Tag Archives: gardening

Showered with love

Posted on December 12, 2020 | 1 comment

Christchurch is known as The Garden City because so many residents, including me, like to have flower and vegetable gardens.

When I was gardening a few weeks ago, I noticed that the flowers on the left and right ends of my planter boxes had died. The others were coming away again with the spring rains and warmth.

And then I remembered. Spot has been coming to stay with us for daycare dates over the winter and spring. A boy, Spot likes to mark and my planter boxes are the perfect height for him.

Dog urine has a high concentration of nitrogen which will kill lawns and other plants when applied in a concentrated way. This is the same reason why gardeners who don’t follow the instructions on the label of nitrogen fertilizers find that instead of feeding their lawns and plants, they kill them off.

“Showered with love,” says Spot’s Mum… It’s okay. I like Spot and so does Izzy. A couple of dead plants are a small price to pay when we can enjoy the company of this beautiful boy.

Kathleen Crisley, Fear-Free certified professional and specialist in dog massage, rehabilitation and nutrition/food therapy, The Balanced Dog, Christchurch, New Zealand

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Posted in Dogs

Tagged gardening, urine

The Biggest Little Farm

Posted on October 10, 2020 | Leave a comment

It all started with a dog named Todd…

I’m sharing this film, originally released in 2018, because of the uplifting true story which all started because a dog named Todd wasn’t suitable for city living. Todd’s needs meant that Molly and John Chester sought out a way of making their sustainable farming dream a reality.

This documentary spans 8 years of their journey to bring a ‘dead’ Northern California farm back to life using holistic and sustainable techniques.

If you’re a customer of the The Balanced Dog, this month you received a special code in your October newsletter which allows you to join DocPlay free for an extended trial period of 45 days – that’s plenty of time to watch this film and lots of other great documentaries.

It’s spring here in New Zealand. I hope this film inspires you to garden with the environment in mind. I’ve already bought bags and bags of compost for my garden, realising from the film that my soil needs more organic content. And thanks to a client who works in the flower growing industry, I have a great guide to companion planting to help me plan the vege garden.

Thanks to Covid-19, more people than ever are taking to gardening and there are ways to garden which are more sustainable and healthier for us, our animals and the planet. Watch the film for inspiration and then get planting!

Kathleen Crisley, Fear-Free certified professional and specialist in dog massage, rehabilitation and nutrition/food therapy, The Balanced Dog, Christchurch, New Zealand