It's Easy Being Green

Do you ever get yourself from point A to point B using pedal power? If so, you may know this week marks Bike to Work Week, a part of the broader Bike Month sponsored by The League of American Bicyclists.

Whether biking to work or school, a run to the grocery store or just a fun ride on a local trail, biking not only saves time and money but also your health and the environment too. There are many benefits to leaving your gas guzzling car behind every once in awhile and exploring your community from a bicycle.

As part of Bike to Work week, I’m giving away two different books on bicycling to two different winners!

Bicycling A ReIntroduction is an awesome visual reference to help you choose, repair, maintain and operate a bicycle. The big visual reference book packs more than 125 pages of information on everything from why you should get on a bicycle, choosing the right bike and even how to fix a bicycle. This guide seems perfect for a person just looking at getting into bicycling and is a well-rounded guide that will lead you through all the do’s and don’ts with plenty of pictures too!

Complete Bike Maintenance: New and Expanded Edition is another fantastic, full-color reference guide focused on bicycle repair. Packed with giant photos, this book contains nearly 200 pages of detailed instructions on how to maintain and fix road, mountain and commuter bikes. From braking systems to gears and hubs, this reference guide seems better aimed at more advanced bicyclists who are interested in taking the time to fix and repair any issues with their bicycle themselves.

If you’d like to win one of these full color books on bicycling, post a comment below and tell me which book you’d like to win. Also let me know how often you bike and where you go!

Unfortunately in the Tri-State region there are no Bike to Work Week events listed or planned. The Evansville community doesn’t sport much in the way of bike lanes or even bike friendly streets which is a shame. I hope city leaders will one day decide to overhaul some of the city’s major thoroughfares and make them more accommodating to people on bikes. Out of 244 ranked communities, Evansville ranks 184th. Are you curious to know which communities are the most bike friendly? Check out the breakdown here.

The Evansville Trails Coalition is continuously fighting an uphill battle to construct and introduce more trails for outdoor recreation in the Evansville area. The group has already helped to spearhead a trail across the downtown riverfront which is super but more needs to be done. View local trails and efforts at the Evansville Trails Coalition website. In the meantime, check out the Bike to Work Commuter’s Booklet or Smart Cycling Brochure.

Popularity: 2% [?]

As you round out your seed orders for the 2012 vegetable garden, have you considered adding any heirloom vegetables or fruits to your shopping list? This year we are making the push to dive even deeper into heirlooms and I encourage every gardener and homesteader to do the same.

Heirlooms are open-pollinated varieties of plants that are often 60 or more years old. Most date back 100 years or more. Heirlooms are the truest plants, often showcasing eyestopping individuality and some of the finest flavors you can get in a fruit or vegetable. Aside from sticking it to large agri-business based seed companies who deal in hybrid or Genitically Modified seeds, heirloom seed can be saved and replanted year after year. You can read more about it here.

If you’d like to learn more about heirloom gardening, you should pick up a copy of a brand new book on the subject. The Beginner’s Guide to Growing Heirloom Vegetables: The 100 Easiest-to-Grow, Tastiest Vegetables for Your Garden by Marie Iannotti.

If the 250 pages of scintillating photographs of heirlooms don’t have your taste buds watering and your green thumb twitching, I’m not sure what will. Iannotti gracefully shares her 100 favorite heirlooms, treasures that should be kept under lock and key. She also shares the wonderful stories that round out the unique history of each featured heirloom.

Don’t let the title fool you either. This book should also be a prize for any gardener with more advanced skills. I give it two green thumbs up!

Now you can win a copy of the book along with a spectacular heirloom garden prize pack including 35 packets of heirloom seeds and a bareroot tree! Click the link to head to Timber Press and enter The Heirloom Garden Giveaway

What’s your favorite heirloom fruit or vegetable to grow?

Popularity: 14% [?]

If you are considering adding a flock of “spring chickens” to your backyard this year but are fearful of them destroying your garden, there is a new book out that might alleviate your fears. Free Range Chicken Gardens: How to Create a Beautiful Chicken Friendly Yard by Jessi Bloom is just out in print and tackles the very fear that keeps so many from the enjoyment of raising their own backyard flock.

Along with providing you with fresh eggs, chickens can provide your garden with some nutrient-rich manure to help your garden really grow! You can also make plant selections for your garden that will benefit your feathered friends too. Bloom, a landscape architect by trade, covers several topics including chicken-keeping basics, simple garden plans to get you started, tips on attractive fencing options, the best plants and plants to avoid, and step-by-step instructions for getting your chicken garden up and running.

The photography throughout the book is wonderful, profiling several different gardens that also happen to house a flock of backyard birds. For anyone who wants a fabulous garden where colorful chickens happily roam, Free-Range Chicken Gardens is the guide that will bring the dream home to roost.

Get your chicken garden started off on the right foot by entering the publisher’s contest. Just head to their contest entry page but hurry, the deadline to enter is tomorrow, February 17th, 2012. Timber Press is giving away the following:

• $50 gift card for chicken feed or supplies from McMurray Hatchery
• One chicken coop plan from The Garden Coop (a $20 value)
• 1 lb. of organic chicken forage blend and seeds for chicken-friendly plants from Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply (a $20 value)
• A copy of Free-Range Chicken Gardens

Popularity: 7% [?]

I’m really excited about two new books to land in the Green Preferred book nook this week and you have the opportunity to win some great reads for yourself.

First up is The Meat Goat Handbook – Raising Goats for Food, Profit, and Fun by Yvonne Zweede-Tucker. While popular in many other countries around the globe, goat meat hasn’t really caught on with American consumers until just recently. Often called Chevron or Mutton, goat meat can sometimes be found roasted or barbecued. This is where I first tried it: a local barbecue joint with a lore about a mile long. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised when I tasted it and even went back for seconds.

Goat is the most consumed meat in the world behind pork, beef and chicken. With few people raising meat goats these days, many can find it a rewarding and profitable farm business. Who better to turn to for advice than Tucker who boasts more than 20-years in business as a profitable goat rancher. Tucker has learned the ins and outs at her Smoke Ridge Ranch in Choteau, Montana and shares those lessons in her book.

The 200+ glossy pages are packed with full color photos, many taken by Tucker herself. The Meat Goat Handbook is very easy to read and includes clear cut information ranging from breeding and housing your goats, proper birthing methods and even how to successfully run your meat goat business. The end of Tucker’s book is punctuated with a few handy recipes to cook up all that healthy meat too.

By the way, did you know goat is leaner and contains less cholesterol and fat than lamb or beef?

The Boer goat is a widely kept breed for meat production

I’ve always been entertained watching the antics of goats at the petting zoo or other farm operations. Now I think I might just be swayed to try raising a couple myself. We’ll first have to upsize from the Half-Acre Homestead though!

Now is your chance to win a prize pack of goat-related reads. Thanks to our friends at Voyageur Press we have two more books to give away: The Field Guide to Goats by Cheryl Kimball and How to Raise Goats by Carol Amundson. Post a comment below on why you’d like to raise goats and what breed you’re most interested in. Get a second entry by tweeting a link to this contest and posting the permalink and your email address. Good luck!

Popularity: 7% [?]

In usual fashion it seems Mother Nature has thrown us the ultimate tease.  Here in the Tri-State everyone was lulled into an idyllic, trance-like state with a string of several 70-degree days.  The sun has been shining brightly and like a kettle full of popping corn, the Bradford Pear trees have been exploding into full bloom this week.  A swift cold front has changed all that, sending our temperatures tumbling into the upper 20’s tonight.  Windows will go back up on the raised beds to protect swift growing, early spring veggies from a bout of frost tonight.

I consider us lucky though here at the Half-Acre Homestead.  While this plunge into winter-like temperatures can all but take the wind out of your puffed-up sails, many people are still in the deep freeze.  I have friends all over the country still shoveling snow and for them, spring gardening is anything but close.  Many zones still have another 6 weeks before they can start setting plants out and some are probably still deciding what to do with their garden this year.

If you’re still on the fence about how to dive into gardening this year, check out Jennifer Bartley’s new book The Kitchen Gardener’s Handbook from Timber Press.  More than 200 glossy pages of this paperback are chock full of design plans, seasonal checklists, fresh recipes, plant profiles and growing tips.  In her book, Bartley shows how easy and beautiful growing edibles can be when mixed into your ornamental landscape.  You can create a palette not only for your eyes but also for your belly.

I’ve pawed through several gardening books before but The Kitchen Gardener’s Handbook stands out from the rest.  Clearly written, Bartley organizes her book into four seasonal chapters.  She explains what you should plant during a particular season, how you should maintain it and finally what you can create with the resulting harvest.  Too often I think gardening books leave the reader seeking another source for recipes when trying to figure out how best to utilize their bumper crop of fresh backyard produce.  This book is a one-stop shop though, leaving little to be questioned for both novice and expert kitchen gardeners alike.

If you’ve never gardened before or have been considering taking your gardening chops to a whole new level, I would highly recommend this book.  The season by season kitchen garden plans and to-do lists is a gold mine of information for anyone wondering where to get started.

Popularity: 4% [?]

There’s been a lot of talk about how harsh our everyday, household cleaners really are.  Not only to ourselves but also to our environment.  We’re beginning to see some, commercially produced cleaners that are more natural and biodegradable.  It’s a small niche market right now but as the green movement picks up, more and more companies are turning to more sustainable options.  Not only will it be better for our environment in the long run, it will also protect our children from allergic reactions, poisonings and illnesses in kids associated with chemical-laden cleaning products.

Smaller companies like Seventh Generation are working to produce more natural cleaners and more sustainable lifestyles.  The Burlington, Vermont company lends its employees up to $5,000 to buy a hybrid car or make energy-efficient upgrades to their homes.  They also reimburse employees up to $500 for alternative commuting costs and gives them another $500 to buy energy efficient appliances.  The company also participates in a reforestation program in New Orleans.   Another company making environmentally friendly cleaning products is Method.

Even cleaning giants like Clorox are entering the green age.  This month they’re releasing their new line of cleaners called Greenworks.  The eco-friendly products will be sold right alongside their normal line and will apparently cost about 20% to 25% more.  As part of their move to get on the green movement, the Clorox company also purchased Burt’s Bees for $950 million back in November.

I’ve been interested in making some environmentally friendly cleaners at home.  I recently bought two different books that have different formulas and recipes for homemade cleaners.  I picked up Homemade: How to Make Hundreds of Everyday Products Fast, Fresh and More Naturally and 1,001 Secret Household Hints and Formulas.  I’ll of course post my thoughts on these books when they finally arrive.  I’m hoping they turn out to be helpful in our pursuit to continue living in a more sustainable way in 2008.

Do you have a homemade or store-bought cleaner that’s environmentally friendly and works great?  Post a comment and let us know about it!