Homemade Bug Remedies

If it comes to gardening you can face the evil and the mean bug in every shape and color. And within a blink, your flowers and shrubs are only half their size and the beauty for this flowering season is gone.

I always got very angry as soon as i saw bugs sucking on my beautiful roses and i killed them in an instant with very aggressive bug killer. Yeah, get this, bug!

Not so this year and never again. Just imagine the stuff you breath in while you are happily spraying. Ever wondered why people get more and more allergies? There lies the answer.

Well anyway, yesterday, while i was strolling through my lovely garden, here they where: Green mean bug on my huge rose bush, red ones on my black eyes Susan's, white ones on my annuals. I got angry...and decided, that poison is not the answer for us any longer. I went in my kitchen and after an hour of cooking garlic i started spraying . Get that, stinky bug!

The recipe is easy, just chop a dozen garlic gloves, cook them, strain and pour in a sprayer.

Another one (and very effective): Put a cup of chili peppers such as jalapenos in a blender or food processor Add four cups of water, and puree the mixture. Then strain the stuff and pour it into a sprayer. You've got a non selective spray, so use it to target only the harmful insects. Be extremely careful to not get this spray in your eyes or even on your skin.

Another thing you could do is hand picking, like with Japanese Beetles. For the last 7 years we have the same fight. They can chop your garden down in no time. There are traps available and in some gardens, if the wind is right, they might work. Didn't do it for us, unfortunately. Because i am going through my garden every day, i know every leave that grew that day, i just pick them by hand. Just put on some rubber gloves and have fun attacking them :) . It works for us very good, our Hibiscus are still in full Bloom by the end of the summer!

Happy bug hunt!

Tested Seventh Generation products

I changed a lot in my household. If it comes to cleaning, i only use baking soda and vinegar. There are still things i have to change, like the detergent for the dish washer. So i tried the Seventh generation brand i found now at Shaws markets. I bought it, used only half what i use usually and i have to say, my dishes are clean. I find now peace that my dishes are not cleaned with toxic detergent.
Here is there website with coupons:
http://www.seventhgeneration.com/coupons

Another thing i found is trash bags that are made out of 70% recycled plastic. The brand is Earth Sense . Yes they are not the cheap brand, but for me its worth it.
There are many "earth friendly" products in the cleaning isle. But don't be fooled by brands like Lysol. They want to "hop on the organic wagon" . Go with products that used recycled content or with the USDA organic label.
Happy green shopping!

The german version of a rhubarb cake

Well, it is rhubarb season and my cake is always a hit, its easy to make and super yummy. I even made it for Nicky with almond flour and honey and he is addicted to it now :o)

2/3 cup soft butter
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 package vanilla sugar (Shaw's has it, if not just use a few drops vanilla extract)
6 eggs
1 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
rhubarb
lemon juice about 1 tsp.

Mix butter and about 1/2 cup from the sugar and the vanilla sugar. Add three egg yolks one after the other, then add the 3 eggs. Keep the egg whites, you need them for the topping later. Mix flour and Baking powder first and add it slowly to the butter mix. Oil a spring form and preheat oven to 350 Degrees. Wash and cut the rhubarb in inch long pieces.
Now put the dough first in the spring form and add then the rhubarb. The original recipe says just cover the dough, my husband loves to have the double from the rhubarb, the cake gets a little more soaked. However you like it.


Bake for 35 minutes. In the meantime take the 3 egg whites and beat them till they are completely stiff. Add the rest of the sugar and the lemon juice. Avoid kids around you at this moment or they eat that part of the cake completely :)
After the 35 minutes pour the egg whites over the cake and bake another 30 minutes or until the topping is brown.

Tastes better when cooled down and out of the fridge.
Enjoy!

Going organic in your garden

Gardening season has just begun - here are some hints and tips you easily can follow even without being a big gardening person:

• Fertilizer - do you really have to? That's the question i am asking my husband - and the answer is no - you don't. Just the thought that my kids are running right after fertilizing barefoot in the grass and rolling in it makes me sick. You also bring it in the house and lets face it - its poison for you, your kids, for your allergic nose.
• Sprinkler - most of the time it is not necessary to sprinkle the lawn. most of them are over watered anyway. Safe some money and water!
• Plant some shady trees and shrubs around the house - safes big on A/C.
• Use the cut from the lawn (but only if you didn't fertilize ;o) )under mulch or in your vegetable garden. I did this last year in my vegetable bed and the weeds are so much more under control. And it brings in some very good worms, which are so important for healthy soil.
• Plant bee friendly flowers: With the bees dying mysteriously we want to make there life easy and keep that honey coming, here are some flowers, that are easy to take care of: Alyssum, Ornamental Strawberry, Marigold, Zinnia, Bottlebrush, Eucalyptus Ficifolia "Red Flowering Eucalyptus", Native Eucalyptus, Wild Mustard, Flowering Plum, Flowering Pear, Sage Brush, Toyon, Escallonia, Mexican Sage or Salvia leucantha, Cotoneaster, Orange tree, Lime Tree, Lantana, Ceanothus, Hibiscus, Albizia Julibrissin "Silk Tree", to name just a few.
• Start a compost and you will have you "homemade" food for flowers and vegetables.
• Use cows or horse manure. Roses grow crazy with horse manure. Also crumbled eggshells and coffee grind mixed in Roses soil are a great fertilizer.

Happy spring to all!

The new house in germany

I know this posting will be hard for my best friend here in Attleboro (Hi Jen!), but i thought to post some pictures about our new house in Germany. My father was driving by the other day and i asked him to take some pictures. I need to make myself and my family virtually comfortable and want to imagine how we live there.

Its a small town northern from Frankfurt. Just 3000 people live there, very cosy. It has a bakery, a butcher, a little grocery market, an elementary school and, this is very important, a soccer club :) . The street where we live has other family homes, so Philip will have many friends to play with. The school where he goes is just across the street. Unfortunately Nicky's ride to his school in Wetzlar is at least half an hour.

We live in middle of nowhere, the end of our street ends in the fields and the forest. I imagine myself running there every morning (Yes Paul!) and hopefully convince my husband to do the running with me.

I haven't seen the house, Wolfgang visited in march and i think he did a fine job to find the right house for us.

Well, see for yourself. Nobody lives there right now, which means nobody mows the lawn :)

Special Olympics - What a special day for us!

Hi, i haven't writen a few days. It's been just a busy week. Today Nicky's School attended the 20th Annual Special Olympics here in Attleboro. What an emotional day, we are so proud of him. With over 500 Athletes it was packed on the Attleboro High school Football fields. It started with a parade, where police departments from different towns came with their cars and motorcycles. What a sight. While Philip and Wolfgang watched the parade, Nicky and his class got ready for walking into the stadium. Everybody cheered! I felt that Nicky was very proud of himself. He smiled and was very happy. He was not bothered by the sounds and people. He did very well.

A girl was singing "Somewhere over the rainbow" and that was the point where my emotions cooked over :) Two Athletes lit the Olympic fire and the games where on!

Nicky finished second place each in Softball throw and 10m assistant walking. He RUN! We got home exhausted, but with two medals. I love this country and what they do for Special People.

Enjoy the pictures!