Carbon Cutter

If you have a small lot, trash your gas and electric mowers. Push mowers have advanced in the last few years and are remarkably easy to push. The walk will do you good.

Waterwise

Water your lawn only when it needs it. You'll know when your lawn needs watering by the colour of the grass. The blades turn a bluish green when they need water.

Pesticide Alternative

Use hot vinegar to get rid of the weeds in your pavers. Boil the vinegar in your kettle (to clean the kettle), add a tiny bit of salt and dish soap.

Take the kettle outside and pour the almost boiling vinegar on the weeds in your pavers.

Voila! In minutes, your weeds are toast.

Gin or vodka will do the same thing but take a bit longer. The same with Coca Cola!

Ants Hate Cinnamon

Sprinkle cinnamon along their path. You can also mix the cinnamon with some dishwashing liquid to make a sticky paste that can be spread along entryways.

Mulch, Mulch, Mulch

Mulch does many things:

It controls weeds in your garden by blocking out the sun needed by weed seeds to germinatre
It insulates the soil keeping the root zone cool in hot weather.
It looks neat and tidy.
It reduces water loss from the garden
It improves your soil as it decomposes.
It protects the soil keeping it from becoming hard and dry.

Green in the Garden

Use A Water Breaker

Properly disperse water to your plants with a hose-end water breaker. This small fixture attaches to the end of a standard garden hose or watering wand. A perforated screen allows water to pass through it, but prevents a strong, direct stream that could damage plant roots. This end is perfect for areas with low water pressure or systems which restrict total water volume. The breaker is super for watering hanging baskets without damaging the plants. Hose end nozzles with multi-spray heads will do the same thing.

Ya Gotta See This!

Here's a link to a fellow who really takes rain barrels seriously.

You'll be interested in the number of rain barrels he has connected.

But more interesting is his bicycle power to pump the water from his barrels to his garden!

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Diversify!

By Leslie Garrett

Plant a wide variety of plants close together. The pests of one are frequently the dinner of the pests of another, so it’s far easier to keep them in check. As MacRae says, “A diversity of plants will allow you to attract in more predators of pest species. This goes for attracting birds, insects, reptiles, and amphibians. They will pay you back for your generosity by eating up all those creatures that are eating your plants.”

Use Water Efficiently

Water early in the day, especially in warmer weather, to reduce evaporation loss. Some municipalities require that you do this.
Water deeply and thoroughly and water less frequently. This will encourage the plants and trees to send roots deeper giving them a greater tolerance to drought.
Don't run your irrigation sprinklers at high pressure. Doing so creates a fine mist that evaporates much faster and will simply blow away if there is any wind.
Use a drip irrigation system for a simple and efficient way to ensure each individual plant in your garden gets it's share of precious water. In fact a drip watering systems can save up to 60% of all water used in your garden's upkeep.
Weed frequently to keep the weeds from stealing water from your garden plants Consider using landscape fabric between the soil and mulch to prevent weeds from infitrating your garden.

Woodpiles for Insects

Insects, including many butterflies, don't go South for the winter. Some, including the Mourning Cloak butterfly, hibernate as adults.The butterflies and other insects may hibernate as caterpillers or pupas.

A woodpile offers refuge from wind and snow. The woodpile offers lots of nooks and crannies in which to pass the winter days

For a really interesting invertebrate habitat, check out this site from England:

Building an Invertebrate Habitat