I recently read Colin Beavan’s No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet, and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process. The title’s a little long, but the book is packed full of the Beavan family’s interesting adventures as they grapple with the concepts of ‘no-impact’ and ‘sustainability‘ for a year of their lives while living in New York City. This book won’t save the planet, but it is a thoughtful and well researched read. Recommended.

And, I have to admit, I found something in Colin’s book that I hadn’t already heard of – reusable produce bags. I’ve been using reusable bags for years, but have always had the problem of taking the thin plastic bags for the produce from the organic market. I reused the bags as much as I could, but in the end, I was still stuck with these flimsy throw-away bags.

After reading about reusable produce bags in this book, I purchased some.

The first week, they were the hit of the organic market. Everyone asked me where they could purchase them. Some sources are ReusableBags.com, Ebay and Amazon.com.

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I love Alice Waters‘ book, Edible Schoolyard: A Universal Idea. Worth noting (below) are the principles of Edible Education that she lays out in the book.

Food is an Academic Subject

A school garden, kitchen, and cafeteria are integral to the core academic mission of the school, so that ecology and gastronomy help bring alive every subject, from reading and writing to science and art.

School Provides Lunch for Every Child

From preschool through high school, every child is served a wholesome, delicious meal, every day. Good food is a right not a privilege. Providing it every day brings children into a positive relationship with their health, their community, and the environment.

Schools Support Farms

School cafeterias buy seasonally fresh food from local, sustainable farms and ranches, not only for reasons of health and education, but as a way of strengthening local food economies.

Children Learn by Doing

Hands-on education, in which the children themselves do the work in the vegetable beds and on the cutting boards, awakens their senses and opens their minds, both to their core academic subjects and to the world around them.

Beauty is a Language

A beautifully prepared environment, where deliberate thought has gone into everything from the garden paths to the plates on the tables, communicates to children that we care about them.

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According to author Richard Louv, the greatest increase in childhood obesity in our history has occurred in the same two decades that the greatest increase in organized sports for children in our history. “Pediatricians are now saying that this generation of children may be the first to have a lower life expectancy than their parents and its because of this sedentary lifestyle.”

Studies show that kids connected to nature have

• Better Concentration
• Less Stress
• More Creativity
• and Higher Self-Esteem

than those children not exposed to the same natural world experiences.

While increasing our children’s physical activity and eating right is important, connecting them to the ecosystem that they are a part of is crucial.

An edible schoolyard garden provides that connection while serving as an outdoor science learning laboratory. Our youngest (pre-school) students strengthen and develop their hand-eye coordination, gross motor, tactical and sensorial skills by gardening.

In the edible garden from seed planting to the time of harvest, the children have the opportunity to observe the life cycle of plants. In nature, waste equals food, so the young children are able to observe the interdependence of ecosystems. They learn about soil composition and chemistry. Through composting and mulching they begin to learn about decomposition.

Edible schoolyard gardening allows students hands-on experience with concepts such as evaporation, propagation, biodiversity, companion planting and pollination. They are introduced to the process of photosynthesis. In a garden, students learn to follow and chart the life cycles butterflies, worms and other creatures.

The garden provides the children the chance to take the concepts that they are learning in the classroom and put these into practical applications. As early as preschool, students learn to blend abstract concepts with the concrete and tangible realities in nature. Students can record their observations from the garden into a science journals. Through drawings, they can chart the daily grown of their plants from seeds into sprouts into plants.

Another benefit of your edible schoolyard garden:  You will never have to worry that your students will answer,”from the grocery store” in response to the question, “where do vegetables come from?”

Additional reading:

QUEST on KQED Public Media.

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We’ve talked about worm composting as a way to recycle food waste. But worms don’t eat everything and if you do a lot of cooking, worms probably won’t keep up with all your waste.

In my yard, I also use the Green Cone System as an additional way to dispose of food waste.

The primary function of the Green Cone System is to accelerate the natural decomposition process by raising temperatures, maintaining aerobic conditions, and encouraging the growth of micro-organisms.

The system takes all household food waste, including vegetable scraps, raw and cooked meat or fish, bones, dairy products and other organic food waste such as bread and pasta. I’ve  also added shredded paper and newspaper before my municipality added these to the recycling program.

How does it operate?

Simplified, the solarcone consists of a two-layer recycled plastic cone above ground attached to a basket below ground. Just put your food waste in and the unit uses the heat from the sun to promote air circulation between the inner and outer cones and start the aerobic digestion process.

How much food can it take in?

The system takes in up to 11 pounds of food waste a week. It reduces the waste primarily to water, carbon dioxide and a small amount of residue left at the bottom. The distributor suggests that after about 5 years, the small quantity of residue can be dug out by removing the upper basket and distributed in your yard. I have had mine for about three years and have never had to clean it.

Are there any odors?

No. Because the basket is covered by ground, there are no offensive odors.

Is it safe from children and animals?

Yes. The lid of the solar cone has a button latch. There is also a safety bar across the top. Since you dug a hole for the basket, it is safely in the soil.

I love my green solar cone digester. This system is almost maintenance-free. It is rodent-free. There is no need to chop food, layer, turn, or water it like with a compost pile. Its a great addition to a home or school already composting with worms or  maintaining a compost pile. Its also excellent for homeowners looking to cut down on the household waste they send to their landfill.

For more information, go to Solarcone.net or google ‘green cone composter’. I also saw several municipalities offer this product to their residents at greatly reduced rates as part of a recycling program. If you are interested, contact your city and ask them to look into this program.

Chemicals are toxic and abound everywhere. People apply pesticides and herbicides often without thinking about the consequences. The purpose of your organic edible schoolyard garden is to connect students with both nature and their food supply. It is also a place for thoughtful contemplation for the students. Commit to using natural means to control pests.

Most insects in your garden are beneficial, so you want to isolate the unwanted pest rather than blanket spraying everything. Not every pest needs to be sprayed. Caterpillars can be hand-picked off tomato and other plants.

Mild soaps and vegetable oils are a good option. Soap needs to contact an insect to kill it. It is a physical damage to the insect not a poison. That is why you need to apply the soap directly to the insect. Oils work the same way and accomplish the same goal. Oils are a good means to get rid of scale on a plant.

There are many natural insecticidal soaps and oils available commercially. You can also make your own by mixing 2 tablespoons of a mild soap in a gallon of water. You can create an oil spray by mixing the same ratio of vegetable oil in water. Some people add ground garlic or cayenne pepper to their sprays. I have some how-to videos on my YouTube – My Earthprints Channel under the Garden playlist, if you are curious to see how they do it.

Reduce your chances of a pest outbreak by  following the principles of companion planting and creating a garden full of  biodiversity. If you have only tomatoes in your garden (monocropping), then your plants are more susceptible to a tomato pest.

Looking for some extra money to finance your schoolyard garden project? Try to unearth a grant to pay for your expenses.

Begin your search at KidsGardening.org or the National Gardening Association. Both maintain a database of current grants available for schoolyard garden projects.

There is also your local farm bureau. A county farm bureau may provide seed donations for projects.  As a Master Gardener Volunteer, I was lucky enough to receive seeds and a small cash grant  from the Broward Farm Bureau to fund  schoolyard garden projects on several occasions.

Some seed companies donate seeds to school garden projects. Generally, seed companies will donate seeds from the previous planting season that did not sell. While most of these seeds will germinate without a problem, you don’t have a choice of what seeds you get. If you are open to trying some new things, this is a good option to pursue.

Listed below are some seed and garden supply companies. Some have seed donation programs.

ARBICO Organics Garden Supply  800-827-2847

GardensAlive.com 513-354-1482

High Mowing Organic Seeds 802-472-6174

Home Harvest Garden Supply 517-332-2663

Irish Eyes Garden Seeds 509-933-7150

Johnny’s Selected Seeds 877-564-6697

Peaceful Valley Farm and Garden Supply 888-784-1722

Seed Savers Exchange 563-382-5990

Seeds of Change 888-762-7333

Seeds Trust 928-6498-3315

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange 540-894-9480

Territorial Seed Company 541-942-9547

The Cook’s Garden 800-457-9703

Tomato Growers Supply Company 888-478-7333 or 888-768-3476

Totally Tomatoes 800-345-5977

Vermont Bean Seed Company 800-349-1071

Victory Seeds™ 503-829-3126

Don’t overlook local nurseries and local big box stores like Home Depot and Lowes when you are searching for garden donations. You might be pleasantly surprised with what you receive.

Also, and most importantly, while parent and community volunteers are helpful to the success of a garden project, my experience shows that the most crucial team member is a school staffer to oversea the garden. If the school administration supports the project, there will need to be someone there to regularly water and check the plants, especially  over long weekends and holiday breaks.

I’ve seen many gardens struggle and be left behind because the volunteer moved on and there was no one left to  maintain the project. If all parties have  a vested interest in the project’s success, your garden will thrive.

In nature, many plants have synergistic relationships. Our ancestors saw this and practiced companion planting in ancient times. Native Americans engaged in companion planting by organizing the crops of maize, squash and beans close together and called them the Three Sisters .

Some plants exude chemicals from their roots or aerial parts that repel pests and protect their neighbors. Others attract pests and are used to distract them from the main crop. This is known as trap cropping. Some plants like legumes-peas, beans and clover- are able to fix atmospheric nitrogen for their own use and for the benefit of their nearby companions.

Great Garden Companions by Sally Jean Cunningham is one of my favorite books on companion planting.

GardenGuides.com lists Good and Bad Companions For Vegetable Plants below:

For additional information check out the following websites:

• National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
• OrganicGardening.com
• CompanionPlanting.net

Gardens can be planted year-round in Florida, but fall is the preferred seed-planting season. Below is a planting guide published by the University of Florida/IFAS with recommendations for vegetable planting by month.

Many factors influence the productivity of a garden -including; soil quality, water, drainage, amount of available sunlight, nutrients and integrated pest management. We’ll explore some of these in later posts. Happy Planting!

This book is by James Stephens, a professor in horticultural studies at the University of Florida. It is well illustrated and an excellent reference guide for vegetable gardening in Florida.

Testing Out Our New Worm Factory

The latest addition to our garden is this composting worm bin system by The Worm Factory. We purchased ours locally at Donna’s Garden Gate and she even included the worms, free.

The Worm Factory Worm Composter unit comes with a helpful guide that tells you how to set it up, some interesting facts on vermicomposting, the anatomy of worms and a troubleshooting section. It also includes all the bedding that you need to get started. This makes it an ideal unit for beginners.

Although their are many different species of worms, the red wigglers are ideal for a worm compost bin. They love darkness and despise light. Some species of worm like light and will exit your worm bin if they feel there isn’t sufficient light available.

As a side note, on a recent trip to Costa Rica, I visited a fair-trade coffee grower and learned that although his farm was natural and completely sustainable, he had imported his red wigglers from California. So, make sure you get the red wiggler. A website that the guide recommends is Find Worms.com.

Every three months, the red wigglers in this composter can be expected to double in population.  Worms lay eggs and are incubated in cocoons. Each tray in this vermicomposter system can hold three pounds or 3,000 worms. The guide says overpopulation isn’t a concern as the worms who live in this upward migration system can travel freely between trays.

Red wigglers require moisture to breathe because they  take in oxygen through their skin and will die if they dry out. Too much moisture and the worms can drown.

The guide says the moisture should range from 60%-80% in your bin. An easy way to test moisture is to squeeze a small amount of the bedding between two fingers. You want to see a drop or two of water. It should be as wet as a wrung out sponge, damp, but not dripping wet.

Worms can eat three times their weight in a week. So one pound of worms will consume three pounds of waste and organic fiber in a week.

The Worm Factory can be housed both indoors and out. If you are keeping worms outdoors keep them in a shady area. Make sure the worm bin is protected from the rain. The optimal temperature range for your worms is from 60˚-80˚F (15˚-26˚C).

Looking forward to sharing more information with you as our project continues.

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In a recent interview, post- the COP15 Conference, the nation’s top climate scientist and director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, James Hansen discussed his views on cap and trade, tipping points and how we can move forward in the aftermath of Copenhagen.

Hansen also has a new book, Storms of My Grandchildren: The Truth About the Coming Climate Catastrophe and Our Last Chance to Save Humanity where he discusses these issues at length.

The entire interview with Amy Goodman is visible at the end of this post. I’ve pulled out some highlights.

Hansen says, “I’m actually quite pleased with what happened at Copenhagen, because now we have basically a blank slate. We have China and the United States talking to each other, and it’s absolutely essential. Those are the two big players that have to come to an agreement. But it has to be an honest agreement, one which addresses the basic problem. And that is that fossil fuels are the cheapest source of energy on the planet. And unless we address that and put a price on the emissions, we can’t solve the problem.”

On Cap and Trade: “Cap and trade, they attempt to put a cap on different sources of carbon dioxide emissions. They say there’s a limit on how much a given industry in a country can emit. But the problem is that the emissions just go someplace else. That’s what happened after Kyoto, and that’s what would happen again, if—as long as fossil fuels are the cheapest energy, they will be burned someplace. You know, the Europeans thought they actually reduced their emissions after Kyoto, but what happened was the products that had been made in their countries began to be made in other countries, which were burning the cheapest form of fossil fuel, so the total emissions actually increased.”

“But what you need to do—and many people call that a tax, but in fact the way that it should be done is to give all of the money that’s collected in a fee, that should be across the board on oil, gas and coal, collect that money at the mine or at the port of entry from the fossil fuel companies, and then distribute that to the public on a per capita basis to legal residents of the country. Then the person that does—that has less than average carbon emissions would actually make money from the process, and it would stimulate the economy. It would give the public the funds that they need in order to invest in low-carbon technologies. The next time they buy a vehicle, they should get a low-emission one. They should insulate their homes. Such actions. And those people who do that will come out ahead. That’s—the economists agree that that’s the way you should address the problem, with a price on carbon. Otherwise, the emissions will just continue to go up.”

On Tipping Points: “Well, there are tipping points in the climate system, where we can push the system beyond a point where the dynamics begins to take over. For example, in the case of an ice sheet, once it begins to disintegrate and slide into the ocean, you’ve passed the point where you can stop it. So that’s what we have to avoid.

Another tipping point is in the survival of species. As we begin to put pressure on species and move the climate zone so that some of the species can’t survive because they can only live within certain climate parameters, because species depend upon each other, you can drive an ecosystem such that when some species go extinct, then the entire ecosystem will collapse. So you don’t want to push the system that far.

And these tipping points are not hypothetical. We know from the earth’s history that these have happened in the past, especially when we’ve had large global warmings. We’ve driven more than half the species on the planet to extinction. And then, over hundreds of thousands and millions of years, new species come into being. But for any time scale that we can imagine, we would be leaving a much more desolate planet for our children and grandchildren and future generations. So we don’t want to pass those tipping points.”

On Atmospheric CO2: “What we have now is 387 parts per million. But we’re going to have to bring that down to 350 parts per million or less. And that’s still possible, provided we phase out coal emissions over the next few decades. That’s possible. We would also have to prohibit unconventional fossil fuels like tar sands and oil shale.”

On Moving Forward: “What needs to happen right now—we have this great opportunity this spring, I would say, to have discussions in the House and Senate about what really needs to be done to solve this problem. And it’s not cap and trade with offsets. We can prove that that’s completely ineffectual. What we have to do is put a price on carbon, and the money that’s collected needs to be given to the public, not used for boondoggles, like Congress is taking—plans to take the money from cap and trade that’s collected in selling the permits to pollute and to use that money for things like clean coal or to give the money back to the polluters. That won’t solve the problem. We have to give the money to the public.”

“There were a couple of encouraging things in Copenhagen. For one thing, Al Gore made a clear statement that a carbon price is a better solution than cap and trade. And John Kerry also indicated that he had an open mind on that question. So that’s why I say the discussions in the next few months are very important, because the way the United States goes is going to determine the way the world goes, I think.”

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