Kudos to the Canadian supermarket known as Superstore (Loblaw's), which has announced that they will now accept plastic pots, flats and even plant tags for recycling. They'll make them into new pots and flats for use and sale the following year. This closed-loop solution could divert approximately three million garden pots from Canada's landfills this year alone. Learn more here.
reBlogged
to containers environment
on May 29, 2008, 1:18PM
Thanks to Nicole at from Farm to Philly ... the One Local Summer 2008 will be hosted there this year. Check it out now ... sign up deadline is this Sunday, May 25.
I found that the challenge really helped to keep me in the game last year. And I learned so much about other people's ideas for how to get a good local meal on the table without a big fuss.
reBlogged
to environment
Posted by Leslie Reblogged by Old Roses to environment on 2008-05-24, 06:44:47
I never thought I’d say this but good for Home Depot. (I haven’t heard any thunder and the roof is still up where it belongs).
Home Depot announced
that it will voluntarily stop selling traditional pesticides and herbicides in its stores across Canada by the end of 2008 and will increase its selection of environmentally friendly alternatives. . . .
reBlogged
to organic environment
on May 6, 2008, 11:47AM
Yesterday the magnolias (the whites, not the pinks), forsythias, and daffodils popped open. It's like a secret signal is given, and certain blossoms unfold.
The same goes for insects and animals. There's a magical timing where certain living things follow these invisible agendas that allow things to unfold in a magical way.
There's so little we know, but more and more evidence indicates that. ..
While I was driving all over creation yesterday looking looking for shrubs (wasting gas, destroying the ozone etc...) I was thinking about how, in 2008, it's cool to be green. Leave it to us to commercialize and capitalize on the green movement. . . .
Wikipedia: "Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting primarily from human activities and influenced by climatic variations. Current desertification is taking place much faster worldwide than historically and usually arises from the demands of increased populations that settle on the land in order to grow crops and graze animals.". . .
I subscribe to the Lowe's Creative Ideas newsletter (don't ask me why, 99% of the time they get automatically deleted) and was surprised to find the face of Green Machine Danny Seo smiling back from my inbox with this installment. He touts several books under his green brand Simply Green, has created and hosted shows on HGTV, is the Environmental Lifestyle Contributor on The CBS Early Show, is Editor-at-Large of Country Home magazine, has contributed to Elle magazine, and has a new line of green home goods coming out through J C Penny. . . .
Here’s my take on one of the hottest gardening “solutions†being offered up to unsuspecting gardeners this season. An accident waiting to happen.
One of the biggest “solutions†being offered up by chemical gardening fans is the “environmentally-friendly†water absorbing chemicals. The premise is that you mix this material into your soil and it absorbs moisture. It then slowly releases this moisture for your plants. You have a way to fight off drought and water stress. . .
reBlogged
to soil environment
on Apr 13, 2008, 8:16AM
Posted by Doug Reblogged by Old Roses to environment, soil on 2008-04-16, 06:03:18
In the shadow of an ever-growing marketing blitz for "green" everything, an article in today's issue of Advertising Age asks the eyebrow-raising question, "Is Earth Day the new Christmas?"
It might be, with overzealous retailers cashing in and overshadowing the actual reason for the holiday. Do we really need to be wearing slogan t-shirts, or should we be busy composting?. . .
The chemical companies just love the way Yardeners deal with pest insect and disease problems in the yard. Our basic modus operandi is to take care of the general maintenance of the yard and simply wait until an insect or disease problem shows up. Here's the good part. We identify the insect or disease, buy some chemical pesticide, apply it according to the label, and then sit back and wait until another problem comes along. The same problem usually returns next year, so then we go out and buy even more insecticide. We come back year after year; think grubs. . . .
reBlogged
to insects organic environment
on Apr 7, 2008, 3:11PM
Unless you've been hiding in some deep dark hole for the last few years, you have heard of Global Warming and what it is doing to our beloved planet. Perhaps you've even seen the movie An Inconvenient Truth. It is shocking what will happen to mother Earth if we do nothing. Many people want to do something to save our planet and the good news is that you can. Very easily in fact. Today I blog about what we gardeners can do to help save our planet. It's very simple, anyone can do it and not only do you reduce your carbon footprint by living in a more earth friendly way, you are also reducing the amount of money you fork out every month.. . .
One of the things I really like to do is get a handle on how things work from both sides of an issue. I do this with almost every gardening thing that comes along - from chemical use to .. well, to Louisiana Mulch. Somehow I had a sense that the “problem†wasn’t quite as it was being described in the news release from the conservation group. (Anybody who believes every news release they get doesn’t get very many). . .
reBlogged
to mulch environment
on Apr 2, 2008, 10:20AM
Posted by Doug Reblogged by Old Roses to environment, mulch on 2008-04-04, 06:31:27
Like me, many of you would, undoubtedly, characterize yourself as "nature lovers." But what do those words really mean? Well, there are different kinds of nature lovers, and my intention...
reBlogged
to environment
on Apr 2, 2008, 1:55AM
Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to environment on 2008-04-04, 06:14:37
First, the positives. Matt and I moved here a year ago to get away from Los Angeles. The grit. The smog eating into my lungs, making me sick on a daily basis. The grinding work of the film industry. The high cost of living. The lack of space to think and breathe and grow anything. . . .
reBlogged
to environment
on Mar 31, 2008, 2:32PM
Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to environment on 2008-04-01, 18:23:27
Unless you've been living under a pile of mulch this past year, you've surely heard the term locavore tossed about like a chopped salad. I've seen it in print articles and online, on a sign outside a local restaurant and in the produce department of one of my neighborhood groceries. . .
Just popping in for a moment to remind you to turn out your lights between 8 and 9pm tonight (your local time). I’ll be back on Monday with lots of news.>>
reBlogged
to environment
on Mar 29, 2008, 5:10PM
Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to environment on 2008-03-31, 04:52:51
Tonight is Earth Hour where people all over the world will turn off their lights for one hour between 8 and 9 pm tonight to combat global warming. Watch this video.
Thanks to Jason at Scream to Be Green for the post to remind me to post about Earth Hour and the video from Lynn at Organicmania . Jason also has on his site a very funny video about what you can do tonight in the dark. It made me blush. Go watch it.
So, what will you do for Earth Hour (please spare me any naughty details….)
Today the world is participating in Earth Hour. At 8PM local time all over the world, people will be turning off lights and electrical appliances for one hour. Dublin will be included in this event. I am also going to turn everything off this evening, and maybe sit by candlelight and chat or daydream. I would like to encourage anyone to try this as well, be a part of something to help our Earth, if even a little bit. So, have a lovely dark evening!
If you have not heard by now, tonight is the night to turn out your lights between 8:00 and 9:00 pm as part of Earth Hour. I guess that means the grow lights too.
It's a small thing for each individual, but done collectively, it can speak volumes.
reBlogged
to environment
Posted by Leslie Reblogged by Old Roses to environment on 2008-03-31, 04:29:46
Are you a gardener who blogs or a food blogger who gardens? If so, my foodie friend Andrea has a delicious monthly blogging event for you! Grow Your Own "celebrates the foods we grow or raise ourselves and the dishes we make using our homegrown products."
All you have to do is make a dish that uses at least one item from your very own garden or farm and write about it on your blog. You can use something that was given to you, but the giver must have personally grown or raised the item. . ..
Recently, I was alerted by the director of NJ’s Community Green, a terrific green organization, about this wonderful green building exhibit at my local museum.I just could not fathom a green building exhibit in my hometown.Sure enough The Morris Museum in Morristown, New Jersey was the host of the National Building Museum’s Green Building exhibit(“NBMâ€) from February 11 through May 4, 2008. At first, I thought why do I need to go to an exhibit to see green building products?. . .
I've always wanted to know more about the doomsday seed vault and tonight I'll get my chance. 60 Minutes will be doing a story on it. Sunday night 6:00 CST. Watch with me so we can compare notes.
reBlogged
to seeds environment
Posted by Gina Reblogged by Old Roses to environment, seeds on 2008-03-25, 05:55:15
Earth Hour is coming up on Saturday, March 29. We’re going to ask you all to shut down your power - all of it - for one hour beginning at 8pm and ending at 9pm. . . .
reBlogged
to environment
on Mar 22, 2008, 11:57AM
Posted by Doug Reblogged by Old Roses to environment on 2008-03-23, 22:32:46
Delta Airlines has earned its wings this month by unveiling its green Sky Magazine issue sure to inspire its travelers to take those steps to make an environmental difference in our world. . . .
reBlogged
to magazines environment
on Mar 20, 2008, 5:27PM
Can we do it? Can we make it to 100? Just 3 more to go! Yes, we’re 97 and growing a whole lot of new food from seeds this year. Is this as fun for you as it is for me? I hope so!. . .
reBlogged
to vegetables environment
on Mar 18, 2008, 3:00AM
Here's a video from the TED Conference (Technology, Entertainment, Design) of Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food. This speech really made me stop and think. The idea that we could farm or raise animals on a piece of land and actually improve the land in the process is just awesome. More people need to start thinking like this.
The video is a little long but it's worth watching.
reBlogged
to environment
Posted by Anthony Reblogged by Old Roses to environment on 2008-03-18, 00:08:49
via Heavy Petal on 1969-12-31, 19:00:00
, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food. This speech really made me stop and think. The idea that we could farm or raise animals on a piece of land and actually improve the land in the process is just awesome. More people need to start thinking like this.