harmful to the soil, such as monoculture, harsh chemicals and excessive tillage.

The alternative to these harmful practices is to imitate natural soil ecology.

1. Keep the diversity and population density of soil organisms

Rotate crops from different families in succeeding seasons. Use different forms of organic materials, such as composts, mulches, cover crops, etc.

2. Use source of fertility nearby

Nitrogen-fixing plants (legumes) can increase soil nitrogen for heavier-feeding crops. Use fallen leaves and crop residues to make compost or as mulch. Obtain manure from nearby farms.

3. Maintain soil structure

Plant crops in wide beds. Do not compact soil by walking on planting area. Keep soil covered with mulch or cover crop. Use a broadfork to loosen soil instead of a power tiller.

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Kidney patients have a reason to relax as Nadiad – a drowsy town lying between Ahmedabad and Vadodara, would soon have a robot piloting urology surgeries on them that will not only have superfine accuracy, but will also less than halve the post operation recovery time.
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A new study has exposed that drinking a glass of wine after a hard day’s work doesn’t make women fat, contrary to the dietary advice that alcohol consumption leads to weight gain.
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People who consume sugary drinks every day face a greater risk of diabetes and heart disease, a new US study has found.
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Stress not only hurts your brain, but also has a bad effect on teeth, claims a new study.

Boffins writing in BioMed Central’s open access journal Head & Face Medicine studied the causes of ’sleep bruxism’, gnashing teeth during the night, finding that it was especially common in those who try to cope with stress by escaping from difficult situations. Read more »

It is that time of year again. On Nov. 1st your clocks will “fall back” from day-light saving’s time to regular time. However, your internal clock may get stuck an hour ahead.

Here are a few ways to cope with the time change and get you back on track fast.

Give it a day

When the time changes, your body goes off schedule. But your internal clock has the ability to adjust itself and should get back in rhythm within a day or so.

Get out of the house

With winter approaching, nights grow longer. More dark hours make your body produce more melatonin, a hormone that is linked to depression.

Getting out of the house in the morning when the sun is out turns off melatonin production and switches on serotonin, which helps ward off the blues.

Have dinner at the same time

If you normally have dinner at six, after time change, you probably will get hungry at five at the new time. Try to hold off for an hour and still have dinner at six.

Eating triggers cortisol release which helps synchronize your body to the new time.

Source: webmd.com

Nowadays, many university applicants look at how environmentally responsible a school is before they decide whether they’d enroll.

Seirra Club ranks colleges and universities annually based on their planet-preserving efforts, including efficiency, energy, food, academics, purchasing, transportation, waste management and administration.

Many schools have taken all kinds of measures to be more eco-friendly and energy efficient.

For example, CU Boulder encourages students to use buses and bikes, and utilizes biofuels in its vehicles. Yale provides local and organic food in its dining hall. It also has a market garden that produces more than 300 varieties of fruits and veggies. Harvard is using moisture-sensing sprinklers to save water, CFLs to save electricity and solar panels to use clean renewable energy.

The first 10 universities on the honor roll of the 3rd annual ranking are:

1. University of Colorado at Boulder

2. University of Washington at Seattle

3. Middlebury College

4. University of Vermont

5. College of the Atlantic

6. Evergreen State College

7. University of California at Santa Cruz

8. University of California at Berkeley

9. University of California at Los Angeles

10. Oberlin College

To see the whole list and read more about the green steps the schools are taking, go to http://sierraclub.org/sierra/200909/coolschools/default.aspx

1000 Green Steps have written an article about 3 Green Steps at Home, 3G Steps to a Green Birthday, and even about a Green House. Now let 1000 Green Steps add some more tips for moms to continue their green steps in their homes.

Plant a Sun-Flower Garden

It’s good to plant flowers and other plants to keep those green steps in your mind. Visit the article 1000 Green Steps had written about how to Plant a Sun-Flower Garden, because unlike any other plants, this Sun-Flower is easy to keep.

Be Wise in Watering Plants

I know a lot of you moms LOVE the idea to water our flowers. However 1000 Green Steps have a real solution to save our globe and your water bills while you are watering your garden. Check out our article Green Steps in Watering Plants.

Switch Your Light Bulbs into CFL’s

Do you know that if American homes replaced just 1 of their lamp into CFL (Compact Fluorescent Light) Bulb, we would save more than $600 million in annual energy cost? It’s easy and it’s not expensive. Read more info at 1000 Green Steps’ Article Use CFL.

Happy Green Living!