Down On The Urban Farm

I have had the pleasure of interacting with Will and his crew on a couple of occasions at the Urban Agriculture Conference sponsored by Bioneers and held at Fairview Gardens. Plus the work that Michael Abelman and Fairview Gardens is doing is well worth the trip to Santa Barbara.

The work he is doing is incredible and really contributes to the notion of empowering people in growing their own.

"An organic farm known as Growing Power and its owner, a former basketball player are on a mission. Over the past 15 years, Will Allen has developed what he calls an ecologically sound urban farm in Milwaukee, [in the Midwestern U.S. state] Wisconsin. In this story by Faiza Elmasry (voiced by Amy Katz), Allen also has sought to teach people ways to feed themselves."

Read the rest of the article....

Boy did I have a blast yesterday. Yesterday Dr. Pat Baccili of the wildly successful Dr. Pat Show - She has been called the "Oprah of Radio" came to visit me at the Urban Farm. We chatted and I gave her a tour pointing out all the great edible plants and other green technologies.

Then I had the pleasure of being a guest on her show. We chatted about the Urban Farm, what it means to live green, our new website - Your Guide To Green and our Billion Bag, Bottle & Bulb Challenge. She was an awesome host and I really enjoyed being on her show. The show can be heard on her website.

Dr. Pat has also launched a new challenge called the Dr. Pats Green Christmas Challenge. Look for more info on this here as we will be playing together on this.

So often these days people will ask me how do I recycle such and such...consisting of items such as appliances, batteries and the dreaded CFL. Just today I stumbled across a great article called 21 Things You Didn't Know You Can Recycle on the Coop America website.

I was recently asked to advise on a green living project done by the Arizona Republic. Here are the results.

I just stumbled across this great new technology that claims to be able to 'print' solar cells for 30 cents per watt. This is a great article on the technology and their website.

It is said that pursuing our dreams will lead to bliss. In holding the vision along the way, there is much to do.

I have spent over a quarter of a century pursuing my dream, which many of you have seen manifest in the Urban Farm; our TV show, Smart Spaces: Inside & Out; a web portal, Your Guide To Green, and our Podcast Internet Radio Show, Freshly Green, as well much of my writing and media appearances. The best part of this is that I get contribute every day by teaching people just how to live a green lifestyle.

I'd like to invite you to join me in our dream of making a positive impact in our world today. Here is what you can do:

1. (My biggest request)... Please consider using our online store to place your holiday gift orders or to purchase gift certificates at in our Online Store. This is the most direct way to help us become sustainable so we can continue to provide our valuable services. To help you here, please use the discount code GreenGifts for a $5 discount off any order over $50.

2. Tell your friends and family about our great green products and terrific educational material at Your Guide To Green with new information added every week. Encourage them to sign up for the weekly innovative tip so they can stay in touch with how to live green. Pass on the $5 off discount code to use.

3. If you are local to AZ, get involved with our events, classes and discussions as we all continue to learn, grow and evolve in becoming more eco-conscious and educating others through the Urban Farm.

4. Join our Billion Bag, Bottle & Bulb Challenge to help reduce the use of plastic and one-use items -- every choice can make a difference.

5. Read our Blogs, submit a tip, interact with our site, give us your input. We share lots of great information on just what it takes to live a green lifestyle.

With your help we are building an awesome path to fulfill our dream of teaching how to live a green lifestyle. Our entire team appreciates and welcomes your support.

From all of us at Your Guide To Green we wish you a Healthy and Harmonious Holiday Season.

Greg Peterson and our Green Team
Your Guide To Green
5555 N 7th Street
Suite 134-144
Phoenix, AZ 85014
602-279-3713

Bliss = Better Living in Sustainable Spaces according to my buddy Keith

The Urban Farm
An Environmental Showcase Home
in the Heart of Phoenix Arizona.

The Urban Farm is the home of Greg Peterson and is located in the middle of Phoenix, AZ. It is generally defined as an environmental showcase home, which sports a primarily edible landscape, 60 fruit trees, rainwater and greywater harvesting, two kinds of solar panel - one for creating my own electricity and one for heating the house - a patio that is primarily made from reclaimed materials, an d an outdoor kitchen and shower.

For several years the Urban Farm has regularly been opened for tours and classes. The intent of these events is to share with visitors different green lifestyle choices available. Our events include: classes on gardening, composting, keeping chickens, permaculture, edible landscape design, greywater and rainwater and the occasional house concert. The Urban Farm sits on a typical urban lot that is 80 feet wide and 160 feet deep. Both the yard and the home have been recreated to emulate as green of a lifestyle as possible.

Here are a few of the things you will see at the Urban Farm:

• Front Yard – edibles everywhere.
Fruit trees include apples, pears, peaches, loquats, oranges, lemons, limes, limequats, figs and mesquite. Vegetables this time of year include root crops, leaf crops, brassicas (broccoli), peas, and lots of flowers.

• Roof – for solar.
- Photovoltaic solar panels. These panels are designed to generate 40% of my power needs.
- Thermal Heating Panels – Works like your car sitting in the sun. Box heats up then we transfer that heat into the house.

• Backyard – Besides there being edibles everywhere in the back you will also find:
- Chickens. Our chickens are hens only, no roosters allowed as I value my sleep. Chickens in your landscape will eat bugs, weeds and weed seeds, till the soil, add fertilizer and of course give you food. Our chickens are pets therefore we only eat their eggs.
- Chicken Tractor portable chicken coop. Ours is currently housing a hen and three chicks.
- Outdoor kitchen so that we take the heat outside when we cook and so that the wash water from the sink goes into the landscape.
- Outdoor shower – primarily used for watering the landscape.
- Reclaimed material patio. The back patio is constructed of many reused materials from the urbanite (reused concrete) to the reused bricks and poles that hold up the patio.

• Inside – Whenever we remodel inside we use available green products and technologies.
- We have installed two tubular skylights in the house, one in the living room and one in the kitchen. Both are placed to reduce the need for using a light bulb during the day.

Click here for more information on the Urban Farmhttp://www.UrbanFarm.org
For more information on living a green lifestyle and to find some great green products visit YourGuideToGreen