It’s spring—time to dream of ripe tomatoes and sugar snap peas.  You can grow them yourself and save hundreds on organic produce with a few tips and a bit of inspiration.  Our first post in a four part series on organic home gardening will focus on garden materials and the money you can save once you do. 

You don’t have to invest hundreds of dollars to get results.  In fact, you may be able to get started with a very modest investment that will yield you a harvest for several weeks. 

Today’s contributors, Mara Reynolds and Caitlin Blethlen are expert gardeners with plenty of tips to share.  Mara works with Portland Community Gardens to further support gardening in the city. This tremendous program allows families to rent garden plots, learn how to preserve food, and get their children involved in gardening.  Caitlin is the Youth Gardening director for Growing Gardens, a non-profit dedicated to helping low-income, urban families grow their own food.

GBG:  What materials would you recommend for families who are setting up their first kitchen gardens? 

Mara: Containers are a great option for those without access to soil.  They should be made of non-treated wood or ceramic–plastic works but is not ideal for growing things you want to eat.  To determine what size of container to use, remember that a plant’s roots will more or less mirror its above-ground size, which be will determined by how much space the roots have to grow. 

Raised beds are great for anyone with physical trouble bending down, or for containing plants that spread quickly, but otherwise they just require more materials and aren’t necessary. To start a garden, begin by starting a compost heap (no bin required) and building up layers of mulch on your beds.  The tools and amendments you need will vary based on the size and needs of your garden.  

GBG:  Approximately how much can families save by raising their own produce?

Caitlin:  A family of five in Maine did cost analyses of growing their own vegetables in a 1600 square foot garden (0.3 of an acre). They priced what it would have cost them to buy the same items using three different sets of prices: conventional grocery store, farmers’ market and organic grocery store (Whole Foods, in their case).  The total value came to $2200, $2400, and $2500 respectively.  They had about $200 in out-of-pocket costs for seeds and supplies.  The cost of their labor was not included because they enjoy gardening and the physical work involved.  If they would have included labor costs, they would have subtracted gym and country club memberships from those costs.

From this they calculated that a square foot would add up to roughly $1.50  per square foot. That would mean a smaller garden of 400 square feet would produce $600 of produce. These are averages and certain crops are more expensive and space efficient than others. Each year our Home Gardeners participate in a survey and about 97% of them say they saved money on their food bill by growing their own veggies.

Thanks for joining us this week for Thrifty Green Thursday!  Please feel free to jump in with your frugal green tips.  It’s easy—just click here for details. 

Don’t we all hate that plastic Easter grass that ends up trailing through our living room and getting tangled into our holiday baskets?  This year you can actually grow your own grass in your baskets and get your young ones involved in the process.  I found this idea in Simple Abundance, by Sarah Ban Breathnach. 

It’s best to start this project now since it will take a few weeks for the grass to sprout.  

You’ll need:

• Easter baskets(check my next post for where to get great deals on these)
• Plastic produce bags or bread bags(the ones that can’t be recycled)
• A packet of rye grass seeds
• Potting soil
• A paper bag 

First line your baskets with plastic, layering it along the sides and bottom so that the wicker will be protected.   Place a few stones along the bottom of the basket for drainage and then layer in two inches of potting soil.  Sprinkle rye seeds over the top and finish off with another very thin layer of soil, just enough to cover the seeds.  Water liberally and cover with a brown paper sack for a few days until the seeds sprout.  When you start to see the grass through the soil, place indoors in a sunny spot and water.  In a few weeks you’ll have a lush little patch of grass, ready to nestle your home-dyed eggs.  This works great as a centerpiece as well!  Enjoy!  

The financial and environmental impact of  simply preparing a homemade meal rather than submitting to prepackaged products  is astounding, but having the right tools to efficiently pack home blended baby food or work lunches is half the battle.  Our next two Thrifty Green Thursday posts are dedicated to a great product that grew out of a mom’s frustration with packing her children’s school lunches.  Mother of three, Nancy Myers, found a way to “fix lunch” by creating Lunchsense lunchboxes. 

The boxes are made of fabric and unsnap to create a clean eating surface that can be easily wiped down.  Inside are stored several locked leak-proof plastic containers that kids can easily open.  They might seem a bit pricey at first, but they’ll quickly pay themselves off if they help you skip even a handful of meals out.  Since Nancy lives right here in my hometown I had the chance to interview her myself.  Read on to find out more!

GBG: What makes Lunchsense lunchboxes a worthwhile investment for families? 

Nancy: Like many other people I have a drawer full of mismatched plastic containers and lids (none of which, it appears, hold just the right amount of food for a kid-sized meal), so I would succumb to single-use baggies, but I found that both the baggies and the leftover food in them would be thrown out every afternoon – an expensive and wasteful situation.  When I could manage to get lids WITH containers AND food to fit in them, they wouldn’t fit in the lunchboxes!  And then I found that the lunchboxes would disintegrate in a few short months.  

I just knew there had to be a better way, and after some trial-and-error, Lunchsense came into being.  Now all I have to think about is the food, not the containers, or the box, or the waste they might generate. 

GBG: Many parents have concerns about using plastic with their children’s food.  How do you address those worries? 

Nancy:  In truth, if I could find other containers made of anything other than plastic I’d consider using them, but as yet there isn’t anything else that is unbreakable, small enough for kid-sized portions, easy for kids to open, reasonably priced, and built to last.

That said, I like the Lock&Lock containers very much – they are made of polypropylene (recycling code #5), which is BPA-free and phthalate-free, and considered by Greenpeace to be one of a few acceptable options available for carrying food (the other plastic being polyethylene, recycling code #2).  They are also designed to fit together neatly, they are sized right for kids, and they are easy to open by just about any age. 

Thanks for joining us this week for Thrifty Green Thursday!  Please add your link below to share your frugal, green tips!  If you’re new, just click here to get tips on where to start.  It’s easy!  But remember to link back to us in your blog so that we can continue to grow as a thrifty green community.  

Want an eco-friendly, budget friendly solution to keeping your child’s clothing costs in check?  Buy big!  I’ve found that buying clothes a size or two (or four!) bigger for my son works in a myriad of ways. 

• Bigger pants accommodate cloth diapers. When he was smaller, we just rolled up the cuffs a bit.  Now that he’s potty training, they will be able to fit him for at least another six months with plenty of room around the waist!  Check out Rebecca’s post on managing cloth diaper bulk for more ideas.  
• Used clothing has often shrunk after several washings.  Now when I search for secondhand duds at thrift stores, I’ll often buy 4T-6T shirts.  They fit him fine after I roll up the sleeves a bit.  They’ll last him at least a year and I won’t have to worry about shrinkage since they’ve already been washed several times.
• They’re cute!  Seriously, when my son is all dressed in his baggy clothes he’s really quite adorable and I know they’ll last him much longer than perfectly tailored garments.  The outfit to the right cost less than four dollars total and each piece was a few sizes too big for my two year old.  With a few rolls of the sleeves and pant legs, it works perfectly!

I’d imagine this might be tougher to pull off with some girl’s garments, but since I have no experience in that area I’d love to hear from you.  Do you find ways to buy big and stretch the time that your child can wear his or her clothes?  It’s a great way to save money, save shopping time, and save a few more clothes from having to be manufactured.  

You know how it happens: You’re strolling casually through the grocery aisles when suddenly a horrible stench fills the air and you realize that your diaper bag is still sitting on the living room floor.  What do you do?

Or you’ve just driven thirty minutes across town to run a set of coordinated errands only to have your little one erupt in sobs of hunger.  But she just ate!  You have no food, no spoons and now the choice to buy grub on the go or drive all the way back  home.  

We’ve had to buy baby food or toddler snacks, disposables, wipes and even a pair of pants once to deal with the short term emergencies created by our forgetfulness.  While these events were funny and even a bit adventurous, we finally realized that we needed a more proactive solution. 

Now we’ve equipped each of our cars with an emergency kit that will save us from buying diapers or foods that we’d rather not purchase on the go.  We simply filled a container with a freezer bag full of wet wipes, a few disposables (although if you have enough diapers you could certainly use cloth), some plastic bags for our son’s dirty cloth diapers, an extra outfit or two, and small containers full of crackers, dried fruit, and other edibles.  

Now we save money, limit our purchases of disposable products, and are able to feel confident as we head out into the world–even if we leave the diaper bag behind!

What are your tips for making life a bit greener and less expensive?  Thanks for adding your links below so that all of our readers can learn from your advice.  Everyone’s welcome, but if you don’t know where to start, click here for directions.  Thanks for joining us this week!

At five to six bucks a gallon, it can be heart breaking to toss a gallon of sour milk down the drain.  After today’s post, you won’t ever need to do it again!  

When your milk begins to approach its due date, simply pour it into a microwavable container or a stovetop saucepan and heat it until it barely boils.  You’ll re-pasteurize the milk by killing the bacteria that would cause it to go bad.  It may strike a few of you as rather icky, but the truth is that when you finish it will last for another week or two.  

My mom used to practice this technique when we were little and I found it quite odd, but now I love being able to prevent a high priced organic product from going down the drain.

Do you have thrifty green tips to share?  Click here to learn how to join us this week and please visit our contributors and make a comment.  There’s always something new to learn!

Before I had a child, I actually used to complain about the hassle of running errands.  I had no idea what hassle was!  Even a few stops at different stores tends to wear both of us out.  Lately though, I’ve figured out a way to save time, money and the planet: I use the phone!

Instead of driving all over town shopping for certain items, I call stores and talk to salespeople before I ever leave the house.  I check to see if an item is in stock, if it’s on sale, and if they can hold one for me at the register.  Then I breeze in and pick up whatever it was I  was hunting for.  

This may seem like an obvious tip, but I’m amazed it never occurred to me before now.  What a great way to simplify life and spend less time shlepping my toddler all around town.  

If you have a simple budget-friendly, eco-friendly tip we hope you’ll join us this week.  Read here to learn how to jump right in and add a link to your themed blog post.  Also, please read each other’s blogs and comment.  It makes it more fun for everyone!

First of all, if you don’t know what the amazing Yumm Sauce is, you’ll have to check last week’s post for details.  It is a magical liquid that makes young and old alike beg for bowls of brown rice and beans–seriously!

Now I like to support our local Cafe Yumm just because I believe in their business and want to contribute, but some of you live across the country and will never be able to experience the wonder of Yumm Sauce for yourselves.   Hence, the reason for today’s recipe imitation.

This recipe comes from the site Chick Chat, written by a local mom right here in Eugene.  I can take no credit whatsoever for the following recipe or its authenticity, but I hope it’s as delicious as the real thing!

Original Yumm Sauce:
1/2 cup oil (she recommends canola oil)
1/2 cup almonds
1/3 cup nutritional yeast (available in bulk at health food stores)
1/3 cup garbanzo beans – drained (you can use a bit more)
1/4 cup soybeans (or use 1/2 cup silken tofu if needed)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp curry powder

Blend nuts, beans and oil in food processor. Then blend in yeast and liquids one at a time. Puree until smooth. Voila!

Although this sauce does contain nuts which can be an allergen for little ones, it’s otherwise a wonderfully safe and healthy food.  It’s free of eggs, wheat, gluten, and sugar.  Plus, you don’t have to worry about cholesterol since there are no animal based ingredients.  You can take Yumm Sauce beyond the rice bowl to use as a dressing, dip, soup topping, sandwich spread, or a meat marinade.  Enjoy!  (and thanks to Chick Chat.com again for the recipe!)

Why is this a Thrifty Green Thursday post?  Because eating meatless meals saves you time, saves the planet and saves you money.  Plus, it’s great to get kids hooked on rice and beans since they provide a complete protein and are packed with fiber.  If you make the sauce yourself, you’ll have loads of family meals that cost just a few cents per serving!

For more eco-friendly, budget friendly tips, check below.  We love hearing from our contributors and seeing how our community comments on one another’s sites.  Feel free to join the carnival today just by reading the directions here.  Thanks for visiting us!

It’s winter, it’s cold and let’s face it—grease and salt is mighty appealing.  But fast food is loaded with packaging, unhealthy ingredients, and expense.  So how can we avoid it despite our cravings?  Enjoy a hearty bowl of brown rice and beans with a signature sauce from Cafe Yumm.

Brown rice and beans, you say?  How can that possibly be marketed to my family?  Here’s the truth: My husband loves beef, pizza, potatoes fried in a variety of ways, and everything else that passes as fast food, but he loves Café Yumm even more.   My son breaks down crying (often!) begging for “beans and rice please!” 

So what is their magical formula?  It’s their sauce! (Which you can buy or even make at home.  Keep reading for more details!)  At Café Yumm they spoon steaming heaps of brown rice into bowls, layer them with black beans, salsa, cheese, avocados, olives and the most amazing sauce I have ever tasted.  It was actually developed by a mom who was trying to get her two-year-old to embrace healthy food.  After years of experimenting and serving her bowls to the general public, she ended up with a very successful chain of restaurants.   You can read more about her story here.

The Yumm Bowl is vegetarian and provides a complete protein since it includes beans and rice along with plenty of whole grains.  There are several varieties of sauces and combinations of ingredients on their menu, but you can bet that every one of them will be healthy and nourishing for your child. 

Not only do we visit Café Yumm, we also buy their bottles of Yumm Sauce to prepare these delicious meatless meals at home.  The sauce is a bit spendy at twelve bucks a bottle, but since the rest of the ingredients are so overwhelmingly cheap, it’s worth it.  One bottle provides us with 20-25 individual bowls, which ends up being a great value. 

If you’re looking for a Café Yumm in your area, check their website. They have restaurants in Beaverton, Bend, Corvallis, Eugene, and Springfield. (All in Oregon.)   Stay tuned next week for a recipe which attempts to imitate the brilliance of real Yumm Sauce! 

Thanks for joining us week for Thrifty Green Thursday!  If you have an idea about how to save money and the planet, please read this page to see how to add your link below.  

Last year we showed you how to recycle your magazines or your children’s finger paintings by cutting them into creative Valentines, but we decided to keep life even simpler in 2009.  For those of you that need to mass produce cards for school or family, potato print Valentines are the perfect earth friendly, budget friendly solution.  

Simply cut a potato in half, draw a simple shape on the open end, and then carve around your pencil lines.  Once the carving is done, you can welcome your child to join in the fun.  Dip the potato stamp into some thick tempera paint and plop it down upon a piece of paper.  You can experiment with several shapes, colors and textures all for just pennies!  

The result is an elegant homemade design that will delight your child just as much as the recipients of your Valentine greetings.  This is a messy undertaking, but well worth it just for the fun of the whole experience.  

Do you have any plans for Valentine crafts this holiday or ideas for saving money and the planet?  Please add your links below and we’d love to read your blogs!  Click here to find out how to get started.