Archive for the ‘Eco-Friendly Landscaping’ Category
May 24th, 2008
WaterSense: The New Symbol of Water Conservation
Written by Joel Bittle, courtesy of GreenBuildingElements.com
Get to know this symbol because chances are it’s going to be as ubiquitous as the blue star of EPA’s other conservation program, ENERGY STAR. Launched in 2006 the EPA’s WaterSense program seeks “to enhance the market for water-efficient products and services by building a national brand for water efficiency.” Viewed mainly as a program for water-only products like toilets, faucets, and irrigation systems, WaterSense does not include appliances, like dishwashers or clothes washers, that use both water and energy - those remain under the ENERGY STAR program. In 2007, the EPA released WaterSense specifications for high efficiency toilets and high efficiency bathroom sink faucets. They also offer certification programs for several irrigation professionals, include golf course irrigation auditors. Specifications for showerheads are in the works.
WaterSense is about to become very popular in the green building community. In their proposed changes to the LEED programs, the US Green Building Council removed some specifications for water saving credits, replacing them with, “WaterSense-certified fixtures and fixture fittings should be used where available.” It’s much easier to check for the WaterSense label than it is to gather the specifications for every fixture.
WaterSense labeled bathroom faucets, at a maximum of 1.5 gallons per minute, reduce water consumption by at least 30%. WaterSense labeled high efficiency toilets, with a maximum of 1.28 gallons per flush, use at least 20% less water than standard 1.6 gallons per flush toilets. The EPA has claimed that if every home in the US switched to WaterSense labeled fixtures, we would save 60 billion gallons of water a year.
Though some companies were already offering fixtures compliant with the WaterSense standards, they are only recently getting literature out to the public about their WaterSense labeled fixtures. Expect to see it popping up everywhere.
Click here to find water-saving fixtures and technologies for your home.
May 22nd, 2008
Dwell on Design– A Must-Go + IT’S FREE
If you do not already have it marked on your calendar, please plan to attend the 3rd annual Dwell on Design event in LA June 5-8. The event is a multi-faceted gem– it includes a loaded conference, exhibition hall and even home tours. The entire offering focuses on the fusion of good design and a very healthy serving of sustainability.
The Conference is designed and manged by the editors of Dwell, and includes talks by Eric Garcetti (LA City Council President), Andy Lipkis (Tree People founder), Fritz Haeg (Edible Estates and Gardenlab founder). Many of our favorite companies will be exhibiting there– pieceHomes, Kirei, EcoShack– as well as many more we’re eager to check out.
AND, courtesy of our friends at Dwell, YOU can get in for free! When you register here, use the code BDODEC to get free addmission.
We’ll see you there!
May 12th, 2008
5 Eco-Smart Ways to Spend Your Tax Rebate
We know that many of us will need to spend our tax rebate check on critical items like food or rent or paying off debt. But just in case you have some of your tax rebate check left and you’re looking for eco-friendly ways to spend the money, we have some ideas we’d like to share with you.
And we’ve geared these tips to supporting the US economy, so you get to do the right thing for the planet and be an eco-patriot at the same time! In coming up with our list of ideas we decided it would be good to recommend ideas that reduce our negative environmental impacts but also support US manufacturers and service providers. So here are five eco-smart ways to use your rebate to support the Earth, the US economy, and save your household money in the long run.
1. Buy a high-efficiency water heater. A high-efficiency water heater can cut your energy use, water use, carbon footprint and even utility bills (over the long run). For most homes you can get the heater itself for $600 - $1,200, but you’ll probably have to spring for installation as well. Models made in the US include the AO Smith Vertex (a storage model that beats the pants off of tankless HW heaters), electric models made by American Tankless Water Heaters, and natural gas tankless heaters made by Rheem (some made in the US). Click here to learn more about making the tankless decision, and click here to find local installers.
May 7th, 2008
Go Green with an Eco-friendly Lawn This Summer
Summer is just around the corner, and this is the time of year when we really ramp up our lawn activities– watering, fertilizing, mowing, etc. And all of these can have major negative environmental consequences. Did you know that over 50 million Americans mow their lawns each weekend, and contribute as much as 5% of the country’s air pollution? And it’s staggering to realize that the average American grassy lawn can use over 20,000 gallons of water each summer! So, a major part of any green home strategy should be to embrace eco-friendly lawn and garden care.
Here are 12 ways you can make sure you have an eco-friendly lawn this summer
1. Collect rain water and use it for your plants. Getting a rain barrel or two for your yard is a simple way to collect and reuse Mother Nature’s water. Just put it under your gutter’s down spout and you’ll be amazed how fast it fills up. Click here for rain barrels.
2. Make sure you’re not over-watering. Most of us over-water our lawns. Do you have moss growing on your driveway or sidewalk or in your garden? That’s a sign you’re watering too much. Do you have pools of standing water anywhere? Another sign. You can buy a very inexpensive lawn moisture meter that will tell you if you’re over-watering. You might also consider getting an intelligent irrigation control system that attunes your watering to the weather and your lawn’s needs.
3. Don’t hose down your sidewalks and driveway. That water is a valuable resource and the water you send into the gutter is carrying oil and a host of chemicals out as run-off that go on to pollute our rivers, lakes and oceans.
4. Get a push mower for your lawn. Traditional gas mowers are horrible for our air quality and contribute to global warming. They are major environmental offenders. A good-ole push mower is the eco-friendly solution. (Or if you can’t go all the way to push style, get a plug-in electric model– better than gas.) Find mowers here.
5. Say no to leaf-blowers! The gas-powered leaf blowers some people use are major carbon emissions culprits. Say yes to a broom! Your waist-line will thank you too.
6. And when you’re done mowing, leave your clippings on your yard. Those grass clippings make great mulch and will help you save water as well.
7. Be sure to compost your other yard waste. If your city doesn’t collect green waste for composting, please get a composter and do it yourself. It’s super easy and the composter will turn your waste into great mulch for use throughout your yard and garden. Find composters here.
8. Embrace native plants. Plants, flowers and grasses that are native to your region are the most atuned to soil, climate and water particularities. They are great water savers and will thrive with less care than tropical and other imported varieties. And they are gorgeous! Learn more about native landscaping here with our book collection. Or contact a green professional landscape designer or maintainance provider from our green services directory. We have eco-minded landscaping experts listed across the United States.
9. Are you addicted to the look of grass but live in a high-drought area? You may want to consider synthetic grass. It uses no water, lasts over ten years, and looks & feels surprisingly real. Learn more about synthetic grass here.
10. Why not start your own organic food garden? Nothing could be better for the planet or your health. Learn how to get started with organic veggies here.
11. Use non-toxic fertilizers and pest-control agents for your garden and lawn. Not only are these better for your plants (particularly any food you might eat), they reduce the amount of toxins that run-off into our waterways. Find safe alternatives here.
12. Use solar or LED lighting in your lawn. Solar lighting is obviously an energy-saver. If you don’t find solar lights bright enough, check out LED lights—they are very bright and use very little power. They will last 5-10 times as long as standard outdoor lights. Find energy-efficient lighting options here.
April 23rd, 2008
The Straight Poop: TerraCycle Plant Foods
I love to tinker in my garden, and I’m an especially big fan of this company TerraCycle and their gardening products. The reason for the title of this blog is that TerraCycle fertilizers are made from worm poop! The company also has some very interesting recycled packaging. I had the good fortune to interview TerraCycle’s CEO, Tom Szaky, about chemical-free gardening and the TerraCycle story.
Q: What’s so wrong with using normal fertilizers? How much of it stays in the food we eat…and how dangerous are those chemicals?
A: There is nothing wrong with using “normal” chemical fertilizers. In fact, the plant roots will absorb the nutrients in the exact same chemical form whether the nutrients come from chemicals or the breakdown of complex organic molecules. The food we eat is made up of the nutrients the roots take in and the conversion of CO2 to complex carbohydrates through photosynthesis. So in that sense, whatever fertilizers a plant is provided with, some of them will always end up in the food we eat. Because the plant manufactures the food we eat from the nutrients available to it, the type of fertilizer used has no inherent risks as far as the plant produce.
However, if the fertilizer contains contaminants such as heavy metals, some plants concentrate these contaminants in various plant organs which could be dangerous. This contamination is not limited to chemical fertilizers but can also occur in improperly produced or monitored organic fertilizers. The chemical fertilizers are “dangerous” only in that they are concentrated forms of plant nutrients their dissolution usually results in drastic pH conditions and shifts.
Thus, high concentrations when applied to plants whether solid or liquid result in plant “burn” because the drastic pH conditions harms or kills the plant cells. This same thing can happen with highly concentrated liquid fertilizers because all the nutrients are in a soluble form. The big advantages to properly prepared organic fertilizers are primarily two-fold: 1) the nutrients exist in complex molecular form and are only released as they are broken down by the soil microorganisms (providing a long-term steady nutrient supply), 2) properly prepared organic fertilizers start out as whole plants and other organic matter; therefore, they contain all the nutrients that a plant needs. Non-sterilized organic fertilizers also contain beneficial microorganisms that aid the plant in efficient uptake of available nutrients.
Q. How do I know if a fertilizer is safe? If it says “organic” am I good to go as a consumer?
A: All commercially available fertilizers must go through a registration process with each state having its own set of standards. This should ensure that all commercially available fertilizers are safe to use according to their labeling — chemical or organic. If a fertilizer is labeled as “organic” all that means is that the manufacturing process including the materials used to make the fertilizer fall under the legal definitions as to what can be used to manufacture an “organic” fertilizer. These legal hurdles are there to protect the consumer and ensure the relative safety and effectiveness of the organic fertilizers. With that said, the more complex organic molecules an organic fertilizer has the better it should be for the overall safety of use and health of the plant.
Q. What makes TerraCycle special? How is it made? Why is it safe?
A. TerraCycle is the world’s only product that is made from AND packaged in waste! The production of TerraCycle Plant Foods is actually consuming more waste then it produces. This is why our products have received the Zerofootprint Seal of Approval signifying that they have virtually no negative effect on the environment. TerraCycle is made by feeding thousands of tons of organic waste (food waste, paper waste and garden clippings) to millions of worms! The process of the worms composting uses no electricity and actually consumes carbon for the atmosphere, not to mention the thousands of tons of physical waste that are removed from landfills! Once the worm poop has been collected we liquefy the solid to make our fertilizers. The liquefaction process is also very energy efficient the mixture is mixed for 24 hours using a small air pump. Once liquefied the fertilizer are bottled into used soda bottles.
Q. How does TerraCycle as a company execute on a commitment to environmental sustainability?
A. More then just making eco-friendly products, TerraCycle maintains and operates a eco-friendly factory and office. 100% of our plastics are recycled, 100% of our paper is shredded and composted. The coolest aspect in my opinion is that we use office equipment that is also recycled. We buy our desks, chairs, room dividers, even our telephones, monitors and PCs from universities and larger corporations that are throwing them away. E-waste is a huge concern and we are proud to be doing our part to help combat it locally. In addition we of course do the simple things like using CFLs, always turning off the lights, using very little heat and AC except when direly necessary.
Q. What products are best for spring gardening? Any regional differences?
This is an all encompassing question which cannot be universally given an all encompassing answer. Spring gardening can refer to vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs, grasses, foliage plants - field grown or container grown, etc. Each type of plant has it’s own special needs some of which is dependent upon what the gardener wants back from it. For instance, a fertilizer that is great for grasses or foliar houseplants (high in nitrogen) would also produce gorgeous tomato plants with dark green beautiful foliage - but no tomatoes. Thus the plant would be happy but not the gardener.
Generally speaking, plants that are grown primarily for their foliage (e.g. foliage houseplants, grasses, herbs, leafy vegetables) do better if provided with a fertilizer that has a high nitrogen to phosphorous, potassium ratio. Accordingly, most field grown plants do not require as much phosphorous as container grown plants because phosphorous is usually available to field grown plants but may be lacking in the potting mix used for container plants. Plants grown for their fruit (e.g. tomatoes, peppers, squash, apples, eggplants) perform better if provided with a fertilizer that has a balanced nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium ratio (with the aforementioned container vs. field caveat). These generalities are in most cases unaffected by regional location.
However, the ideal way to garden is to take a soil sample to your local county extension office for testing. The information you provide which includes garden location and planned usage (what will be grown) allows the extension service to provide you with a complete analysis and recommendations for fertilizers or other soil amendments that would give you the best results. A good thing about the extension service recommendations is that they do not make specific fertilizer type recommendations but only content; therefore, you are free to choose whatever fertilizer will meet the recommendations.
April 20th, 2008
Spring Planting Guide for Your Vegetable Patch
We are joined again by Christy Wilhelmi, the talented founder of Gardenerd.com. She helps us discover the many joys of organic gardening. Here she gets us on the way for spring vegetable planting. Hurray!
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A recent survey showed that more Americans are starting to grow their own food. People all over the country are succumbing to the joys of vegetable gardening. To these folks, there’s nothing more rewarding than walking out into the garden to pick fresh leeks, lettuce, tomatoes and basil. Then into the kitchen they go to create a culinary masterpiece with their harvest. Can you blame them for being so passionate? Surely there is something to this curious hobby.
The environmental benefits of growing your own veggies are great. Planting your own vegetables means you can ensure they are organic and healthy. And getting your food out of your own garden cuts the carbon emissions that would have been required to bring you food from the farm to the store to your table.
If you want to get in on the action, here is a quick-start guide for vegetables that grow best in spring:
+ Asparagus – start once, enjoy for a decade or so
+ Brassicas - cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, turnips, kohlrabi, rapini (Note – if it gets hot early in your area, you may want to have shade cloth handy to keep them from “bolting”, or going to seed too quickly. These veggies grow best in fall in the Southwest because they like to start in warm weather and mature in cooler weather).
+ Carrots and other root crops like parsnips and radishes
+ Cucumbers – start indoors and plant out later in the spring
+ Peppers– both sweet and spicy (start indoors and plant out later in the spring)
+ Eggplant – plant at the same time as peppers
+ Garlic – one of my favorite things to grow at home (can be grown in fall as well)
+ Herbs – basil, cilantro, chives, dill, oregano, parsley, and many others
+ Lettuces and other greens for salads like arugula, spinach and mustard greens
+ Melons – watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, casaba, etc.
+ Onion Sets, leeks, shallots and green onions
+ Peas
+ Potatoes – you haven’t lived until you’ve grown your own potatoes
+ Squash – both summer and winter squash like butternut, delicata, yellow crookneck, and zucchini
+ Tomatoes – try any of the over 300 varieties available. There are sure to be some that grow well in your zone.
When choosing seeds and plants for your area, make sure you know your hardiness zone. You can find your zone in the U.S. at the National Gardening Association website: http://garden.org/zipzone/. Not only can you find your hardiness zone, but you can look up what plants (other than vegetables) will grow well in your zone. Search by color, type and other growing conditions. Just click on Plant Finder after you’ve established your zone.
Once you know what you want to plant, take some time to sketch out where you want to plant them. Be sure to include beneficial flowers like marigolds to help keep pests at bay.
In areas where the ground freezes, you will need to do the squeeze test to see if your soil is ready to be worked. Squeeze a handful of soil into a ball in your fist. Open your hand and stick your thumb into it. It is holds its shape, it’s still too wet. If it breaks apart, it’s ready to work. If you don’t like that test, you can try the old folk lore method: drop your drawers and sit on your patch of soil. If you can sit there without freezing your buns off, the soil is ready to go. I’ll stick with the squeeze test myself.
To read Christy’s previous piece on Organic Gardening 101, please click here.
