Chickens are in this year . . .

In Northern California, backyard chickens are the latest accessory. They have by far surpassed the Prius in popularity contests among the eco-conscious housewife set. They make an amusing addition to the household. Happy chickens will give you an egg a day once they are mature. Another benefit - you can feed them all of your veggie table scraps and use the chicken poop for your compost. What a time saver!

Actually, backyard chickens have been around here since the last wave of planet savers came through in the seventies. Here's an article from the la times about a local flock that is creating havoc: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/traffic/la-me-chickens8-2008dec08,0,6832003.story.

I have run across these fellas a few times myself. They're just a few miles away. I find it refreshing when a chicken stops traffic - even if I am in a hurry.

gisele

City Chickens: eggs a la backyard

Some friends and I have been dreaming about having chickens in our backyard for some time now. Can you just picture waking up on a Saturday morning, having a piping cup of coffee and reading the BBC, and then going out back, 10 feet from your door to harvest some eggs, go inside crack them in a pan and golden sunny side up eggs completes the morning. Eggs fresh from the backyard, you know where they came from, you know what the chickens eat and they are so delicious its like wandering through a Haruki Murakami novel in your mouth?

Well, you can legally keep chickens in your backyard in Chicago. Currently there is no blog or website that shows this, but you can attend a class near the city to show you how to care for your new lovelies. And check out this blogger from California that has been following this movement.

Seeing the local agriculture movement break into the city scape is not only giving us some edible landscaping and beauty, but is allowing us to appreciate how our food gets to us from farm, or backyard, to plate.

10 things fungi do for us

BBC says at best, check out the article here.

Do it yourself: laundry detergent...coming soon

I am working on a few projects right now, for some upcoming posts.  I have been thinking to myself what else I can cut out buying at the store, that I can do myself at home?  I have been thinking about this because I would like to be self sufficient.  What if the current industrial manufacturing process just fell apart?  I know this is unlikely to happen, but if it did, I would like to know I could survive, and maybe even have clean clothes.  Leading to my first upcoming project: home made laundry detergent.  

Laundry detergent can get a bit expensive.  Its pricey to ship which is reflected in the price, especially if you buy liquid detergent (you are paying to ship water).  Both laundry and dishwashing detergent can negatively affect your surrounding waterways too; by leaching phosphates.  Phosphates are known to stimulate algae blooms which suffocate plant and animals in the rivers and streams.

So by using a detergent with no phosphates, and less or no surfactants (this causes foam when waterways churn) we will be affecting the water quality less.  One of the biggest peeves I have heard is when 'eco soap' doesn't foam; but soap that foams a little or none does the same thing their foamy peers.  

The One Percent: Calling all designers!

The One Percent is an organization launched by Public Architecture in 2005, to allow designers and architects to give their time, creativity and care to non-profits in need of costly design services, pro bono.  

"1% of an 8 hour work day is 4.8 minutes.  Over the course of a 2,080-hour traditional work year, it amounts to just 20 hours per person per year." 

Considering that that's the amount of time you spend brushing your teeth, it makes sense that you can also help a brother, lady, doctor, patient, teacher, kid...out.  

Even if this isn't for you, I am positive that we were all inspired this week by President-Elect Obama's victory, and I see much more do-gooding coming to an everyone near you.

(this pie chart is 1% of your time in a year)

CSA Boxes, support your local farmer!

CSA: Community Supported Agriculture

What is it? In Chicago I use freshpicks to deliver a full box of fresh fruits and veggies from various local farms to me, every other week. Its chock full of amazing goodies, and they usually add in one or two small surprises (one week it was wild mushrooms, another homemade spaghetti sauce!)

Why is it good? You are supporting local farmers, you will be eating in season good, because its local, you will be able to experiement with fruits and vegetables you wouldn't normally pick up at the supermarket, and be able to spout off a jillion ideas for a parsnip to your friends.

What does it cost? Well, through freshpicks, you can determine the portion of food: and its $25 or $40 dollars...or you can shop through their (reasonably priced) offerings and make your own box! Deliver is an extra $5, not bad!

Perks? You can specify no dairy, no carrots, or only food from Illinois. They work with you to get you exactly what you want.

Last week I went and visited one of their large suppliers of milk: Traders Point Creamery, and there will be more on the excursion soon!

Go to Local Harvest to find a CSA near you.

Save Those Nutrients!

This week while you’re walking around the city enjoying the crisp fall air and delighting at the leaves tumbling down the street, take a moment to think ahead to next year. Instead of letting the street sweeper brush them all away, capture the nutrients of those fall colors for your garden next spring. A leaf compost pile is one of the simplest composts you can do. All it takes it the right container, those pretty crinkled leaves, a little activator, and time.

You can buy a compost bin at just about any mega-improvement store these days, but they are a little pricey for what is fundamentally a dirt holder. Instead, try making your own from salvaged or simple materials. I made this one from 10’ of chicken wire, 6 twist ties, and four metal stakes. It took me about twenty minutes to build – the biggest chunk of time going to hammering in the stakes. You can also try using an old garbage can, palettes, etc. My mom made a beautiful compost bin a couple years ago out of sticks woven into a huge basket. It also doubles as an art piece.

Here are the steps to start your spring garden compost:
1. Build an aerated “container”
2. Put down a layer that will allow air to circulate around your compost. I used sticks. You could also use a couple boards, spaced out bricks, etc.
3. Add leaves
4. Water them down
5. Add a heating agent like manure or bone meal
6. Repeat

Leaf composting is a great way to live locally and keep a little extra out of the landfill. Without food waste your compost should stay rat free. Have fun and happy Fall!

Vampire Electronics: save 75% of the energy you use!

Vampires can be sexy, but vampire electronics are not.  Vampire electronics suck on energy instead of blood, and consume more energy than you use when your appliances are ON!  Yes, this means even when your electronics are in the off position they are sucking away on the neck of your electricity bill.  It is unfortunately our appliances weren't designed to stop consuming energy when in the off position & still plugged in.  But alas, even designers don't think of everything.

If you are too lazy or forgetful (like me) to be plugging things in and out all the time, try the smart power strip by Gaiam.  It basically acts a shield to protect your electronics from wasteful energy use.  It may cost $39 dollars but you will save on that in your electricity bill, if you have your entertainment system plugged into it.  Even better, it reduces your carbon footprint, and maybe you can feel better about your Nintendo, Playstation, Wii and whatever other game console you have plugged in all at once :)

Guerrilla Gardening

I know you want to do it.  Gardening that is.  But you live in the city with a small patch of grass or weeds or maybe marigolds in the back yard and you have nowhere to plant your tomatoes and hops and rosemary!  OMG what to do.  

Guerrilla gardening may be your answer.  By far the most fantastic idea I've seen in a while.  I have been yearning for years to begin a community garden, to join with fellow fresh vegetable lovers to plant pretty things and pick them to eat orgasmically in just a few weeks.  But this idea is better...plant something in patches of mud or grass left untended or left to be ugscape (ugly scape: ie: nothing nice to look at); and plant something pretty!; whether it be a flower or a vegetable or an herb!  And then many more people than you can enjoy that little plot that was previously mud or pebbles.  Check out the guerrilla gardening website, then get excited, and THEN start your own group.  Beautify your neighborhood & mine, pretty please?

Canning Tomatoes: a beginners how to

I have finally gotten  over the scary hump of canning tomatoes, and just did it.  Very rewarding I must say!  I wanted to do this so I could still be eating local produce (as much as possible) through the winter.  Canning is an excellent way to support your local farmers and have their nutricious foods preserved for your winter 

fare.  *I do not have a camera right now, so the following pictures were taken with my computer, and aren't the most amazing.  My apologies!  Many folks who can regularly have canning equipment: I do not.  So don't be afraid to try to use what you already have!  First, go to your farmers market, garden or store and get your tomatoes!  Today I used 10 lbs of beefsteak tomatoes from a farm in Michigan.  They were only 2 dollars a pound too, which is fantastic.

Step 1: Santize your jars.  I used a mixture of what I had lying around: wide and narrow mouthed mason jars.  My jars have a lid and a ring that you use to seal the jar.  Santize by either placing in dishwasher or a large pot of boiling water for 5 minutes.

Step 2: Boil a large pot of water for de-skinning the tomatoes.  When the water is boiling submerge the tomatoes until you see their skin crack.  (My beefsteaks boiled for about 5 minutes before their skins broke).  

When the tomatoes skin is broken, place them in an ice bath, so they can cool down for you to peel them.  When they are cool enough you should be able to pull the skins right off.

The peeled tomatoes can either be cut into chunks or pured.  I prefer to do halved tomatoes in my larger jars; find they are more versatile this way. 

Now fill your jars within 1/4" of the top, make sure the top is clean (you can wipe with a paper towel or clean rag) put a tablespoon of salt in a large jars and a teaspoon in the small ones.  Place the lids on the jars and you are going to boil the jars standing up in a very large pot of water.  The tops of the jars need to be submerged.  Some people do this from 5 - 40 minutes.  I do it until the top is popped in (so when you press down it does not click any more, you might even hear a POP! while its in the water bath.)  If the top hasn't popped by 40 minutes, you take take it out and it should pop in a few hours.  This made 3 large & 1 small jar of diced tomatoes AND 1 large and 1 small jar of tomato puree.  

Efficient Lighting: LED's!

What's the story about the lighting in your workplace/ store/ restaurant/gallery? Is it energy efficient? Will it pay itself back? Does it get rebate incentives from the state?

Check out eco-story's LED lighting solutions!

-You will increase the life of your current galogen or incandescent bulb by 35000 hours!

-Easy install (screw baby screw)
-No mercury or other harmful substances!

-Tax credits available for installation cost!
-Custom Manufactured to your lighting needs: Kelvin color, beam spread, and light output.
-Return on Investment of 1.3 year on average.

Also, if you are interested, you can call them and they will create a spread sheet showing your savings over time AND they will help you find a rebate in your area.

If this isn't incentive to use less energy for your lighting plan, I don't know what it.

MoSS: Next weekend!

"The Museum of Sustainable Style features clothing, accessories, and furniture that inspire and respond to current form and function necessities, without compromising our environmental abilities to meet future needs."  (from the MoSS website, I couldn't have said it better myself)

I am looking forward to this show!  Its October 2-5, free admission, and a panel discussion taking place on the 4th.  I hope you can make it!

Local Food Knowledge

I have been hearing about this book for sometime, but finally picked it up after I wanted to start a fall garden and everyone's advice I sought went in a different direction.  So I called a friend, who just moved to Cali and has the greenest thumb I know and she said 'Oh I don't know, let me find this book, I always use it as a garden reference'.  This book was Animal, Vegetable, Miracle By Barbara Kingsolver. I bought it, read it, and won't think of my garden in the same way again.  Also,  I have been vegan for sometime: mostly because I never had the time to look into local foods.  Even though I won't eat meat again, this book gave me a new perspective on local foods, food origins, and has made me rethink my approach to my diet: and how my diet affects our world.

I have much more to say, but I'll let the book speak for itself. (Its much more interesting!)

Boomerang Houses for everyone

This home has a small 1000sf footprint, and its green & gorgeous as well!

Using the curves of an Aussie boomerang as a design concept, the home uses growing grass roof & walls, and has a structural resistance of 8.0 on the richter scale.  If you are ever building a new home, its important to consider the area you are building in, what types of materials are suitable for that area, are they local materials?  

So everyones on the reusable bag kick by now, right?

I sure hope so, as plastic & other disposable bags use resources that we don't really need to be using, and they cause negative environmental impacts as well.  

Well check out the lovely baggu

Look at all of these colors!  Everytime I remember to bring my baggu I get really excited!  Yes, that might be a little dorky, but its the little things, right?:)