by Jan Jaso on December 13, 2011
The holiday season is upon us. It started back in October when half a dozen catalogs were stuffed into my mailbox several times a week. The covers and offerings were alluring all in the name to get me to spend my money. Some I kept to peruse at my leisure and some went straight to the recycling bin.
I have to say that catalogs have kept me from driving to the mall. I don’t care to be in all that traffic and the manic feeling I get circling the parking lot, fighting for a parking spot. So I do most of my shopping online and have been doing it for about 15 years. It’s a great way to be green and save your sanity at the same time.
It’s the time of the year where consumerism is at an all time high. The stores were reporting double digit increases on Black Friday. It looks like everyone is buying. It truly is wonderful to give. There’s so much joy in giving when one is really into the flow of it.
The most important gift this season is the gift of yourself. Take time to spend with friends and family. I don’t mean just the eating and the gift opening part. Take the time to be with them. Do something different – go for a walk, a bike ride; be out in nature and marvel at the magic of being alive. Oh – and remember to laugh a lot as you are enjoying your time with them. This is the gift that lasts forever long after the iPod is outdated and the clothes no longer fit. It’s what stays in your heart that takes you through the year.
Best of all, it doesn’t take money, boxes or ribbons going to landfill, no recycling of waste, and the realization that it truly is a green gift!
By the way, here’s a link if you are interested in stopping all those catalogs landing in your mailbox.
by Jodi Avery on February 8, 2011
GROWING TOMATO PLANTS FROM SEED – YES, YOU CAN DO IT!!
SUPPLIES:
- Orchard Supply Hardware (OSH) Premium Potting Mix or Any Sterile Seeding Mix
- Propagation Tray with Cell Divisions
- Plastic to Cover Tray
- Several Layers Newspaper or Piece of Cardboard
- Small-Spout Watering Can
- Fan
- Warm & Sunny Spot
- SEEDS
STEPS FOR SEEDING:
- Dampen potting mix. You want it “fluffy” not soggy.
- Fill each cell with potting mix leaving ¼ inch space at the top.
- Place 2-3 seeds in each cell.
- Cover seeds with potting mix—the remainder ¼ inch in the cell.
- Water 3X – This is important. Allow 5 minutes between each watering.
- Cover with clear plastic. Lay cardboard or several layers of newspaper on top.
- Remove plastic as soon as first seedlings appear.
- Turn on the fan.
- If using a fluorescent light, place it as close to the seedlings without touching them.
- If a seedling dies at the soil line, it is from damping-off disease—fungal in nature. Make some chamomile tea; cool the tea; place in a spray bottle and spray your seedlings. This should save the rest. Let the cells dry just a little on top before watering. Overwatering can cause damping-off.
- 11.Check after 2 days. Once 1st seedling has sprouted, remove covers. You will have to keep watering the non-germinated cells, so they don’t dry out.
- Put tray in sunny spot.
STEPS FOR TRANSPLANTING
- Once seedlings have 2 sets of true leaves, it is time for transplanting into the red SOLO cups.
- Fill cups with potting mix, and then make a deep enough hole to bury the seedlings up to their “necks.”
- Again, water in 3X.
- Plants can be shuttled outside during the day and brought in at night. Keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t dry out too much or get sunburned.
OTHER SOURCES OF INFO
by B.E. Ginnings on June 11, 2010
I was reading up on green housing trends the other day and surprisingly, found myself falling right under #4 of the Top Ten Housing Trends of 2010. It’s call “Right sizing”. According to the article, the days of the super sized homes are over. Little did I know what I began ten years ago would make me so “trendy” today in the green movement!
I have been in a downsizing mode for the past 10 years. We were a family of four living in a 3,700 square foot house and I always felt it was too big for us. There were lots of unused spaces. It’s human nature to fill empty spaces with “stuff”. It held “treasures” that no one could bear to part with but rarely used. The stuff just spread.
When our daughter left for college, we move into what I thought was a much smaller place, just under 1,900 square feet. At the time, it was just the right size for a family of three. Two years ago, our son left for college. [click to continue…]
by Jodi Avery on June 6, 2010
Methyl iodide kills every living organism in the soil to primarily protect our strawberries. Personally, I had rather do without strawberries than have acres and acres of soil contaminated with a chemical so toxic it is handled with extreme caution by researchers. We have until June 29th to post comments to The California Department of Pesticide Regulation. Please go to the following: Pesticide Registration Branch, Department of Pesticide Regulation, P.O. Box 4015, Sacramento, CA 95812. E-mail: mei_comments@cdpr.ca.gov. And read the San Francisco Chronicle article–http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-06-02/bay-area/21653580_1_replacement-for-methyl-bromide-methyl-iodide-pesticide-regulation.
We must protect our soils, our watersheds, our farm workers, and our children’s health. A perfect strawberry can, in fact, be the “poisoned apple.” Act now!
by Rigmor Munkvold on June 1, 2010
On one of my weekly coffee get together with friends at Pete’s, the subject on how expensive organic produce can be when you are on a tight budget came up. Most of my friends believed that organic is better for their health as well as our environment. Interesting subject. If I could buy only a few organic produce, which one should it be. I did some research and came up with a list of 12 produce that were found to consistently have high pesticide residues when tested by the USDA and FDA.
| Fruits |
Vegetables |
| Apples |
Carrots |
| Cherries |
Celery |
| Imported Grapes |
Spinach |
| Nectarines |
Potatoes |
| Peaches |
Sweet Bell Peppers |
| Pears |
|
| Strawberries |
|
EWG analysts have developed the Guide based on data from nearly 87,000 tests for pesticide residues in produce conducted between 2000 and 2007 and collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. You can find a detailed description of the criteria EWG used to develop these rankings and the complete list of fruits and vegetables tested at our dedicated website, www.foodnews.org.
by Rigmor Munkvold on May 25, 2010
Watching the news about the oil spill in The Gulf of Mexico, I was left wond
ering how Mother Nature deals with the oil that naturally leaks out from the ocean floor every day. I went Internet surfing for answers and lo and behold, I hit upon Alcanivorax borkumensis, an oil-eating bacteria that uses oil hydrocarbons as its exclusive source of carbon and energy converting it to less harmful substances.
The genome of Alcanivorax borkumensis was sequenced by a group of scientists, co-led by Martins dos Santos of the Helmholtz Center of Infection Research in Braunschweig, Germany.
Barely detectable in unpolluted waters, A.borkumensis becomes the dominant microbe in oil-polluted waters. There are other species of marine bacteria that is capable of breaking down oil. A. borkumensis is considered to be the best ecological biodegrader due to it produces a wide variety of effective oil-degrading enzymes. [click to continue…]
by Jan Jaso on May 18, 2010
As I watch the oil spill saga off the coast of Louisiana the past couple of weeks, I was gripped by the magnitude of this disaster. Not only lives were lost but this wasn’t going to be easily or quickly contained and the scope of the damage to the sea life and the eco balance of the ocean for years to come.
As each day passes, the situation seems to get worse instead of better. The statistics continue to rise as the number of gallons of oil escaping increase. Many watched the daily update with this sickening feeling that our world has been compromised and wonder what we can do about it. There is this helpless feeling that there’s little that can be done by an individual.
The obvious answer is to consume less fossil fuel. How do I do it without changing my entire way of life? This is where “buy local“ makes sense and it’s the perfect time of the year to begin. Many farmer’s markets open in the spring throughout the country. Not only the offerings are the freshest of the season; local farmers use less fuel to bring the goods to market. It’s another way to support small, local farms.
This is not going to solve the oil spill problem but just a step to reduce our consumption as we continue to find alternative fuels and therefore, lessen the need to drill for more oil – especially offshore drilling.
Summer is the high season for hotels. Many people are taking their vacation during this time. Here are some statistics for the travelers: each time a hotel room is serviced, it uses roughly 26.5 gallons of water and 1,500 watts of electricity.
