Save the Bogs, For Peat's Sake

coco brick  (thefind.com)

     Over the last twenty years I’ve worked gradually to create gardens that are native, organic, and sustainable.  The Union of Concerned Scientists recently published five tips to creating a climate friendly garden. The first tip is: “Choose low-emission garden products and practices: Gasoline-powered garden tools are major emitters of carbon dioxide (CO₂), the primary global warming gas. But emissions can also come from unexpected sources such as fossil fuel-based fertilizers and pesticides and peat-based potting mixes. Use electric or push mowers, rakes, and other low- or no-emission tools, compost, and natural pest-control methods.”

Peat bog being harvested.    (wsgs.uwyo.edu)

     Over the years I've eliminated pesticides and chemical fertilizers from my garden.  I have invested in some quality hand tools that make gardening easier, and used compost extensively. The one thing I continued to use, although sparingly, was peat to start my seedlings. When I bought a bag a few years ago because I didn't know what else to use, I promised myself it would be my last.  So this year I researched replacement material.  I discovered a product, coco peat (made from coconut husk fiber or coir), that resembles peat’s qualities,  yet is renewable (no peat bogs are depleted).  I ordered some coco peat seed starting pellets, and bricks that will expand to use in a seed blocker.    

coco pellets   (thctalk.com)

     I’ll let you know how they work in a few months.  In the meantime, one “tip” down…four to go. 

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Some online sources for coco peat products are:  

http://www.groworganic.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=coco&x=0&y=0

http://www.parkseed.com/gardening/PD/96619/

www.farmtek.com

If you discover a local source to purchase coco peat, let me know.

Makeup that Won’t Bring You Down

The Story of Cosmetics, describes the interrelationship between life style, 

product manufacturing, our health, and the environment’s health. 

     Knowing that whenever we use a personal care product the principle: "toxins in, toxins out" applies, I can easily forgo using makeup and hair dye.  Yet, I continue to use soap, shampoo, conditioner, hand cream, sun screen, toothpaste, and deodorant, and my teenage daughter, although knowledgeable about the sustainability issues, still wishes to wear makeup.  We do two things to minimize the negative impacts:  I am careful to purchase basic bath products from a companies that are dedicated to creating natural products (either from local stores or ordered from a food co-op) whenever possible; and we research alternative choices for my daughter’s makeup.  We have discovered some healthier, more sustainable options.  Our research began with the following two sources:

·        The Cosmetic Data Base gives green ratings for cosmetics, http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com. 

·        The Sierra Club had good resources if you search for “cosmetics” at their green life link, www.Sierraclub.org/greenlife.

     To address the larger issue of insuring that cosmetics sold in the United States are free of cancer causing chemicals, I support a non-profit organization that fights to impact legislation: safecosmetics.org. They e-mail me when important legislation is pending and I add my name to their petitions. 
     Looking good should not have to impact our ability to "tip toe". 

Control Over Our Destiny

               A good friend of mine has recently been diagnosed with cancer, so she and I have been reading about lifestyle changes that will prolong her life.  Simultaneously, I’ve been reading a book about climate change.  I am struck by the similarity of the two books’ messages, which reinforce the idea that what is best for our own personal health is also best for the survival of the human race.

               The Truth About Breast Health - Breast Cancer explains that carcinogens can have a significant impact on our health; yet, since cancers develop after long term exposure, people are not motivated to modify current behavior.  Hot - Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth, describes the same scenario: people are resistant to alter their behavior until they experience the disasters brought on by the climate changes (when it may be too late).

               The books share two basic points: we have a good deal of control over our destiny--whether it's our personal health or the health of the planet; it’s much easier to make changes ahead of time to stop the progression, rather than attempting to reverse a catastrophe once it’s already occurred.

Back Saving, "No Dig" Gardening

     As the snow melts, exposing the first glimpses of ground level greenery in months, I begin planning the perennials I will transplant into my new garden areas.  These new sections have been magically preparing themselves for my spring planting while I do nothing.  In the fall, I started a number of "extensions" to my established beds by preforming a very simple version of the “no dig” technique that is sustainable for the environment—and my back.  By thickly layering newspaper over the area, then covering it with 4” of mulch, I am able to kill sod or weeds naturally and effortlessly (without chemicals or digging). 

      When it’s time for me to plant in the spring, I'll make a large hole where the plant will go; mix compost and organic fertilizers into the removed soil; place the plant into the hole; cover it with the amended soil; and finally, add a layer of mulch.  The only somewhat strenuous digging that is required is a perimeter trench to re-edge the garden.  (Waiting until the grass or weeds beneath the paper have died back make this digging relatively easy.)  

     If you were not able to start this process in the fall, it’s not too late.  The area can be prepared this spring, and perennials planted in the fall.  It will then be well established by next spring.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     If you are interested in the "no dig" approach for vegetable gardening, this video demonstrates a step-by-step technique.

   

Enveloped by Envelopes

     I receive many return envelopes from non-profits soliciting contributions, banks offering charge cards, and insurance companies looking for new customers. The envelopes used to go immediately into the trash, until I realized they had many uses—even with their windows to nowhere.

     I now place them on top of my new envelopes, so that each time I open the draw, I make a conscious decision to choose new or recycled.  When I use envelopes to organize small items; give copies to a friend; carry documents to an appointment; or make overnight bank deposits, I use a recycled envelope.  I also place large address labels (received from non-profits) over the window when I need self-addressed envelopes. 

     As I gradually eliminate unwanted mail, avoiding unnecessary waste is the best option.

The Dirty Dozen - Organic Produce Buyer's Guide

     Buying organic produce makes so much sense: fewer fossil fuels are used in its production; growers, pickers, packers, and consumers are not exposed to toxic chemicals; nutritionists suggest organic diets help prevent cancer; and the biological balance of our insect world is less impacted.  When organic produce is not readily available or price constraints force us to choose which organic products to buy, The Organic Buyer’s Guide (http://static.foodnews.org/pdf/EWG-shoppers-guide.pdf) is a valuable resource.  It offers the “Dirty dozen”—produce that exposes us to the most pesticides, and the fifteen foods that contain the fewest pesticides.  The full list of 49 products (rated from least to most pesticides) can be viewed at http://www.foodnews.org/fulllist.php.

Buy These Organic

Celery

Peaches

Strawberries

Apples

Blueberries

Nectarines

Bell Peppers

Spinach

Cherries

Kale/Collard

Greens

Potatoes

Grapes (Imported)

 Lowest in Pesticides

Onions

Avocado

Sweet Corn

Pineapple

Mangos

Sweet Peas

Asparagus

Kiwi

Cabbage

Eggplant

Cantaloupe

Watermelon

Grapefruit

Sweet Potato

Honeydew

Melon

 SmartMoney.com's Senior Consumer Reporter, Kelli Grant, 

gives advice on how to buy organic while staying within a budget.

"Opting Out" of the Yellow Pages

     When you need a phone number, are you more likely to use the internet than the yellow pages?  In our house, because we so often utilize search engines, many of our “yellow books” collect dust on the shelf, unopened, waiting to be recycled. 

     Lori Bongiorno, author of the Conscious Consumer Blog, described the simple process of opting out of the paper yellow pages:

1. Go to yellowpagesoptout.com. Enter your ZIP code. You'll see a list of the phone books that you're eligible to receive.
2. Register on the site. You need to include a valid email address and phone number along with your home address.
3. You'll then receive a temporary password via email. Log in, change your password, and then click the "Opt-Out" tab at the top of the page and select which directories you receive. You can opt-out of everything or choose to receive which phone books are useful to you.

      The process was exactly as she described; it took just a few minutes.   If it works, I’ll soon have more shelf room for all the gardening books that seem to cascade from my side table.

 

Claire’s – Opened & Stocked with Organics

Botanical Interests Organic Seeds

      The temperature may be in the teens outside, but it is warm and welcoming inside Claire’s Garden Center in Patterson (ten minutes south of Pawling, on Haviland Hollow Road off of Route 22).   They are open for gardeners who wants to purchase supplies—because it is the closest we can get to actually working in the garden.  I was able to find almost everything on my shopping list on their well-stocked shelves.  There is an extensive supply of organic: seeds, amendments, and pest controls.  They even carry many of the hard to locate ingredients Steve Solomon recommends for the “complete organic fertilizer mix” in his book, Gardening When it Counts: gypsum, rock phosphate, bonemeal, green sand, and kelpmeal.

     Now, I sit by the fire, inputting the information from the back of my new seed packages onto my spreadsheet that will guide me throughout the season, as I wait for the ice and snow to melt.