THE TRICKLE EFFECT

I was doing the dishes the other day and I thought this looked so cool that I had to take a picture. I love the way these colors complement each other.
We don't have a dishwasher, so I handwash our dishes. I recently discovered that I had changed a bad habit of mine without even trying. The effect of learning about sustainability and environmental issues seems to have trickled into areas of my life that I hadn't made a conscious effort to change yet. I used to let the water run the whole time I was doing the dishes. A couple of weeks ago I found myself filling the sink about a quarter of the way with soapy water and using that water to wash the dishes instead of letting the water run the whole time. It wasn't a conscious decision, it just kind of happened. So half the battle is over, now I just have to make sure I don't slip back into my old habits.

BANANA PEPPER MANIA!

Don't they look pretty?

This being my first garden, I am a bit concerned about knowing when certain veggies are ripe. Anyone know how to tell when a banana pepper is ripe? I've been told you want to pick them before they turn red, but how do you know when they're yellow enough? I'm also looking for a good pickling recipe.

FOOD, NOT LAWNS

Here's an excerpt from the article "Don't be Wasted on Grass! Lawns to Gardens!"
by Heather Coburn, excerpted from Food Not Lawns (Chelsea Green 2005).

French aristocrats popularized the idea of the green grassy lawn in the eighteenth century, when they planted the agricultural fields around their estates to grass, to send the message that they had more land than they needed and could therefore afford to waste some. Meanwhile, French peasants starved for lack of available ground, and the resulting frustration might have had something to do with the French Revolution in 1789.

Today, 58 million Americans spend approximately $30 billion every year to maintain over 23 million acres of lawn. That’s an average of over a third of an acre and $517 each. The same size plot of land could still have a small lawn for recreation, plus produce all of the vegetables needed to feed a family of six. The lawns in the United States consume around 270 billion gallons of water a week—enough to water 81 million acres of organic vegetables, all summer long.

Click here to read the full article.

These people are doing it - check out Path to Freedom.

Forget lawns - gardens taste better!

BACKYARD GARDENING UPDATE

The basil is going crazy, I actually used some fresh basil and oregano in the spaghetti that I made yesterday.


These are the tomato plants, they have some tiny green tomatoes growing on them.


Our zucchini plants are huge! And there are 2 or 3 baby zucchinis growing.


This little guy is going to be a red bell pepper someday:

SOMEBODY'S TRASH = MY TREASURE

Another way to foster sustainability is to buy other people's used stuff instead of buying it new. I found this amazing set of glasses at a garage sale this weekend - the set of six was only $2!

This is a set of 8 that I found at Deseret Industries last year - another place to make other people's trash your own. :) I love this set because it has an awesome carrier and looks great in my retro kitchen.

VERTICAL FARMING - THIS GUY IS A GENIUS!

Click on this link to watch a video about Dickson Despommier's Vertical Farming design:

Discovery: Urban Farms Grow Up

Or visit the project's website at verticalfarm.com

This may save our lives one day.

A BRIGHT IDEA

We've started replacing our burnt out light bulbs with CFLs. These compact fluorescent light bulbs use less energy than the old school kind we were using before, plus they will last up to 9 years - can you imagine not changing a light bulb for nine years? Pretty sweet. They cost a little more than a regular light bulb, but make up for it in energy savings and longevity.

Pizzeria Seven Twelve!

Here's a new eatery in Orem that is worthy of our support: Pizzeria Seven Twelve. These guys are committed to sustainability and are proving it by using local ingredients to make their delicious food (and I mean delicious!). The owners of this hip little place used to be pastry chefs at Sundance. Their pizzas and salads are amazing - I've never had a pizza with fresher tasting tomato sauce! Click on the link above to check out their menu - they do serve other things other than pizza. Most of their ingredients are obtained from local farms and they make their own ricotta cheese and sausage.

Pizzeria Seven Twelve is located at 320 S State St 185 , Orem Ut 84058.

The Story of Stuff

This is just a preview of this amazing video. Visit The Story of Stuff website for the full 20-minutes.

Utah Food Co-op

I signed up for the food co-op and picked up my first share last week. Unsure of what to expect going into it, I found myself pleasantly surprised by the whole experience. This is how it works:

First you mail or fax in your order form, which can be found here:

Order Form

As you will see, you really get a lot for your money.

Next, you wait until the end of the month and then go to pick up your food. Make sure you bring your own bags or box to carry your load. I expected to see more people at the pick up location in Provo, it seems that not a whole lot of people have caught on to this phenomenon just yet.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the meat that you purchase through the co-op comes from a Salt Lake City butcher and the bread from a Salt Lake baker. Most of the produce was not local, however on the June order form there is a spot where you can order locally grown organic produce.

Besides the price, one of the best things about the co-op is the sense of community that I felt when I went to pick up my food. As I waited in line, I struck up conversations with some of the people around me, and even learned the proper way to prepare an artichoke. It really hit me that the key element in a sustainable community is the community itself! Meeting new people and finding new ways to be involved in the community are vital to the whole process.