A few years ago, okay many years ago, while a wee youngster in high school, Earth Day came onto the scene. To celebrate, our local rotary club sponsored an Earth Day essay contest with a grand prize of $100.That’s more than I’ll be making on this blog entry, but I did win that essay contest years ago and nervously read my prose to a room of elderly men who probably hadn’t heard of Earth Day before that morning. In the end, it helped pay for my first semester of books in college.
So, here it is, Earth Day 2008 and I once again find myself writing. Since there isn’t a minimum word count this time, we’ll keep it short. And this time, it’s all about food. So here’s how we recommend you celebrate Earth Day – things you can start today to change your ‘eating habits’ in the coming year:
Eat Local: visit your farmers’ markets, join a CSA and support small producers!
As late spring approaches here in the Midwest, many local farmers’ markets are gearing up for another six-month run. And, if you’re too busy to peruse the markets, try subscribing to a CSA – consumer supported agriculture plan. In these plans, you receive a box of fresh, in-season produce at least once a week.
A great resource to start your search is Local Harvest - visit their website at: http://www.localharvest.org/.Turn Your Thumb Green: plant your own food.
You don’t need an acre to have a great garden. Heck, you don’t even need a yard. With that said, I have an acre and I still find myself planting heirloom tomatoes, herbs, eggplants, peppers and more in large planters on the large, south-facing side of my deck. It has its own tropical
microclimate going on and the results are fabulous as long as I (or more likely my husband) water every day. Another advantage, the smaller pots of herbs are brought into my sunny kitchen in the fall to provide small batches of fresh green goodness all yearlong.Try the Cooks Garden at http://www.cooksgarden.com/.
Recycle: save your scraps, your yard waste and your newspapers.
Turning your local newspaper into a flower or vegetable bed is easier than you think. It’s better to start this in the fall, but you can get good results in the spring, too. Place layers of old newspapers and over shortly cut grass, drench with water, top with mulch and voila, you’re on your way with braking your back removing sod or wasting gas on a sod remover or a garden tiller.
And lastly, celebrate Earth Day by starting yourself a pile of “black gold.” It may not be the pot at the end of the rainbow, but a good compost pile, made up of free used bits such as leaves, yard waste and kitchen scraps will lead to a bright rainbow of produce and flowers in your garden.
According to the University of Illinois Extension Office, compost makes clay-based soils easier to work and plant; it makes sandy soils hold water more easily; and ultimately, compost improves overall plant growth and health.Overall, composting is also a good way to save money to return the nutrients of yard waste to your garden. For more information on how to get started, visit: www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/compost.
- GE, 4/22/08
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