water conservation

Sustainability Is Worth The Struggle 

| September 28, 2022 | Categories: Environment, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living
What kind of world will we leave for future generations? Photo: Pexels sustainability
Good Earth Plant Company loves it when our clients consider how their purchases impact our environment. Study after study demonstrates consumers want to buy products and services from companies taking a stand on saving the planet. A 2019 study of consumers found 83% of Americans are concerned about the environmental impact of products they buy and say it’s important for companies to design more environmentally friendly products. We think it should be 100% but it’s a good start. During a recent conversation with my son Ted, it hit me how pessimistic he feels about our earth’s health. The environmental outlook is dire.… Read More

Rain or Shine, Do Your Part to Protect Our Oceans from Stormwater Pollution

| January 9, 2019 | Categories: Environment, Nature and Wellbeing, Sustainable Living, Water and Water Conservation
In winter 2018, the last thing we needed to worry about was stormwater pollution. We only got 3.77 inches of rain in the official 2017-2018 water year in San Diego. Now here we are in 2019, and our first blog post of the year is about the pollution effects of all the rain we’ve been getting. It’s great news in Sana Diego to get some drought relief, watching our reservoirs fill back up and enjoying snow in the mountains. But now we need to be concerned about managing the negative effects of all this water, such as stormwater pollution. Stormwater runoff is the single biggest contributor to poor water quality in San Diego.… Read More

Help Good Earth Plants Save San Diego Watershed

| April 27, 2016 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Environment, Good Earth Plant Company, Green Roofs, Nature and Wellbeing, Water and Water Conservation
One of the reasons I’ve always been so enthusiastic about green roofs is their contribution to stormwater management. Green roofs can capture 60-80% of rooftop rainwater runoff so less water is directed into storm drains and ultimately the ocean. A green roof becomes a strainer for whatever water does end up flowing to the storm drains, removing a lot of the particles, chemicals, pollution and other “bad stuff” which would otherwise run into our ocean. So I was extremely happy to see the City of San Diego’s new Sustainable Landscape Guidelines created in partnership with the San Diego County Water Authority.… Read More

Catch Up With Top Reader Recommended Blog Posts

| March 9, 2016 | Categories: Blog, Green Roofs, Living Walls, Nature and Wellbeing, Newsletters, Sustainable Living, Water and Water Conservation
Catch up with our top blog posts so far for 2016 on topics including stormwater pollution, nature and well-being, and how to recognize and treat seasonal affective disorder (SAD). If you aren’t receiving our newsletter, sign up here on our home page. We don’t sell your information or spam you, and you can unsubscribe anytime. We don’t like spam either!  

Good Earth Plants’ Ten Most Popular Blog Topics

| February 18, 2016 | Categories: Blog, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Living Walls, Plantscaping, Sustainable Living
Find out which of our nearly 200 Good Earth Plant Company blog posts made our Top Ten List.
When you are in business it’s vital to listen to feedback from your clients to learn what’s working, what’s not working, and where you can improve. Let me tell you, sometimes it can be painful! But it is necessary. When I first started as a florist in the Plantscaping industry nearly four decades ago, we didn’t have any posts, tweets, snaps or chats to help us gather feedback. We had to get it the old fashioned way – by actually talking to people. In person! I won’t claim I walked several miles uphill through the snow to do it. Today, there is no excuse for anyone in business not to make at least a minimum effort to gather feedback and use it to improve products and services.… Read More

Have a Green Christmas with These Tips

| December 12, 2015 | Categories: Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Sustainable Living
From Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, household waste increases by more than 25 percent according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Where do you think all this extra trash ends up? You got it, mostly in landfills. An additional one million tons of waste hits American landfills every WEEK of the holiday season. It’s mainly food, shopping bags, product packaging and wrapping paper. Your San Diego Eco-Warrior is here with a few tips from Good Earth Plants to help you do your part to recycle, reduce and reuse. Consider it your Christmas gift to Mother Nature. Let your fingers do the shopping.… Read More

Nine Ways to Make the Most of Labor Day Weekend

| September 3, 2015 | Categories: Environment, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants
Labor Day arrives on the late and lazy side in 2015, on the last possible day of the calendar: Monday, September 7. Have you made your plans? Or are you still waiting until the tourists go home to reclaim your spot at the beach? Why not take advantage of the long weekend and the great weather to invest time in working in the garden that will pay off big later. Nine suggestions from Good Earth Plant Company: Plant some garlic or radicchio, both excellent cool-weather crops. Install a birdbath to see the birds through the dry Southern California vall. Start a compost pile to create some organic fertilize for next spring’s garden.… Read More

Water Your Trees Like Mother Nature Would

| August 6, 2015 | Categories: Environment, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Water and Water Conservation
Using a bucket as a drip irrigation system works well with trees. Be sure to cover the bucket to prevent accidents with children. Photo: Courtesy Goleta Water District
Two weeks ago, I wrote in this blog about our drought and the importance of preserving our trees. Go ahead and let your lawn turn brown. If you can only afford to water one thing in your yard, water your trees. One of my Good Earth Plants blog readers (thank you!) asked, “What is the best way to water my trees so they get the most water? Is there a trick to it?” We love smart questions and we will answer it here. Since we can’t always count on Mother Nature watering our trees in a Mediterranean climate during a drought, we need to help.… Read More

Ripping Out Your Lawn? Consider Foodscaping

| July 18, 2015 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Environment, Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company, Indoor Plants, Sustainable Living, Water and Water Conservation
Something as simple as a community garden can greatly increase your general happiness daily. Photo: Courtesy Karen Contreras, Urban Plantations
Homeowners in drought-stricken California have gotten serious about making changes in their water consumption. They are ripping out their water-guzzling lawns in record numbers. What they don’t always do is give a lot of thought about what will replace that lawn. So we end up seeing a lot of mulch and rocks as a quick fix. Consider a tastier alternative: Foodscaping. The simplest definition of foodscaping is landscaping with edible plants. It embraces the concept of growing food in place of lawns on private or sometime community property. It’s something in between farming, where you are growing food in a way that maximizes output, and landscaping that is meant to be decorative.… Read More

Living Walls: A Low-Water Use Landscaping Option

| May 14, 2015 | Categories: Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Green Roofs, Living Walls, Water and Water Conservation
Sometimes square pegs fit in round holes: a living wall on a curved surface.
Part two of a three part series Southern Californians are finally breaking their addition to lush green lawns. In the midst of a drought, the days of spraying drinking water on a lawn day after day to keep it looking good are over. Admit it, aren’t you glad at the thought of tossing your lawn mower for good? Some homeowners install a great deal of hardscaping elements in their yards, substituting patios and other decorative structures, with very few plants. While this is water efficient, it’s a little sad for me as a person who loves plants to see them disappearing from yards.… Read More