Welcome Back, Keri!

Well its been several months now and I am back and ready to blog away. I have thought hard about what I should blog about. And well it hit me!
I have been doing some soul searching, and figured out FINALLY, what I would like to accomplish in my life. Who am I kidding, right? Well... I'm 25 years old, I do not have a full degree, and I LOVE yard-work, flowers, herbs, trees, shrubs, and weeds. Yes you can make weeds a centerpiece item at your dinner table. You just need to find the pretty ones! :)
So this blog is dedicated to everyday nonsense. My new blog will be a weekly update of flowers, herbs, trees, weeds, organics, gardening, and anything to deal with outside natural beauty!


Welcome to Orange Grass Organics!

orangegrassorganics.blogspot.com

NO MORE CHOCOLATES, WTF?

"My habits of coffee and chocolate came to a screeching halt yesterday. I now enjoy my decaf coffee in the mornings and for my cravings after lunch and dinner- I can imagine the thoughts of Hershey's Kisses dancing in my belly; all of which are hard to believe."

Yesterday I had some surprising things happen in my life:

I had an alarming thing happen early in the morning, called my doctor and she wanted to see me ASAP. 4:00 pm arrived and she saw me right away, I have never waited so little to see a doctor, usually the waits are brutally pushing 30 minutes to an hour; this wait time was 15 minutes!
I discuss with her what has occurred, she is concerned, not only do I have tell-tell signs but I have lost weight. What, you may ask is my concern with losing weight- let me lay it out straight! I have NOT worked out a routine since July 2007, I got married in August and since then I have kinda let myself go, not really, but I have put exercising in the back of my mind. Just recently my husband and I purchased some exercise equipment, and I have only used it just a handful of times. My doctor and I agree that it's not the exercising that has contributed to my sudden weight loss, its the fact that my body is not absorbing the nutrients from the foods that I am eating.
So after she has told me that I am the "Poster Child" of IBD (Inflammable Bowel Disease), now its time to get tested to figure out if it's Crohn's disease or an ulcerative form of colitis. Both of which are life changing.
"My habits of coffee and chocolate came to a screeching halt yesterday. I now enjoy my decaf coffee in the mornings and for my cravings after lunch and dinner- I can imagine the thoughts of Hershey's Kisses dancing in my belly; all of which are hard to believe."

I have to stick to a very bland diet, slowly introducing flavored foods, for now, the thought of rice and cheese are really the only things that soothe the stomach pangs.
This all is really something that has hit home to me, I have battled with stomach issues since my Junior year in High School- when they removed a small cancerous polyp residing in my intestine. Since then nothing has really been normal for me. I changed my diet, I never eat fast food, I always drink lots of water, I have for the most part eaten 2-3 servings of fruit daily and I love my salads. Here are some general guidelines for a IBD Diet:

• Eating meat increases the intake of omega-6 fats, which are actually pro-inflammatory. Omega-3 fats though, which come from fish (cold-watered fish more so), or can be taken in capsule form are anti-inflammatory, so attempt to eat more fish than meat.

• Excess intake of sugar, caffeine and salt should be avoided, as they all can remove the good minerals and vitamins you want to absorb. Drink a lot of fluids without any (added) sugar or caffeine, and aim for at least 2 liters a day.

• Fiber is necessary and essential, but it does not have to be insoluble. Insoluble fiber is what usually causes discomfort for people with IBD and includes skins and peels of fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds. It is found in bran, whole wheat, all nuts and seeds, corn, peas among many other foods. Try to eat soluble fiber like oatmeal, oat bran, peeled fruits and vegetables (if you can tolerate them that is). A supplement like Metamucil provides you with psyllium fiber, which is also good.

Now off to research alternative ways to reverse this life changing journey!

Organic Pesticides...they really do exist!

Soap Spray:
Another way to stop the slugs is with soapy water. That's right, you can just use your old, dirty dishwater! Collect some of the water in a pan and pour it into a watering can or even use a pitcher to pour it over the plants. This works really well on hosta's and mums, but also can be used on other hardy plants. Many bugs do not like their lunch spoiled by a soapy aftertaste! For a stronger solution, mix 3 Tablespoons of liquid detergent into a gallon of water, I prefer Dawn, but any will do. Use this weekly.

Alcohol Spray:
This spray really is great for houseplants. This especially works on meal bugs.

1/2 cup of alcohol

2-3 tablespoons of dry laundry soap

1 quart of warm water

Mix all ingredients and spray immediately. You don't have to let this set, but you can't store it either. This solution must be made fresh for each use.

Salt Spray:
This solution is used for cabbage-worms and spider mites.

2 tablespoons of salt

1 gallon of water

Just mix and spray!

Garlic Spray:
Here is the recipe for a garlic spray that fights slugs too. Slugs must not like eating Italian. To make this smelly spray, use the following list of ingredients:

1 garlic bulb

1 quart of water

1 medium onion

1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon liquid dish soap

Crush the garlic, mincing it fine. Add finely chopped onion to the mixture, while adding the rest of the ingredients except the soap. Wait an hour before adding the soap to the mixture. The spicy ingredients must sort of stew or steep, almost like tea. After an hour, add the soap and your non-toxic spray is ready to use! This can be stored in the fridge for a week.

Buttermilk and Flour Spray:
Garlic spray is great for getting rid of cutworms, wireworms, whiteflies, and slugs too.

What you need:

1 pint of water

1/4 cup of dish liquid

2 teaspoons of paraffin

6 tablespoons of chopped garlic

Soak the whole garlic in the liquid paraffin for at least 24 hours. After a day, add the dish liquid and water to the mixture. Remember to shake it very well. Strain the solution and store it in a glass jar. This lasts around a week.

Dead Bug Spray:
Another way to beat the bug problem is by taking some dead carcasses of the same insects and mixing them in water. Use one pint of water and 1/2 cup of slug carcasses. Although this is rather unpleasant, it works. Would you want to be picnicking in this situation? Most of us wouldn't. Here is how you make the insect carcass solution:

Blend the water and insects until mixed well and then put into a plastic container or glass jar. To use this, pout into a sprayer and squirt a few drops on the affected plants. You can freeze this mixture for storage.

*Beware: Do NOT use flies, ticks, fleas, or mosquitoes in this solution! These insects carry many communicable human diseases!

Spearmint-Hot Pepper-Horseradish Spray:
This works on many different kinds of bugs- too many to list!

1/2 cup of red peppers (hot)

water (read below)

1/2 cup of fresh spearmint

1/2 cup horseradish (root and leaves)

2 tablespoons of liquid detergent

1/2 cup green onion tops

Mix all of the spearmint leaves, horseradish, onion tops and peppers together with enough water to cover everything. Strain the solution. After mixing all of these, add a half-gallon of water and add the detergent also. To use this solution, mix 1/2 gallon of this solution with 1/2 gallon of water. You can use this to spray almost any plant safely. Store this mixture for a few days in a cool environment.

By using household items, we can keep our garden free from pests. Toxins and harmful chemicals do not have to be part of your landscape. Hopefully, this organic cookbook of sorts will help you do just that!