As more attention is placed on how our store bought fruits and vegetables are grown and harvested and the tremendous amount of pesticides used in conventional farming practices, organic and pesticide free produce is becoming more popular. With just a little bit of space and some soil, you can grow your own organic fruits and veggies right from the comfort of your own home – pesticide and chemical free. Here is what you need to know to get started.

Good Soil

The best way to start an organic garden is by beginning with good soil. Get the dirt in a potential garden plot tested for pH balance, nutrients, and chemicals that may already be in the soil. There are at home kits which can be used to test all of these things in the soil, available at your local garden supply store. After testing, gardeners must amend the soil with what is missing in order to give the growing plants the nutrients they need. Forget about Miracle-Gro; this can be done naturally with compost, grass and leaf clippings, and even by adding in worms to help break down the compost into good dirt. Earthworms also have the added benefit of not only helping the soil but as a form of natural pest control by protecting the garden from slugs.

Picking Plants

When starting an organic garden, it’s important to choose your plants carefully. It is often easier to grow plants from seeds to ensure that they have been started without any chemicals. Choose only plants that are best suited for the temperate zone and location in the garden. Some plants do grow really well when in an organic garden and produce lots of produce. Indeterminate Tomatoes are great because they keep growing and producing fruit until the winter frost. Zucchini, non-hybrid pole beans, Swiss Chard, Snow Peas, and Sugar snaps are also high producers.

Planting Time

When planting the garden, create wide rows between the plants to help promote air circulation. This cuts down on fungal growth. Try to water plants in the morning to prevent evaporation, while giving the ground enough time to dry out before nightfall when plants can become damaged by growing fungus and bacteria. After plants are established, water them once a week with about an inch of water. Gardeners need to get down on their knees and remove weeds from around their plants on a regular basis. Grass clippings, straw, and wood chips can all be used as mulch around the base of the plants to keep weed growth down.

With loads of care and attention, gardeners will soon have the best tasting organic produce anywhere. Be sure to start picking during the peak growing season to keep fruits and veggies from rotting on the vine. This also encourages further growth of produce too. Check the garden daily to see what has come in.

Image credit: Some rights reserved by urbanwild

So it follows that the less water you use in a shower, the less you’ll spend on each of these bills, right? But if you’re like most Americans, you don’t like the idea of “sacrifice” and recoil at the idea of taking shorter showers. (It’s ok, I’m an American, too…I know how it is in our culture, and why idiots like George Bush get elected to the highest office in the world by saying that “the American way of life is not on the negotiating table” when referring to global climate treaties. But I digress…let’s get you on to cutting your utility bills.)

Without taking shorter showers, here are the tools you’ll need, and the two devices that can help you save big bucks.

Clockwise from top left, a high efficiency shower head, some teflon tape, a flow valve, and an adjustable wrench.

Depending on the shower head you buy, you can save almost a gallon a minute over standard showerheads. In this case, we used a Sava Spa Showerhead, rated at 1.75 gallons per minute. We chose this one because, well, they sent it to us for free to review for this article. Hey…bloggers don’t get paid much, so back off, ok? We’ll take free stuff when we can, especially when it’s awesome. (No, not kidding. See the “contact us” page for more info). The teflon tape costs a few bucks at the local hardware store and you just use about 2 inches of it to help prevent leaks in any plumbing junctions.

The flow valve is called a “shower control valve”, and all it does is allow you to alter the flow rate with a little lever on top of the device. The beauty of this is that, while you’re soaping up, shampooing, etc., you don’t need the full flow of the shower, right? But you’re also American, so sacrificing by turning off the shower is simply not an option, right, because then when you turn it back on it’d be the wrong temperature, and eh, so inconvenient. Polar bears will probably survive. Rest assured. The valve is American-proof. You flip the switch, and go from this:

Shower at full flow.

to this:

Flow valve partially closed–warm water still trickles over you as you soap up, but you spend half as much money. Niiice.

Beautiful, elegant, and takes about 5 minutes to make the install and start saving money right away. Here’s how:

1. Start by removing your old showerhead. The showerhead should be tight at first, but once loosened, should come off with a few turns of your adjustable wrench. 
2. Wrap the pipe threads in teflon tape. No need to go nuts. Just once around should do it. It’s just there to prevent leaks through the threads.
3. Put flow valve on, tightening by hand at first, then cranking it down one full turn with the adjustable wrench beyond where your own fingers can get it. The one trick–make sure the lever ends up on top. Otherwise it leaks.
4. More teflon tape on the male threads of the flow valve.
5. Put on the new high efficient showerhead the same way as #3, above.

And voila. You’re done. You’re welcome…enjoy all the money I just saved you for the rest of your life. “How much?” I hear you asking. Well, some simple math:

0.9 gallons per minute saved, times 10 minutes per shower, times 4 people, say, in your house, times 365 showers per year. That’s 3285 gallons per year of heated water that you then pay to flush down the sewer. Depending on your local rates…it’s a lot. Here in Honolulu, we calculated it at almost $200 in energy costs annually, and over $100 in water costs annually. Not bad for a showerhead that costs $25 and a valve that costs $3.

Our thanks to Niagara Conservation for donating us a showerhead and saving us a bunch of moola. Check out their energy conservation products and water conservation products. 

Two data points will help you set your fridge and freezer to their most efficient settings: temperature and humidity. A temperature that is set too cold will end up using too much electricity. A more humid fridge will require more energy to cool (simply because the water molecules in the air require cooling, too). So make sure things you store have a lid (will prevent moisture from escaping the food and into the fridge air…better for food, better for energy use).

So here’s what you do. Get yourself a hygrometer, a cool little gadget most commonly used for cigar storage, which measures both temperature and humidity.

Hygrometers come in a lot of shapes and sizes, and generally retail for about $20.

Using a hygrometer, test the temp and humidity in a variety of places in your fridge, especially the vegetable drawers. You ideally want an average temperature in your refrigerator of about 4-5 degrees C (37-40 degrees F), and a temperature of about -18 to -17 degrees C in your freezer (0-4 degrees F). You’ll notice, though, if you test a variety of locations in your fridge, you’ll learn where it’s coldest and where it’s warmest. From that, you can place more perishable and less perishable items accordingly.

In terms of humidity, many refrigerators come with drawers that have humidity settings. In general, you want stuff that will rot to be in the lower humidity drawers, and stuff that will wilt in higher humidity drawers.

As a general rule, thinner stuff likely needs more humidity, thicker stuff less. Several readers on Green Living Ideas have pointed out that leafy greens and broccoli are actually best stored in just a bowl of water (think flowers), which will keep them really lively until you’re ready to eat them.

Putting a box of baking soda in your fridge will help dehumidify and deodorize it, making the fridge work less and also helping the fridge stay cleaner.

Other efficiency operation tips

Perhaps the most effective thing you can do no matter how new or old your fridge is, is to right-fill it. Think about what happens when you open the fridge door. Cold air comes rushing out. If your fridge is more full, less air comes out (that volume of air is replaced by a volume of something stored there). That reservoir of cold left in the fridge helps keep the fridge colder when it’s opened. Same thing goes for the freezer. So if you’re a bachelor with a chronically empty fridge, get some stuff you’ll never use (wine coolers?) and put them in your fridge. You can freeze containers of water, or get some extra bread, tofu, etc., to put in your freezer, to help prevent all the freezing air from escaping when you open it, as well.

Wish you could hear it? well, me too. Everything was brilliant, but the technology fairy was asleep at the wheel, and the green diva at the control board missed one tiny setting, and as it happens, it was a critical one. I own it. I was blinded by the natural light of Mariel and mixed my input with my output and well, you’ll get to read the highlights instead, and I’ll do my best to be descriptive and thorough.

During our last call-in interview with Mariel, Mizar brazenly invited Mariel to visit us in the studio when she came to New York, and as it turned out, her next visit to New York ended with a weekend of business in northern New Jersey, 5 miles from the GD HQ. We were the fortunate beneficiaries of Mariel’s ongoing whirlwind book and film tour.

I retrieved Mariel and her assistant, Heather from New York and from the moment I saw her, she hugged me and put my nerves at ease and we talked like great friends separated for years, trying to catch up. Without our even knowing it had occurred, we lapsed into a comfortable cadence of fun and familiarity.

When we finally settled in front of our mics in the studio, the conversation went quickly to the film featuring her and the Hemingway legacy called Running From Crazy, which was done by Academy Award-winning filmmaker, Barbara Kopple and executive producer Oprah Winfrey. 

Early in the interview Mariel said, “A lot of people say the word crazy has such a bad connotation, but my feeling is that Running from Crazy is about me and my family, literally my feeling like I was running from this genetic or inherited thing. I was scared. But I think by speaking the word, it loses its power.”

For her, nature had always been a sanctuary, and her latest book, Running with Nature is a healing progression from the revelation and healing that is evident in the documentary to her experiences with her life partner, Bobby Williams. Mariel said, “Running with nature has always been my saving grace.”

“I say to people, keep it simple. If you want to change your food, change your breakfast.”

- Mariel Hemingway

One thing we all agreed about the book, was that it doesn’t scream, “this is THE way!” As Mariel put it, “It is about finding you. We are not gurus. We’re not trying to get you to follow us. We want you to find you.”

I noted that early in the book it says, “All it takes is a little willingness.” We laughed about how hard that willingness can be to come by and GD Mizar asked a great question about taking that first step, which can seem so overwhelming. Mariel’s response was, “I say to people, keep it simple. If you want to change your food, change your breakfast.” We went on to talk about how vital it is to start the day more slowly and intentionally, with a few solid minutes of quiet, creating a routine that includes gratitude.

The book offers a low-stress way to reconnect with nature and reconnect with yourself. There is a point system after each chapter, which at first made me bristle, but instead of being about gathering points to ‘win’, it offers encouraging ideas on a spectrum that allowed me to feel better than I thought I would about the chapter on adventure!

I mentioned that reading the book was like a stream of reminders of so many of the healthier habits I already know, but allow myself to get distracted from engaging in. Other than the rock climbing, real running and seriously advanced yoga, I related to the book more than I thought I would. It is a refreshing reminder of the many ways we need to re-engage in what we know is our own healthy nature, and of course nature is the key.

Green Dude, Eco Ed Schwartz was patient and waited his turn to do a separate Green Dude segment with Mariel, which of course was also lost in the technical vortex that was my great misfortune that day. I’m thinking he still enjoyed being in the studio anyway, basking in the wonderful green diva energy (Heather included in this awesome feminine overload).

After an unusually uplifting session in the studio, Mariel graciously signed a couple of books for us, and we unanimously decided that after all this talk of nature, we needed to get outside in the sunshine and take a group shot near a tree.

Part 2 coming soon: Somewhere in the first part of our ride to New Jersey, we got on the subject of food and my recent healthy detox and my desire to lose weight and feel better. She immediately volunteered to help me and encouraged me to keep a detailed daily food journal and confidently offered to look at it and give me insight. She did, stay tuned to find out what I learned . . .

Please listen to this week’s podcast of the Green Divas Radio Show featuring the Dark Ranger, Kevin Poe, who enlightened us about light pollution . . . or Read the post with all the details, links and resources for the show!

We all know that bicycling is best way to decrease our carbon footprint, save money on transportation costs, and keep our butts in steely form. Heck, bikeability is even good for real estate value of your house! Need more– here’s 10 reasons why biking is good. Across the world, bicycle commuting is becoming the new normal, and it now regarded not as a fringe activity, but as an everyday adult activity to engage in (even been to San Francisco or Amsterdam?). And Melbourne-based Papillionaire bicycles are making gorgeous vintage-style bikes to make biking that much cooler.

good for ladies…

Papillionaire, a word made up word playing off the French word for butterfly, is an Australian company that recently celebrated it launch in the United States. Their focus is Dutch influenced, vintage style bikes that work for city and country riding. Their bikes are gorgeous for both ladies and gents, but in Australia 80% of their customers are women, and the percentage is almost as high in the US. This is opposite from the usual statistics which put men as the majority of bike commuters.

Papillionaire believes that for the ladies among us, we’ve been largely left out of the bike conversation, with bike shops run by and cater to gearhead, lycra-wearing men, and selling bikes that just don’t appeal to our refined aesthetic sense (or work with skirts!). But their line of gorgeous bicycles appeal to everyone’s sense of beauty and functionality. They’ve been actively working to encourage companies to adopt bike fleets for their workforce. They can do orders from 10 to 100,000 bikes to support companies looking to decrease their footprint, save money, and improve employees’ health. They have also branched out from traditionally health focused companies working with many types of brand to promote their gorgeous bikes. Check out their blog for information about bike accessories, bike etiquette, and more.

good for gents too!

Vapor Intrusion occurs when vapors and gases from contaminated soil and groundwater seep into indoor air posing potential health problems to the residents. These vapors move through the soil and seep through cracks in any type of home or commercial building with basements, slab foundations, or crawl-space foundations. The people most at risk include elderly, pregnant or nursing women, infants, children and those suffering from chronic illnesses. Vapor intrusion might manifest sickness, but this depends on the type of chemicals found, the length of exposure, one’s sensitivity to chemicals and the overall health of the exposed person. And as we know, low-level exposure to certain chemical over years may raise risk of cancer and chronic diseases.

Most states have some laws regarding Vapor Intrusion… but not all! If you live in the following states, contact your representatives NOW and get some rules on the books!

1. Florida
2. Georgia
3. Kentucky
4. Mississippi
5. South Carolina
6. Tennessee
7. Arkansas
8. Oklahoma
9. Texas
10. Iowa
11. North Dakota
12. Nevada
13. New Mexico
14. Utah
15. Wyoming
16. North Dakota
17. Nevada
18. New Mexico
19. Utah
20. Wyoming

click to enlarge or download!

This great infographic comes to us from EDR, where you can sign up to get your free neighborhood environmental report.

Planting today for a better tomorrow!

Here’s their story:

“Adopt A Tree was founded by a group of students and recent graduates that are very passionate about the environment. We began planting trees on our land along the Assiniboine River during the Spring of 2012. An individual came to us asking if we could plant some of our trees in the name of his late father. His father had loved nature and being outdoors, so his son felt that it was a great way to honour him. We loved the idea and began offering this service locally. The response was great, so we decided to expand our business online.”

The Adopt a Tree team, hanging out.

The primary goal of Adopt a Tree is to create more forests, to preserve the environment, and ultimately create a lovely, natural experience that is often difficult to find in a farming community on the prairies. Tree planting and managing will create and maintain recreational locations for people to camp, hike, mountain bike and enjoy the outdoors.

Planting a tree is a great way to celebrate a loved one, create a new type of holiday giving, or just because. But it’s also a great way for businesses to make their company carbon neutral. By planing trees, companies can offset their carbon emissions in an easy way. If you choose to make your business carbon neutral, Adopt a Tree will help you by providing:

• A professional plaque and certificate recognizing your business contributions
• Adopt A Tree website recognition
• Calculations of offset carbon emissions
• Annual Report
• Onsite signage and pictures
• Social Media promotion, including Facebook and Twitter recognition

Check out Adopt a Tree today and make a greener purchase for yourself or for your business.

Yes, spring has sprung around here! Trees and flowers are blooming and buds of summer fun are everywhere, and so of course are many of our allergies. More on that in a minute . . . We were so thrilled to have one of our regular guests, Jessica Arinella, creator of the fabulous What You Can Do TV series, call in to talk about their wonderful Earth Day campaign, which was all about saving the rainforest.

Listen to this week’s Green Divas Radio Show podcast for all the GD fun.

BUT, please read on for even more details!

Green Dude Segment

We are located in what is known as “allergy alley” here in northern NJ. Green Dude Eco Ed did a nice report on some natural ways to alleviate allergy suffering.

Listen to the 5-minute Green Dude segment on natural ways to help with seasonal allergies.

I chimed in with my nightly health elixir that I think has helped minimize my allergy suffering a great deal — I’ve got some watery eyes and a little sinus congestion, but it isn’t bad and I’m able to get by with a little Xlear up the nose in the morning.

GD Meg’s Health Elixir

For GD Meg’s Health Elixir Recipe, please see the original GD Show post!

Green Diva Mizar’s DIY

This woman never stops. Before the show, I had been playing with plants on the back deck and I pointed out my amazing dried pumpkin left over from last fall. She decided it would make an excellent bird house and like a surgeon with laser focus on saving a patient, she started asking for implements of creativity. She made a bird house in less than 15 minutes! THAT fun tutorial is coming. This week was part 2 of her upcycling in the garden series and she talked about a fun planter she made from materials she found at Habitat for Humanity‘s local Restore.

Listen to GD Mizar’s DIY post on upcycling for the garden part 2!

Feature Interview: Jessica Arinella, What You Can Do TV Series

did you know, researchers estimate that . . .

about 1 football field of rainforest is destroyed by man every second!

We always love talking to the very busy and inspiring Jessica Arinella, creator of the wonderful What You Can Do TV series. As always she and her crew are helping to highlight issues that need our attention and action. She shared their recent Earth Day campaign, which was all about saving the rainforest. What You Can Do teamed up with The Rainforest Site to raise awareness about the vital role the rainforest plays in our global ecosystem, and offer us some simple ways to help preserve it. Watch a couple of the What You Can Do videos on rainforest conservation to learn how by just ONE CLICK, you can save 1 square foot of rainforest – DO IT!

What You Can Do is a brilliant series of 1-minute videos that help debunk the theory that we are “too busy” to help. Jessica offers simple ideas in a brief format, so that no one can ever say they are too busy to make a difference.

Please Listen to this week’s Green Divas Radio Show podcast for this great interview.

rainforest image via Shutterstock

Lemon Vanilla Tisane

2 Tablespoons chopped lemongrass (fresh or dried)
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon zest
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla powder or 1 chopped vanilla bean

fresh vanilla beans for tea!

Hot Pink Hibiscus Tea (Jamaica Tea)

2 Tablespoons dried hibiscus tea
Lemon, to taste
Sweetener, to taste

dried hibiscus flowers for tea

Sweet Licorice Mint Tisane

3 Tablespoons dried peppermint leaf
1 Tablespoon fennel seed
1 Tablespoon licorice root

You can buy licorice root (dried and chopped) in the bulk herbs section of most health food stores.

Directions:

1. Add all tea ingredients to a large jar or bowl.
2. Bring four cups filtered water to a boil. Pour boiling water over tea and cover. Steep for 10 minutes. Strain, and let cool to room temperature. Add additional lemon or sweetener to taste. Serve over ice and enjoy!
3. All tea leftovers can be refrigerated in a glass jar for about three days.
   

   licorice mint and hibiscus teas

Congratulations Anna, and thanks to everyone who entered! Stay tuned, because we’ll certainly have another giveaway soon!

the book!

the organic essential oils!

and a carrier oil of your choice!