Gardening · Eco-Chick

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Interview with Jess Woods: Mother Nature Meets Her Match

by Haley · 01/31/11

I met Jess Woods six and a half years ago. She’s a blonde, curly haired, blue-eyed lady who shouted love from the moment I worked with her. Fast forward to now for she’s a mother of two girls under the age of five, homemaker, and breadwinner with an adorable hubbie. She is a brilliant writer who let me know that I could write, but she also taught me a ton about being eco-concious before it was a “thing”. She’s the kind of gal who walks into a room, and things get a little bit better. Since she is so brilliant I had to ask to borrow a little bit of her time for an email interview!

Haley: Why was it important to you to have a house with a garden?

Jess: I’ve been trying, since I moved to New York permanently in 2000, to express how much I love this city. I love its architecture, its grid of streets above 1st and its paved cow-paths down in the Financial District. I love that there are 192 countries on this planet (as recognized by the UN) and that, last I heard, there are representatives for 191 of those living in this city and calling it home. I could go on and on here, but what I want to say, I guess, is that I cannot imagine a more vibrant place to raise my two daughters – a more teaching, generous, electric place than New York City in which to have them grow up.

I want to show them the world, and part of that is not just the world’s people and their cities, but nature and food and where that food comes from. We have been striving to eat organically, seasonally, and locally. These things are possible here, more so than is initially apparent. But there’s no way to do so more authentically than by growing food in your very own garden. So we’re doing that. Admittedly, last year was full of its foibles. My tomatoes were a disaster, for example.
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eco-aware, eco-baby food, eco-concious, eco-home, Gardening, gardens, Home, mother nature

The Botany of Desire, PBS October 28 at 8pm

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by Alicia Lubowski-Jahn · 10/26/09

Journalist Michael Pollan’s book The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World has been made into a documentary. The two-hour-long film is available on DVD and will be airing on PBS on October 28 at 8pm [check local listings]. Pollan’s tale reveals the deep interconnection between people and plants. Humans have been tantalized by the qualities of sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control and manifested these desires in the plant world.

Sweetness: Apples

Beauty: Tulips

Intoxication: Cannabis

Control: Potatoes

Apples, Tulip, and Pototoes from Di_The_Huntress photostream, Flickr
Cannabis from LancerenoK photostream, Flickr

environment, Gardening

Gardening in the Suburbs: Keeping it Local

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by Melissa Goldberg · 07/24/08

My family and I are strong believers in eating locally and organically. In the late fall, winter and early spring, we get food deliveries from a services called Door-to-Door Organics and in the late spring, summer and fall we are members of a local CSA called Asbury Village Farm.

However, the most local you can get is to grow in your own yard. One of the things my husband and I were excited about when we moved to the suburbs 5 years ago was to have our own vegetable garden. However, as it happened, the house we bought has a backyard that is totally wooded — almost 85% shade. Not very promising for tomatos and other veggies that need full sun. We could grow them in our front yard but these fruits and vegetables would be great eats for the plentiful deer, rabbits and groundhogs that inhabit our neighborhood (makes two liberals want to go out and get a gun!)

So after living in our town for about a year, we were going to the local playground with our son. We parked right in front of a community garden. The gate was opened and we walked in to see approximately 70 or so — 10 feet x 15 foot plots– filled with gorgeous vegetables, berries and flowers. Wow, so cool — we had find out how we could get a plot of our own. A small sign at the gate gave the address of the garden club that ran this community garden. My husband wrote a letter telling our story and requesting a plot to tend. While we waited to hear back we talked to everyone and anyone to find out who we could call to speed and influence the decision making process. I tracked down the woman who ran the club and we called her. We were told that there was a long waitlist for the garden and that someone had to give up their plot to for us to get one — but once you get one you can keep it for life! So, disappointed, we waited.

Then one spring the phone call came. There was a plot opening up and it was ours if we wanted it. The garden organizer warned us that it was next to a tree and was shaded, but the last person who tended it had pretty good success growing tomatoes and other veggies. We jumped at the chance to grow our own food. That was three years ago and this summer we were given a second plot, this one in full sun.

CSA, farm, Gardening, locally grown, produce

Why Not Weed Killer?

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by Starre Vartan · 03/28/08

I’ve recently been told weed killer is something to avoid using in the yard. But does a little really hurt?
—David Simons, Portland, OR

A spritz here, a spritz there—no big deal, right? The problem is, you’re not the only one who’s spraying to keep the weeds down, and it’s the cumulative effect of many people using just “a little” that amounts to a bigger problem. Every time you use a chemical in your yard or garden, it eventually washes away and joins the myriad other environmental toxins already present in our air, water, and soil. On top of the possible individual health impacts of each of those compounds, very few chemicals have been tested for how they interact with one another, meaning we’re running a big science experiment on the planet and ourselves. Avoiding chemical products is a sensible precaution.

One of the major concerns regarding the use of pesticides is their impact on water-bound amphibians, which have experienced steep declines in recent years. There are a number of natural ways you can keep weeds out of your garden while protecting waterways, including old-fashioned pulling, which works particularly well for annuals and tap-rooted plants. Ease plants slowly and carefully out of the ground to minimize disturbing the surrounding soil, which can make it easier for weed seeds to germinate. Another common method of removing weeds over large areas is to block sunlight with black or clear plastic secured to the ground and left for four to six weeks. As temperatures below the plastic heat up, subsurface roots and seeds should die.

Corn gluten meal—a by-product of corn milling—is a natural alternative to synthetic herbicides that can prevent the seeds of such weeds as crabgrass, chickweed, and dandelions from sprouting.

Above all else, prevention is a gardener’s best strategy for battling nuisance plants. “It’s always easiest to control weeds when they’re young,” says Norma Grier, the executive director of the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides. “Maintaining good mulch cover will suppress weeds. Help your lawn outcompete weeds by building healthy soil with organic fertilizers, mowing high and often, watering deeply but less often, and removing thatch.”

From Starre Vartan’s Green Guru column in Audubon Magazine.

Send your most vexing questions to greenguru@audubon.org

Gardening, Plants, Pollution, weed killer

How to Score an Eco Chick?

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by Starre Vartan · 10/11/07

Mr. EcoGeek himself (aka Hank Green) put together this hilarious piece on how to impress (read: seduce) a green girl with your enviro cred. Title: “EcoGeek’s Guide to Getting Girls”! Love it. Being a guy, naturally he wrote a lot about how to get a woman in bed, or at least into a sexy space. (Hey, nothing wrong with seduction, especially if it’s environmentally responsible). What a romantic! Hank, I kid. Since EcoGeek is happily married he’s obviously doing something right.

BUT I couldn’t resist the challenge. As a recently single-again Eco Chick, I have to make my own list. Now, I could have made one about how to seduce a Green Guy, but really, getting most guys into bed, green, purple or ahem, blue, isn’t all that hard, right ladies?

So I’m going to go ahead and ADD to Hank’s list, in which I give away a few of the secrets to getting an Eco Chick to a) notice you, and b) get that first kiss (and maybe more). I’m doing this as a public service to all those treehugging guys who are so busy saving the world they forgot how to flirt, or are maybe just a little shy. Because there’s nothing I like less than seeing nice guys finish last when it comes to snagging dates. Mens, instead of muttering “Girls only like assholes, so I’ll be one” and then going out and behaving like a neanderthal, try these good-guy tactics instead. You’ll help save our gorgeous planet and find someone to keep you warm this winter to boot (so you can turn down the thermostat another couple of degrees!).

And remember, the key to getting any woman is turning on her mind. And what’s on an Eco Chick’s mind? (I mean besides that!!)

Know Your Shit, Or Don’t Be Afraid to Learn
Environmentally oriented women tend to be well-educated (whether through the halls of academia or through seasons of anarchic urban gardening activism, we know our stuff), and smart, conscious women like men who are the same. But don’t fake it; you won’t be able to pretend you’re interested in and love the natural world if you’re not into it, so don’t even try.

If you are just learning to be green, that’s OK, just be open about it. A “teach me” attitude is always appealing to a woman who’s passionate about any subject, from permaculture to carbon trading. If you are an expert in a subject, flaunt it, but not too much. If she’s into a what you’re discussing, a cup of coffee so you can “really get into the details” is a smart, cute way to go (see below for more ideas).

Be Original
Think creative, think low-impact, think about what she’s into.
-Instead of bringing her flowers, bring her a jar of local honey (um, unless she’s a vegan! If so, organic agave nectar. Nonorganic agave is often not sustainably harvested.)
-Send her postcards made from recycled boxes, even if you both live in the same town. It’s fun to get mail.
-Listen (it costs nothing!! and only produces a little bit of CO2…)
-During a hike, or even just a walk in the park, whip out your iPod and play a song for her that pertains to the spot you’ve chosen to stop, showing her how you appreciate the natural world.
-Make her delicious organic, local or all-natural treats of some kind, and feed them to her.

Expect the Unexpected (and Appreciate It!)
Women who are dedicated to changing the world are probably a bit different from the norm; exactly how different and in what ways varies from woman to woman. Note and compliment the things that set her apart from other women and notice what makes her special. Why does she care so much about the planet/animals/organic agriculture/raw food? What is her ideal vision of the future? How does she envision getting there?

Work Your Green Guyness
If you already have awesome eco-man cred, show it off! She will see you in your element, which is always sexy. Never downplay who you are, it’ll come out eventually anyway…

Activist? Ask her to help you make posters, masks, think up slogans, or help you distribute information for your next action.
Locavore? Take her on an excursion to a little-known farm or local-only eatery.
Vegan? Ask her to help you walk dogs at the animal shelter.
Ecologist/Geologist/Biologist? Show her whatever your specialty is in a fun way. Bring her to a super-unique local ecosystem and show her what’s amazing about it, take her on a visit to a rare or interesting outcropping, or take her to the local nature center and show her your favorite interesting insect exhibit.
Environmental Writer? Give her a copy of the book that inspires you the most, with your favorite sections marked off, or go to a reading by your favorite writer.
Green Designer? Show her what inspires you and your designs, whether it is a natural space, an industrial wasteland or the dancing movements of a microscopic creature.
Politician? Ask for her opinion about a speech, op/ed or campaign points that you are working on.
Outdoor educator? Take her on a personalized adventure rappelling, white-water rafting, mountaineering, backcountry snowboarding, or whatever your specialty is. Pack a meal for the trip and include something small but special that shows you were thinking of her (her own caribeaner, quick-dry towel or an extra pair of socks).

And How To Get Her Into Bed…

If you’ve done a few of the things above, she will most likely be pulling you towards the bedroom, into the sleeping bag, or off the side of the trail for a little all-natural frolic.

What’d I miss ladies?? Add your original ideas (and thoughts of course) in the comments section below!