Mar
29

Trials & Tribulations of a N00b Gardener

The first photo was taken April 15 last year, before my seedlings went into the ground. The second was taken today, 3 weeks earlier in the year... ... wow, this year's bunch looks so much better. I think I leveled up my gardening skills! I provided better light this year and I think that's what's made the difference. That said, I thought I'd share what went right and what went wrong last year, in case there are any ...
Mar
24

The Season's First Fruits

The Vegetannual as seen in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: click for interactive versionConsider the broken American food system: a farmer grows a crop (probably corn), sells it on the national market for a price that can't feed his family or even turn a profit on the crop (the government subsidies -- taxpayer money -- are what make it possible for him to keep growing it). It goes into a massive food machine that churns ...
Feb
21

It's the Little Things

We went out with friends this weekend, and Russ made a point of talking about how I don't use the straw that the restaurant passes out with the drinks. Yeah, it's a tiny bit of garbage, but how many straws have I used in my lifetime? How many does a family use in a year, if they eat out a lot?When it comes right down to it, most of the things I am doing are little things. The mass of the vegetables I'm throwing in ...
Jan
9

Now I've Done It

I did three things last year that I am really proud of: 1) I boycotted single serving plastic bottled beverages and bottled water for the entire year, 2) I converted to reusable shopping bags, and 3) I spent the year saying things like "Vote with your fork" and "Find out where that stuff you're eating came from."I was so proud of #1, which was my New Year's Resolution, that I decided to make another one this year ...