by Jennifer Lance on January 28, 2009 · 1 comment
Editor’s note: The following post was originally published by OnEarth. I felt it was such a wonderful suggestion and fits right in with the idea of Michael Pollan to turn the White House lawn into an organic farm, that I asked to republish it on Eco Child’s Play.
Dear Ms. Obama:
What will be your first order of business as “Mom-in-Chief”? Here’s a suggestion: invite Malia’s and Sasha’s classmates to plant an organic garden at the White House. Think of the lessons that your children and their classmates will reap.
There can be no grain without pain.
Digging up turf and prepping soil is hard work. Success in the garden is a direct function of the effort that went into creating and sustaining a hospitable environment for plants.
Addressing challenges requires a systems approach to problem solving.
Contrary to popular myth, the most successful organic growers think and act like scientists. They try to emulate not annihilate natural processes.
[read the full article...]
Despite the cold weather outside, seed catalogs are starting to arrive in the mail and making promises of the spring to come. If you are like me the idea of getting outside and digging in the dirt makes you giddy with joy. Of course, you don’t have to hog all that fun for yourself. Getting dirty, digging holes, and watching new little plants bloom make gardening with kids double the fun.
Getting kids involved in gardening is very easy to do, no matter if you have a huge yard to grow things in or are using pots on the balcony of you apartment. Even children as young as two can help with basic gardening tasks such as watering, planting, and pulling weeds. Begin by letting your little one in on the planning of your garden. Whether you are growing vegetables or flowers, letting them pick out some of the plants will make kids even more involved. Older children might even enjoy having a small garden of their own. A simple 3 foot by 3 foot square is big enough to grow nearly anything and yet still small enough for kids to manage on their own. Indoor gardeners could give their children a few pots or an entire window box of their own to care for.
[read the full article...]
by Jessica Gottlieb on December 24, 2008 · 0 comments
A new study by O.M. Aguilar, a graduate assistant in the Department of Horticultural Sciences at Texas A&M University, confirms what previous studies and parents know: Gardening with children makes them more sensitive to environmental issues. As reported in LOHAS, the study found:
Test results indicated that children that had any type of experience with gardening had more positive attitudes toward the environment when compared with students that had not gardened. The study showed that hands-on gardening activities are important to the development of environmentally concerned citizens, and that children’s involvement in informal gardening experiences has as much impact on their environmental outlook as involvement in formal school-based programs. [read the full article...]
We are having an amazing flush of fall strawberries this year, and the colder nights make the berries super sweet. Given the state of the economy, I feel more pressed to preserve the abundance of food growing in our garden. Making organic strawberry jam is easy, and it is one food item I can easily provide our family a year’s supply of with the help of my children. This recipe makes about 5-6 cups of jam, so I like to double it. You don’t need a pressure canner to can jam; just a big pot will do. You will need to purchase pectin; I like sugar-free, citrus-based Pomona’s Universal Pectin.
Organic Strawberry Jam
In preparation for canning:
Sterilize your jelly jars. You can do this by placing them in boiling water or in your dishwasher. Also, heat up the rings and lids in a pot of water until little bubbles begin to appear, but do not boil. Heat a really large pot of water for canning. The jars must be completely covered by the water. Place a lid on the pot to help the water heat faster.
To make the jam:
- Pick or buy 2 quarts of berries
- Clean the berries, remove the green tops, and mash gently.
- Add 2 teaspoons of calcium water (included in pectin package) to mashed berries [read the full article...]
by Jennifer Lance on September 22, 2008 · 0 comments
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Not everyone can do as my family did and buy an old homestead, build your own house, and live-off-the-grid. Jobs and social ties keep families in suburbs and cities, and there is a good reason people tend to congregate together in living situations. Being self-sustainable does not mean doing it all alone. Community is vital to green living, and in fact, many aspects of city life are greener than living in the country (i.e. public transportation, walking to work/school, etc.). The fact that many city dwellers want to get back to the land has sparked an “urban homesteading” movement. Here are five tips to help your family become urban homesteaders:
- Grow food and herbs in your yard or patio: If you have a yard, plant it with edibles! An edible lawn will be the envy of the neighborhood. My friend’s lawn in Eugene doesn’t contain any grass at all. The Dervaes family of Pasadena grows 3 tons of food on only 1/10 acre! Even if you don’t have a yard, many herbs and vegetables can be grown in pots. I have grown habenero peppers, basil, and lettuce in pots during my college apartment years. [read the full article...]
The honey bees are dying off around the world, and yet still many people have never heard of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). This week the Italian government banned several pesticides that are thought to be linked to the honey bee decline. More research (funding) is required to find out exactly what is causing the disappearance.
During Honey Week on our sister site, Meridith Melnick wrote:
“One-third of the food we consume comes from pollinators. Bees are responsible for pollinating almonds, apples, soft fruit, and berries among other crops. Without them, we will lose more than honey (a tragedy in its own right!), we will lose a large portion of the biodiversity we now enjoy on our plates.” [read the full article...]
If you have a cub scout or boy scout yor probably receive Boy’s Life Magazine. For the past several issues, they’ve had green topics featured: green vehicles, ocean and reef conservation, eco-friendly fun, and sporting green.
The newest edition, September 2008, features a whole section called “Be a Green Guy”. It has five projects, some of which my family is definitely going to be trying out (both guys and gals). [read the full article...]
Last week I told you about 