Showing Mother Nature some LOVE one decision at a time.

Reduce

Plastic –For our seedlings we chose to invest in higher quality trays so we are not throwing away products after one year. Our seedlings are in compressed soil blocks or paper pots when we can, limiting the use of plastic trays, like our 6 pack trays to plants that naturally come in groups.

Chemicals – We choose natural methods and organic practices that reduce harm to people, pets, and the planet by seeking out ways of reducing pest and animal damage with companion planting, fencing, trap plants, and encouraging natural predators like ladybugs. For weeds we are digging, covering, or ignoring them instead of adding harmful chemicals to our ground water and Great Lakes.

We choose organic soils and fertilizers as much as possible. We are choosing minimal pesticides as even organic kinds can kill or deter pollinators (as well as fireflies).

Reuse

Cardboard – We are using small cardboard boxes to send seedlings home with happy customers and large cardboard boxes are snuffing out weeds and building our compost piles.

Jars – We are re-using our spaghetti and pickle jars to hold bouquets this summer for ease of getting the bouquets from the store/farm stand to their kitchen table.

Plastic Nursery Pots – We are reusing plastic pots for our home garden blueberries and we hope to extend the practice in future seedling sales by reusing plastic pots for larger plants.

Home Improvement Supplies – We are currently reusing cedar deck boards to build compost bins and tools like a soil sifter. We’ve repurposed many garden supplies gifted to us from friends and family from landscape cloth for the weeds, shop lights to grow seedlings, as well as stakes or chicken wire for keeping critters (the DOG!) out of our first little garden.

WISHLIST – We are planning to keep a running wishlist on our website so home gardeners and local families can help us reuse or repurpose products before they are being sent to the recycling or trash waste streams.

For example, Spaghetti Jars served their purpose to deliver sauce to your family and we hope to reuse the jar to deliver fresh blooms from our farm to your kitchen table. When we lived in the city we always had extra stuff in our garage that I wish we had cleaned out. Now we have the space and the ability to put those items like extra landscape cloth or left over chicken wire to use.

Recycle

Leaves-Food Scraps – We have a few compost piles and we are growing a few more.

Cardboard, Plastic, Glass – Whatever we can’t use we will eventually recycle, but we try really hard to get as much use as we can out of these items whenever possible.