I am in love with these eco dog bed duvets and stuff sacks from Molly Mutt (great name) that I stumbled across on one of my favorite blogs, Fig + Sage. Not only are the patterns fun and stylish, but the whole duvet concept for dog beds is genius! Our own Molly has had many dog beds. And although her latest ($200!) bed has a removable, washable cover and the filling is made of recycled plastic bottles, after a year of washes and wear and tear it has seen better days. Check out how Molly likes to “make her bed” every night and you’ll see why…
That’s what makes the duvet idea so appealing. Not only can you have more than one so they’ll last much longer, but if the cover gets trashed, you simply replace the duvet instead of the whole bed. This really would have come in handy during the messy, puppy stage. So much less waste and expense. But here’s the best part: the filling consists of a “stuff sack” that you fill with old clothes, blankets, towels, etc. When the stuffing starts to go flat – just add more! Watch this cute, short video to see the whole story. And take advantage of Fig + Sage’s coupon code for 10% off.
I’m sorry to say that if you’ve visited our site here at grow organic meals in the last few months you were greeted by the same organic gardening post. As great as those tips are, they are not exactly worth coming back for over and over. Well, we were on a hiatus of sorts. A lot of exciting things have been happening around here and unfortunately the blog took a backseat.
As you may have assumed from the photo, Drew and I are expecting our first baby in November! It’s amazing how that news turns your whole world upside down. I was also asked to blog for an awesome organic food company whose new blog is scheduled to launch this month. (More on that in future posts.) Add in my “day job”, family visits and vacations and you can get an idea of how crazy this summer has been.
But we’re back! And we’d love for you to come back, too for lots of cool, new content about living a sustainable and organic lifestyle. We’ll have organic gardening tips, yummy recipes, sustainable decorating ideas and be sharing our newest obsession — organic baby products!
Tell us, what organic baby products do you think every new mom must to have?
Here are a five quick tips for organic vegetable gardening, and some beautiful photos to inspire you to grow organic meals.
1. Location. Plant on the south side of your property. Vegetables need a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight.
2. Create a raised bed or plant in containers so you can insure good soil. Learn more about testing and building organic garden soil, here.
3. If you’re using containers, like me, keep in mind some plants do better than others in pots. Check out Sunset’s guide to the best crops for pots, here. Sunset is a really great resource. You can learn to build a raised bed, care for you garden and find a hundred recipes for your home-grown tomatoes – all on one site.
Photo: Martha Stewart
4. Plant companion plants that deter pests and/or attract beneficial bugs. Onions, basil, chives repel pests. Nectar rich flowers (such as sunflowers) attract ladybugs, ground beetles and lacewings which eat the bugs that can destroy plants.
Harvest (before fruit is overripe which attracts pests)
Start growing your organic vegetable garden over the long weekend and let us know how it’s going. Share your organic gardening tips or seasonal recipes, too.
You must try these delicious Banana Cupcakes with Honey-Cinnamon Frosting (use organic bananas, if you can). After a whirlwind of a week with family visiting for Spring Break – we had a very relaxed Easter Sunday. But I still had to bake something. Am I the only one who feels like it’s mandatory to have at least one homemade baked good every holiday? So I made one of my favorite (aka, easy) Martha Stewart recipes. The cupcakes are so moist they’re great alone – but the simple spiced frosting really makes them incredible. Click on the links above for the full recipe. Pretty pastel photo: courtesy of Martha Stewart.
I’ve found the perfect modern garden accessory: a wood and stainless bird feeder and bath. Spring has sprung and I am so excited for warmer weather, my summer garden (more on that soon) and backyard barbecues! This duo bird feeder and bath is so stylish – it’s like a garden sculpture. You don’t even have to use it as a bird feeder. However, birds are beneficial for your garden – the eat annoying pests. Check it out here – they’re offering free shipping!
Molly is almost as excited about the stawberries turning red as we are. She insists on “checking” on them everytime she goes out in the yard. She sniffs and nudges, but (so far) doesn’t take a bite. She’s even sweeter than a perfectly ripened organic strawberry. I want to do a post on gardeners’ dogs -send me a photo of your dog in the garden.
Here are some great vintage Etsy finds for a child’s playroom. Click on the links below photo for more information. I’m in love with the colors on the match game cards from Sushipot’s shop. The baby blue, primary red, mustard yellow and pea green illustrations are so retro, they would make great wall art in a modern playroom. The wooden yardsticks are also from Sushipot. Mount them vertically to the wall for a unique, non-cutesy growth chart. Blue Bell Bazaar always has the coolest, random items. They’ve been featured on Decor 8 and Design*Sponge – two of my favorite design blogs. The Playskool chalkboard, complete with ABC’s, along with Vintage Jane’swooden child’s chair are perfect for the kids to “play school” with. And Blue Bell’s blue #4 sign (actually double-side with a 5 on the back) would be a fun way for the preschooler in your life to proudly display his/her age. Lastly, the vintage wooden bowling pins from Sweetshorn are so much better than than any new plastic version you could get from Toy’s R Us! They’re loving worn, as any good toy should be.
I wanted to share a quick post about our on-going organic broccoli harvest. As I described in the first broccoli harvest post, after you cut the large center head, “baby” broccoli shoots continue to grow along the stalk for about six weeks. It’s been about 5 weeks and they show no sign of slowing. It seems the more we cut, the more they grow! They are much smaller in size (1-2 inches in diameter) but I actually prefer them. The little tender heads are so easy to pick, rinse and eat – no chopping required. I just wished we planted more. Next year we need at least 3 plants per person. Oh, and I haven’t forgotten about my promise to share my homemade veggie pizza recipe – check back in a few days.
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