Organic food at Wal-Mart

At the Gristmill blog, there's a good article and ongoing discussion about the difference between organic and sustainable agriculture. The genesis of the article is Wal-Mart's pending expansion of its organic food section, which is bound to change the face of organic agriculture (and not for the better.)

Master gardener? Not quite yet

Last week I finished up the master gardener training class at URI–here’s my completion certificate. It’s good to be finished with class although I’ll miss a few buddies that I made. Hopefully I’ll see them around in different volunteer events.

Finishing the class doesn’t make me an “official” MG yet, though. I still have to complete 50 hours of volunteer work. By my account, I’m halfway there. Yesterday, I volunteered to work at the East Farm Spring Festival in Kingston, RI.

Eating locally: the 100 mile diet

I first read about The 100 Mile Diet on My Green Dream. It's an interesting idea from a couple of Canadians who decided they wanted be better global citizens and eat only local food a whole year.

Getting wild with native plants

I got a fun little gig as a "stringer"–that's journalism speak for freelance writer–at the Kent County Daily Times of West Warwick in Kent County, Rhode Island. They asked me to write garden and nature articles a few times a month. It's another way to get my name out there as a garden writer so I'm excited about it.

My first article, a story about the Rhode Island Wild Plant Society, was published yesterday. Here are few excerpts for those of you interested in native (and invasive) plants.

Pesticides reduce…erm, worm size

Well, previously I wrote that this was the #1 reason not to use a lot of synthetic chemicals on your lawn but I recently read about some other strong contenders:

Pesticides may affect penis size (did I really just use the p-word in my blog?!??!!?) 

What's really behind the plunge in teen pregnancy

CRIKEY! Men, it's definitely time to get rid of those nasty chemicals, yessiree!

Browns & greens: what to compost

Compost happens when yard & food waste are combined with oxygen in a way that stimulates microbial decomposition. Microbes such as bacteria, fungi, and molds are attracted to the pile by carbon and nitrogen—their favorite foods. These microbes in turn entice organisms such as earthworms, millipedes, and beetles to the pile…and together they have the biggest food binge you’ve ever seen.