gardening

Gaiam garden volunteers have harvested and enjoyed a bounty of delicious organic fruits and veggies this summer from the Gaiam community garden at our headquarters in Boulder, Colo.

We began harvesting our plentiful red-leaf lettuce in June and now have a healthy new crop of green-leaf lettuce.

After asking you to vote on four composters we selected from your suggestions, the first round of the Gaiam Compost-Off has come to a close and only two composters remain standing. Here are the results:

Finalists:

Orb Composter – 51% Votes
Earthmaker Composter – 29.5% Votes

Voted Out:

Green Cone Composter – 15% Votes
Wigwam Composter – 4.5% Votes

If you’re a Gaiam fan on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or are a member of Gaia, you’ll recall that we recently asked for your input on how to make the best compost, best materials to use for composting, and suggestions on your favorite composters. Why, you may ask? Because we want to step up our selection of composting products to make it even better — and we want you to help us pick the next composter we should carry in our catalog.

“Our garden has gotten people so fired up,” says Kate Weaver, a lead volunteer in a team of Gaiam employees who’s bringing a new organic garden to life at our Boulder, Colo., headquarters. “I’ve never seen so much heart go into anything.”

There comes a time in any mother’s trajectory when she can clearly look back and see when she lost her mind. My moment of insanity occurred last week. My six-year-old and I were enjoying a lovely morning outside — me poking around in my garden while she, bug bucket in hand, sought out toads or creepy crawlies to examine. I was mentally congratulating myself on my perennials, which (if I do say so myself) are looking quite spectacular.

I could barely contain my shock and awe when my brother asked me a few months ago which compost bin he should buy from Gaiam. We’re talking about a guy who arguably has the cleanest fingernails on the planet (he’s a heart surgeon) and has never been remotely inclined toward tree-hugging tendencies. His SUV gets 13 miles a gallon. He doesn’t have a single compact fluorescent lightbulb in his entire house. He occasionally bikes to work, but mostly to avoid becoming like one of his patients. But his 13-year-old son came home from Boy Scouts one day and said, “Dad, we have to start composting.”

Look back at 2008 and find your most memorable good memory. Spending some time recognizing good memories can help make you aware of what you want to draw to you in the future.

Every week we highlight the best articles, blogs, news, videos and interesting Web tidbits to help you live green, be healthy, and connect with your sense of spirituality. Read our roundup for info that just helps you live better.

Yoga May Help After Breast Cancer

A recent study suggests yoga may ease hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms in breast cancer survivors. (CBS News)

I recently attended one of my favorite gatherings: the Biodynamic Association of Northern California (BDANC) winter meeting. The meeting was at the Frey Ranch in Redwood Valley, which is a phenomenon in itself — about 1,000 acres complete with biodynamic vineyards and organic winery, olive trees, organic gardens, chicken and other poultry farming, and of course abundant solar energy.

It’s that time of year when we all vow to purge our weaknesses and get back to the business of doing the right thing. While 2007 was a pretty good year for me in the scheme of the last decade, still there are myriad ways to improve. I thought I’d share a few of the things I intend to do in 2008 to be a more environmentally conscious being. While living in an off-the-grid solar house with no electric company and no gas powered vehicles is a start, there is always a long way to go to lighten the proverbial footprint. For starters I intend to: