photo credit: Ana Santos

Earth Day was last week, and the world united to be green-conscious for one day. But many of you may want to do more. Here are some easy, eco-friendly ideas for your own garden so you can remember earth day all year long…

Can I compost this? A site about items to help those of us just getting started composting so we know what can hurt and harm our compost.

How can I recycle this? Get creative if something is made of a material not recycled by your city.

Capture yummy rainwater for your plants during the heat of summer with this rainwater collection system. I have a storebought rain barrel (it is currently completely full from our recent storm) and the faucet at the bottom of the barrel is perfect for filling up my watering can to give my plants a drink.  

Reuse your newspaper to mulch your garden. I haven’t tried this one myself but several sources say it works especially well for vegetable gardens… which is also a green hint if you can grow your own salad!

At this point I can use the herbs in my herb garden to make my own salad dressing (here’s one to try) but the best I can do for the rest of the salad is buy local at the farmers market near my house. If you live in Houston you should definitely take advantage of one of the many farmers markets; the produce is second to none, and with our long growing season, you can access many items during their usual “off season.”

photo credit: Яick Harris

My next project at home is vermicomposting… more on that later! Talk about Creepy Crawlies!!

Last but certainly not least… you can sign up your 8 and 9 year old friends for “It’s Easy Being Green” during Xplorations Summer Camps here at the Houston Museum of Natural Science! Nicole blogged about some of the cool activities they’ll be working on to make their homes a greener place!  

… and if you planted a tree this year in honor of earth day don’t forget to water it!