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.

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!

Tater Tot was exclusively breast fed because booby is best!  Once Tater started on solid foods though, we’ve been feeding her Earth’s Best organic baby foods.  We feed her little in the way of processed or unnatural foods and avoid most things that retain pesticides and other harsh chemicals used in factory farming growing practices.  Tater doesn’t get much in the way of refined sugar either because both T and I have seen the outcomes of children who get way too much at an early age.

With that said, T and I have been trying to find recipes for a more natural first birthday cake.  We don’t necessarily want to go entirely vegan on this because little Tater Tot hasn’t made the decision to go that direction yet.  Tater’s Mommy and Daddy love their meat very much but we’ll support her if she eventually decides meat products aren’t for her.  Since we’ve been on the hunt, T pulled the Green Princess Cookbook from my book review stack and we began pawing through it.

Based on the title, you’d think there would be a lot of natural or in some way environmentally friendly recipes in this cookbook.  I wish I could say that was the case but instead, we found ourselves looking at a cookbook that had merely a sprinkling of the “green” idea laid out in its recipes.

The forward does recommend you try to use organic or locally grown ingredients whenever possible but this is a suggestion that virtually any cookbook author could slap in front of their recipe collection too.  The book is geared toward children and Beery did a good job including easy to make items like Organic Orchard Salsa and Solar-Power Strawberry Lemonade (which actually does have to warm up in the sun as part of the recipe).  They’re novel ideas and take a good step in teaching younger kids about organic foods and greener living practices.

You might be disappointed though when you come across recipes like No-Bake Brownie Cupcakes.  The idea is to use less resources by not using your oven to bake them but unfortunately the recipe calls for a package of brownie mix as its base.  We all know that’s not only resource intensive but surely there is a way to make your own no-bake brownie mix instead of trying to rely on another box of processed food.  The recipe for Off-the-Vine Zany Zucchini Muffins goes the same route, using a box of spice cake mix for its base.

I have to give Beery some credit for trying to spread the teachings of greener living to her childhood cooks.  There’s a greener living tip on each page and some recipes leaning toward learning about how to be sustainable like making your own butter.  Parents could expand discussions on each topic while helping their budding chef whip up their recipe and maybe teach them even more about living life a little greener.

I’m giving away a copy of the Green Princess Cookbook so if you’re interested in entering, here’s how you do it:

1)  First leave a comment on this post

2)  Secondly, send me an email to easygreen@greenpreferred.com with a favorite organic or green recipe you like to make with your kids or for them and a short story explaining why it’s your favorite.

3)  Finally, follow me on Twitter and re-tweet the following message:

“I just entered the Green Princess Cookbook for kids giveaway put on by @GreenPreferred.  Learn how to enter and win http://bit.ly/c1Phcu”

The contest will close on Friday, May 7th, 2010 and the person with the most creative recipe and story will win the cookbook for their budding chef.  Keep checking back for a free recipe or two while the contest is running. Good luck!

Mentally, we are definitely done with Winter.  I’m not sure what has all the sudden pushed us past the tipping point here in our household.  Maybe it’s the cabin fever talking but regardless of the reason, we want to see an end to our current season.

My "pile" of seed catalogs. It's one of my many piles that endlessly frustrates my poor wifey.

I’ve been trying to make myself feel better by burying myself with a pile of colorful and always enticing seed catalogs.  It makes me not only feel better but provides a little glimmer of hope that I will one day be back outside, enjoying the warmth and sunshine while laboring or simply enjoying our garden.

As you probably remember from previous posts, I’ve been toiling with my vegetable gardening “method” for the year.  Historically, our little family of three has moved just about every year, going from one rental to the next.  That won’t happen this year since we’ve actually solidified our existence and purchased a house.  Now we can put down some more permanent roots in our garden as well.

Last Fall, I took some time and read Lasagna Gardening.  I’ve known for awhile that no-till gardens are much more environmentally friendly and figured Patricia Lanza’s book might be enough to spur me in the no-till direction when planning our permanent veggie garden.  About halfway through her book though, I was frustrated.  What I needed to know, the way to lasagna garden, was literally two paragraphs worth of material in the beginning of the book.  Lay down a thick layer of newspaper to smother weeds and grass and then simply pile up loose, friable, organically supreme soil for your garden beds was the basic gist.  I’m glad I only checked the book out at the library and didn’t waste the money buying her book.  It was perfect for a beginning gardener who might be discovering this new found hobby but not for me.

I felt like I didn’t have many other options though and tried to mentally design how this lasagna garden would look in my backyard.  Our yard is already small and so I was really only looking to expand my vegetable space to about 19 feet by 12 feet, a little more than 200 square feet.  I started looking for cast-offs from everyone’s front yard, Fall decorations: straw bales.  Lanza’s soil mix suggests straw as a good component to help build your raised beds up above the original soil surface.  The idea is that the straw will compost with your other organics and produce a top-notch soil.

As Winter pushed deeper into the calendar, my straw bales sat untouched, well at least by me.  Dixie, our doofy but lovable dog, has been smart enough to use the straw bales as a warming perch this winter.  Every morning she sits with a yoga-like patience atop those bales, warms herself in the early morning sun and keeps watch for the mouser cat Haley to wander back from her early walk to eat breakfast.  The more Dixie sits, the more the straw bales break down making it easier to spread into future garden beds but frankly she seemed to be getting more use out of it as a makeshift sundeck.

Dixie sits atop her straw bale sundeck. It's a product of my procrastination and her keen, dog-like ingenuity. To the right you can see our composter, poorly visited bird feeder (which will be moved) and a torn up piece of trellis used to keep Dixie off of what was left of the collard greens.

Knowing my yearning to pick something, my wife gently nudged me in one direction with a little Valentine’s Day present.  It was Mel Bartholomew’s All New Square Foot Gardening:  Grow More in Less Space.  His concept, ditching the inefficient practice of gardening in long single rows, made much more sense for our tiny backyard.  I haven’t blogged a bit lately, in part because I’ve spent the past seven days reading Bartholomew’s book from cover to cover and embarked on the design process of our own square foot garden.  Check back tomorrow for more on how I designed our 2010 vegetable garden and what I’ve been able to get done so far.  Hopefully it will trigger you to start planning your own and make the most of your garden space and your wallet!

1)  Read the following Q&A topics with Lori Ryker

2)  Leave a comment below outlining how you would like to incorporate the use of alternative energy in your house.

3)  For a bonus entry, subscribe to my RSS Feed and leave a comment telling me you’ve done so

4)  For another bonus entry, follow me on Twitter and Tweet about this contest with the following:  “I just entered the Off the Grid book giveaway at http://www.greenpreferred.com” Leave me a comment telling me your Twitter name and that you’re now following and have Tweeted about the contest.

One winner will be chosen on Friday and will get their very own copy of the book in the mail.  You must contact me within 72 hours before another winner will be drawn.  Make sure to subscribe to my RSS Feed so you’ll be in the loop if you win.  Good luck!

The following is a continued Q&A with author Lori Ryker.  If you missed the first half, check it out here.

Q: You share stories about some of the homeowners or developers who have had to battle government decisions on just how environmentally friendly their home can be.  In particular, you shared a story about one homeowner not being allowed to install composting toilets.  What do you think needs to happen so more and more off the grid features can be built into new homes?

A: What needs to happen is more simply stated than applied. There needs to be a change in the mindset of municipalities. Change occurs through education. California has taken great first steps in initiating changes to codes in materials and water use. For instance, when California re-considered the use of strawbale construction they produced a book that became a definitive resource that other entities could use as backing to create change in their own towns and states.

Q: You point out these homes give their occupants an experiential benefit to their passive designs.  Describe what that “experiential benefit” is all about and why people should experience it.

A: Some of this “experiential benefit” relates to the question 2. The simple act of opening a window to let the outside air in creates an undeniable link between where we are and how we are. A breeze coming into a home in the morning not only reminds us of the fact that there are particular qualities outside, it allows us to experience and  be a part of the place as we experience the air, rather than separate from the place as we are when the windows are closed and we are employing mechanical systems. Passive design requires us to maintain a specific rhythm of living in a particular environment. For instance in a more temperate climate windows may stay open all day during most seasons. Historically, in hotter climates, windows were typically opened late at night or early in the morning to allow the cool air into the house for the day, and then the widows were closed and curtains drawn for the majority of the day to retain the cool air, rather than continuing to allow the air in as it warmed through the day.

Passive heating not only warms a house through solar heat, we are reminded of the change of seasons as the earth shifts on its axis to allow the sun to come into the house. This change not only warms a house, but changes quality of light in the house. The experiential benefit is that we are reminded that we are living and breathing and that there is great beauty in the world if we choose to experience it – through quite simple means.

Q: What inspired you to put this book together?

A: I believe that we must change the way we are living, not only for ourselves, but for the world. We must all take responsibility if we want change, through all means we are capable. Trained as an architect, this book is a natural link between my concerns for the health of the planet and designing.

Q: Are these design features difficult for architects to implement or is it something that could become relatively mainstream?

A: I think these designs are already mainstream. What is not mainstream is their affordability – due to the costs of energy systems. We must find more comprehensive ways to move our population away from non-renewable energy and into what we commonly refer to as “alternative.” A big change, which is not generally reflected in these homes, is that we must learn to live with less in terms of size. We continue to build homes that are more than we truly need, and it costs money (and wastes resources) to heat, cool and energize them.

Q: Do you ever think we’ll see the day where a majority of homes are built to off the grid or passive standards?

A: I think that we must see such change if we are to continue living on the planet with the positive conditions and qualities that we currently identify with the planet.If we do not, the planet as we know it will no longer support us.  I believe that passive strategies would be a strong first step because such strategies decrease our need and reliance on energy. With passive standards in place, I believe most of us would live in homes with integrated infrastructure that is tied to clean, renewable energy instead of non-renewable sources. Additional “off the grid” systems would be employed relative to the environment in which we live. For instance, collecting water on individual rooftops.

A new book profiling 10 modern homes and how they're built with alternative energy useage in mind

Lori Ryker, author of Off The Grid: Modern Homes + Alternative Energy, grew up in Texas and has lived several places around the world. She now lives in Livingston, Montana and teaches at Montana State University’s School of Architecture and is a partner of Ryker/Nave Design. I recently had the opportunity to ask Ryker some questions about her new book and her thoughts on the future of sustainable living.

Q: What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about living off the grid?
A: That someone else should take the first step, that alternative energy is something of the future.

Q: You discuss how you think living off the grid brings people closer to where we live, making us more involved in how we live. Why do you think it’s important for more people to be connected to where and how they live?
A: Understanding where we live in the world and the reality of what it takes to live in that place (without the support of mechanical/big energy that creates a pseudo-environment) helps us take responsibility for the place in which we live, and the planet in general. Understanding the conditions of where we live help us make healthier and more responsible choices for environmental conditions such as clean water, air and landscapes; local food sources including plants and animals. Peter Berg coined a phrase in the 1970’s called bioregionalism, which addresses how we live in a place with particular identifiable physical and environmental features that then influence the use and consumption of local foods, materials and native plants, among other things. In the same way, living responsibly with alternative energy requires the knowledge and understanding of regions, bioregions and particular places so that we most efficiently employ the natural resource, such as sun or wind. Such a quality of life also makes us more grounded and invested in ourselves and the world.

Q: Have you found that a lot of people don’t think modern architecture and green features like off the grid living can be combined together?
A: No. I find that most people believe this relationship is normal. However, even three to five years ago this was not the case. There has been a strong and successful popular media push in the past few years to dispel the perception that living off the grid means living in the back-woods somewhere.

Q: You say the book is all about great living in great architecture. These homes certainly aren’t like the earth ships of the 60’s and 70’s are they?
A: No, but every once in a while I drive by an earth ship style place and think to myself, they are still quite sophisticated in their energy use and ability to connect people to the place in which they live, even if they do not appeal to everyone. I would argue that earth ships are also a “style” of architecture. An architect or designer could use the same materials and strategies of an earth ship today and arrive at a vastly different form of expression.

Q: You talk a lot about resource extraction and what you call “dirty energy”. What do you think it will take for people to understand how big of an environmental impact their home has?
A: A completely different way of evaluating home construction and energy use. Such as how bank loans are made, or how homes are taxed, how a builder accounts for the construction of the home and the materials used. In the meantime, we need alternative energy to become more affordable, better methods of measurement of an individual’s energy use and means to control particular components of energy use. Such as being able to separate out use of heating and cooling from media, not simply unplugging. We need more accountability. Simple things such as timers on lights and showers that are already in use in other parts of the world. These strategies remind us that the Earth is not limitless.

Keep checking back for the second half of my Q&A with Lori Ryker coming up later this week.  That’s when I’ll also post the details behind how to enter the contest to win a copy of Lori’s book.  You can get an early entry now by subscribing to my RSS Feed and then posting a comment on this article.

Alice is a staunch advocate of local farmer’s markets and stands strong in support of sustainable agriculture.  Her L.A. based restaurants, including the world reknowned Chez Panisse, utilize price fixed menus that change daily as farm fresh produce becomes available and goes out of season.  She’s also spearheaded the planting of a vegetable garden outside San Francisco’s city hall, a new classroom program that gets kids outside into a garden teaching them how to grow their own fresh and sustainable food and how to cook it and recently a call to plant a victory garden outside the White House.  You too can sign the petition to the Obamas by clicking that link.

If you didn’t get to see the story, I recommend you click this link and watch it now:

Alice Waters’ Crusade for Better Food