Until now, there hasn’t been a channel dedicated to all things green & eco-friendly.  In collaberation with TreeHugger.com, Discovery launched Planet Green one month ago on June 4th.  On the air 24/7, you’ll find a wide variety of shows to help inspire you to live more consciously.  Offering a broad range of perspectives and ideas, all backgrounds and ages will be able to find something appealing.  

No matter what shade of green you are, learn how to reduce your carbon footprint on Wa$ted, follow the residents of Greensburg as they rebuild their town that was completely destroyed by a deadly tornado and how they are implementing eco-friendly design into their plans.  If you’re a bit (or a lot) star-struck, check out Hollywood Green as host Maria Menounos reports on how the stars are going green.  On location at Whole Foods Market, watch Emeril Lagasse whip up some healthy meals with local and organic foods on Emeril Green.  Hosted by Tom Bergeon (Dancing with the Stars host), each week Supper Club features a celebrity chef who cooks up a green meal for four green celebrity guests while they discuss latest happenings and controversies in the green movement.  If you’re into home design and renovation, tune into Renovation Nation, Greenovate or World’s Greenest Homes for some great inspiration and ideas. 

 To find out what channel it’s on in your area, click here. 

Summer offers an abundance of fresh fruits and veggies and I am a lover of salad, but not just your run-of-the-mill lettuce, tomato & carrot salad.  I like to load mine up with a ton of delicious and nutritious flavors, colors & shapes.  Something so important during these budget-crunching times is to know when you should buy organic.  The Environmental Working Group released a list, based on USDA studies, with the most to least pesticides found in produce to help consumers know what is more important to spend our money on.  It’s definitely best to buy organic whenever possible, but we don’t always have the option or the cash flow, so here are the top 5 “best & worst”: 

 Most Pesticides Found (in order)

1). Peaches (highest pesticide load!)
2). Apples
3). Sweet Bell Peppers
4). Celery
5). Nectarines

Top 5 Least Pesticides Found

1). Mango
2). Pineapples
3). Sweet Corn
4). Avocado
5). Onions (lowest pesticide load)

With this in mind, I’ll share with you one of my favorite salads.  Feel free to take this to your 4th of July bash this weekend…it’s sure to be a hit!  (Remember to buy local whenever possible…hit your local Farmer’s Market for some good deals on fresh finds):

California Summer Salad

1 head organic red leaf lettuce 

1 organic orange bell pepper

1 organic yellow bell pepper 

3 organic red tomatoes on the vine (according to the FDA, the ones on the vine weren’t found to contain salmonella and okay to eat)

1 cup snap peas (cut in half with ends snipped off)

1.5 cups shredded purple cabbage

1 cup organic shredded carrots

1/4 cup toasted slivered organic almonds

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

2 organic avocados (sliced & served on the side so it doesn’t get mashed in the bowl with everything else)

Balsamic Vinegarette Dressing

1 cup Organic Olive Oil

1/2 cup Organic Balsamic Vinegar

3 organic garlic cloves (mashed in a garlic press)

2 Tbls. Organic dried basil

*Wisk together; add salt & pepper to taste.  

Serve in a beautiful bamboo salad bowl:

Oh, the dilemma…do you go for the cheap white or green plastic outdoor furniture that seems like easy maintenance but will get tossed around in high winds, likely crack and get “chalky” in the sun?  Do you opt for the real wood version that requires more maintenance and may splinter and fade?  Or should you get the metal set that will probably rust in a year or two?

What if you had another option that was virtually maintenance free, built to last  and was sustainable?  Well now you do!   Poly-Wood is made from recycled milk jugs, bottles and containers.  The heavy duty HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) plastic is formed to look and feel like real wood and then cut into slats that are used to build their chairs & tables assembled with rust-proof stainless steel screws.  (This same material is also used to build weather-resistent decks & benches as well).  The lightest chair weighs in at approximately 40 pounds, so you don’t have to worry about these blowing around in the wind.  They come in a variety of six bright summery colors and guaranteed not to fade.  With very minimal maintenance (wipe down with soap & water occasionally), these are built to last and resist outdoor elements.  Leave them in the yard, on a porch or even on the beach and they won’t fade, warp or lose their color. 

Poly-Wood Adirondack Chairs:

You have just one more week to prep for your 4th of July celebration…that day where family & friends gather together, eat too much food, play games or maybe just relax at the pool, park or beach in anticipation of the grand display later in the evening.  Lighting really sets the mood when you’re throwing a bash and what better way than to use the sun to power it; not to mention you won’t have to worry about the candles going out or unnecessarily using power to shed some light on your evening.  With a full charge these cool weather resistent, cordless, flame-resistent shoji lanterns will illuminate for 6-8 hours.  If you want to keep them up all summer, they have an automatic day/night sensor so when nightfall arrives, they’ll automatically turn on (or you have the option of manually turning them on or off).  They’re collapsible for easy storage and this set of three also comes in red, white & blue! 

Most gardens need more water than is provided through normal rainfall. Usually we must turn on an outside faucet and hook up the hose to provide our array of plants with the water they need. Rather than run up your water bill and draw from your community water supplies—often exhausted over dry spring and summer months—why not recycle?

Recycling water sounds strange, but it actually makes sense. Consider all the rainwater that runs off your roof and straight into the gutter. Collect this water instead in a large barrel and then use it to water the plants.

A barrel like the one from Green and More is ideal for the average home. It holds 60 gallons and comes with an overflow fitting, drain plug, screw on cover, and threaded spigot. Available in a variety of colors, these barrels are especially great because they’re repurposed. Originally used to import olives from Spain, Green and More barrels gain new life by becoming rain barrels.

Watering lawns accounts for an incredible 40 to 60 percent of residential water consumption during the summer months, making lawn maintenance not only a chore but also a drain on the pocketbook and water supply.

The addition of patios, decks, or flower beds also serve to diminish water use by replacing thirsty lawn that needs watering. Or don’t even have a lawn . . . according to Gardeners magazine, trees and shrubs grow better when the soil over their roots is covered with a mulch or ground cover rather than grass. Manicured grass competes for nutrients and water, and passing lawn mowers can injure stems and trunks.

Today, March 20th, marks the spring equinox or the very first day of spring. For many gardeners, however, it seems that spring has already sprung. Warmer temperatures, longer days and the occasional sighting of a beautiful butterfly say the growing season is upon us.

Birds, butterflies and sweet spring things—ahh all sounds wonderful, right? Well, maybe not? Scientists are concerned this year’s early signs of spring are more than just a pretty coincidence. According to the National Gardening Association, scientists working in a joint study from sites across Europe and North America have spent the last 50 years tracking the leafing and blooming timelines of native plant life. Their findings, dating back to 1955, prove that many plants are flowering days if not weeks earlier than they did 50 years ago.

It’s no surprise that many animals are responding to the phenomenon. Just a few slight adjustments in an eco-system can lead to an overwhelming snowball of changes. In this case, early budding changes the animal activities—foraging, waking from hibernation, preparation for mating—associated with the arrival of spring.

Given the concrete evidence of higher temperatures and the effects it has on growing periods and ecosystems in general, gardeners are gaining an even stronger concern for the changes in climate patterns. Now, more than ever, gardeners are realizing the importance of keeping the environment in mind. Consider joining their efforts to garden responsibly as you purchase environmentally responsible products for your garden this spring.

A duck swimming through an algal bloom. Photo courtesy of waterencyclopedia.com.

Conventional pesticides and strong fertilizers can lead to a plethora of problems in your plot.

Conventional fertilizer is made mainly from phosphorus, a natural element already found in most soils. Though phosphorous is natural and already in soil, adding additional phosphorus to soil is usually unnecessary and sometimes even harmful to the environment. In many cases, people put far too much fertilizer on their lawns. The excess phosphorous the disrupts their garden’s natural ecosystem balance. Causing certain plants to swell and dominate unnaturally—think plants on steroids.

Phosphate buildup can cause quite a nuisance in local water systems. Surplus phosphorous from conventional fertilizer can enter your garden’s groundwater stream, flowing through to local water bodies such as ponds, lagoons and lakes. Once saturated with displaced nutrients, these water pools can develop algal blooms–an explosive overgrowth of algae. In lakes, for example, one pound of extra phosphorus can create 300-700 pounds of nuisance algae. These algae blooms are not only unsightly, but worse, they’re often hazardous to the health of native fish and birds. They block sunlight from entering the water, thus preventing indigenous water plants from growing.

To make matters worse, consider how stinky algae can get. And your poor pond will look like it got slimed at Nickelodeon Studios. In sum, it all would make for a rather unpleasant swimming experience.

Given the above, responsible use of lawn and gardening products is important. Make sure you know what you’re doing. If you need to use fertilizer make sure it’s just the right amount and go for the organic alternatives.

Organic lawn care compared to contemporary intensive lawn care is much healthier for the yard the environment and in many cases your family. There are plenty of organic fertilizer options to choose from including a variety of organic foliar and soil fertilizers such as those made from fish, seaweed, or, quite simply, certifiably organic manure. In addition to organic fertilizers, natural soil supplements are also growing in popularity. Plant-Tone 5-3-3 is ideal for outdoor soil (it provides a light dose of enrichment that won’t disturb a garden’s natural balance), while container plants, window boxes will do better with something made specifically for the great indoors. Scotts Organic Choice Potting Soil is a popular choice.