The Vegetable Garden: Part Two

Now that the garden has been in the ground a few weeks, I thought an update might be appropriate. I'll admit; the situation is quite different that I expected. When we put the plants in, San Francisco had not yet received its first rain of the season. However, in the past few weeks, water has fallen from the sky in measurable quantities a few times. This was great for our herbs and veggies, especially with the days of full sun we've been receiving in between showers, but....ah, yes...it has also been phenomenal for the WEEDS. Seriously, who knew there were so many weeds just waiting for their moment to spring up back there?!!?

Our backyard has gone from a concrete slab with a dirt border to a veritable weed garden of Eden. There is no bare dirt to be seen anywhere...and this is after I spent two hours weeding the vegetable section of the garden last weekend. It's like I was never even out there.

The moral of this story is that, while the veggies are growing relatively well (the peas and basil are struggling, I'll admit), the weeds are growing even better. It's time to research an organic option for permanent weed removal. My neighbor recommended a water and vinegar mix. I'll let you know how it goes.

Cheers,

Dale

And, I'm back...

Hi sports fans,

Guess who's back in the blog-o-sphere. That's right. I may not be posting quite as often as I used to, but I've been having so many great YBG ideas pop into my head as of late, I just had to share.

The straw that broke the camel's back in this situation was the herb and vegetable garden we planted at our new place in the Outer Sunset a few weekends ago. As we were standing in Sloat Gardens, looking at a 3' tall basil plant, I finally got around to looking at the price...$5.99! Organic basil is $3.50 for 4 ounces at my neighborhood Safeway. It was a no-brainer. I can grow my own herbs for waaaay cheaper than I could buy them in the store...that is, if I can keep them alive.

We also planted some thyme, sage, and oregano, as well as broccoli, brussell sprouts, and peas. We were assured that all of these baby plants would grow and thrive in the foggy, cool climate known as the Outer Sunset of San Francisco (though I'll admit that I'm not yet convinced).

I'll keep you posted about the success of our little plot as time goes on, and as soon as I'm home and in the garden when it isn't dark and/or raining, I'll take some pictures.

Go Giants!

Dale

Moving on...

As I'm sure you've guessed, YBG is taking an extended break. During its prime, YBG served as an outlet for my thoughts and creative/green needs while at a job that was decidedly unchallenging. However, after making the switch to Tesla, I not only haven't found the time to write thoughtful posts (I'm just returning from a 4-day event in Vancouver...big fan of that city and its extremely nice people), but I also haven't felt the need. I finally have a challenging position with a fun company who I firmly believe is changing the world (just ask the CEO of GM). The excess energies that used to be channeled into YBG are now channeled into work, which is a first for me...and I love it. I hope you can all live without my sporadic, mildly helpful blog posts because I doubt there will be any for a good long while. Thanks for reading, and I'll check-in every now and then to let y'all know how things are going.

And yes, I do see that irony in the fact that I blogged about living YBG and now I'm selling cars that start at $109K. If it's any consolation, I most definitely still live YBG!

Thanks again!!!

Dale

CSA (aka bringing the Farmers' Market to you)

Community Supported Agriculture = the best way for busy people to get local, fresh, organic produce into their kitchen. If you're anything like me, sometimes motivating to go to the Farmers' Market on a dreary Sunday morning is a little more than you're up for. However, if you join a CSA, the Farmers' Market comes to you. That's right...according to LocalHarvest.org the definition of a CSA is as follows: a farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share (aka a "membership" or a "subscription") and in return receive a box (bag, basket) of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season.

Eric and I have recently joined a CSA called Eating with the Seasons here in the Bay Area. Now, every Thursday (starting in December) we'll get an extra small box (6 types of produce for $17) of super fresh fruits and veggies delivered from the farm to a pick-up location a few blocks from our house. In addition, we can add extras like eggs, granola, and olive oil if we choose. Quite a deal, right?

And CSAs are so hot right now. In fact, my friends Jillian and Christina recently started an awesome blog called Farm and a Frying Pan that was inspired by the huge amounts of unusual vegetables brought to them by their CSA (think kale, celery root, and leeks). They are learning how to cook and eat these fabulous local, sustainable items, and with their blog, they are sharing their adventures with all of us. As they put it, "this blog is our attempt at uncovering what you can really do when you have access to a FARM and a FRYING PAN."

If you need additional recipes for out-of-the-ordinary vegetables, there are plenty of great vegetarian cookbooks out there. The Everything Vegetarian Cookbook is one great example, and The Enchanted Broccoli Forest is another. Happy veggie cooking!

Aaaaaand, I'm Back

Hi readers!

As promised, it's the end of October, and I'm back and ready to blog my organic cotton socks off. A lot of really exciting stuff has been happening since I've last posted, so I should probably begin by catching you up. First of all, I spent my late summer/early fall doing quite a bit of very cool field work in exotic places of the world like Anniston, AL (burros); Marietta, OH; and Kalamazoo, MI (big bass).

While the field work was fun (great people) and interesting, I have known for a while now that my time at my current company was growing short, AND low and behold, I got a new job last week! Yep, I'm going to work for a cleantech company that may or may not make an electric sports car. It's a big move, but I'm really excited about it. Inside sales/cars/clean technology (i.e. my new position) is quuuuite a bit different than ecological field work, so I have a lot to learn...which is kind of the point in the whole switching-careers thing.

Finally, because of friendships with great people in high places, YBG is going to be part of a test program with Overstock.com to increase its social media outlets. This means that I'll be blogging about and noting cool, green, and inexpensive products that can make your life more sustainable. Like I said, exciting things are afoot!

Keepin' it YBG,
Dale

A Brief Sabbatical

Hi loyal readers,

I wanted to jot a quick post to let you know that I haven't forsaken you and YBG. I am in the middle of an epic stint of fall field work, and 13 hours days in the field aren't terribly conducive to blogging (...or bill paying or calls to friends and family or QT with your dog). I will be back at a desk and regular working hours by the end of October, I hope, so if you can be patient with me until then, I greatly appreciate it.

Until then, keep thinking YBG!
Dale

Climate change and wildfires

An interesting and relevant tidbit from Earth2tech:

Climate Change and Cali Wildfires: “To the average person a 1-degree rise in average spring and summer temperatures may not seem like much. But for residents of the western United States—including California, which is fighting at least eight fires right now—it could mean a staggering increase in the extent and cost of fires.” — Climate Progress

Saison...review to come

Because I'm battling through a mild, wine-induced hangover from my incredible dinner at Saison last night while trying to catch up in the office after a week of field work in Ohio, my review of last night's amazing meal will have to wait another 24 hours or so. But, until then, you can at least check out our menu. It was worth every penny.

LocalHarvest

Question: What's one way to eat like a king, save money, and be green all at the same time?

Answer: Dust off your pots and pans and cook the amazing food you bought this weekend at your local farmers' market.

Check out LocalHarvest.org to find a farmers' market near you, and spend your Sunday morning tasting the wares of local farmers while mingling with your neighbors. The food is guaranteed to be fresh and local, and because many farmers' markets remove the middle man from the equation, you're getting the best of the nearby farms for much less than you would at the grocery store. The salsa you make from the $5/15 lb bag of tomatillos you bought will taste WAY better than the store-bought brand, and I bet you'll have a lot of free fun making it as well.

Time to rethink your shampoo

This is quite an eye-opening article from Salon about the ingredients in our shampoos. In a nutshell, the article claims that there are only 3 necessary ingredients in any hair cleaning product, and everything else in your shampoo is unnecessary or even toxic. The author even finishes his article by stating that he uses Sunlight Dish Detergent to wash his hair...it has only 4 ingredients, and he uses 1/10th of the volume that regular shampoo requires. He states that one bottle of detergent will last him a year...compared to $8 a bottle for Pantene ProV and the like (that only last a month or two). If you're not down with using dish detergent on your head, consider Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap (and Hair Rinse). They're made for use on your body but lack most of the extraneous ingredients, and since you dilute them, they last forever.