“How will you FilterForGood this Earth Month?”

Kenneth Moore tagged me in FilterForGood's Earth Month meme.

My Five-For-Good Answers:

1. I will grow my own food. Now that things are warming up my garden is finally getting somewhere. It's more affordable and more nutritious, not to mention sustainable.

2. I will purchase produce from my farmer's market. They're starting up again soon (and I cannot wait for fresh asparagus!) It's so important to buy food locally - not only does it support the local economy, but it cuts down on transportation (fuel costs, CO2 output, time)

3. I will trade my car keys for a bike lock. I got a sweet new bicycle last fall and I plan to use it when I go work out or run errands in town or go to the grocery store. I usually don't have to go much more than 5 miles (which works out to 30 minutes going slow so I don't get sweaty in nice clothes.) It has baskets on the back so I can carry quite a bit of stuff. And it makes me think twice before I purchase anything - "Do I really want to lug this 5 miles through traffic?"

4. I will try to cook more vegetarian meals that my husband can stomach. Since I'm a veggie and he isn't I usually cook whatever for myself and he gets an extra brat/chop/piece of chicken or something to satisfy his lust. There are few veggie dishes that he really feels satisfied after eating, so I'm going to try to find more.

5. I will turn off the HVAC. (heating, ventilating, and air conditioning) Again, maybe it's just the right time of year, but I think I can do a pretty good job of keeping my apartment between 60 and 80 just by opening windows and shutting curtains at the right time. I work from home, otherwise it might not be as doable. And it has to stay btw 60 and 80 so my fuzzy piggies don't get overheated.

What are your five-for-good? Participate!

The rules are simple. If you’re tagged, post five things you plan to do for the environment this Earth Month on your blog. At the end of your list, tag five of your favorite blogs, and include a link back to this post using the hyperlinked text “FilterForGood Blog Meme Contest.” Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs, or on their Twitter accounts (using the hash tag #FFGBlogMeme). Also, be sure to include these rules at the bottom of your post.

An Extra Bonus

At the end of Earth Month, FilterForGood will choose a few lucky bloggers who posted their five things to win some Brita/FFG gift packs to help you go green! Be sure you link back to the original meme post [http://www.filterforgood.com/blog/?p=1407] to enter the contest!

I’m not tagging anyone in particular, but if you come across this and feel like joining in leave me a comment so I can read your post.

Spring has sprung!

And it's lovely!

I built my first planter box. I used 30 pieces of 6x12" pine (that were intended to be broken by martial artists, but the lumberyard cut them with the grain going to wrong way) and held them together by 1x2" I saved from a studio project back in design school.

Materials

Finished box

I put a bit of window screen (left over from making lightsabers for Halloween) in the bottom since there are some fairly large cracks and I don't want to lose all my soil. Then I filled it halfway up with paper bedding for small animals. (I had to change and throw away my guinea pig's bedding anyway, so why not put their waste to my use.) So I won't have to fill the entire thing up with soil. That'll save me some money.

1/2 full box

I also got a 3 more dishpans and filled them with soil - they'll be for my snap, snow and garden peas. I also got a trellis rigged up for them that's made from scraps from that same studio project.

While I was at the garden center getting bags of soil (which were wet and very dirty - not fun to carry) I picked up a few violets, pansies, and hyacinths. I potted a few of the violets in a pot in my bedroom and they seem to like it, at least they've kept blooming. They hyacinths will stay outside until they bloom, then I'll bring them in so I can enjoy the fragrance.

I have lettuce and mesclun in 2 dishpans. I'd take a picture but they're just bitty seedlings now. The peas are pre-sprouting in the fridge. And the stevia is getting started in old egg cartons in a plastic bag. A couple have sprouted, I'll post a picture when there is a bit more of something to look at.

I wonder when Burpee will send me all my plants!?