http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/ en-us Copyright 2008 Mon, 28 Jan 2008 11:01:28 -0700 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss I am sick of junk mail. Under my desk is my paper recycling bin and it is overflowing with mail and office waste from the past week. And it is the constant flow of this junk mail that gets me going. You see, the thing is these junk mailers are being produced, contributing the environmental degradation, and for what?!?!--I don't even want most of the crap they send me! Did you know that 19 billion catalogs are printed per year in the United States. That equals 53 million trees or the equivelant of 2000 Central Parks cut down each year. If we stop 5 million catalogs from being produced = 225 Olympic-sized swimming pools of water are saved/ year; saves enough energy to power 350,000 homes per year; is = to removing 6,000 cars off the road per year in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. Those are GREAT reasons. Most of the time I am apt to think/feel that the reason for most of the waste on the planet is because humans are over consumers and have created this demand. On a large scale, this is still very much the truth. However, on a personal level and dealing with this problem in particular...it frustrates me. These mailers are being sent to everyone--whether they like it or not which means the good that is produced (in this case, the junk mail) that has also consumed ALL those resources has no purpose at all other than WASTE. Those resources were consumed for no purpose and that frustrates me. People aren't necessarily demanding this service directly (maybe indirectly by being overconsumers, thus creating a general demand across all industry)...instead, the business is trying to create the demand even when it isn't there. Can I completely blame them--no because I know you need marketing tools to stimulate business development....but maybe we can start going the paperless/more eco-friendly route... Luckily, for me, most of the catalogs and junk mail sent to me can be recycled. But for some, their local recycling facilities don't accept glossy paper or other such materials that this junk mail is often printed on. So I atleast get to recycle it, but the fact still remains that even MORE resources are having to be put into this piece of junkmail just to get a second life that is hopefully more useful than its first life as junk. But what about those who can't recycle it and it just has to go in their trash? The cradle to grave process yielded nothing that was beneficial to the people or planet, rather just contributed to the environmental degradation and frustration of the homeowner. So instead of just ranting and not giving you an adequate solution to change the overall situation...here ya go. It is a website that you can do to, see all the catalogs you are currently getting and then unsubscribe to them. And, it really is easy and won't take your entire work day to do. Here is the info: Stop Catalog Sign-up www.catalogchoice.com http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2008/01/junk_mail_frustration_waste_en.html http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2008/01/junk_mail_frustration_waste_en.html eco-friendly living green living tips paper Mon, 28 Jan 2008 11:01:28 -0700 need and not for what they want. This trend is catching on across america and it seems to be the latest "fad" within the green movement: increased energy efficiency both commercially and residentially. It is kinda like a continuation of the renewables fad when solar energy caught on: the great Renewables Awakening. Well, this energy audit trend nicely compliments the Renewable Awakening and helps the renewable energy generated go a little further. Increased efficiency means 1 kW goes a lot further and saves a lot of energy production. This means decreased CO2, NOx and SOx emissions because of decreased demand for coal and natural gas fueled power plants. Anyhow, those are the points of energy audits: to increase energy efficiency, concentrate on energy conservation, and renewable energies. So how is an energy audit conducted. In Boulder, it is recommended/required you get a RESNET accredited HERS rate. Lots of acronyms, lets break them down because I know you'll be hearing a lot more about them: (RESNET: Residential Energy Solutions Network. HERS: Home Energy Rating System). A HERS can be involved in several stages of the process, depending on the certification you are trying to obtain. If it is new construction or a remodel, they can help with the plans to make sure they are maximized efficiency BEFORE install. Secondly, they can be installed at the "pre-drywall" phase. Third, they can conduct energy audits on conventional structures to pin-point target areas. For the second and third, HERS raters perform tests. These include: blower test, sight inspection, insulation assessment and test hot water heater settings. This helps them determine your HERS score and give advice on how to improve your home's energy inefficiency. If you don't have the ability to get a HERS rater out to your home, here are some basic energy conservation tips for your structure: 1. Insulation 2. Seal cracks 3. Increase window efficiency/ Energy efficient windows 4. High efficiency HVAC (heating, ventilation and air condition) systems 5. Utility Bill Analysis If you haven't thought about having an energy auditor come out to your house, atleast take some of the initial efforts to make your home more energy efficient and reduce your footprint. Decreasing your energy consumption can be one of the most impactful efforts you make to combat global warming. Residential/commercial energy efficiency coupled with transportation efficiency and a significant improvement in renewables technology....and we're on our way to protecting our future. ]]> http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2008/01/residential_energy_audits.html http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2008/01/residential_energy_audits.html energy audit energy efficiency residential Thu, 17 Jan 2008 09:37:24 -0700 My overall goal for 2008 is to become more sustainable. Here is how I plan on doing it... 1. Cut Energy Consumption: use powerstrips, unplug appliances that require "standby" to power a clock (!), use LEDs or CFLs, passively heat my home in the winter, unplug my computer!!, buy Energy Star appliances 2. Reduce Water Consumption: choose native, drought tolerant, xeric plants for my summer garden, don't leave water running while brushing teeth or doing dishes, anytime I have left over water in my water bottle--water my indoor plants with it, take shorter showers, be mindful of laundry 3. Eat Local, Organic: in the winter it is harder to find local, organic fruits and veggies but they are out there! In the summer, there is no excuse with an excellent farmers market! Also buy organic skin care and health products 4. Reduce my Greenhouse gas emissions: Bike everywhere I can, offset vehicle emissions with Terrapass, purchase renewable energy 5. Purchase only environmentally friendly products to protect my indoor air quality 6. ELIMINATE PLASTIC from my consumption: start with plastic bags from the grocery store and the ziploc you store stuff in, then move to products that aren't packaged in plastic , then phase out plastics from your home and replace with alternatives. Certainly don't use plastic water bottles. 7. Organic Pet Food: if I am eating organic, so should my pets! 8. Support local businesses: choose local, small businesses instead of large, national corporations. 9. Give back: volunteer for some environmental clean-up groups 10. Stay informed: keep up to date on current green trends and news http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2008/01/greening_my_new_years_resoluti.html http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2008/01/greening_my_new_years_resoluti.html go green green changes New Years Resolution Mon, 14 Jan 2008 08:04:02 -0700 HolidayLEDs.com Christmas Light Recycling Program November 19, 2007 From now until December 20, 2007, HolidayLEDs.com will accept incandescent Christmas lights for recycling. All lights submitted for recycling must be mailed to HolidayLEDs.com, postage paid, and post-marked no later than December 20, 2007. The first 100 participants (which shall be determined by the date the packaged is post-marked) will receive one free set of LED Christmas lights. The second 100 participants (which shall be determined by the date the packaged is post-marked) will receive a 10% coupon for any purchase at HolidayLEDs.com. The first 100 participants shall receive their free set of lights via UPS or first class mail no later than February 15, 2008. The second 100 participants shall receive their 10% coupon via electronic mail no later than February 15, 2007 All participants should include a note along with their package including: 1) Name; 2) Mailing address; 3) Phone number and 4) Email address. All packages should be sent to: HolidayLEDs.com Attn: Recycling Program 120 W. Michigan Ave., Suite 1403 Jackson, MI 49201 http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2007/12/holiday_led_recycling_program.html http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2007/12/holiday_led_recycling_program.html holiday lights L.E.D. Mon, 17 Dec 2007 07:16:43 -0700 I do a lot of work that entails researching and qualifying green, sustainable businesses. Often, I am asked what criteria I use to do this: I don't have a magical checklist that outlines a,b, and c a business needs to do to be sustainable. Instead, I have to listen to the different elements they incorporate into their models and decide whether or not they are substantially better than industry standards. Depending on the industry and location, the criteria changes (because of what is available). So really, it is up to me to decide and weigh the efforts they are making...which is where I run into a problem! How do you decide which is better? Let me give you an example....New Belgium Brewery in Ft. Collins Colorado is quite possibly the leader in sustainable brewers (and corporations). Years ago, they were wind powered, giving employees a bike after 1 year, and pioneering water conserving methods of brewing. Not to mention their HVAC system at their brewery is very impressive, all trucks for distribution are biodiesel and they are active in the local community. Hands down, they are hott stuff. Now a days, though, in the Boulder/Denver/Ft. Collins area, other businesses are on their tails and their identity of a wind-powered facility is no longer anything special and is becomign an industry standard. So here is hte other half of the story....what about the actual BEER? Their ingredients are domestic, but not locally grown and they only have one organic beer. So the actual products they are putting into the hands of the consumers aren't super green, even though the facility and methods of distribution are green. All that being said, what about a brewery that is wind-powered (nothing too special) and has 3 organic beers and purchase their hops locally, have a water conserving method of brewing (not as supreme as New Belgium's). So which is more important? The organic, local ingredients or the greenness of the building? Is it the embodied energy it takes to transport the ingredients more/less important than the high efficiency HVAC system used to power the facility? I just don't know! Local conventional vs. organic? Do you throw-out your incandescent light bulbs (that haven't burnt out yet) and replace them with CFLs?--if you throw them away, aren't you just contributing to the waste? Shouldn't goods be used for the life of their good rather than demanding the generation of a new good which also requires energy, material, etc.? Here's a big one....if you don't have that much money, is it okay to shop at the local Safeway (which offers organic goods) or do you have to shop at Whole Foods which is still a HUGE corporation and (quite honestly), I don't agree with their business model and how they have gone about aquiring Wild Oats (which is a local, Boulder-based grocery store--however they have gone national, so are they still "local"?) Ah, so many dilemmas. That is the thing about going green. No product or company or person is perfect. There are so many elements to going green: I don't know of a single thing that is perfect. Think about all the things it would entail to be green--marketing material printed by a green company (which uses hybrid vehicles for distribution, electronic work orders, etc.) , the compostable cutlery is printed by a green business....etc. You see how it really is a community movement and needs support from every industry? That is why it is important to pick and choose your battles. There might be a restaurant that is zero-waste (awesome) and wind-powered, but their food is not organic or local. So which is more important to you--zero waste or organic? Always remember that there are so many aspects of being green--so you have to pick adn choose your battles and the things that are most important to you. http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2007/12/how_to_choose_which_is_better.html http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2007/12/how_to_choose_which_is_better.html green green businesses green options sustainable Sat, 01 Dec 2007 10:19:23 -0700 I met a man the other day named Nurul at the Scottsdale Green Building Expo. He shared with me his story and involvement with environmental concerns in his home land of Bangladesh. I was impressed by his passion and affinity for his cause and culture and promised I would promote his worthy cause. To learn more about how Nurul is addressing environmental degradation in Bangladesh, please visit his website www.poribesh.org (poribesh=environment) http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2007/10/a_worthy_cause.html http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2007/10/a_worthy_cause.html charity non-profit Fri, 12 Oct 2007 15:36:10 -0700 This is quoted from Paul Hawken, author of "Blessed Unrest..." and "The Ecology of Commerce": On the same note of how to change the world to a different shade of green.... "I believe one of the challenges writers face is how to bring the "language of sustainability" in from the cold. The issues we face on an environmental level arise from science and the challenges we face on a social level are similarly consigned to disciplines that are not mainstream. You can't talk about entropic pollution and cultural deracination on "Oprah," so the task is to create narratives and stories that engage, the draw people in from where they stand and think." http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2007/10/difficulty_of_going_greenpt_ii.html http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2007/10/difficulty_of_going_greenpt_ii.html green living green movement Fri, 12 Oct 2007 15:31:01 -0700 Truth be told, no plastic safe and should be avoided whenever possible. However, at Your Guide To Green, we recognize that plastic is an option some people are not willing to give-up and in that case, we recommend they use a polycarbonate bottle. In all other case, stainless steel is the safest and longest-lasting alternative. Polycarbonate bottles are the least porous of any plastics: it is because of this property along with their high heat-resistance capacity that slows the rate of leaching compared to other plastics. It is suspected that Bishphenol A (an endocrine disruptor) leaches at a slow-rate from polycarbonate products. The same research also states that children are a more at-risk population than adults. All that being said, if you are trying to eliminate plastics from your lifestyle then I would choose stainless steel. Our New Wave Enviro stainless steel drinking canteens are all Aluminum free which often is a concern with other stainless steel bottles. http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2007/10/polycarbonatethe_okay_plastic.html http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2007/10/polycarbonatethe_okay_plastic.html plastic polycarbonate Thu, 11 Oct 2007 05:22:26 -0700 Those who are active in the green community understand the value and payback in their lifestyle choices. They already have one foot in the door, and when asked to communicate why they do the things they do or why they choose one thing over another, they explain their reasoning--the one that has most compelled them. But in that gap of communication, sometimes there is something lost in the mix and the greenie can't communicate their passionin a way such that the listener understands and feels that same element of passion. That being said, when I first met Greg (Urban Farm) he shared with me that the key to creating change in our future is not in implementing new programs, rather it is in changing the way people think. (Read Ishmael by Daniel Quinn--for sale on our website). Thats my goal is to change the way people think. How do you do that? Well, I think the right place to begin is by leading by example. People can hear something and process it, but it doesn't have really substance at that level....people need to SEE so they can relate and picture themselves in that element. Leading by example paired with communicating your reasons behind your decisions has massive power and ability and is how I have chosen to create change. I've always said it, we are the catalyst for change....and the key to positive, green future is changing the way people think. http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2007/10/difficulty_of_going_green.html http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2007/10/difficulty_of_going_green.html Going green Green Tue, 09 Oct 2007 07:50:38 -0700 Saturdays are the blessed for me! A true day of rest that always begins with a trip to the Farmers Market and visiting my Abbo friends, often bringing them delicious treats for breakfast. You see...they work until the wee hours of hte morning (often past midnight) to pick the tastiest vege and bring it fresh to the market. This is heaven for me, being able to pick my own fresh fruits and vegetables and know that my friends and mentors are the ones who cultivated it and gave me this gift. Anyhow, i like to return the favor by bringing them something yummy to start their early morning at the market and in the past I have brought home made blueberry muffins, coffee and always lots of fresh fruit. Well, a few weeks ago I stopped by Wild Oats (started in Boulder, so it is kinda local) which is right down the street from the market because I needed some toiletries and I figured it would be a great idea to get them some organic produce. I bought some mangoes, Colorado Kokopelli peaches, berries, figs and walnuts. It was a delicious array of organic fruit fit for a king. Now, I want to point out that i AM aware that it is not all local to this region and I am a supporter of the local slow food movement. Anyhow, I bring the Abbo folks the fruit and go on my way to shopping at the market. I got beautiful array of organic flowers from a local grower--this is one of my favorite parts about bringign the market into my home! When I came bcak to the ABbo booth and was chatting with my good friend, he informed me that one of their restaurant-buyers from DEnver had scolded me and them about the fact that they were eating tropical fruit and that they shouldn't eat it because it is not bought from someone at the market. Apparently--for lack of better words--she ripped me a new one about not buying local fruit and my friend communicated to me how upset she was. At first, I was taken-aback and insulted that someone would criticize my efforts to go green because I think I do a darn good job of living a green life. After I stopped being defensive and taking it personally, I could appreciate what she was saying and she IS right--I have no excuse to not buy local. It is another step that doesn't take much effort and has a huge effect--stimulates local economy, better for your diet to eat what is seasonal, and less food-miles (meaning less transport). She is right and because I am informed and active in the green movement, I could appreciate what she was saying. After this interaction, a lot of things came to a head. What she said to me stuck with me for a couple of days and I couldn't figure out why. And then I did. What bothered me was the way she went about communicating her point and how greatly it differed from mine (and Yourguidetogreen.com's). I believe that the best way to inspire change is to not tell people what htey are doing wrong and make them feel guilty abotu their ways, rather it is to say, "Here, this is an easy thing you can do that has a huge effect and it saves you money. Give it a shot" I make no judgement of their past ways and I only want to share with them the positive effect they can have. But what this woman did was point out all the wrong and tell them the negative, therefore discouraging the efforts of someone to go green. That is important to me. And important for me to share. Inspire people to change, don't guilt them to shame. http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2007/09/positive_energy_translates_int.html http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2007/09/positive_energy_translates_int.html energy green organic slow-food Sat, 01 Sep 2007 08:56:15 -0700 Here ya go #1: PET: (polyethylene terephthalate): RECYCLABLE -Soda bottles, beer bottles, food bottles, trays. -recycled into carpet, fiberfill for jackets (fleece jackets), TShirt material and shopping bags. -manufacturers buy it up! High recycled value #2: HDPE: (high-density polyethylene): RECYCLABLE -Shampoo bottles and laundry detergent are examples of colored HDPE which has recycled value in plastic lumber. -Clear containers like milk and water jugs can easily be made into new containers. -Tyvek mailing envelopes and white HAZMAT suits are also made from HDPE but cannot be recycled. #3: V: (vinyl or polyvinyl chloride): -clear food packaging and plumbing pipe -not enough items made from that recycled material to make it have any recycled value. Generally a one-time-use good #4: LDPE: (Low-density polyethylene): RECYCLABLE -bags for bread, frozen food and grocery sacks. -recycled into new bags or plastic lumber (ie Trex) -if no recycling facility nearby, then it uses more energy to transport the recycled plastic than to produce virgin plastic material, BUT still recycle them because that way you are reducing the amount of plastic produced #5: PP: (polypropylene): -yogurt, margarine and other food containers -Not enough products from recycled PP to financially justify recycling it. Sometimes big business will buy it in bulk #6: PS: (polystyrene) -In the solid state: compact disc jackets, one-time-use goods such as disposable silverware and take-out containers -Styrofoam: an expanded form of polystyrene which includes packing material, coffee cups -The cost of transporting it to a recycling facility is more expensive than producing virgin material #7: Other -Lids, imported containers, ketchup bottles all contain a combination of plastic resins http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2007/08/plastic_numbers_quick_referenc.html http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2007/08/plastic_numbers_quick_referenc.html plastic recycle Tue, 14 Aug 2007 18:47:07 -0700 Here is the main idea--the environmental movement has demonstrated that it cannot be ignored and has impacted changed. Unfortunately, much of this movement consists of "ecological segregation." In other words, its the white mid-to-upper class that has carried this movement and for various reasons. Don't get me wrong--there have been many influential minority leaders, but this is generalized as a "white mans" thing. Well, to me, this ecological segregation doesn't make much sense...it isn't very sustainable. The movement will peeter off and never reach its full potential if it does not incorporate the entire community. You know the expression "You're only as strong as your weakest player?" That's kinda what i am getting at. So here is why this movement needs to diversify into the Brazilian forests, the farms of India and the deserts of Africa...the developing world constitutes the majority of the global population, therefore without their participation we are lacking a majority. Plus, they are the ones greatest effected because they don't have teh finances to prepare their country or individual communities. Farms in India are experiencing their worst flooding ever as the temperature there rises...a bad flood can be just as devestating as a drought. They are estimating a loss of 20% of annual cereal production. Hurricane Katrina--urban New Orleans, large minority population--devestated. Hurricane Katrina's strength was proven to be affected by the warming oceans. Everywhere you look, everyone you meet....needs to be involved because this is a global fight. Remember that. "Love of one's country is a beautiful thing, but why must it stop at the borders?" Peace. http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2007/08/developing_sustainability.html http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2007/08/developing_sustainability.html climate change global warming sustainability Thu, 09 Aug 2007 16:57:46 -0700 Here in Boulder, the intensity of the sun's rays has lessened and the slightly tardy summer monsoon season has rolled in with it's 4:00 showers followed by rainbows and mosquitoes. When I think of my place--my centered universe--and my happiness...I think of what life is right now. I have been helping out on a local farm called Abbondonza (www.eatabbo.org) and spending more than half the week with the fine folks of abbo...the property is prisitine. A 93 year old centennial homestead that has never been treated with chemicals, this 80 acre farm is exploding with delicious veg, personifying the amount of passion and love that has been cultivated into this soil. I truly am blessed. I spend my days gardening in wonderful estate gardens and my evenings at the farm weeding, processing and picking. To me, this is bliss. My hands are deep in moist, espresso-hued living goodness for all the edibles that are soaking it all in and stretching their limbs. Farming and gardening are theraputic for me. It is important for me to remain connected to the natural world as my life becomes more and more hectic. Sometimes I realize that I am so consumed with all the things I need to do, I don't even notice my immediate surroundings--like I am completely removed from my surroundings. When I recognize this, I try to bring myself into the now--the present moment--by connecting with what it surrounding me. What am I smelling, hearing, seeing? In the garden, I can listen to the birds kawing in the cottonwoods or the train that is laying on the horn. Conversation ebbs and flows, but I can still feel the soil and connect with natural world. It is an important part of my life to have that connection with the natural world because it makes it easier to live an organic, green life. I know the soil that my food was grown in and the hands that picked it. I know the man who made my peanut-butter and the lady who sold me my flowers. I am connected to all these things they are effortless the incorporate into my lifestyle. Whatever way works for you, I encourage you to have a connection with nature. Take a walk through the open space, pick berries at your local farm or take a picnic somewhere...but find your thing and share it. You'll find yourself more relaxed and conscious. Be well. http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2007/08/the_sweet_nectar_of_summer.html http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2007/08/the_sweet_nectar_of_summer.html farming gardening nature organic sustainable volunteer Sun, 05 Aug 2007 11:39:44 -0700 Lately I have been hearing more and more about neutralizing carbon emissions, emissions trading and offsetting emissions. In essence, they are all talking about the same thing--giving back what you are taking. Let me explain better... Harmful greenhouse gases (GHG) are released when you do things such as burn fossil fuels or even from the belches/farts of cows. When we drive our cars, fly on a plane or have a wedding, we release tons and tons of harmful carbon dioxide and other GHG. In order to mitigate the harmful environmental effects of the increased concentration of GHG, specifically methane and carbon dioxide, you can choose to neutralize your emissions by purchasing shares of renewable energy. By doing this, the conventional electricity supply is supplemented with renewable energy, thus decrease the consumption of conventional electricity and replacing it with renewable. This has two effects--it reduces the use of fossil fuels for electric generation (ie coal-fired power plants) and secondly, the non-energy environmental attributes of green energy are added (ie the environmental benefits of reduce fossil-fuel pollution being replaced by non-harmful renewable energy). Remember, it is not just wind-energy that is renewable--dairy farms can install digesters where they turn cow manure rich in nutrients into methane gas. Geothermal, hydro, solar, yada yada yada.... So, every time renewable energy is generated it has two effects--the electric supplies goes into the grid and the non-energy attributes are sold as a carbon neutralizer in the form of a certificate. In most cases (the smart cases!), this ceritificate is what people have purchased to offset their emissions--they are offsetting the negative environmental repricussions of their actions by purchasing the positive effects of the renewable energy sectors generation. Make sense? Now it goes on from here. Major industries trade emissions on the Chicago Climate Exchange (like the NY Stock Exchange, but for ghg emissions) where companies that have not "spent" all their allowable emissions can sell it to companies that have gone over their allotted amount. All this being explained....offsetting your carbon emissions is must EASIER and CHEAPER than I thought. I was expecting to have to pay a substantial sum of money to offset my emissions from driving, flying and general household electric consumption. Now, I am rather thrifty with energy and very conscious of consumption, so I am below average for household. But, when it is all totaled for a year, I could neutralize my partner's and my TOTAL emissions for almost $300 per year! Plus, a lot of these places are non-profits so it is an excellent tax write-off. Once I saw the amount of CO2 we were emitting in tons (!), I had to! What a wonderful, easy solution to helping people go green! http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2007/07/offsetting_emissions_so_easy_s.html http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2007/07/offsetting_emissions_so_easy_s.html carbon emissions emissions neutrlize offset emissions TerraPass Sun, 29 Jul 2007 14:07:16 -0700 Alright everyone, as promised, I have more helpful gardening tips for you as the season continues to bust at the bud with color, texture and scent. And for the record--I am IN LOVE with monarda didyma (bee balm) right now! Such a beautiful, rich red pom-poms atop tall stalks. Beautiful! 1. Pairings: There are some classic pairings for plants. Yarrow and Valerian with a purple variety of veronica or salvia looks great. Also try hyssop with russian sage--they both are great bee and hummingbird attractors and they have a similar, wispy structure. Also, Prairie Wine Cup looks great with anything and grows big! 2. Dead-head: Keep chopping stuff down! Right now, holly hocks can cut cut down when they are done blooming and then re-seed like crazy, so throw some heads down! Coryopsis, yarrow, daisies, scabiosa, nautia, snaps etc. 3. Divide your irises: Siberian right now can be divided and re-planted in clumps, but your bearded should have already been divided (if they didn't bloom this year....that means they need to be divided) and planted before the 4th of July. Don't plant the bulbs too deep and don't worry--they grow in the crappiest conditions! If you didn't get them in the ground by the deadline, save them until next year. 4. Lavender: when the blooms start to look pretty gross (a greyish color) and they have gone to seed, cut the lavender down almost to the grown, but leave a little green on it so it will come back. 5. Penstimmon: Lots of varities of penstimmon that have all gone to seed, but unfortunately a lot of them don't come back from seed. However, Pink penstimmon do! But still explore putting husker red, blue or any other kind of penstimmon in your garden. 6. Lettuce has bolted by now, so spread your seeds. 7. Time to plant your seeds for your cooler season crops, round two! Lettuce, spinach, beans, yada yada yada...they can all be replanted! Be sure to dig up your old guys. 8. Lambs Ear: pull the stalks up, don't worry about cutting it down. 9. Roses: In order to keep them blooming, you have to deadhead! Always cut back to the second set of five leaves below the dead buds. Make sure you always cut it down to the joint where it came from, too! 10. Feverfew: pull it out! Don't worry about chopping it down, you can just pull on the whole plant. More to come! http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2007/07/gardening_part_deux.html http://www.yourguidetogreen.com/VivaVerde/2007/07/gardening_part_deux.html gardening organic vegetable gardening Wed, 18 Jul 2007 19:18:01 -0700