GMG's Friday Find: Eggs-actly Sustainable!

We have all heard of egg substitutes like eggbeaters, or replacements that contain potato starch, tapioca flour, or tofu. Beyond Eggs is going beyond these to a plant-based egg substitute that the company Hampton Creek Foods hopes will revolutionize the industrial food production process.

Working with food science professionals, culinary scientists and professional chefs, the company matched the molecular makeup and nutritional profile of the hen egg with plant-based ingredients to create Beyond Eggs. The functional criteria of coagulation, emulsification, aeration, texture, mouthfeel and flavor provides food operators a match so that products look, taste and feel as if they contained real eggs.

The benefits of food production using Beyond Eggs are numerous. Plants require less water than feed crops. Humane issues surrounding laying hens and food safety concerns are eliminated. No worries about cholesterol or allergins. And as egg prices keep rising, the cost of using Beyond Eggs is dropping.

The product is meant to provide a cost effective and healthy alternative to companies that produce many of the foods we buy including baked goods, dressings, sauces, and pasta, with a cost effective and sustainable product that is good for you and good for the earth.  Would you buy a product that contained Beyond Eggs?  We'd love to hear your thoughts.

~Peggy
Garden Media Group

GMG's Friday Find: Packaging that's Grown, not Manufactured

Eben Bayer is co-founder of Ecovative, a green material science company developing an alternative to plastics using fungi and agricultural waste. In a world where less than half of all recyclables are actually recycled, and when recycled generally yield lower and lower grade materials at very high costs, a system of manufacturing that 'grows' materials is revolutionary.

Recycling is a worthy endeavor for most of us in our daily lives, and will continue to be for years to come. Now imagine a society where everything is recycled using a system with no electricity and runs forever. Forever is a very long time, but at Ecovative, it is here and now.

The material is 'grown' from agricultural byproducts and mycelium, which is a fungal network of threadlike cells. In a week or less, in the dark, with no watering, the mycelium digests the agricultural byproducts creating a beautiful structural material which can replace plastic foams, particleboard and more.

Ecovative starts with materials from the farm, parts of plants that cannot be used for food or feed.  A patented process cleans and prepares a blend of these agricultural byproducts inoculated with mycelium. The mixture is filled evenly in forms in an automated process, and then the magic happens. The mycelium mixture grows in a week without light, or watering, or petrochemical inputs and can be grown in any shape needed. At the end of the process the materials is dehydrated and heat treated to stop the growth and ensure there are no spores or allergen concerns. Uses for these eco-material products range from aerospace to fashion to gardening.

These ultra-rapid renewables may be the next packaging you purchase, and when you're done with it, it can be composted to return the nutrients back to nature.

Ecovative is committed to not just sustainability, but actually making the planet a better place for all organisms on earth.  We applaud their efforts in the 'kingdom of fungi' to grow ultra-rapid, renewable, eco-materials.


~Peggy
Garden Media Group

GMG's Friday Find: Now That's Sweet!

Did you know that Sweetest Day is right around the corner? Of course you did. If not, and you're wondering what is Sweetest Day, google it.

Looking for a sweet gift for Sweetest Day? Are the 'message in a bottle' or matching underwear gifts just not what you had in mind?  Look no further. Here are a few sweet gifts that are conscientious products from The Growers Exchange, an online nursery whose name has become synonymous with Fair Trade, ethical goods.

For the Writer...writers love a journal to jot down story ideas and musings. These beautiful, handmade patterned hardcover journals ($19.95) are crafted by artisan communities in India. When purchased, a living wage is supplied to keep art in bloom. What writer wouldn't be thrilled to receive a journal already drenched in the creative process.

To help spur literary juices, the Sachet by the Yard ($19.95) offers inspiring scents of lavender or eucalyptus. These full display soothing sachets are hand-crafted by a family in Sonoma Valley and will certainly provide a calming and

inspiring writing environment.

For the Chef... Foodies love all things food, from preparation to consumption. Why not look great while adding a natural, herbal twist to everyday dishes. The Spring Retro Apron ($29.95), crafted by artists in Bali, is 100% Batik cotton. The mixture of patterns result is a shabby-chic apron that's functional and fashionable! This apron will become part of your in-the-kitchen

necessities and endure years of spillage and spattering.  No chef can be without their favorite seasonings and the Salt Sisters Seasoning ($6.95)  is no exception. A wonderful combination of sea salt and Tuscan flavors provides a delicious, Italian-inspired kick to your cooking creations. And good for you too!

For your Zen...Breathe in, breathe out.  We all know the importance of relaxing in everyday life. Relaxation and meditation bring clarity, peacefulness and mindfulness.  Share the power of relaxation with these ethical Fair Trade soothers. The Krishna Mobile ($69.95), a product of India, is a gift for your eyes, ears and soul. Made of recycled glass and metal, this mobile will lift your spirit with the melody of chimes...sit back, relax and get your Zen on!  And for added relaxation, Herbal Bath Salts, Enriched Herbal Soaps and Herbal Lotion ($8.95-$14.95) will sooth your mind and body. Inspired by the French countryside, these fragrant products are sure to be a hit for the Sweetie in your life.

This Sweetest Day, say no to silly gifts and yes to equitable and sustainable Fair Trade products. Now that's sweet!

~Peggy

Garden Media

Kennett Township 'Garden Way' wins 1st Place from Keep America Beautiful

Kennett Township 'Garden Way' won 1st Place
from Keep America Beautiful.

It’s a great thing when a community comes together for the greener good. Kennett Township, where I live, is a great example of this community spirit. Several years ago Juergen Steininger, Joe Poppiti and Matt Sabo (pictured here) came up with a idea to beautify the main entrance into Kennett Square, PA.

This past week, that effort and the effort of more than 70 volunteers (yes, I planted my share of bulbs) was recognized by Keep America Beautiful, Inc. for its outstanding cleanup and beautification effort that transformed a barren traffic island into a dazzling island of flowers.

Keep America Beautiful awarded Kennett Township the national first place title for “Beautification and Community Greening” for its “Garden Way” project.

Some 70 voluntees, including the Lions Club
helped make the Garden Way a reality.

The Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) initiated the “Garden Way” project and provided funding for the initial flower bed preparation. Longwood Gardens provided mulch and plant material was donated by Zabo Plant, Inc. and the Conard- Pyle Company.

Some 70 volunteers from the community, including master gardeners and Kennett Square Lions Club, contributed more than 450 hours to make this project a huge success. Garden Media handled the publicity and did some digging.

Sue Waeber of The Garden Design Group designed Phase I. Nearly 30,000 blooming lilies and 200 Knock Out® Roses were planted in a 5,300 sq. ft. bed on the traffic island at the US Route 1 Interchange.

Currently half of the north bound traffic island is planted.

Phase II of the project was unveiled by landscape architect Margot Taylor. It builds upon the existing sustainable design, adding more than 240 new plants and bulbs, including Edward Goucher’s abelias, crape myrtles and weeping blue Atlas cedars and, of course, more Knock Out® Roses.

Every time I pass the traffic island I think of digging holes and planting bulbs with other people in the community, and I smile with pride in how a community came together to make this sustainable vision of three local men a reality.

Suzi
Garden Media

Got poo?

Dirt Du Jour, one of my favorite garden newsletters out of Southern California, just did this little piece on CowPots.

"Dairy farmers Matt and Ben Freund wanted to figure out how to manage the manure pollution on their farm. A methane gas digester did the trick, but there was a by-product from that process - a solid, weed-free cardboard-like pulp. CowPots were born.

Great if you like to start your seeds indoors, but the bigger goal is to get the nursery industry to make the switch to something organic and compostable. The way they see it, reducing pollution, creating a product from a byproduct, and getting plant propagators to use CowPots completes the recycling circle.

And we all know the nursery industry could stand to get a little greener. Home growers can find out about CowPots here. Nurseries and growers can click here. "