About two kilometers from the Dead Sea and two from where Jesus was christened, in the country of Jordan, Geoff Lawton of the Permaculture Research Institute and his crew created a near miracle turning desert into a lush permaculture garden.

In August in this location, Lawton says that temperatures could rise above 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). People farming there were farming under plastic strips and using tons of synthetic chemicals and fertilizers. The idea to grow a lush forest or garden of edible plants would probably make people laugh or roll their eyes. Nonetheless, the permaculture crew had exactly this vision in mind and a little funding to help them to do it.

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Thinking about giving gardening a try? While the traditional growing season has ended in most parts of the US for this year, it’s not too early to start planning for next Spring. You may want to check out books on starting a backyard garden, and there are plenty of them out there. You may also want to find some of the books that offer suggestions and recipes for the produce you grow. And, if you need encouragement to grow organically, there are still more books on that subject.

If you want a book that covers all three of those areas, though, your choices get much more limited. Janette Haase’s From Seed to Table: A Practical Guide to Eating and Growing Green* not only provides readers with gardening instructions and tips, recipes and menus, and essays on the environmental issues surrounding agriculture and food production, but does so in a month-by-month structure that gives you the information you need when you need it.

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With all the news surrounding food safety, global pollution, misguided government food policies, and the myriad of other problems faced by consumers, it’s always comforting to occasionally read some good news.  Here’s a bit of uplifting news.  An organization, Edible Schoolyard, bringing gardening knowledge to junior high school kids in urban areas.

The program strives to teach inner city youth about gardening and consuming fresh, seasonal produce.  From its own website, Edible Schoolyard specifically defines its goal of involving students “in all aspects of farming the garden and preparing, serving, and eating food as a means of awakening their senses and encouraging awareness and appreciation of the transformative values of nourishment, community, and stewardship of the land.”

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image courtesy of CaliforniaOrganicFlowers.com

We are a family that sends flowers to funerals, mothers in the hospital, for Mothers Day, or just because.  To be honest, I still have not found a great online source for ordering and buying flowers. I haven’t been thrilled with any of them and just now realized I should have been looking for an organic flower source. We strive for everything else to be organic.  Why not the flowers we send as gifts?

I started browsing the web in search of these companies and am excited to share with you the list I put together:

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killer.

Yep, it’s your hands. I am arming you with your own hands. The thumb and index finger can work together to rid most small yards and gardens of all invasive weeds.

If you have kids and/or a partner, then you have more free weed killers at your disposal.

And you don’t have to purchase “green” products to be “green”. As Adam Shake writes at Twilight Earth; “Do Nothing - And Call it Green”. This is a perfect example of this mantra…

Now get pickin’!

Related News

EPA fails to inform public about weed-killer (Atrazine) in drinking water
Green Options Article Archive on “Atrazine”
Report: Genetically Modified (GM) Crops are Harmful to Your Health (good info on the effects of Roundup weed killer. Also, click on the links at the bottom of this article for more info.)

image credit: Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0

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Container gardening is a great way to grow your own veggies, even in a limited space. We’ve looked at making an upside down tomato planter. Now let’s make use of that patio or back porch’s floor space with a home made Earth Box! Not only does this contraption let you grow a bunch of veggies and herbs in a small space, it’s self-watering! Once you start to get sprouts, you just have to add a bit of water from time to time to replenish the reservoir if you don’t get any rain!

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I’m a big slacker this year.  My big, fat, Eco-Confession?  I didn’t plant a garden this year.  This means we have been relying on farmers markets and u-pick to survive!  Ugh.

But, wait… I have a pretty good excuse.  We moved this Spring.  Our Spring was consumed with painting, cleaning, packing and unpacking.  It was pretty crazy around here.  Then my beloved Mama passed away and I didn’t want to do much of anything for a good two months.  Now, I’m up and running… but my yard is far from it!  Since this is a new to us home, there was already a bunch of yard work to do.  Needless to say, we haven’t gotten around to much of it, which includes clearing the garden beds and replanting.

So, that’s the plan this weekend.  Get those beds cleared and start our transplants inside the house.   Good thing I have plenty of kids.

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Now a new study shows that kids with childhood leukemia have elevated levels of household pesticides in their urine. The study was performed at the Georgetown University Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

These aren’t industrial-level pollutants, either. These are everyday chemicals people pick up at the hardware store and use in their very own backyards.

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I’ve had the chance to sample this handy little roll on and I keep it close to use during the inevitable event that someone gets bit by something.

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And that’s no way to see wildflowers.

My girls and I are very blessed where we live now to have a community that actively grows and encourages wildflowers, and several Backyard Wildlife Habitat homes that demonstrate the beauty of native growth.

I am adamant about the fact, however, that just experiencing a thing is, although critical, not enough. To love wildflowers, we just have to see them, sure. To understand them and be knowledgeable about them and know where they ought to live and how to protect them, we need good books.

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The kids are lacking a particular enzyme until they reach that birthday, one called paraoxonase. Adults have this enzyme, but the kiddos don’t. And this is crucial to help the body neutralize and eliminate specific pesticides.

So you may be chem-free at your house, but this is all the more reason to go organic for any produce you can—and know what the farms near you use on their fields.

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You’ve worked hard getting that garden planted and tending it with care, but inevitably nature takes its course and the bugs find those veggies. Is it any surprise they’d want to eat the delicious fruits of your labors? You can’t blame them, after all. But you can prevent pest damage and control problems.

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It’s also a good time to expose a kid with an interest in anything they find in their yards to the wide world of information gathering–you want your kids to understand that whatever they want to know about, there is information to be had and they are capable of either finding for themselves or interacting with those who can find it for them.

In other words, whenever a kid has an interest, barrage her with books. Even a subject as prosaic as the lowly earthworm is the star of any number of storybooks, nonfiction books, reference books, poems, songs, books on CD, web sites, audio programs, and documentaries.

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Since the Environmental Working Group came out with their list of the “Dirty Dozen“, I’m more selective about our produce purchases. We even grew a few rows of kale in our raised bed gardens because we eat copious amounts of greens.

But just because a favorite veggie didn’t end up on EWG’s list doesn’t mean that it’s free and clear. Certainly not organic, in most cases!

An average American child gets 5+ servings of pesticides in their food and water per day.

Yikes! That’s why this frightening educational new database is so helpful.

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Keep reading for a breakdown of which eco-bugsprays work the best.

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1. Be safe for my children and pets

2. Be environmental friendly

3. Work with the dry climate of Utah

4. Be affordable

5. Not have much upkeep since I am the one in charge of the lawn care in my home

After much research this is what I have learned and hopefully it will help me make a decision!

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So far, the collection is small… but there are already some really cool projects available:

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It seems like all I’ve been doing lately is weeding and mulching. It’s taken longer than I wanted, but slowly but surely my garden beds are enjoying a nice layer of straw to help insulate the soil, form a layer that’s harder for weeds to penetrate, and retain moisture. I usually wait until plants are established before mulching, but I’ve recently learned about year-round mulching, which doesn’t sound like such a bad idea.

What is mulch? It’s basically any material (usually organic matter) that is used to cover exposed soil in the garden, and can be used for beds, containers, and even paths. Exposed soil can dry out quickly and be easily eroded by water and wind, so a covering helps keep it moist and healthy. The type of mulch you choose depends on the needs of the area you’ll be mulching, but I recommend staying away from unnatural materials like black plastic and choosing organic materials like straw, hay, decomposing leaves, rice hulls, or even dead & dried out weeds. Organic material will break down slowly and help add humus to the soil, making it richer and healthier for gardening.

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