Green Your Diet: Shade Grown

One way to green your diet is to switch to Shade Grown coffee only. It is a giant step you can make towards a more environmentally friendly drink as well as supporting a great industry that needs to grow bigger. Coffee plantations that are grown without the shade of tree uses tons of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides to do the work that can all be done naturally.

I found a great explanation to share,

"Traditionally, all coffee was shade grown. Most varieties of coffee are naturally intolerant of direct sunlight, and prefer a canopy of sun-filtering shade trees. The trees not only protect the coffee from direct sun, they also mulch the soil with their fallen leaves which helps retain soil moisture. The nitrogen-fixing shade trees enhance the soil, and also provide habitat for birds. The birds in turn provide natural insect control with their constant foraging. This sustainable method of farming uses little or no chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides."

Quote: http://www.eartheasy.com/eat_shadegrown_coffee.htm

New hybrid coffee beans were made to grow best in direct sunlight, but the consequences are devastating. Look for that seal, it matters.

Find this coffee online buy Google-ing "Shade Grown Coffee" and start looking wherever you currently buy coffee, if they don't carry it, ASK for it to be there! Now you know why it's important, so share it!

(Image:www.hiltonpond.org/images)

Eco-Friendly Lawn Mowers

Here's another wonderful post by my future sister-in-law Amy H. Enjoy!

If you live in an area where you can have goats, they make a wonderful addition to the family as well as providing a nicely trimmed lawn. Goats are low maintenance animals, as long as you have two of them (they are social animals) and have some sort of shelter for them (they despise the rain), they make nice pets. I would suggest getting younger goats so you can tame them or you may be able to find an old petting zoo selling their animals, so those goats would be super tame -- plus you would get a recycled animal. :)

We have a small herd of Nigerian Dwarf Goats, we bought them to keep the pasture trimmed and for weed abatement.
This past fall we borrowed a billy goat from our neighbors and our three females had babies in March, The baby goats are adorable and so much fun. They chase each other and hop around and play hide and seek. They are so sweet and gentle with our daughter.

The environmental upside is that we don't need to use a gas/electric powered mower or edger to keep our back yard and pasture weeds and grass under control. We rotate the goats to different areas on our property to keep the weeds away, so when the dog's yard is getting overly green, we put the dogs in the goat pasture and let the goats munch at the greens in the dog yard for a day or two.

When we sell our babies in June, the money we make will be enough to pay for the food for the goats for the upcoming year, so they are pretty much self-sustaining. Additionally, our neighbor offered to clean out the goat barn because the goat droppings and the hay had mulched and created a wonderful fertilizer for his family garden. Typically we only have to clean out the barn 2 times a year and we simply rake out the droppings into the pasture and the rain and sun break them down and all the nutrients go back into the land.

If we were up for more of a challenge, we could milk the goats and make goat cheese, goat milk soap, or simply drink the goat milk. But with full time jobs and an almost 2 year old, for now we simply have the goats as pets/lawn mowers.

Other than de-worming the goats two times a year and an occasional hoof trimming (depending on the goat, some goats have genetically better hooves that don't need as much trimming) and providing them with fresh water, a mineral block (ours has lasted over a year) and a bale of alfalfa grass--- that is about all you need for a happy, healthy goat. The benefit to you is one less chore in the yard -- plus the entertainment of watching the goats play.

Here are some links for more info on goats:
http://www.ndga.org/
http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/goats/a/goatsaspets.htm

I Suds You: DIY Project

Hi Everyone,

I have a great addition to UB (Urban Branches) today. My soon to be sister in-law Amy H. sent me a great post about homemade laundry detergent. I can't wait to make as soon as I have a free afternoon! I am already trying to figure out which essential oil I want to add. So here the complete recipe: enjoy, let me know how it works out! Love, Lindsay

p.s. look for more Amy H. posts to come!

My family is always looking for ways to save money and we have discovered that making your own laundry detergent is both eco-friendly and cost efficient. It’s also quite easy, a perfect Sunday afternoon project.
Homemade Laundry Detergent:
Ingredients:
· 4 cups water
· 1 bar of soap
· 1 cup washing soda (Made by Arm & Hammer)
· ½ cup of borax (this is not necessary – but it does kick it up a notch)
· A five gallon bucket with a lid
· Three gallons hot tap water

Step 1: Put 4 cups water into large pot over medium high heat

Step 2: Use a cheese grater and grate your bar of soap – if you use softer soap it will be easier to grate. Slowly add the grated bar of soap to your almost boiling water and stir it on occasion until all of the soap is dissolved.

Step 3: Put three gallons of hot water into the five gallon bucket and add the hot soapy water from step one and stir for about 30 seconds. Add the cup of washing soda – stir for another couple of minutes and if you are adding Borax, do so last and stir for a couple minutes.

** Optional: If you have any essential oils you had can add it to the soap mixture if you want the laundry soap scented. I have used Lavender oil before. Smells great while the clothes are washing!
Let the mixture cool overnight. In the morning you will have thick homemade laundry soap.
Both the Baking Soda and Borax–Borax is marketed as a laundry booster it is a natural mineral and is an alternative to the environmentally harmful detergents commercially sold today.
If you have an extra dirty load of laundry you can add extra borax.
GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY WASHING!! Love, Amy