Washing My Hands of Triclosan--UPDATED!

This is a bar of soap. You use it with water, and it actually works to reduce germs. This is apparently becoming an antiquated way of washing your hands.

Triclosan. That is a word of which I had never heard just two days ago. Then, I got the jarring mid-summer email from the elementary school that listed the school supplies for the new school year, which starts here in Atlanta on the shockingly early date of August 11. And sure enough, there it was--one bottle of hand sanitizer or liquid soap. As this product category has soared with the addition of "antimicrobial" properties, I decided to finally figure out what's in these things.

Triclosan.

According to the stack of research I read last night, triclosan is a pesticide that kills bacteria. Like the overuse of antibiotics, the overuse of triclosan contributes to the growing catastrophic problem of bacterial resistance. What's more, there is concern over a link between the escalating numbers of people with allergies and asthma and our increasingly antiseptic lifestyle. Additionally, triclosan "bioaccumulates" in both wildlife and humans, and has been found in fish, human breast milk, and the umbilical cord blood of newborns. Finally, triclosan contains small amounts of dioxin and can be converted to additional dioxin when heated by the sun. Dioxin is a known carcinogen.

Both the CDC and the FDA state that the use of antimicrobial personal care products offers no benefit over the use of regular soap and water. Okay, so why are schools across our country asking parents to bring this stuff in? Got me. But I can't fight every battle, folks. I just can't do it. I'm worn out from the school lunch thing and happy about our decision years ago to simply pack our own. I will provide my child with regular soap and tell the teacher that my daughter is not allowed to use antimicrobial products. If asked for a reason, I will be happy to provide some research, but lord knows I'm not barreling into the PTA meeting and screaming about this. I will vote with my dollar and try to influence change with my family's personal actions. That seems to be more effective anyway.

Okay, so far so good, right? Well, we're walking home from the public bus stop and I keep telling my daughter not to walk on people's lawns because I don't want her dragging their pesticides into our house on the bottoms of her sneakers. I somehow use this an opportunity to rave yet again about my Teva sport sandals, which I bought from REI about a month or so ago. I absolutely adore these shoes and have been happily walking and biking miles in them. I tell my daughter we will get her some sport sandals so she doesn't have to wear those hot sneakers and socks all the time.

So we go to REI and we get the sandals. We get home and I look at this little tag hanging from them. Microban. What on earth is that? A little research reveals--yes, you guessed it. Triclosan. Turns out Microban is the brand name for triclosan when used in footwear, protective wear and sporting gear. Its brand name when used in fibers is BioFresh. Its marketing hook is that it eliminates odors and that it lasts for the lifetime of the item.

Yes, these "environmentally friendly" children's sandals are made with a lifetime supply of pesticides. And I was worried about her walking on the lawns?

And so, of course, the sandals are going back. My daughter asks if she can get Crocs instead, a purchase we have somehow avoided during all these years of their popularity. I say, "Let's check them out." We go to their website and it says they are made with this proprietary material that is neither rubber nor plastic. And yes, it is antimicrobial, but we don't see any mention of Microban.

So I call Customer Service and get a very nice woman named Sharon. Poor, sweet Sharon.

I ask her, "Can you tell me what it is in Crocs that makes them antimicrobial?"

She is silent for a moment, and then says, "I don't know!"

I say, "Well, I'm trying to find out if they contain Microban, which is the brand name for triclosan."

She says she will find out, puts me on hold, and comes back a few minutes later with this, "No one I asked knows, but I'm going to find out. I have to ask the engineers and it may take a few days to get back to you with an answer."

I then ask the question I'm now wondering, "Sharon, am I the first person who has asked you this question?"

And she says, "Yes."

And so, the Crocs will have to wait. But this gets me curious. What else has triclosan? Turns out there's a list a mile long. Numerous soaps, of course, but also certain daily face washes, toothpastes, lipsticks, deodorants, shaving gels, cutting boards, computer keyobards and mouse pads, socks, toys, paints, laminate floors, blankets and towels.

Listen, folks, I don't want pesticides on my apples. I don't want pesticides on my lawn. I certainly don't want them, as an active ingredient, no less, in items I use or wear on a daily basis, especially if research shows that they are harmful. And I'm guessing most people don't know what or where triclosan is. Except for the Tevas, I don't see any other items I use on the extended list, but of course, this got me curious. Here's a great site where you can check out the products that you actually use or are considering purchasing for detailed information about the hazards of their ingredients (including triclosan). You will also find tons of information about "unsettling facts that you have a right to know."

I was telling my mother about this last night and she said, in a hushed and worried tone, "Is Crest on the list?" I know how she feels. The last thing you want is a product you've been using your whole life to betray you. I told her that the Crest products come up with a score of 2 (a low score) to 6 (quite high) for hazards, and that by checking the site, she could choose the formula that was on the low end. This would help product selection when standing there in the aisle looking at the sea of options.

If we, as consumers and as parents, continue to let the marketing machine of Big Business sell us on the benefits (none of which have been proven) of triclosan in our everyday products (and those of our children), then we are, once again, asleep at the wheel. As for me, I'm washing my hands of triclosan. Effective immediately.

I guess that means I need to return my beloved sport sandals, huh?

Ouch.

UPDATE: July 20, 2008

Two things:

1. I called Sharon at Crocs after not hearing from her for over a week. She said she was still awaiting an answer about whether or not Crocs shoes contain triclosan. It has been another week and still no answer. Frankly, I think I have my answer.

2. While shopping for back-to-school supplies today, I saw this: row after row of scissors with Microban! The package says "fights stain and odor-causing bacteria." Have your scissors been smelly and stainy? Is this product claim even remotely realistic? Something is very, very wrong here, folks. We literally had to HUNT for a pair of scissors without this pesticide in them! WHAT is going on?!

When Did This Become Normal?

Every day, I ride my bike past dozens of cars on a carpool line, where many of the cars idle for up to 40 minutes, and I continue to ask myself, "When did we, as a society, decide this was normal?"

When I grew up, "carpooling" meant a few of you rode together in one car. There was no such line like this--in fact, we would have been mortified if our parents came and picked us up each day! It was bus, walk or bike. Period. (Except, perhaps, if you happened to have a dentist appointment!)

I just got an email from the community center telling parents where and how to pick up their kids after camp. I called the person sending it and said, "There is no mention at all of what to do if you bike or walk," and she told me that that would be a "special situation." A special situation? Walking or biking to a community center, especially one that clearly has a car problem? What has become of us?

It's the same with the lawn--the sea of landscape workers with power tools in my neighborhood on a daily basis is deafening. When did we decide this was normal?

And, by the way, I have had one comment specifically about the now-pesticide-free nature of my lawn--from a neighbor teenager who has a new puppy. She wanted to know if the puppy could play on my lawn because she doesn't want it to get pesticides on it elsewhere. This has been the only comment, in a neighborhood filled with children, many of them under five years old. The good news? Her family is going to stop using pesticides. Because of the puppy. Not the children.

(In all honesty, the most surprising part of eco-awareness for me has been that I have felt so out-of-place in my own community. There seems to be a very, very small group of people who even care about these things here. When I started getting involved in all this, I assumed many more people would feel as I do. Hmmm. A bit of an eye-opener.)

And so, it was with great excitement and hope that I read the following two pieces of information, and see, perhaps, little signs of change that are starting to add up:

* Idling Restrictions. The Clean Air Campaign, a not-for-profit organization that works with Georgia’s employers, commuters and schools to encourage actions that result in less traffic congestion and better air quality, instituted a pilot no-idling campaign in 10 schools in Gwinnett County (a suburban county outside metropolitan Atlanta) during this past school year. Parents were encouraged not to idle their engines on school grounds. Idling engines contribute to ground level ozone and particle pollution, two air pollutants that are especially harmful to school children since their lungs are still developing. Particle pollution is especially unhealthy, and known to be a precursor to persistent health problems such as asthma attacks, reduced lung function, lung disease and even premature death.

The Clean Air Campaign worked to spread the message that unnecessary idling wastes gasoline, needlessly pollutes the air and puts children at risk. The pilot program showed a 66% reduction in idling. This program is a model for how schools around the country can reduce pollution and protect the health of children. Interested? Contact the Clean Air Campaign for more info.

* Pesticide Bans. Connecticut, apparently, banned the use of pesticides (which includes herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides) on the grounds of elementary and middle schools this past October. From what I can piece together, it appears that more than 70 municipalities across Canada have banned the "cosmetic" use of pesticides on lawns; New Paltz, NY is skipping the pesticides on all town property; Rockland County, NY legislators just passed a bill to eliminate the use of toxic pesticides on all county-owned or leased land; the European Union set new limits for 33 chemicals in waterways, including pesticides; a few towns in Massachusetts have banned pesticides because they get into the water and are contributing to the demise of the fishing industry on which these towns depend . . . and so on. Change is happening. If we are persistent, it will be a (figurative and literal) sea-change.

I read recently that humans are the only animals that willingly and knowingly "dirty" where they live. When did this become normal?

"I'm Planting Food"--Made Easy!

I'm chatting about the fair trade school fundraising program with the Equal Exchange folks at the holistic family funfest the other day, over iced fair-trade coffee and sample cranberries and pecans (it was too hot for chocolate samples, much to my sadness) when one of the head office representatives from Boston mentions a non-profit named The Food Project. Turns out that The Food Project delivers raised gardening beds and prepares them with soil, compost, plants, the works, for free, to anyone who wants to start a garden.

And this gets me thinking. With every change we're trying to make to live lighter on the land, there seems to be small impediments that trip us up. We ride our bikes to the library--no bike rack. We save shower water--it spills a bit when we carry it downstairs, potentially rotting the wood underneath the stairs. We use glass instead of paper or plastic cups--several have been dropped and have broken. We're constantly re-adjusting to accommodate these pesty little impediments, but I can see how many people would just stop doing things, for small but surmountable reasons, because change is not seamless or easy, and frankly, I don't blame them. Making sure there are clean cloth napkins always available is not something about which many folks have time to worry.

So, with gardening, I got to thinking that maybe if magic fairies showed up and put a starter garden in for folks, then that would get them over the first hump. I entertained thoughts of actually building these for anyone who would want one. Maybe I'd actually start a non-profit (I founded and directed one named Hattitudes with my older daughter that gave free, new hats to girls undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer at six hospitals nationwide for a number of years a long time ago) or extend The Food Project's mission from Boston to Atlanta. I figured if I could do the thing for 50 bucks, and anyone who wants one gets it for free but gives a $50 donation, then that donation would fund the next person (and so on). I figured it had the potential to become a program, called something like Plant It Forward (although I see that name is already service marked, and, frankly, is worth checking out here).

And, so I decided, first, that I needed a prototype. I would buy only what Home Depot has--nothing special that folks wouldn't be able to find easily on their own. I would list exactly what I bought, how much it cost, and what I did so that anyone, anywhere, who just wants to get started, would have a blueprint to do so.

So, here it is--the plan for a 4' x 2' raised garden bed (International friends of FoodShed Planet may need to make some adjustments here):

1. 12' beveled cedar plank, cut to the sizes above= $13.65
2. 2 40-pound bags of organic potting soil=$3.50
3. 1 piece of scrap 2x4 wood cut into 4 6" lengths=$1.00
4. 8 1 1/4" galvanized roofing nails=a whole box is $2.43
5. Organic veggies: 2 tomato, 2 basil, 1 pepper, 1 okra= $13.72
6. Two marigold plants (for pest control)=$1.98
7. Miracle Gro* organic potting mix=$8.99

* I prefer Farmer D's biodynamic organic compost, but that is not widely available yet.

TOTAL=$45.26
TIME: Maybe two hours (including shopping)

I nailed the wood blocks to the inside edges of two of the 4' boards and then nailed the sides into the blocks as well. This created a bottomless frame, which I then slipped over my mailbox. I covered the grass inside the frame with layers of black-and-white newspaper (and yes, this is the first glorious reduction of my front lawn). I then poured the potting soil and potting mix on top, planted the plants (including their little identifying sticks so that passers-by could see what I planted) and added my pesticide-free sign from www.beyondpesticides.org. The next time I mow, I'll add grass clippings on top as well (now that I can, now that my lawn is pesticide-free).

And that's it. Done. Isn't it cute? Several people whom I don't know went by while I was doing this and asked if I was planting flowers and I said, "No, I'm planting food." They stopped and we engaged in a long chat. This is what happens when I mow the lawn with the push reel mower as well. I told some friends recently, "This eco stuff is very time-consuming." They said, "Yeah, everything is a lot more work, huh?" And I said, "No, not really. I just spend a lot more time in conversation!"

So, will I start building these things for others? Not sure. But it's an idea, isn't it?

Dollars for Dandelions

I read recently of a guy who said that in the 1970s in the United States, lawns were fascinating places where kids could play for hours, just discovering all the diversity that was there. As you know, I live in a neighborhood with pesticide-laden monoculture lawns and I am on a little bit of a journey to reverse that at my own home. Our backyard has been pesticide-free for three years now, and, let me tell you, that guy would have a field day out there.

In addition to the two types of clover I plant in my garden, the wild Dutch clover is blooming as well and my younger daughter sits there and picks the flowers and plays some sort of game that I can't hear, peering at her from the kitchen window as I clean up after dinner.

Every other thing growing on that lawn looks like it would do just fine with a splash of balsamic vinegar. The weediest part of the yard, however, is where the water flows from my neighbor's yards when it rains, and since their yards are still chemically-treated, the salad bowl has to stay inside. Ah yes, we are all connected.

My younger daughter made the innocent childish "mistake" of rolling on a nearby lawn the other day and whatever chemical was on it made her entire body break out in a rash within about an hour.

"You can't roll on lawns that have pesticides," I told my daughter.

"What lawns have pesticides?" she asked.

Gosh, this was a sad conversation to me.

"Most of them, honey," I answered, thinking about her playing some game with that clover, thinking about that man who remembered being a boy, playing on lawns.

"At least I can play on ours," she answered, and I nodded and kissed her goodnight. Soon she will be able to play freely on the front lawn as well, since I've canceled the chemical guy (but unfortunately, he showed up recently when I wasn't here and gave one last killer treatment--the day before my final Open Garden, by the way. Oh, how I loved sharing all my eco-ideas with folks as we sidestepped the sea of toxicity!)

I saw my friend Mitzie the next morning and told her about this and she told me her son's face blew up just the other day after playing on some grass. I asked her when was the last time she saw children doing gymnmastics on their front lawns, something my friends and I did for hours, days, months, years. (I can still do a mean handspring!) We both stood there speechless.

When was the last time you saw children play on a front lawn? And not toddlers with moms standing nearby visiting. Older elementary and middle school kids, who are out there of their own volition, with bats and balls or arms upstretched in preparation for a handstand forward roll or front walkover (wasn't the friend who could do the back walkover the most envied kid on the block?)

I started a "Dollars for Dandelions" program here at the Baker house a few weeks ago, when it was clear that my back lawn would be a sea of yellow before long. I offered a nickle a dandelion, and then got wiped out of $20 bucks before I could finish making breakfast. And so eventually it morphed to the current pay scale--a penny for three dandelions. The kids don't make a ton of money, and 10% goes in the charity jar, but they have fun out there on the lawn.

Fun on the lawn. What a concept.

Dollars for Dandelions--A few bucks a week.
Fun on the Lawn--Priceless.

Long Past the Final Forkful

It's that time of year now here in Atlanta when every evening finds us eating outside and lingering long past the final forkful, my younger daughter gathering ladybugs, my older one (a child who received Thoreau's Civil Disobedience as a birthday gift recently from one of her best friends) debating China's one-child policy or Mendel's principles of classical genetics and the ethical quandaries that arise with modern evolutionary thought, and my husband, an "inside guy," claiming it's too buggy after trying to last just a little longer.

Our simple dinner consisted of homemade pizza with sweet potatoes saved from fall, a caramelized onion from right there, you see that spot in the middle bed in the back? That's where it was just moments ago. And snips from the rosemary bush, the one by the clubhouse, not the one with the little blue flowers. Oh, and a salad of sweet baby lettuces from Melissa of Blossom Hill Farm. Remember how they grew on a little hillside next to one of her fields, I ask my younger daughter, the one who wore that wide-brimmed hat and rode with Melissa on her tractor last June when we visited the farm.

My daughter isn't really listening to me, however.

"This one likes me, Mom," she exclaims as a ladybug walks up her arm. This is the same daughter who told me she was going to vacuum the house the other day and when I expressed surprise, she stated, matter-of-factly, "I mean, c'mon, I mow the lawn for goodness sake. I can certainly vacuum the house!"

And yes, she and my older daughter do mow the lawn, now that I have the manual mower. Joggers do a double-take when they see them out there, children mowing the lawn. That is not something you see around here.

Speaking of lawns, did you hear that Canada's two largest provinces, Ontario and Quebec, have formerly banned the so-called "cosmetic" use of pesticides and herbicides on residential lawns, gardens and parks? Home Depot in Canada will voluntarily stop selling these items in Canada by the end of the year. My next call? Back to Ron Jarvis, head of sustainability for Home Depot.

And more talk of lawns, I know of numerous other folks who are considering buying push reel mowers. In fact, I sort of feel a "club" coming on. Anyone interested? We could have cute t-shirts that say something like "Pushing on for the Planet" or "Pushing for Positive Change"?

And speaking of positive change, David (from my Companion Planter team, and the friend of mine who gave me the I've Got Worms t-shirt at Open Garden's Grand Celebration of the Arrival of the Worms) sent me a photo of his very first clothesline (thanks for leaving the underwear inside, David!)

And Judy! Where to start with Judy? Judy has arranged a completely new CSA drop from Charlotte's farm, involving something like 50 families who live near her. And Judy has never even been in a CSA before!

And guess where I was yesterday morning? At Tracey's house--Tracey, a woman I met because Richard introduced me to her a little while back because Tracey just recently got chickens! And so I finally saw her coop yesterday, right there at the top of her driveway, in clear view for all the world to see. Less than a mile from my house, even closer than Richard's house. Chickens.

And so I picked mint and lemon balm and cilantro from my outstretched hand at the dinner table last night, like from a condiment bar at a fast-food restaurant, and sprinkled them onto my salad. And for just a moment, as a rabbit nibbled on the sweet, soft clover in my lawn, all was well in the world.

"Reel Mowers. Pushing On for the Planet." UPDATED!

"Honey, would you hand me the magazine that's on the kitchen table, please?" I ask my younger daughter as I settle onto the couch to rest a moment.

"The one that says Danger, Danger, Danger on it?" she asks, nonchalantly.

"Yes, that's the one. Thanks, hon," I answer, as she gives me the first issue of Pesticides and You that I've received as a result of ordering that Pesticide Free ladybug sign awhile back (was it all that long ago when I was young and carefree and used to read Glamour magazine, or was that a completely different person?!)

I haven't put the ladybug sign out yet on my front lawn because the transition is not yet complete. Yes, I canceled my lawn treatment people and am about to sign up with Earth Balance Organics for a customized, minimal treatment plan that includes things like sea kelp and corn gluten. But, I'll be honest here. The Earth Balance program costs three times the amount of my chemical guy. Three times. Not ten percent more. Two hundred percent more.

Yikes. I almost canned the idea, but then I sat down in my garden, where a member of our annual rabbit family has finally appeared again and is grazing on the clover in the back lawn that's been chemical-free for three years now (the rabbits have had no interest in my lettuces ever since I started "growing" clover), and I tried to think like Patagonia.

1. The chemicals are no longer a choice.
2. The organic methods cost three times as much.
3. My available funds haven't changed.
4. I have to find a way to save money somewhere else.

I thought a minute, and a problem-begging-to-be-solved emerged. My lawn maintenance service. I have them come every other week (I think most people in this neighborhood have a lawn maintenance service come weekly, although, to be fair, several of my neighbors mow their own lawns). They barrel across the lawn with a gas-powered ride-on mower, followed by gas-powered edging and gas-powered blowing.

5. Gas is no longer an option (and frankly, I'm guessing we'll be getting a letter soon about their increased prices because of the gas).

So I research manual push mowers (called push reel mowers). Turns out (a) they are cute, (b) they are only about 100 bucks (which, unfortunately, means say goodbye to two cute organic dresses from Patagonia!), and (c) they are great exercise. I talk to Greg at Earth Balance and he tells me that Bermuda grass (like mine) loves reel mowers because it snips the grass like scissors instead of whacking its head off like with the rotary mower. Using a reel mower leads to a healthier lawn. It's as simple as that.

So I call Home Depot and get an older guy on the phone from the Outdoor Equipment department. I ask if there are any push reel mowers in stock. He says, "You mean like the old fashioned kind?" I sense excitement in his voice.

"Yes!" I answer, enthusiastically.

He goes and checks and says that yes, they do have some. I ask if they are already assembled and he answers, "It's not like there's all that much to 'em, m'am!"

So I tell my friend Richard-of-the-Worms about this, and he says he's about to buy a new mower, too, but an electric one. I say, "Why electric?" Next thing you know, Richard is the proud owner of a push reel mower and he calls me raving about it. He loves it, as does everyone else whose comments I read on Amazon.com and other online review places. (I'm heading over to Richard's this morning to try it out.)

So I talk with my older daughter (who is completely on board with all this eco-stuff--her first-stop news source is ENN.com, and she is always on the hunt for extra forms of exercise) about the push reel mower and about working together on the lawn. She loves the idea. "One week you mow and I'll edge, and the next week we'll switch!" she offers enthusiastically. I think she's already choosing her mowing outfits. I love that I can let her do this, which I would not do if it involved gas or that long, electric cord (which I ran over when I was about 17 and from which I have yet to emotionally recover).

My husband is a bit reluctant, even though the work of this will fall to me (I'm the "outside person" in this relationship).

"The lawn looks so good, honey," he says. "I'm not so sure about it."

Sure, it looks good, but I don't even want our kids to cartwheel on it.

I tell him that we'll do it as an experiment, that we'll recoup the costs of the mower and a manual edger in about two or three months, and that will put us smack in the heat of the summer, and if it's not working, I'll bring back the lawn company.

But it has to work. Because that's the only way I can afford Earth Balance. And two conversations with Greg on the phone make it clear to me already that I have much to learn from him. He is a horticulturist, married to a naturopath, who has been offering both an "earth steward" and a completely organic program for five years now. He says about 80% of his customers go with earth steward (which does include some chemicals, only when they are the most effective choice for a targeted problem) and about 20% go with completely organic. He says of the 20%, the majority are parents with children with disabilities or environmental issues, many with autism. If that doesn't get you thinking . . .

And so, back to my Pesticides and You magazine. Right there, on page 4, the headline reads National Mall Tests Organic Lawn Care. Turns out that Safelawns.org (the folks from which I got the sign) will manage the National Mall Soil and Turf Improvement Project, using aeration, compost and compost tea applications and overseeding in order to build thick turf on four acres of this pedestrian greenspace in our nation's capital. The Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Stewardship Program is keeping records of the project, which is expected to run though August, 2009.

Safelawn.org's founder, Paul Tukey, is quoted as saying:

If we can grow resilient grass on the National mall, where 27 million people trample the lawn each year, then we have demonstrated that we can grow grass anywhere. Most importantly, we'll have proved that you can grow grass without relying on chemical fertilizers and pesticides that can harm wildlife and contaminate drinking water, as well as cause harm to people and their pets.

As for me, this move to chemical-free and "people power" is a step toward a ten-year plan of total lawn reduction, and the natural continuation of my family's personal journey toward simplicity, connecting with our neighbors, and teaching our children more about caring for the piece of land in the world that has been entrusted to us.

As I said to my husband, "The girls should learn how to mow the lawn. It's a great work ethic to have, a basic skill that is not being taught anymore, and wonderful exercise as well. And the years during which we have to teach them these things are slipping away."

So, push reel mowers. Richard has one. My friend John-of-the-Christmas-bottle-tree is planning on getting one, and I hope to have one today. I feel a movement coming on. The Reel Mowers. Pushing on for the Planet! Join us!

As for Earth Balance Organics, if you're in Atlanta and are considering making the switch, too, let Greg know I sent you and let's work together to make a difference. Every little bit counts. Be the one the neighbors talk about when they say, "The grass is greener on the other side of the fence." Your side.

UPDATE: Several hours later

Tried Richard's lawn mower. Easy to push. Light. Soft, squishy, continually adjustable (not locked in one position) handle. FUN.

Bought mine at Home Depot (although it wasn't marked with an Eco-Options tag), plus a manual edger and grass shears. Total cost: $181. Had a very nice talk with the assistant manager. Not sure if he liked my endless ideas or was just humoring me :)

Off we go!

Xeriscaping (A Front Lawn Update)--UPDATED!

So I'm driving around the beautiful historic section of Roswell, Georgia, yesterday while waiting for my mom to get her taxes done (for free at a senior center!) when I fell upon a little side street filled with charming homes, maybe eight of them in all. Three of these eight homes had eliminated their front lawns in favor of excellent examples of xeriscaping (a shockingly high percentage considering I hardly ever see xeriscaped landscapes here in Atlanta!). Of course, I pulled over, whipped out the camera and took photos for you to see. I then drove my mother back there so she could see as well and we oohed and aahed at all the other little details we discovered at the various homes.

Two of the front yards were intricate walking gardens, almost British-like, with meandering paths through diverse plant areas, punctuated by benches and trellises. Both of them had chimineas (those cute, freestanding outdoor fireplaces that have proliferated here lately). The third front yard (the one pictured above) was sparser with plants (although a red wheelbarrow and hoe leaning on the fence indicated it's still a work-in-progress, and I'm guessing once that tree in the middle fills out with leaves, it'll be much prettier) but had a comfortable seating area with a fire pit. This same house featured a large front porch with yet more inviting seating and a large quilt. There was no way to view these homes without picturing the neighbors gathering in each other's yards. I could hear the clink of glasses and peals of laughter in my mind as I drove away.

And so, back home to my neighborhood of perfect monoculture front lawns. In my imagination, I keep seeing my front lawn replaced by a 3-circuit classical labyrinth, its lines created out of herbs which I would then sell to restaurants. Part of Happy Chicken Farm?

In reality, I'm still waiting for an eco-lawn company to pull through for me (and for the lineup of other folks who have contacted me who are ready to use these services as well). The first Great Hope jumped ship, content to stick with his pesticide-hungry clients in a city that has more of that kind of business than most landscape companies can handle. The second Great Hope, whose website promised compost tea treatments and corn gluten, simply hasn't shown up.

My backyard, pesticide-free for three years now, has sprouted an impressive variety of edible weeds, none of which we can eat because the majority of my back lawn gets runoff from the pesticide-laden neighbors all the way up the hill from me. Considering that United States residents use ten times the amount of pesticides on their lawns as industrial agriculture uses on crops, I'm not putting those weeds anywhere near my dinner table!

Ya' know what? I'm going to go back to Roswell, put notes in the mailboxes of the homes with the xeriscaped front yards asking them to contact me to share how they got to that point of eco-savviness, and go from there.

It's all a journey, isn't it?

UPDATED: Several hours later

Great Hope #2 came! I found an envelope stuffed in my door with his estimate. This is The Guy with the Corn Gluten, plus a complete organic lawncare program, based on treatments for control of insects and diseases only when needed. I'll evaluate costs and let you know if I go with this company, at which point I'll provide a link to the company for anyone who is interested in joining me on this Suburban Atlanta experiment.

Time to Stop Taking "The Easy Way Out"

Progress! Just after I wrote my recent "the problem with lawncare in America" post, I received the April issue of Organic Gardening magazine. And there, on page 63, is an article titled The Dark Side of Lawns (Subhead: You Can Have a Thick and Healthy Sea of Green without Polluting Water, Harming Wildlife, and Endangering the Health of Your Family and Pets). The article includes a 6-step organic lawn plan, and a Go Green sidebar that talks about educating your neighbors, creating a demand, being a positive example, and being politically active.

And so, there it was. A sign that it was time to stop taking the "easy way out." And speaking of a sign, the article mentioned a website called Beyond Pesticides, from which you can order a "Pesticide Free Zone" sign for your lawn. And so I did, even though my front lawn is not pesticide free yet. Knowledge known cannot be unknown, and now that I know, I am faced with the clear direction of no choice. And the sign, for me, is an external manifestation of a positive intention, which, when added to the world's energy, ever so miraculously, tends to come true.

It should be no surprise to me, therefore, that mere moments after I ordered the sign yesterday, I was on the phone with a woman who would provide the critical connection. Lindsey Mann (co-owner of Sustenance Design, a company that designs sustainable and edible landscapes and is currently developing a production-based urban farm in Decatur, GA) paused when I told her about my lawn challenge--that the article said to spread compost and corn meal but ideally, in order to make an organic direction work for many lawn-service-dependent neighbors, I wanted a company that would develop an organic rotation schedule (significantly reduced from current lawncare schedules), creating no new work for homeowners (with the exception, perhaps, of asking their kids to pick dandelion bouquets every so often!). This way, the switch would be seamless and easy and would not require standing in the aisle at Home Depot pondering products and dedicating Saturdays to lawncare.

"I know just the guy who is looking to build his business in this direction!" she said, and told me she would make a call and get back with me. An email later in the day showed promise. Things are still being worked out, out there in the universe, while I await the delivery of my sign.

My plan? To serve as a bit of an experiment for the neighborhood. And to slowly, over five years or so, reduce my lawn with native prairie grasses and other Xeriscaping techniques so that I have a richer ecosystem of sustainable life. And to learn, over time, how to do all this myself.

Because, this, I can do.

Aqueous Armageddon, and Other Phrases that Caught My Eye

So all this talk about Victory Gardens has me knee-deep in researching front-yard edible gardening and has therefore led me straight to the thing-about-which-we-do-not-speak--our national obsession with lawns. Having already read Suburban Safari: A Year on the Lawn, by Hannah Holmes, I was thrilled (note to self: get a life) to discover American Green: The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Lawn, by Ted Steinberg.

Ted provides a fabulous--and entertaining--overview of the historic growth of suburbia in post-World War II America (specifically showcasing Long Island, NY, where Ted--and I--grew up), the marketing machine of the weed-and-feed company Scott's, and the reasons why we are at the tipping point environmentally because of lawns.

For instance, a few fun facts (sarcasm intended) from the book:

* In a recent ten-year period, more than 75,000 Americans per year were injured using lawn mowers. (The use of the word "Americans" leads me to think this number does not even include immigrant workers, who are the ones doing the majority of the lawncare in this nation.)

* About 7 million birds die each year because of lawn-care pesticides.

* Suburban households and lawn-care operators apply more herbicides per acre on lawns than most farmers spread to grow crops.

* Using a gas-powered leaf blower for half an hour creates as many polluting hydro-carbon emissions as driving a car 30 mph for 7,700 miles.

* Americans spill more oil just filling up their lawncare equipment each summer than was spilled by the Exxon Valdez in Alaska.

* The runoff of phosphorus from lawn fertilizers is causing killing algae blooms in our nation's waters.

Don't even ask about the excessive waste of water (I need a brief break from drought talk here in Atlanta, even though it's daily headline news). Short-term steps those of us with lawns can take? Mowing high (and remember push mowers?). Irrigating properly. Reducing routine fertilizer treatments designed to overtreat lawns (and pad manufacturers' pockets). Choosing the right turfgrass for our locale. Grasscycling, which means leaving your grass clippings on your lawn to add nitrogen back to the soil, and is really the cutest word, isn't it?

Bigger ideas? Freedom lawns, where you just let it all hang out, mowing regularly but getting off the fertilizer/pesticide treadmill. Xeriscaping, where you plant native trees, shrubs and other vegetation, plus use pebbles, stones and more to create an attractive, climate-appropriate landscape. Front-yard vegetable gardens. Laws that limit or forbid phosphorus and other chemicals (this is already happening in some places, most notably in New England where the fishing industry is suffering greatly as a result of water pollution). Noise-pollution ordinances to help give us back our beautiful spring and summer days, without the constant whirring of gas-guzzling, ear-deafening lawn-care tools. Truth-in-labeling laws so that we know more about the hazards involving what's in those lawncare products, not only for our environment outdoors but when we track the chemicals into our homes.

The biggest idea of all? Awareness. Because, as I shared in a comment to a post of mine earlier this week, knowledge known cannot be unknown.

I am not done with the American lawn yet, my friends. In fact, I feel as if I have only just begun.

Now, as for anyone who is just beginning their organic gardens, I have a great book for you. You Grow, Girl: The Groundbreaking Guide to Gardening, by Gayla Trail, is one of the most readable, helpful books on "getting going" that I've seen. It leans towards small-space urban gardening, but has useful information, attractively and succinctly presented, that would be of use to anyone. Five sections cover Plan, Planet, Grow, Bounty, and Chill, plus there's a key that shows how easy or hard each project is. It's a fast, fast read (less than 200 well-designed pages) filled with tons of projects, recipes and great gardening ideas. Trust me--I've read a bunch of gardening books and this one is a real winner. For those of you who are Companion Planters to your Take Five team as part of the FoodShed Planet Victory Garden Drive, this may be something to recommend to your team. And, as with the lawn book above, I borrowed it at my local public library.

As a result of reading this book, I'm adding to my Growing Challenge commitment (click on The Growing Challenge icon on my right-hand column to link to Melinda's "gardening carnival" where she challenged folks to grow something new this year. I already said I was growing a vegetarian garden, with protein sources such as beans and ancient grains). I'm now going to grow loofah sponges as well. I already grow calendula and lavender (which I add to homemade soaps) as well as a variety of herbs (from which I make teas). By adding the loofahs, I'll now have a complete Spa Garden! How fun is that?

One final link for you today: Remember when my friend Kelly and I found that native persimmon tree while out walking one day last fall (springtime, to my friends in Australia!) and then I thought I was going to die when I ate one of the fruits? (Oh, wait, I'm not sure I told you about that!) Well, I ended up writing an article about persimmons for New Life Journal. It's running in the current issue, with the pictures I took and all! You can read it here. A special shout-out to Kelly for always being willing to join me on crazy adventures. And for the Benadryl!

Introducing The FoodShed Planet Victory Garden Drive!

It's time to share with you my Big Idea. It got all stirred up again inside me last week when I wrote about how the Dogwood Festival wouldn't be at Piedmont Park in Atlanta this year because of the drought, and the only other time it hasn't been there in its 72-year-history was during World War II.

The mention of World War II took me right back to what got me going six years ago on gardening in the first place (me, someone who doesn't like to hover who thought gardening would be nothing but work, work, work!) The day after 9/11/01, I walked aimlessly around my local Publix wondering if our food supply would be hit by terrorists. I thought for sure it wouldn't be long before our government asked us to plant Victory Gardens in order to increase food security, just as two million Americans planted Victory Gardens during WWII so that manufactured food could be sent to the troops overseas.

Our issues are different today. Yes, food security against terrorism is critical but we also have reduced food security due to the continual incidence of tainted food from factory farms and feedlots. We're fighting the war on obesity. GMOs. Reliance on petroleum-based transportation and products such as fertilizers. Health-impairment from pesticides and other toxicities. A shocking drop-off, in just one generation, of what's called "earth skills," or the ability to sustain our own lives in nature. Even the lack of preparedness of children in science and math, skills that are central to jobs in emerging technologies and our changing global marketplace. Why are our politicians not talking about these things? Why doesn't anyone realize that the health of the food we eat is central to our lives? Why don't we demand more? Why don't we take back the power of our own destinies, one seed at a time?

And so, again, I am only one person. But I have waited six years. And my government is not encouraging anyone to plant Victory Gardens, even though we all wanted to do something six years ago. We all wanted to feel as if our small efforts could make a difference. We all wanted to work together rather than descend into this downward spiral of negativity and divisiveness that makes up the discourse of today's political environment in my country. And it has nagged at me for so long that I no longer have a choice in this matter. I must now take action.

I ask you to join me in planting a Victory Garden (if you are already a gardener, be a "Companion Planter" and encourage a new gardener through advice, seedlings and other get-started help). Start with your soil now, in January (or when it is workable in your climate--our Southern Hemisphere friends are able to dig right in!). Then start with herbs when it is time to plant (because they are easy and the taste of success, both literally and figuratively, is a powerful motivator!). And let's declare victory over our food supply, once and for all.

The FoodShed Planet Victory Garden Drive

Goal (for without a goal there is no compass on the journey): TWO MILLION NEW GARDENS PLANTED IN 2008. Backyard gardens, community gardens, school gardens, windowsill gardens--they all count. Anywhere on our FoodShed Planet.

Challenge: DESIGN a new Victory Garden poster! Are you a school teacher? Have your class take a stab at it! How about your work buddies? Your neighbors? Have a Victory Garden poster party! Send your designs (size limit: 8.5" by 11") to FoodShed Planet, P.O. Box 88043, Atlanta, GA, 30356, USA. No deadline. Select artwork featured on FoodShed Planet! (The photo featured above is a government-issued design from way back when.)

Sponsor Opportunity: Are you an organic seed or sustainable garden supply company? Would you be willing to offer a 20% or more discount to new gardeners in order to grow your customer base and do good? Promote your business as a sponsor of the FoodShed Planet Victory Garden Drive! Please post a comment or email me at freshbakedcopy@mindspring.com if you are interested!

Add your name in the Comments section below after you plant your garden (first name, screen name, whatever you want) and we will join hands and hoes across our FoodShed Planet. And, together, we will declare victory. If you have a garden blog or start one, add a link to it as well so we can all learn from each other. Check out Kitchen Gardeners International for more backyard gardens around the world (including right near you!) than you can imagine. Start today with a couple of windowsill pots of herbs and you will have taken the first step forward!

Please pass this on to anyone you know who might be interested (including media contacts). And then to those who you think won't. Because on 9/10/01, I wasn't interested. And here I am now.

Pesticides, Petroleum and Sewage, Oh My!

July 4th. Freedom. A good thing. This Land Is Your Land. This Land Is My Land.

Gets me thinking about our land, and how we use it, especially in regards to farming. I think, by now, most people know that organic farming means no pesticides. But did you know:

The Woes

Commercial farmers raise monocultures, or single crops, which deplete the soil of nutrients and the environment of diversity. Since nature is out of balance in these situations, these farmers rely on large amounts of pesticides and fertilizers to control pests and boost yields. Crops grown in these conditions not only contain numerous pesticide residues, but recent studies show they may also be lower in nutritional values than crops grown organically.

The Wows

Crops grown organically are grown without conventional pesticides, petroleum or sewage-based fertilizers, bioengineering or ionizing radiation, and synthetic substances.

Additionally, organic farmers must use growing methods that minimize soil erosion and maintain or enhance soil fertility. It’s nature the way nature intended it to be, with fruits and vegetables at their very peak of flavor and nutrition. Public awareness and exposure to a growing number of organic products has caused a surge in the organic marketplace. This public support saves small family farms, brings down prices, and preserves environmental diversity for our shared future.

What You Can Do Now

1. Go organic in your backyard garden, which means more than just not using pesticides. It means rotating crops, companion planting, improving the soil with compost and other natural additives, providing water and food sources (like a berry bush) for birds and growing flowers that attract bees for pollination and beneficial insects for pest control.

You can even consider applying to the National Wildlife Federation (see www.nwf.org) to have your yard certified as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat. If approved, you qualify for a cool sign which serves as a daily visual reminder of your commitment, and the designation can even help differentiate your home when you plan to sell.

2. Visit local organic farms. It's fun, and you'll see organic practices first-hand so you'll have a true understanding of how it works.

3. Support, support, support organic farmers. Here in Atlanta, Georgia Organics just published the 2006-07 Local Food Guide, which includes a long list of local organic farmers and farmers markets, plus restaurants and grocers that include local organic items. Download your copy at www.georgiaorganics.org.

Repurposed WW II Nerve Agents, and Other Things That Caught My Attention

Come in. Have a cup of wild blackberry tea. Let's figure out your local foodshed, which is like your watershed, only with food. It's all the rage in certain circles--trying to eat local, and sustainably, within 100--250 miles from your home. Atlanta's kind of new to the whole organic thing--like lots of places, it's really exploded in the last few years--so I'm going with 250 miles so I can dip into as many organic farms as possible, and that won't even include the wonderful cheeses from Sweet Grass Dairy in South Georgia. :(

I'll keep it short, and sweet, and try to make it informative and sort of balanced, although that's kind of hard because I do have strong opinions on issues related to this topic. Three facts in particular are what really shocked me into action:

1. Pesticide use in agriculture expanded significantly following World War II as a way to repurpose war-time nerve agents. It's not like "conventional" farming is traditional. My generation has basically been guinea pigs.

2. Growth hormones have only been added to milk since 1993. That means my children are guinea pigs as well, unless I do something about it. So that's why I'm here. Trying to figure out something different. Trying to make a difference. Trying to see where we took the wrong turn, and how we can get back on a different road. Which I believe is local. And slow.

3. The whole "food miles" thing regarding how much oil is needed to transport fruits and veggies across the country or from other countries--see my next post for a summary of this issue--plus, of course, the petroleum that's used in pesticides.

So, let's give it a shot. Get out a map. Choose your foodshed mile limit. Draw a big circle around your home that number of miles away. That's your foodshed.

Some folks are eating only within their foodshed. Some are eating one meal a week, or a percentage of each meal. Some are just making an effort, however small or unmeasured or erratic, or even just in theory, just in awareness.

I know a bunch of the farmers already, but I'm looking to get to know them better, and to know more of them. I'm going to visit a wider variety of farmers markets and farms, order from websites in my foodshed, and explore some of the organizations that are working hard to support all of this. I'll share with you the woes, the wows and what you can do now, and I'll try to keep it brief. Which this post is not. Sorry.