WHAT'S NEXT: PRODUCE BAGS CAN BE REUSED
You're buying locally grown food. You're avoiding heavily packaged products. You're toting your groceries home in reusable sacks.
So what on earth are you doing using plastic produce bags?
3B Bags has an alternative.
3B Bags makes lightweight, fine mesh produce bags that can be machine-washed and reused again and again. The drawstring bags are virtually weightless, so they won't tip the scales when your produce is weighed.
They're also see-through, so produce stickers can be read easily.
They come in a package of three bags, two of them measuring 11 by 14 inches and the third, 14 by 18 1/2 inches. Each package costs $7.50 plus shipping at www.3bbags.com. Order four packages, and the fourth is free.
The bags also are sold at Whole Foods Market and Container Store locations.
ASK MARY: HOW DO YOU RID YARD OF ACORNS?
Q: What is the best way to pick up acorns when cleaning up your yard this spring? I have millions of them, and I wonder if there's a better way than raking them.
A: It's fine to leave the acorns on the lawn, said Denise Ellsworth, an agriculture and natural resources educator with the Ohio State University Extension. Although they can be a nuisance, they won't harm the grass, she said.
If they sprout, a few mowings should kill them. Acorns that sprout in planting beds can be pulled or dug out.
Ellsworth said a lawn vacuum is another option. I've also heard of people using shop vacuums for this purpose.
Or hire an ambitious neighborhood kid to pick them up, she suggested.
ON THE SHELF: OLDER GARDENERS FOCUS OF BOOK
Sydney Eddison has long shared with readers and TV viewers her experiences maintaining her garden in Connecticut. Now she's using those experiences to help older gardeners like herself continue to pursue their passion as they age.
Eddison's new book, "Gardening for a Lifetime: How to Garden Wiser as You Grow Older," is part memoir and part instructional guide. She takes readers through her own process of simplifying her garden's upkeep — ridding it of the most demanding plants, replacing some perennials with lower-care shrubs and embracing lower-maintenance shade and woodland gardening. She describes how she introduced organization into her gardening routine, making checklists to help her plan her work, set priorities and avoid feeling overwhelmed.
Eddison coaches readers to hire help when they need it, accept imperfection, use simpler techniques and sometimes make hard choices about which plants are worth saving.
"Gardening for a Lifetime" is published by Timber Press and sells for $19.95 in hardcover.
(Have a question about home maintenance, decorating or gardening? Akron Beacon Journal home writer Mary Beth Breckenridge will find answers for the queries that are chosen. To submit a question, call her at 330-996-3756, or send e-mail to mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com.)
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