By Vanessa Richins

I am spending the month of December in Southern California.

I had the opportunity to take a tour of the Paul Ecke Poinsettia Ranch, a leading producer of poinsettias.

Did you know that, despite only being sold for approximately six weeks every year, poinsettias are the most sold potted plant?

I also learned that poinsettias started as cut “flowers” (the colored parts are actually bracts, a modified type of leaf. The true, small flowers are in the center). They were later developed for use as potted plants. The Paul Ecke Poinsettia Ranch has been developing a long stem cut-type over the past 30 years. The bracts are also curled, making these look like roses.

Poinsettias aren’t just red anymore. I saw many shades of Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

You may have been throwing away one of the best sources for mulches and composts.

During the fall and winter, many yards become filled with fallen leaves.

Most people rake them up, put them in garbage bags, and throw them away.

However, this is an excellent free source of garden nutrients that also keeps more waste out of the landfills.

All you need to do is prepare a leaf mulch. Simply create a pile of leaves that is 2″ thick, set your lawn mower on high, and make a few passes to make sure the leaves are chopped well enough. Don’t do this when the leaves are very wet, and don’t pile them too thick.

If you want to add nutrients to your lawn, you can Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

Garden roofs are an excellent environmentally-friendly way of reducing energy consumption in buildings.

Now, researchers from the Polytechnic University of Madrid have studied several different styles of these “rurban” roofs that are both functional and beautiful.

The factors studied were “different supports and regional plants based on three factors: the plant growing at a good speed, the density of the biomass perfectly covering the roof and the result being visually attractive.”

The experiment was performed by dividing a roof into 20 different sections. They also left some of them without a rurban covering Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

Kipp Nash lives in suburban Colorado, but that didn’t stop him from becoming a farmer.

As he explains on his website, “Believe it or not, we’re operating our Community Roots project from a rental home. We moved in in the fall of 2005 and this is where the whole idea started.

One day, looking out upon the back yard I thought about how we could grow veggies here in the backyard, and then we could find willing neighbors in our area to offer us their backyard for growing vegetables. If we could find enough backyards, maybe we could grow enough vegetables to sell at market to support ourselves financially. We could also start a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program right here in the neighborhood…YES!!!”

He was able to start farming in the yards of eight of his neighbors, and Boulder Community Roots Farm was born. Last year, on land totaling less than a half an acre between all plots, he was able to gross Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

As an interest in the environment (and the pocketbook) grows, more people are interested in sustainable living.

Portland State University wants to use a recent grant to become a leader in the field.

PSU was the lucky recipient of a $25 million dollar grant from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, with the condition that it be used to benefit the entire city.

The university will need to raise an additional $25 million for the project to match the donation. The grant will be distributed over the course of a decade.

Now the university has the tough job of deciding Read the rest of this entry »