50 Ways to Go Green That I’ve Personally Tried + GIVEAWAY

In honor of Earth day April 22, 2017, I thought I’d share 50 Ways to Go Green That I’ve Personally Tried. Over the last eighteen months I’ve been motivated to change my habits to be more environmentally friendly. Some of these habits became easy lifestyle changes, others…well…not so much.

50 Ways to Go Green That I've personally tried Continue reading “50 Ways to Go Green That I’ve Personally Tried + GIVEAWAY”

Earth Day: How Does Your Garden Grow?

Every spring the warm weather teases me into thinking I have a green thumb. Every fall after months of digging, planting, watering, putting up fences, and protecting against frost I remember that I don’t. It seems that only half of what I plant survives weather, forgetful watering, over eager tots and animal attacks, and yet I can’t help but try again the next spring.
The food I may or may not produce is not my primary reason for gardening, which is good because my family would starve. The real reason I garden is to enjoy the outdoors with my kids. It’s an easy thing to do with kids since most love any reason to dig and get dirty, plus it’s so fun to see my tots learn about plants hands on, to watch things grow and to eat fresh peas from their pods.

This Earth Day the tots and I transplanted some seedlings. The seeds were from my late grandmother’s store and some are more than 15 years old. I’m surprised any of them sprouted, but apparently you can’t keep a sunflower from wanting the sun –  they were the best growers despite their age.
Thanks to this post by Mae at www.mommylovestrees.com I learned that the best way to encourage environmental stewardship in my kids is really quite easy. Research shows that it comes down to these three actions:
  1. talking about the environment at home, 
  2. watching nature-related media,
  3. and reading about nature. 

Growing a garden with my kids doesn’t involve a screen or book (Unless you count Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew), but it does allow for lots of opportunities to talk about the environment and why I care about it. I love growing things, even if I’m only successful half the time. Hopefully my efforts to teach my tots about loving nature are a little more successful.

Plant a Garden – It’s Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day!
I love gardening, even though I have not been very successful with it. Our home is in the forested mountains near Sundance, Utah. Sunny space on our lot is limited so, I attempt to grow things using the Square Foot Garden method. There are lots of reasons gardening in my location is a bad idea.
1. Cold – at roughly 7,000 feet elevation and with a ski resort as a neighbor you can imagine how our winters are – long, snowy and cold. We get heavy snowstorms well into March and even through the summer the temperature drops below sixty degrees in the evenings.
2. Animals – I hear the sounds of wild turkeys on a daily basis. Deer, rabbits, blue jays, squirrels, robins, and countless other unseen creatures live in the woods around our home, and they’re all hungry.

3. Effort – Any gardener knows that growing things takes effort. My fifty percent success rate in years past, meant that after weeks of watering, weeding, and mulching, only half of what I planted actually grows to fruition.
And yet, even with this obstacles in my way, every spring I get excited to put seeds into dirt and watch them grow. The weather warms, the birds start chirping and something in my brain convinces me to get my hands dirty once again. 
I’m not the only one. Big E loves to help me plant, watch the seeds progress and water the garden. He’ll look at the indoor starts every morning and report back with glee, “Mom! The tomato seeds sprouted!” or “Look! Broccoli!”
Perhaps his joy rubs off on my as well, because in addition to the pleasure of feeling the sun on my skin, accomplishing difficult tasks, and watching plants grow, I also get to watch my son and daughter grow. Respecting the earth is one lesson I want my kids to learn and planting a garden has been a great way for them to learn it.
When I plant a garden I’m growing more than just flowers and vegetables. I’m growing a love of nature in my children, smiles on their faces and joy in the fascination of life. And suddenly all the work is worth it.