Sustainable Blogroll
There are SO many great blogs and websites out there. Here are some that I frequent often but it’s in no way a complete list. I probably follow 200 blogs in Google Reader…but I in no way am able to keep up with them all. How I wish I could…
Foodie Blogs to Love
Green Living Blogs & Wesbites to Stalk
Gardening & Eat Local Blogs & Links
- Bliss
- Cold Climate Gardening
- Eat Local Challenge
- Farm Fresh to You
- Farmgirl Fare
- Garden Blog Directory
- Garden Seeds
- Help Grow Your Soup
- Her Able Hands
- Local Harvest
- Seventh Street Cottage
- Sustainable Table
- The Digital Homesteader
- Urban Farming
Homesteading Blogs & Websites I Enjoy
- A Homesteading Neophyte
- Adventures in Self Reliance
- Cold Antler Farm
- Earth Easy
- Experimental Homesteading
- Freedom Gardens online community
- Getting There
- Homemaderachel’s blog
- Homesteading in Maine
- Homesteady
- Humble Garden
- Judy of the Woods
- New Life on a Homestead
- Not Dabbling In Normal
- Path to Freedom Urban Homestead
- Sarah’s Homesteading Blog
- The Craftivist
- The Digital Homesteader
- The Life I am Choosing…
- The Life of A Prairie Mom
- The Pioneer Woman
- Track My Food Storage
Tiffany is an American who has been living in Germany with her husband since 2001. The two are self-proclaimed "Self-Reliant Yuppies" who are in their early-30's and bought an 1830's farmhouse several years ago, which they have been turning into a more sustainable and green dream house. Two cats, a Newfie and their 2 year old daughter enjoy the adventure with them. Tiffany enjoys cooking, rock climbing, lux-camping trying to turn her black thumbs green and taking road trips. Visit the 
WOW! What a goldmine of links here! I would add Urban Homestead located here in Pasadena, CA. They converted their entire front and back yards into gardening space.
http://urbanhomestead.org/
They have an excellent journal/blog there and they also have a great gardening website at:
http://www.freedomgardens.org/
Thanks! I can’t believe I forgot those two. I have Path to Freedom in my reader for months…although I barely have time to read all they have to say. They stay BUSY!! And I’m also a member over at the Freedom Gardens community
Hi Tiffany
Over the past month I bought 78 houseplants on end of season sales. Yes, 78 : )
Most were purchased from the nursery, Lowes and Home Depot, but I did get 14 diffenbachia from Walmart. I just found that these all have a fungus.
Chain of events:
First: I haven’t had houseplants in many years, and don’t know much about the different insects or fungi. I was first told the brown spots on the diffenbachia were from insects, and to use. I used Garden Safe Insecticidal Soap on half the plants, but didn’t see any change. Someone else said I could use Sevin, so I used it on the rest of the plants. This seemed harsh, and dryed some of the plants out, so I rinsed them off after about 3-4 days with a garden hose. I also rinsed the other plants which had the insecticidal soap just in case.
Second: Someone at the nursery said instead of buying so much product from the store, I should make a simple insecticidal soap from Dawn dish detergent and water. I was instructed to soak the roots of any plants showing signs of bugs, because they lay their eggs in the roots at the base of plants. So I soaked the roots of some of the diffenbachia, dracaena, spider plants, snake plants, coleus, philodendron, various ivy plants, mums, and Japanese spurgus with the Dawn mix.
Third: While talking to someone else from the nursery, I just learned last week that the brown spots on the diffenbachia are actually fungus from overwatering, and not insects. I was told to use a 3 in 1 fungicide, insecticide and miticide. I tried Garden Safe Fungicide 3, but the smell was so caustic, I could barely use it outside. I’m pretty good with the plant separation, so I don’t believe the fungicide was applied to plants with the Dawn soap mixture.
Fourth: I have respiratory problems, and don’t want to use chemicals, esp when I will be closed indoors with the plants for the winter months. I had breathing, nasal and eye problems after using the Garden Safe Fungicide 3 last week, so this drove me to search for organic fungicide, and insecticidal soap recipes.
Fifth: All the 78 plants have been re-potted using Miracle-Gro potting mix. I have refrained from watering those with wet soil, and only water ~every 10-14 days after checking for moisture by putting my finger about 2” into the soil of each plant. I have watered sooner on the peace lilies and elephant ears if they are dry and drooping.
The questions:
1- Have I endangered my new plant nursery with all the applications?
2- Can I use this baking soda and oil fungicide spray on plants that I have previously applied the Dawn, Garden Safe insecticidal soap, Sevin, or the 3 in 1 fungicide?
I think I may have subjected the plants to too much already, and don’t want to be the cause of their demise. But I do need to remedy the fungus problems on the diffenbachia. It is consuming the leaves, and has a bad odor at the base of the plants where leaves are dying. The strange thing is the plants are growing well, but are losing all the bottom leaves to quick yellowing, and dying.
Please help. I want to turn my home into a natural air purifier, not have it be filled with chemicals, bugs, infected or distressed plants.
Thank you,
Orie
Maryland, US
Hi Orie. Wow, sounds like you’ve been through quite an ordeal with these plants already!
My suggestion would be to first give them about a week to recoup and dry out. After that, I don’t see why anything in this mix would cause a problem or reaction with what you’ve already put on the plants.
Is there any sign of mildew or fungus? You mentioned there is a smell but are there any other signs that something is awry? I’m just trying to get a feel for what is going on.
In the winter, it becomes harder to grow houseplants because of the cooler temperatures and shorter light periods. Overwatering is almost inevitable. Basically you just need to check them about once a week, by sticking your finger about 1-inch down into the soil. If the soil is dry, water. If not, let them be and check again in a few days. Never let the plants stand in water or anything like that.
Diffenbachia are actually tropicals, so you may need to check out the humidity levels in your house. During the cooler days, humidity in your home can drop down to about 10% and they require 40-60%.
Best of luck!