Yesterday I went on a massive grocery-shopping trip, since my family was heading to the mountains for Thanksgiving. I always bring along most of our food, since healthy options are limited at the one local store in the town where we stay (you might recognize the kind—it has those sloping wooden floorboards that identify the building as a survivor of the old West). That meant accumulating food for the Thanksgiving feast, as well as for the several other days we’d be there (it also meant an overcrowded car stuffed with lots of bags on the trip up…and cranky passengers—something to look forward to!). So as I was gathering produce, I reflected on the bounty in front of me. I could purchase almost anything I wanted for our feast—green beans, melons, and red peppers from Mexico, grapes from Chile, mixed baby greens from Texas, and pink grapefruit from Florida, all proudly identified on the produce signs and the colorful little stickers that adorn some of the fruit. As much as I yearned for those sweet, succulent flavors of summer past, I bypassed them. Now that I know about carbon footprints, I just couldn’t bring myself to purchase produce shipped a thousand or more miles (not to mention that many of these non-organic products are on Environmental Working Group’s list of highly-sprayed items to avoid). Fortunately for us Westerners, there are plenty of other, more local (and organic), options, including pears, apples, potatoes, Brussels sprouts, avocados, locally grown lettuce and citrus, and, of course turkeys. So I made my way around the produce department, reading glasses in hand, identifying the countries and counties of origin. I must admit, I felt little OC, but I know it was the right thing to do both for the environment and the local economy. Happy Thanksgiving!

Glitter Sale

Seattle Goodwill, now in its 86th year, is a non-profit that provides free job training and education programs to help low-income and disadvantaged people in the community. Its retail stores generate the necessary funds to run these important programs. A really great annual event, The Glitter Sale, is coming up this weekend, November 14 and 15. This famous two-day sale features racks, rows and cases of glitzy and glamorous Goodwill bargains, all in one place. Quality merchandise is collected year-round for the big sale, including gowns, men’s formalwear, jewelry, shoes, purses and much more. The event raises vital revenue for Goodwill’s mission. The newly established blog is a great example of how to really pump up excitement about an event in advance - check it out!

I’ve had it with plastic food storage containers. Glass makes much more sense since there’s no chance it will react with food. I should have purged a long time ago. Plastic is convenient (it doesn’t break for one!), but there are too many potential downsides. We just don’t know the full story when it comes to chemical leaching, particularly when the containers are used to microwave food. And it’s obvious that the story keeps changing (check out the recent news about BPA in plastic water bottles). Plus we certainly don’t need any more plastic in the world (remember, it never really goes “away,” and sadly, much of it ends up polluting the environment). Glass can be used in the microwave and freezer, and some types (Pyrex) can even be placed in the oven. Okay, so most of these containers do have plastic lids (glass lids aren’t air tight), so just make sure the food doesn’t come in contact with them. You can avoid plastic altogether, by storing leftovers in empty pasta sauce (and other food) jars with metal lids. Small glass containers are also great for stowing cheese and foods that you might otherwise wrap in plastic bags. Sur la Table sells a number of different glass containers. The Glass Grid Bowls with Lids are a favorite. My husband likes the French Working Glass since they’re dual purpose (Sur la Table doesn’t sell the lids online so I ordered the glasses and lids from Fishs Eddy in New York City; but beware, you may spend hours online looking at all of their cool stuff). So what should you do with all of those leftover plastic containers? Don’t throw them away. They’re great for storing anything other than food, such as sewing items, nails, coins, or whatever.

Every child deserves to be warm at night in their own cuddly pajamas, which is why Parsons Public Relations is helping Treehouse with their pajama drive this year.

Treehouse provides unparalleled services to over 4,300 foster kids in the Seattle community.  Wouldn’t it be great if every kid served by Treehouse had pajamas to call their own this winter?  It’s a lofty goal, but with your help, we can reach it.  If you feel as inclined as we do to help these children stay warm this holiday season, please donate money and/or new or slightly used pajamas.

Make checks out to Treehouse.  Donations can be sent to/dropped off at the Parsons office:  6517 Phinney Ave. North, Seattle, WA 98103.

For additional information about Treehouse, visit www.treehouseforkids.org.

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!

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.

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.

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!

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!

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!