photo credit: Pink Sherbet Photography

All this talk about how to be eco friendly is jolly exciting until you realize you’re at risk of becoming the local killjoy. The one who wants to eat organic food not some factory-processed rubbish. The one that wants to avoid palm oil, non-sustainable fish, trans fats, pesticides and so on. Being eco friendly, for all the positive things it can do, also risks making you something of a social outcast if you’re not careful.

Making new environmentally-aware friends helps to offset this issue as well as creating another huge benefit: when you regularly rub shoulders with other like-minded eco warriors you’ll find that you’re not only encouraged, supported and motivated by those around you but furthermore you’re able to constantly learn new tips and strategies for being even more environmentally friendly.

In other words not only will you not have to bite your tongue all the time trying not to mention how unsustainable so many people’s lifestyles are but you’ll also be having plenty of fun (and learning a lot) to boot. Win!

Okay, so the theory of making new “eco friends” sounds lovely but where on earth does one begin? With all the thousands of people you pass, interact with and meet each week, how do you pick out (and get to know) the ones who really care about the planet? Fortunately we’ve got eight proven strategies you can put into practice today to start building your circle of green friends…

Join A Local Specialist Interest Group

The world is full of specialist interest groups. From groups that go out and pick up litter from the sea shore, to those who volunteer time to help local wildlife, to those who take part in tree-planting days. Keep an eye on your local newspaper and radio station to see what regular group meetings there are in your local area so you can go along, have some fun and make some new friends along the way.

Join Online Eco Friendly Discussion Forums

There are discussion forums for every interest out there and the green movement is no different. Discussion forums give you a great opportunity to ask any environmental questions you may have – as well as helping out other “eco warriors” by answering any of their questions that you can.

First and foremost, then, discussion forums are an easy way for you to share information and advice. But just as importantly, over time you’ll find certain members appearing time and again and offering great advice and surprisingly some very real friendships can arise from these online interactions. So go and register for a few accounts today and get chatting – it could be the smartest thing you’ll do today!

Volunteer At An Environmental Organization

Big international charities like Greenpeace often have local branches that help with campaigning and raising awareness of environmental issues. Furthermore a number of wildlife and conservation charities use volunteers to maintain wilderness areas and so on. Far more local charities also make full use of passionate volunteers to try and make the world a better place.

Giving some time to these charities – no matter how small – can really pay off for you. Volunteering alone can be a very satisfying thing to do as well as helping you make new friends and providing all sorts of additional opportunities that otherwise might now have come your way.

Visit Local Farmers Markets

There are two kinds of people who flock to farmers markets – food lovers and the eco-conscious individuals trying to reduce their carbon footprint. They’re also “safe” and friendly environments where you almost inevitably end up speaking to other people you’ve never met whether they’re the people selling produce or other customers just like you. Many farmers markets don’t just sell produce but also have stalls for local environmental charities, volunteering opportunities and so on so this is another place where it’s easy to network and meet other like-minded individuals.

Write For Your Local Newspaper

You, a writer? Infact many local newspapers struggle to stay afloat and paying their writers is an expense that many newspapers would like to reduce. Because of this you will often find that submitting an article to a local newspaper – for example one on gardening or on local green issues – may be very well received.

Not only may it get published but if the feedback is good it could even lead to the offer of a regular column. And of course if you provide an email address for readers to contact you with any questions they may have you can quickly become your local “green guru” who thousands of people read each week which provides you with a perfect avenue for making new eco friends.

Try Community Gardening

For many people growing their own food is an important part of their environmental efforts. Whilst not everyone has the time or inclination to get involved, those who choose to grow their own fruit and vegetables often have an inclination towards to preservation of the environment.

Growing food in your own back yard is all well and good but you miss out on one vital element of the whole experience – and that’s meeting other people, many of whom are as interested in being eco friendly as you are. Community gardening allows you to not only grow your own food but additionally to make new friends.

There are a number of ways to get involved in community gardening including getting your own allotment or volunteering at your local city vegetable plot. Keep an eye out in your local press to see what opportunities are available where you live.

Keep An Eye Out For Eco Events

From guided country walks to talks about organic gardening. From craft fairs focusing on reused and recycled materials through to tree planting days whilst there aren’t too many eco events at present the numbers do seem to be growing all the time. Keeping an eye out online at green events pages or subscribing to eco magazines are great ways to stay informed about what is happening in your local area so you can go along and meet new friends who care as much about the planet as you do.

Network On Facebook

We may be a little biased here as we have our own Facebook page but Facebook really is a great place to meet like-minded individuals. By “liking” various environmental pages their latest news and stories will start appearing in your newsfeed, giving you a constantly-updated source of information on how to be eco friendly as well as giving you a chance to make comments, leave feedback and interact with other eco warriors. And if you like the sound of that then I think I can be forgiven for inviting you to join our very own eco friendly Facebook page by clicking here.

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photo credit: Magic Madzik

Cleaning our clothes, while necessary, is a potential mine-field for the environmentally-aware individual. From the water and power that we use to the chemicals we flush into the water system there are a huge number of improvements that can be made to the “standard” way of washing your clothes to make the whole process more sustainable.

We’ve come up with eight different ways to make your laundry more eco friendly but we’d love to hear your ideas in the comments section below so please leave your feedback at the end so we can be constantly adding to this list.

Keep Specific Clothes For Messy Jobs

Whether it’s painting a fence, mucking out a horse or digging your vegetable plot there are certain jobs where you’re almost certain to get messy. Rather than wearing a different outfit each time, and having to put considerable time and effort into getting it perfectly clean again, why not select an outfit specifically for these jobs that you can clean less often?

Select an old pair of jeans to dig the potatoes in. Choose an old jacket for lugging hay bales around in and so on. Keep this outfit safely in your garage or an outhouse and only bring it out when you know for certain you’re going to be getting dirty. Then as soon as the job is finished, change into your clean clothes and keep your messy clothes safe for their next outing.

Only Wash Your Clothes When Necessary

We live in a world where cleanliness is important so I’m not for one moment suggesting you refuse to ever wash your clothes again or you wear the same pair of underpants for weeks on end but many people still wash clothes far more than necessary. I know of people who will only use a towel once before putting it in the wash. Many people will get home from work, put on their “home clothes”, only wear them for a few hours before bed and put then straight in the wash.

What I’m advocating here is just a little more thought about which items of clothing really need to be washed and which ones can easily be reused without any risk of marks, dirt or smells putting off your family, friends and work colleagues. Simply think before you put anything in the laundry basket and ask yourself if it really needs a wash right now.

Buy An Eco Friendly Washing Machine

Thanks to the “green dollar” manufacturers are being put under ever more pressure to create “eco friendly” equipment and washing machines are no different. There are now models designed specifically to use minimal water and power whilst still attaining the same level of cleanliness you would expect from an older, less efficient model. I’m not suggesting you should go out and buy a brand new washing machine right now but when your machine reaches the end of it’s useful life, consider investing in a new eco friendly model as a replacement.

Use Short Cycles

I have seen washing machines with cleaning cycles that finish after half an hour or so and I have seen other machines that can take over two hours to complete a wash. Unless your clothes are suffering from serious staining or ground-in dirt, most clothes will come out clean and fresh after just a short washing cycle. Take a look at your own machine to see if it has an “eco” wash, an “everyday” setting or similar and try this out for size. I think you’ll be surprised by just how quick a cycle you can get away with and still have clean clothes at the end.

As a side benefit not only will short cycles save electricity but they’ll also save your pocket as your utility costs will go down as well as meaning you need spend less time on your household chores each week.

Use Low Washing Temperatures

Many years ago it was standard to wash your clothes at high temperatures but times have now changed. Washing at cooler temperatures can be just as effective at removing dirt as higher temperatures (with a few exceptions), uses far less power and almost as importantly can extend the lifespan of your clothes meaning you need to buy fewer replacements.

If you have a decent-quality washing machine try lower temperatures of 30-40 degrees as standard and save up any clothes that don’t come up to standard to do just the occasional “hot wash” and give them the treatment they need to bring them back up to their former glory.

Get Rid Of The Washing Detergent

In some ways washing detergents have come a long way. For example many are now suitable for use at low temperatures and can do a surprisingly good job even in small quantities. However we need to appreciate that if you’re using washing detergent – irrespective of the brand – you’re still putting potent chemicals down the drain that risks aquatic life as well as requiring effort and resources to remove at your local treatment plant.

So what’s the alternative to washing detergents? Arguably the most popular choice among eco friendly individuals is the Eco Ball – a natural rubber ball designed to create bubbles in your wash and to repeatedly knock your clothing during the washing cycle. These two effects help to lift even stubborn stains without any chemicals and Eco Balls can be used thousands of times making them incredibly cost-effective.

Air Dry Your Clothes

Tumble drying may get your clothes dry quickly but of course the process also uses a lot of unnecessary energy. In addition it can make clothes stick together, smell unpleasant and indeed these days many garments aren’t tumble dry-able anyway.

So use nature’s own tumble dryer and hang your clothes out on a line to dry naturally. They’ll smell better, iron easier and you’ll save a boatload of money by not using unnecessary power in your home.

Store Clothes Properly To Keep Them Fresh

The main reason people wash their clothes it to remove dirt, stains and smells as a result of everyday wear and tear. But there’s also another less common reason for washing clothes – and that’s because they’ve got musty in storage and need to be “freshened up” before being worn. Rewashing clothes that are already clean is obviously something of a wasteful process but there are things we can do to reduce the need.

Did you know, for example, that using too much washing powder in your machine can leave powder residues on your clothes even after the cycle has finished which in turn can attract microscopic mould spores when your clothes are stored for long periods? This can be a major contributor to “stuffy” clothes but is easily avoided if you use Eco Balls rather than washing powders and liquids.

Another idea is to use scents in your cupboards, wardrobes and drawers to help keep your clothes smelling fresh. Whether you use scented drawer liners or even better just add a bunch of dried herbs the possibilities are endless.

Finally rather than washing clothes to freshen them up, consider just hanging them out on the washing line again to let with wind blow the cobwebs away and make them as fresh-smelling as the day you washed them.

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photo credit: Kıvanç Niş

When you consider the average person’s carbon footprint one of the most obvious ways to become significantly more eco friendly is to consider how you travel around. Driving a car around on your own is second-only to jetting off on vacation  for carbon emissions but one common complaint against using public transport is just how expensive it can be.

In many circumstances this can be true which is sad for everyone. But there are a number of ways that can make using public transport and eco-friendly transportation in general far more cost effective.

Make Comparisons

Quite often one form of public transport can be considerably cheaper than another when you actually take the time to make a comparison. Personally I quite like to take the train while I strongly dislike buses but having done some comparisons recently I discovered that at least for the longer journeys I do, quite a bit of money can be saved by taking the bus.

So take the time to investigate what options are available to you in terms of eco travel and compare them to see where money can be saved.

Liftshare

Whilst the idea of taking a bus or train is a nice one sometimes it simply isn’t practical and this is where lift sharing and carpooling can come in handy. Quite simply rather than a car traveling from point a to point b with only the driver in it, instead a number of people go on the journey. Doing so makes driving a car far more eco friendly as well as cutting down on the costs of fuel and insurance when they are divided up between the passengers.

In the past lift sharing was quite impractical and was reserved either for requests from friends and family or sometimes to notice boards in backpackers lodges. These days though thanks to the internet it is becoming easier and easier to connect with other car drivers in your area interested in lift sharing arrangements.

Use Loyalty Points

Large numbers of retailers, banks and credit cards now offer some form of “loyalty scheme” and some of these let you trade in your points for train or bus tickets. As a result it’s worth considering all the companies you use on a regular basis in your normal day-to-day activities to see which of them offer a loyalty program and if any of these could lead to discounted public transport opportunities for you.

Investigate Discount Schemes

Rail cards and bus discount schemes are often provided by the public transport companies themselves. For example it is possible to find discount cards for students, the retired and so on if you’re willing to hunt around. In some cases you need to pay for these discount cards but if you’re going to be using public transport on a regular basis it should still be possible to make considerable savings during the lifetime of the card.

Plan Ahead

Did you know that if you book bus or train tickets far enough in advance you can often save a ridiculous amount of money? One friend of mine saved over 70% on the standard price of a long-distance train ticket for a day out he was planning by booking it a few months in advance.

Look forward in your diary and see if there are any “set in stone” journeys you can book tickets for sooner rather than later and you may well be astonished at the money you can save as a result.

Buy A Season Ticket

In the world of grocery shopping we all understand the economies of scale. Buying a big bag of rice, for example, will work out far cheaper on a per-meal basis than buying your rice in smaller packs. And the same goes for public transport. In many  cases buying a “season ticket” – paying in advance by the week, month or year can make each journey considerably cheaper than they would be if you paid for each one on the day.

One potential issue with this strategy is that while each journey may work out cheaper, paying for all those journeys at once can be something of a sore point. In these cases consider either using an ethical credit card or, even better, speak to your employer because plenty of them offer support for commuters like this. They may, for example, buy the season ticket on your behalf, and allow you to pay them back on a monthly basis out of your salary. If you don’t ask, you’ll never know.

Consider Your Schedule

Supply and demand is alive and well in the eco travel sector and you will find that travelling by public transport at certain times of day is far more expensive than at other times. Be willing to modify your day’s schedule where necessary to take full advantage of off-peak travel discounts offered by many operators.

Workplace Cycle Schemes

A number of forward-thinking companies now offer schemes that encourage employees to cycle to work. For example in the UK the Cycle 2 Work Scheme allows employers to buy you a bicycle for up to £1000 tax free and then to recoup their investment by deducting an greed sum from your salary each month. In this way it can be possible to gain access to a brand new bike for next to nothing thanks to your employer and the government.

Freecycle A Bike

Getting rid of an old, unwanted bike isn’t as easy as it is to throw away an old toaster or kettle. After all even for the least environmentally-conscious individuals fitting a bike into their litter bin is going to be a struggle and so it’s actually easier for most people to either sell or give away unwanted bikes rather than sending them to landfill.

Because of this it is often possible to find second-hand bikes offered for sale very cheaply in shop windows, local papers or on the various online classified advert sites like Craigslist and Gumtree.

But best of all unwanted bikes can sometimes be found for free – if you’re willing to collect it – thanks to the various freecycling websites. If the cost implications of buying a new bike have been holding back your cycling fantasies then luckily here’s one solution that will cost you only a little time.

Walk

Yes, I know walking may only be suitable for shorter distances. And in nice weather. But walking is always free and is great for your health. Ask yourself if you could reduce your carbon footprint by walking to your kids to school, or popping into the library or local shop on foot rather than using wheels. I work a 60+ hour week at present and I also walk further than anyone else I know each week so it’s certainly possible if you put your mind to it.

Any tips or ideas we’ve missed out here? Have you had success with any of the strategies outlined in this article? Please leave a comment with your own experiences – we’d love to hear from you.

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photo credit: el diablo robotico

As summer draws to a close it’s natural that we start to think of the cold weather coming our way over the next few months. Gone will be the flip flops and shorts and out will come the coats and jumpers. It’ll only be so long until you put your heating on for the first time since last winter but we all know that heating your home can not only be expensive for your pocket but also for the environment.

In an ideal world we’d all heat out homes using air source heat pumps, solar power and wind turbines but for many people installing these technologies is either impractical or overly expensive. So while they should be the ideal solution to keeping your home comfortably warm all winter, what is a suitable “plan b” that any of us can use to stay warm and yet reduce our energy consumption during the winter irrespective of the type of home we live in?

Install Soft Furnishings

While bare wood floors and leather sofas are fashionable and look attractive they won’t help to make your home feel any warmer. Soft furnishings like thick curtains, deep carpets and fluffy cushions manage to trap warm air in their fibres, not only reducing the heat that your home inevitably loses but also helping to trap that warm air in your living space making your home feel warmer with less heating.

Eliminate Draughts

The older your home is the more draughty it probably is. From badly-fitted windows to gaps under your front door there are a multitude of ways in which warm air can easily escape from your centrally-heated home. Consider investing in a few basic supplies like a draught excluder, double glazing film and a chimney balloon which can all add up and make a very noticeable difference to how warm your home feels.

Improve Radiator Efficiency

Our home radiators can often be surprisingly inefficient. They’re often placed near windows where the heat can escape, standard hot-water radiators can become filled with air bubbles, heat can escape through the wall behind your radiators and so on meaning that you’re really paying for warmth that you’re not making full use of.

Start off by bleeding all your radiators to remove any air bubbles, then install reflectors behind all your radiators to help force all available warmth into the middle of the room rather than into the cold walls.

On a side note one other useful piece of kit for improving the efficiency of your radiators is to consider buying a radiator booster. These fantastic little tools resemble a long, thin tube which sits on the top of your radiator. Inside the tube is a small fan and a thermostat. Once you have plugged the radiator booster in it then blows the hot air into your room, making the room feel warmer quicker and thus cutting down on your heating bill – all while costing pennies to run each year.

Increase The Humidity

Strangely it seems most people find that a room with a reasonable degree of relative humidity “feels” warmer to be in – and consequently can turn their heating down without feeling uncomfortable in any way. Therefore a smart tip to help you keep your home warm but still save energy is to consider investing in a low-power humidifier unit which you can run in order to stop the centrally-heated air in your home from drying out and feeling unnecessarily cold.

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photo credit: Pink Sherbet Photography

Growing your own food can not only help you to significantly reduce your carbon footprint and save quite a bit of money each year but can also be great fun. Equally, especially if you’re starting out with an allotment or decent-sized vegetable garden, you’ll probably be needing a surprising number of seeds to offer as much variety in your diet and year-round food as possible.

Even if you don’t mind all that initial investment it’s always nice to get something for free and so today we’re going to look at ways in which you can actually get free seeds to help kick-start your vegetable-gardening fantasies.

Save Seeds From Your Kitchen

One of the easiest ways to get free seeds for your garden is to consider saving the seeds you naturally end up with when preparing vegetables you have bought. For example pumpkins, courgettes and a range of squashes are often filled to bursting with seeds which need to be removed before cooking. Why not simply keep some in a small tray on your windowsill so they can dry out properly and then save them in brown paper bags until the planting season is upon you?

Other examples of free seeds from your kitchen can include peppers, tomatoes and beans. I even have a tangerine tree grown from seed though it’ll be some years before there’s any chance of getting edible fruit off it.

Get Free Seeds From Your Gardening Friends

On the whole gardeners are a friendly bunch and are more than willing to give away unwanted seeds or even seedlings themselves. By joining your local gardening or allotment association you’ll come into contact with plenty of like-minded individuals on a regular basis, many of whom may have freebies available.

Indeed this year a decent percentage of the food that we have grown has all been from other people’s cast-offs. Many passionate vegetable-growers deliberately plant more food than they need incase the seeds don’t germinate properly and then find in a good year that they have far too many vegetable plants to use!

Just this year I’ve had leeks, cabbages, chard, tomatoes and courgette plants or seeds all given to me by fellow growers who otherwise would simply have thrown away their excess.

Get Free Seeds From Charities

A number of pro-gardening charities exist. These range from those wanting to encourage greener living to those who want to make local areas more attractive and a surprising number of these give out packets of free seeds to anyone with the motivation to enquire.

While giving away free seeds is the main function of a number of charities on the whole these offerings tend to be “one-offs” to mark a special occasion or to promote a special event so it’s important to keep your eyes and ears open. As you clearly have access to the internet, bookmark possible charity websites that you find and/or add your email address to their mailing list so that you’ll be first in line when some free seeds become available.

Seed Savers is an example of a charity that exists to give out free seeds to non-profit community projects in exchange for a $10 donation to cover their shipping costs. Most excitingly these aren’t just any old seeds but are heirloon/heritage seeds of rare, unusual and old-fashioned varieties rarely seen in gardens these days. In this way anyone interested in a community-based scheme can get a head start to helping others with a passion for gardening and organic produce.

Free Plant has an interesting concept though how long it will survive is anyone’s guess. In short they give away free plants to anyone in the world – all you need to do is to decide what you’d like to receive and then fill in their request form. It seems that your name then goes into a hat and their software then picks out the lucky recipients and your plants are sent out to you.

So how does the Free Plant site make ends meet? They claim that thanks to advertisers on their site and from donations by users they are able to distribute these free plants. I suppose as you don’t need to hand over any money at all to make a request this really is a risk-free offer though I would be interested to hear any feedback from people who have used this service. You know what they say about things that sound too good to be true

The Dinner Garden is another non-profit aiming to help families grow their own fruit and vegetables, save money and become self-sufficient. All you need to do is to fill in their form to get on their waiting list for free seeds. Just two warnings for you: firstly the waiting list is long so may have to wait literally months before receiving your seeds and secondly this offer is only available to those living in the US.

Lastly the America The Beautiful Fund rescues unwanted seeds from going to landfill and then offers these up to members of the public so long as they are willing to cover the postage costs. At the time of writing it was possible to get 100 packets of free seeds in exchange for $14.95 to cover their basic costs which is a significant saving. However unlike many of the other charities giving away free seeds there is an application process to gain access where you need to write them a letter stating what you hope to do with the seeds.

Free Seed Contests And Competitions

Sometimes it’s possible to find companies giving away free seeds in contests or for completing a certain action. For example I recently found a company giving away a free packet of seeds if you “liked” their Facebook page. Another great example of this principle in action is the Vegetable Seeds website which will send you vouchers to redeem against seeds of your choice from their catalog if you either link your existing website to theirs or create your own free blog at their Veg Blogs site.

Rather like the charity seed giveaways these can come and go so there is really no central resource for finding free seeds in this way. You either need to be persist, searching Google on a regular basis for the latest free seed contests or subscribe to the various freebie sites which are constantly updated with new competitions and free gifts.

Seed Freecycling

Possibly one of the easiest and most certain ways to get your hands on some free seeds is to use the various freecycling websites that we covered here. Registering for these sites takes a matter of minutes and then you’ll find a constantly-updated list of a huge number of products – including free seeds and seedlings – that are available for anyone willing to go and pick them up (or pay the postage in some cases).

Free Seed Exchanges

By now you’ve probably got your hands on a variety of free seeds so that you can grow your own vegetables but there is one more trick worth knowing about – and that’s the wonderful world of seed exchanges.

Just as they sound, seed exchanges allow you to swap seeds with other gardeners and so end up with a wider selection of free seeds as a result. This can be particularly useful if you end up with hundreds of a certain type of seed or if you’ve been saving seeds from your garden and are now keen to exchange some for new varieties that you haven’t yet tried. In other words free seed exchanges are all about increasing the diversity of the seeds you have rather than just the numbers.

There are a surprising number of seed exchanges going on all round the world though they differ greatly in how they’re organized and how many participants their are. As an example some areas have physical seed exchange days where you can go along and swap seeds with other people in person. Online there are dozens of websites to facilitate the exchange of free seeds but many of them are pretty under populated. After all if you’re going to exchange seeds you’re going to want to go to the places where there are plenty of other people if you’re going to get the best possible range of seed swaps.

Here are a few popular seed exchanges well worth looking into if you’re serious about getting into free seed swapping:

 The Seed Swappers site operates via a seed bank. You can surf through their detailed and regularly-updated listings of seeds currently available for exchange at their seed bank. A reasonable level of detail about their seeds is provided such as the variety, number of seeds and the sow-by date.

When you find some seeds you like the look of you send Seed Swappers an email stating what you would like and what you have to offer in exchange. If your seed exchange is agreed you simply post your unwanted seeds off to them, together with a pre-addressed, stamped envelope so they can return to you the seeds that you requested.

Feedback from users is very positive and at the time of writing the site is undergoing a “revamp” so may not exactly match the screenshot image shown.

In contrast to Seed Swappers where all trades go through the seed bank and must be approved by the site owner Seed Swaps is far more a peer-to-peer experience. Think of it like a dating site for gardeners and you’ll be getting closer to the idea.

Sign up for a free account and then list the seeds you have available. Browse through the listings of free seeds for exchange and when you find some seeds you like then “make an offer” by suggesting seeds from your account that the other party may be interested in.

Seed Swaps makes it easy to approve or decline swaps when you’re approached and members can even leave feedback about their exchange to make it easier to ensure you are only dealing with reliable, honest individuals and aren’t sending off free seeds here, there and everywhere only to get nothing back in exchange.

Garden Swap Shop is an online exchange site rather like Seed Swaps though focused on a UK user base. Furthermore it’s not just free vegetable seeds you can get here but a whole range of seeds and even live plants and garden equipment. Users of the site have the option to either make exchanges to get free seeds or in some cases to purchase seeds outright if they have nothing available to swap.

We particularly liked the way in which users listing items available can make suggestions as to what they would like to receive in exchange therefore making arranging seed exchanges far simpler and more successful as you can be sure you’re not offering them some seeds they’re not interested in or already have.

Garden Swap Shop seems to have a decent number of users with new listings being added regularly though we did encounter a small degree of spam on the site which is unfortunate. Having said that like the best seed exchange sites there are user ratings so it is reasonably simple to ensure you’re dealing only with honest swappers thus reducing your risk. For anyone based in the UK and interested in getting hold of some free seeds – or even other garden equipment – this site seems well worth a visit.

Know of any other useful resources for getting free seeds? Have you tested out any of the resources listed above? If so, please leave a comment below with your experiences so we can all benefit from your knowledge.

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The Earthway 2150is really the Rolls Royce of broadcast spreaders and at the time of writing is the top-rated broadcast spreader on Amazon. Whilst it certainly isn’t the cheapest spreader on the market consumer reviews suggest that it is so sturdy and so well-manufactured as to be virtually indestructible. In this way while other broadcast spreaders may only last a year or two of normal use it seems the Earthway 2150 has such a long lifespan that at least one user has jokingly said they will have to put it in their will as they expect it to out-live them!

Let’s get down to brass tacks then and take a closer look at why this broadcast spreader really is so popular in our detailed Earthway 2150 review.

Seriously Sturdy And Hard-Wearing Construction

One of the first things you really notice about the 2150 is the way it feels so solid and hard-wearing. It is certainly built to last and despite trying our hardest when conducting this review we struggled to find a single user that had ever had one break on them. This means that the Earthway 2150 is a solid investment and that, as with so many other things, you get what you pay for. It seems the slight additional cost of this model is well worth the stretch as it will seemingly last you a lifetime while other competing broadcast spreaders will need replacing on a regular basis.

13 Inch Tyres For Easy Use On Rough Ground

Not only does the Earthway 2150 have very large wheels of over 30cm in diameter but these are also surrounded by thick, sturdy air-filled tyres. The large wheels and tyres in conjunction make it easy to push the 2150 spreader around your garden even on rough ground, longer grass or up slopes. In this way irrespective of how you plan to use your spreader it seems the 2150 can take anything you throw at it in it’s stride which makes using it far more enjoyable (not to mention easier) than those models either offering far smaller wheels or solid tyres.

Total Spreading Rate Control

Of course different mulches and fertilizers need to be spread at different rates. You will need to add far more of some than others and equally spreading too much can either lead to wasted fertilizer or scorched grass from the nutrients so it’s essential that you get the spreading rate just right.

Fortunately the Earthway 2150 spreader has a very simple yet effective system that gives you complete control over how much fertilizer is spread and how quickly so you really can use this broadcast spreader to distribute virtually anything you like and the package also comes complete with full guidance on suggested flow rates for different types and style of fertilizers together with tips on how to set up the variable spreading rate control making it virtually idiot-proof.

Heavy Duty Gear Box Means No Annoying Clogging

One common problem among broadcast spreaders is their annoying habit of the chute/spreader aspect actually getting blocked or clogged. When this happens it’s often necessary to stop spreading, remove the fertilizer from the hopper and brush out the gearing system with a firm brush before adding the fertilizer back in and recommencing your spreading. Clearly this isn’t ideal being both messy and impractical as well as adding considerable time to the spreading process.

Fortunately it seems that the Earthway 2150 has this covered and consumer reviews point to a heavy-duty gear box which is virtually impossible to block – even when the spreader is used in slightly moist conditions such as misty mornings. Once again this makes the process of spreading far easier and more enjoyable as well as saving you considerable time each time you use the device.

Large Hopper For Minimal Refilling

For the purposes if our Earthway 2150 review we wanted to see just how much fertilizer this particular broadcast spreader would actually hold. Whilst the packaging states that the hopper will hold up to 50lbs of fertilizer or lawn seed this did seem rather generous and several users have said that the real-life figure is rather lower. However overall the hopper on the 2150 is still one of the largest in the industry which means no more stopping to top it up every few metres – just fill the hopper to the top and off you go.

Variable Handle Positions For Comfort

When a broadcast spreader has a full hopper it can be quite a decent weight. Bearing in mind just how much fertilizer or seed this model will take it is essential that it is easy and comfortable to push or you could suffer from soreness after use.

Of course we have already mentioned the practicality of the large tyres in this respect but another element worth mentioning in this review is the fact that the handle used to push/pull the Earthway 2150 around your garden can also be adjusted to different heights.

In this way irrespective of your height there will be a suitable setting for you so even those who are particularly tall or short should find this device as comfortable and easy to use as anyone else.

High Stability Significantly Reduces Chance Of Tipping Over When Full

An upright, sturdily-built spreader holding up to 50lbs of fertilizer has some weight to it and some other competing models struggle with the problem of being top heavy. In this way they can tip over when one lets go or when they are used on an incline. It seems however that the Earthway 2150 is very stable indeed and is virtually impossible to tip over under normal use. Of course this prevents the risk of damage to the device, of you having to clean up spilled fertilizer and just as importantly it ensures that no damage will come to you during use.

What Others Are Saying

“The spreader is built to last and avoid corrosion, well worth the money. Amazon offers a good price and free delivery. Likely the last spreader you’ll ever need.”

“Exactly what I had been looking for. Big tires make for a lot easier pushing, regulator controls are solid and very accurate, and 50 lbs is all I want to push around anyway, great spreader.”

“This spreader is very well designed and highly stable. Unlike the biggest competitor’s machine, it never tipped and never stalled.”

“This thing is tough. I haven’t been able to put enough material in it to make it flex, it hasn’t clogged up once, and the spreading pattern is really easy to adjust and maintain.”

How Much You Should Expect To Pay

The retail price of the 2150 broadcast spreader is $215.90 at the time of writing (though this may have changed since then). Thanks to the lower costs of doing business on the internet though it is possible to make considerable savings by buying your 2150 online rather than from a physical bricks-and-mortar store. The best price we have found is at Amazon where at the time of writing it was available for under $150 offering a considerable saving on the standard price.

Complaints About The Earthway 2150 Spreader

The Earthway 2150 spreader is one of the most highly regarded spreaders around. The only real complaint occasionally aimed at it is that a few customers have found the act of putting the spreader together something of a challenge. Be aware that the average construction time is around about an hour and that it will require some effort. Equally so, most users seem to feel this is a small price to pay for such a reliable piece of kit and the fact that the construction takes a little time further reinforces just how study it really is.

Where Can You Read More Earthway 2150 Reviews?

Of course opinions and reviews are everywhere. Many of the popular gardening forums can be good places to find Earthway 2150 reviews and another great place to find a neatly-organised page containing dozens of useful customer comments and opinions is over at Amazon.

Where Can You Buy The 2150 Broadcast Spreader?

Being so popular the 2150 is available from a wide range of online hardware and gardening stores. For the price they offer though in conjunction with their free shipping option it seems the best deal can be found at Amazon. Click here to visit Amazon now.

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photo credit: Robert S. Donovan

Every time a web page loads it uses energy so the faster that your website loads the less energy it will use and the more eco friendly it will be. This is important for all websites but particularly so for those of us who care about the environment and try to offer advice on how to be be eco friendly.

Faster websites aren’t just good the environment – they also have other benefits too. For example it has been suggested in web design circles that faster websites often rank higher in the search engines meaning you will get more visitors to your website and of course a website that loads faster leads to a better visitor experience.

With this in mind we recently set out to investigate the concept of speeding up our website to make it both better for you as a visitor and also better for the planet. This article then focuses on the individual steps we took (all of which are very simple and either free or very low-cost) to signifiantly speed up our page load time.

Optimizing Images

Images take a lot of time to load and the more images your website has the slower it will typically load. So one key step to speeding up your website is to minimize the use of images. Certainly some are required by most websites to illustrate a point, to make their content more readable or simply to brand the site with their logo but you should aim to think intelligently about which images are really essential and which are not.

Once you have eliminated unnecessary images you can actually speed up how quickly the remaining images load in two ways. The first of these is to ensure that every image has a size specified in pixels. The second is to use an “image crunching” service like Yahoo’s SmushIt. These services reduce down the overall quality of an image so it looks just the same to your website visitors but has a smaller file size – and hence loads more quickly.

As we run this site on WordPress we employed the free Wp SmushIt plugin which will automatically run all the images on your site through the SmushIt service and then reinstall them on your site in their more compact, faster-loading form.

Removing Unnecessary Files And Plugins

The next step we took in speeding up this site was the carefully go through every aspect of the site to try and identify anything redundant. For example we deleted any plugins we weren’t using, any themes we didn’t need and any article drafts that we had forgotten to delete after publishing the final article.

This was mainly a manual process of logging into our eco web hosting account and our WordPress control panel then inspecting every element one at a time to make an informed decision about whether each element was necessary for this site to run. In other words it takes time but it’s definitely time well spent.

Fix Your Database

Most content management software such as WordPress and Joomla use databases to store all the various parts of your website and over time these databases can become bloated with unnecessary elements that will slow down how quickly your site loads.

We used a free WordPress plugin called Wp Clean Fix to quickly identify any issues with our database (it found hundreds!) and then either fix them or delete them.

Set Up Web Page Caching

Imagine two different pages on your website. Sure, the writing will be different but many elements such as your logo, navigation menu and so on are all the same irrespective of the page you’re looking at.

Web page caching essentially stores the more frequently-used elements of your website in a more accessable location so that they can be loaded far quicker. Whilst every one of the changes listed above made some difference to how quickly this site loads it was setting up caching which really had the biggest overall effect.

Fortunately a wide range of options exist to make this process childs-play and we opted for the W3 Total Cache plugin for WordPress which is free and does an admirable job.

The Results

The above steps may sound long-winded and complicated but by using the small number of free plugins listed above we found that this site took less than an hour to optimize for speed so it really is a small investment when you compare it to the benefits that such a process produces.

Out of interest we used a service before and after our tweaks to see just how much we managed to speed up the load time of this site and I think the following screen captures do an excellent job of showing just how easy it is to make your website more eco friendly.

In short, we managed to speed the time it takes for this site to load by around 30% - and in doing so we are saving a considerable amount of energy every time a new visitor arrives at this site.

Before: 3.2 secs to load

After: 2 secs to load

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The Black And Decker CM1936 lawn mower is currently one of the most highly-regarded mowers of all for a wide number of reasons generally related to it’s reliability and practicality. Indeed it seems that Black & Decker have gone all out with this mower to make it one of the most user-friendly mowers available which arrives almost totally built and with the battery charged so you can go from box to garden in minutes and your new CM1936 can take over right where your old mower gave up.

Let’s take a closer look in our detailed Black And Decker CM1936 review at exactly why this cordless electric mower is so popular among gardeners…

Trustworthy Black And Decker Pedigree

First and foremost of course the CM1936 lawn mower is produced by Black And Decker which means it has an enviable pedigree from one of the most trusted and experienced tool manufacturers today. In general Black And Decker tools benefit from a long lifespan and practical design to help you get the job done as smoothly as possible and the CM1936 is really no different. Numerous consumer reviews sing it’s praises with a few buyers saying that now they have experienced the Black and Decker CM 1936 they’ll never buy a different brand of mower again!

Being Black And Decker this also means that it’s easy to find spares, accessories or replacement parts should they be necessary, getting your mower fixed should you ever need to is easy and for your peace of mind Black And Decker provide a two year warranty on the CM1936 they’re so confident it will perform effortlessly for you.

Electric Power Source For Quiet, Economical And Environmentally-Friendly Operation

The Black And Decker CM1936 is an electric lawn mower rather than being powered by fossil fuels so it is far kinder to the environment. It also means your shed or garage won’t smell of gas all the time and without the need for a combustion engine the CM1936 is generally a little lighter to push around than the average gas-powered mower. Lastly the electric power means that it is far quieter in use – even when working to cut long grass – which you neighbours and the local wildlife will thank you for.

Instant Start – No Need For Starter Cords Or Chokes

A further benefit of mot electric mowers – including this the Black & Decker CM1936 19-Inch 36-Volt Cordless Electric Lawn Mower With Removable Battery is that they start instantly with the press of a button.

Gone are the days of needing to mess around with starter cords and chokes to get your mower going so this model is ideal for those who either don’t have the strength or simply can’t be bothered with all the effort of gas-powered mowers.

Just wheel out your mower with it’s battery, press a button and off you go.

Practical Cordless Design For Safer, Easier Mowing

Unlike many electric mowers the CM 1936 lawn mower is a cordless model and runs instead on an internal battery. The benefit of doing away with the cord is that mowing becomes both easier and safer. No need to worry about where the cord is to ensure you don’t cut through it with the mower. No worries about extension leads or the muddle that can happen as you go round trees and ponds, slowly curling the cord around the various parts of your garden.

No, with with CM1936 you’re purely battery powered and so you can go anywhere without these worries or concerns which makes mowing your lawn safer, quicker and more enjoyable.

Long-Life Battery Allows 1/4-1/3 Acre Of Mowing Between Charges

One concern among gardeners when it comes to battery-powered electric mowers is just how long a single charge is going to last but this is where out Black And Decker CM1936 review gets interesting. You see this model is capable of mowing 1/4 to 1/3 of an acre before needing to be recharged making it ideal for the average sized lawn.

Even better should this generous power supply still not be enough for you the Black and Decker CM1936 has been designed in such a way that the battery simply lifts out of the mower and so if you are “caught short” you can simply pop in another fully-charged battery and off you go again. No need to unclip anything, go to work with a screwdriver or suchlike. A minute to swap the batteries over and you’re up and running again.

Comes Complete With Energy Star Rated Charger

When it comes to actually charging the battery of your CM1936 lawn mower between use you’ll find that it comes complete with an Energy Star rated charger. This means you don’t need to buy any additional accessories in order to charge the battery and consumer reports suggest that the charger does an excellent job unlike some models where realistically a replacement charger is necessary to do a proper job.

The Energy Star rating means that as well as successfully and reliably charging the battery of your Black And Decker CM1936 it will do so in an energy-efficient manner meaning you use less electricity to charge it and save on your fuel bills to boot.

Large 19″ Cutting Blades For Faster Mowing

The CM1936 lawn mower possesses a decent-sized 19″ cutting blade which means you can cut more grass in a shorter time thus reducing the length of time it takes to maintain your garden and allowing you more time to enjoy your perfectly trimmed lawn.

Easy Folding For Storage

One unique feature worth mentioning in this CM1936 review is the way that this lawn mower is designed to fold almost totally flat to allow you to store it on it’s end in a very small space such as a corner of a shed or garage in contrast to most electric mowers that require a considerable amount of space to store when not in use.

36V Motor For Powerful Cutting

Many electric mowers rely on a 24 volt motor however in line with the simple Black And Decker policy of making tools that really get the job done without any messing around the CM1936 lawn mower has a 36V motor meaning more power.

In this way it is capable of handling all sorts of grass including lawns that are particularly long or thick that would cause many lawn mowers to struggle and either become clogged or do a substandard job in the cutting. Overall based on user feedback it seems this mower can handle virtually anything you throw at it with ease thanks to the ultra-powerful motor it possesses.

Collects Grass Or Distributes As Mulch

Depending on your requirements the Black Decker CM1936 lawn mower can either collect grass in the bag that comes in the pack or it can distribute the finely-chopped grass out of the back of the mower as a useful organic mulch to add nutrients back into your lawn.

For those gardeners who opt to use the grass collecting bag it offers generous proportions meaning less emptying of the bag is required when compared to many other popular mowers and furthermore it has a simple release mechanism attaching it to the main body of the mower whereby the grass collecting bag can simply be lifted off for ease of emptying.

Variable Cutting Heights With Patent Pending Technology

The final feature worthy of mention is that this lawn mower model uses a special patent pending technology to allow you to quickly and easily adjust the cutting height. In many lawn mowers that use wheels it is necessary to individually adjust each wheel should you want to change the cutting height and this can of course be a slow, messy and inconvenient task.

However the Black & Decker CM1936 allows you to quickly and easily adjust the cutting height of all four wheels with a single lever making it a considerably more practical alternative to many competing mowers currently available.

What Others Are Saying

“I love the convenience of not having to mess with gas, I love the safety button to prevent unexpected starting, and I really love how quiet the mower is. I am VERY HAPPY with my decision to buy the CM1936. ”

“This mower is quiet, powerful, easy to operate, and works as advertised.”

“Cuts precisely and bags perfectly. Has reduced a previous ten clipping bag project to two!”

“I’ve been using the mower for a month now, cutting my grass each week and am very pleased with it’s performance.”

“It is light and nimble, has plenty of power, and has the easiest mechanism I have ever seen for adjusting cutting height.”

How Much You Should Expect To Pay For The CM1936 Mower

The CM1936 certainly isn’t the cheapest electric mower on the market though as with so many things you really get what you pay for. At the time of writing the CM1936 has a retail price of $399.99 though shopping around online it is possible to get this mower cheaper if you know where to look. Possibly the best saving at present is to be had on Amazon where the mower is available for under $350 offering quite a discount on what you could pay in your local hardware store.

Complaints About The Black And Decker CM1936

Whilst the CM1936 is one of the most highly rated electric mowers currently available there are two minor niggles that a few people have mentioned after regular, repeated use. The first of these is that this isn’t the lightest lawn mower in the world. To be fair though, it’s still a lot lighter than most diesel-powered mowers and furthermore the weight isn’t unpleasant. It certainly doesn’t reduce the ease of use and is really an indication of how sturdily built this machine really is.

The other niggle is that there is no battery indicator making it difficult to tell how much charge remains in the battery. However most users find that a single charge is more than enough to mow their lawn and of course the included charger can be used to effortlessly charge the battery between use. If the worst comes to the worst it is easy enough to pop in a new battery to to push the mower back to the shed to recharge it before finishing off the job. Whilst the lack of a battery indicator is mildly annoying, it doesn’t seem that having one would really make using this mower any quicker or more efficient.

Where Can You Read More Black And Decker CM1936 Lawn Mower Reviews?

The best place I have found for plenty more impartial reviews is over at Amazon where dozens of real-life customers have left their thoughts and opinions after purchasing one of these reliable mowers.

Where Can You Buy The CM1936 Electric Mower?

The CM1936 is now a “standard model” in the gardening trade and as such is widely available both from local garden centers and hardware stores as well as being available from a number of online stores allowing easy price comparisons. For my money the best deal at present thanks to their price and the offer of free shipping seems to be on Amazon. Click here to visit Amazon now.

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photo credit: normanack

In theory any organic matter left to rot will eventually turn into rich, nutritious compost that can be used around your garden to grow vigorous healthy plants. However as you’ll discover the practise is rather more difficult and the purpose of this article on how to compost is to reveal a wide range of hints and tips to make your composting as quick and simple as possible while producing the very best compost around.

Why Compost?

When you learn to compost you will be in an ideal position to significantly reduce the rubbish you send to landfill. Any plant-based matter can be composted including fallen leaves, trimmings from clipping hedges and bushes and of course leftovers from the kitchen such as potato peelings and old apple cores.

All of this “waste” can be turned back into usable soil rather than worrying about the implications of disposal. Even better, when treated correctly this waste will rapidly turn into rich, sweet-smelling soil which is not only a pleasure for the senses but is also an ideal growing medium for your garden plants. In other words it’s mother nature’s way of recycling nutrients from dead plant material into new, living plant material.

Lastly, despite these obvious benefits learning how to compost is also both satisfying and enjoyable and there are so many different variables you can experiment with it can be quite exciting to run “tests” between different methods to see what works best for you!

The Drawbacks Of Making Compost

With all these benefits it’s hard to believe there are any potential downsides of composting but there are a few issues worth considering.

Firstly the act of composting involves a delicate mixture of elements and if you get them wrong your plan material can either turn into a smelly, brown mess rather than the rich, sweet-scented compost we want or it can take years to complete the process. Neither is ideal – we want the best possible compost as quickly as possible so we can make full use of it as quickly as possible and save space in our garden.

Secondly if you’re adding food waste to your compost heap be aware that there is a risk it may attract vermin. Rats and mice may sniff out the food and given half a chance may try to make the most of the spread on offer. This is a good reason to invest in a proper compost bin rather than simply dumping your waste in a pile as properly-designed compost bins are designed to help keep vermin at bay and this keep your garden safe and pest-free.

The last real drawback is simply that turning organic matter into compost does take some effort if you’re going to do it right. When it comes to how to compost the results you get are in direct relation to the effort you put in initially in properly planning and preparing your compost bin for action. Realistically creating your own compost may be more effort than just going to buy a ready-made bag from your local garden centre – but of course buying pre-made compost is also far less satisfying and far more wasteful.

The Theory Of How To Compost

Organic waste is naturally broken down by micro-organisms and fungi so that the nutrients can be reused. Whilst this process happens naturally the theory of composting is essentially all about controlling and speeding up this process to enable you to create good quality compost as quickly as possible without the risk of pests getting into your waste – and also frankly without your garden looking too much of a mess.

There are a number of key ingredients which will make the process work faster than if you simply left a pile of dead organic matter in a heap. Firstly, the bacteria which actually creates the compost requires oxygen to do it’s job and so the more air you can get into your compost bin the better. This is one reason why “compost tumblers” can be so effective. A compost tumbler is essentially a compost bin suspended from a strudy metal frame which allows you to regularly turn the bin over – thus moving all the organic matter inside and – rather like whisking an egg -  putting extra air into the “mix”.

Secondly the process of breaking down organic matter into compost requires warmth. Within reason the warmer your compost heap is the quicker the process will take place which is why many compost bins are dark in color. Additionally placing your compost into a compost bin helps to trap some of the warmth naturally created by the composting process so keeping your compost bin slightly warmer than the surrounding air.

Finally the bacteria require a source of nitrogen to feed on. In nature this will come from the organic matter itself which takes time to break down. Because of this, the process can be quite slow, as it takes time for the bacterial colony to grow and reproduce to the point that the culture is large enough to break down all the matter in a compost heap. When it comes to how to compost though there are ways to speed the process up considerably by providing extra nitrogen and thus kick-starting the breakdown process.

How To Compost – A Step-By-Step Guide

The composting process starts with organic waste – either from your garden/allotment or from your kitchen. To keep your kitchen waste fresh and suitable for your compost bin – as well as to keep your home smelling sweet – without you having to run down the garden every time you prepare a meal a wise investment if you’re serious about how to compost is one of the many kitchen composters.

The one type of garden waste that you must be careful with are grass clippings. These are so fine and so full of moisture that they often don’t break down well in a compost bin and will simply turn to sludge because it “clogs” and the bacteria are unable to get the oxygen they need to do their job. Therefore if you want to add grass-clippings to your compost bin do so only in small amounts so that it makes up a small amount of the total organic matter in your bin.

Compost bins themselves differ widely in size, style and design. As mentioned the “tumbler” style of compost bin can be particularly practical and easy to work with. Amazon currently has a good selection of compost bins worth looking at.

A good mixture of grades and types of matter tends to work well and adding in handfuls of straw from time to time will help to aerate your compost and assist the bacteria in doing their job.

Maintenance of a compost heap is really minimal once you understand the basics of adding in your organic matter. Two wise jobs to carry out from time to time are firstly to add some compost activator which will provide additional nitrogen and thus speed up the composting process and also to turn your compost bin thus adding additional oxygen into the mixture.

Keep an eye on the contents of your bin and within 6-12 months under these conditions you should have perfect compost ready to use around your garden or allotment.

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photo credit: AndyRobertsPhotos

I’m always keen to find new ways to be more eco friendly but I’ve always struggled with the concept of organic box schemes. The premium price tag and the lack of flexibility have always been such a turn off that I’ve never really seriously considered them.

Until last week.

Reading Confessions Of An Eco Shopper I was quite surprised by the findings of Kate Lock when she herself decided to learn more about organic box schemes and found myself motivated to dig a little deeper (no pun intended!) into the organic box schemes that run in my local area.

Loss Of Control Over Your Fruit And Vegetable Shopping

The first major hurdle many people struggle with is quite simply the loss of control that organic box schemes create. What I mean by this is that typically you go to a shop of some form and choose a wide variety of fruit and vegetables based on price and what your family likes among other things. Not only do you choose the types of produce you bring home but you can also personally look them over and select the perfect cucumber, pepper or apple.

Organic box schemes take a lot of this control away from you. Not only does the box contain a wide variety of different items – some of which you may not normally have bought – but someone else will have picked out the specific items you receive. This means there is a degree of trust that the box scheme you sign up to will provide a wide selection of top quality food and/or that you can have back a measure of control over what you receive.

In many instances it seems that customers of organic box schemes are happy with the quality they have received and whilst very few give you carte blanche control over what you receive it seems many schemes currently operating will take “guidance” from you such as you being able to request no swede this week if your family really detests it no matter how you try and prepare it.

The Cost Implications Of Organic Box Schemes

Organic food is almost invariably more expensive than pesticide-ridden, mass-produced food I think you’d agree and when you also factor in the cost of having someone deliver it to your door the logical assumption is that signing up to an organic box scheme is going to significantly increase the cost of your weekly fruit and vegetable shopping. Or so you’d think.

It seems that by cutting out the middle man and dealing directly with consumers many of these locally-run organic box schemes actually come in at a comparable cost to your local supermarket or farmers market – and in some instances can be even cheaper.

Kate Lock found that the fruit and vegetables she got from her organic box scheme actually worked out cheaper than her local supermarket and was only undercut mildly by her local greengrocer making box schemes a far more cost effective way to help the planet (and your health) by choosing organic produce over factory-farmed food.

How Environmentally-Friendly Are Organic Box Schemes Anyway?

Speaking of the battle between organic food and mass-produced food, a less obvious question is really how eco friendly these schemes really are. After all it seems obvious that supporting farmers who don’t pollute the planet with pesticides, fertilizers and other hazardous chemicals must be a good thing.

But remember the common misconception that organic doesn’t necessarily mean local or in season. Some organic box schemes will include fruit flown in from abroad. Sure, it was grown organically but all those extra food miles somewhat limit the environmental benefits wouldn’t you say?

So don’t just assume that an organic box scheme means “brownie points” for you on the environmental front. Do your research and aim for not just organic food but also produce that is grown locally and is in season. Not only will you reduce food miles this way but you’ll also add variety to your diet thanks to the ever-changing seasons and the delicious new flavours that each one brings.

Making The Most Of Your Organic Produce

Overall buyers of organic produce seem to agree that the shelf life is shorter than their less sensitively produced alternatives. This means that if you are to really get the most possible from an organic box scheme you need to not only learn a little more about the best ways to store fruits and vegetables, thus prolonging their life.

For example do you know the best way to keep a lettuce healthy and crisp for the longest? If you said to pop it in the salad crisper of your fridge you’d be wrong. Instead, place the cut stem of your lettuce into a glass of water – as if it were a bunch of cut flowers – and your lettuce will stay happy and healthy for much longer.

Secondly the rich diversity of seasonal produce you will find in your kitchen can either become a dream or a nightmare depending on your cooking abilities. A few decent cookery books, a willingness to experiment and some free time each week will all come in useful as you test out different recipes to see exactly how your family enjoys each item. Equally this “push” to experiment can not only mean that you eat a far wider range of vitamins and other nutrients but furthermore you might even discover some flavours you didn’t even know you loved!

When all is said and done there are far more benefits to organic box schemes than I initially realized and I am currently assessing my local schemes to see which will fit best with my hectic lifestyle. Isn’t it time that you considered doing the same?

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