My Poor Seeds :(

OMG... It's so sad. I have delayed writing this post because I was in mourning.

For about the first 4 weeks of my baby seeds lives, they were looking good, they were growing their "true leaves". I had hope I had developed my green thumb, and then it happened. What "it" was, I still don't know.

The soy bean plants grew to 2 feet long with lots of leaves but they didn't look right. All the seeds were still in the little peat disks that you add water too and they expand. All my gardening books said to transplant to 4" growing pots, so I did. But by that time, everything was already looking sad.

Basically, everything stopped growing. The squashes all started getting yellowish leaves or mold. I tried hardening them off to help absorb any excess water (which I thought was the cause of the mold) but that just made them shrivel up. I transplanted every plant that still seemed strong, and my weather is good, so I left them outside. Maybe that was my problem. But I thought once they developed their true leaves they should be strong enough to harden off and keep outside????

Fortunately, all my local hardware stores right now have tons of vegetables and herbs right now, and it was impossible for me to not buy a grocery store of produce. So I planted all that I bought

so far: Blue Lake Green Beans, Sweet Peas, Corn, White Onion, Leeks, Bell Peppers, Tomatoes, Basil, Cilantro, Parsley, Chocolate Mint, Artichokes and 2 different kinds of Strawberries.

I still have squashes and cucumbers to plant. My husband said he will build me a raised bed in a different part of our yard designated for pumpkins or whatever. I did plant watermelon seeds straight into the ground, so we will see.

I really did want all organic and heirloom, but until I master starting plants from seed I will have to settle for what I can find at my local stores. If anyone has any suggestions, I am all ears...

Happy Birthday To Me!

My fabulous mother made me a vegan chocolate cake for my birthday and it was so good. I don't know where she got this recipe or who the originating author is, but thank you. It was moist, chocolaty and delicious.

This is what it looked like right out of the oven. When it cooled I added some homemade vegan frosting, which didn't look so pretty afterwards. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 Tablespoon vinegar
• 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup cold water

Preparation:

In a large mixing bowl, mix all dry ingredients first, then add wet ingredients. Pour into 8 x 8-inch pan.

Bake at 350°F. oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until it springs back when touched lightly.

Everything Happens In Three's

My dryer stopped working last weekend. It still turned on, but it didn't heat up. Then yesterday the garbage disposal stopped working. It still turned on, but the blades didn't turn. It would make a low humming noise, but nothing would happen.

I started thinking, what next? What could possibly disrupt my harmonious life? Then I walked out to my garage to get something and I saw it. I had already broken it 3 weeks earlier. The lawn mower!!!

About 3 weeks ago I was mowing the lawn, a pinch wet, set a little too low, and the grass was way too long. I bent the crap out of the blade. It might be a simple replacement, but no one has gotten to it yet.

Thankfully, it is winter and the lawn is somewhat dormant. Luckily, because it is winter, today was probably low 60 degrees, a few random clouds and the sun was out. I did 3 loads of laundry and hung them out to dry.

Seeds Are A Growin...

It's been 3 weeks for my first round of seeds, and 2 weeks for my second round of seeds. They have been happily growing in my 4 shelved indoor green house. I added two grow lights and I fed them a bit of fish emulsion.

I picked up The Vegetable Gardener's Bible a week ago and blasted through it. I really needed more instruction for germinating and caring for my growing babies. I started so many, I am paranoid I am going to mess them up and they will all die. YIKES!

I ordered 4" plastic potting containers to re-pot the tomato plants. (I read that somewhere.) So I will transplant all these, shown below. Most of them are getting their true leaves. ( I read that somewhere too.) My understanding is, "true leaves" are the leaves beyond the first two that sprout.

The plants below are soy beans (which are the largest), squashes, and some other things.

If you see anything wrong with my babies so far, please let me know. But here is my progress so far.

I Got My Seeds!

I am excited to share with you I ordered seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (www.rareseeds.com) and they arrived. It took a little less than one week from ordering online to finding them in my mailbox. And they even sent a FREE packet of Cilantro, which I had wanted and forgot to order... yay! I promise I will take pictures of the beautiful seed packets as soon as possible.

I ordered a bunch of different bell peppers, tomatillos, artichokes, squashes and melons. I might not be successful at all I ordered, but I'm going to give it a shot.

About a week ago my son helped me start my first round of indoor seeds. I had purchased a four shelf indoor greenhouse which was a good deal at my local grocery store. We started somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 seeds, heirloom tomatoes, soy beans, pumpkins, squash, zucchini, etc. Over half of those seeds germinated in 4 days. It was so fast. (The photo above was of my son helping start our first round of seeds with what we had saved from last year.)

So now I have 8 inch sprouting plants that have gotten too big too fast. I had to google what to do next since I am still new at starting seeds and gardening. What I found was, when new sprouting seeds are too tall and spindly they need more artificial light and a re-creation of wind with small fan.

So over the next day or two, I will be looking into a light or lights to connect and I already have a small fan. Wish me luck! I am too excited about my upcoming garden to lose all these beautiful plants.

Saline Nose Spray: Is It Safe for Infants and Children?

I recently had a friend call me because his four month old has his first little cold and the doctor has told him to get some saline nose spray at the pharmacy to help with the congestion. He wanted my opinion on whether or not I had used or would use this product with my daughter.

He reminded me that a similar thing had happened with my daughter who was sick when she was an infant. I was told the same thing by her pediatrician and so went to the pharmacy to get some saline spray for my daughter to help her breathe better. After going to the pharmacy to buy the saline spray and realizing that not a single one of them was just made with salt and water but rather a bunch of preservatives were added, I purchased a few different ones but then never got up the courage to use them.

Now that my daughter is not sick and I am not a frantic parent just trying to figure out what to do, I want to share some of what I have learned about these saline nose sprays and what I would do if I were in the same situation again.

First let me start by telling you what I would do and then I'll explain why. I would make a home made remedy of salt and water and drop into my infant's nose. After searching on-line and finding a number of odd remedies, the one I like the best is from the www.theasthmacenter.org which says the following:

"Alternatively saline solutions can be made at home by mixing 1/2 teaspoon of noniodized salt in 8 ounces of sterile distilled water (contains no minerals). The unused portion of the homemade saline can be refrigerated and used for up to 5 days.

Nasal saline can be sprayed in the nose as a mist or sniffed in or squirted in with a bulb syringe. The saline can then exit the nasal passageway or pass through the back of the throat."

If that didn't work I would do what Dr. Murray Grossan (ear, nose and throat specialist in LA - read more about him below) recommends:

"You can find solutions, enhanced nasal/sinus moisturizing formulas, which contain the same constituents as Boek's Locke-Ringer's Solution, including Soda Bicarbonate, Potassium and Calcium Chloride, and Salt. It doesn't contain any of the additives or preservatives now known to be harmful to the nose/ sinuses. By using a product free of irritating additives, in a more "friendly" mix, patients can benefit by use of moisturizing solutions".

I found a product on-line called Breathe-Ease, which is made using the Locke-Ringer's Solution which Dr. Murray Grossan recommends.

This is why I would not purchase the regular saline nose sprays available at the drug stores:

According to Dr. Murray Grossan, an Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Towers in Los Angeles, many of these nose sprays contain preservatives including the following:

Nasal Spray Additives:

Benzalkonium (Benzyl Alcohol)

Thimerosal (Merthiolate) (Edetate Disodium)

MonoBasic Sodium Phosphate (Providone)

DiBasic Sodium Phosphate (Disodium ETA)

Potassium Phosphate Monobasic (Iodine)

Phenylcarbinol (Sodium Silicoaluminate)

These preservatives can cause burning and in some cases make the condition even worse. Not to mention, I try to avoid preservatives as much as possible, especially when it comes to infants and children. Read Dr. Murray Grossan's full article here... I would (it's a short and easy read)! Also, click here to check out the Breathe-Ease information on the Allergy Relief Center website.

Stay well!

White = Green: Did you know that a "cool roof" can save you 10 - 20% on your electric bills?

What is a cool roof? A cool roof is a roof made from materials that reflect the sunlight rather than absorb it.

The photo above from a company called Pacific Weathershield really helps to explain how a cool roof really helps to reflect rather than absorb the heat.

One way to create a cool roof, according to The Department of Energy, is to paint your roof white, however, this could be an issue for your neighbors if your roof is easily visible from the street and therefore not very esthetically pleasing. Not to mention, if your roof reflected light towards your neighbor's home. Part of the philosophy behind green building involves minimizing pollution including noise and light pollution so I don't think this is the best idea. However, depending on your roof pitch and other factors this could be a viable alternative to other options such as a new roof.

If you are in the market for a new roof then I would seriously recommend considering a cool roof. We have installed cool roofs right her in Alameda and you would not be able to tell just by looking at the roof. Roofing companies have shingles that look to the naked eye to be just like every other shingle but are a lighter color and actually work to reflect the sunlight away from the home. They are available right here locally. Feel free to contact me for local resources.

In addition to the savings on your utility bill, the Department of Energy says that a "cool roof" is one of the biggest single changes a home owner can make in order to combat global pollution. U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu also said that making roads and roofs a paler color could have the equivalent effect of taking every car in the world off the road for 11 years! White or light colored cars are another example of how we can make a simple choice that will effect global pollution.

This is another example of how spending a little more time and learning a bit more about green alternatives can pay off big time. Many green building options involve simple, small changes that result in big pay offs. It just takes some time to learn what your alternatives are.

Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have about green alternatives in the building industry. I have been studying green building for four years and have learned about and used many green products with great success.

For more information on cool roofs check out the following links:

http://www.mnn.com/the-home/building-renovating/stories/cool-roofs-basking-in-reflected-glory
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/energy/stories/us-wants-to-paint-the-world-white-to-save-energy