Eco-Products for 2021

2021 Eco-Garden Product Guide

You can make your green thumb even greener by practicing sustainable gardening in your landscape! Here are some suggestions from area retailers for products that can help us all establish our own greener gardening habits. Happy Earth Day!

Hillermann Nursery & Florist 2601 E. 5th Street, Washington, MO 63090 636-239-6729 Hillermann.com

Fox Farm Ocean Forest Soil.

Fox Farm Ocean Forest Soil, our most popular potting soil, is a powerhouse blend of aged forest products, sphagnum peat moss, earthworm castings, bat guano, fish emulsion, and crab meal. Aged forest products, sandy loam, and sphagnum peat moss give Ocean Forest its light, aerated texture.

Rolling Ridge Nursery 60 North Gore Ave. Webster Groves, MO 63119 RollingRidgeNursery.com

Natural, OMRI Listed, for Organic gardening, Safe for People, Pets & Plants! Made in USA. Repels Voles, Rabbits, Deer and is Rain resistant!

Garden Heights Nursery 1605 S. Big Bend Blvd. Richmond Heights, MO (314) 645-7333 GardenHeights.com

Natural Teak Terrariums

and Pottery.We’re excited to offer new sustainably sourced and eco-friendly teak decor in our store! Teak is a beautifully marbled, tropical hardwood and we love the natural texture that teak accents add to any space. Stop by our store for unique teak pottery, terrariums, and décor!

Planthaven Farms 6703 Telegraph Rd. Oakville, MO (636) 272-5005 O’Fallon and Olivette, too! PlanthavenFarms.com

Pure Raw Local Honey. “A teaspoon a day will keep your allergies at bay!” Pure, raw local honey from the B&C Bees’ beehives at the Farm! Available at all our locations in various sizes.

Greenscape Gardens 2832 Barrett Station Rd. Manchester, MO 63021 (314) 821-2440 GreenscapeGardens.com

Vegepod Raised Bed. Featured on the hit TV show SharkTank. This raised bed is self-watering and functions like a minigreenhouse to extend the season, help protect against pests, and accelerate plant growth. Designed for ease of growth and comfortability when gardening, this is an excellent alternative to planting in the ground. A weed-free microclimate to help promote the healthiest and happiest of veggies.

Sugar Creek Gardens 1011 N. Woodlawn Kirkwood, MO 63122 (314) 965-3070 SugarCreekGardens.com

2021 Native of the Year, Lance Leaf Tickseed

(Coreopsis). A delightful, long lived Missouri native perennial with bright yellow, daisy-like flowers bloom early summer until fall. Naturalizes easily and tolerates dry conditions and poor soil. Perfect for pollinator, cottage and roadside gardens.

O.K. Hatchery 109-115 Argonne Kirkwood, MO (314) 822-0083

Espoma Organic Fertilizers.

Long-lasting natural organics break down slowly for steady, continuous feeding. Contain Bio-Tone microbes. Adds organic matter to soil. Naturally low in salts so it won’t burn.

Kirkwood Gardens 2701 Barrett Station Rd. St. Louis, MO 63021 (314) 966-4840 KirkwoodGardens.com

MykPro Mycorrhize.

Mycorrhize is a symbiotic relationship with the plants root system, extending the existing plants roots and increasing the absorption of water and nutrients creating a more vigorous plant. MykePro Mycorrhize is used with every Kirkwood Gardens plant installation and is sold to our premier landscape professionals and retail customers.

Effinger Garden Center 720 South 11th St. Belleville, IL 62220 (618) EffingerGarden.com

Organic Vegetable Seed. For every item you buy, Seeds of Change donates nutritious organic seed to schools throughout the country.

Zicks Great Outdoors 16498 Clayton Rd. Wildwood, MO (636) 458-1445 ZicksGreatOutdoors.com

Pine Straw Mulch. At Zick’s we prefer pine straw over hardwood mulch for many areas of garden beds. The bales are easy to pick up, it stays nicely on hillsides with no washing, and holds its color better than most mulches. It also does not allow weed seeds to germinate in the mulch. Bales are approx. 28”x15”x9”.

Timberwinds Nursery 54 Clarkson Road Ellisville, MO 63011 636-227-0095 Timberwindsnursery.com

Pulverize Organic Weed

Killer. A full line of ready to use and concentrated herbicides to take on the toughest weeds with ingredients found in nature and formulas approved for organic gardening. Whether you have dandelions and clover popping up in your lawn, that nagging weed establishing itself in the cracks of your walkway or tough vines that just wont go away, there is a Pulverize weed killer that will get the job done.

Chalily Ponds & Gardens 14430 Manchester Rd. Manchester, MO 63011 636-527-2001 Chalily.com

Challily Beneficial Bacteria. Scientifically blended for use in water gardens, fish ponds and lakes. Contains probiotic microbes that naturally work to eliminate excess nutrients that cause poor water quality. The most concentrated supplement available in its class resulting in crystal clear and healthy pond water. Locally owned and operated brand. Made in the U.S.A.

presents Green Dining Week

April 16-25,2021

 Avenue  Buzz’s Hawaiian Grill  Clementine’s Creamery  The Dam  Flavor 360  1111 Mississippi  Kitchen House Coffee  Kounter Kulture  Living Room  PW Pizza  SqWires  Vin de Set  Whisk  The Wolf

Sponsored by:

Lighting for Night--And Life

by Lynnda Greene

Not so long ago, our ancestors could step out into night’s vast dark dome and behold a galaxy of stars arching across the sky. Today, only three out of four of their city dwelling descendants have ever experienced the wonder of that same pristine darkness; and even fewer born today will ever see the Milky Way. Since its inception 120 years ago, artificial light has enhanced the way we live and work outdoors at night, affording us increased productivity, security and convenience—at a cost we rarely see to the natural world around us.

US. From an evolutionary perspective, artificial light at night is a very new stressor scientists have only recently begun to track. “Little was known of light’s ecoeffects until the 1970s, when biologists began to study how light that disrupts humans can also disrupt plants and animals,” says Brett Seymoure, behavioral ecologist, postdoctoral fellow at Washington University-St. Traditional landscape lighting, while attractive, can have harmful Louis, and lead author of a reeffects on insects, birds, and other wildlife. But there are steps cent prominent study. “Today homeowners can take to mitigate problems, most importantly, set researchers are publishing about a timer to turn off the lights after midnight. 250 papers a year documenting alarming changes in many species that we know are directly related to human light pollution.” Today we know through a growing body of research that light pollution—the excessive use of lighting that beams artificial light out- Their conclusions leave no doubt that outdoor lights we casually ward and upward into the night sky where it’s not wanted, rather flip on are disrupting age-old biological cues and processes critical than downward where it is—has become a leading pollutant with to the physiology of millions of species and the ecosystems they potentially shattering consequences we have been slow to realize. comprise. The thirty percent of vertebrates and sixty percent of In engineering the night’s natural darkness to accommodate our invertebrates that are nocturnal have evolved to rely heavily on the perceived needs, we are effectively disrupting critical natural light/ moon and stars’ natural light for orientation, mating, reproduction, dark rhythms to which many forms of life, including ours, have pollination, migration, and food gathering, and more. Even insects adapted over millennia. active only in daylight are affected by disrupted night rest. Satellite imaging indicates that “sky glow”—the vaporous ceiling While all organisms are affected, insects are particularly at risk as of glare over urban areas—is expanding around the globe at a rate nearly every aspect of their lives revolves around cycles of light of two percent annually, faster in some areas. Over 90 percent of and darkness, says Seymoure. And because insects comprise the North American and European populations now live under light- biological foundation of all terrestrial ecosystems, the dramatic depolluted night skies. St. Louis, a major stop along the migratory clines in their populations pose serious threats to humans. bird flyway, now ranks as the fifth most light-polluted city in the “Think about it. What do humans need to live? Food, oxygen, and water—all of which depend upon functioning insect populations. These eco-engineers’ cycle nutrients, pollinate plants, disperse seeds, maintain soil structure and fertility, control pests, filter air and water, and serve as a major food source to many other species. Without these ‘free’ services, estimated at a value of trillions of dollars annually, human life would not be possible. Insects are everything.” Little of the natural world escapes the effects of our obsession for eternal daylight. Migrating birds, evolved to navigate their way by the light of moon and stars now largely obscured by sky glow, increasingly crash in to lighted buildings, dying by the billions every season. Sea birds, confused by gas flares and shore lights, circle wildly in dizzying vortexes until they drop. Species of trees and plants dependent on sustained periods of night darkness for proper evolutionary function, suffer stress and irregular growth. Polluted night light affects humans too, short-circuiting sensitive A satellite image of St. Louis shows the significant nightlight biological rhythms that regulate sleep, thus contributing to obesity, imprint. 22

diabetes, cardiovascular disease and depression. Overbright street and car headlights create road glare that impairs vision in nighttime settings such as driving, walking, resulting in increased nighttime traffic accidents and deaths. Then too there is the loss of a precious cultural experience. We have become so accustomed the pervasive glary haze above us that the very experience of the unlit night’s beauty is almost beyond our imagining.

what wE Can do

But for all the harm it inflicts, electric night light is the easiest pollutant to remedy— and homeowners can help reverse its effects by Two examples of Dark Sky Assciation approved landscape lighting making modest changes to their outdoor and landscape lighting, fixtures that direct light downward. Courtesy Kichler Lighting LLC.starting with the right bulbs and fixtures. Long promoted as cheap, long-lived and efficient, LEDs have briefly. And to truly support wildlife, turn all lights off through the gained near universal accep- overnight hours.” tance as a technological triumph in reducing carbon emissions. But without understanding their use, LEDs’ best attributes too often end up being its worst. Misled by marketing, people burn more of them for longer periods—resulting in greater energy waste at a cost of $3 billion annually. Lights Out Heartland BirdSafeSTL is a program of the St. Louis Audubon Society that seeks to establish long-term community relationships supporting bird-safe practices and reduce bird fatalities in the St. Louis region. One component of that is reducing night light pollution, and as part of that effort, they are partnering with Lights Out Heartland, a collaboration of corporations and organizations in four Midwestern states, including Missouri. Paying attention to temperature and color spectrums of LED bulbs is important. “Choose warm white (yellow-toned) LEDs rather than blue-rich white lights, which emit light at a temperature that increases pollution and negatively affects wildlife and human health.” “LEDs are a Pandora’s box of paradoxes,” says Seymoure. “The technology’s genius is that it can be designed to render exactly the right amount of light coloration for any situation. This gives us unprecedented control over light—but only if The program’s goal is to encourage the public and businesses to turn off or modify artificial lighting during the peak spring nesting and fall wintering ground migration periods. In the St. Louis area, supporters include Ameren Missouri, Gateway Arch, Audubon Center at Riverlands, International Dark Skies Missouri, and The St. Louis Arts Chamber of Commerce. Last year, for example, the Arch turned off its upward facing lights from May 1-15 for the spring migration, and Sept. Be a good neighbor. Check your own night lighting footprint for possible effects on nearby homes as well as wildlife. Draw blinds and drapes at night to eliminate intrusive light trespass, as even small amounts can affect the environment. we understand how it works. 18-30 in the fall. For more information on BirdSafeSTL, go The simple act of turning lights Used carefully, LEDs can play a to StLouisAudubon.or/birdsafestl. To find out more about off or otherwise reducing their huge role in reducing light pol- Lights Out Heartland, visit LightsOutHeartland.org.--Ed. glare, is the most important lution’s harmful effects.” thing we can do to reduce polEssential to good night lighting is learning what it is—and there is no better resource than the International Dark Sky Association at https://www.darksky.org/. Founded in 1988 to promote responsible outdoor lighting and restore the earth’s natural night-and-day balance, the IDA offers the most extensive body of information and guidance, including a full roster of lution, says Seymoure. “The effect is immediate. Once you turn off a light, it’s gone, no clean up or restoration required. What’s exciting is that by making small changes in our outdoor lighting design and habits, we can light our lives and still protect night’s primordial function, and the natural world on which we depend.” “Dark Sky Friendly” fixtures and retailers. Starting with the flip of a switch, to “off.” In general, the principles of responsible outdoor lighting are simple, according to Don Ficken, president of Dark Sky Missouri (https:// darkskymissouri.org/ ). Master Gardener Lynnda Greene is a retired freelance writer, editor and green energy storage industry “Light with purpose, directing light only where it’s needed, when journalist. A community environmental advocate and it’s needed, and always slanted downward,” he says. “Avoid over- member of Dark Sky Missouri, she lives in Webster lighting by using fewer lights in down-casting fixtures, and use Groves, where she’s a regular walker of its darkened timers and dimmers to allow as much darkness as possible. If secu- leafy lanes in search of the perfect moonlit nightscape. rity is a concern, choose motion sensitive lights that will come on