What do you do with your new phone books when they get dropped on your doorstep?  Do you replace your old one, which gets used regularly, do you replace the old one and let it sit there collecting dust, or do you do like me, and take it directly to the recycle bin?

Why do they waste their money delivering them to me, when I don't want them?  The delivery people are paid for each book they deliver, and the advertising rates are based on the number of people they deliver to.  If they don't deliver to me, and the many others who do not want this trash taking up space in the house, then both the delivery people and the advertising arm of the company looses out. 

Like newspapers have had to move to a more internet based of delivering their information, to remain competitive, phone books will soon have to follow suit.  In this blog, they have had a poll going to see how often people use it.  While some people use it, nearly half of the respondants claim it hits the recycle bin upon landing in their yard.  Another 30% say they use it about once a year.

While my putting that huge hunk of dead tree into the recycling is much better than trashing it, the first step in environmental support is to REDUCE waste.  I could probably find a way to reuse it, which is even better than recycling.  I could make paper pots for seedlings, but I can also use the weekly newspaper that litters my yard once a week for those.

I'm not going to claim that the big advertisment is useless.  When I'm on the road and need to find something, I might stop and look it up in the book.  But I can get it at a phone booth.  Even many grocery stores have them stacked up with the newspapers.  If I really needed one, I could go and get one there.

If you don't use the phonebook, how do you get phone numbers or addresses?  Some poeple will use Google to get information.  I'll do this some, but there are better ways.  If I know that I am looking for a Joe's Store, then I can Google for their website and get the number, but many businesses still have no site.  But wait, there is a phonebook on-line.  Several of them, actually.  They work a lot more efficiently for me.  I don't have to find where I put the book.  I don't have to move the stuff I've stacked on to of it.  I just open up one of the directories and I search.  The one I use most is DexKnows.com.  There is also YellowPages.com, YellowBook.com, and many others.

Now for the hard question, how do I stop getting them? It is very damaging to the environment to produce paper, and if you want to stop getting a directory there are actually things you can do. 

• yellowpagesgoesgreen.org claims to allow you to opt out of getting a yellow pages.
• The other option is to call each directory you get and ask to be removed.  Here are those phone numbers:
  • DEX - 877-243-8339
  • Yellow Book - 800-929-3556
  • Verizon - 800-555-4833
  • The Talking Phone Book - 866-416-2074, ext. 80555

When it is my day to cook, I sometimes like to look around the kitchen, see what we have, and then just make the recipe up as I go. Sometimes this turns out well, othertimes.... We have leftovers instead. But I always learn something from it. It is a good way to use up some of the stuff you might not otherwise use, and can be a lot of fun, if you are up for it.

Here is the low down on two of the items I recently made. Remember, I created them on the fly, so I might have forgotten something I put in. I also do not have exact amounts, so use your best judgement when recreating.

Penne Pasta on the spot
On the spot pasta and cheese

Penne Pasta On the Spot

This first one is really simple. Often best when starting out. I've made numerous variations of this pasta dish. Try different pastas and different veggies. You can also add meat, if you feel the need. I think it is better without, but a lot of people like something like proscutto or bacon in it.

Ingredients

Penne Pasta
Olive Oil
Garlic Clove
Pine Nuts
Spinach
Brocolli
Seasoning (to taste)

Cook the pasta per package instructions. Drain.

In skillet, heat oil, add finely chopped garlic and pine nuts. Cook till brown, about a minute. Add spinach and brocolli. Cook till brocolli is tender. Add pasta. Season to taste. Enjoy.

On the spot pasta and cheese

Also simple, but a little more to it. This one is great if you need a good hearty meal. You can add a lot of other stuff into it as well, but it will fill you up and give you a lot of energy.

Ingredients
Rigatoni Pasta
16 oz black or red beans.
Your favorite veggies, I used brocolli and peas.
Cheese. Used multiple types, chedder, mozzerella and parm.
Cream Cheese
1/4 cup milk
Seasoning

Cook the pasta by packaging directions. Drain and place into oven safe dish. Add the beans. Lightly cook and add veggies (they should still be crunchy). Top with cheeses and milk. Mix well, season to taste. I just put a pinch of garlic salt and some garlic powder in mine. Place in a 400 F oven until cheese is melted, about 15 minutes, I think. Serve with green and fruit salads.

I've been contemplating getting an AeroGarden . My big windows are all north facing and the south facing windows in the house are limited with no place to put plants. I want some greenery in the living room. Without the light, and my forgetting to water them, plants don't last long. The AeroGarden has some very good options to help me.

The AeroGarden uses aeroponics. Aeroponics, is a form of hydroponics, so uses no soil. The roots are sitting in a humid chamber with the nutrients in the water (humidity).  It grows well with all the nutrients sitting there for them.

You buy the starting kits, with the plants.  Put them in the tray, and with just a few minutes work every week, you will get some very nice plants.  You can get various plants in the kit, including lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, and herbs. They also meet AAPFCO (American Association of Plant Food Control Officials) standards for organic gardening.

The garden also uses only a little power.  It uses less than a 60 watt bulb.  And with the computer controls it has, that reminds you when it is time to add nutrients and water, people like me, that are a little forgetful, have a chance to grow.  Not only that, but they guarentee it with a 30 day money back guarantee.

Now for the bad news.  They are expensive.  I love when they say "just 3 easy payments of $49.99" plus the $19.99 shipping and handling.  That adds up to $170.  A little more than I want to spend for it, but I'm cheap.

As is my way, once I see something I like, I like to see if I can find a way to make it cheaper or better myself.  I did not find any plans in the countertop variety.  In fact almost all the plans I found were dedicated to those that want to grow marijuana.  That is not what I'm interested in.

I did find some large scale plans, such as this which will cost over $100 to setup, but will hold 30 plants, instead of the 6 the AeroGarden holds.  I'm considering altering the plans for a countertop version.  You also have to remember that these plans do not include a light source, and they do not include a computer that will tell you when to add water and nutrients.  Of course, you could just use a calandar and mark when you add the nutrients and actually watch to know when to add water.

Went to Chili's the other day for dinner.  We had a coupon for $5.00 off the meal, so thought we'd try them.  After looking at the menu I got a hankerin for a hamburger.  A good spicy burger sounded good, but I'm not eating much meat, and trying to stay away from beef entirely.  I kept looking at the menu.  Returning to that burger several time.

After a while of this, I noticed the little note at the top "Black bean pattie available upon request."  That does it, a burger it will be.  I got me the Jalapeno Smokehouse Bacon Big Mouth Burger with their black bean pattie. Yes, I know, it has bacon on it, but I'm not completly eliminating meat, just limiting it.

I was a little worried that the black bean pattie would be a little odd, but I actually liked it better than real meat.  Now I need to find a place I can buy them....  Done.  Did a google search and found that Morningstar Farms makes one.  I also found some recipes.  I'll try them and post the recipe I like best once I have tried them and fiddled.  Below are a couple of the ones I found.  I can't recommend any, as I have not yet tried them.

• http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/01/hash-browns-and-black-bean-burgers....
• http://veganventures.blogspot.com/2006/08/food-processor-double-feature.... (the second recipe)
• http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1726,128182-253195,00.html (this one claims to be like Chili's)

I'll put one on the menu for this weekend and let you know what I think.  Each one is a little different.  If you try them, please comment!

Thanks for stopping by for the April edition of the Dirty Fingers Blog Carnival. We received several good submissions this month. I am sure you will find them all very interesting. I certainly did. Read them all, post comments on their sites, and enjoy!

Lawns

When we talk about lawns, I don't know a whole lot. I wrote my Seeding the lawn entry partially because I needed to learn how to do it in order to seed my own lawn. We have a couple of entries from people who actually know a little about lawn care.

Every year, people spend millions of dollars to purchase commercial fertilizers and mulches for their lawns. Yet at the same time, they rake up the fallen leaves from neighboring trees and put them in the trash. Amy L. presents Using Fall Leaves To Fertilize And Protect Your Lawn posted at Housekeeping Tips.

Savvy lawn owners are interested in imported specialty grasses and exotic species from around the world or for their lawn. Sarah presents Choosing The Right Grass For Your Local Climate | Spring Lawn Care - Lawn Care Tips posted at Lawn Care Tips. I guess that means I have something else to think about when I start seeding!

Anecdotes

What fun is gardening without hearing the stories other gardeners tell? Jamie McIntosh says Hailstorms can bring devastation to the spring garden in Hail in the Garden posted at Suite101: Organic Gardens blog. A very interesting fact culled from this article that I'm going to have to read more about: “organic soils actually scrub the atmosphere of global warming gases by capturing atmospheric carbon dioxide and converting it into soil material.”

SeaBird harvested the last of these orange flowers from the butterfly garden before the summer heat wipes everything out. "I did see at least one butterfly flitting about during the last couple of months". Read From the butterfly garden posted at SeaBird Chronicles.

Seedlings are fun, it is like watching your kids grow. Jen Carlile presents Seedlings are sprouting! posted at Modern Beet, saying, "This is a post from my food-related blog about my summer garden. All of the recipes/posts emphasize locally grown (or homegrown) food."

Advice

When you start seeds, you need containers, but which should you use? nichole halsey sent in You put the lime in the coconut and grow a little seed posted at Bad Human! Don't take chemicals from strangers!.

Sara Ost tells us which plants are Safe Houseplants for Your Furry Secret Snackers posted at Sara Ost. We don't want out little guys getting sick.

Organic matieral is important for your garden. Creating your own compost is cost saving and easy to do Karen Dowell presents Turning heaps not heads posted at Wiggly Wigglers.

Reviews

Sara Ost sent in this review of a planter that hangs on the wall in This Wall Flower Gets Attention posted at ecosalon. This is a very cool planter, I have a wall it would look really cool on.

Growing herbs indoors using aeroponics is a cool way to grow plants withouth the use of soil or sunlight. Andrea presents AeroGarden | Fresh Herbs posted at Kitchen Elixir.

Plants

Farmers call it soybeans, gardeners call it edamame. Soybeans are very popular right now, besides being nutricious. valereee talks about Recognizing rural America: soybeans posted at Cincinnati Locavore.

If you've never foraged for food, you are missing out on a fun activity. valereee presents Foraging: hot new foodie trend, or the hottest new foodie trend? posted at Cincinnati Locavore, saying, "Foraging = the ultimate green gardening!"

Submit to the next issue.

If you have your own garden related blog, please submit it for entry in next months issue. Use the carnival submission form to submit.

I just installed a nice little tool on this site called Snap Shots that enhances links with visual previews of the destination site, interactive excerpts of Wikipedia articles, MySpace profiles, IMDb profiles and Amazon products, display inline videos, RSS, MP3s, photos, stock charts and more.

Sometimes Snap Shots bring you the information you need, without your having to leave the site, while other times it lets you "look ahead," before deciding if you want to follow a link or not.

Should you decide this is not for you, just click the Options icon in the upper right corner of the Snap Shot and opt-out.

[Note: I'm being lazy and just copied this from their site]

Today I uploaded my first video to YouTube. I made this video to tell how to make your own hanging tomato planter using kitty litter buckets.

Today I choose to write about something I know almost nothing about. Seeding the lawn. I'm telling you this, because I want to make it clear that I'm not an expert. I am giving a place to start, if you are interested in seeding your lawn. I am working on doing this myself, so it is also where I am starting.

I have read several other sites with information on this. They are listed at the bottom. I have also consulted my local garden center, Portland Nursery.

Seed or sod?

First, you have to decide if you are going to lay sod, or seed. If you are doing sod, you will need another article. This article is on seeding. If you don't know the difference. Sod is grass that is already growing. It usually comes in a roll and you roll it out onto your lawn. Seed is just that. Seed. Sod is easier and quicker to start, but it is also a lot more expensive. Here at the tired garden, we don't just care about it being nice looking, we want it environmentally friendly and cheap as well.

Sod is not as environmentally friendly as seed because it is heavier. Heavier things take more energy to transport, therefor more gas is used. Even if you buy organic sod, it still needs to be transported and the machines that cut it and roll it need to get their energy from somewhere.

Preparing the soil

First we need to prepare the area the seed is going. Dig up any grass or weeds that are currently there. Get the roots too. Don't use an herbicide, since we are seeding organically, we do not want to kill the microbes in the soil. Herbicides may make getting the grass out easier, but it will also kill the bacteria and other benificials in your soil. You want a good live soil.

If your soil has already been heavily poisoned, you may need to rejuvinate it. You can let it sit and go to weed, or you can dig in some good organic material, such as some compost. Even if you have not had poisons added to it, it is still a good idea to add some compost. Most soils need more compost and it wont hurt, even if you apply too much. Dig it into the soil.

Test the soil. You can buy a soil test kit, but it is better to get a sample and send it in the your local extention office for testing. This test will tell you what you need to amend with. Check the seed you are using to see what PH it likes. Usually it is between 6.0 and 7.5 PH.

Organic Seed from Shop.com Applying seed

Now that your soil is ready, it is time to seed. Apply more than the package calls for. This is called overseeding and is key to having a lush organic lawn. The more grass you have, the less space for weeds and the more grass you will have. It is a wonderful cycle. Keep a lush lawn and the weeds have trouble getting started. Follow the packaging guidelines otherwise.

Take care of the lawn

Mow high. You should never cut more than 1/3 of the blade off at a time. You cut it short and it stresses the plant out. It will actually grow faster if you cut it too short, because it is trying to grow up tall enough to get some light. It needs the sunshine to get its energy and if you lop it too low it doesn't get enough. It is also more likely to get sick and weeds to come up. We don't want that!

Water heavy and infrequently. Let the yard sit for a while before watering it. If it looks like it really needs a drink, the blades are starting to curl, but are not yet turning brown, water it. You need to give it about an inch of water. Once a week is usually about right. Too make sure you give it the right amount, put a containter in the path of the water. When it gets an inch of water in it, you have watered enough. Heavy, infrequent watering premotes deep roots. The grass needs to go down further to keep getting the water. This chokes out the weeds as well.

Fertelize. Grass needs nitrogen. If you have a lot of clover in your yard, it needs more nitrogen. The clover can get the nitrogen from the air and fix it in the soil. Add more nitrogen and the grass can grow better and choke out the clover.

references

About.Com: How to start a new lawn from seed

washingtonpost.com: A Course in Growing Lawns Organically at Gallaudet

Organic Lawn Care For the Cheap and Lazy

So, I learned some interesting information today about how many web hosts operate. I have been with a company called host monster, who I have been including as an advert on the sidebar. Well, today I got an idea of their customer service and what their uptime "guarantee" is.

First. Their uptime guarantee. Apparently there are two types of uptime guarantees:

1. "Network guarantees". This is what hostmonster and a lot of the low fee hosts use. This means that they guarantee that their entire network will be up and running 99.9% of the time. So, if one server goes down (the one my site is on) then they are still in compliance as they have hundreds of servers. My site, and all the other domains on that server, could be down for 12 hours a day, every day, and they would be in compliance as long as it was that one server.

2. "Server Guarantees". This is used by the more expensive and more reputable services. This means that if your server is down, they are out of compliance. Even if every other server is working.

I will be changing services soon. I am looking for a site that offers a server guarantee. Preferably a 100% uptime guarantee. They also must have responsive customer service, and the tools I need: php, mysql, ssh, raw log files. Not much. If you know of such a host, let me know.

I'll do a lot more detail on this topic over at my shabamdevelopment.com site. I don't have a whole lot over there yet, but that is one of the things that is planned over there. I hope to work more on it this summer.

I'm writing this from the Pizzicato at Portland State University. As I've mentioned before, it is hard to find a place to eat vegetarian, so when I find one that is good, I need to write about it.

Pizzicato is a gourmet pizza house based in Oregon. They have a few stores in Washington and Northern California as well. They serve pizza, salad and panini which include some very interesting flavors. Their seven salads include the standards: Verde, Caeser, Spicaci (Spinach) as well as some other good varieties: Arugula, Chinese Chop, Greek and Mista (baby lettuce with walnuts and tomato). You can add chicken or shrimp to them for an added charge. With three salad sizes, they are ready for any appetite.

The pizza flavors varie by the day, with cheese, pepperoni and puttenesca always on the list. They also have a meat, veggie and vegan choice. Today the vegan option was Provincial. It included red and yellow peppers, garlic, mushrooms and red onion with an olive oil base. The crust is soft, with just a little crisp. It is a plain crust, with little flavor, but just the right texture to leave a nice pallet for building the rest of the pizza. The veggies are all roasted, giving them a nice mild, but flavorful medley.

This store in on the PSU campus, so I can tap into that wireless network. They do not seem to have their own, so if you don't have a PSU account, you may not be able to use wireless. The neo modern design gives a pleasant place to sit, without the overwhelming music and decor of some of their competitors.

The staff is friendly and energetic. They and are not afraid to assist when they need to. The prices are reasonable. I paid $3.50 for my slice. Not the best prices, but reasonable. Rating:

Food: A-
Atmosphere: A
Customer Service: B+
Variety: A

Overall: A-/A