The Green Parent

by Christine Heinrichs
What’s greener than chickens? They consume kitchen trim and garden waste and turn it into eggs. Their manure can be part of a green garden program. They are the Companion Animal that Gives Back.
Even if you live in town, you may be able to keep a few chickens. In rural areas, there are [...]

With fall in full swing, it’s time to starting think about fertilization…for your lawn and garden that is.  Why now? Fall fertilizing nourishes and strengthens your plants’ and lawn’s roots.  And stronger roots will give them a stronger base on which to thrive next spring.  Many of the fertilizers you find in the store are [...]

ATTENTION: Don’t miss the compost tumbler giveaway at the bottom of this post!!
Did you know that food scraps make up over 12% of the US waste stream?  According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, Americans throw away more than 25 percent of the food we prepare, amounting to about 96 [...]

by Michelle Andrade - co-founder, editor-in-chief, author, CoolMomsCare.org
This year we decided to start a very small garden. We began with tomatoes, herbs, arugula, and lettuce. After a few weeks, I read that you could plant whole potatoes and decided to plant some. Just this week, we decided it was time to check on our potatoes.
When [...]

Susan Harris doesn’t believe in green thumbs. Instead, she says she learned the ins and outs of gardening by “trowel and error.” That sounds a lot like my current gardening plan…heavy on the error. So I’m happy to take as many tips as I can from Susan, who is now a Master Gardner and gardening [...]

Every year, Americans use 10,000 gallons of water, 70 million pounds of pesticides and over $5 billion dollars worth of fertilizers in order to get those “green” lawns to which we are so obviously addicted. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “Homeowners use up to 10 times more chemical pesticides per acre [...]

With a motto of “Turning Garbage Into Gold,” New Jersey-based TerraCycle is making it their mission to “eliminate the idea of waste” by creating products that are made from and packaged in garbage. To date they’ve kept over one million plastic soda bottles out of the landfill by using the bottles to package their [...]

Why pay for good food only to throw it away? It doesn’t make sense, yet it’s something that all of us have done. That’s why 12% of the U.S. waste stream is made up of food scraps. Keep your hard earned dollars out of the trash by using these simple tips to [...]

It’s winter and my house is sealed up tighter than a drum to keep the warm air in and the cold air out. That’s good green parenting, right…or is it? By keeping my family safe and snug inside my modern American home, I may be exposing them to high levels of indoor air [...]

Have you ever met a kid who didn’t love jumping into a pile of freshly raked leaves? I certainly haven’t! So with a beautiful fall weekend almost within reach, it’s time to rev up you rakes and get ready for some weekend fun. And after your kids get finished smashing the leaves to smithereens, be [...]