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change the way you shop – for good. watch this video and make the pledge to use fewer plastic bags. together we can keep one billion plastic bags from polluting our streets this year.
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today, nugget and i made these awesome cork trivets from marthastewart.com’s collection of earth-friendly crafts as this week’s craft an earth day project!
now speaking of earth day, sure, posting “happy earth day” as your facebook status is great, but you could go to http://savejapandolphins.org and make a real impact. so go on, what are you waiting for?!
50 years from now what will they say about us here? did we care for the water and the fragile atmosphere? there are only two kinds of folk and the difference they make, the ones that give and the ones that take.
it’s hard for me to blog wen i’m home from the hospital, have chemo brain and family staying with us to help. so, this morning i snapped a bunch of garden pics for my twitter feed. check those out here and follow me on twitter, subscribe to or watch my twitter feed, “tweet, tweet” on the sidebar when you’re waiting for me to blog.
dear readers, i know you are just bubbling with excitement at the prospect of a new mysetery melon. behold!
what will she be? a watermelon, perhaps?
mystery solved. those are pumpkins growing from the compost pile! more specifically, those are last thanksgiving’s floral arrangements. i’m hoping they are at least the white pumpkins we used. so, there’s still a little mystery left.
it’s a good thing that these are doing well, because all of the organic, heirloom varieties i planted in the garden-with-crappy-soil are floundering and being attacked by squash bugs. i think i might try more hot pepper wax spray on those pests.
the neighbors are of course full of helpful chemical poison suggestions, but as you know, that’s not how we roll. any non-toxic ideas? and nothing involving soapy water buckets and early morning bug drowning, please. that is definitely not how we roll.
one of the greatest things about organic gardening + toddlers is that some nights you find a d’avignon radish in nuggetdaddy’s bathroom drawer.
with geobins and crocuses and gardensoxx all in a row.
today i set up our geobin compost system. it does not look like this:
i suppose it could, with some serious wrangling, but for now it’s more of a lopsided oval shape. and you know what, it works just fine that way because it gets the job done. plus, it holds compost better than a cardboard box.
before the builder laid down the sod for our front lawn, nugget daddy spread out 450 crocus bulbs. they’re a naturalizing variety, so they should become more dense over the years. it sort of looks like we’ve stuck a bunch of artificial flowers in our lawn. still, they’re fun to see poking up, and a nice way to welcome spring.
i also started my first tray of seedlings today. it includes:
rainbow heirloom tomato mix
mix consists of equal parts omars lebanese (red), dutchman(pink), golden sunburst (yellow), black russian (purple), aunt ruby’s german green (green) and djena lee’s golden girl (orange)
yikes! i almost completely forgot to write about the gardensoxx! (i actually had to drag myself out of bed and go back to my desk after catching my mistake on my crackberry.) anyhow, once the seedlings are ready for transplant, they’ll pop right into these cute little tubes of landscape fabric that come prefilled with organic growing medium. we have really heavy clay soil here and tilling a temporary garden is such a pain. i hope these work out well. they look so promising!
here’s a look at a really cool stream bank restoration project using filtrexx products. it shows the gardensoxx being made on-site.
i just love isabooties‘ new ballet criss-crossers. nugget already has a pair of classic style isabooties which we call her slippers. i think these would make a perfect addition to her gymboree class wardrobe since going barefoot at gymbo is never going to happen. to celebrate earth day 2008, isabooties are offering a 15% discount!
all isabooties:
- are 100% animal-free
- are formaldehyde free
- are made in the usa with fair labor
- use fabrics that far exceed the standard consumer safety specification for toy safety (astm f963-07)
- come in packaging that is 100% recycled/100% recyclable and printed with soy ink
- 100% machine-washable/machine-dryable just like socks offering a clean, healthy choice in footwear
use coupon code happyearth08 to save 15% on all purchases through april 22nd!
the environmental protection agency is asking for public input on its review of the toxic pesticide endosulfan. the united farm workers and a number of environmental groups will be turning in a joint petition to the epa on february 15th. it is vital that they get as many signatures as possible.
endosulfan is acutely toxic and easily absorbed by the human body. low levels of exposure in the womb have been linked to autism, male reproductive harm and other birth defects. the lethal chemical has been linked to dozens of accidental deaths. it is an organochlorine–which means it persists in our environment long after it has killed the target pests–thus leaving a deadly legacy for people and wildlife. in the u.s., this toxic pesticide is used on tomatoes, cotton and other crops.
the european union and several other countries have already banned endosulfan. less dangerous alternatives are available. it’s time the u.s. does its part to protect communities and the environment at home and around the world from this persistent organic pollutant.
there is a short opportunity to make a difference. the epa is currently looking for public comment, so please act immediately and let them know continued use of this dangerous pesticide is unacceptable. demand an end to endosulfan by adding your name to the petition today. please forward this petition to your friends and family and encourage them to sign no later than february 15th.
to sign the petition go to:
http://www.ufwaction.org/campaign/endosulfan?rk=A7xv3gs1OlyNE
whatchoo talkin’ ’bout?