Adventures in Eco-Living

Our Seed Order

I've done it! I've finished our seed order for spring! And well ahead of time, which, these days, is quite an accomplishment. It seems that life with a 1 and a half year-old has been an exercise in "catching up".

In the past I have ordered from mulitple seed companies. Since we are not going to be selling seedlings at Farmer's Market this year, just growing our own food, I opted to limit our seed purchases and order only from Baker Creek (one of our favorite heirloom seed companies). As much as I love to try new varieties of heirloom veggies, we just don't need 25 varieties of tomatoes if we won't be selling any of them. I must admit, though, it was truly hard to narrow down my selection!

Seed shopping can quickly get out of control- I mean, who can resist those gorgeous photos of oh-so-ripe fruits and veggies, a delicious reminder of warm sunny days to come?), so it's best to come up with a budget BEFORE you start browsing. This year I decided to keep our order under $100.

Now, this may sound like a lot, but not only will the garden provide all of our veggies for summer and most of our veggies for the year, but I will also have tons of extra seeds to give away/save for next year.You certainly don't have to spend this much, but at between $1.75 and $3.00 a packet for most seeds, it quickly adds up. Plus I am a sucker for trying interesting and unusual varieties, for not only fun, but also for growing for farmers' market.

When you buy seeds, you usually get anywhere from 15 to 200 seeds, depending on the type of plant you will be growing. Small seeds, like lettuce, come in very large quantities, whereas bigger seeds, like beans, tend to come in smaller quantities. Then of course how rare the variety is also determines how many seeds/how expensive they might be. 

If you want a large selection of veggies for your garden, and especially if you want to grow more than one variety per veggie, chances are you'll find yourself with an overabundance of seeds and a large cost to boot. The solution? Either find a friend or neighbor who would be willing to split an order of seeds with you, or properly store your seeds for next year. And by properly, I mean throw them in a bag or jar and store somewhere where they won't get wet or eaten by mice. I theory, they shouldn't get too hot either, but I have to be honest here: we have stored our seeds in the most horrid of locations (left in the greenhouse all summer, baking at 120+ degrees for months) and *still* had germination the following season.

Although a lot of seed companies will tell you that you should buy new seeds each year, we've had great success with continuing to use our old seeds for up to three years. Sure, the germination rate goes down with each year, so you'll need to be sure to plant extras, but you should end up with at least some plants. This can save you a lot of $$$ on seed purchases. In 2010, I bought approximately $125 worth of seeds (we were selling at Farmer's Market that year). I was very lazy about storing them, and so some of them ended getting ruined throughout the course of the year, but in 2011 I bought absolutely NO seeds. I simply used leftovers from the summer before. And actually, we used leftovers from 2009, too. That means that for less than $65 per summer, we were able to grow two years worth of food and over $1000 worth of plants to sell at market. Not bad!

So, the big question then is what to grow... Here is our shopping list from this year, just in case anyone is interested. I always like checking out other gardener's lists, looking for cool new varieties to snag.

• Empress of India - Nasturtium
• Tiger Eye Mix Sunflower
• Henderson's Black Valentine Pole Bean
• Contender (Buff) Valentine Bush Bean
• Early Wonder Beet
• Calabrese Green Sprouting Broccoli
• Mammoth Red Rock Cabbage
• Chantenay Red Core Carrot
• Green Macerata Caulliflower
• Dakota Black Popcorn
• Marketmore 76 Cucumber
• Listada De Gandia Eggplant
• Nigerian Saybo Gourd
• Russian Red or Ragged Jack Kale
  
• Early Purple Vienna Kohlrabi
  
• Carentan Leek
• Rocky Top Lettuce Mix
• Charentais Melon
• Laxton's Progress no. 9 Garden Pea
• Orange Bell Pepper
  
• Monstrueux De Viroflay Spinach
• Costata Romanesco Zucchini
  
• Connecticut Field Pumpkin
• Table Queen Bush Squash
• Five Color Silver Beet Chard
• Golden Midget Watermelon
• Yellow Brandywine Tomato
• Purple Russian Tomato
  
• Jersey Giant Tomato
• White Tomesol Tomato
  
• Hawaiian Pineapple Tomato
  
• Nature's Riddle Tomato

Have any favorite varieties that you will be growing this year? We'd love to hear about them!

Making Your Food Go Further: Freezing Leftovers for Baby

Since we're talking about growing your own food, I thought I'd take a day here to talk about making your food, and making it go as far as possible, especially when it comes to babies and toddlers.

Thinking that you don't have the time to make healthy, nutritious meals? Over the years, we've learned what is probably the easiest, and most obvious, trick to saving money and time (although, in truth, we don't always use it...don't ask me why...). By making food in large batches and then freezing the extra, you make multiple meals in just a little more time than it would have taken to make just one. It also means you might be able to buy your ingredients in bulk, which saves money, too.

Where we really use this is with baby food. Our 16-month old son can be picky. It can be somewhat disheartening to create a healthy meal that I was so excited to put together, only to discover that he just isn't into it, at least not today, at this meal. We've found the most expensive part about feeding a baby or toddler is the waste. *Sigh*.

The solution? A muffin pan and a freezer. I take the leftovers and freeze them in muffin-sized portions, then throw the "muffins" in ziploc bags to pull out another day. And usually, another day finds Chris more in the mood for whatever it was that he refused the first time.

This works for whole foods, like cous-cous, mac-n-cheese, spaghetti, chicken parmegiana, and such, but it also works for smoothies, yogurt and fruit mash-ups, oatmeals and other cooked cereals, and even baby food jars or pouches that I've opened but he won't eat. Just freeze in a non-stick or silicone muffin pan (silicone works great, because stuff just pops right out when you bend the pan), and pop out (using a spoon, if necessary).

Here is an example of the last meal I froze for our son. I had made Annie's Homegrown Organic 5-Grain Elbows & White Cheddar Macaroni & Cheese, which I then mixed with spinach, carrots, granulated kelp, and nutritional yeast for a healthy boost. Mac-n-Cheese is his absolute favorite, but for some reason (and, oh my, are there lots of reasons with toddlers, as you probably know!) that night, he wouldn't touch it. 

I froze the leftovers in a muffin tin, which left me with 12 muffin-sized servings (anywhere from 6-12 meals, depending on how hungry he is). The next night, he asked for "nunus" (noodles), so I popped out a portion, thawed it in the microwave, and voila! He gobbled up the whole bowl in minutes. (FYI, the macaroni in this is made from super healthy grains like quinoa, spelt and amaranth, so it's super high in protein. The dish itself is a little high in sodium, like all packaged foods, but the other healthy stuff makes me feel a little better about it.)

And if you do the math,  at about $2.50 per box, the macaroni and cheese I made comes out to between $0.20 and $0.40 a meal for Chris. Not bad!

If you need to freeze stuff in smaller amounts, for a younger baby or for  smaller snack-sized portions, we've found the absolute perfect method involves using this Wilton Silicone Brownie-Squares Baking Mold. Because it's made of silicone, it bends, and the cubes just pop right out. Then you can throw them in a ziplock bag or airtight container, label, and freeze. They won't stick together, because they are already frozen, so you can easily take out cubes one at a time. This is how we made Chris's baby food from the time he was 6 months old, and actually, I still use it for freezing his 10-grain breakfast cereal and yogurt. He happens to really like frozen foods, so we let him chew on just slightly thawed cubes, which are reminiscent of frozen yogurt, and which, I think, feel good on his sore teething gums.

And while we're on the subject of baby, I should mention our two favorite baby food books: Super Baby Food and The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook. The first one has the healthiest "super porridge" recipe I'd ever seen, made from all sorts of ground whole grains (which, surprisingly, was much easier than I thought it would be). Our son thrived on and actually quite enjoyed this addition to his diet.

So do you have any tricks to freezing food, or other ways to save time and money, that might make it easier to make nutritious, homemade food? We'd love to hear!

Seed Starting Basics

In my previous post, I mentioned some of our favorite heirloom, organic seed companies. Now is the time to start browsing, dreaming, planning, and getting excited about your garden!

But what do you do when your seeds arrive? Those tiny little bundles of garden promise must be planted and nurtured indoors until the cruel chill of winter has passed. Although every plant has its own timetable for germination and transplanting outdoors (which means that not all seeds should be started at the same time), and some seeds can be sown directly into the grown, mid-March through mid-April is roughly the appropriate time indoor seed starting here in Michigan. Before that time comes, you will need to  determine which seeds to start indoors and gather all of your supplies.

I think one of the best things you can do to prepare for a gardening adventure is research. Blog posts can only cover a limited amount of information at a time, so I would strongly recommend investing in some good books that will serve as a reference for years to come. Some of our favorites are:

• Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre
• The Heirloom Life Gardener: The Baker Creek Way of Growing Your Own Food Easily and Naturally
• Four-Season Harvest: Organic Vegetables from Your Home Garden All Year Long
• Grow Great Grub: Organic Food from Small Spaces 
• One Magic Square: The Easy, Organic Way to Grow Your Own Food on a 3-Foot Square
• You Grow Girl: The Groundbreaking Guide to Gardening
• Rodale's Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening: The Indispensable Green Resource for Every Gardener

After a bit of research, you'll need to plan what to plant your seeds in. We have about a gazillion of the 72-cell plant trays which we purchased for peanuts at a local farm auction, but you don't have to be that fancy. You can use empty egg cartons, which are perfect and since repurposed, very eco-friendly, but you need to start stocking up if you want to have a decent collection of plants. You can also make cute little pots out of newspaper using this cool handy-dandy
PotMaker® The Original Pot Maker tool, which we actually did one summer. (OK, I have to be honest here... our friend Ron was staying with us at the time, and he was the one who made all the pots, over 600 of them.... I'm not sure I could have had the patience for that many, but if you don't need 600, it might be a  great solution! A good job for kids?).

If you are a complete newbie to seed starting, you might want to go the easy (albeit slightly more expensive route) to seed starting and purchase a starter kit. Hydrofarm makes a nice starter kit, the Hydrofarm CK64050 Germination Station with Heat Mat, that includes a 72-cell tray, a heating mat, and a dome lid for around $25. With this kit, you will still need to purchase your planting medium, but that gives you some choice and flexibility to choose organic , which is nice.

We use and love Light Warrior® Agro-ponic® Grow Medium   for starting our seeds (on Amazon, about $25/bag with shipping). It is so chock-full of nutrients that we do not need to fertilize the little guys. When we transplant to pots, we use the Light Warrior again, providing a burst of fresh nutrition, and it is quite some time before the plants are in need of fertilizer. You might want to find a hydroponics store locally, to save on shipping, although we still pay almost $20 a bag at our favorite local organic grow store, Horizen Hydroponics in Kalalmazoo. If you use soemthing like peat as a starting medium, you will need to fertilize regularly, since peat has no available nutrition. A great fertilizer to use would be Bonide Fish Emulsion Plant Food, 16 oz..

Where to keep your seedlings once they germinate? In most cases, simply setting your tray of plants in a sunny window will not provide adequate light, and your seedlings will be tall and spindly, if they grow at all. My husband is quite the handy guy and was able to build us a grow shelf out of 2 x 4s, pressed board, and standard shop lights (photo above, post to follow soon with instructions). Building your own grow shelf is by far the cheapest way to go, and you'll also end up with a much sturdier product, but if you are not inclined to building your own, then check out the
Hydrofarm JSV4 4-Foot Jump Start T5 Grow Light System . It gets pretty good reviews and should provide ample room for starting seeds for a small to medium garden.

Once your seedlings have reached a height of a few inches, they will need to be transplanted. You can use plant pots, or you can use paper or plastic cups, or you can be super eco-savvy and recycle household items like empty yogurt and cottage cheese containers, coffee cans, frozen juice cans, etc. Whatever you choose, it should be able to withstand at least a few weeks of watering without completely deteriorating.

Once your seeds are planting, you should mark them with the name of the plant and the date you planted. There are special wooden plant markers that they sell for this purpose, but they are outrageously expensive and unnecessary. We buy a jumbo box of popsicle sticks and use those. Voila! Any leftovers can be used in a kids' log cabin building contest.

And finally, you will need to provide ample water and and nutrients to your little babies. A simple watering can is all that's needed. This OXO 1069727 Good Grips Indoor Pour & Store 3.17-Quart Watering Can, Blue is a nice little one if you want something sturdy and attractive. But why not be eco-friendly, and turn an empty 2-liter bottle into a watering can following these simple directions? So easy, free, and green! (Just make sure your holes aren't too large, you don't want to drown your delicate seedlings.)

Whatever you choose for watering, I recommend a spout with mutiple small holes, as opposed to a can with just one larger pouring spout, so that you don't flood your tiny plants. Some people mist instead of watering, but in my experience, it takes an awful lot of misting to keep those babies damp, especially if you are using a very bright light.

So start browsing, planning, arranging... planting time will be here before you know it!

 

Planning Your Garden: Time to Start Browsing Seed Catalogs

 

Whether you are a seasoned gardener, or a brave, intrepid soul looking to grow some of your own food for the first time, it's time to start thinking about starting your own seeds. If you intend to buy plants at a local nursery instead, you still have awhile before you need to make garden plans. But if you want to experience the joy and miracle of watching your own food burst forth from the tiniest speck of a seed, now is the time to get into garden mode. And, besides, nothing whisks away those winter doldrums like the gorgeous colors and delicious promises of a seed catalog. We spend many a chilly winter eve in front of a blazing fire, sipping hot cocoa, "oohing" and "aaahing" over the gorgeous and unusual varieties that heirloom seed catalogs bring right to our door.

 

Imagine the delicious juiciness of a purple cherokee tomato, so ripe and wonderful that one bite sends your taste buds into a frenzied state of happiness, tomato juices drizzling down your chin. A dash of salt, a splash of olive oil, and my, oh my... a gourmet snack fresh from nature! Seed catalogs offer the promise of heaven, of fruits and veggies that no grocery store can ever offer, tastes and smells and colors that will burst forth from your garden and decorate your dinner plate. And the best part? Starting plants from seeds costs pennies per plant!

 

If you don't have one already, you will need some sort of grow shelf for starting your seedlings, and we will show you our DIY, easy-peasy pumpkin squeezy grow shelf in a later post. For now, it's time to start requesting catalogs so that you can give yourself some delicious motivation to get serious about your garden.

Hands-down, our favorite paper catalog is from Baker Seeds. Their catalog is a masterpiece (and yes, we know it is more eco-friendly to browse seeds online, but I promise you, there is nothing quite as wonderful as flipping through this catalog, all curled up under a warm blankie, photos popping off the pages with their vibrant colors and yummy gorgeousness). Other catalogs worth perusing include Seed Savers Exchange, Peaceful Valley (with its artist-rendered drawings instead of photos, and excellent gardening tips), Bountiful Gardens, and Fedco Seeds (no photos in this one, but once you know what you want, they are very affordable, particularly if you are buying seeds in large quantities).

 

 

So go ahead, request some catalogs, and start dreaming your garden to life. Spring will be upon us before we know it!

 

Living Organically (and Affordably)

The birth of our baby boy a year and a half ago brought new joys and dreams, but also new worries. We have always eaten healthy food, mostly organic, and much of it homegrown, but suddenly it seemed like not enough. Foods that I didn't mind eating before now seemed wrought with chemicals and impurities when I set them before my baby.

But where to start? Trying to switch to completely organic foods seemed overwhelming and expensive. Of course, there is always something else that can be found organically, for a price. To simply substitute what we were eating with an organic version could easily have doubled our grocery bill. So, then, how can a frugal family find a way to eat food that is both healthy AND affordable? We wanted this to work not only for us, but also for others interested in doing the same.

I truly believe that if there is only one aspect of your lifestyle that you can put extra effort and extra expense into, it should be your diet. Food is so very important to our health. And our agricultural and livestock systems here in the US are becoming unhealthier by the day. Food that was once nourishing and tasty is now shipped halfway around the world, pumped full of pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, or other chemicals, genetically modified, and damaging to our health. Eating organically grown food has never been more important.

So then back to the question: how do we  cost-effectively make our diet healthier? We have spent the last year taking a close look at our purchases, our eating habits, cooking methods, and sources of food, to come up with a realistic plan. Over the next month or so, I plan to write about how we are "organicizing" our life. I had originally planned this as just a post or two, but quickly realized that there is so much to write about. So instead, I've made it a theme. Here's a quick roadmap of where this will all go:

Why organic?
If you are going to be rehabbing your diet, it is important to know why you are doing it. The stronger your reasons, the more likely you are to stick to the plan. For us, it was easy: babies and young children are much more susceptible to the dangers of pesticides, herbicides,  and antibiotics and growth hormones in meat and dairy. My husband and I both agreed that we wanted our son to start life with a clean slate, free of all those nasty chemicals for as long as possible. In addition to that, we wholeheartedly believe in farming practices that nurture this beautiful world of ours and keep its inhabitants safe and healthy.

Need more motivation? See The Top 10 Reasons to Go Organic, or check out the Organic Consumers Association for info.

Plan a Garden
Hands down, the cheapest way to get organic food into your tummy is to grow it yourself. And trust me, you do not have to be a master gardener to do this. When my husband and I moved from the city to the country, neither one of us had ever had a garden before. And in that in that first summer, we grew enough not only to eat all summer and can for winter, but also to give away wheel barrels full of veggies to our neighbors.

You can start small, with just a few key veggies that your family enjoys, or if you are brave and have the room, try to grow a large enough variety to meet much of your family's needs. And with a baby in the family, a garden provides a very affordable way to make delicious, healthy baby food with minimal effort (pick, wash, puree, freeze).

Some of our favorite gardening resources include Peaceful Valley, Mother Earth News, and Kitchen Gardeners International.

Join a Health Food Store Co-op
We aren't able to find much organic food around here, out in the rural countryside. It took some time, but we finally figured out how to source the organic items we cannot grow ourselves. My husband works in Kalamazoo, and so we became members at a health food store co-op there, Natural Health Center, since he is able to stop in on his way home from work (saves me the cost of gas of an extra trip). As members, we receive a 20% discount, which brings the prices down quite close to non-organic items at a regular grocery store. In addition, they offer bulk items that are very affordable.

Farmer's Market
Even if it's not organic, buying local produce is a healthy choice for both you and the environment. When food does not have to be shipped across the country, it can be picked at the peak of freshness, rather than in a totally unripe state. Farmer's Markets offer competitive prices, delicious produce, and the chance to buy large quantities when a fruit or veggie is in season and then can or freeze what you don't immediately need for later use. I had never realized that asparagus is sweet and juicy until we moved out to the country and bought asparagus that was picked that day. What a difference from the asparagus we had been used to in our Chicago grocery store!

Raise Your Own Chickens
Even if you live in an urban area, you might still be able to raise your own hens, as long as you have a yard area where you can build a small coop. Many urban centers now allow residents to keep a limited number of hens (usually no roosters, though, for obvious reasons). There is absolutely nothing better than the flaming orange yolks of healthy, homegrown chicken eggs.

Join a CSA
This is an especially good option for those who don't have either the space or the time to grow their own vegetables. A CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) membership entitles you to a box of fresh-picked veggies every week or two all summer long. You generally receive whatever is in season. This is a great way to support small, local farmers and to build a connection with your food. Many CSAs offer farm visits, volunteering opportunities, and some of the freshest, tastiest food around. Local Harvest is a great website for finding a CSA, organic farm, farmer's market, or other sources of organically-grown food.

We'll be taking a look at these ideas, as well as a few more, over the next month to see how they can help a family eat more healthy, local, and organic food without breaking the bank. We'll have resources, tips, stories, recipes, and hopefully lots of sharing from others who are living organically and loving it. Stay tuned!

The Trick to Freezing Corn on the Cob

This summer things got a little hectic. WIth an almost-one-year-old underfoot, a garden overrun with weeds, a bountiful harvest, and pure exhaustion at the end of busy, glorious, sunny days, we needed  easy solutions for storing our harvest. Which meant that this year we opted for freezing all of our veggies instead of canning them, for two reasons: one, it was quicker, but also, and prehaps more importantly, it is much more nutritious to freeze than to can. Canning over-boils the contents and zaps your fruit and veggies of most of their major nutrients.And since I intend to feed those veggies to my little guy, I didn't want to *zap* away all the nutrients.

So when our neighbor stopped by with about 40 ears of the most fabulous corn we have ever tasted, I *sighed* at the thought of cutting all that corn off the cob. Then an idea hit me- with 3 freezers down in the basement, we had plenty of extra freezing space (which is the biggest obstacle to freezing corn on the cob). Why not just freeze the entire cob? Could this be done, I wondered? If only it could be oh-that-easy!

A quick search on the internet uncovered a couple of disappointing facts: it is definitely possible to freeze corn on the cob, BUT the corn was doomed to become ultra-mushy. I thought about it, and decided to give it a shot anyway. 40 ears of corn were quickly husked and thrown in Ziplock freezer bags before I had time to think twice.

The first two ears weren't bad. We thawed the corn, and then threw them on a grill. A little mushy, but full of flavor and sweetness. It all went downhill from there. As time went on, each cob we pulled out of the freezer got progressively mushier. It was a disaster. All that delectable corn, doomed to an eternity of mushiness.

And then we discovered an amazing trick, completely by accident. I had reduced cooking time to a matter of seconds in boiling water in an effort to ward off as much mush as possible. Unfortunately, I pulled a duo of cobs out of the boiling water before the kernels were even warmed on the inside, and since I had already dumped the boiling water, was forced to microwave them for a couple of minutes to warm them up. And then it happened- the crunchiest, juiciest, freshest-tasting corn on the cob ever- straight out of the microwave.

The microwave??! Not what I would have dreamt of as the perfect solution. But should you ever decide to freeze your corn on the cob, know that it is indeed possible to have crunchy corn all winter long!

 

Mosquitoes Be Gone! How to Get Rid of Mosquitoes Naturally....

Living in rural SW Michigan on 20+ acres of woodlands, we have some of the worst mosquitoes this summer we've ever had, thanks in part to the very rainy year, the high heat and humidity, and some flooded swamplands at the back of our woods. It's been so bad, in fact, that I've had trouble hanging out outside with our baby- we just get attacked instantly!

So I set out on a mission to find a solution... after all, we moved to the country so we could enjoy the great outdoors, and not have to hide out inside. Some neighbors down the road sprayed their land with a chemical mosquito killer, which is absolutely out of the question for us, but it got me thinking. There must be an organic or natural solution that can help.

My search led me to three very helpful solutions that have literally changed our life. Of course, we still get the occasional bite here and there, but are no longer swarmed instantly by hundreds of those pesky biters. We aren't offering them at The Greater Green yet, but they are available on Amazon, so I am including the links in this post.

First, this summer I came across the best natural insect repellant I have EVER found. Actually, it is the ONLY natural bug spray that has worked AT ALL out here. We are absolutely thrilled with the results. It is a tad stinky- be warned- so if you are somewhat sensitive to smells, this might not be for you. But if you are like us, and desperate to keep mosquitoes away without using DEET, then you probably won't care that this stuff doesn't have the most pleasant aroma. And we have gotten used to it over time, so that I hardly mind it at all now. Here is the link:

The next thing we looked into was a really effective bug zapper. We have had zappers in the past, but they just weren't powerful enough to handle the 2 acres of cleared land surrounding our house. I had given up on a zapper, until I looked into the Flowtron line. They have zappers available that are rated for up to 2 acres- crazy! We purchased one that is rated for an acre and a half, and after about a week and a half, the difference is amazing. I can literally go outside and not see a single mosquito for 10-20 minutes- something that was totally unheard of before. At night this zapper goes crazy! The trick is to put it far enough away from the area you intend to hang out in, so that bugs are lured away, and so the zapping noise doesn't drive you crazy. Ours is located on a light pole with an outlet about 25 yards from the house. Here is the zapper we purchased:

 

Finally, we just received some Bonide Mosquito Beater granules. They get pretty good reviews. One said that they smell like citronella (one of the ingredients) and that they work great until rain washes the pellets away. We are going to try an application just before our pig roast, so I'll let you know how they work. I am expecting that with these three products, our yard will be, hopefully, mosquito-free for the rest of the summer! Here is a link to the Mosquito Beater granules:

 

Do you have another natural mosquito solution? Please share!

 

 

Eco-Wrap: Making Christmas a Little More Eco-Friendly

My dear friend Kim has done it again- she's wrapped all her Christmas presents in an eco-friendly wrapping that she made herself from various recycled items. This year, she chose fabric- from clothing, fabric scraps, and other odds and ends. I think it looks fabulous! What a great way to avoid all the excessive garbage leftover from Christmas.

Anybody else have any great eco-wrap ideas?

Rainy Day Happenings (Yummy Homemade Chicken Broth)

Well, after four straight days in the mid-nineties, the heat has finally broken.  A round of storms has rolled in, and that is just fine with me! I've been doing great with my pregnancy so far, but at 31 weeks, the heat and humidity has been just killing me.  Stepping out into the 90+ degree weather, I instantly feel all of my energy fizzling away. On top of the heat, it's been an incredibly rainy spring and early summer, which means two not-so-good things: more blood-sucking mosquitoes than I think I've ever seen in my life, and out-of-control weeds that I just can't keep up with. I have a feeling that I'm going to have to adapt the old "just do what you can do and let the rest go attitude" with the garden this summer, which is not an easy pill to swallow (but a necessary one!).

So when the rains started falling this morning, I eagerly donned my gardening gloves and headed outside. After all this crazy heat, weeding in the rain was bliss! Messy, yes, but wonderful.  I weeded until I was soaked through and covered in mud, thoroughly enjoying the cooling splash of the light raindrops on my skin. When the storms really started picking up, I headed indoors.

The slight cooling means I can also finally catch up on a few things that are near impossible when it's sweltering: making chicken broth, baking bread, and finally baking one of my favorite spring treats, rhubarb coffee cake, before my last bit of rhubarb goes bad. I simply have not been able to turn on the oven- it's just too hot!

So I thought I'd include a recipe for my "Anything Goes Chicken Broth". It's quite simple- there are no strict rules or ingredients, and it always comes out delicious. I guess really it's more of a chicken AND vegetable broth, and it works well in just about any recipe that calls for either of the two.

Here's how we start: when we cook a whole chicken, I save the back (which doesn't have a ton of meat) and all the bones after we're finished eating, throwing them in a Ziplock bag and into the freezer until I'm ready to make broth. Because we raise our chickens, the best part is that I know my broth will be all-natural and free of nasty chemicals. And it's great to use every part of the chicken for something!

Then when I get to the point where I have some veggies, like carrots, onions, and celery, that are getting old and need to be used up, it's Broth Day. I throw the chicken carcass into a big pot of water, adding any veggies that I have on hand. Onions, garlic, carrots and celery are a must. Keep the skins on the onions and garlic, washing and halving them. Be sure to use the leafy part of the celery, it's the best for adding flavor for broth. I'll even blanch and then freeze that leafy part for later when I have  celery, if I'm not ready to make broth.

Other veggies that I often throw in, if I've got them, include some collard greens, Swiss chard, cabbage, and beet greens. Then I add some fresh herbs (or dried if that's all I've got), like thyme, sage, parsley, oregano, basil, and rosemary.  Whatever you like, really, just throw it in! Finish with some whole peppercorns and salt, and you're good to go.

I usually let the broth simmer for a few hours, and the longer the better. When it's finished, strain all the chunks and pieces out (I use a collander), and then you can freeze the broth in small Tupperware- type containers. I tried using glass canning jars, only to discover that about half of them cracked in the freezer (they are not meant to withstand freezing), so plastic it must be. I try to freeze the broth in one- or two-cup serving sizes, since that is what I often need for my recipes.

And voila, you have homemade, healthy, yummalicious broth!

What's Brewing on the Farm

Oh dear! It's been ages since I last posted. Spring has a funny way of slipping by like that.... We wait impatiently all winter for a little warmth and sunshine, and at the first drop of sunny wonderfulness, our days suddenly become a blur. It's wonderful to be busy again, but as usual, I find myself thinking that we'll never get to all our grand plans once again. I think that's the beauty of life- there is always next year, and the dreams we have that get put on hold keep us planning, preparing, and anticipating.

So here's what we've been up to so far:

• We bought another eight fruit trees to start building our orchard. It's not very many, but we figure we'll add another eight or so each year until we have a sizeable collection. Last year we purchased our trees from Menard's, and unfortunately, 3 out of the 5 never blossomed. By the time we realized that the trees were dead, Menard's would no longer take them back. So we certainly won't be making that mistake again! This year we found a great local organization to support, the Van County Conservation District, through their annual Tree Sale. The trees are all healthy and doing great, and at $17 a piece, they were a pretty good deal. No matter where you live, there should be a local conservation district that you can visit, and chances are they have some sort of plant or tree sales. If you live in or near Van Buren County, MI, you can check out our local Conservation District here: http://vanburencd.org/archives/category/shop-online
• I've planted the potatoes, snap peas, regular peas, radishes, carrots, onions, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, and cabbage. Unfortunately the chickens keep sneaking into our garden and nibbling on my lettuce. As spring progresses, they usually find other stuff that interests them and stay out of the garden, but this early on, they can't seem to resist the tender green leaves of my heirloom lettuce. Arrrgggghhh!
• Our chickens have also been wandering over to our neighbor's house, and the neighbors are not happy about it. Chickens can kick up and make a mess of your landscaping very quickly (which doesn't bother us, but of course our neighbors are not pleased at all), and our rooster is becoming quite aggressive. So the chickens only get to free-range in the evening until Alex has the time to install a border fence between our property lines to keep them on our side. In hindsight, we should have placed the coop on the other side of our property, which backs up to the woods rather than a neighbor's house.
• We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our four piggies for this summer. It seems our pig farmer is busy planting his hundreds of acres of corn (there is no rest for real farmers this time of year), so we will just continue to wait.
• It's been four years since we added a big load of manure to our garden plots, so we will be doing that again this year. One of our neighbors raises organic, free-range cows, and has all the composted manure we could ever want. Be careful if you are planning to add manure to your garden- make sure it has been composting at least over winter, so that you do not "burn" your plants with the high levels of nitrogen. You also want to add your manure as early in spring as possible, a good 120 days or so before harvest (the more composted it is, the shorter that time period can be) to avoid any bacterial contamination.
• I am helping out this year with a Victory Garden project at the Bangor Alternative High School where I teach high school completion evening classes for adults. The high school students working on the garden project are so excited, and they are even making a documentary about their work. It's so neat to see the movement toward fresh food and community gardens springing up in schools around the country!
• Finally, we have some wonderful news: we are expecting a little helper on the farm! I am currently 23 weeks pregnant with our first baby. Not too sure how this is going to affect my ability to garden this summer, but I'm ready to take it all in stride. We have cut back a bit on the amount we are growing, though I do still want to have a fresh supply of food for both me and my baby come fall. I'll keep you updated on our adventures.

Wherever you are, whatever you do, I hope that spring is bringing you many enjoyable days and a summer to look forward to!

Spring has Sprung!

The garlic tops in our garden have pushed through their straw mulch, almost overnight, it seems. We planted our garlic in the fall, covered them with a straw mulch, and waited impatiently all winter. Soon we will have delicious garlic scapes (the curly green tops that you can cut off and eat, which have a mild garlic taste that helps ease the anxious yearning for the garlic bulbs).

Wild garlic has sprouted, one of the earliest (and tastiest) signs of spring. We cut the green parts off, chop them up, and use them in our favorite dishes for extra garlic flavor. They can be used in place of chives. They prefer to grow in damper areas, so under trees and bushes is a great place to look. If you live in the Midwest, chances are you just might be able to find some out in your yard. But you've got to be quick and harvest them before grass mowing time begins! Here is a great blog post about wild garlic on Cincinnati Locavore.

Even Speckles is enjoying the unseasonably warm weather. There is finally fresh greenery on the ground, and bugs galore that seemed to have come out of nowhere! We will now start seeing our yolks get noticeably more orange with each passing week. Yay!

And it's back to hanging laundry outside. Nothing beats the clean, sweet smell of sunshine radiating from your sun-warmed shirts!
 

 

 

The Future of Sustainable Agriculture: Aquaponics

Aquaponics. The wonderfully sustainable combination of aquaculture (raising fish) and hydroponics (growing plants in a soil-less water medium). What a brilliant idea! We are looking into this as our next sustainable agriculture adventure in the upcoming year.

Check out this cool video:

But why hydroponics? We haven't had a lot of experience with this type of growing, but from what I have learned recently, there is a big future in hydroponics. For one, it uses 10% of the water that conventional (soil-based) agriculture does, so that right there is a huge savings, particularly as we progress into an era when water conservation is going to become a top priority. Also, conventional, and especially big corporate-based, agriculture is costing us to lose precious top soil at an alarming rate. A soil-less growing method that requires no top soil is going to be so important as many of the world's growing regions become depleted and others become arid. Finally, hydroponically-raised plants grow faster, because you can so directly control the nutrients being fed to the plant, and because the plants have constant, direct access to those nutrients.

And aquaculture? Well, think about. Raising fish creates an inevitable byproduct: fish poop. That fish poop just happens to be an excellent, perfect, organic plant fertilizer. In a properly balance aquaponics system, the hydroponic plants would require NO other fertilizers other than the fish poop being siphoned from the fish tank to the plants. Amazing!

Some of the more common aquaponics systems use goldfish, which are incredibly hardy and can survive the extremes of temperature that are inherent in northern climates, even within a sheltered greenhouse. We are most interested in a system that would raise tilapia, which you could then eat!! We are talking a whole-survival system here, providing protein (fish) and all of your veggie needs. In fact, many developing countries are implementing these systems because of the incredible results and the small amount of input needed. The most expensive part would actually just be the start-up.

Aquaponics is catching on around the country. Though it certainly is not new, this national spotlight is. It's the perfect melding of time and opportunity: people are interested in sustainability because it presents a chance at self-sufficiency and affordability in uncertain times. What is sustainable is often not only healthier, but also cheaper. And aquaponics, excluding the initial start-up costs, is a cost-effective way to grow your own healthy, organic food.

The NY Times just recently ran an article on aquaponics:

"The Spotless Garden"

Check out this cool website about how to build a basic backyard aquaponics system within a small greenhouse:

"Aquaponics, An Ecocircle in Action"

And here are some links to more articles and blogs to learn more about aquaponics:

The Aquaponics Gardening Blog

"Aquaponics: The Urban Food Revolution"

"Aquaponics Raises Fish & Vegetables Sustainably"

"NY City's First Hydroonic Rootop Garden to Produce 30 Tons of Food Annually"

Finally, if you search "aquaponics" on YouTube.com, you will find all sorts of great how-to videos. Good luck!

Making Wood Stove Heating More Eco-Friendly

Here on our small hobby farm in Michigan, we use strictly wood stove heat in winter to provide our warmth. It's now been three years since we've needed to turn on our furnace (when we first moved out here, we were using a combination of wood stove and propane furnace). All of the wood we burn is harvested as fallen trees in our own forest, minimizing environmental impact. In fact, there are more fallen trees from our violent summer storms then we can manage!

We are currently trying to maximize the efficiency of our heating system. We purchased a new wood stove in 2006 that was extremely efficient and does a great job of heating our house, despite its relatively small size. Still, we burn a lot of wood, and want to try and minimized the environmental impact of that burning.

Wood stove efficiency has come a long way. Newer EPA-certified models are about one-third more efficient than the old pot-belly stove models, and they produce about 90% less particulate matter (smoke) than the older models. Fires also ignite more easily and burn more completely in these new stoves. We added a blower that sits on top of the stove for better air circulation, and a ceiling fan directly above the stove that circulates the heat throughout the room. 

But still, we constantly seek to maximize efficiency with our stove by asking the question, "What else can we use our stove for besides heat?" An obvious answer is cooking food and boiling water. A teapot resting on top of a roaring wood stove brings the water to a boil in no time at all! I am still mastering the art of cooking on the stove, since you can't just "turn down" the flame when needed.

One of the things we've had to address is the extremely dry air that the wood stove produces. Without some sort of humidifier in the room, it quickly becomes very unpleasant. I can remember one night before we realized this, when my dad was visiting. He actually ended up sleeping with a damp washcloth over his face, because he was so unaccustomed to such dry air! Now we place a large pot of water on top of the stove, and let it slowly evaporate throughout the day.

We also realized that hang-drying our laundry would have a two-fold benefit. First, we would save on our very expensive propane bill by not using our dryer (we always hang-dry our clothes in summer, but used to switch to the dryer in winter). Second, as the clothes dried, they would contribute badly needed moisture to the air. A perfect solution!

The only problem was creating the space to hang the clothes without having them be constantly in the way. Our wood stove is right in the middle of our living room, and so the clothes would have to hang in the living room, too. The solution? Alex designed a simple but functional hanging rack, suspended from the ceiling along the side wall, and it has worked perfectly, saving us money and keeping the air humidified! When not in use, he made it attractive enough to not be an eyesore. It's working so well, I might even ask him to build another!

Have any other uses for your wood stove? We'd love to hear about them!

Our Favorite Organic (and Cheap) Alternative to Soda Pop

I have a weakness.... on a hot summer's day, there is nothing I enjoy more than an ice cold glass of Coke. I can remember lazy afternoons at my grandma's house when I was little, with a chilled glass of Coke so cold you could barely hold on it to it. It was our special late afternoon treat.

But now that we're all grown up, and we are on a journey of sustainable living, we are trying to cut the "junk" out of our diet, and that means first and foremost high fructose corn syrup (recently suggested to be linked to liver damage and diabetes, among other things). I guess soda pop, for me, was a tough one to give up. I would say, "OK, that's it, I'm going to give up pop for good now," but then, inevitably, I would be somewhere and would find myself with a big fountain drink in my hand.

Part of the problem was that I find juice a little heavy and sweet to drink all day long, but sometimes I need something more than water. So I started experimenting with creating my own special tea-based iced beverage, and I think I am onto something fabulous.... (disclaimer: OK, I cheated.... I based my recipe on a Tazo drink I was had that was delicious, but contained high fructose corn syrup and was pricey).

This drink is based on jasmine green tea, which is full of cancer-fighting anti-oxidants, and is absolutely superb served chilled over a glass of ice. In fact, I find it much more enjoyable cold than hot. The jasmine adds a delicate floral touch that is just heavenly, and the ginger makes it warming enough to drink in winter. It is smooth, refreshing, clean, and crisp, and I now drink this organic, healthy, full-of-antioxidants drink all day long! And at about 20 cents per quart, you just can't get more economical than this!

RECIPE

1 Numi Organic Jasmine Green Tea bag

1 quart water

honey to taste (I suggest about 1/8 - 1/4 cup, but use your own judgment)

small piece of chopped ginger (optional)

1 stick lemongrass or 1 tbsp shredded lemongrass (optional)

mint leaves (optional)

Directions:

Boil the water, then pour into a glass jar with the tea bag and the honey. Let steep for approximately 5 minutes, but go longer if you want your tea strong. If you are using the ginger and lemongrass, add them to the steeping tea. You can either just throw them in, and then strain the tea when it is finished steeping, or you can add them in a spice bag or tea infuser, so they are easy to remove.

Let cool, then refrigerate. Serve chilled over ice. Throw in a mint leaf for even more yumminess and enjoy!

The Green Holiday Gift Guide 2009

The wintry wonders of November are settling in, the last of the leaves have lost their will to hang on, and mornings are chilly enough to make me wish I didn't really have to get out of bed. This can only mean one thing. Yes, the holiday season is approaching, and once again we are spending much time here trying to figure out how to make it more meaningful (and less hectic!).

Gone for us are the days of gadgets and gizmos, last minute frantic shopping to buy, something, anything, that could be given as a gift. We've started to focus on more handmade, more personalized gifts, and when that doesn't work, we go green. Recycled, Fair Trade, organic, natural- gifts of these nature are so much more meaningful because they benefit our planet, too. We are baking, putting our organic sun-dried tomatoes into decorated jars of oil, making necklaces, making cutting boards, and making photo gifts. And when that doesn't cut it, or when we just run out of time to go homemade, we are giving some awesome green gifts to our loved ones.

We've put together our 2009 Holiday Green Guide with some of our favorite green gifts this season. We've searched far and wide to carry a wide selection of gifts that will fit everyone on your list. Some of them are available on our main website, while others are only available on our eBay World of Good store. (But don't worry, if you want items from both places, just shoot us an email and we can combine your orders with a shipping discount!).

So here goes. Happy Holidays to all, and here's to keeping it simple, keeping it meaningful, and keeping it green!

Recycled Paper Cutting Board

We just love this awesome board! It is made from 100% recycled paper, pressed into a product that Preserve calls "Paperstone". It is a gorgeous, durable, stone-like material that looks sleek and stylish in any kitchen. Perfect for that eco-someone who loves to cook! Price: $24.99

Fair Trade Color Splash Bags

These gorgeous bags are handmade by a Fair Trade cooperative in India, using recycled cotton scraps from a fabric mill. Beautiful patterns make these bags a sure hit. Because of their handmade and recycled nature, each one is totally unique, so you will never see anyone with an exact copy of your bag! Price: $38.99

"Drink the Drops" Stainless Steel Water Bottle

OK, so have you ever wanted to put ice in your water bottle, but the cubes wouldn't fit? Those days are over, with this awesome, wide-mouth water bottle. Don't forget that stainless steel is THE safest, BPA-Free choice for water bottles these days. And who wouldn't love the funky, artsy designs? Price: $12.99

Tree of Life Aluminum Water Bottle

We love these beautiful bottles as a more affordable alternative to SIGG. Besides, we weren't thrilled this year when SIGG admitted they knew their bottles contained trace amounts of BPA all along. Price: $12.99

Wanna see more bottles? CLICK HERE to view all of our reusable water bottles.

Natural Shaving Kit for Men

This stylish little kit comes with the most wonderfully moisturizing sassafras, all-natural shaving soap, a natural boar's hair bristle brush and a classy hardwood soap box. For that eco-man in your life! We've received rave reviews about this kit! Price: $23.99

10-Stage Home Water Filtering System

Keep it meaningful, and give them a gift that will really benefit everyone who uses it. This filter removes along list of contaminants, including chlorine, pesticides, and heavy metals, making it easy to "take back the tap". Say good-bye to bottles, and hello to clean, sparkling, delicious tap water. Price: $109

Natural and Exotic Handmade Soap Sampler

Mmmmm.... our very favorite soaps, bundled together in this cute soap sampler. All-natural, handmade, and heavenly. These delicious soaps are a pure indulgence!Price: $10.80, on sale

Mmmm....natural soaps make a heavenly gift. CLICK HERE to view all of our incredibly indulgent natural soaps!

Recycled Silver and Fair Trade Glass Necklace

Handmade by artist Josie Lamb Williams, this is a beautiful and elegant piece of green jewelry. Hand-crafted sterling silver, accented by Fair Trade, recycled glass, this unique gift will be cherished!

We have lots of eco-friendly jewelry ideas! CLICK HERE to view our line of eco-jewelry.

"Little Yogis" DVD Set: Yoga for Kids

Now this is cute! Instead of all the plastic toys and video games, how about a fun way for kids to learn how to stay healthy and fit. This DVD set teaches youngsters easy, simple stretches that make yoga fun. Price: $21.95

Organic Merino Wool Socks

OK, I know what you're thinking. Socks for Christmas??? Isn't that what your mom gets you? But, wait, honey.... if you've never tried these socks, you just don't know what comfort is. The warmest, most comfortable socks you will ever wear, and softer than you thought wool could be. And they breathe, too, so your feet just don't sweat. Amazing! My husband won't wear any other socks now. Price: $17.99

Hybrid Solar Flashlight

We have finally found an affordable, solar flashlight! And it's not just any flashlight, wither- it's waterproof, it floats, it's shatterproof, it can hold a charge for three years, it can charge in sunlight AND room light, and just in case, it has a back-up lithium battery. Besides that, it's lightweight, and a convenient size. Once again, my husband the Gadget Guy, has thoroughly tested this flashlight, and he enthusiastically gives it a double thumbs-up! Perfect for camping, hiking, fishing, boating, biking, and as an emergency light in your car that is always guaranteed to work.

Organic Cotton "Bikefish" T-shirt

We love this fun shirt! Besides the fact that it is organic cotton, the message is awesome: a school of bicycles eating a hummer. Available in olive green with a yellow screen print (eco-friendly dyes, of course). Yes! Price: $28.99

Fair Trade Cruelty-Free, Tree-Free Leather "World" Journal

Only from India, land where cows are revered for the beautiful animals they are, could we get a cruelty-free leather journal! The leather used to make this classy journal is from cows that died of natural causes. Additionally, the paper is tree-free, made from recycled cotton scraps from fabric mills.

Handmade, Fair Trade Wood Top

It's back to basics with this simple, beautiful, hand-carved wood top. There is something about old-fashioned toys that is making wooden creations so popular once again. And with all the problems in plastics and with lead paint on toys, wood is seeming to be such a simple, green solution. Who doesn't remember playing with a top when they were little? Price: $8.99

Make Your Own All-Natural Chocolate Kit

This is an educational, fun gift for children of all ages. Not only will they learn the art of making chocolate, kids will also learn the fascinating history and economy of chocolate, as well as learning about raw materials an dhow they are sourced from around the globe. Price: $9.95, on sale.

Handmade, Sustainably-Harvested Cutting Board

A beautiful, elegant cutting board makes the perfect addition to an eco-kitchen! Additionally, this is truly a gift that will last many years, and when necessary, can be re-finished for many more years of use, making it a truly sustainable product. The maple and walnut have been sustainably harvested right from our own forest, and then crafted by my husband Alex into beautiful and sturdy boards. Custom boards are available, too! Price: $31.99

"Think Green!" Children's Book

This awesome green book is geared toward teaching youngsters about green issues, from recycling to taking care of our planet. beautiful illustrations make this an enjoyable read, and printed environmentally friendly, too! Price; $14.95

PLA Corn Plastic Water Bottle with Filter

A reusable water bottle with it own filter, free of petroleum plastics! ALthough there are still many possibilities for improvements on these new corn-based bio-plastics, we believe it's a great start for getting away from petroleum forever! Price: $7.99, on sale.

Fair Trade Handmade Cotton Batik Swirl Scarf

We love the delicate intricacies of batik. This cotton scarf is funky, stylish, and eco-friendly, supporting a Fair Trade artisan co-op in India. Price: $23.99

Fair Trade, Hand Made "Ananda" Necklace from India

This beautiful necklace is so simple, yet so chic. Made in an extraordinary family-run artisan cooperative in India that helps its artists rise above poverty. Price: $19.99

Choosing a Safe Water Bottle

With all the news lately about BPA contamination in plastics, it's no wonder that consumers are wondering what a safe choice might be for their families. Here is a brief summary of what we at The Greater Green recommend, based on the latest research and findings:

#1: The BEST choice right now would be a glass water bottle. Consider reusing a glass juice jar that you purchased (filled with juice) and then ran through the dishwasher to sterilize it. There are absolutely no contamination concerns with glass, and it is easy to clean. Additionally, glass can hold just about any type of liquid. The one catch, of course, is that glass is breakable. A clever idea: wrap your glass jar in a hand towel before putting in your backpack or duffel bag, and then you can also use the hand towel throughout the day in restrooms,etc.

#2: If glass will not work for you, your best bet is appearing to be stainless steel water bottles with no liner (liners can themselves cause problems), like the ones available at The Greater Green, 20 oz Stainless Steel Water Bottle with Carabiner, that is the perfect size for that on-the-go lifestyle. It fits in most cup holders in cars, attaches to a belt loop or backpack, and is perfect for hiking, biking, or even just running errands. Stainless is extremely crack- and break-resistant, and does not stain easily. Additionally, at less than ten dollars, these bottles are an affordable choice, especially when you consider that if well-taken care of, these bottles will certainly last for years. For optimum performance, we recommend you only use your bottle for water (which will help keep it cleaner, too), though you can safely fill it with other cool liquids as well. Manufacturers do NOT recommend putting hot liquids into these bottles (use an insulated thermos for that).

Stainless steel is great because it is totally BPA-Free, toxin-free, sturdy, usually dishwasher-safe, and affordable. There are a lot of stylish stainless steel bottles available these days. If you are looking for some funky, stylish designs, check out these picks:

Get Real Sticks and Stones Stainless Steel Water Bottle: Sleek black design fits any mood, any occasion. Dark on black with a touch of color. This handsome, elegant bottle dresses up OR down. Whatever your mood. 20oz./600ml. BPA free stainless steel and decorated with lead-free inks. Threaded screw-on cap is totally unique!

Get Real Drink the Drops Stainless Steel Bottle: Fun, quirky design with the cool screw-on cap. Birds, squirrels, strange little deer-like creatures with mouths wide open for the big drops above. Subtle and eye-catching at the same time. Mostly white design on a deep blue background. 20oz./600ml. BPA free stainless steel and decorated with lead-free inks. Threaded screw-on cap is totally unique!

Hydrate Responsibly Stainless Steel Bottle: Simple, stylish message on a sleek silver bottle. "Hydrate Responsibly" and enjoy the pure taste of clean water in our designed stainless steel water bottles. 86% of plastic water bottles used in the United States end up in landfills, taking up to 1,000 years to biodegrade. Transporting bottled water consumes approximately 1.5 million barrels of fossil fuels per year. Help reduce this number by carrying a refillable bottle. With our 25.36 fl. oz. (750 ml) stainless steel bottles, water remains free of unhealthy plastic residues. BPA-FREE.

#3: The next best option for a safe water bottle would be aluminum bottles like SIGG, with an epoxy-resin liner. Though SIGG has insisted in the past that their bottles are BPA-Free, as of the summer of 2009 SIGG finally admitted that prior to 2008, their secret liner contained trace amounts of BPA. They are now supposed to be using a liner that is BPA-Free, and if you'd like to mail in your old bottles, say they will exchange them for free. Personally, we find this to be a bit disconcerting.

A company that has been a little more upfront with the safety of their bottles is Gaiam. Their aluminum bottles also contain an epoxy resin liner, but they have been very clear about the BPA issue. Extensive testing has shown that no BPA is present under normal conditions; however, under exteme conditions, trace amounts were found. That means that as long as you don't use your Gaiam bottles to drink very hot liquids, you should be fine. And aluminum is not only super light-weight, it is also a bit more affordable than stainless. Be aware, though, that you should not put your aluminum bottles in the dishwasher, and they will dent a bit easier than stainless steel.

Here are a few of our favorite aluminum bottles:

Tree of Life Aluminum Bottle: So simple and elegant, in a beautiful sage green color. Our Tree of Life 100% recyclable, reusable aluminum leak-proof water bottle by Gaiam is a reminder that all life on Earth is related. Bottle holds 25.36 fl. oz. (750 ml) and is sealed by a ring-top screw cap. Aluminum material does not contribute to the unhealthy amount of eco-polluting disposable waste plastic.

Cloud Bouqet Aluminum Bottle: Fun metallic blue design! This 100% recyclable, lightweight aluminum water bottle comes in an attractive, metallic blue with a delicate yellow floral design. Gaiam offers reusable aluminum water bottles as an eco-friendly alternative to disposable plastic water bottles. Our leak-proof, generous aluminum bottles hold 25.36 fluid oz. (750 ml), with a ring-top screw cap.

Persian Paisley Aluminum Bottle: Our 100% recyclable Persian Paisley aluminum water bottle is light and fun, and also eco-friendly. 86% of post-consumer disposable plastic bottles end up in US landfills, where they can take up to 1,000 years to break down. This reusable, leak-proof and generous aluminum water bottle holds 25.36 fluid oz. (750 ml), with ring-top screw cap.

#4: Our fourth choice for safe water bottles is the PLA Corn Resin Bottle. Now, this bottle serves a slightly different purpose, because it comes with a charcoal filter that makes the PLA bottle reusable for about 3 months, at which point it is compostable (though only in a commercial compost). We like the filter, because it means you can fill up with tap water wherever you are. Though PLA is not the perfect plastic, it is a good first step in creating sustainable plastics that are not so detrimental to the environment. We have discussed PLA at length in previous posts. Clicke HERE to read all about it.

WORST: Near the bottom of our list are the polycarbonate bottles. Because of contamination concerns with Bisphenol-A, we do not recommend these bottles. Please keep in mind that many baby bottles are also affected by the BPA concerns, so please look for BPA-free bottles, like those made by Born Free.

And, of course, the very last resort would be regular disposable plastic bottled water. First of all, this bottled water is often just plain old tap water anyway. And we now know that only a small fraction of plastic bottles actually enter the recycling stream (some estimates show only about 14% of plastic bottles are being recycled), so we have a major problem with plastics that will potentially last for millions of year.  Read all about it in The Problem with Plastics.

Here's to healthy hydration!

With all the news lately about BPA contamination in plastics, it's no wonder that consumers are wondering what a safe choice might be for their families. Here is a brief summary of what we at The Greater Green recommend, based on the latest research and findings:

#1: The BEST choice right now would be a glass water bottle. Consider reusing a glass juice jar that you purchased (filled with juice) and then ran through the dishwasher to sterilize it. There are absolutely no contamination concerns with glass, and it is easy to clean. Additionally, glass can hold just about any type of liquid. The one catch, of course, is that glass is breakable. A clever idea: wrap your glass jar in a hand towel before putting in your backpack or duffel bag, and then you can also use the hand towel throughout the day in restrooms,etc.

#2: If glass will not work for you, your best bet is appearing to be stainless steel water bottles with no liner (liners can themselves cause problems), like the ones available at The Greater Green, 20 oz Stainless Steel Water Bottle with Carabiner, that is the perfect size for that on-the-go lifestyle. It fits in most cup holders in cars, attaches to a belt loop or backpack, and is perfect for hiking, biking, or even just running errands. Stainless is extremely crack- and break-resistant, and does not stain easily. Additionally, at less than ten dollars, these bottles are an affordable choice, especially when you consider that if well-taken care of, these bottles will certainly last for years. For optimum performance, we recommend you only use your bottle for water (which will help keep it cleaner, too), though you can safely fill it with other cool liquids as well. Manufacturers do NOT recommend putting hot liquids into these bottles (use an insulated thermos for that).

Stainless steel is great because it is totally BPA-Free, toxin-free, sturdy, usually dishwasher-safe, and affordable. There are a lot of stylish stainless steel bottles available these days. If you are looking for some funky, stylish designs, check out these picks:

Get Real Sticks and Stones Stainless Steel Water Bottle: Sleek black design fits any mood, any occasion. Dark on black with a touch of color. This handsome, elegant bottle dresses up OR down. Whatever your mood. 20oz./600ml. BPA free stainless steel and decorated with lead-free inks. Threaded screw-on cap is totally unique!

Get Real Drink the Drops Stainless Steel Bottle: Fun, quirky design with the cool screw-on cap. Birds, squirrels, strange little deer-like creatures with mouths wide open for the big drops above. Subtle and eye-catching at the same time. Mostly white design on a deep blue background. 20oz./600ml. BPA free stainless steel and decorated with lead-free inks. Threaded screw-on cap is totally unique!

Hydrate Responsibly Stainless Steel Bottle: Simple, stylish message on a sleek silver bottle. "Hydrate Responsibly" and enjoy the pure taste of clean water in our designed stainless steel water bottles. 86% of plastic water bottles used in the United States end up in landfills, taking up to 1,000 years to biodegrade. Transporting bottled water consumes approximately 1.5 million barrels of fossil fuels per year. Help reduce this number by carrying a refillable bottle. With our 25.36 fl. oz. (750 ml) stainless steel bottles, water remains free of unhealthy plastic residues. BPA-FREE.

#3: The next best option for a safe water bottle would be aluminum bottles like SIGG, with an epoxy-resin liner. Though SIGG has insisted in the past that their bottles are BPA-Free, as of the summer of 2009 SIGG finally admitted that prior to 2008, their secret liner contained trace amounts of BPA. They are now supposed to be using a liner that is BPA-Free, and if you'd like to mail in your old bottles, say they will exchange them for free. Personally, we find this to be a bit disconcerting.

A company that has been a little more upfront with the safety of their bottles is Gaiam. Their aluminum bottles also contain an epoxy resin liner, but they have been very clear about the BPA issue. Extensive testing has shown that no BPA is present under normal conditions; however, under exteme conditions, trace amounts were found. That means that as long as you don't use your Gaiam bottles to drink very hot liquids, you should be fine. And aluminum is not only super light-weight, it is also a bit more affordable than stainless. Be aware, though, that you should not put your aluminum bottles in the dishwasher, and they will dent a bit easier than stainless steel.

Here are a few of our favorite aluminum bottles:

Tree of Life Aluminum Bottle: So simple and elegant, in a beautiful sage green color. Our Tree of Life 100% recyclable, reusable aluminum leak-proof water bottle by Gaiam is a reminder that all life on Earth is related. Bottle holds 25.36 fl. oz. (750 ml) and is sealed by a ring-top screw cap. Aluminum material does not contribute to the unhealthy amount of eco-polluting disposable waste plastic.

Cloud Bouqet Aluminum Bottle: Fun metallic blue design! This 100% recyclable, lightweight aluminum water bottle comes in an attractive, metallic blue with a delicate yellow floral design. Gaiam offers reusable aluminum water bottles as an eco-friendly alternative to disposable plastic water bottles. Our leak-proof, generous aluminum bottles hold 25.36 fluid oz. (750 ml), with a ring-top screw cap.

Persian Paisley Aluminum Bottle: Our 100% recyclable Persian Paisley aluminum water bottle is light and fun, and also eco-friendly. 86% of post-consumer disposable plastic bottles end up in US landfills, where they can take up to 1,000 years to break down. This reusable, leak-proof and generous aluminum water bottle holds 25.36 fluid oz. (750 ml), with ring-top screw cap.

#4: Our fourth choice for safe water bottles is the PLA Corn Resin Bottle. Now, this bottle serves a slightly different purpose, because it comes with a charcoal filter that makes the PLA bottle reusable for about 3 months, at which point it is compostable (though only in a commercial compost). We like the filter, because it means you can fill up with tap water wherever you are. Though PLA is not the perfect plastic, it is a good first step in creating sustainable plastics that are not so detrimental to the environment. We have discussed PLA at length in previous posts. Clicke HERE to read all about it.

WORST: Near the bottom of our list are the polycarbonate bottles. Because of contamination concerns with Bisphenol-A, we do not recommend these bottles. Please keep in mind that many baby bottles are also affected by the BPA concerns, so please look for BPA-free bottles, like those made by Born Free.

And, of course, the very last resort would be regular disposable plastic bottled water. First of all, this bottled water is often just plain old tap water anyway. And we now know that only a small fraction of plastic bottles actually enter the recycling stream (some estimates show only about 14% of plastic bottles are being recycled), so we have a major problem with plastics that will potentially last for millions of year.  Read all about it in The Problem with Plastics.

Here's to healthy hydration!

Getting Your Organic Garden Ready for Winter

It came early this year. Cool, damp weather, chilly nights, blazing red and orange foliage, the need to light the wood stove and sip on hot cocoa while the wind howls outside.... There is no doubt now, with November steadily approaching, that winter is coming.

As easy as it is to forget about the garden this time of year, there are a few things you can do to help overwinter your garden and make life a bit easier come spring. Many of you may have already done these things, but if you haven't, it's not too late!

• Remove larger vegetable stalks and stems, diseased leafy material, and decaying vegetables. Diseased plant material should be either burned or put in a separate "dirty" compost pile- adding this material back to the garden might infect next year's crop. Remove any weeds that have gone to seed (try to keep them out of the compost pile, too).
• Till under remaining plant material. This will add some organic matter to the soil, and it will have months to slowly decay, providing spring nutrients.
• Cover garden with a mulch. If you live in a warmer climate, there may still be time to plant a green manure cover crop, such as annual rye grass or clover, which can then be turned under in the spring. If it's too late for a cover crop, consider adding manure and a mulch to your garden to protect and enrich your soil over the winter. Strong winds can cause serious erosion over bare gardens, and a top layer of straw, shredded leaves, or some other mulch can help tremendously.
• Did you plant garlic? Even if autumn snuck up on you, it's not too late! Our garlic is just going in (though in truth, it should have gone in a few weeks ago!). Garlic is easy to grow, requires little maintenance, and provides early spring garlic scapes- the zesty green tendrils that are a great addition to any dish. Simply till up your rows, and plant cloves 1-2 inches below the surface, pointy end facing up. Cover loosely with soil, and then cover your rows with a layer of straw mulch about 2 inches thick. And voila! You will be so grateful you did come next summer!
• Remove any remaining stakes from the garden (we used a ton of t-posts for tomato and pepper support and for pea trellises). If any of your plants developed diseases (late blight, leaf spot, etc), then mix up a weak bleach dilution and spray the plant supports thoroughly to kill any residue. Doing this now will save you a ton of work come spring, and will prevent diseases from overwintering amongst your tools.
• If you didn't do so in early summer, make a map of your garden and where you planted all your vegetables, so that you can start planning next summer's garden, taking proper plant rotation into consideration.
• Move any small trees or shrubs that you've been intending to replant. Now would also be a good time to put in blueberry bushes or other fruit tress and bushes.
• Water any perennial plants. They won't be getting much moisture from here on out, and will need it to store up energy for the winter.
• Rake up fallen leaves and put in a compost pile. If you are planting potatoes next summer, here is a great trick: potatoes grow well in composted leaves. We have chosen a new spot this year, just outside of the main garden, where we will grow our potatoes. We are piling the leaves there now, to smother and kill the grass beneath. Come spring, we will simply plant the potatoes in the giant leaf pile, about a foot or so beneath the surface. The beauty of this method is that not only do the leaves' acidity create excellent growing conditions for the potatoes, but they will also be incredibly easy to dig up (remember "swimming" through leaf piles when you were a kid?). It's so easy, it's almost like cheating!
• Finally, order some great winter reading for the slow winter nights spent indoors. For beginners, some great books are Rodale's All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening and Burpee : The Complete Vegetable & Herb Gardener : A Guide to Growing Your Garden Organically. For more advanced organic gardeners, Eliot Coleman's The New Organic Grower is wonderful.
  

Sustainable, Recycled Christmas Gift Bags and Holiday Gift Wrap

(Note: This is a partial re-post about homemade gift wrap from last season, with some new ideas added.)

As the temperature starts to dip here in Michigan, thoughts hesitantly start leaning toward the upcoming winter months. Could it be that's it time to start planning for the holiday season already?

It seems like people everywhere are trying to tone down the consumer feel of this most traditional of holiday seasons. Amidst the craziness of holiday gift-giving, we might stop to ask ourselves how we can make this holiday a little greener.

Every Christmas, I get this uneasiness in my stomach as the mega-clean-up after present opening begins.... usually we are at a large gathering of friends and family, and an enormous number of presents have been opened, wrapping paper torn to shreds, ribbon thrown to the floor in a mad scramble to see what's inside. And, of course, after all that jubilation, no one wants to stop and separate the recyclable from the non-recyclable, and so it all just gets stuffed into garbage bag upon garbage bag full of paper, ribbon, and cardboard boxes.

But my friend Kim has come up with an eco-solution! Even if her family doesn't recycle the wrapping paper (which I'm sure she would, but when you're at someone else's house, or not there at all when they open their gifts, it's a little imposing to insist on recycling), she re-used old Trader Joe paper shopping bags, turned inside out, and decorated by hand, instead of new, used only once wasteful wrapping paper. And isn't it cute, too?!

Other possibilities: get an old atlas from a thrift store, and wrap in the map pages. Or the funnies from the newspaper always make good wrapping paper, too. And if you're into gift bags instead of wrapping paper, we now carry recycled paper gift bags at The Greater Green.

Here are a few of our new designs, now available through World of Good. Click on the name of the bag to view the listing and read more about each bag:

Dashing Reindeer 30% Recycled Paper Gift Bags

Fiesta 50% Recycled Paper Gift Bags

Ivy Lane 100% Recycled Paper Gift Bags

The idea is simply this: to avoid using new resources to wrap something. Reuse, recycle, reduce.... in any way you can, and the more creative, the better! Got a cool idea? Please share!

Natural, Organic Halloween Candy

Could it be that Halloween is lurking just around the corner? Yikes!

That means it is time to bust out the Halloween candy. As it turns out, we've been on the search for the ideal Halloween candy since last October. We had a number of criteria to fill:

• We wanted a candy that was as organic and natural as possible, and preferably even containing some healthy ingredients, as opposed to just sugary stuff.
• We wanted a candy that tasted delicious and would satisfy kids of all ages.
• We needed a candy that was securely, individually wrapped, so that it could be handed out at Halloween time without concerned parents having to question its safety.
• We wanted a candy that was affordable and would appeal to budget-conscious families.
• We preferred a candy that would be safe for children with allergies (nuts, soy, gluten, etc.)

After all our searching, we are sticking with the same candy we sold last year- YummyEarth Organic Lollipops.

Why?

We found some wonderful candies and chocolates, but none seemed to measure up to all of the criteria above.

We love Sweet Earth Organic Chocolates, especially their Very Scary Skulls, but at $1.50 each, handing out candy can quickly add up if you live in a busy trick-or-treating area. If they can fit into your budget, we strongly recommend them!

We also love the deep, rich taste of Equal Exchange Organic & Fair Trade Dark Chocolate Minis. You can buy a 12 oz. bag for $20.00- again, quite a bit more than many families are able to budget.

Organic Milk Chocolate Bug Bites are tasty and fun. A box of 64 mini-bars (for a total of about a pound and a half of chocolate) costs $32.00, so you're paying about 50 cents per bar- not too bad.

Glee All-Natural Chicle Gum is also a big hit, and it comes in cute little individually-sealed boxes with 4 pieces of gum per box. With 21 individual packs for $6.25, you're paying about $.30 per box for a cool gum that was chewed by the ancient Maya Indians!

But at around 10 cents per lollipop, we found YummyEarth Lollipops to be the best buy for parents who have to hand out lots of candy. They come in fun flavors like Blood Orange Cocktail, Chili Mango Mambo, and Tooberry Blueberry. And they are packed with real fruit goodness! Check out the ingredients: 

Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Tapioca Syrup and/or Organic Rice Syrup, Non-GMO Citric Acid (from beet sugar – not corn), Natural Flavors, Organic Black Carrots, Organic Blackcurrant, Organic Apple

On top of those awesome ingredients, we can't forget to mention all of the things that are NOT in these candies, which is great for kids with allergies or sensitivities:

Certified Organic              Gluten-free
100% Natural Colors          Wheat-free
No Chemical Dyes             Casein-free
100% Natural Flavors         Dairy-free
100% Vegan                   Nut-free
GMO-free                     Soy-free
Allergen-free                  Egg-free

Finally, don't forget to join the Fair Trade Reverse Trick-or-Treat Program, which aims to help youth reverse the Halloween tradition to hand adults a sample of vegan-friendly, Fair Trade dark chocolate. Order your free kit by Oct. 13, 2009, which includes 25 Fair Trade chocolates with info cards, and is sponsored by Global Exchange's Fair Trade Cocoa Campaign. Cool!

https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/703/t/9669/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=5154

Freezing Fresh Sweet Corn for the Winter

Mrs. Korpak popped in the other day and has once again outdone herself. Just when I thought her corn couldn't get any sweeter, any juicier, couldn't possibly be anymore delicious, she has amazed me. The Korpaks' corn this year is, bar far, the best corn I have EVER eaten. Ever, ever, ever, yum!

But no matter how hard I try, a girl can't possibly eat three dozen ears of corn while they are at their peak of freshness (and boy, did we try). Even after giving quite a few away to our most recent visitors, we found we had more corn than we could reasonably handle, and it become apparent that it would have to be frozen.

Although relatively simple, I had never frozen fresh corn before. We usually eat our way through any and all fresh corn that comes our way (is there anything better??). Besides, I was under the impression that freezing corn is a lot of work (and to be honest, I wasn't totally mistaken, though it wasn't as bad as I thought). Once you get going though, you can get a couple dozen ears in the freezer in about two hours or so (and hey, you might be even faster than me- I'm not really known for speed! :)

Here are the steps:

First things first.... shuck the corn (remove husks). I grabbed a large cardboard box and shucked the corn on our back porch right over the box, to avoid a big clean-up later on (all those silky hairs could drive one mad if they ended up on the floor, on your shirt, in your dog's fur...trust me!). The more organic your corn is, the more likely you are to find bugs under those husks, as well, so outside is definitely an all-around better place to do this! When I was finished, I simply carried the box out to the compost and dumped all the husks there.

Next, blanch the corn (still on the cob) in a pot of boiling water for just a few minutes. I barely blanched ours, as it was so tender and juicy and fresh. The color of the kernels turns a brighter yellow almost instantly, and it's good to go.

 

Take the corn out of the boiling water and immediately immerse in ice water after blanching. This stops the corn from cooking any longer.

 

Now here's the time-consuming part (for me, at least): cutting the kernels off the cob. I seemed to have trouble finding the balance between cutting too much into the cob, and not cutting off enough of the kernel... but I guess after awhile I started to get the hang of it....

 

And lastly, after allowing the corn kernels to sit and dry just a bit, we packed them into quart-sized freezer bags.

And - yummo!- you are ready to enjoy fresh sweet corn all winter! I suppose the whole process has the potential to get a bit messy (think: renegade kernels flying wildly around the kitchen), but well worth the effort- especially if you remember the starchy, tasteless corn that seems to turn up in the grocery store mid-winter!

Happy freezing!

Last Chance for Green Father's Day Gifts

Still looking for that perfect gift for dad? It's not too late to send a green gift! Check out some of our most popular:

Wild Man Natural Sassafras Shaving Kit
This cool eco-gift pairs up an exotic and moisturizing natural shaving soap with a natural shaving brush and a hardwood soap dish with cover. Perfect for the dad who loves to shave the simple, old-fashioned way- with a razor and some good, clean suds. Our deliciously spicy shaving soap is made with cold pressed olive oil and organic aloe juice (instead of water) to soothe and soften plus castor oil and calcium bentonite clay for a rich creamy lather. All in a natural burlap drawstring gift bag, too!

 Dynamo Crank Hurricane Lantern (No Batteries!)
This crank lantern is the ultimate eco-gadget! There are no batteries to replace- when you need light, simply wind the crank for a minute, and get up to 20 minutes of light. You will never have to worry about dead batteries again, so it is great for emergencies, like power outages (which is what we keep 2 of these on hand for) and car emergencies. It is also super-lightweight (under 2 pounds), making it great for travel and camping (you don't have to worry about bringing spare batteries!)

Organic, Fair Trade, & Delicious Coffee
Is Dad a coffee lover? If so, then he will truly appreciate a good cup of joe. Equal Exchange features some of the best coffee we have found. Mind, Body, and Soul is a medium roast blend that is smooth, soft, and soulful, with a dark chocolate finish that makes this coffee truly fit for the connoisseur. Yum!

"Make Tea Not War" Men's Organic Cotton T-Shirt
Send a statement of peace with this stylish organic cotton T-Shirt. We love the slogan!

Corn PLA Water Bottle with Filter
Corn is the new plastic! These cool bottles are the first step away from petroleum-based plastics and wasteful bottled drinking water. Made from a corn-based plastic that is compostable in a commercial composter, with no petroleum, and paired with a charcoal filter that allows you to fill up your bottle anywhere you go and still get the peace of mind and clean taste that comes with drinking filtered water.

It's not too late to get your green Father's Day gift, but you need to hurry! Please order by Monday, June 16 to guarantee timely delivery. And check out our website at www.thegreatergreen.com for more cool eco-products!

Earth Day Message from Senator Stabenow

Happy Earth Day Everyone!! This is the moment to celebrate the beauty of our planet, enjoy the natural diversity that nature has to offer, and to ponder the legacy which we will leave behind for our children and our children's children. Although I do believe Earth Day should be everyday, today is a great time to stop and re-focus our energy for the upcoming year, to think about how far we've come and figure out how much further we can go. "Living the green life" has never been so meaningful and necessary!

I came across this Earth Day message from one of Michigan's Senators, Debbie Stabenow, and thought I would re-run it here in my blog. It is well-articulated and relevant, here in a state that is suffering from the highest unemployment rate in the country. Green is not just a trendy fad, but a way to help revive our economy. Read on for Senator Stabenow's take on how green jobs can revitalize our nation.

The Hill, a Washington newspaper, today ran the following column from Senator Stabenow as part of their Earth Day special edition. Senator Stabenow lays out her plan for energy and climate legislation that will be focused on creating new jobs and revitalizing our economy.

Green jobs can help boost economy

By Senator Debbie Stabenow

"My state of Michigan is home to some of the most beautiful natural wonders you will ever see. Of course, we are surrounded by the Great Lakes, the largest freshwater system on Earth. We are also home to some of the most breathtaking vistas in the world, from the Sleeping Bear Dunes on the coast of Lake Michigan to the Pictured Rocks on the coast of Lake Superior. People from Michigan understand the importance of protecting our environment. It is so central to who we are, it might as well be in our DNA.

We are also in the midst of a terrible economic crisis. Michigan has felt the pain of this economic crisis far longer than any other state. Our unemployment continues to be the highest in the nation, a dubious distinction we have held for 34 months.

This Earth Day, as we consider new policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we need to create a workable solution that will protect the environment and create much-needed jobs.

We cannot sit back and do nothing.  Our economy cannot move forward while chained to the same old dependence on foreign oil and pollution that harms both our health and economic interests.

If we approach this issue in the right way, we have a significant opportunity to create new jobs and spark an economic transformation. Our climate policy must work for the working people in this country, whether they are farmers, manufacturers, or clean-technology engineers.

Happily, with new energy solutions come new jobs and new industries. America has always led the world in innovation and invention, and we can do it again with clean energy. Yet, the economic crisis has made it harder than ever for firms creating those technologies to get financing. Unfortunately, traditional lenders are wary of making investments in untested new technologies.

That is why the federal government must be willing to support these emerging industries. I have joined with Senator Jeff Bingaman in calling for a Clean Energy Fund to provide financing for these cutting-edge industries. The Senate version of the budget included this fund, and it will likely be included in the energy bill we will take up later this year.

A Clean Energy Fund is absolutely critical so that we do not trade a dependence on foreign oil for a dependence on foreign technology.

Is there any wonder that as manufacturing jobs have vanished, so too has our middle class?

Other countries are investing heavily in green technology. Unfortunately, the United States has been behind the curve. The good news is that we are beginning to catch up - the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included $2 billion for advanced battery research and manufacturing; it also included a new tax credit to encourage the manufacture of renewable energy products. Those are the kinds of investments we need to continue making to help create a clean energy future while also saving and creating manufacturing jobs in America.

A balanced energy policy can revitalize America's manufacturing sector, creating good-paying jobs and strengthening our middle class.

A wind turbine contains over 8,000 individual parts: nacelles, rotors, rotor blades, gearboxes, brakes, generators, yaw mechanisms, electronic controllers, hydraulics systems, cooling units, towers, anemometers - even simple wind vanes. Why not build those right here in America? In fact, we can! I am proud to say we can build all 8,000 parts in Michigan.

We cannot just use green technologies; we have to make them in the United States. Recent history has shown what happens when we rely primarily on foreign sources of energy: we subject ourselves to less-than friendly international governments who can manipulate supplies to increase prices and hurt the American people. If they can do it with oil, they can do it with wind turbines. We must not allow it.

The health of our environment is the legacy we will leave to our children. The solutions to our current problems must be equitable and fair. More importantly, they must create new opportunities for innovation and new, good-paying jobs. If we do this right, we can leave our children with a planet - and an economy - that is in better shape than we found it."

Jump-start Your Day with Blackstrap Molasses

I've only recently started discovering the health benefits of molasses, although it seems others have been using it for hundreds, even thousands of years.

A quick peek at the nutrition label on our bottle of molasses reveals some fascinating figures: one mere tablespoon contains 20% of the US Recommended Daily Allowance of Potassium, 15% of iron, 10% of Vitamin B6, and 10% of calcium. This is one power-packed sweetener! Additionally, one tablespoon has only 60 calories.

Molasses is also high in magnesium, manganese, and copper, all important for proper functioning of our physiological systems. And if you browse the internet and read some of the molasses testimonials, there are people out there who swear it has cured everything from cancer, to constipation, anxiety, acne, and arthritis, and even reversed graying hair (possibly because molasses is high in copper?). I even found a home remedy for two teaspoons of blackstrap molasses a day to treat acid reflux (which my husband is dealing with, so we're giving it a try!).

I've found the best way to incorporate molasses into breakfast is by cooking up 1/8 cup of 10-grain cereal in about 1 cup of water (I like to cook it until it's pretty mushy, so use more or less water, depending on what consistency you like). I add one tablespoon brown sugar, one tablespoon molasses, a dash of cinnamon, a handful of chopped walnuts, a handful of dried cranberries, and a dash of salt. This is one of the most nutritious breakfasts I can think of!

On EarthClinic.com, we found this recipe for iced molasses, as well as some testimonials about molasses curing various ailments:

EARTH CLINIC'S ICED MOLASSES RECIPE:
1 TBLS Blackstrap Molasses
Hot Water
3/4 cup Milk or Soymilk
Ice

Add molasses to a glass and add just enough hot water to cover the molasses. Stir until dissolved. Add ice and then top off with either Milk or Soymilk. Avoiding milk?'Try vanilla or chocolate soymilk. Even yummier is to blend the whole concoction.

You can also add a tablespoon of molasses to a fruit smoothie for a healthy kick. Molasses has this deep, rich, bitter-sweet taste that adds unusual flavor and sweetness to whatever it is paired with.And if you're a coffee or tea drinker, I just got a tweet (on Twitter) from someone who uses molasses instead of sugar. Great idea!

So what is molasses, exactly? According to my bottle, "Blackstrap molasses is the dark, syrupy liquid that remains after the crystallized sugar has been extracted from the cane." Hmmm.....didn't know that!

Blackstrap is actually the third boil, whereas regular molasses is the first or second boil. Apparently the third boiling to make blackstrap creates a more iron-rich molasses.

Around here, we are trying to get away from relying on daily vitamin pills to provide our nutrient requirements, as vitamins just can't provide the complete and readily absorbed nutrition that you get from whole foods. Molasses is one way we have found to add some vitamin-kick to our diet!

And, by the way, if you do need to take daily vitamins, recent research has suggested that the most easily absorbed vitamins are gummy vitamins. Check them out HERE.

Why Sustainably Harvested Wood is So Important

Here's a photo of a typical commercial logging site that has been clear-cut. Notice the total devastation that has occurred on the cleared land. There is no more eco-system there, no forest vitality, no living creatures that could continue to survive in this wreckage.

Although many logging operations are now replanting trees to replace ones that have been cut down, how could one possibly "replant" an entire ecosystem? The new trees that are often planted on neat and orderly tree farms, although certainly better than nothing, in no way match the natural and vigorous vitality of a forest ecosystem. Something irreplaceable has been lost every time a forest is cleared. It is for that very reason that no area should ever be "clear cut". Some old growth trees and underbrush should be left to help anchor the ecosystem's regrowth and prevent total devastation.

Unfortunately such selective harvesting can be costly and time-consuming. With the vast amount of wood products being consumed world-wide, it is important for us, as consumers, to start identifying where our paper and wood products have come from, and how they were harvested. Here are a few tips to get started with:

1. Always use recycled paper: The first place to start replacing conventional paper products with recycled ones is in the office. Recycled office paper products can be purchased at most office supply stores, and also at specialty green office suppliers like Greenline Paper Company. 

2. Recycled Paper in the Kitchen: Seventh Generation makes a sturdy line of recycled kitchen paper products. They have paper towels that now come in a Select-a-Size roll for convenience and even less waste. Seventh Generation also makes Recycled Napkins that come in an economical 500-pack.

3. Use recycled toilet paper: We are going to stress this one, because although we know it is difficult for some people to make the switch, it is especially important with toilet paper. We have a love affair with cushiony and soft toilet paper, which must be made from virgin fiber in order to achieve such softness. Recycled toilet paper is much rougher than the velvet luxury of many of our most popular brands, but at the rate we go through TP, it makes such a difference. We are killing way too many trees just to wipe our bottoms!!

4. Buy Sustainably-Harvested Wood Products: Look for items that, at the very lest, bear the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification. Though the certification is not all-encompassing, it does guarantee some basic minimums, like that all the trees cut down were at least replanted in equal or greater numbers. Even better, look for items that were harvested by hand, like our Handmade Wood Cutting Boards, which guarantees that trees were cut down one at a time, leaving the forest basically intact. Such sustainable harvesting can even benefit a forest ecosystem, thinning out dense areas and allowing immature trees to get the sunlight and moisture necessary for further growth.

What's it Take to Get the EPA's "Design for the Environment" Award for Safer Detergents?

The EPA has created a program called the "Design for the Environment", through which they award a government seal to detergents and cleaners made with chemicals that are deemed less harmful than others to the environment. On the surface, this seems like an excellent idea, right? Unfortunately, a recent interview with Clive Davies, chief of the program, highlights some of the major flaws of the program, which, it seems, are favoring huge mega-corporations over small, truly green businesses.

Sounds kinda familiar.... as a small organic farm that cannot afford organic certification, we are all-too-aware of government's tendency to squeeze out the little guys. Most small farms are unable to afford the high cost and extensive paperwork needed to achieve USDA Organic certification. Which, of course, is no problem for large agribusinesses, who often do not care for the health of their ecosystem in holistically beneficial ways.

But I digress... back to the EPA. In order to understand my complaints, it would help to read the interview here. Basically, when asked about harmful chemicals in cleaners, Davies sites phosphates and nonylphenyl ethoxylates as major toxins. But when pressed to disclose which brands actually have these chemicals in them, he avoids the question. When further pressed, he says "some automatic dish washing detergents". That's an understatement. Laundry detergents, fabric softeners, spray cleaners, even some dish soaps, contain these toxic chemicals and others. It would be pretty easy to name them, too. But obviously, Davies doesn't want to point fingers. I mean, it's only the health of our planet at stake, right?

Then he goes on to name some of the companies that have received the EPA's "distinguished" award. Can you guess who he names? It's not Dr. Bronner's, one of the most natural and organic brands out there, or Aubrey Organics, who doesn't use a single synthetic chemical in their cleaning and personal care products. No, he actually names Clorox, Method, and Amway. And when he is questioned about why Seventh Generation is not on the list, he says they "didn't submit proper information". Funny, especially when you consider that Seventh Generation is one of the few companies out there that actually uses full disclosure and lists all ingredients on their labels. Was that too difficult for the EPA to find?

(NOTE: When I looked up the list myself, Seventh Generation was on it, so I'm not sure what that means, but I'll be looking into it.)

In fact, when asked why only 22 companies have been given this "distinguished" award, he comments: "It’s not a simple thing to formulate a safer cleaning product. A company has to invest in the chemistry, and then they have to invest in the performance testing, and they have to make sure that it’s safer, and they have to make sure it works, and then they have to make it through us."

Notice the repetitive use of the word "invest". If a supposedly non-profit governmental organization is requiring large investment on the part of companies to achieve a certain designation or award, especially when that designation is supposed to designate "greenness", then they are truly missing the boat. By doing so, they ensure that only the very largest and wealthiest corporations will succeed.

If our government can't take the lead in supporting truly green, small businesses, then how are we to transform our society into one that puts eco-values at the forefront of our consumerism? I am hopeful that Obama's team will be tackling this problem, since he has shown an applaudable commitment to environmental and sustainability issues.

Here is the list of award winners that I found (also listed below). There are a few great companies on there, like Earth Friendly Products, and a lot that should never have been given "green" status, based on their past (and current) use of toxic substances in some of their products. I mean, Dial? S.C. Johnson? Clorox? Proctor & Gamble? Get real!

So I decided that I am going to go through the application process myself, trying to earn my retail store the status of "Champion" under the Safer Detergents Stewardship Initiative, a program of the Design for the Environment Program. According to the guidelines, all I have to do is demonstrate that my business will sell only products containing surfactants that are not harmful to the environment. That should not be hard to do, since we screen everything we sell and not a single item contains phosphates, optical brighteners, chlorine, or other harsh chemicals. Of course, looking at the list, there seems to be only one retailer that has been awarded Champion status...This should be fun!

List of EPA "Champion" Product Formulators that have supposedly:

• Demonstrated the use of only safer surfactants in products;
• Documented a strategy for ensuring that only safer surfactants are used in products.

Auto-Chlor System
Barricade Fire Gel
Bissell Homecare Inc.
Chemco Corporation
ChemLink Laboratories LLC
Clean Control Corporation
Corporate Express, a Staples Company
Earth Friendly Products
Eco Concepts, Inc.
EcoDiscoveries
GEMTEK Products LLC
Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products LP
JohnsonDiversey, Inc.
Klipper Group
Method
Multi-Clean Inc.
Natural Soap Formulas

Naturell PDQ Manufacturing Pure & Gentle Soap Inc. Reckitt Benckiser, Inc. SafeWash Technologies S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. Seventh Generation, Inc. Spurrier Chemical Companies Inc. State Chemical Solutions SYSCO Corporation The Dial Corporation, A Henkel Company The Procter & Gamble Company US Formula Technology U.S. Polychemical Corporation Virox Technologies Inc. VASKA

Interested in applying for the designation for your own business? Click here to download the application.

Going Green for Valentine's Day: Indulgent Natural Gift Sets that Pamper

Add a twist of green to your Valentine's Day this year! Not only will these fabulous and indulgent green gift ideas melt the heart of your loved one, you will be treating your planet, too- with healthy, sustainable, recycled, and organic products. There's no better way to say "I love you"!

GREEN GIRL PASSION GIFT SET

This set makes green so romantic! Includes handmade recycled silver earrings with Fair Trade pearls, an aromatherapy soy candle scented with exotic essential oils, 100% natural Sensual Jasmine massage oil, Nag Champa incense, all in a recycled gift box, wrapped with recycled wrapping paper and tied with a natural Sinamay ribbon.

GREEN SPA GIFT SET

Ahhhh... nothing says "Pamper Me" like a relaxing day at the spa.... now you can bring the spa experience home, while enjoying some of our most popular natural, organic, and luxurious products. Set includes Organic Eye Relaxation Pillow (chamomile or lavender), Natural Passionflower Soap, Ayate Fiber Washcloth, Organic Comforting Clove Dead Sea Bath Salts, Sea Soap Natural Spa Shower Wash, and a pumice stone. And, of course, it's all boxed and wrapped in recycled gift wrap!

GREEN MASSAGE GIFT SET

What better way to spend Valentine's Day evening than getting a sensuous (and green!) massage? This set is definitely a gift that will be enjoyed by both of you! Includes Sensual Jasmine Natural Massage Oil, a laminated Massage Chart describing the important hand and foot pressure points, a wooden Footsie Massager, and an exotic aromatherapy soy candle, boxed and wrapped in recycled paper!

GROOVY GREEN GIRL GIFT SET

 

This is the gift for that groovy, fun-loving girl in your life! This set includes Organic Tie-Dyed Leg Warmers, Organic Cotton Scarf, Recycled Phone Card Fair Trade Earrings, Natural Lip Shimmer, and a natural soy Aromatherapy Candle. All boxed and wrapped in recycled paper and tied with a natural Sinamay ribbon, of course!

Need more green gift ideas? Check out our Valentine's Day Gift Guide.

My Breaducation Has Begun: Easy Crusty Bread

In my quest to learn how to make bread that doesn't come out of a bread machine, and doesn't take all day to make, I have stumbled across this most excellent recipe for No-Knead Bread. Yes- this bread requires no kneading whatsoever, and pretty much no work on your part. And as you can see, it produces a wonderfully crispy and tasty bread.

You simply mix up a few ingredients (about 3 minutes of your time), let the dough sit for 12-20 hours, and then plop (literally) into a pan and bake. Couldn't be easier! (And so perfect for the more lazier-inclined of us!) The secret is in the waiting: slow fermentation produces far superior results, and so is preferable (really, it is just an added bonus that you don't have to do any work, either.)

There are a couple of versions of this recipe out there, so I am including links to a few of my favorites. I really like the YouTube Video, because you can get a good feel for what the dough should like at each stage. One of the things I realized after watching the video was that my dough was not moist enough, and I needed to add more water. When you are letting the dough ferment slowly, the dough can be much moister than a quicker-fermenting dough can be. The video also recommends a higher baking temperature than the Steamy Kitchen recipe, and that worked well for me- but play around with your oven and see what works for you.

Now I can bake two loaves of the most heavenly bread each day with only about 10 minutes or so of my time. How cool is that??!!

Steamy Kitchen Recipe: No-Knead Bread that Even a 6-Year Old Can Make

YouTube Video: Easy Crusty Bread

NY Times Article: The Secret of Great Bread: Let Time Do the Work

Shameless Plug: The bread in the photo is resting on one of my husband's hand-crafted cutting boards. They make great bread boards, and are made from sustainable wood. You can check them out at The Greater Green.

Happy Baking!

Homemade Eco-Wrap: The Eco-Friendly Way to Wrap Your Presents

So every Christmas, I get this uneasiness in my stomach as the mega-clean-up after present opening begins.... usually we are at a large gathering of friends and family, and an enormous number of presents have been opened, wrapping paper torn to shreds, ribbon thrown to the floor in a mad scramble to see what's inside. And, of course, after all that jubilation, no one wants to stop and separate the recyclable from the unrecyclable, and so it all just gets stuffed into garbage bag upon garbage bag full of paper, ribbon, and cardboard boxes.

But my friend Kim has come up with an eco-solution! Even if her family doesn't recycle the wrapping paper (which I'm sure she would, but when you're at someone else's house, or not there at all when they open their gifts, it's a little imposing to insist on recycling), she re-used old Trader Joe paper shopping bags, turned inside out, and decorated by hand, instead of new, used only once wasteful wrapping paper. And isn't it cute, too?!

Other possibilities: get an old atlas from a thrift store, and wrap in the map pages. Or the funnies from the newspaper always make good wrapping paper, too. And if you're into gift bags instead of wrapping paper, we now carry recycled paper gift bags at The Greater Green, and will be expanding our selection soon to include multiple designs.

The idea is simply this: to avoid using new resources to wrap something. Reuse, recycle, reduce.... in any way you can, and the more creative, the better! Got a cool idea? Please share!

Why Shopping at Thrift Stores is Green

I've been meaning to write a post about why shopping at thrift stores is one of the best ways to reduce your carbon footprint. So many people want to live a greener lifestyle, but don't want to spend money on the often more-expensive, new, eco-friendly options. But the truth is there is a very affordable way to shop green, that even supports the good work of many non-profits. Read on....

See, I've been shopping at thrift stores for quite some time now, since high school, in fact (approaching two decades ago...). At that time, I was on a limited budget, and my friends and I were also looking for funky (or so we thought) retro-styled clothing that was a little different than the 90s clothing so popular in the regular stores.

In college the thrift store became a mainstay in my life, because I was really on a budget, and I was undergoing this hippie-style revolution that entailed countless hours of sifting through other people's old throw-aways to find that unique shirt, that perfect skirt. It was perfectly acceptable, because many of my friends were on very tight budgets and did the same.

Then I moved to Japan, the consumer capital of the world, where everyone buys everything new. They wouldn't even take dogs that were "used"- animal shelters were non-existent (I discovered this when I took in a stray puppy, and no one would adopt her). We searched far and wide and finally found an upscale second-hand shop that catered to foreigners, where you could buy a very gently (or not-at-all) used shirt for $20. I definitely was not getting my thrift store fix there....

And then something interesting happened. After three years, I came back from Japan, and most of my friends had good-paying jobs and blossoming careers that "required" clothing to boot. I watched in amazement as one of my friends, who used to shop at thrift stores, spent $175 on a pair of jeans. It was suddenly "uncool" to shop at thrift stores. Why buy other people's junk when we could now afford to buy new?

The thing is, now that I am in the business of eco-friendly, people often ask me what is the most green option to buy. And you know what? Just about any item that was meant to last that you can buy, no matter how green or organic or natural, is not as green as buying from the local thrift store. Using new materials to produce products that are already in existence is wasteful, unless of course the already-existing product is toxic or harmful to the environment in some daily way.

Remember the mantra "Reduce, reuse, recycle"? The first more important thing we can do is reduce the number of resources and the amount of energy needed to support our lifestyles. In other words, cut down on the "stuff" that we really don't need. The next step, reuse, means that we should reuse something already in existence instead of buying something new whenever possible. The thrift store is the perfect manifestation of that mantra!

Let's take a coffee maker, for example. After scouring local thrift stores, I found a small Krups cappuccino maker, barely used, with instruction manual, for $5. I am always very picky about buying used items. If there are any signs of mold, deterioration, or lack of cleaning or proper maintenance, I pass. If an item looks like it was used extensively, I usually pass. Any foul odors, pass. Any missing parts or pieces, pass. Basically, anything that couldn't pass for a new item to the unknowing, and I look for something else.

I indeed thought a got a great deal, but that's not the only reason I shop at thrift stores. See, if I had gone to my local Macy's or Meijer's and spent $50 a new machine, I would not only have wasted more money, but also the materials, the (most likely) Chinese under-age factory labor, the energy required to manufacture it, and the energy used up in shipping it overseas (it's REALLY hard to find any electronics/appliances not manufactured overseas these days). Since there aren't any real "green" options for a cappucino maker, there wasn't any point, in my opinion, to buy new. Had I been looking for a new fridge, on the other hand, I would probably search for an Energy Star new appliance because the new ones are so much more energy efficient.

It's like this: the most eco-friendly water bottle you could possibly use is a re-used glass bottle or jar. The most eco-friendly clothing you can wear is actually re-used, purchased-at-the-thrift-store items or hand-me-downs (even new organic items use up resources and energy to produce). The most eco-friendly dishes? You guessed it- a set from the local second-hand shop or your grandma's old set (which, if your grandma is anything like my grandma, is most likely in perfect condition).

The problem is that many people have associated shopping at thrift stores with being cheap and as "dirty". There are many, many people that have to shop at thrift stores, because they can't afford new items, so perhaps some people see not going to thrift stores as some sort of "accomplishment". And as for being dirty, well, sure, there are some stained and old items that I would not even consider touching. But for the most part, there are lots of items that simply sat in someone' closet, never to be seen again for years. Many items still even have tags on them. All it takes is a good washing or sanitizing, and you're ready to go. And don't forget, new items in the store are often covered in various chemicals that were either part of the manufacturing process, or were sprayed on to protect the product from bugs and mildew during shipping. Not exactly "clean", if you ask me.

What have I purchased at the local thrift store in the last few months? Here's are just a few of my latest finds:

Krups Cappuccino Maker, like-new, $5
Panasonic Bread Machine, older model but like-new condition, $10 (which we use every day now)
Sunbeam Warm Steam Humidifier/Vaporizer, like-new condition, $5
Patagonia organic cotton long-sleeved men's shirt, like-new, $3.99
Hand-crocheted nativity scene, $1
Christmas decorations, various, $0.25-$5
Gap Wool Sweater, like-new, $3.99
Land's End men's wool sweater, like-new, $3.99
20-piece set of Gibson dishes with snowflake pattern, $6

And an added bonus.... many thrift stores, like The Salvation Army's, are run by non-profit organizations helping those in need. By shopping at their second-hand shops, you are helping to support the good work that they do!

So these days, when going green is becoming wildly popular, let's not forget the humble thrift store. It's the best way you can recycle and reuse, and show your commitment to using fewer resources and reducing your carbon footprint while saving money!

Chickens and Snow and Fences, Oh My!

New Discovery: Chickens definitely do NOT like snow. In fact, the first day it snowed here (we already have had about a foot and half of November snow), they wouldn't leave the coop. They are new to the stuff, after all. We then discovered that if we shovel some paths for them, they will explore a bit, but they prefer not to tramp through the snow. (see photo at the right.... the chickens are very tentatively poking hteir heads outside of the door)

We also discovered that there is an inherent problem with the dog kennel sun shade we used to cover the fenced-in area of the chicken run, for both protection from predators and to provide some shade in the heat of summer. The sun shade is like a fine, sturdy, slightly stretchable screen, and it does not allow snow to fall through. So right now, it is piled high with a mound of snow, just about stretched to its limits. I think we will be getting up on a ladder today to try and relieve some of the pressure. We will then have to devise some sort of a solution. More on that later....

With the freezing weather we have been having, we now have a new problem to deal with: keeping the chickens' water from freezing. Chickens must have plenty of water every day, to regulate the salt content in their bodies, without which they can quickly die. So now that the water spicket is shut off and frozen, this means bringing a pitcher of fresh water out every day, sometimes twice a day, to keep the old water from freezing. Additionally, we have re-installed the heat lamp we used when the chickens were just little fluffy chicks. Not only does it provide a measure of warmth and keeps the water from totally freezing overnight, but the red color calms the chickens while they are more confined during these winter months. We've already noticed that poor Hawkie is getting picked on a lot, and she isn't laying anymore. This could be either because she is an heirloom breed (Aracauna), which often stop laying in the winter months, or because she is getting stressed....

So now that we allow the chickens to roam through the fenced-in garden area, after a few weeks, they have finally figured out how to fly over the fence to get to freedom. The thing is, they can't seem to figure out how to fly BACK over the fence, to get into their coop. Silly chickens! So this means that every afternoon, before dark (which is currently at about 5:30 pm), we have to do a check to make sure the chickens are not roaming out in the open.

We forgot to do this check the other night until nearly 8pm, and when I went to tuck the chickens in for the night, much to my dismay, there were only 4 hens in the coop, snoozing soundly on the roost. Speckles the rooster was nowhere to be found. Surrounded by a dark, looming forest, I panicked. The raccoons and other predators in the area, including coyotes, would be out and about now, and I wasn't sure I could locate Speckles in the darkness. And what if something had already happened to him??

I started fumbling around the bushes and brambles backing up to the coop. I didn't have to search long. I spotted the silhouette of some long tail feathers hanging from the protruding nest boxes around the back of the coop, through about a foot of snow. And there was Speckles, all huddled up against the outer wall of the coop, almost buried in snow.

Poor guy! He was so cold he let me just pick him right up (he would NEVER allow that normally- I don't usually even attempt to touch the guy!), and I deposited him inside the coop, where he immediately began to check out his ladies and eat a bit of food.

So all is well inside the coop, though winter is obviously going to throw us some curve balls.

Why We Aren't Having Turkey for Thanksgiving

OK, so this one is going to take some explaining to my family. We are having Thanksgiving at our house this year (usually we go to family in Chicago), because my brother and his new wife are flying in from England. But now that we are raising our own chickens and organic vegetables, it only seems fitting that we hold a harvest Thanksgiving- a day to be thankful for and enjoy the fruits of our own labor. And since we did not raise any turkeys, we will not be eating turkey. Seems logical enough, at least to me.....

My grandmother doesn't seem to be taking it so well. Her response was to offer to pick up a pre-cooked turkey meal from Meijer. "No, Grandma," I somewhat hesitantly explained. "We want to eat our chicken and our vegetables this year. What we raised and grew ourselves, and that's mostly it." She again responded by pointing out how cheap those pre-cooked meals actually were. In fact, she would be more than happy to pick one up in Chicago, and bring it up here to Michigan for us (in case we didn't have that kind of thing "way out here").

Oh well..... Hopefully the idea will settle in by the time Thanksgiving arrives...

So what is exactly on the menu? Well, our 11-pound chicken, for starters. No, that wasn't a typo. If you've been keeping up with our posts, you may recall that our inability and hesitance to slaughter our own chickens resulted in their getting quite large. I'm a little concerned that the meat might end up being a bit tough. But that's all part of the learning process, I guess... Additionally, we are going to have a free-range, organic ham that was raised on a local farm (since we don't have hogs... yet). We are expecting between 12 and 14 people, so I'm trying to make sure there is plenty for everyone (especially if the chicken is....well.... a little tough....) It is my first time hosting Thanksgiving, after all, and I'd prefer it if no one went home hungry.

Let's see... what else are we having? We saved butternut squash from the summer, so I'll be baking Candied Butternut Squash (a yummy twist on the popular candied yams). Using green beans we canned this summer, there will be plenty of green bean casserole, and swiss chard with balsamic, and from frozen golden zucchini I will create Zucchini au Gratin. A mostaccioli (I just had to look up that spelling in a dictionary) made from canned tomatoes will be a vegetarian option, and homemade bread will be a-plenty. And for the incredibly snowy and chilly weather we have had lately,venison and pasta stew will be hot hearty to warm everyone's tummy. Freezer pickles, sun-dried tomatoes, and our walnuts (which have almost finished drying and curing) will be setting on the table to munch on. And last but not least, apple pie, with some heavenly Sherman's Ice Cream from the local creamery.

Of course, not everything will have been grown on our farm. Organic cranberries will have to be purchased, as will potatoes (we have already devoured our potato crop- obviously we need to grow more next summer). I'll be buying mushrooms for the gravy, salad greens (our winter greenhouse is not growing as well as we hoped), and a few fresh salad vegetables from our local market.

But there's another reason that we won't be having turkey this year, and the video from PETA at the bottom of this post explains it pretty well. Any time you have some 200,000,000 people deciding to eat the same thing on the same day, well, it kinda spells a recipe for suffering.

WARNING: This video is not for the faint of heart. And it's not just here to gross everyone out, either- but to point out that if you are going to eat turkey this Thanksgiving, it's only fair to know how that bird got to your table. Alternatively, you might want to consider sourcing an organic, free-range, or heirloom turkey for your feast. I realize that becoming a vegetarian is a very noble alternative to the cruelty of factory farming (I've had a number of readers point that out). But realistically, there are many, many people who are not willing to go that route. You can still limit the cruelty and suffering inherent in meat-eating by supporting farms that raise their animals in a healthy, organic, more gentle way. (Here is the article that goes along with the video:Breaking Investigation Reveals Holiday Horrors for Turkeys)

But anyway, however you celebrate your Thanksgiving, we hope you have a healthy, and safe, and enjoyable one, filled with warmth and laughter.

And we would like to send out a most sincere thank-you to those who have helped make our journey so much more enjoyable with their support, and ideas, and contributions. We couldn't have done it without you!

Here are some resources for an organic, healthy Thanksgiving:

LocaHarvest.org: Order an Organic, Free-Range Turkey for Thanksgiving

Article: Where to Buy Organic, Free-Range Turkeys

VIDEO: THE DARK SIDE OF THE TURKEY INDUSTRY

Watch more videos at PETA.org

Taking Stock for Winter

 

As the winter approaches, we are taking stock of our "stock", I guess you could say. We've packed our freezer with all sorts of veggies, from swiss chard to golden zucchini, from broccoli to hot peppers, and more. We've canned tomatoes, green beans, wax beans, salsa, bbq sauce, and spaghetti sauce. We dried and bottled herbs, including basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, tarragon, and rosemary. And we made jars upon jars of sun-dried tomatoes.

As for meat, we have 4 whole, frozen chickens (4 very large chickens, about 10-12 pounds each). But a dive into the freezer over the weekend revealed we are seriously lacking in beef, which means it must be time to head over to Lake Village Homestead in Portage, MI, the organic farm where we get our naturally-raised, grass-fed, hormone-free beef.

For now, we still have to purchase our beef and pork from outside sources. Our plan is to be raising our own within a year. When we do buy, we buy our beef by the quarter, and our pork by the half-hog. That way we get a much more reasonable price per pound, though it also means we have to have a spare freezer to hold all that meat. This last quarter came out to about $4.28 per pound for 95 pounds, and included ground beef, chuck roast, steaks, liver, salami, and a few other cuts of meat.

I looked forward to having an excuse to head out to Lake Village Homestead. It's a peaceful, quiet place, and a bit of an inspiration for my husband and me. With about 15 families living and working together in this "eco-village", Lake Village has been engaged in communal farming and living for nearly 40 years now. I spent some time wandering through their fields and land, enjoying the rustic surroundings and the fresh air, and getting some new inspiration and ideas for future projects. I never tire of visiting other farms.

Our freezer is now full to capacity. It is an indescribable satisfaction to know that our food needs are, for the most part, taken care of for the next 6 months or so, much of it thanks to our own labor. This is very different from our former urban life. To us, this is the self-sufficient life, the simple life, the good life.

Eco-Friendly Jewelry: Sustainable Tagua Nuts are Hitting the Green Scene

I first came across a tagua nut while browsing in a bead shop last year. A big sign read "vegetable ivory" and "helps preserve the rainforest". Of course that piqued my attention! What was this tagua nut, why were they calling it vegetable ivory, and how come I had never heard of it before?

It turns out that tagua nut trees grow in Central and South America. It takes about 15 years before they will begin producing a harvest of tagua nuts, but then they will continue producing for a century and more. By harvesting the tagua nuts and creating consumer products from them, the survival of these tracts of rainforests is guaranteed. You see, as long as money can be made from standing trees, then it makes sense to leave them standing (instead of cutting them down for lumber, which has only short-term economic gain).

Local villagers are able to support their families by creating a tagua nut trade. Additionally, these curious nuts have been called "vegetable ivory" for their usefulness in replacing the extremely detrimental elephant ivory for the manufacture of small objects such as sculptures and pendants. A very sustainable discovery!

Not only are the tagua nuts eco-friendly and sustainable, but they are also gorgeous. You can see in the photo above that the tagua nut contains natural swirls of color, rendering every slice totally unique. They also can be sliced into thin chips and dyed various colors.

You can learn more about the tagua nut and see some beautiful necklaces here.

Our Chickens are Now Officially Free-Range

After months of having our chickens penned up in their relatively small coop and fenced-in yard, we finally are able to safely allow our chickens to roam- no small task, since we live in a very rural area where we often see coyotes, foxes, raccoons, stray dogs, chicken hawks, and other potential chicken predators right in our own backyard. We already lost 2 chickens to what we presume to be a raccoon earlier in the summer, and do not want to dwindle our flock any further!

The idea to go more free-range all started after doing some research recently regarding free-range vs. conventional eggs, when I realized a number of important things.

First, we needed to find a source for organic chicken scratch. There are numerous harmful chemicals that can end up in chicken scratch, arsenic among them. Yuck!

After calling local organic farms to see what they use, we finally found 2 dealers in the region, one that sells Fertrell Organic Poultry Feed and one that sells Graham Organics (a local brand, and one that we ultimately settled on). There were not many options in the Southwest Michigan area, but we were very pleased to find the Farmer's Elevator Co-op in Hudsonville, about 50 miles from our farm. We headed out there and bought enough chicken layer mash for the whole winter (hopefully)- 4 50-pound bags at $22 each.

I also have become concerned about the lack of greens in our chickens' diet. I mean, I do pick weeds and greens for them every day, but estimates I found suggested that chickens should have close to 40% of their calories from grass/greens! And since grass is a low-calorie food, that's a lot of grass. But I guess I didn't realize why this is so important....

You know how decades ago, everyone thought eggs were healthy, and then sometime around when I was a little girl, things changed, and we were told to limit how many eggs we eat because they can cause high cholesterol? I think a lot of that had to do with the way that chickens were raised, and was an indication that we had switched from small farm, free-range eggs to mass-produced factory farmed eggs, with dire health consequences.

See, it turns out that we get two essential fatty acids from eggs, Omega-3 and Omega-6. The ratio of these 2 EFAs depends on the diet of the chicken. A high-Omega-3 egg would actually help lower cholesterol, whereas a high-Omega-6 egg would raise your cholesterol. The green part of plants is high in Omega-3 fatty acids, and the grain/seed is high in Omega-6. So when we overfeed our chickens grains/corn/seed, and under-feed greens, we end up with eggs that are high in Omega-6, and therefore contribute to high cholesterol. When chickens are allowed to free-range, they produce eggs that are high in Omega-3 fatty acids, and these eggs are much, much healthier, actually having positive health benefits, especially for our heart and arteries! I think that is totally fascinating!

And that also explains why fish/seafood is so heart-healthy. The ocean only produces plants with green parts, and no grains, and so all ocean life that feeds on seaweed, or on a creature that fed on seaweed, ends up being high in Omega-3 fatty acid, and therefore is a heart-healthy thing to eat.

So we decided that we had to let our chickens free range, if we wanted healthy eggs. We started letting them out for a couple hours a day, when we knew our neighbors' dogs were inside and could not chase the chickens (we think they might be responsible for a dead wild turkey- much bigger than a chicken- that turned up on our driveway). But I cannot tell you how hard a time I sometimes had getting those darn chickens back in the coop when it was time. The first day I chased them for 2 hours (probably as much due to my lack of skill as to their stubbornness). That simply was not going to work.

So we came up with a grand plan! One of our larger garden plots is next to the chicken coop. Since the growing season is over, we decided to let them roam in there, cleaning up the weeds, bugs, and scratching/tilling the soil, all while adding beneficial chicken poop. It's a perfect solution!

So Alex built an enclosure that connects the coop to the garden, cut open the garden fence, and now the chickens have a huge and wonderful pasture to graze upon to their hearts content. Let me tell you, they sure are some happy chickens now! And the best part- they aren't eating half as much layer mash, which will mean big savings for us. Happy chickens, happy wallets. Who could ask for more?

Natural, Organic, and Healthy Halloween Candy

It's coming... that intoxicating favorite holiday of children (of all ages!) across the country, the perfect excuse to dress up in spooky, outlandish costumes and consume unheard of amounts of candy. What more could a kid want?

As a health-conscious parent (or treat-giver), you just might be looking for something a little bit more natural than your typical Halloween candy. Well, do we have some great suggestions for you! All of these treats are natural, some are organic, and they are all free of artificial colors and sweeteners, making them a healthier choice for candy this year!

Yummy Earth Organic Lollipops
Oh, gosh, these are just heavenly! Really, truly, the best-tasting lollipops we've ever tasted! And get this- they are made with real fruit juices and fruit colors, have no artificial-anything, and come in ghoulishly good flavors like Blood Orange Cocktail, Ginger Zest, and Chili Mango Mambo. And for the Halloween flood of trick-or-treaters, YummyEarth lollies come in bulk 1-pound bags. The perfect choice for a healthy Halloween!

Glee All-Natural Chicle Gum Variety Pack
Made from the sap of the Sapodilla tree in Mexico and Guatemala, this all-natural gum contains no artificial sweeteners, colors, or preservatives, and helps preserve the rain forests by supporting local villagers who harvest the chicle from already-standing forests. This handy variety pack contains 21 individual packs, each with 4 pieces of gum- perfect for handing out to all the little monsters and goblins that come your way!

Make Your Own Chewing Gum Kit
Don't just buy some Halloween candy, make it yourself! This cool kit lets you actually make your own chewing gum from a chicle (Sapodilla tree sap) gum base. How cool is that? We thought it would be a great activity for either an at-home or at-school Halloween party. Especially since it teaches kids about raw material sourcing and ethical trade practices while letting them connect to another part of our globe. A fun AND educational activity! Also check out the Make Your Own Chocolate Kit and the Make Your Own Gummies Kit.

Crank Flashlight- No Batteries Needed!
And lastly, we thought this flashlight was a great idea for extra-safe trick-or-treating. Make your own power by winding the crank for about a minute or two, and then enjoy an hour and a half of light- without having to worry about dead batteries. And kids- even big ones like my husband- will enjoy winding the crank to create light!

Need some more Halloween treat ideas? CLICK HERE to check out more Healthy Halloween Treats.

First Frost Last Night

It's happened (and it's rather early, too). The first frost has hit, which has taken out the remaining eggplants, basil, and peppers (hot-weather-loving plants). The cooler-weather plants, like Russian kale and chard and Brussels sprouts, will be fine for quite a bit longer. The tomatoes were already dead/dying, ravaged by a summer of too much moisture, not enough heat, and rampant spread of septoria and blight.

The peppers will have to be picked today, as they can't take this frosty weather.

The frost also means that this was the first morning that I had to start a fire in the wood stove (we've been having fires at night, but not during the day). Winter is coming, and with it, an entirely different set of chores! Feeding and watering the chickens is not so pleasant when it's 30 degrees and your wet hands are freezing! Of course, it's going to get much colder, and so I better get used to it...

We opted not to protect any of our more delicate plants, as we are just about at the end of the season anyway and have harvested plenty. But if we had wanted the peppers to survive, we could have thrown some floating row covers over them, covered them in some sort of plastic or tarp, or ran the sprinklers all night (the moving water prevents the plants from freezing).... which some people may want to do in the next few weeks if there is a frost advisory. When we were living in the city, I don't remember frost warnings being on the news too much, but here, out in rural farming country, it is a top priority to warn local farmers and gardeners that a damaging frost is approaching. It's interesting how different rural news can be from its urban counterpart!

So today I will head out to the garden, pick the remaining peppers and eggplants, and preserve them (I'm thinking roasting and then freezing). We've had a great harvest this summer, despite the goofy weather and pesky disease and pest problems, and so I am thankful. We will certainly enjoy it all winter!

Choosing a Safe Water Bottle

With all the news lately about BPA contamination in plastics, it's no wonder that consumers are wondering what a safe choice might be for their families. Here is a brief summary of what we at The Greater Green recommend, based on the latest research and findings:

The best choice right now would be a glass water bottle. Consider reusing a glass juice jar that you purchased (filled with juice) and then ran through the dishwasher to sterilize it. There are absolutely no contamination concerns with glass, and it is easy to clean. Additionally, glass can hold just about any type of liquid. The one catch, of course, is that glass is breakable. A clever idea: wrap your glass jar in a hand towel before putting in your backpack or duffel bag, and then you can also use the hand towel throughout the day in restrooms,etc.

If glass will not work for you, your best bet is appearing to be stainless steel water bottles with no liner (liners can themselves cause problems), like the ones available at The Greater Green, 20 oz Stainless Steel Water Bottle with Carabiner, that is the perfect size for that on-the-go lifestyle. It fits in most cup holders in cars, attaches to a belt loop or backpack, and is perfect for hiking, biking, or even just running errands. Stainless is extremely crack- and break-resistant, and does not stain easily. Additionally, at less than ten dollars, these bottles are an affordable choice, especially when you consider that if well-taken care of, these bottles will certainly last for years For optimum performance, we recommend you only use your bottle for water (which will help keep it cleaner, too), though you can safely fill it with other cool liquids as well. Manufacturers do NOT recommend putting hot liquids into these bottles (use an insulated thermos for that).

The next best option for a safe water bottle would be aluminum bottles like SIGG, with an epoxy-resin liner. Though SIGG insists that their liner is totally safe, they will not reveal their patented liner. And because of all of the problems that have arisen lately due to lack of full disclosure with other products, we have opted to no longer carry SIGG this year. Also, the SIGG bottles were nearly twice as expensive as the stainless steel ones we now carry.

 Our third choice for safe water bottles is the PLA Corn Resin Bottle. Now, this bottle serves a slightly different purpose, because it comes with a charcoal filter that makes the PLA bottle reusable for about 3 months, at which point it is compostable (though only in a commercial compost). We like the filter, because it means you can fill up with tap water wherever you are. Though PLA is not the perfect plastic, it is a good first step in creating sustainable plastics that are not so detrimental to the environment. We have discussed PLA at length in previous posts. Clicke HERE to read all about it.

Near the bottom of our list are the polycarbonate bottles. Because of contamination concerns with Bisphenol-A, we do not recommend these bottles. Please keep in mind that many baby bottles are also affected by the BPA concerns, so please look for BPA-free bottles, like those made by Born Free.

And, of course, the very last resort would be regular disposable plastic bottled water. First of all, this bottled water is often just plain old tap water anyway. And we now know that only a small fraction of plastic bottles actually enter the recycling stream, so we have a major problem with plastics that will potentially last for millions of year.  Read all about it in The Problem with Plastics.

"Everything's Cool": The Global Warming Debate in a Time of Disinformation

Last night I attended one of a series of documentary viewings on our nation's "Addiction to Oil", where we watched and discussed the documentary, "Everything's Cool".

We have finally reached a day and age in which most of our citizens believe that global warming is a real threat to our planet (recent polls suggest as many as 85% of Americans). But it has taken years and years to convince the general public of the dangers of imminent climate change, and it is NOT because the science was faulty, or the research inconclusive. Rather, the global warming debate was a direct result of intentional attempts by Big Oil and the energy industry to position global warming as theory rather than fact. 

How do you convince a country that the conclusions of eminent scientists are somehow mistaken? Some of the under-handed tactics which the energy industry employed included paying "pseudo-scientists" (scientists that are being paid by powerful interest groups rather than through impartial funding) to argue against the science of global warming (which, by the way, has been proven by hundreds of world-renowned scientists); creating new conservative think tanks and organizations whose sole purpose is to argue against global warming; and altering (and even suppressing) official climate reports to make them sound less definitive. The idea was that if the general public believed there was actual debate as to the veracity of the global warming issue, then they wouldn't take it seriously.... until now.

The Documentary "Everything's Cool" does a fabulous job of explaining the history of the global warming debate, following a number of important journalists, scientists, and environmentalists from 2003-2007, including Bill McKibben, Ross Gelbspan, Dr. Heidi Cullen, Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus, and Rick Piltz.

From the "Everything's Cool" website: "EVERYTHING'S COOL is a film about America finally "getting" global warming in the wake of the most dangerous chasm ever to emerge between scientific understanding and political action. While industry funded nay-sayers sing what just might be their swan song of pseudo-scientific deception, a group of global warming messengers are on a high stakes quest to find the iconic image, the magic language, the points of leverage that will finally create the political will to move the United States from its reliance on fossil fuels to the new clean energy economy - AND FAST."

This was a powerful and inspirational film (though to be honest, it's also a little depressing, too, to learn about the subversive forces at work against the movement and how powerful they have been).  It was also humorous and entertaining, which is nice to see in a documentary. Definitely a must-see!

Urging Global Warming Debate Questions

We only have 50 or so days now until the election.... in past years, out of thousands of questions that were asked by media and debate moderators, only a small handful had anything to do with global warming and the current energy crisis. And this year, with one of the candidates publicly proclaiming that "I’m not an Al Gore, doom-and-gloom environmentalist blaming the changes in our climate on human activity," it is more important than ever to bring the topic to the forefront of discussion!

Environmental Defense Fund is sponsoring a petition that is urging debate moderators to ask about clean energy and global warming. This is our chance to let them know that we want tough environmental questions, and we want the moderators to push for specific, jargon-free answers that clearly outline candidate's plans to tackle both the current energy crisis and global warming. Click HERE to sign the petition.

Like others I've talked to, I often get angry when I hear people denying global warming, which does not help my argument in any way.

I often hear the argument that somehow this fight against global warming infringes on personal freedoms. As if continuing to live with callous disregard for our planet and the other people (because, really, this all comes back to the politics of selfishness) is somehow one's personal right.

When I advocate for environmental issues, protecting our planet and our eco-systems, and social justice for all peoples the world over, I am not just doing so for me. I am doing it because I believe there is a universal truth, and it involves caring for each other, caring for our planet, and living a respectful life with honesty, integrity, and morality. All major religions challenge us to live such a life. When I hear the politics of Big Oil, Big Spending, and corporate globalization, it is usually a politics of greed, material wealth, and personal gain. When I hear nay-sayers ask why they should believe in global warming, what I really hear is, "What's in it for me?"

I've been told that assuming others are acting selfishly is a self-righteous and selfish thing to do in and of itself.... and I don't mean to point a finger. I am simply asking us all to challenge ourselves to live a life that is not about "me", not about "us" and "them", but rather about "We"- what we can do together, what we can do to help each other, and what we can do to make our planet not just a healthy and safe place for some, but for all.

What do you say to someone who doesn't believe in global warming?
I personally know and am related to a number of people who do not "believe" that global warming is real. To them I say this:

If you believe that, despite YEARS of research done by world-renowned scientists, we are not heading toward a global warming crisis, and wonder why should we make all these changes for something that doesn't exist, then please consider this: if I am wrong and you are right, then we have made a number of changes that are beneficial to both people and the planet, created healthier environments for our families, cleaner air to breathe, built local food systems that give people greater access to healthy locally-grown food, lessened dependence on foreign oil, created millions of new jobs in the booming alternative energies field, encouraged people to live healthier lives full of bicycle rides and long walks and exercise, and developed new technologies that help us live with a smaller carbon footprint. These changes have both PERSONAL and GLOBAL benefits.

If I am right, however, and you are wrong, and we continue to do nothing about global warming, we will find ourselves in the midst of a worldwide crisis. Sea levels will rise, destroying entire coastal communities. Entire species will go instinct, as delicate eco-systems will be destroyed by the changing climate, pollution levels will reach all-time highs (have you seen how people in many pollution-laden developing countries have to wear masks as they go about their daily business?), and numerous other very serious, negative consequences will ensue. So I ask you this- why not go the route that only has POSITIVE outcomes, even in the unlikely event that it turns out to be a false alarm? See, it doesn't matter if we are right or wrong about global warming- everything that environmental advocates are urging us to do is good for our health, our happiness, and our planet. It's a win-win situation!

For an excellent overview of the science behind global warming, click HERE.

For a thorough look into the history of global warming denial, click HERE.

And lastly, No Impact Man says it way better than I do: he gives a great list of all the wonderful things that would happen if we treated global warming as a crisis, but it turned out it wouldn't- a must read! Click HERE to read his post.

The Truth About rBGH: One More in the Millions Against Monsanto Campaign

I was recently invited to lead a class at a local church as part of a series of workshops on consumerism. I chose to discuss some of the issues surrounding the health and safety of our food, how agriculture affects our environment, and, in particular, the effects of rBGH use in dairy cows. I realized this is an issue I just HAD to blog about! There is so much to this discussion, but here's the gist of it:

BGH, or Bovine Growth Hormone, is a naturally-occurring hormone in female cows, responsible for the production of milk. In the 1930s, it was discovered that injecting cows with additional BGH would stimulate prolonged milk production, resulting in a 10-15% overall increase. At that time, BGH was extracted from bovine cadavers, and was thus a natural hormone.

About 15 years ago or so, Monsanto started creating an artificial BGH, using genetically engineered e. coli. The result was recombinant BGH, or rBGH, with the "r" indicated that this is NOT a naturally-occurring hormone, but rather a genetically engineered one.

In 1994, this rBGH was marketed to dairy farmers as the "ultimate" answer to maximizing profit. It was welomed with open arms, and was administered to millions of cows. In fact, it still is. Despite inadequate testing for human safety, despite causing medical problems in cows administered rBGH, and despite the fact that we are, and have been for quite some time, in a state of over-production of milk that is driving the price down for dairy farmers (and therefore do not need to be artificially stimulating more production). So how on earth did rBGH become so widespread?

The most testing that was done for human safety involved 90 days of exposure to lab rats! And it was with this testing in hand that the FDA signed approval for rBGH without a second thought (this is a testament to how powerful Monsanto is). rBGH is banned in most other industrial countries, including the European Union, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Japan, with harm to animal welfare being cited as the main cause (rBGH causes increased incidence of mastitis, lameness, and other painful health problems). Huh??? Are we the only ones who care so little about the health and well-being of the animals we mass breed for food production? Additionally, though rBGH itself has not been definitively linked to health problems in humans, cows given this artificial hormone have increased levels of Insulin Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1), which HAS been preliminarily linked to cancer in humans.

Additionally, we are just starting to understand that rBGH, because it is not exactly the same as BGH, with a one amino acid chain difference, can cause immune hypersensitivity in some people, resulting in severe auto-immune, or allergic, responses. In fact, this issue is being researched as a possible outcome of eating ANY genetically-modified foods: because they are not exactly identical to natural forms, sometimes our bodies don't recognize them, and treat these molecules as "foreign invaders", creating an allergic response. We are seeing a huge increase in allergies in children, and this is one possibility that we need to look at more closely...

But the issue with rBGH goes even deeper. When some small, independent dairies started promoting their milk as "rBGH-free", Monsanto actually backed some of its dairy customers in a lawsuit, stated that "hormone-free" was mislabeling. And they won!! And so we now find that some milk and cheese, in certain states, has to add a disclaimer that "no significant difference has been found between milk made from cows given rBGH and those not given rBGH"- and as a result, many dairies choose not to add the label at all. Huh???? Monsanto somehow won the right to keep us from knowing that cows were raised naturally, organically, because that was "mislableing"???

I start to get infuriated at the whole situation, and then I remember who we are talking about. Monsanto. Global terrorist. Their list of laurels includes Agent Orange (and by the way, Monsanto NEVER paid out one penny to vets who sued them for permanent damage, deformities in their children, cancer, and the like), Round-Up, a majority of all genetically-engineered plant patents, NutraSweet, and rBGH. Their website claims they "help farmers grow yield sustainably so they can be successful, produce healthier foods, better animal feeds and more fiber, while also reducing agriculture's impact on our environment." And they use the words "growing yield sustainably" as their motto. What a bunch of &*%@!

So the whole rBGH issue, with the recent public outcry, has resulted in Monsanto selling off rBGH, announced a few weeks ago. Go figure. Too much trouble to keep hiding the truth from the public. Why Eli Lilly has paid $300 million for the rights to the rBGH label "Posilac", I'll never know. It's amazing how much money there is to be made by damaging the planet, its animals, and its people.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Want to know more about Monsanto's crimes against the planet and help stop their gloabl terrorism, as it has frequently been called? Check out the Millions Against Monsanto Campaign for every dirty little thing you wanted to know, and an important petition that you should sign.

Check out the Food and Water Watch's article "rBGH: Anything but Green".

BTW, there are a number of major chains that have, under public pressure, recently refused to sell rBGH milk, including Walmart, Costco, Kroger, and Chipotle, to name a few. If you shop/dine at those stores, be sure to tell the store manager how happy you are that they are supplying rBGH-free milk! And be sure to sign this petition, thanking ALL of the declared rBGH-free stores across the nation.

Our Tomatoes are Uglier than Yours!

Look at those tomatoes! Cracked, mis-shapen, full of unusual oranges, purples, and yellows.... what's with the ugly tomatoes??!!

They're heirloom tomatoes, of course! So what's the deal with heirlooms? They certainly do not conform to the current idea of a "perfect" tomato: round, red, and crack-free. But there was a time when tomatoes were not that "perfect", and along the way, a lot has been sacrificed in terms of flavor and nutrition in order to get them that way. But recently, many people have been re-discovering heirlooms.

The first time I ever grew heirloom tomatoes, I thought I'd done something wrong. They were deformed and lumpy, cracking, and never turned fully red. We literally threw many of the first tomatoes we picked into the compost, waiting for one that came out "right". Little did we know we were throwing away some of nature's gems!

Much of the store-bought produce you see these days in supermarkets has been genetically modified. (Click here to read our post on some of the major problems  with genetic engineering.) They have been bred, cross-bred, and modified for one of a few particular purposes: to harvest earlier, to transport better, and/or to have more disease resistance. Flavor and nutrition are after-thoughts. If a tomato can't handle being transported 1500 miles while still arriving in good condition, it is virtually useless in today's world of agribusiness. The reason you don't see heirlooms in the stores more is simple: they are delicate, bruise easily, and could never withstand the journeys that our average veggies make these days.

Some heirlooms go back a few decades, some centuries, and some, like Black Aztec Corn, go back thousands of years. Growing heirlooms is like taking a stroll back in time, connecting us with the early farmers of history. There is deep connection between us and the earth that manifests itself in a plant that has been grown (and remained unchanged) for that long...

For all their ugliness, heirlooms far outweigh conventional varieties for their flavor alone. One bite of one of our Cherokee Purple Tomatoes, with their deep and delicious tomato flavor, or Yellow Currant Tomatoes, sweeter than candy, and you will understand The Way of the Heirloom. Once you have discovered heirlooms, you may just never go back.

Looking to learn more about why heirlooms are the healthy choice for our planet? Check out Seed Saver Exchange, where you can learn about the importance of preserving genetic diversity, and also order some heirloom seeds of your own! And if you are in the Southwest Michigan Area, check us out at the Allegan Farmer's Market on Thursdays, from 8:30 am -1:30 pm, at the corner of Cutler and Water Streets.

Turning the White House Lawn into a Garden: An Inspiring Video on YouTube

I've just watched a very cute and inspiring video from Kitchen Gardeners International, called "This Lawn is Your Lawn".  Roger Doiron, the founder of KGI, has started a campaign to convert part of the White House lawn into a garden. Sound crazy? It's actually been done before, when First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt grew her Victory Garden in the 1940s. She inspired thousands of Americans to do the same, until nearly 40 percent of the nation's fruits and vegetables were being grown in these Victory Gardens at a time when food and other resources were scarce.

Today about 1/3 of all greenhouse gas emissions comes from the production and transportation of agriculture. Kitchen Gardeners International is asking that the next President lead by example, turning a good portion of the White House grounds into edible landscaping to feed his own family and local food pantries and shelters. What an example that would set! As the price of oil skyrockets, thus resulting in higher food costs, it is making more and more sense to eat locally-grown (if not home-grown) food.

The video is only about 5 minutes long. Click HERE to watch it. You can also just go straight to the petition at EatTheView.org.

Enjoy!!

Maggie's Soap Nuts Now Comes in a Liquid: The Ultimate in Green Cleaning Just Got Easier

If you haven't heard of soap nuts yet, then you have got to check them out here. I'm not going to expound upon their virtues too much here, of which there are many, since many readers will be well aware of these natural wonders. But in short, Soap Nuts are actually the berries of the Chinese Soapbery Tree, which has been growing and been used in parts of Asia for thousands of years. Historical sources have been found that date the earliest use of soap nuts, as we now call them, back to at least the time of the Buddha....

What makes soap nuts so useful is their naturally-occurring saponins, the chemical compound that gives soap its cleaning power. Saponins cause dirt to be released from fabric and dissolve into the water. (And by the way, naturally-occurring saponins are the residue that must be washed off of rice before cooking, as well, or you can end up with a slightly bitter- soapy- taste.) Saponins do not create many suds (great for HE washers!), so soap nuts aren't at all sudsy (suds are a modern chemical marvel), but they sure are good at cleaning! Saponins are also found in yucca, and have anti-microbial properties and so are great for septic systems. Soap nuts are totally natural, totally gentle, biodegradable, compostable, sustainable, and are even a natural remedy for lice on the scalp! Did I mention that soap nuts grow on trees? We're talking centuries-old trees that have been clear-cut in the last few decades, but are now being preserved thanks to their new monetary value. The world is going gaga over soap nuts.

 Anyhoo.... soap nuts are fabulous, but they are a little awkward for some people. As my friend Kim says, it's just too hard to get used to the idea of throwing a couple of berries in a wash sack, and then into your laundry. So Maggie's has come up with a solution that should please Kim and all who think similarly: Liquid Soap Nuts! Still as wonderfully natural, the liquid version is simply a concentrated solution achieved by soaking the soap nuts and adding a few organic essential oils as preservatives. We think this product will change the laundry landscape forever. Truly, purely, and uniquely natural- soap nuts are the only laundry product to accurately make this claim.

Click HERE to learn more about Maggie's Liquid Soap Nuts. they are so very brand new that Maggie's does not even have them up on their website yet, so we are thrilled to be carrying them!

(And don't worry, if you are still a little wary of these unusual cleaning berries, you can try a sample first!)

What's New on the Farm

Boy, have we been busy! And to think we can barely call ourselves a farm, we're so small. Larger farms must be an extraordinary amount of work. I'm sensing that the key to it all is time management. Talking to other farmers at the Farmer's Market, it seems they are up at sunrise (around 5 am, or slightly earlier), and out in the fields often til 9 pm, usually with at least a few other family members to help. That's a long day. Especially when you are battling bugs, scorching sun, and getting dirty, dirty, dirty! Between the store, the farm, and Alex's off-the-farm job, we spend that many hours working, but not out in the fields. Our fields might be suffering a bit, but we're learning...

So, the biggest news around here is that the roosters gotta go. I mean, they REALLY gotta go. They are big, and nasty (all I'm going to say is you can hear chickens poop and it isn't pretty, especially when it's right on top of another chicken), and they are getting MEAN. So far, no one has had any aggression toward me (good thinking... aggression towards food source is not smart). But two of the roosters, Big Fatty and Speckles (see photos) are seriously bullying the smallest rooster. To the point that I fear they may kill him. He barely eats, or drinks, and hides in the corner. I had to isolate him this morning, I felt so bad for him. But there is not much else we can do... roosters get mean. Perhaps we'll build another chamber to the coop, and we can separate any "victims". But if I know anything about Big Fatty, it's that he will find someone else to bully.

So Michael from next door has offered to come over on the next rainy day for The Butchering. He, and everybody else we've ever asked, has told us that we absolutely cannot have a butcher kill our chickens (it's simply ridiculous, they say, you kill your own chickens...unless you are some kind of sissy, apparently). So it's happened that we will kill our own chickens. Trial by fire. We wanted to be farmers... so here we go. I'll write a post, I'm sure, after The Deed, but I probably will spare you the photos this time...

 
The plants are doing very well, but it's becoming very apparent that we did not plant enough for mass production. We will indeed have to step it up a notch next year. But that's OK, this was our trial year at the Farmers' Market, and so far it's going better than expected. There is a lot of interest in our Certified Naturally Grown Farm (yes, we are certified now- with transitional status for 3 years). Our seedlings sold like crazy (OK, I should probably admit here that I actually sold too many seedlings, and shorted myself on a few crops... oops....). Our lettuces were spectacular- true beauties. Gorgeous, colorful, and full of flavor. It's going to be tough to reproduce that flavor in the heat of summer now, but we are going to try.

I found our first hornworm. Otherwise known as The Enemy. A hornworm can literally decimate an entire tomato plant in a few days, if left unattended. The one I found was a baby, and the chickens sure did enjoy it. Wait until they see the full-grown suckers. You haven't fully appreciated a tomato until you have slaughtered a bucket of hornworms in order to get it. I mean, let's just say that they seem more animal-like than insect, and their guts are neon green. Enough said.

Our cucumbers, zucchini, golden zucchini, and eggplant have started coming in. Yum! The spinach and arugula have started bolting, so we planted a new crop, a bit in the shade, and we'll see how that goes. The potatoes are doing well, as is the corn (see photo). A beautiful example of companion growing has sprung up.... all around the corn, clover has started growing like crazy. Clover is a nitrogen-fixing plant, which means that it actually replaces nitrogen in the soil. So, since corn needs huge amounts of nitrogen, but leaves the minerals/nutrients that clover needs, they grow so well together. Often farmers will plant clover as a cover crop, but this clover is just growing naturally. And it is growing at least three times as thick around the corn as anywhere else. Isn't nature cool??!!

Lastly, I have some new pets. It seems our above-ground pool, which flipped over in a storm and formed mini-pools of water, is teeming with tadpoles. So of course, I refuse to destroy this little amphibian habitat, and have even taken to feeding them (fish food flakes), though they do a very good job of munching down any insects that are unfortunate enough to land in their puddles. We are having our annual pig roast in one month, and the pool is a must, so I'm hoping these little suckers get some legs, and quick. Oh, and some lungs and all while they are at it. Our friend Josh says they are Leopard Frogs. Whatever they are, they are destined to eat about 10,000 insects per year each, and so in my book, they are cool. Natural mosquito control!

Oh- and a wonderful update! Our nephew, who was in neo-natal intensive care, is doing great! I know everyone's thoughts and prayers helped, so thank you to all those who were so caring. He's a tough little guy, and a real cutie, too!

Home Depot Offers CFL Bulb Recycling

Hooray! I no longer have to save my burned out/broken CFL bulbs in a bucket in my laundry room! Home Depot has announced that it will now collect UNBROKEN, no longer usable CFL bulbs for safe disposal at all of their stores nationwide (all 1,973 of them). You can read the press release here.  Ikea also accepts CFL bulbs for recycling, but there is no Ikea anywhere near little Grand Junction, sadly.

This is a huge step toward responsibly managing the mercury that is present in CFL bulbs. Though there is only a small amount of mercury in each bulb, because of the huge popularity of CFLs recently, we would soon be faced with an environmental hazard if everyone simply tossed them in the garbage.

Please remember that you cannot bring in broken bulbs to the Home Depot - that would pose a safety hazard! If you break a CFL, use the same precautions that your high school chemistry teacher (hopefully) used when your clumsy lab partner (that was me, actually) dropped a thermometer and broke it. Don some gloves, sweep the mess into a sealed container, and take it your local hazardous waste disposal center.

Rising Gas Prices: The Downsides and Upsides of Rethinking Our Oil Dependency

There's no doubt we are all trying to deal with rising gas prices in various ways. I woke up this morning and read a series of opinion pieces in the New York Times dealing with the consequences of the rising prices, and it got me thinking, because there are indeed a lot of outcomes, many of them different for different people. So I thought what I'd do is start a list of the effects I can think of (starting with ones that affect me as an individual), and would love it if anyone who stops by would add something to the list, especially some way that you have been personally affected. I also thought it would be interesting to do a downside/upside commentary, as well, to start thinking about what good could possibly come of it all....

DOWNSIDE: Obviously, rising gas prices means that we are cutting back on travel. Living out in the country, I have to travel 12 miles to get to any decent sized store (and unfortunately, my choices then are Walmart and Menard's). If I want something fancier, like say, a Borders or a Bed, Bath, & Beyond, we'd be looking at 40 miles each way. And if I want to visit family (living in Chicago), we're talking 140 miles each way. So obviously, we don't make any of those trips as much as we used to.

UPSIDE: Neighbors have started calling when they are going to the grocery store or into town, asking if either a) we need anything, or b) we'd like to come along to save on gas. We are becoming a very fuel-efficient little community! People everywhere are increasing their use of public transportation systems, bikes, scooters, and their legs (walking!)- all much greener options. The popularity of gas-efficient models (which have been available for awhile, but not necessary until now) is rising. Our 2003 Matrix gets 37 mph on the highway- that means that 5 years ago, there were cars that had excellent gas mileage, but they just weren't super popular.  As we demand higher fuel efficiency, the auto industry will be forced to make more and more of their vehicles meet these higher standards (which, of course, they are fully capable of doing, but are under major pressure from the oil industry NOT to do).

DOWNSIDE: It seems like everything is connected to the price of oil. Food is getting more expensive, because the costs associated with raising it and transporting it are very oil-dependent. Energy costs are rising in general (propane just went up almost 80 cents a gallon from this time last year- and we use about 500 gallons per year).

UPSIDE: We are all searching for cheaper, more sustainable options. Shopping at farmer's markets eliminates the middle men, making fresh, wholesome veggies more affordable. People are thinking things like, "Why not buy surplus veggies now while they are fresh and cheap and in season, freeze them, and then eat them in winter so I don't have to pay to have my food shipped halfway around the world?" We are seriously considering each purchase we make. Items that are cheaper and not long-lasting. That means we buy less "junk" and more high-quality, sustainable items. Instead of a couple of cheaply made shirts, I might buy one durable hemp shirt that will have a longer life.

DOWNSIDE: Businesses are having to cut back on "extraneous" expenditures, like marketing, decorating, security systems, etc.  That means that other businesses in those industries are suffering, because their services are being cut from budgets.

UPSIDE: Not sure here... is there one?

DOWNSIDE: The cost of fertilizer for farmers is rising, making it even more difficult for them to survive.

UPSIDE: Farmers are starting to consider organic fertilizers, like those made from fish and kelp, that are not so dependent on the price of oil. It no longer makes sense to use soil-depleting chemicals when healthy and effective alternatives are finally cheaper.

DOWNSIDE: Large farms use gas and diesel to power their heavy machinery, which they simply cannot operate without. This is a huge burden for farmers, and is slowly resulting in rising food prices all around. And not just produce. Meat and dairy, as well, are becoming more expensive to produce.

UPSIDE: Smaller, organic farms tend to be less oil-dependent. The price of organic meat, dairy, and produce use to be much higher than conventional, but the price gap is disappearing. This means that more people are starting to consider buying organic and local.

DOWNSIDE: Many conventional household products include synthetic ingredients that are derived from petroleum. This means that items like cleaners, plastics, synthetic fabrics, and other common items are becoming more expensive.

UPSIDE: Natural, sustainable, and organic cleaners, clothing, upholstery and household items are no longer appearing as expensive, and many people are considering these options.

I'm going to stop my list here, but I imagine that you might be able to add some ideas to my list. Please do!! And if possible, keep it positive by providing an alternative that can help us beat these rising costs of living. Let's help each other out!

Cartoon courtesy of Harry Campbell, New York Times

Just Another Day

Today was just another day on the farm.  Saturdays and Sundays tend to be our major work days, since Alex's other job often takes him away from the farm during the week. While we are both here, we usually take advantage of it and tackle the larger jobs. Today was Chicken Coop Clean-Up.

Chicken Coop Clean-up is not a fun job. But where there's a coop, there's poop. I originally called my local feed store to ask how often we needed to clean out the coop when we first got our chickies. I had wondered if once a week was needed. He laughed. He told me that when he was growing up, his family raised 14,000 chickens in a very large barn (we now have 10). They cleaned it out 2 or 3 times a year (by the way, yuck! that barn must have stunk!). He said that basically, once it bothered us, it was time to clean. So we relaxed about our lack of cleaning the first month, and procrastinated.

Well, it's now been over 2 months since we brought the chicks home, and basically, they were getting stinky as can be. It was actually a bit repulsive to go in there and feed them, so I decided that must be the "sign" the local feed guy was talking about.

We grabbed a rake, a pitchfork, a flat shovel, and, because the dried chicken poop had turned to dust, some dust masks so we weren't breathing poop (again, yucko!). We raked the straw from the floor into a huge pile, pitchforked it into a wheelbarrow, and dumped it all in back by the woods to compost. Should be great fertilizer by next summer!

After everything had been scooped out, we hosed down the inside. Now we are waiting for everything to dry before we lay down the pine bedding and straw to cover the floor. The chickens do not like a change of scenery and grunted meanly at us as we scooted them first outside, then inside, then outside again while we cleaned the various sectors of the coop and yard. But I would think that chickens would be happy not to have to lie in their own poop anymore (though in all honesty, they really didn't seem to mind much at all). I like to pretend I don't see them picking at their poop every now and then. Maybe that's a good reason to clean the coop more often... we decided to put ourselves on a once-a-month cleaning routine. Hopefully it won't be as yucky then....

I also did a number of loads of laundry today, and line dried them. I love living out in the country and being able to line dry my clothes.... they smell so good. And our rain is so clean that when I occasionally forget to take the clothes down, they still smell clean and fresh, even after a good soaking. When I lived in Japan, no one there used dryers, we just line dried all our clothes. The only thing is the pollution and smog where I lived was awful, so if I hung my clothes outside they got stinky. And many of my neighbors burned their garbage (an acceptable practice, apparently), so I constantly had to be on the lookout. I usually just opted to dry them indoors, with only mediocre results at best.

Then we went for a hike in the woods with the dogs and the cats. That's our new thing, the cats like to go on hikes with us. The trail is about 3/4 of a mile each way, and they are pretty tired by the time we get back. They keep trying to rest along the path. I think they are great at short sprints, but not really cut out for the long haul. We make a funny little entourage through the woods!

In the evening, I sprayed the garden plants with Neem Oil, which now needs to be applied once every week or two as we head full-on into summer. The time for disease and insect infestations is quickly approaching, and it's much easier to use preventative care then to try and treat a full-blown disease or insect problem. We're keeping our fingers crossed. Last year we had a major leaf spot problem.... I discovered today that a lot of our tomato plants have some of the older, lower leaves curling. I panicked. Could it be the start of some sort of blight or fungus? An insect infestation? A deficiency? Fortunately, after a little research, it turns out this is common (though it never happened to us before), and may be caused by either excessive rainfall (which we've had lately) or excessive sunlight (which, interestingly, we've also had), and should not affect yield or ultimately harm the plants in any way. Let's hope.

Yesterday I did some major mulch application. We are covering the entire growing area with a hay mulch, which is actually just our grass clippings. Every time we mow, I get to do a little more. I was able to lay down about 10 wheelbarrow loads full of hay. But before I did, I had to weed the area, which had become extremely weedy. My fingers, hands, arms, back, and legs are reminding me today of all the bending, pulling, digging, pushing, spreading, and lifting I did yesterday. I need a hot shower badly. How wonderful it will be... sometimes it's the little things that make our day!

And finally, please say a quiet prayer for our new little nephew, Nick, who was born on the 24th, but is still in the neo-natal intensive care unit. He has some swelling in his brain, and so they are monitoring him closely. He has my husband's family line in him, so he must be a fighter! He really is loved so much! And we are just thrilled to be an aunt and uncle for the first time. Isn't he just adorable???!

We are learning one of the harsh realities of farming. It is getting very difficult for us both to leave the farm at the same time (and we only have a small farm- imagine the care required for large farms!!). Someone needs to be here to feed, water, and let out the cats (3), dogs (2), and chickens (10); monitor the greenhouse (open it, mist it, water twice a day, and close in the evening or during a storm); and take care of our 4 garden plots, which we are relying on for part of our sustenance. That being said, we are leaving to go visit our nephew in shifts- not the ideal way, but it's just how we have to do it until we can find a "farm-sitter".... anyone interested?

And with that, it's off to my much-deserved hot shower, taco dinner, and a movie rental (10,000 BC). I can't remember the last time I got to sit down and watch a movie, so it's my Saturday night treat. Enjoy your evening, wherever you may be!

Days on the Farm

I've noticed I've fallen behind on posting.... it's just been so busy here on the farm. Even though it's now late June, we still have a bit of planting to do (not good), there are still plots not covered by mulch, and our plans for a fourth plot have not materialized. I guess our good intentions were not quite enough, although we got a lot more done this year than last. Every year is an improvement when you're this new at farming!

The chickens are getting big! They've decided to try their luck at cock-a-doodle-dooing, and it's quite hilarious. They just don't have the hang of it yet. For one, it sounds more like "gook-guck-gak" than a proper rooster crowing. And then they don't have the timing quite right. One of the roosters decided to belt out some gutteral guffaws today around 3 pm. Definitely not sunrise!

We are laying hay down as our mulch, and it's a lot more work than it would seem! Since our grass is so wild, and not your typical lawn grass, we are able to use it as an excellent source of mulch. The only problem is we need so darn much, and the grass only grows so fast. So every time we are able to mow and sweep up the clippings, we cover a few more rows. We were using newspaper under the hay, but it is really a two-person job on those windy days, and a real pain to lay down sheet by sheet. I found some recycled brown paper in the paint section  at Walmart, for protecting the floor while painting. It comes in rolls of 2 1/2 feet by 140 feet, for about $6.50. Not a bad deal, and recycled, too! So that is what we are putting under the hay. We roll it out down the aisle, and then pile the hay on top until you can't see the paper any more. And presto- weed control, moisture retention, and disease prevention all in one!

The bugs are atrocious lately. Thank goodness for guys like this little toad. I read that frogs and toads can eat 10,000 or more insects in their lifetime. All toads are welcome here! (There is a hitch, though- their skin produces some kind of mucous that is toxic to pets - and probably people, were we to eat them- and if a cat or dog tries to bite them, they will sorely regret it, with respiratory distress, and even convulsions, quickly ensuing. Fortunately they seem to learn quickly to keep away from toads!)

And we even welcome snakes, like this guy, who we think is a Black Rat snake. They help take care of the rodent problem for us. Living out in the country, you quickly learn that mice are an inevitable part of life here!

Well, it's been a long day of working out in the fields, and I think we've earned a quick rest in the hammock, with a strawberry banana smoothie to cool us off. It's off to the hammocks I go, to re-energize before the evening chores ahead of us still....

Toy Safety Recalls Have Parents Worried: Safe and Eco-friendly Toys and Games Seem to be the Answer

The shock waves from all the recent toy recalls are just astounding. Parents these days find themselves questioning nearly every toy they purchase, wondering if there is a potential hazard, like lead paint, lurking  within, and how these toys were even allowed to get to market in the first place.

It seems that the most common factor in the recent toy recalls is that they were manufactured in China. According to Consumer Product Safety Commission spokesman Scott Wolfson, 60% of all recalls (not just toys) are for products made in China. As for toys, it's even clearer: of the 24 CPSC recalls in 2007, all of them were for products made in China. But that number doesn’t even come close to the number of voluntary recalls issued by companies themselves, hundreds of them in 2007 alone. It’s no wonder: according to the Toy Industry Association, approximately 80% of all toys in the US are manufactured in China. Yikes!!

And another troubling factor: even some of our most popular toy brands, brands that I grew up with as a kid, are issuing recalls: Fisher Price, Mattel, Thomas the Train. It seems to be getting difficult to know who and what we can trust to be safe for our children.

To see a complete list of CPSC recalls since 1975, click here. It is a very eye-opening experience to see how many products make it to market, only to be recalled shortly thereafter. Whatever happened to thorough safety testing before a product hits the shelves?? Apparently, the CPSC does not have the authority to test the safety of products before they become available to the public- they leave that up to the manufacturer! Well, it appears that Congress is finally seeing something wrong with that, and tougher Safety Bills are now on the table for lawmakers to vote on. You can send your Congressman an urgent message of support for tougher safety regulations by clicking here. The link will take you t o a Care2 petition urging stronger consumer product legislation.

Amidst all this recall turmoil, there is a bit of sunshine. Wonderful new, green products are sprouting up all around us, including in the toy department. It's making more and more sense to turn to eco-friendly, green companies, because they usually have much higher safety and health standards than conventional companies do. Green businesses seek to source locally whenever possible, and when not, try to source from Fair Trade Certified and inspected sources; they use recycled materials, eco-friendly dyes and paints (read: NO lead), and natural materials; and they have founded their businesses around a commitment to our health and safety.

One such company that makes safe and eco-friendly games for kids (and, actually, adults, too!) is BioViva, distributed by KVale Games. We are thrilled here at The Greater Green to be carrying one of their exceptionally adorable games for youngsters aged 3 and up called My First 3 Nature Games. Made of recycled and safe materials, and manufactured in Canada (NOT China), this game is also extremely educational in nature, teaching kids early concepts about the eco-systems that surround them. We hope that this new game provides comfort for parents out there who have been shaken by all of these recalls!  

Tomatoes Recalled Due to Salmonella Concerns: Time for Organic Vegetables?

First spinach, then beef, now tomatoes... All this has prompted me to go on a bit of rant this morning, so please forgive the "soapbox" approach... I just feel so strongly about this! (If you just want to read a current news release on the recall, scroll to the bottom of this post.)

There is a lot wrong with the way our food is grown, the way agriculture has become a business that rarely cares for the land or the animals on it, that uses chemicals and antibiotics and harmful processes to grow, harvest, and slaughter our food. The truth is, if we actually saw where much of our food comes from, we probably wouldn't want to eat it (especially meat, but commercial fields are also so chemical-laden that it is actually illegal in some states for farmers to take their children with them into their sprayed fields.... scary!!).

There is something that each of us can do about the state of agriculture and the potential dangers that are arising. We can support local, organic farmers who place the health of the land and all of its creatures at the top of their list of concerns. We can buy meat that comes from animals that have been allowed to see sunshine and breather fresh air, that aren't dosed up with antibiotics and growth hormones, and aren't pushed to their physiological and psychological limits. We can buy organically raised crops that are full of flavor, nutrition, and taste (remember what a real homegrown tomato tastes like??!). Our consumer buying power is the strongest statement we can make. If we demand these kinds of healthy vegetables and meats, the supply will follow.

One of the best web resources out there is Local Harvest, where you can search for local farmer's markets, CSAs, dairy and meat farms, and even order organic and specialty produce, plants, seeds and other products online. (If you live in southwest Michigan, you can find us, The Greater Green Farm, at the Allegan Farmer's Market on Thursdays.) Another excellent resource is the Organic Consumers Association, where you can read recent news topics, participate in online forums, and find lots of great organic-related resources.

Agriculture and factory farming has reached the state it has because we have allowed it to. We haven't stopped to ask enough why our food is so cheap, what methods were used to raise it, what chemicals might be contaminating us. It is not necessarily pleasant to have someone lecture you about the horrors of factory farming just as you are about to eat a juicy, delicious hamburger, I know. I spent many years ignoring those truths, which I knew, but could not face. They were too atrocious, and it was too easy to go to the store to buy cheap meat. But the truth has a funny way of finding us, and we are getting our fair share of warnings.

If you haven't read about the tomato recall yet, here is the transcript of a recent article:

Tomato Recall Has People Seeing Red
The Port Arthur News

By Amy Moore and Darragh Dorion
The News staff writers

Sun, Jun 08 2008

Some salads will be without the colorful red tomato as the fruit was recalled this week during a Salmonella scare. The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) said Wednesday that that federal, state and local authorities are investigating a multi-state outbreak of the Saintpaul strain of the Salmonella bacteria. Health authorities say the investigation is in its early stages but that consumption of raw tomatoes has been implicated as the likely source of infections. Specific types and source of tomatoes remain under investigation. As a precaution, local grocery stores and restaurants have pulled Roma and salad tomatoes from their shelves.

“Ensuring the safety and quality of products sold in our stores is a top priority for H-E-B,” Winell Herron, H-E-B Group Vice President of Public Affairs and Diversity said. “We continue to monitor the situation closely and will return the product to our stores once it is absolutely safe for our customers.” Market Baskets across the area have taken the same approach and are holding on to their tomatoes until the investigation clears the fruit.

“We took all of ours and put them in the cooler. Those were our orders from corporate until further notice. We don’t know if the ones we buy were the ones infected,” James Morein, assistant store manager at Bruce’s Market Basket in Groves said. “When we hear, we’ll either toss them out or put them back.” Mike Coryell, manager at Port Arthur’s Jason’s Deli, said the restaurant has had several customers request to have their meals prepared without the supposedly infected tomatoes, but the store has already pulled the item from its menu.

“We’re waiting,” Coryell said of the store’s status. “The last we heard from corporate was that it was not a nationwide recall. They’re targeting shipments from New Mexico and Arizona and as a precaution, we pulled our tomatoes. That was last night (Tuesday).”

DSHS health officials have confirmed 21 cases in Texas since mid-April, including cases in Harris, Fort Bend, Dallas, Tarrant, Hays and Cameron counties. No deaths have been reported. Symptoms of Salmonella infection include headache, stomach pain, diarrhea, nausea and sometimes vomiting. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most people recover without treatment. In some cases people with severe diarrhea may need to be hospitalized. People with symptoms should drink plenty of water, get extra rest and visit a doctor as soon as possible.

Until the specific source of the illnesses is determined, health officials advise that people with increased risk of severe infection including infants, the elderly and those with impaired immune systems not eat any raw Roma or full-sized round tomatoes other than those sold attached to the vine or grown at home. To reduce the risk of Salmonella infection, people should avoid eating raw Roma or full-sized round tomatoes other than those sold attached to the vine or grown at home.