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Hot Summer Cool Reads
June 12, 2007

Summer is almost here. Yippee! It is vacation time and a great opportunity to catch up with some reading. In the past, most of my summer reading included trashy novels that I erased out of my already-cluttered memory before the last page was finished. Occasionally I would luck out with a few quality novels or non-fictions that pretty much made my day if not the entire summer. So aside from mandatory trashy beach books, this summer I will recommend some books that have made my day, month or year. Some of these books changed my life, some of these books I leaf through almost every year, and some are just plain interesting. Here they go.

POETIC NATURE
I have never grown tired of reading these books over and over. They are truly classics.

Top choice: Last of the Curlews - by Fred Bodsworth
Not for the faint of heart, it is a romantic tear-jerker in every sense. I bawled like a baby for a couple of hours the first time I read this slim book. Yet every year I reread this heart-wrenching page-turner – easily owning a spot in my top 10 books of all time. The Eskimo curlew was a species of shorebird that migrated south from arctic Canada every fall. It would fly across Canada, and then, after feeding, head south over the Atlantic to South America. The second journey was comprised of 2,500 miles of nonstop flight. The treacherous journey, the strong little bodies, the haunting mating calls from one lonely Eskimo curlew… I more or less forced my husband to read it. After reading it in one sitting, he bought a copy of his own. Yes, we share a bookshelf. It is THAT GOOD.

Runner up: Song for the Blue Ocean - by Carl Safina
Decidedly un-preachy, Safina tells the story of three disparate communities and their relationship to a dying sea: New England and bluefin tuna, the Pacific Northwest and salmon, and the Southwest Pacific and aquarium fish. He weaves a rich tapestry of scientific studies, emotional journy, human stories, animal observations and more. A friend of mine recently told me that her best friend Kalpana Chawla took Song of the Blue Ocean to the Columbia space shuttle. The Columbia crashed on February 1, 2003 and in the wreckage, they found this book. After getting goose bumps from the story, I went back to reread some chapters, still simply amazing!

Second Runner up: The Beak of the Finch - by Jonathan Weiner
Read this book for the first time when visiting the Galapagos Islands. And read it again since then. The isolation of the Galapagos Islands made them great locations to study evolution. Two researchers studied twenty generations of finches over twenty years and meticulously documented how these birds evolved over time. It is a brilliantly written book that is also deceptively accessible for non-scientist readers. A great beach read.

PURE INSPIRATION

Top choice: The Sense of Wonder - by Rachel Carson
This was written by the mother of modern environmentalism more than 30 years ago. More urgently needed than ever, it offers timeless sage advice, as newer and fancier gadgets and entertainment stubbornly try to take us and our children away from the wonders of nature. Carson urges parents to take their children to study birds, listen to the winds, and observe the stars. Best of all, the book is so lyrical that it reads like poetry rather than advices. Whenever I am too tired or too jaded to enjoy my children’s priceless curiosity, I pick up this book to refill my inspiration. It takes no more than 2 hours to read the entire book, but it will take years to practice its wisdom.

Runner up: Unbowed - by Wangari Maathai
In this fascinating memoir, Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, writes about the lush Kenya she remembered, the arid nightmare it became, and her Green Belt Movement to plant millions of trees and seeds of democracy. This is to my friend Gary who earns $500K a year yet feels too poor to live green: please read this book and ditch your sorry excuses.

POWER ROOTED IN KNOWLEDGE

Top pick: The Diversity of Life - by E.O. Wilson
The author is an eminent Harvard entomologist. This rich and important book, considered by many as the best on biodiversity, details the intricately connected web of natural lives on earth, the potential threats to it, and the unthinkable consequences of its destruction. Being an influential and widely respected scientist, E.O. Wilson lays out sound and accurate scientific evidences in a logical flow; being a fine writer, he presents them with poetic eloquence and heart-felt lyrics. At the end, he offers up tough-love solutions. It may not be a leisure summer read, but it certainly is a must-read.

Runner up: Between Pacific Tides - by Edward Ricketts & Jack Calvin
I have to admit that I have not read this book. A friend of mine recommended it because I had complained to her about not knowing the natural history, marine animals and plants along the pacific coast. Whenever we go to the beach in San Francisco, Half Moon Bay, or Monterey Bay, I feel utterly useless when my children ask me questions about the things they see on the beach. So this summer, I have decided to learn a little more about these creatures that live fewer than 50 miles west of us.

TAKING ACTIONS

Top pick: How to Grow More Vegetables and Fruits - by John Jeavons
Alice Waters says, “How to Grow More Vegetables may be one of the most important how-to guides ever written.” This is a common-sense step-by-step advice book on how to grow more vegetables, and fruits, nuts, berries, grains, and other crops with bio-intensive mini-farm sustainable techniques. The advice is based on 30 years of hands-on experiments and trial and error. With detailed illustrations, this books covers topics from building healthy soil, compost, companion planting, to natural insect control, and many more. I was never into gardening until a lady at Common Ground convinced me to buy this book. Now I am learning to be a gardener with the book, enthusiastically. Easily the best backyard gardening book, and beyond that, a fantastic introduction to sustainable farming.

Runner up: Last Child in the Woods - by Richard Louv
When I was a child, my cousins and I used to go to a stream half a mile away from our grandparents’ house and spent half a day wading through the shallow water, trying to catch tadpoles and small fish, and splashing each other silly. One of my best memories remains to be running home in a drenching storm, screaming and laughing. We now live in a beautifully manicured northern California suburban home where seeing a lizard is almost a once-in-a-life event. Richard Louv’s book reminds me that modern day children badly need access to the scent of the air after a downpour, to the feel of wiggly worms, and to the sound of running brooks. The first hand discovery of nature should be a part of every child’s wonder years, not just the images from TV. He is also right in that nature badly needs these children. After all they are the future stewards.

HOT OFF THE PRESS

Top pick: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life - by Barbara Kingsolver
I broke my no-hardcover-book rule and bought it after hearing an interview with the author(s). Amongst a recent rush of “how I lived a year without food water and air” type of books, Kingsolver’s book stands out to be the most entertaining and the least self-congratulatory. On par with Omnivore’s Dilemma in terms of education and enlightenment, this book is spiced with Kingsolver wit and humor. She nudges people gently towards local and organic food not with criticism but with knowledge and tools. A fantastic read.

If you only have time to read two books this summer, I would suggest Last of the Curlews and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life
CindyW at Organicpicks

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Copyright 2007 Organicpicks

Green Journal #7: Organic Gardening
June 11, 2007

Until I became a homeowner, I had never grown anything except for alfalfas in my second grade science class. Until recently, I never gave thought to what was going into my garden. After all, if it’s green and living, what’s to worry about. When my husband and I first bought our house, we spent weeks clearing out the weeds, looking through nurseries, choosing plants and working them into our front yard. After all the sweat, we of course wanted to protect the fruits of our labor so we applied all the products that guaranteed quick growing results, kills pests on contact and basically built an invisible chemical barrier around our yard. Now that our daughter is old enough to spend lots of time in the yard, I began to worry about exposing her to garden chemicals. Now, as we begin the process of re-landscaping our backyard, I’m learning that there’s green and then there’s “green”. Let me try to explain myself a bit here.

We all want our yards to be green and lush but how we get there (and keep them there) is the fundamental difference between conventional and natural (or organic) gardening. Most of the products sold at home improvement stores are conventional products that contain chemical additives or pesticides. Even something as innocuous as fertilizer may contain hidden surprises. Fertilizers can be made from compost, organic materials or waste (including sewage sludge). Most fertilizers contain three main plant nutrients: potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus. Other micro-nutrients like zinc and other metals can also be included. Sometimes, these micro-nutrients are derived from industrial waste. The EPA actually encourages the reuse and recycling of industrial waste, including hazardous waste, as substitutes for natural materials as long it is safe and effective. The steel industry is a major contributor of fertilizer waste materials as its waste is rich in zinc but may also include lead, arsenic, cadmium, chromium and dioxin Although studies have shown that only a small portion of chemical fertilizers and soil amendments use industrial or hazardous waste, I, a common backyard gardener, have no way of telling due to lack of labeling requirements. Many consumer advocate and environmental groups have been lobbying for stricter labeling standards but no action has yet been taken by the government.

So what’s a backyard gardener to do? For our backyard project, we decided to follow the basic principles of organic gardening: healthy and natural soil enrichment, sound planting decisions and an integrated pest control solution. For this week, my green journal action was focused on natural soil enrichment because that’s all we had time for this weekend.

One of the most important steps to healthy gardens and natural pest control is good soil preparation. Regular soil nutrient replenishment is necessary for good soil health and growing healthy plants. If you are not sure of your soil condition, a soil test from your local nursery can help you decide what your soil is lacking. From our prior planting experience, we knew our heavy clay soil with poor drainage and lack of nutrients is a challenge. Rather than relying on chemical fertilizers, we consulted the local organic nursery and used a few simple and organic soil enrichments to prep our yard. I have not yet ventured into backyard composting (though it is on my summer gardening list) so I bought some of the E.B. Stone Organic products.

We worked in a couple inches of compost into the top layer of the soil (after quite a soil turning workout). Compost not only adds nutrients to soil but the compost pieces also loosen up the clay soil allowing drainage and air to eventually get to the roots. In addition, we took some fresh lawn clippings from the front yard, spread it in the backyard and worked it into the soil along with compost; the clippings will eventually turn into compost and help enrichment and aeration. “Grass-cycling” was a great tip from our local recycling center and best of all, it’s free! In the really poor areas of the yard, we also added a bit of organic potting soil on top. We were originally going to put down some chicken manure as well but our curious dog could not leave the bag alone so I think we are just going to use it as selective fertilizer rather than soil enrichment.

Time consumed to implement this action: The soil preparation itself took several days between getting enrichments and actually working the soil. However, I don’t really think the “organic” method took any longer than the chemical method as both ways required us to work enrichments into the soil.
Extra Upfront Cost: The organic compost and top soil was only a bit more expensive than the conventional products. Overall, I think we spent about $20 more for the whole area.
Amount of resources spared: Admittedly, I’m not sure how to measure this except knowing that I didn’t put any unsafe chemicals into my soil and of course, reusing my lawn clippings for free.

Now that the hard prep work is done, I can’t wait to do my plantings.

CindyC