Facial Remedies

Treat facial blemishes by washing you face
daily with cool potato juice.

Frost Bite Information Temporary Measures: Treat frostbite or sunburn by applying raw grated potato or potato juice to the affected area. Seek Medical Assistance!

Milk Mask for Normal Skin Soak a cotton ball with warm milk and apply to your face three times a day. Rinse off with distilled, warm water.

Recipe for Lettuce Mask for the Face You will need two large lettuce leaves which have been dipped in olive oil and sprinkled with lemon juice. Place a leaf on each cheek and cover the leaves with with a paper towel which has been dipped in mineral or distilled water.

How to Recycle Eggshells

In the same manner that we can recycle milk cartons, water bottles and soup cans, we can also recycle eggshells. Before you drop them into the trash bin, consider the many ways to reuse the natural packaging your sunny side ups and omelets came in.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Eggshells

Step1

Improve your compost. Include the eggshells in your compost heap. They are all-natural with no oils or grease and will add valuable minerals to the resulting fertile soil.

Step2

Deter slugs and snails. Crush the eggshells and spread them around the base of your delicate plants.

Step3

Fertilize. Mix ground eggshells with your garden soil for added calcium, potassium, phosphorus and sulfur that help make plants strong and healthy.

Step4

Feed the birds with calcium. Wash the eggshells and let them dry. Crush them into fine pieces and mix some with the seeds you feed the chickens and wild birds. Eggshells have calcium that is good for birds. Also, the shell pieces act as grit, much like the sand and pebbles that they swallow and keep in their gizzards to help grind their food.

Step5

Make a mosaic. Crush or snap cleaned and dried eggshells into small pieces. Dip or soak them in food coloring, then arrange them into decorative designs to be glued onto picture frames, trinket boxes, centerpiece bowls and other craft items.

Step6

Make chalk. Grind half a dozen cleaned and dried eggshells into a fine powder. Mix with a teaspoon of hot water and a teaspoon of flour. Roll the paste mixture into a stick shape and wrap in paper towel. Let it dry completely over a few days, then unwrap and you'll have homemade chalk that you can use on the sidewalk or driveway.

Step7

Make textured paint. Crush or grind cleaned and dried eggshells and mix a small amount with paint to add texture and 3D effect to a piece of artwork.

Beneficial plants and bugs

A garden 'mini' insectary is a small garden plot of flowering plants designed to attract and harbor beneficial insects. These 'good' insects prey on many common garden insect pests, and offer the gardener a safer, natural alternative to pesticides. A garden insectary is a form of "companion planting", based on the positive effects plants can share as a method of deterring pests, acquiring nutrients or attracting natural predators. By becoming more diverse with your plantings, you are providing habitat, shelter and alternative food source, such as pollen and nectar, something many predators need as part of their diet. Aphid predators such as aphidius, need the pests to be present in order to reproduce. The idea of inviting the pests in may seem alarming, until you understand that you can encourage host specific pests. These pests will remain on the desired plant in your mini insectary yet provide an ideal breeding ground for the associated predators and parasites. The plot does not have to be large, just big enough to hold 6-7 varieties of plants which attract insects. Once the garden has matured you can watch your personal insect security force do the work for you.

Statice Lupin Tansy Queen Anne’s Lace Sunflower

Mini Insectary

“Mini Insectary” Plants Achillea filipendulina Alyssum Amaranthus Anethum graveolens (Dill) Angelica gigas Convolvulus minor Coreopsis Cosmos bipinnatus Digitalis Daucus Carota (Queen Anne's lace) Foeniculum vulgare (Fennel) Helianthus annulus Iberis umbellata Limonium latifolium (Statice) Lupin Melissa officinalis (Lemon balm) Petroselinum crispum (Parsley) Scabiosa (Pincushion flower) Shasta Daisy Sunflowers Tanacetum vulgare (Tansy) Verbascum thaspus Yarrow

Beneficial Predators Attracted Lacewings, Aphidius, Ladybugs Hoverflies, Lacewings, Tachnid flies Ground beetles Ichneumon wasp, Ladybugs, Lacewings Lacewings Ladybugs, Hoverflies Hoverflies, Lacewings, Parasitic wasps Hoverflies, Parasitic wasps, Lacewings Dicyphus Lacewings, Ladybugs, Hoverflies Damsel bugs, Ladybugs, Lacewings Pirate bugs, Beneficial mites Hoverflies Hoverflies, Parasitic wasps Aphidius, Aphidoletes, Hoverflies Parasitic wasps, tachinid flies Parasitic wasps, hoverflies, tachinid flies Hoverflies, Parasitic wasps Pirate bugs, Beneficial mites Pirate bugs, Aphidius, Parasitic wasps Ladybugs, Lacewings Dicyphus Hoverflies, Parasitic wasps, Ladybugs

Beneficial Predators Aphidius Aphidoletes Beneficial mites Damsel Bugs (Nabidae) Dicyphus Ground Beetles Hoverflies Lacewings Ladybugs Pirate Bugs Tachinid flies Wasps (parasitic)

Prey Aphids Aphids Thrips, spidermite, fungus gnats Eggs of many pest insects Whiteflies, aphids, thrips, spider mites Slugs, small caterpillars and grubs Aphids, mealybugs and others Scale, aphids, mites, softbodied insects Aphids, mites Thrips, aphids, mites, scales, whiteflies Caterpillars, beetle and fly larvae Whiteflies, moth, beetle and fly larvae

Choose Plants That Help Keep the Bugs Away

How to Choose Plants That Help Keep the Bugs Away Pests can sometimes be a problem in the garden. One natural and organic way to help keep those nasty bugs away is to grow plants that those bugs dislike. Step1 For each kind of bug that can cause damage to your plants, there are certain plants you can grow next to your existing plants to help keep those bugs away. This is a great natural solution that can be effective at keeping pests under control. Step2 Aphids - Those tiny whitish bugs that love rose bushes and other flowers. Plant Chives, Nasturtium, Basil, or Catnip nearby to repel aphids. Step3 Japanese Beetles - Plant Geraniums or Garlic to keep them away. Step4 Mosquitoes - Plant Rosemary or Basil to keep mosquitoes away. Step5 Tomato Hornworm - Plant Borage near your tomato plants to keep them away. Step6 Flea Beetles and Potato Beetles - Plant Catnip nearby to keep them away. Step7 Ants - Plant Spearmint or Peppermint to keep ants away. It can be planted near your house to naturally deter ants from your house. Step8 There are also some plants that can be used to keep a variety of bugs away. Feverfew and Marigolds repel many different kinds of insects and are a useful addition to flower and vegetable gardens. It’s a good idea to grow Chives and Marigolds throughout your gardens. Growing plants to discourage certain pests can be effective but sometimes other treatments are necessary to keep the pests under control.

Beneficial Insects

Beneficial insects are insects which you can attract to your garden,
or buy from catalogues, which prey on harmful insects or their larvae.
There are many different species for specific problems, and more
information is available at several of the links listed on this page.

Brachonids,Chalcids and Ichneumon Wasps These small beneficial insects destroy leaf-eating caterpillars. You can attract them to your garden by planting carrots, celery, parsley, caraway and Queen Anne’s lace, all members of the Umbelliferae family. These plants are easy to grow, and some should be left to flower. It’s the flower that attracts the insects. Ladybugs These common insects consume aphids, mites, whiteflies and scale. They can be attracted to your garden by planting members of the daisy family (Compositae), tansy or yarrow. Ladybugs are also available from catalogues online. Lacewings Lacewings are avid consumers of aphids, and their larva eat aphids and other varieties of other insect pests. They are attracted to “composite” flowers, such as yarrow, goldenrod, black-eyed susan’s and asters. Lacewings can also be purchased online at the sources listed below, and released directly into your garden. Hover-flies Hover-flies are avid consumers of aphids, and the larva of hover-flies eat aphids and other insect pests. Like the Lacewings, they are attracted to “composite” flowers, such as yarrow, goldenrod, black-eyed susan’s and asters. Seeds for these flowers are available online, or at most garden centers. Praying Mantis These large insects have an appetite for most garden pests. Praying mantis eggs are set out in the garden where they hatch and quickly grow to adult size. The eggs are available through mail-order catalogues, some of which are listed below.

Nematodes Effective against cutworms, a common pest which destroys sprouts before they can grow into seedlings. Nematodes are also effective against beetles and root weevil larvae. Nematode eggs are microscopic and come in a small sponge a million at a time. These are mixed with water and applied to the soil, where they hatch and go to work. If they get on foliage, wash them off to the ground. Nematodes are harmless to humans and pets. They are available in some garden centers and through mail-order catalogues