My Journey to a “Greener” New Year

Many of my friends and relatives are becoming increasingly concerned with how their activities impact our environment. Most of us sort our trash by its recyclable materials and transport it to the appropriate recycling centers. Many of us already use "green," non-toxic, homemade cleaners, such as vinegar, baking soda, and lemon juice for most of our cleaning activities. All of us have already replaced our old, energy hogging light bulbs, set the temperatures up in the summer and down in the winter on our thermostats, installed extra insulation, and installed timers on our hot water heaters to save electricity. Many of us carpool together for trips and have reduced the number of trips that we make to reduce emissions. Several of us already grow a sizeable portion of our own produce and shop local farmer's markets or stores that buy locally grown produce. It would be hard to find lifestyle changes that we could each make to live greener lives. I was in the drive-thru at a local fast food eatery this afternoon thinking to myself, is there anything left to cut or change to reduce my environmental footprint?

I paid for our meal and took the two plastic drink containers, the bag which contained two wrappers for burgers, two containers for fries, the plastic container with a sundae, plastic spoon wrapped in plastic, and napkins and assorted plastic-encased condiments. My children and I eat out a few times a week. Depending on our respective schedules, we sometimes eat out several meals in a day. Even though some of the containers are recyclable and degradable papers and plastics, that's still a lot of waste going into landfills and all of these containers require natural and synthetic materials to make, and the production of these containers releases contaminates into the environment.

I am just one person, and we are just one family, but our green resolution for the upcoming year is to not eat out, anymore, for a whole year. This challenge, with our busy schedules and lifestyles will be difficult, but with planning it is very doable. Achieving this goal will not only help us reduce our carbon footprint to the environment, it will help our waistlines to be thinner if we make healthier food choices, and our wallets will be "greener" as well as the environment from the money that we save by not eating out. If each of us took a closer look at our lives and found ways to reduce not only our personal energy consumption, but our personal overall consumption of finished products, in any form, it would help our environment as well as our budget.

How to Avoid Becoming a Plant Killer: Top 5 Gardening Mistakes to Avoid

Even with all of the gardening experience that I earned growing up on my grandparent's farm, I have still managed to kill my fair share of plants while gardening. I hope you will have a "greener thumb" after reading about my mistakes.

Pruning Fruit Trees

In order to have fruit trees with a strong central trunk and firm branches that can support fruit, it is important to prune your trees correctly and at the right time. Over pruning discourages fruit production and under pruning will cause your trees to be too weak. The best time to prune fruit trees is late in the winter season, just before spring. Tempted by the bare branches, I pruned my trees one fall. My pruning caused the sap to rise just as freezing temperatures hit. When spring came, it was heartbreaking to see the barren, shriveled branches of the tree stretching towards the sky in a silent scream when everything else was green, budding with new life. It was also expensive and time consuming to dig them up and replace them.

Tomato Plants

When my grandfather planted tomatoes, I always wondered why he dug such a wide, deep hole. When I had my first garden, I dug shallow holes that were just barely large enough to accept the plant. At first, my tomato plants grew taller, but the summer heat made them thin and spindly. Some of them shriveled and died. The few that did produce a tomato bent over and broke after the first rainfall. Lesson learned, plant tomatoes deep, with holes that will accept two-thirds of the plant to encourage strong roots and robust vine and fruit growth.

Melons and Gourds

In my first garden, I knew that I would need space for my zucchini, squash and cucumber vines to spread out. I picked a place near the pine tree border of my property. At first the vines grew rapidly, but as it rained, my plants turned yellow and began to rot. I couldn't figure out why. It turns out that pine tree run-off isn't good for gourds or melons, so now I plant them on the other side of my yard.

Planting too Late

After my spinach, lettuce and broccoli all bolted and then turned brown in the heat of the summer sun, I learned that it is important to plant "cool weather" crops such as these in, well, cooler weather, very early in the season.

Planting too Early

I have also learned, after having wasted time, effort and seed, that certain crops, such as beans and corn, require a certain temperature to germinate. If you plant too early, the seeds will simply rot in the ground.

Top 10 Best Gardening Apps for 2014

Winter is finally showing signs of coming to an end, and if you are an avid gardener like me, you know that it's almost time to set aside the seed catalogs that we've drooled over all winter and get ready to dig and plant! The following is my list of the top 10 best gardening apps for 2014. The apps are not in any particular order, and most are free or low cost and are available in the iTunes store. With these apps, all of us gardeners, from novice to expert level, can plan and create our most brilliant and bountiful gardens yet! So, let's dust off those shovels, rakes, and hoes, it's time to play in the dirt!

Organic Gardening Planting Planner 2014

The last few years have seen an upsurge in avoiding the use of pesticides and GMO seeds, so there has been a revived interest in organic gardening methods. This free app is compatible with the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch and allows users to learn about a variety of plants and gardening methods, plan virtual gardens, learn the best sowing, planting and harvest times in their local area. The app's smart calendar also makes it easy to create to-do-lists as well as make important notes in one's garden journal.

Garden Time Planner 

This free app works with the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch and is great for the novice that needs help getting their first few gardens started. The app allows users to learn the best times to plant, transplant and harvest popular plants in their local area. The app provides links to helpful how-to gardening videos, as well as automatically creates a to-do list with reminders for common gardening tasks.

GardenMinder

This free app works best for planning raised bed gardens, and has a journal feature as well as allows users to set reminders. The app is compatible with the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.

Vegetable Garden Calculator

Are neighbors and co-workers hiding from you because you've passed along one to many zucchinis? Do you struggle with knowing how much is too much or too little to plant? This free app is for you then! Compatible with the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch this app takes away all of the guess work and allows you to easily calculate how many plants you need to grow just the right amount of most popular produce items.

Companion Planting

You know that carrots and peas go great together, both in the garden and on the plate, but what about all those other plants? Are some of them "frenemies?" Yes, believe it or not, there are some plants that are beneficial to one another when they are planted close by, and others are harmful to one another. This 99 cent app helps you to stop sabotaging your efforts and is compatible with the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

Garden Compass

Is it a weed? An edible plant? Is that bug helpful or harmful for my plants? What is that stuff growing on my zucchini vines? Even the most knowledgeable gardener eventually encounters a plant, growth or insect that they can't identify. Now, you can get to the bottom of these mysteries with this free app that's compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Look through the app's database, or snap a picture and submit it to a team of horticultural experts who will solve the mystery for you. The app even provides links to plant and seed vendors.

Our Rose Garden

The appearance of most gardens can be instantly improved by the addition of one or more roses. Roses are also beneficial to numerous vegetables and make excellent planting companions for garlic and other bulbs. This free app is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch and provides everything you need to know about planting, pruning and even over-wintering roses as well as helpful information and videos about the many rose varieties, as well as how to protect them from disease and pests.

Tomato Match

Who doesn't love a juicy, ripe tomato picked fresh off the vine? I think what I love the most about this incredibly versatile plant is the fact that it comes in so many varieties. There are the unique flavored, colorful heirloom tomato plants like Aunt Ruby's German Green, Cherokee Purple, Old Yellow Candystripe and Pink Brandywine as well as newer hybrids that offer a more uniform tomato such as Early Girl, Sweet 100 and Sun Gold. With so many options it can be hard to decide which variety will work best for you given your taste and visual preference as well as needs and local growing conditions, but this free app for the iPad takes all of the painful deliberation out of the equation. This app helps you pick the best tomato and then provides links via Safari to seed vendors for your chosen variety.

Pickin Chicken

Yes, I know chickens are technically livestock, but many gardeners, even urban gardeners, are considering adding a few chickens to their garden. In addition to providing "free" eggs, chickens are a great way to get rid of many common garden pests naturally, and they also produce great, high nitrogen content fertilizer. While many locales have limits to the number of chickens one can own, keeping a couple of feathered pets is allowed in many areas, so make certain to check out your local zoning ordinances. This app is not free, but at just $2.99, it can help you to pick the best variety of chick for your garden space as well as provide helpful information about their care.

Gro Garden

I'll round out my list with this $2.99 app that is a great way to get your young children involved in gardening through creative play! The app is compatible for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch and teaches children about organic gardening, sustainability and how to plant seeds.