Single Parents and the single family:  Single parents lead the way as single families go organic and use the principles of organics in their yards.  

Organics: Single Parents Go Organic

By Jan Wilson
with contributions by the SOLO for Singles staff and single readers.

Single parents go organic on the lawn and in the garden for the sake of the kids, the planet, the family pet, and of course, the single parent. 

More information about being a single parent: 

More and more single parents are going organic in the yard and in the garden.

Why go organic? A few reasons are:

• Organic is healthier. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides undermine the health of our children.
• Children whose yards are not organic have more pesticides and chemicals in their bodies than children whose parents have an organic yard.
• Even family pets allowed to play on the lawn feel the effect of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. 
• In many ways, organic is easier.

Just Quit

Quit buying and applying chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Instead, use that previously wasted money for family fun!

Start a compost pile.

Sending leaves from your yard and produce waste from your kitchen to the landfill means you are throwing away the nutrients your lawn and garden can use. Think of nutrients as a moving in a cycle from the soil into plants and then back into the soil. Involve the kids in the composting for your new organic lawn.

Start a worm bin

Your kids will love a worm bin and it is a good way to recycle kitchen produce waste and grow your own organic and natural  fertilizer. Incorporate fall leaves into your compost pile over the winter months.

Use mulch 

Use mulch for beauty, for weed control, and to supply nutrients to the soil as they decay. If you have branch waste from trimming trees, one good option is chipping. Leaves also make good mulch.

Till last years mulch into the soil each spring. This   loosens and aerates the soil plus adding  many beneficial organisms.

Leaf waste can be composted to make organic fertilizer or spread out as an organic mulch. Although it is best to mulch in spring, some gardeners merely rake their fallen leaves directly into the garden, which is even easier than carting them away.

Being a single parent and raising a single family:

Health Is In the Air: Go Organic for Your Kids, Your Planet, Your Family Pet, and Yourself!

You are making decisions about your lawn and gardening practices. Make this the year you go organic.

As you buy new plants, buy native ones or get cuttings from a friend or neighbor who has gone native. Since native plants evolved locally, they tend to be heartier and adapted to your area. They often  require less fertilization, and water and they are usually more resistant to pests. 

Organics is the sensible way to go for single parents.

SOLO Readers Comment:

Instead of being harder, organic gardening is really easier--certainly much cheaper--and less time consuming. I know I am helping, not hurting, my children and the planet.
DR, Chicago

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