Make your own Jam Labels

Over at How about Orange, Ms. Jessica blogged about Andy Bigg's Beer Labelizer, a unique Label making application for your computer. Now Andy has come out with the Jam Labelizer The labels dont' have to be for just jam, you can make labels for boxes of cookies, homemade presents, bookplates, and more. Let your imagination guide you! I used the Beer Labelizer for my homemade ginger syrup, that I use to make ginger ale. And of course the jam labelizer for - jam. And if you don't have label paper, regular paper and a glue stick work just as well!

The adventures of RECYCLE KITTY

NOt content with being an every day kitty, Millie becomes RECYCLE KITTY- for truth, justice, and putting plastic waste in it's proper place!

SEEDBALLZ Winner

This years winner of my much coveted Ballz is comment #2- Catherine

Congratulations Catherine- you will be receiving you Seed Ballz soon!Everyone else.. try again next year!

Non GMO Seed sources

Looking for non GMO seeds? Or wondering if your favorite seed company goes non-GMO? Well there was a question a short while back that Monsanto bought Terrirtorial Seed company. It is False. Here is a link to a SAFE SEED RESOURCE LIST put out buy the Council for Responsible Genetics on companies who took the Safe seed pledge for 2012.

Ellen Gustafson: 1 Global Food Issue

Ellen Gustafson, founder of The Feed Foundation talks about nutrition, global food security, and obesity. Really good Ted Talk
Why not visit the Feed Shop and think about buying a "Feed Bag" The sale of each bag goes to feed the hungry in the US and Worldwide.
And why not visit the Feed Foundation?

MORE TEDx Vids- Viraj Puri-Innovations in Urban Agriculture

I figured why not continue on the same/simular subject... Urban Farming/Community. Today we have Viraj Puri, CEO and founder of Gotham Greens- a farm right in the middle of NY City!

Sustainability in your community

Majora Carter is the Macarthur-winning founder of Sustainable South Bronx, an organization dedicated to holistic community development, sponsoring projects that create jobs, protect the environment and bring beautiful green space to the inner city.

Sustainable Yards!

Sometimes I just love my city:

Window Farming

Super interesting TED Talk Video on Window farming. Via the Greenists and RNDIY

Comedy is translation

Finally, since it's Friday, lets take a break and have some fun listening to Chris Bliss: Comedy is translation.

Shit Weekend Farmers say

A little something I found on Facebook... LOL... Is this a tick???

The Majestic Plastic Bag

A tongue in cheek "Mockumentary", this one is for my friend Beth Terry AKA Fake plastic Fish AKA
My Plastic Free Life, Narrated by Academy Award-winner Jeremy Irons, this "mockumentary" video, hammers home the stark reality of California's plastic bag pollution situation.

GIVEAWAY! WIN ROB'S BALLS-Chard Version

Roses are red, 

Violets are Blue...

Enter Rob's Balls Giveaway

and win Rob's Balls for You!

Well my annual SeedBallz Give Away is taking a different light..er plant this year. When I got to the Seedballz booth at the Flower and Garden Show- they were already sold out of the Basil Seedballz (I like to think in my over exaggerated mind that people who read this blog are responsible for this!) But in any case, I discovered that they now carry a whole line of veggies as well as the the basil and  flowers they have carried in the past. But fear not readers Old Rob is perverse as ever and has a package of his favorite vegetable- Swiss Chard Seedballz to give away! So if you want to win my balls just Leave a comment to this post, and have contact info available (email) and I will pick a winner by Random. Entries must be in by midnight, February 26, 2012

NW Flower and Garden Show 2012

Well the annual North West Flower and Garden show was everything I wanted this year. There where a lot of excitement over the fact that not only one display garden featured re-use and urban farming but it was seen through out the show!

You just gotta love decent re-use. Here, Cascadian Edible Landscaping shows what is possible from and old WV Bus- The front half is a tool shed/green house while...

the back half acts as a chicken coop for the resident chickens!

The eat your yard Ladies!

Also featured at the Cascadian Edible Landscaping display garden was a lot of sensible ways to create planters and gardens like this neat little "Block garden" fillled with edible plants!

This wall garden is made from recycled materials and sits above a rain barrel that it uses for water wicking!
FROM OTHER GARDENS AT THE FLOWER & GARDEN SHOW:

This illustrates that you don't need to buy potato bags to grow potatoes- you can reuse old burlap coffee bean bags!

I never thought before that you can reuse old duct work to make raise beds and/or planters!

Seattle Urban Farming Company shows a little inspiration with these neat music themed planters!

So now I am re-inspired to plant in my garden once again! With new Ideas and such- more than I could put here! Anybody got a piano or drum set they're not using? How about a VW Bus???

What grows well in a shady container garden

THe topic comes up all the time--- Here are some vids to help give some answers
I didn't think Jerusalem artichokes would grow well in the shade:
and for a little inspiration:

I is FOUR now

Yup. My blog Celebrated four years on 1/16/2012. Four years of completely useless information, not to mention bad speling. Four years of goofing on Crunchy Chicken, Fake Plastic Fish and Condo Blues. Four years of trying not to put my leftist, subversive mind sight on people. Four years of dealing with my dogs and cats. It has been a fun four years. Hope I last four more!

Fish Eggs

All my life I have heard how the haute de taute eat caviar and snails. I always wanted to try both. I ate snails for the first time years ago. last night I tried caviar. Didn't like either. Guess I won't be entering the 1% anytime soon!

Grow-episode 7

Grow -Episode 7 "Our School at Blair Grocery" New Orleans, LA-
this episode of "Grow" features Turrner and the Blair Grocery School, tells the story of Turner who moved back to the 9th Ward of New Orleans and his work teaching kids about urban farming in the 9th Ward of New Orleans-
 
IMHO, the best way to ensure that we have more backyard farmers and food security in the future is to teach them how to do it. This is very reminiscent of Alice Waters and her "Edible Schoolyard" work teaching young people how to grow food

Walk 'N Talk

Yup... this is how me and a group of 38 individuals spent super bowl sunday... walking and talking! Started by by my friend Maureen, the monthly walk~n~talk is a just that- a group of community members do a 2 1/2 mile or so walk around the community, It is a great way to meet members of the community and get some excercize to boot! Does your community or area have a Walk 'N Talk group?

Grow- the series

I recently came across a series put out by Whole Foods on You tube, where they visit a number of Urban Farms... very nice little video reports on people growing their own...
GROW EPISODE-6- "FARMTINA:

GROW- Episode 1-Roundtable Farm
GROW- Episode 2- Pluck and Feather
GROW- Episode 3- Dog Island Farm
GROW- Episode 4- Itty Bitty Farm in the City
GROW- Episode 5- Yellow Tree Farm

TED - Roger Doiron - A Subversive Plot

I love TED talks... I learn so much.

Like Roger Doiron, founding Director of Kitchen Gardeners International. He, like other TED speakers teaches with intelligence, and does so in minutes. So take a few minutes and watch his talk about his "Subversive Plot" to take over the world, one garden at a time :
 

Roger Doiron is founding director of Kitchen Gardeners International, a network of people taking a hands-on approach to re-localizing the global food supply. Doiron is an advocate for new policies, technologies, investments, and fresh thinking about the role of gardens. His successful petition to replant a kitchen garden at the White House attracted broad international recognition.