Kitchen Composters: Consider the NatureMill Automatic
Considering buying a kitchen composter, but worried about the amount of work it will require? Concerned you don't have the yard space for an outdoor composter? Concerned about the smell? Consider the Porsche of composters -- NatureMill's automatic kitchen composter.
To use it, add your organic waste -- food scraps (including meat and dairy), coffee grinds, and even pet waste (yuck!), close the lid, and voila. NauralMill's composter uses the hot composting method -- mixing, air flow, heat and moisture -- to create compost without icky odors. The compost gets transferred via a trap door to a lower chamber so you can keep adding new waste and making more compost in the top chamber. Remove fresh compost every two weeks.
Worried about the energy such a composter might consume? From the NatureMill website:
A NatureMill automatic composter recycles its weight in waste every 10 days, diverting over two tons of waste from landfills over its life. This reduces emissions of methane, a harmful greenhouse gas produced when organic matter decomposes in oxygen-starved landfills. Compost returns nutrients to the environment, reducing our need for chemical fertilizers. NatureMill uses 5 kwh / month of energy - or about $0.50/month - less than a garbage truck would burn in diesel fuel to haul the same waste. It is made from recycled and recyclable materials.
Update: Sportsman's Guide appears to be sold out of their solar-powered LED lights, but Get Organized is carrying them for $20 for a 26' string of 60 lights. Buy them at Get Organized LED holiday lights.
We've switched our clocks for Daylight Savings Time. And what better use is there for that extra daylight than....solar powered LED holiday lights?
Sportsman's Guide is stocking these lights, available in strings of 50 or 100 bulbs, and in white or colored lights. Place these lights anywhere outside - cover your house, string them on a tree, deck the front bumper of your hybrid SUV - and the sunlight will recharge the battery. When the sun goes down, the lights turn on automatically. Voila! Twinkle, twinkle, without the high electric bills or eco-guilt.
Spice up your patio or hot tub area with these solar powered lanterns, The Soji solar powered lanterns are perfect for placing around your outdoor living area while entertaining guests or just enjoying a private evening on your deck or patio. The Soji Lanterns are available in four vibrant colours and can be hung or used as a tabletop display, the choice is yours.
During the day the solar panel collects sunlight and charges the AAA battery, then as daylight turns to dusk a photo sensor automatically turns on the lantern. The Soji Lantern will continue to glow for hours into the night and will then recharge itself the next day. Each Soji Lantern is 12 in diameter and is constructed of sturdy nylon for year round use.
In keeping with our "solar powered garden" theory, this Solar powered Floating Pond Lily made from resin includes panel and pump kit and anchoring net for use in ponds or fountains. You just have to wait for a Sunny day and the water will shoot out from the floating lily.
Eating Local with a CSA Share from The Food Project
Hooray for June! Time for longer days, warm nights, and -- perhaps best of all -- the start of our CSA share from The Food Project.
CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. You buy a "share" of a local farmer's crop at the beginning of the growing season, and all summer you receive "dividends" -- baskets and boxes of fresh summer produce.
Russ and I bought our CSA share from The Food Project, a local nonprofit that employs city and suburban youth working organic farms inside and outside of the city.
In addition to growing veggies for CSA members, The Food Project distributes their organic produce to local soup kitchens and sells it at inner-city farmers markets. Youth who participate in the program learn about the food system, organic and sustainable agriculture, and about access-to-food issues facing inner-city residents.
Last week, our share included enough greens to feed an army -- arugula, mizuma, spinach, lettuce, bok choy, baby field greens, and a handful of radishes and turnips. It provides a great lesson in eating locally (see Omnivore's Dilemma and Animal, Vegetable, Mineral), and a great reminder of how good food tastes when it's fresh from the farm.
Sometimes it makes sense to get back to basics. A push lawnmower saves gasoline, reduces emissions and noise pollution, and gives you a great workout while keeping your lawn looking green, well-trimmed and lovely.
Scott's 20-inch push reel mower is light and maneuverable, solidly constructed and durable, and at $120, reasonably priced. Has five blades which can be adjusted to nine different grass heights.
If you're thinking about composting, you should also consider a kitchen compost pail so you can keep kitchen scraps for your compost pile. Here, the key is finding one that will fit on your countertop or underneath, store your scraps, and not smell up your kitchen.
I like this stainless steel compost pail from Nor Pro. It's small and sturdy, and traps odors with a small charcoal filter disk that fits in the lid. Moreover, it's easy to clean and won't chip as you transport it out to your compost pile or clean it in the sink.
I don't think I'd fill it the way they have in this picture, though. When you squish the top down, you're headed for some yuck.
Thinking about composting this year? It isn't hard. Composters.com has some great info on how composting works, why to do it, what to do it with, and how to select the best composter for you. Among the gems:
Along with fuel efficiency, water conservation, and reduction in meat consumption, home composting is one of the most environmentally beneficial activities of modern society. Yard and food wastes make up approximately 30% of the waste stream in the US. Not only does composting sucessfully divert a significant portion of your family's waste stream from the landfill and water treatment facilities, it is a natural method of recycling organic materals into valuable humus. Finished compost is nutritious enough to use as a soil amendment, buffering the pH and helping to retain water in the soil. It can cool the soil's surface, and help mitigate erosion. Why buy topsoil when you create your own endless supply?
Purchasing a compost bin is as much a personal preference choice as it is a functional choice. While monetary considerations should always be taken into account, also think about such issues as visibility, aesthetics and capacity.... Some bins are more educational than others, a few require a bit more maintenance, while several allow participation by the whole family. Some are attractive. Others ugly. A few are actually fun, while a couple are virtually problem-free.
Here are a couple of our favorites:
Burpee Backyard Composter (pictured right)- Burpees Backyard Composter is basically just what you picture when you picture a composter. Basic, durable, reliable. Relatively inexpensive compared to other models, but built to last. Easy to assemble and easy to use.
The Urban Compost Tumbler (small picture, left) - More expensive than some of the basic models out there, but it's got bells and whistles to make it worth your while. Easy to use - no turning - and easy to move around your yard, two things worth paying for.
Can't wait for those homegrown tomatoes or garden fresh herbs? Don't want to get your hands dirty in the garden?
Well, according to our friends over at Kitchen Contraptions, there is another solution. Get yourself an AeroGarden and you can grow vegetables and herbs -- dirt-free! -- on your kitchen counter all year round.
The AeroGarden is evidently an "aeroponic gardening system" sits on your countertop and grows lettuce, herbs, cherry tomatoes, etc. without soil or natural light.
Steinfeld, who lives in our hometown of Cambridge, MA is a writer, researcher, and program designer who specializes in ecological resource management solutions. As project director for Ecowaters, a nonprofit public information project, she conducts workshops worldwide on wastewater recycling.
Her book Liquid Gold focuses on how urine can safely be used to grow food, fuel, fiber, and beautiful landscapes while protecting the environment and providing free and safe fertilizer.
Earth Day Savings on Amazon: Black & Decker Cordless Lawn Mower
Update: Sportsman's Guide appears to be sold out of their solar-powered LED lights, but 
Continue reading: 
Hooray for June! Time for longer days, warm nights, and -- perhaps best of all -- the start of our 
Last week, our share included enough greens to feed an army -- arugula, mizuma, spinach, lettuce, bok choy, baby field greens, and a handful of radishes and turnips. It provides a great lesson in eating locally (see 
Thinking about composting this year? It isn't hard. 
Spring is here! Planning your summer garden? Here are a handful of our favorite natural and organic gardening books.
Want more on greywater? Or yellow water, even? Here's a three-fer.
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