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Home Grow Micro Farms – Save Time and Eat Healthier in 2011!

by Haley · 12/30/10

Talk about starting the New Year off on a healthier foot! Who doesn’t want garden-fresh veggies to choose from when dinner time rolls around? But say what you will about gardening, no matter how much you might love it, it’s very time-consuming. If you are a just-picked veg lover, but have trouble with the preparing, planting and watering part of keeping a garden, check out Home Grow Microfarms, which is very much what its name suggests.

The vegetable boxes are delivered to a home or office with the plants established and within 30 days the first harvest is ready. Home grown produce not only tastes better than grocery produce, but it is an awesome way to reduce your environmental footprint. Long distance transport, harmful pesticides, and genetically modified seeds usually associated with commercial farming aren’t used (Home Grow Micro Farms uses organic seeds and fertilizers, as well as a water-saving irrigation system).

And, they’re twice as productive as a normal garden bed! When you are done eating all the yummies they contain, the company will come pick them up and set you up with a fresh batch. Check out what’s available each month; in January you can choose from a greens box, and herb box, a watermelon box and more! Mix and match to your heart’s (or your bellie’s!) content!
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farm, farms, Home, micro farms

Eco Chick Giveaway: Target Earth Day Giftbag

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by Starre Vartan · 04/19/10

In honor of Earth Month, THREE lucky Eco-Chick readers will win and Eco-Starter Kit from Target. Making small changes, even during typical daily routines such as brushing your teeth and washing your hair can have a positive impact on the Earth.

The Target Eco-Starter Kit includes the following items (for more ideas visit the new eco-boutique):

Target Eco-Starter Kit:

* Home Organic Towels
* Dr. Bronner’s Organic Fair Trade Shikakai Soap
* Burt’s Bees Shampoo and Conditioner Value Pack
* Conair ECO Ionic 1400-watt Dryer
* Radius Source Toothbrush 3-pk
* H2O Eco Bottle (stainless steel)
* Reusable Tote Bag GiftCard
* Standard Reusable Shopping Bag
* Organic Archer Farms Fruit Bars

To win, leave a comment below telling us which product you’d most love to try and why. When you fill in the comment field, it will ask for you email address. This is the address I will use to contact the winner, so use a real email. There are three winners for this one!

Deets and Promises: Eco Chick does not sell, lease or lend any email addresses we collect. Giveaway ends Friday, April 23rd 2010. Good luck!

“Per FTC guidelines I am disclosing that Target is providing the product which will be given to the three readers.”

art, Burt's Bees, car, earth day, eco, Eco-Chick, Fair Trade, farm, farms, fruit, giveaway, Hair, Home, Organic, reusable, Shampoo, Shopping, soap, Target, towels

Barefoot Walking and Running: Best of Both Worlds with Vivo Barefoot Sneakers

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by Starre Vartan · 09/11/09

My Viva Terras. Cute on the trail or off.

Last summer, I was walking up from the beach at Gay’s Head on Martha’s Vineyard. (They’ve renamed the place Aquinnah, but I’m sticking with the original name, thank you very much) and then headed up the steep dunes, and over the top. When I got to where the sand meets the more rocky soil, I stopped to put my Chakos back on, but then decided to go barefoot instead.

As I walked up the path, seagrasses waving in the setting sun all around me, I could feel what was beneath my feet change. It started more sandy, and warmed from the sun, then small pebbles cropped up, and as I went around a bend, I felt the ground cool and dampen and the pebbles recede into the soft, more claylike walkway. As I headed up another rise, warmth again seeped between my toes, and as I reached the road to wait for the bus, the concrete burned my feet and I put my shoes on.

On that ten minute walk, I remembered something I knew as a child, which is that you miss tons of information from the earth when constantly wear shoes. I used to spend entire summers essentially barefoot (I grew up at the end of a dirt road in the Hudson Valley) and when I was 8 I could have told you how long it had been since rain from the viscosity of the mud that pushed between my toes since I spent hours I playing in the wetland next to my house. I don’t know if I could tell you that now, though I’m certain I could learn again.

Men’s Vivo Barefoots at the Terra Plana store.

So when a couple months ago I heard about the barefoot running movement, and the new book, Born to Run, I was intrigued. The premise is that our fancy $200 uberpadded sneakers are actually BAD for our bodies when running, and can actually cause or exacerbate injury. Which makes sense if you think about the fact that we have only been wearing such contraptions for about 20 years (flat, unpadded Converse All Stars were the sneaker of choice for basketball players for years). So I went hiking with a friend in Connecticut and took off my sandals and did a bit of trailrunning with naked feet, which was fun as long as I was careful (and this forces one to focus on each step, which is interesting). And then…

book, car, comedy, decor, eating, farm, farms, health, Home, humor, kids, media, MTV, Organic, shoes, spa, style, summer, Target, Technology, trike, tv

Food Democracy Now! Petition Sustainable Choices for the USDA

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by Kimberly Jordan Allen · 12/29/08

Food Democracy Now! is a grassroots campaign comprised of farmers, writers, activists, policy advocates and people who eat. A petition is circulating to bring our attention to the desperate need for sustainable practices regarding food. The Food Democracy Now! petition asks President-elect Barack Obama and newly appointed Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack to consider leaders for the Under Secretary level who understand organic and sustainable agriculture.

While some are more concerned with the appointment of Vilsack, Dave Murphy of FoodDemocracyNow! remains hopeful;

We understand that many in the sustainable agriculture community are disappointed with President-elect Obama’s selection of former Iowan Governor as our next Secretary of Agriculture. Concern over his record regarding genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and the proliferation of confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) during his time in office have given many in this community pause over the type of change he may be willing to implement as the head of the USDA. The fact is that many in Iowa who have worked with Gov. Vilsack in the past have always appreciated his willingness to listen to the concerns of family farm and rural advocates and believe that he may be able to realize more progressive change at the USDA as he will not be hampered by a Republican House and Senate as he was as governor. We are also encouraged by the fact that President-elect Obama has committed to payment limitations, eliminating subsidies for factory farms and labeling GMOs in the human food chain.

Twelve sustainable choices are listed at the end of the petition. FoodDemocracyNow! is working hard to get 100,000 signatures by January 1st, 2009. To join the likes of Bill McKibben, Michael Pollan, Wendell Berry and Eric Schlosser, just to name a few, SIGN IT!

agriculture, community, farm, farms, Food, mckibben, Michael Pollan, NYTimes, Obama, Organic, Outdoors, sustainable, USDA

Simple Ways to a Green 2008 Holiday

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by Kimberly Jordan Allen · 12/21/08

Every year there are things we do to minimize the consumptive haze. This year, with the economy being what it is and people mowing each other down at Wal-Mart, many are choosing alternatives to corporate Christmas debris. Here are some of the tips that help my family to slow down, enjoy each other and breathe.

1. Get Outside: This is always the number one answer for us. When cabin fever settles in or the air is getting stale, we head for the wild. Today we took our screaming toddlers for a cross-country ski. The gray sky broke as the sun set behind snow-covered trees. My son, who only has a few words (mama, dada, eat, lulu doggie) said “Weeeeeeee” as my husband glided on the snow. Moments like this make it worthwhile.

2. Avoid wasting energy with lights, inflatable snowmen and massive automated plastic snowglobes (these strange spheres that send styrofoam snow in circles are perhaps one of the signs of the capitalistic Apocalypse?)

3. Make stuff: This year I made my tahini, garlic, lemon dressing for friends. My hubby makes a mean roasted butternut squash soup with garlic, ginger and cinnamon and we put it in mason jars with a bow. I have friends who knit, make homemade lip balm, and create art to share with loved ones.

4. If you use Christmas trees, there are several sustainable options. One choice is to use a potted tree. If you don’t want to keep it after the holiday, you can find a planter who will take the tree. Here is a great resource page on how to manage live trees. Some municipalities collect trees for mulching. Use Earth 911 to find your local waste management. Fresh Christmas Tree is a great place to find sustainably harvested trees, but by this time of year they are usually sold out. They might be able to refer you to local farms that are growing trees responsibly.

5. Recycle Wrapping: instead of spending money on wrapping I actually save old wrapping and ribbons. Gift bags get used multiple times in our house. Re-gifting is also a really good way to avoid wasteful spending.

6. Donate to a cause: For those who don’t need ‘stuff,’ giving to local charities is a great way to give a gift with meaning.

7. Give an experience: Yoga classes, massage, theater tickets, or an afternoon of hiking…

Here is an excellent resource for other environmentally conscious holiday ideas. Mahalo!
Wishing everyone warmth for the season.