Eco Gardeners

Roses are a beautiful addition to our outdoor gardens. Whether we use them as focal points among perennials, or as a natural drapery on a trellis, or gather different varieties together in a dramatic rose garden, having roses adds so much to our garden aesthetics. Many people shy away from bringing this magnificent garden accent because of the “high maintenance” stigma. Following is a step by step, easy, and organic rose care schedule that will help you achieve fantastic results:

Early Spring:

• Remove any die-back

• Fertilizer with an organic, slow-release Rose Plant Food. For easiest organic rose feeding, we recommend The Happy Gardener’s Drop n’ Feed Packets for Roses or The Happy Gardener’s Soil Conditioner for Roses.

Spring:

• Plant container-grown roses using equal parts compost or potting soil and coir fiber (an eco-friendly alternative for peat moss).
• Apply a fungus control to rose leaves and stems. We recommend The Happy Gardener’s Foliar Feed with Soybean. Just spray on the leaves and stems to prevent black spot, powdery mildew and rust.
• Deadhead spent blooms.

Summer:

• Water once or twice a week soaking the soil around the perimeter of the rose bush. Avoid watering the rose leaves/stems.
• Apply a monthly Foliar Feed to increase photosynthesis and resistance to disease, pests and drought. We recommend The Happy Gardener’s Outdoor Foliar Feed which will feed the plant through the leaf spores as well as control pests such as aphids, japanese beetles, spider mites.
• Deadhead spent blooms.
• For huge amounts of blooms use an organic bloom supplement. We recommend The Happy Gardener’s top-selling SeaResults Micronutrient Solution. Apply 1 tsp per gallon of water as a monthly feed.

Fall:

• Deadhead spent blooms.

Winter:

• Transplant roses. To eliminate transplant shock, apply 2 cups per 12″ height of The Happy Gardener’s SeaResults Micronutrient Solution to soil surrounding rose plant.
• Prune climbing roses.

Late Winter:

• Plant bare root roses.
• Transplant roses.
• Prune all except Chinas, Teas and Old Garden Roses.

To learn more about The Happy Gardener’s organic rose products, visit our website.

Just as everyone was already getting excited about The Happy Gardener’s Leadership Retreat June 28-29, 2008 we have more….

Lyn Conway, excellent speaker and trainer within the direct sales industry, is scheduled to be our featured speaker for the Saturday leadership session. Lyn is preparing a wonderful session customized for The Happy Gardener distributors and will focus on how you can work toward:

• becoming part of our Founding Leaders Team
• building a successful downline
• supporting a growing team of sponsored Garden Consultants
• balancing the role of leader with family and other obligations

Lyn Conway is a professional speaker/trainer/author with more than 30 years experience in the direct sales profession. Lyn offers a unique three-dimensional perspective: she achieved exceptional success as a top seller, recruiter and field leader, as a corporate executive and as the owner of her own company.

Recognized as a role-model for entrepreneurs, Lyn teaches and trains with confidence and passion. Her seminars and presentations blend sound theory and practical experience with humor. It’s obvious that she has “walked the talk.”

For any Garden Consultant with the goal of becoming a Founding Leader with The Happy Gardener, Lyn can definitely help you achieve success. I have been working with Lyn for several years as a trainer and mentor and I cannot say enough about her expertise and experience.

I am so excited that those of you attending the Leadership Retreat will have the opportunity to learn from Lyn. We are moving The Happy Gardener forward during this “green movement” and I am very much looking forward to working with you as you help grow The Happy Gardener and your individual businesses as a THG Founding Leader.

Happy Gardening!

Annette Pelliccio

Founder, THG, Inc

www.thehappygardener.info

For many of us with limited time and space, planting our flowers, veggies and herbs in containers is a great way to “grow your own,” however, containers can be limiting for the plants’ root growth and water/nutrition intake. Follow these simple tips for the best container gardening:
• Start your containers with quality soil. We recommend equal parts garden soil or compost and organic coir (an environmentally-friendly alternative to peat moss). The coir will aerate the soil/compost for optimal root growth and air circulation and retain moisture;
• Mix 1 cup soil conditioner per 12 inch container. Consider THG’s exclusive Pour n’ Feed Soil Conditioner made from certified organic, vegetarian ingredients. Safe for kids and pets, it contains a balanced blend of minerals and micronutrients;
• Cut down on your need for watering by including water retention products such as THG’s Store n’ Feed Gel or Mats;
• Provide your plants with a monthly organic plant food supplement such as THG’s SeaResults Micronutrient Solution for continuous blooms and healthy edibles.

As you grow your own organic vegetables, fruit and herbs this season, you may want to rethink your fertilizing methods. We all know that to get the best harvest plants need quality organic feedings throughout the summer, however, just because you are using organics doesn’t mean you’re using the healthiest plant foods.

Remember the 2006 recalls of organically grown spinach? “Food safety is not an organic versus conventional issue,” says Shelly Diaz, spokesperson for the Center of Disease Control. Organic farmers using animal manure as a fertilizer method need to be careful of harmful bacteria such as E.coli. This strain of bacteria is found in the lower intestines of all warm-blooded animals and the O157:H7 strain that causes the most cases of food poisoning in the U.S. comes from cow manure that comes in contact with groundwater used on crops such as spinach.

Though E.coli receives more publicity because of its severity, the CDC reports more cases of salmonella than other type of bacterial illnesses in 2005. Salmonella bacteria also live in animal waste.

The Happy Gardener’s exclusive line of Happy Naturals organic plant foods and soil conditioners do not contain any animal by-products. We use certified organic vegetable and grain based ingredients in all of our garden and lawn care products to ensure the safest and healthiest produce for you and your family.

Results from a European study suggest that organic food is more nutritious than ordinary produce. The study, the biggest in the world, showed that organic fruit and vegetables contained between 20 and 40 percent more antioxidants, which scientists believe can cut the risk of cancer and heart disease. They also had higher levels of vitamin C and beneficial minerals such as iron and zinc.
Carl Leifert, co-coordinator of the EU-funded project, said the health benefits were so striking that moving to organic food was the equivalent of eating an extra portion of fruit and vegetables every day. Other results show that:
- Organic milk has at least 50 percent more nutrients than conventional milk and vitamin E;
- Organic cheese can have up to twice as many nutrients s conventional varieties;
- Organic tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, onions and wheat have 20 to 40 percent more antioxidants than conventionally grown fruit and vegetables;
- Organic spinach and cabbage have more minerals, including iron, copper and zinc.

This study is expected to be available to the public within the next 12 months.
The Happy Gardener is here to help you grow your own organic vegetables, fruit and herbs.

The NY Times recently featured an article explaining 5 key foods that are worth spending the extra money on organic varieties.

1. Milk: “When you choose a glass of conventional milk, you are buying into a whole chemical system of agriculture,” says Dr. Greene. People who switch to organic milk typically do so because they are concerned about the antibiotics, artificial hormones and pesticides used in the commercial dairy industry.
2. Potatoes: A simple switch to organic potatoes has the potential to have a big impact because commercially-farmed potatoes are some of the most pesticide-contaminated vegetables.
3. Peanut Butter: More than 99 percent of peanut farms use conventional farming practices, including the use of fungicide to treat mold, a common problem in peanut crops.
4. Ketchup: Recent research has shown organic ketchup has about double the antioxidants of conventional ketchup.
5. Apples: Apples are also one of the most pesticide-contaminated fruits and vegetables.