I have to admit something. In addition to having a theme song for
every new adventure, I tend to decide on a project, embark on it
zealously and then move on.

I was writing an article on school gardens for Kiwi Magazine (Sept
issue) and decided the best way to get motivated was to finally find a
spot in my yard and create a vegetable garden. I had in mind that I
wanted to spearhead an effort to create a garden at my daughter’s
preschool and decided this was my audition to see if I could really
make it happen.

I had created a compost pile which was being turned into fertilizer
gold by thousands of hard-working worms. Unfortunately, that was on
the opposite side of the property from the perfect garden spot.

I read about lasagna gardening and decided that was the best route for
my garden since the soil was not rich and was also very rocky. I
carefully tapped a series of posts to mark my territory but ended up
making the garden way too big for my first attempt. It’s currently 8′
x 20′. I carefully laid newspapers on the ground and covered them
with about 5 inches of fresh compost which took me at least 10 trips
from the compost pile. Sweating profusely, I filled every inch of my
too-big garden with worm-filled compost.

I decided to plant tomato plants instead of starting with seeds
because I wanted immediate gratification. But, I did plant seeds for
cucumber, beans, watermelon and pumpkin and they’re all doing quite
well. This summer seems to be the perfect conditions for a vegetable
garden and the site I chose seems to be working out well.

I am only telling all of you this because I often just wing it. I
started throwing table scraps into a pile of leaves in a place where
my dogs couldn’t access and *poof* I have a very productive compost
pile. I toss in shredded newspaper and hay, turn it every so often,
but largely ignore it. The worms do all of the work.

I also largely ignore my garden. I just make sure it’s not too dry
and that the tomato plants are tied to stakes and leave it alone. I
don’t weed, trim, groom or talk to it. And it is growing like mad.

Some plants are faring better than others, but the lesson I learned is
to just give it a go and you’ll be so surprised. And, if it doesn’t
work the first time, step back, rethink it and try again.

The best part of all of this experimentation is that my daughter wants
to be outside most of the day to corral worms, water the garden and
check on her plants. I get great exercise from digging the compost
and then taking it for a ride in the wheel barrow. And, we all can’t
wait to taste the fresh vegetables that we grew without pesticides or
products.

Finally - A book about how to transform grocery produce into plants.

My daughter loves to plant. We really did bury a lollipop once
because she was convinced a lollipop tree would grow. Since I am from
a family of researchers, I thought that showing her that it wouldn’t
work was better than just telling her.

But, my daughter wants to plant everything. The seeds from her apples
and the various bits and pieces that drop from our trees. We rarely,
if ever, have had success in growing plants from seeds unless we
specifically purchased the seeds in a tidy little packet. The only
exception we have is when some pumpkin plant mysteriously grows out of
the compost pile on its own accord.

There is a new book called Don’t Throw It, Grow It, by Deborah Peterson
and Millicent Selsam (Storey Publishing, 2008), which is the definitive
guide to growing plants from kitchen scraps. It tells you the best way
to prepare the seeds or cuttings for planting and how to make sure
that your crop thrives. We’re going to start with a lemon tree!

I try to do something eco-friendly every day and add new things to my repertoire.

In addition to my newest eco-additions of a righteous, worm-filled compost pile and a new garden plot, I have tackled some other baddies to try to be better.

I don’t idle my car at the top of the driveway to get my mail. I am now getting into paper mache crafts and using recycled paper insead of heading to the craft store for more supplies.

But the one thing that is eluding me at present is all of the catalogues. I am very careful not to sign up for free contests and offers because, well, nothing is really free. But, if I get one more Oriental Trading catalogue filled with plastic trinkets, I am going to scream.

I signed up for GreenDimes (www.greendimes.com) which I think is a very good organization. The only problem is that I took the time to fill out all the forms, enter all of the catalogue names and customer numbers. I just went on the site to enter a few more and every single entry had an “action required” button.

So, each and every mail order company requires something different, all of which costs me money and more time. It is so frustrating. Some need a letter (which GreenDimes writes for you) but it requires a stamp (there are at least 20 of these on my list). Some require a payment to be removed (ok, it’s a dollar but requires writing a check).

I think these mail-order companies are purposely obtuse when it comes to removing my name, but it is automatic to get on the list.

So, what I thought would be a 15-minute project to up-green myself is taking a couple of hours. I have to be honest, I don’t believe that all of these companies will actually respond appropriately and quickly to my request.

I wonder if there is a way to refuse delivery and have all of the mail returned to them at their expense? Now, that would send a message loud and clear, wouldn’t it?

I’m interested in hearing about your up-greening experiences!

-Edamaddy, I mean Edamommy