A small farm community near Berlin, Germany has made the transition.  The 145 residents of Feldheim enjoy a mix of wind, solar and biofuels – all generated locally – to provide both heat and electricity.  Energiequelle, a company co-founded by one of the town’s residents, installed a total of 43 wind turbines in fertile fields south of the town.   These 275 feet tall turbines provide about 170 million kilowatt hours annually, most of which is sold to the grid.  To supplement and diversify their energy sourcing, a 2.25 megawatt solar farm was built on 100 acres of land, generating 3.4 million kWh of electricity each year.  The solar arrays are mounted on motorized tracking devices that are manufactured at a factory (EQ-SYS) in Feldheim.

A biogas plant was constructed by a local farmers’ cooperative, using manure and crop residues as input.  The plant produces over 10,000 tons of fertilizer annually, as well as 4 million kWh of electricity.  In addition, the heat generated in the plant is captured and distributed to most of the homes and businesses in the community using a network of underground pipes, which is used to provide heat and hot water throughout the year.  During extremely cold winters, a wood chip power plant is used to supplement the biogas, saving about a thousand barrels of fuel oil each winter.

This is just smart.  So much renewable energy from solar and wind is untapped in this country.  It’s been estimated that three states – Texas, Kansas and North Dakota – have enough wind energy to power the entire country’s demand for electricity.  Our solar resource here in the Midwest is 50% greater than what they have in Germany.  We have massive pits of waste manure from feedlots that could be harnessed as energy and natural fertilizer.  And we waste so much heat in our manufacturing and other processes that could be reused productively.

As the era of cheap energy begins to close, we’ll build residential and commercial structures to be more energy efficient, because it’s now more cost-effective to do so.  With electricity prices expected to rise an average of 6-9% annually over the next 25 years, it makes sense to invest in buildings and equipment that will minimize energy use.  You can also lock in a portion of your electricity demand at a fixed price by investing in your own solar equipment.

The community of Feldheim worked together to achieve complete energy independence.  They formed a coop, which included residents, businesses and local government, to construct their own electric grid and power plants.  This enabled them to become completely independent from the giant utility, and take control of their own energy costs.  Each of the coop members are assured that the price of energy will not rise for 20 years, and is expected to actually decrease once the debts are repaid.  They are already paying 15% less than what the utility charges, which is expected to increase, of course.

Is this success story replicable? It may work for a farming community, where people live modest lifestyles and work together, but what about our major cities?  I don’t want to say “Anything they can do we can do better.”  But I’d sure like us to try!

This will be published in the Going Green section of the March 2012 issue of Spirit Seeker magazine.  For more details on this  story, see EcoTippingPoint.org.

The house was designed by a team lead by Professor Werner Sobek at the Stuttgart University Institute for Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design (ILEK).  Dubbed the Efficiency House Plus, the 1400 sq. ft. home is a model for the future.  A prototype was built near Berlin, and a family of four is scheduled to inhabit the home for 15 months as part of a live test beginning in March, 2012.  Until then, the building is open to the public.

The sleek and stylish home uses a combination of opaque and glass surfaces to minimize heat transfer through the building’s exterior, and maximize natural daylight.  This minimizes the need for artificial lighting, heating, and cooling, which are the largest sources of energy use.  A passive solar design allows warm sunlight in during the cold winter months when the sun is low in the sky, and provides shade in the summer to keep the home cool.

A combination of solar technologies are used to generate power in the home.  Solar thermal energy is captured and stored, and used to heat water and the interior space.  Solar photovoltaic panels convert sunlight to electricity for use in the home, which is stored in batteries during peak production, and used to charge one or more electric vehicles overnight.  As excess energy is produced, the surplus is fed onto the grid, and the homeowners are compensated for the electricity.

A predictive energy management system is used to anticipate how much energy the house will consume.  This intelligence enables the system to selectively use energy from either the grid or internal storage, and even goes so far as to include weather conditions in the energy modeling.

What’s perhaps most remarkable is that all of the building materials are recyclable, so that at the end of the home’s lifecycle, none of the building components are landfilled.  This is a stunning accomplishment, embracing a cradle to cradle approach to building.

“We want to show people that already today it is possible to live completely from renewable energy,” said German Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer.  The German government is investing millions into research and subsidies to prove that renewable energy is the key to their future.  The typical family of four pays what equates to over $150 per year in taxes to support such measures.  “The Efficiency House Plus will set standards that can be adopted by the majority in the short term,” Ramsauer said.

All of the major automakers in Germany – Audi, BMW, Daimler, Opel and Volkswagen – are on board with the project, providing electric cars to be used during the 15 month test period.  The intent is to demonstrate that energy-efficient buildings and electric mobility are the primary keys to quickly implementing a new energy strategy.

“Buildings and transport make up some 70 percent of our total energy consumption,” Ramsauer said. “In order to reach our climate goals, we want…to view buildings and transport as a single unit, [and] demonstrate that it is possible for a family to use energy produced by its home for transport.  [This is the kind of innovative idea] that can and should help Germany become a leading provider of – and market for – electromobility.”

For more information, check out SmartPlanet.com’s article In Germany House Powers Car.  Next month I’ll write about the town where this home was built – a town powered entirely by renewable energy with zero unemployment.  If you can’t wait until then, check out this story on ABC News: All Eyes on German Renewable Energy Efforts.

This was published in the Going Green section of the February 2012 issue of Spirit Seeker magazine.

While it’s hard to find someone who is “against” sustainability, it’s easy to find people who are confused about its definition.  One of the most popular definition was first used at a 1987 UN conference, which stated simply: “meeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.”   Using that definition, we might all agree to the value of such forward thinking, but the debate begins over which of our current practices falls into the “unsustainable” category.

We all recognize that fossil fuels are finite resources, even if we can’t agree on the amount of coal, oil and natural gas that remain in the earth.  It seems as if our country is addicted to these dying forms of energy, and we are getting increasingly desperate to secure a steady supply of the drug.  In our desperation, many rationalize that coastal drilling, mountaintop removal and “fracking” for natural gas are necessary measures to sustain our current lifestyles.  The notion of “peak oil” – when oil production peaks and supply drops as demand continues to rise – will drive prices up dramatically and wreak havoc on everything, since energy prices are fundamental to all industries.  Given this lack of sustainability, it seems prudent to support a strong investment in alternatives forms of energy.

“Renewable” energy, such as wind, solar, hydro/tidal, geothermal and biomass, is naturally occurring forms of inexhaustible energy.  Someone recently questioned the amount of energy that goes into the manufacture of a solar panel, and suspected it would take years for a solar panel to achieve its “energy payback.”  His impression was far from accurate: most solar panels generate as much energy in a year as it takes to produce that module.  That seems to fit well into the definition of sustainable. 

Given the spectacular surge in technology over the last 50 years, I think many people simply hold on to the promise that technology will ultimately be our saving grace.  Perhaps we’ll find a way to harness nuclear energy using fusion, with no radioactive waste.  Perhaps we’ll find a way to feed the masses with organic hydroponics, requiring no soil or dangerous chemicals.  Perhaps we’ll find a way to clean up toxins using specialized micro-organisms.  Perhaps climate change can be mitigated by blankets of algae on our oceans.

Any of these ideas may be remotely possible.  Yet so many of us are content to lead a largely unexamined life, and fail to consider the sustainability of our lifestyles.  I remember reading Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat years ago, and wondered where we would get the resources to supply the growing demand of the world’s new markets in India and China.  It wasn’t until ¾ of the way through the book that the author even mentioned limited resources as a consideration.

In ancient Mesopotamia, largely considered to be where modern civilization began, they unwittingly cut down virtually all their trees and had to invade the lands of neighboring tribes to secure a source of wood for fuel and construction.  It’s interesting to see similarities, as our domestic oil resources dwindle, in how we have sought to “protect our interests” in foreign lands to ensure the flow of crude.

I invite you to stop and think about your own lifestyles, and see if there are things you can do to meet your needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.   In the coming months, we’ll explore some ideas.  Please join the dialog and movement toward a more sustainable future.

This was  published in the Going Green section of the January 2012 issue of Spirit Seeker magazine.

We had an energy audit done, which included an analysis of our HVAC equipment, the insulation and how well our home’s exterior was sealed against air leaks.  By upgrading our attic insulation and our 50-year-old boiler and 12 year-old air conditioner, our overall energy costs would be reduced by over 25%, so we were eligible for the program.  Our initial application in December 2010 was wait-listed due to the high volume of responses, but we received an approval to proceed in August and were awarded a $7,500 rebate to help pay for the three improvements.

We had our attic insulation upgraded to R49, which is a total of about 16 inches of blown-in cellulose that largely covered our air conditioning supply lines.  They also installed foam board boxes caps around the recessed lights in the house to minimize drafts through the light fixtures.  We installed a high-efficiency (16 SEER) air conditioner and heat pump along with the dual-purpose boiler/tankless hot water heater that I wrote about in my November Going Green column.  While these are the most expensive appliances in our home, they also use the most energy and thus offer the greatest opportunity for energy savings.

The total, including the audit, came to just over $11,000, factoring in about $1,200 in rebates from Ameren and Laclede Gas.  Plus, we are eligible for a $500 tax credit when we file next year, so our net cost will be only about $3,000.  This should save about $600 on our utility bills next year, and get more and more valuable as energy costs continue to climb.

While this program is no longer available (I’d love to hear from those of you who were able to use it!) the payback is still there, particularly given the rising costs of energy.  The St. Louis County SAVES program offers low-interest financing of home energy efficiency projects, which can be spread out over up to 10 years.  This program lists pre-approved contractors that you can work with, and can handle the necessary paperwork.  This financing was essential for us, since it’s likely that we won’t receive our Energize Missouri Homes rebate for months.

If you haven’t already done so, get an energy audit done on your home and see what you can do to save energy and money!

This was published in the Going Green section of the December 2011 issue of Spirit Seeker magazine.

As our domestic appliances advanced, we developed a hot water storage tank, where we could use an appropriately-sized storage tank to meet the demands of the home or business.  The water in the tank is kept heated to a preset temperature, usually around 120 degrees for normal use, using either an electric heating element or a burner fueled by natural gas.  As water is drawn from the tank for showers or washing, fresh cold water is drawn into the tank and the whole tank is heated to maintain that set temperature.  Tanks vary in size, usually from 40 to 60 gallons, but for larger homes larger or multiple tanks may be used.

Using cheap energy, this is a perfectly acceptable way of doing things.  However, this keeps a set amount of water heated to satisfy intermittent demand.  So even if you don’t use the hot water, you’re still keeping it hot, and that requires energy.  You can minimize your losses by installing an insulating jacket on the water heater and hot water pipes, and turn down the water heater when you’re away on vacation.  But a more ideal solution is to use a demand water heater, which only heats water as you need it.

Demand water heaters, also called instantaneous or tankless water heaters, are more expensive than traditional hot water tanks, with prices typically ranging from $1,000-$1,500 for the equipment vs. around $500 for a hot water tank.  However, the installation costs can be significantly higher – around $2,000 or more vs. about $300 for a hot water tank.  The main reason for this is that when you replace your hot water tank, the new one can be installed right in place of the old one with little additional plumbing work.  The tankless unit, which hangs on a wall and takes up significantly less space, will need to have more pipework done to get it properly installed.

In my home, I had a 50 year-old boiler for my radiant heating system and a 25 year-old hot water tank.  Both appliances work, but not efficiently.  My boiler was only 60% efficient, with much of the heat going out the flue.  So when I began looking at high-efficiency boilers to save on my heating costs, I found a duel-purpose unit that would not only heat the water for my radiant heating system, but also my domestic hot water.  The Quietside Dual Purpose Water Heater was comparable in cost to other boilers, so I effectively got the tankless water heater for no additional cost!

The Quietside comes in three capacities – 99, 120 and 199 kBtu/h.  Since we use low-flow shower heads and have a relatively small family of four, we were able to get by with the smallest unit.  We used to keep our hot water tank at 120°, but increased the flow rate to three gallons per minute by lowering the temperature to 110°, which is still plenty warm for a shower.  The water does not actually get hot instantaneously, as implied – it takes a few extra seconds for the water to be heated.  But if sized properly, you should never run out of hot water.

Unique Heating and Cooling is an authorized Quietside dealer and did a nice job installing my system.  This solution is not for everyone, but if you’re replacing a boiler it is definitely worth considering.   If you’re building a new home with radiant heat, you’re another good candidate.  You might also consider locating the unit in close proximity to the bathrooms to minimize heat losses in long pipe runs.

Thankfully we live in a time when we can simply turn a handle and get fresh hot water.  We can also be grateful that we live in a time when this can be done with high efficiency!

This was published in the Going Green section of the November 2011 issue of Spirit Seeker magazine.  See the related Success Story that was published in the December issue.

Postscript: I’ve gotten several winter gas bills since I wrote this story, and am pleased to report substantial savings.  Our November and December bills were 45% lower than the same period last year.  Factoring the slightly colder weather last year, the net effect was about 30%.

Three of the our four members of “Team CSL” from last year returned, including Harold Anderson, Debbie Boyer and me, and Tim McIntyre rejoined us this year.  You may recall that Tim broke his wrist last year and was unable to ride. 

Harold and I drove down late Friday afternoon through a lot of rain, but by the time we got to the fairgrounds in Columbia, it was dry.   We set up camp, and when we found out Tim wouldn’t be in until late, we met with Debbie and her friend Stu at the Flat Branch Brewery & Pub.  The food was tasty and their selection of microbrews was terrific. 

We got back to camp and waited for Tim to arrive before the three of us retired for the evening to our luxurious weekend accommodations.  Harold’s “6-man” tent easily held three twin air mattresses for the three of us to sleep comfortably.  We got some rain in the middle of the night Friday night, but thankfully there was no great accumulation.  Saturday morning was cool and dry, and as the weather warmed up it turned out to be a beautiful day for riding.  Harold, Tim and I rode pretty strong most of the early part of the day, averaging almost 17 MPH, and Debbie caught up with us at lunch.

Saturday afternoon we rode through Amish country, with rougher roads than I remember from previous years.  I guess the county highway department spends their limited maintenance budget where the taxes come from and not out there.  We were surprised by a cool front that showered on us at the sixth rest stop.  We ended up riding in the rain for 30-45 minutes, but by the time we got back to camp it was largely dry because the parched earth soaked up the water like a sponge.  

Later that afternoon, Stu prepared to cook chicken & dumplings on a camp stove as we marveled at his ambitious undertaking.  We chose to indulge in the free food and beer at the VIP Tent, and listen to the band Expressions.  After they ate, Stu and Debbie joined us there, and we all weathered another brief storm under the tent.  Debbie went back to her hotel to shower, and the rest of us joined the crowd in the main dining hall for a selection of pasta and salad.

I tried to catch a catnap after dinner, but never succeeded in actually dozing off.  The three of us joined a really small crowd to listen to the last band of the day, Pro-Bono and the Non-Billables.  They closed things down at 9 PM sharp, and we were ready to call it a day.

Sunday morning Debbie called and said that both she and Stu were sick.  While she was gracious about not pointing any fingers, we all suspected that something with the camp-cooked chicken & dumplings was the culprit.  Debbie decided not to ride, so the three of us headed out into the cool temperatures and foggy landscape to begin our Day 2.

After leaving the third rest stop, Harold took the lead, with Tim not too far behind and me following Tim.  Harold saw a motorcycle ahead, which appeared to be moving slowly.  As he adjusted the rear view mirror on his helmet, Harold realized too late that the motorcycle was in fact parked upright on its center stand, and he hit it full-on from behind.  The fully-dressed motorcycle’s storage trunks absorbed most of the impact, but Harold went over the handlebars into the motorcycle passenger, who actually has MS.  She was shaken up and hurt a bit, and was taken away in an ambulance as a safety precaution.  Harold’s bike was unrideable, but he was able to get up and walk it off, showing more concern for the motorcyclists.  Thankfully he only received minor injuries, but was done for the weekend.

Tim and I rode on after we thought everything was over, unaware of the arrival of an ambulance and the Highway Patrol.  We discovered at the lunch stop that the state troopers shut down route while they investigated the accident.  After an uneventful afternoon of riding in warm, dry weather, we met up with Harold back at camp.  He was moving slowly, but is healing slowly this week.

Harold drove west to visit his son at college in Kansas, and I rode back home with Tim after enjoying one last meal in the dining hall.  It was another great MS ride, and I feel truly blessed in my friendships with my teammates. This is such a fun weekend, and I appreciate the support and encouragement I receive from you all.  Come ride with us next year!

To contribute to my fundraising campaign, go to http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/SORourke11.

In America, buildings are responsible for about 39% of the country’s total carbon emissions.  This represents a significant opportunity for rethinking how we design, build and use buildings.  A team led by HOK and The Weidt Group decided to try and design a market-rate, class A office building with net-zero emissions. Using the Department of Energy’s definition, this is “a building that produces and exports at least as much emissions-free renewable energy as it imports and uses from emission-producing energy sources annually.” 

A potential site chosen was in the emerging biotech corridor near the central west end of St. Louis on Forest Park Avenue at Sarah Street, near St. Louis University and the Washington University Medical Center.  This location was seen as an ideal site, since it has a challenging four-season climate, and low electricity costs from power plants that are primarily fueled with coal.  The thought was, if you could create a net-zero emissions office building here, you could do it anywhere.

The primary key to net zero is energy efficiency.  The team looked at every potential opportunity to re-examine how energy is used in the 170,000 ft² building.  They started with the layout and orientation of the building, with two long, bar-shaped buildings connected by corridors that would maximize the ability to utilize natural light during the daytime.  High-efficiency lighting was used to supplement daylight where and when necessary.  The building was also designed with natural ventilation and heating, using a variety of integrated systems to manage temperature and humidity, and operable windows and fans to reduce the need for artificial air conditioning.  A number of other building automation strategies, like automated lighting controls and programmable plug loads, combined to create an extremely efficient building – all with off-the-shelf technology.

The goal was to reduce energy consumption by 80%, but the team found that the best they could do in a cost-effective manner was 73% energy efficiency.  They then used a combination of solar technologies to provide the balance of clean, renewable energy for the building.  Solar thermal was to heat water and the interior space, and solar photovoltaic (PV) panels were used to generate the electricity used throughout the building.  A total of 51,800 ft² of solar modules were installed, including on the building roof, integrated solar shades on southern windows, and a pair of solar canopies to provide covered parking.

The projected energy cost savings was impressive – over $184,500 annually.  This resulted in an annual energy cost of only $2,418 –a little more than a penny per square foot.  While the goal was to have the tenant-occupied building pay for itself in 10 years, the projected payback on this building turned out to be 12 years.  However, the 10 year payback goal could be achieved in many other areas of the country where electricity costs are higher.  A number of other factors, such as reduced cost of solar or a modest premium on lease costs, could improve the financial performance to meet the objective.

The design team is able to apply the lessons learned from this 10-month project to promote carbon neutral designs more into the mainstream.  This is a fascinating example of how a disciplined approach can result in a truly innovative design with extraordinary performance.

For more information, including high-resolution renderings and details about the project, visit NetZeroCourt.com, or watch a Path to Net Zero Court on YouTube.

This article was published in the Going Green section of the October 2011 issue of Spirit Seeker magazine.

This fall, we’ll finally begin to see the return of electric vehicles (EVs) that have been long promised.  While dreams of a Tesla Roadster or Fisker Karma may be a bit elusive, the Nissan Leaf may be just the car you’re looking for.  The Leaf will be available this fall, at least for those who’ve put their names on the waiting list.  The Chevy Volt, which was only available in select markets, is also expected to be available nationwide later this year and the Ford Focus has been delayed to 2012.  The Top 10 electric carmakers will be battling it out to win the hearts of EV drivers.

The electric motors that drive EVs are powered by rechargeable batteries to create clean, quiet power.  While traditional internal-combustion engines only convert about 20% of the energy stored in gasoline, electric motors convert 75% of the chemical energy from the batteries to power the car.  Given the fact that tailpipe emissions account for 27 percent of the greenhouse gases, many people are looking to electric vehicles to reduce our overall carbon emissions.  While EVs have no emissions, the power plant that originally produced the electricity may if it used coal or natural gas as its fuel source.  So many environmentally-conscious EV owners opt for charging their vehicles with solar.

Is an EV right for you?  It depends on your driving needs.  The range on the Leaf and Focus is about 100 miles.  Most people don’t drive more than 20-30 miles to work every day, so a round-trip would typically be less than 60% of the battery capacity.  The vehicles can be charged using standard 110 volt household circuits, though that takes up to 16 hours to fully charge the batteries.  All new cars come with a standard charge adapter that can also do a faster 240 volt charge in less than half the time.  The batteries can be charged more quickly when they are low, but as they reach the full charge, it takes longer for the energy transfer to take place.

EV charging stations are just now beginning to pop up in public places.  They are still fairly rare, as most businesses are waiting for the demand to be there before they invest in charging stations.  Some employers, like Novus International, are installing charging stations to encourage their employees to purchase electric vehicles.   The Moonrise Hotel installed a charging station in a prime spot in front of the hotel to provide hotel guests with a place to charge their electric car.  Soon, cafés and coffee shops will install charging stations in near their front doors to attract customers.

Coulomb Technologies is a premiere manufacturer of EV charging stations.  Their ChargePoint Network enables EV owners to find charging stations using smart phones, and users are sent text messages when charging is complete or interrupted.  While many retailers will offer the electricity for free (a full charge typically only costs $1-$2.00), the charging stations can be programmed to charge enough for the stations to be a modest money-maker.  Not at all unlike our current gas stations.

So if you have a predictable commute and are committed to energy efficiency and green lifestyle, you’ll probably love having an electric car.  Maybe enough to give it a big kiss!

P.S. For fun, you might check out The EV-Hater’s Guide to Hating Electric Cars.

This was published in the Going Green section of the September 2011 issue of Spirit Seeker magazine.

It actually started with the Easy Connection Act in 2007.  This allowed businesses and residents to interconnect a renewable energy system, like solar or wind, to a grid-tied electrical system.  The clean renewable energy produced locally is consumed first, and additional energy requirements are pulled from the grid.  If the renewable energy system produces more energy than is needed, the excess electricity flows out onto the grid, and the electric meter essentially “spins” in reverse.  This process is called net metering, and ensures that you are credited for any energy that you supply to the utility. However, if you are a net producer during any billing cycle, the utility is only required to pay you their avoided cost, which is usually less than a third of the retail price you pay the utility.

Without the financial incentives, solar is a break-even investment here, because we continue to enjoy exceptionally low electric rates in Missouri.  Even with recent double-digit rate increases, our electric rates (generally 7-8 cents per kilowatt hour) are well below the national average (10-11 cents), and dramatically lower than rates in California (13-15 cents) and New York (15-17 cents).  But even these higher rates pale in comparison to rates in Hawaii (28-30 cents) and other countries (Germany is around 30 cents and Denmark is around 40 cents!)

With fallen prices and financial incentives, the value of solar has never been better.  A five kilowatt (kW) system, which can produce more than half of the electricity consumed in an average home, will likely cost only $10-12K after the incentives.  Power production warranties are typically 25 years, so you can expect the system to produce clean, renewable energy for decades, and the fixed cost of the electricity is likely below what you’re currently paying for electricity from the grid!  We all expect energy prices to rise, so this is a good way to lock in a portion of your energy as a hedge against the expected rate increases.  If you choose to sell your property, the solar array will be a differentiator and have a positive effect on property value.

Now is a great time to act.  A number of trade organizations, namely the Missouri Energy Development Association (which represents the utilities), filed suit against the Public Service Commission, which was charged with carrying out the will of the people to create the rules for Renewable Energy Standard.  A preliminary decision has ruled the rebate unconstitutional, citing that ratepayers should not bear the burden of the cost of the incentives.  The Missouri Attorney General’s office has stepped in to assist in the defense of the rebate, and the appeal is expected to be heard by the Missouri Supreme Court.

During the appeal process, it is expected that the court will issue a stay to maintain the rebate until the final ruling.  I encourage you to contact the Attorney General’s office to voice your support, and your elected officials to do what they can to develop clean, renewable energy in Missouri.  Don’t let the sun go down on you!

This was published in the Going Green section of the August 2011 issue of Spirit Seeker magazine.

I recalled the time years before when she came with me to the nursery to buy some bedding plants for our flower garden.  She’d picked out some that she wanted to plant and take care of on her own.  At that time, I wrestled with how much to water her plants for her versus letting her experience the consequence of seeing them wither.  That was a few years ago, though, and she’s learned a lot of life’s lessons since then.

“I’m thrilled that you want to start a garden,” I told Katie.  “We’re going to have to think this through if you’re really serious about doing this.”  Frankly, I hated to think that this would be a repeat of the last planting project. The truth is, I don’t know much more about vegetable gardening than my daughter.  Sure, I know about raised beds and the need for water, sunshine and time.  But that wasn’t necessarily going to put the salad in our bowls.

With mixed feelings, my wife and I suggested we put the seeds away and do a little research before buying them.  Here’s a short summary of the guidance I found:

• Start out simple.  Choose a couple favorites to begin your experiment, but check with your local nursery or cooperative extension office about what’s easiest, like peas, radishes, lettuce, zucchini and tomatoes.
• Pick a good location.  This can be planters on your deck, a raised bed or a plot of dirt in the backyard.  The real key is abundant sunshine.
• Prepare your soil.  You can either buy make or your organic compost.  This is a great alternative to chemical fertilizers, which can be dangerous.  The soil should drain well so it’s never over-watered.
• Buy your seeds.  You may want to germinate the seeds in egg cartons or trays, and then transplant the seedlings once they’re off to a healthy start.  Or you may want to just buy plants that are already started, particularly if it’s already late in the season.
• Budget your time.  Plan to water and tend to your garden every morning.  For a small starter set, this won’t take much time.  Once the plants take root, they’ll need less attention. 

It takes a lot more than this to put a full meal on the table that’s prepared solely from your own garden.  But the key is to get started, and experience the joy of eating fresh, homegrown vegetables.  Once you have a positive, successful growing season under your belt, you can begin to expand and experiment with more.

For our initial adventure, we decided to start out with a couple planters on our deck.  We may not recreate the tomatoes and peppers that we inherited years ago in our first rental home (which made for excellent salsa!), but expect to have a positive experience growing our own food.  Hopefully you will too!

This was published in the Going Green section of the July 2011 issue of Spirit Seeker magazine.