Happy (green) Halloween! October 30, 2009

I recently received Washington Toxics Coalition’s monthly “Growing Up Green” newsletter.  This issue was about how to help kids have a fun and safe Halloween — free from the scary toxins that are found in many costumes and candy.  They had some great tips that I wanted to pass along:

• Avoid PVC costumes and masks.  Costumes made of PVC are dangerous because they have been found to contain lead and phthalates.  These two chemicals are known to harm children’s learning and behavior, and have also been linked to birth defects and asthma.  The Green Halloween website — which I wrote about last year — has some great ideas and also has links for purchasing toddler and baby costumes.
• Make your own face paint.  The danger with most face paints is that manufacturers are not required to list out ingredients for consumers.  How do you know if a paint is safe or not?  There is no way to know for sure.  That’s why you should check out Smart Mama’s website for some great homemade recipes to make your wounds, warts and blood — all safe enough to eat!
• Avoid costume jewelry.  This goes for kids big and small…  Costume jewelry is another dangerous place that dangerous chemicals can be found.  Recent testing has found lead in a high percentage of costume jewelry.  Instead, accessorize with materials that you know are safe, like paper or fabric.
• Choose treats wisely.  The FDA issued a warning on some candies imported from Mexico that have been found to contain lead — ewww.  Watch for certain ingredients, such as chili powder and tamarind, as these have been identified as possible sources of exposure.

Have a happy, fun and safe Halloween!

Free Mulch is Falling October 30, 2009

 

Using a tarp to collect leaf mulch makes life easy and saves your back

I found that for an easy low impact mulch for vegetables there are two options. Leaves and grass clippings. During the summer months using grass clipping that you collect from your push mower is a great free mulch that offers nitrogen to your vegetables. It is readily available and easily acquired for free. But now its fall and the grass is about to hibernate for the next 6 months. We’ll need a mulch for the winter to protect our soil and help retain moisture in the ground through the winter so that it’s available early spring. Just in time is the falling of the autumn leaves. You may not need to drive some of Seattle’s Maple and Elm lined avenues to collect all you need for your garden this year, you might be lucky enough to actually have enough in your backyard or sidewalk. Last weekend I visited a friend on 20th Ave E and found two laborers and two home owners collecting leaves all bound for the yard waste bin. They were more than happy to have me take them away. My truck wasn’t quite full so I kept raking. One home owner actually came out and gave me a bottle of wine for raking his sidewalk! I’ll be using the sidewalk leaves in my veggie beds next season. I left the street leaves for obvious reasons. Leaves decompose more readily than wood chips do and don’t steal nitrogen like their woody counter-parts

 

 

Leaf mulch doesn't look half bad does it?

Wood chips are great for perennial beds. Save your back and have your local arborist drop a load of chips. They have to get rid of them and rather than paying for the dumping fees they are happy to unload their days work on to you. The trick is you may not be able to dictate what kind or how much you are getting. You should also be careful not to get fruit wood if you are mulching fruit trees. The fruit wood that is being chipped rarely is just pruned out stems and branches. When an arborist is called in to do work it often revolves around disease. When using diseased wood chips it is important not to mulch trees in the same family. An easy way to get around this is to use conifer chips on fruit and fruit chips on conifers. Pine needles are also good mulch but have a tendency towards acidifying the soil which works well for some berries like Evergreen Huck and Blueberry which both like acidic soil.

Arborist Chips

 

 

Once you know what you need, this is the time of year to start collecting your mulch from your neighborhood.

International day of Climate Action on YouTube and Flickr + take the 350 Pledge October 28, 2009

Have you heard about the number 350? Everyone should understand its significance. According to scientists, it’s the safe upper limit in parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The problem is, we’re already at 387 ppm!! To make everyone aware of the HUGE issue we’re facing, the world celebrated the International Day of Climate Action this past Saturday, October 24. The day has been hailed as the “World’s most widespread day of political action,” with 5245 actions in 181 countries—from the Great Barrier Reef in Australia to the pyramids in Egypt to my hometown of Palo Alto, California. You can check out a video of the day on YouTube and see photos shot around the globe posted on Flickr. Be sure to visit the website 350.org and sign the 350 pledge. The signatures will be joined with those on other petitions and delivered to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this December.

October is Energy Awareness Month October 20, 2009

President Obama proclaimed October 2009 as Energy Awareness Month with a theme of A Sustainable Energy Future; Putting All the Pieces Together. Here’s a poster that you can hang at work or school. For materials and ideas to promote energy-saving practices, visit the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) website. Another great resource is the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) new energy education resource site for teachers and students, called Energy Explained; Your Guide to Understanding Energy. Here you can learn about nonrenewable energy sources (gasoline, diesel, heating oil etc) as well as renewable ones (eg. geothermal, solar, wind), and get lots of facts and statistics. You can even search by state to see what kind of energy is produced there. Lucky Washingtonians get most of their power from hydroelectric, not dirty coal, as in many eastern states. Take a cruise around the site. It’s fascinating! And while you’re at it, don’t forget to turn off those unused (compact fluorescent) lights…and use mass transit… and drive a fuel-efficient car (only when necessary, of course)…and buy Energy Star products!

Plastic Diet: Make-Your-Own Green Cleaners October 16, 2009

Like me, a friend has been struggling to reduce the amount of plastic in her grocery cart. So she came up with a great project for her kid’s middle school green team: Make-your-own non-toxic cleaning solutions. Every time we purchase ready-to-use cleaning products (whether “green” or not), it means we’re buying one more plastic bottle. By making our own, we can reuse our old bottles and subtract more plastic from our carts. Care2 offers an extensive list of recipes for non-toxic cleaners made from everyday ingredients, such as baking soda, distilled vinegar, and lemon. The project was definitely a win-win-win for the school, since the teachers had previously been using environmentally unfriendly Clorox wipes purchased in plastic tubs. What’s the third “win”? It was a fun learning experience for the green team!

Abundance in Shade October 16, 2009

I love going to a client’s house for an initial consultation and walking the property. Inevitably there is a north side and sometimes a shady side too. Their response is commonly the same, “Well, this is the shady side. I wish we could grow food here. Is there anything else we can do with it?” What about growing some grub? I’m not just talking about growing mushrooms or fiddlehead ferns, which might be a common solution. I’m talking about berries and fruit as well.

There is a whole host of plants that actually produce better in the shade. Yes mushrooms do grow well in the shade and there is nothing better for the epicur-ious than a mushroom garden with a variety of mushrooms. But here are a couple others to consider. If you have the room put

Evergreen Huckleberry and Salal share a bed

in a hedge of Evergreen Huckleberry (Vacciniuum ovatum). In the shade V. ovatum can get 6 – 8 feet tall, while in the sun it only gets to 3′. It even produces better in the shade. By pruning and trimming it into a hedge you encourage it to branch more and thus fruit more. Plus its native.

Also native, but not as tall is  Salal (Gaultheria shallon). Known for its berries, which can be used as a thickener, sweetener and wine as well as eaten fresh, Salal also has tender young leaves that can be eaten as well. I haven’t tried them, I’m more likely to use them in flower arranging if I ever take up that hobby. I use the berries in combination with the evergreen huckleberries for jam and really want to give the combination a go as a wine.

Actinidia kolomikta isn't called Arctic beauty for nothin' (A. kolomikta seen here doing it's climbing thing)

Here’s another berry, technically. Kiwi. Hardy Kiwi specifically. Kiwis are vines and vigorous ones at that growing up to 30m into trees.  Actinidia species arguta (this link says they are flavorful…don’t believe ‘em) and kolomikta fall into the hardy category. They will tolerate temps to -20F. As producing vines kolomikta needs warm spring temps with little to no chance of surprise frost, while the arguta flowers later and has a better chance of not losing their buds to a spring frost. This makes them a good choice for Western Washington and similar temperate climates around the world. Actinidia deliciosa, the fuzzy kiwi that we find in the store, is a different species with a to-the-point latin name, but don’t let the lack of “deliociosa” in the hardy kiwi names deter you, they are amazing and can be found at the farmer’s markets right now. Keep in mind that Kiwis plants are dioecious so you will need a male and a female for fruit.

I hope this inspires you to find some shade and play with it. There are, count them, 1 – 2 – 3 edible nurseries between Washington and Oregon that sells these fruits. They have a number of varieties. All three will mail the plants to you in a reasonable time period for a reasonable cost.

eat well. live well. be happy!

Serving It Up at FareStart October 10, 2009

Looking for a fun volunteer experience? Volunteer at FareStart’s Guest Chef Night! As part of our Parsons GoodWorks program, we choose to volunteer at FareStart every year because we love the opportunity to support the students participating in the program. We recently helped raise more than $1,000 in tips and donations, which go directly to fund the training and services provided to FareStart students.  And overall, FareStart raises between $7,000-$9,000 every Thursday. Well-known Seattle chefs donate their time (and even donate the majority of the ingredients) to make amazing meals for people to enjoy.

 

The best part of volunteering at FareStart is not only doing it with amazing co-workers, but bringing in friends and family. This year, we had the pleasure of hanging with Amanda’s son and friend, as well as our pals Leah and Willis. To learn more, visit www.farestart.org.

Plastic diet: The perfect bowl for a party October 10, 2009

I attended a buffet lunch following a photojournalism forum at my son’s high school yesterday (check out photographer, Ed Kashi’s, disturbing photographs and book Curse of the Black Gold about oil production on the Nigerian Delta), and discovered a fabulous alternative to disposable paper, plastic or styrofoam plates: Ikea’s 10-inch-wide, colored glass bowl. They can be used as a bowl or plate, are highly decorative, and stack compactly. And you can’t beat the price ($2.99 ea). In case you don’t have access to Ikea, this isn’t the only option out there. For instance, Target offers some great-looking (and inexpensive!) clear glass bowls and plates. The holidays are coming—which often mean large gatherings for family and friends. Before you reach for the disposable plates, consider an attractive, reusable alternative (and don’t forget to take the Plastic Diet Pledge!).

Support the Clean Jobs and American Power Act. Contact your Senators now! October 9, 2009

Senators John Kerry and Barbara Boxer introduced the Clean Jobs and American Power Act last week. Here’s a summary:

“In this time of economic challenge, we have a unique opportunity to put Americans back to work and take charge of our security, our energy future, and the fate of our planet. We have the chance to reclaim our energy destiny…This bill will get tough on corporate pollution and put American ingenuity to work to dramatically improve every facet of the way America generates and uses energy. It will create millions of new, good-paying jobs, protect our air and water from dangerous pollution, and secure our children’s future by making America energy independent. And it does not raise the federal deficit by one single dime.” Read more here.

It’s critical that this bill pass, so now is the time to let your senators know that you support it! You’ll find lots of information about the bill on the web (check out Kerry’s website), and plenty of supporters, including President Barack Obama, Al Gore, and Washington State Governor Chris Gregoire. Click here to find out what they’re saying. For information on how to contact your senator, click here.

Congrats and keep up the good work!! October 9, 2009

President Barack Obama just won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize! The Nobel Committee said that President Obama was honored “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples…,” that “The Committee has attached special importance to Obama’s vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons…” and that “Thanks to Obama’s initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting.” Pretty impressive for a for a first-year pres who’s just a 40-something!! For more talk on Peace Prize and how it will affect his administration, check out the various links on CNN.com/Europe and Reuters.