How Does Your Garden Grow?

I'm often told by people that they can't eat organic because it's too expensive. In the short term, this is indeed true to some extent. My answer to them is "How much are you spending on over-the-counter remedies, doctor's bills, and prescription drugs? How many health issues can be traced back to an unhealthy diet?" Also, bear in mind that USDA organic certification is a costly process. Many small farms are using sustainable practices, and growing organic, but can't afford the certification.

The law of supply and demand is generally defined as: the amount of a commodity, product, or service available and the desire of buyers for it, considered as factors regulating its price. Historically, the more demand there is for a product, the more production of the product occurs, leading to lower prices for that product. My thought is that maybe we aren't demanding that more healthy food be available. That being said, people who want affordable organic food, do have options. Grow your own. Support a local farmer who uses sustainable/organic practices in the production of food. Local Harvest can help you locate one in your area.

Let's talk about the first option. Many people believe you have to live on a farm to grow your own food. This simply isn't true. Gardens are springing up in abandoned urban lots, on rooftops, in suburban backyards, and even apartment balconies. There's even a website called Shared Earth. This website, which Sustainable America acquired last year, is designed to connect people who want to garden or farm with people who have land or tools to share.  

Most popular vegetables can be grown in containers, making this an attractive option for people with a shortage of space, physical limitations, or short-sighted homeowner's associations and city governments. Mother Earth News has a nice article on container gardening. Rodale's Organic Life also has a good article on the subject.

One of the most important aspects of gardening is healthy soil. Most food produced by large agricultural conglomerates is nutritionally deficient due to use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides. In addition to poisoning the food, these chemicals have rendered the soil dead. According to research conducted by Dr. August Dunning, chief science officer and co-owner of Eco Organics, in order to receive the same amount of iron you used to get from one apple in 1950, by 1998 you had to eat 26 apples! Also, the reason food doesn't taste as good as it used to is also related to the deterioration of mineral content. The minerals actually form the compounds that give the fruit or vegetable its flavor.

Consider using organic/non-GMO heirloom seeds. Seed Savers Exchange, Johnny's Seeds, and Annie's Heirloom Seeds, all have these types of seeds available. These companies have signed the Safe Seed Pledge — a written commitment to sell only non-GM seed — or made public declarations that they will not knowingly sell GM seeds. Don't forget to check which growing zone you are in so you grow the appropriate plants for your area.

When choosing pots, you need to consider size, style, material, and weight, as well as what will be planted in them. Here's a guide to choosing the right size based on what you are growing.

OrganicGuide is a place where you can search for organic - and related - businesses and resources in your local area as well as helpful articles. Another good resource for how-to articles is Mother Earth News and Grow It Organically. There's even Organic Gardening for Dummies.  There's plenty of information and support out there to help you get started, and be successful. 

Until next time...become the change you imagine.

Agroforestry and the Future of Farming

What is agroforestry, you ask?  Agroforestry is an integrated approach of using the interactive benefits from combining trees and shrubs with crops and/or livestock.  It combines the technologies of agriculture and forestry to create more diverse, productive, profitable, healthy, and sustainable land-use systems. It offers increased productivity, economic benefits, and more diversity in the ecological goods and services provided.

Depending upon the application, potential impacts of agroforestry can include:

• Reducing poverty through increased production of wood and other tree products for home consumption and sale
• Contributing to food security by restoring the soil fertility for food crops
• Cleaner water through reduced nutrient and soil runoff
• Countering global warming and the risk of hunger by increasing the number of drought-resistant trees and the subsequent production of fruits, nuts and edible oils
• Reducing deforestation and pressure on woodlands by providing farm-grown fuelwood
• Reducing or eliminating the need for toxic chemicals (insecticides, herbicides, etc.)
• Through more diverse farm outputs, improved human nutrition
• In situations where people have limited access to mainstream medicines, providing growing space for medicinal plants

Agroforestry practices may also realize a number of other associated environmental goals, such as:

• Carbon sequestration
• Odor, dust, and noise reduction
• Green space and visual aesthetics
• Enhancement or maintenance of wildlife habitat

Sustainable America has more information about agroforestry here.

Until next time...become the change you imagine.

Earth Day 2008

Earth Day is April 22nd and although most people are familiar with the day, they are not familiar with the history behind it.

Gaylord Nelson, the former U.S. senator from Wisconsin, is widely credited for starting Earth Day in 1970. An estimated 20 million people nationwide attended festivities resulting in the largest grassroots environmental movement in U.S. history. It became the impetus for national legislation like the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts. By 1990, more than 200 million people in 141 countries participated in Earth Day celebrations.

Earth Day is not without historical precedent. Both Arbor Day and Bird Day were established in the late 1800s to support forestation, conservation, and the appreciation of nature. Native American peoples have long recognized and celebrated in story and song the interdependence of the earth and all her creatures.

Envirolink Earth Day Calendar has a list of national and international events for 2008.

The Earth Day Network has event lists, and interactive map of the world, as well as a section for contacting governmental officials on current environmental issues.

Participate in local events if available, or better yet, start one of your own! And remember to live Earth Day every day through conservation, recycling, and restoration.

Click on the photo to the right to

shop for Earth Day tees and gifts.

Until next time....become the change you imagine.

Self-Education and How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World

My current attempt at self-education is reading a book by Paul Stamets entitled Mycelium Running-How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World. Paul is founder of Fungi Perfecti and has been a mycologist for over thirty years. "How can mushrooms save the planet?", you ask.

To quote from the flyleaf -- "The basic science goes like this: Microscopic cells called 'mycelium' - the fruit of which are mushrooms - recycle carbon, nitrogen, and other essential elements as they break down plant and animal debris in the creation of rich new soil. What Stamets has discovered is that we can capitalize on mycelium's digestive power and target it to decompose toxic wastes and pollutants (mycoremediation), catch and reduce silt from streambeds and pathogens from agricultural watersheds (mycofiltration), control insect populations (mycopesticides), and generally enhance the health of our forests and gardens (mycogardening)."

And you thought mushrooms were only good in spaghetti sauce! Who knew?!

The book is fascinating, although very technical. Paul is, after all, a botanist, and uses the technical jargon of that discipline. It is full of photographs and diagrams which help to illustrate the principles involved, which makes this book appealing to the layman.

For anyone looking for a way to help the planet, check into mycorestoration and mycoremediation. This is a process that can be utilized at local levels by ordinary people with the proper information and training. If you have read-or are a proponent of -Natural Capitalism, Paul has a diagram on page 99 you'll want to check out.

Keep educating yourself on what you can do to help the planet survive, and thrive.

Until next time....become the change you imagine.

Evolution of a dream

Anatole France once said "To accomplish great things, we must dream as well as act."

As an adult my dream has been to see the world become a place of peace and beauty, but when I remember my dreams as a child, they always involved nature in some form or another. Sometimes we grow up and grow out of the simple ideals of our youth only to find that we are "missing something" in our lives. What is missing in many cases is the passion one feels when pursuing a dream. The passion of that pursuit is what makes us come alive.

I have come to understand that the greatest hindrance to peace is the lack of a stable environment. People all over the world suffer from famine, disease, poverty. They lack the basic necessities for survival. The earth, no longer in a state of balance, cannot support the organisms that inhabitat it. So what is the solution? Everyone has an opinion about that and no one answer exists. But if we look at the most common denominator it would be our planet.

Clean air, water, and land is necessary for the healthy survival of all organisms on the earth. It should be a common goal of all peoples to work toward healing the planet and creating a sustainable environment now and for the future.

In keeping with my original passion, beginning January 1st, 2008 my website and shop will focus on the environment and what is being done globally to heal our world.

Healthy planet + healthy, happy people = PEACE.

Until next time...become the change you imagine.