Living Green in Chicago

Recycle your Christmas tree

2010-01-11T12:42:00.000-06:00

The City of Chicago has a free Christmas tree recycling program. They have several drop-off locations throughout the city, the closest to Pilsen being Sheridan Park near UIC. We borrow a generous friend's car, wrap our tree in a piece of thick plastic to contain most of the needles, and drop it off at the park (we bring the plastic home to reuse). This year the collections run from Jan. 1- Jan. 17. The trees are turned into mulch, which is distributed for free to tree recyclers.

Terrariums

2010-01-10T00:44:00.004-06:00

The frost finally did come to kill my balcony garden (December 2 or 3 I think). In the meantime, I've been enjoying the green my houseplants offer inside, as well as becoming more and more enthusiastic about terrariums. I made two really awesome terrariums at the end of November after seeing some on Etsy.

Last spring the university was clearing out an old biology lab, so I brought home a bunch of cool glassware like this huge 2.8 L flask, not knowing exactly what I'd do with it but knowing that it was very cool. A terrarium seemed like the perfect use for it.

I had the great fortune to get some moss from an intro bio lab at school that was going to be discarded at the end of the week, so I used that. They probably got it from Carolina Biological Supply. I was thrilled to get such thick, lush moss because you just don't see moss like that in Chicago outside of the Garfield Park Conservatory!

First I laid down a layer of small rocks (collected from the shore of Lake Michigan in the fall), with a few larger ones mixed in.

Then I put down a small amount of sphagnum moss that I took from a potted plant...

...and then covered that with a layer of potting mix. I used a Cacti and Succulent Soil Mix that I had.

Then I started adding the moss. Sometimes it was a squeeze to fit the chunks of moss through the flask opening.

The sides of the flask were dirty when I finished, so I took a rag and chopstick to wipe around the inside.

Having gained some confidence using the flask with a relatively large opening, I decided to try a large bottle.

This bottle shows layers more nicely than the flask, so I layered different rock sizes.

I made a paper funnel out of junk mail that I used to help direct where the little pebbles landed. This is key if you want nice layers.

Then I added a layer of potting mix (again, using the funnel to keep it from going all over the place. When I was ready to add the moss, I used chopsticks get the moss into the jar and move it into the desired place.

Now I just need to find the photos of the finished terrariums! More about moss and terrariums in the near future.

Still no frost on my plants

2009-11-29T20:59:00.001-06:00

My lettuce and everything else looks the same as I left it on Tuesday night. I think they'll make it into December. Weird, huh?

Last harvest?

2009-11-24T20:37:00.003-06:00

Aside from the one frost we had in October during that cold spell, it's been pretty mild. We haven't yet had another frost, but I think we might over the Thanksgiving weekend. I'm getting ready.

You see, I seem to have a great gardening microclimate on my balcony. It's south-facing and covered. That means the low sun heats the brick wall all day, and then the roof traps some of the heat- enough that none of my plants were killed in the first frost. It's November 24 in Chicago, and I still have tomato plants. Oh and peppers. The peppers have been protected from the cold by a thriving nasturtium plant (not exactly the most cold-hardy thing!). Global warming?

Here is a photo of my big nasturtium plant with the peppers peeking out to the right and bottom (you might have to enlarge the photo to but the leaves are clearly a different shape). In the foreground is a decorative sweet potato vine in a different pot (purple leaves). From November 22, 2009.

Here are my tomato plants on Nov. 22. Not exactly thriving, but not dead either. I kind of stopped watering them, but there are still tomatoes. Blooms even.

Tonight I picked all of the remaining tomatoes (there were orange/pink/red ones but they were split) and the peppers. Not bad for November in Chicago, huh?

Four days ago I harvested most of my remaining lettuce (back planter). The planter in the front has a big parsley plant, an ailing oregano of some sort, and a mystery plant that tastes like lemon (on the right). Any ideas what kind of plant that might be? It has spinach-like leaves.

In case there's a frost this weekend when I'm gone, I covered the lettuce plants. I wouldn't mind getting another salad out of it.

Mild November

2009-11-19T22:10:00.001-06:00

We had the heat on for a few days in October, but turned it off again and it's still not back on. The apartment is about 63° F. Not bad.

Persimmon Pudding

2009-11-08T11:42:00.001-06:00

I was in Indiana Oct 23-25 and noticed a persimmon tree at the house where we were staying. Native persimmons ripen in late fall and have an unpleasant astringent taste if they are eaten before they are ripe. Your best bet is to collect them from the ground. I collected a bagful before we headed home to Chicago.

After much research online, I decided to make persimmon pudding. I used the recipe found here.

First I removed the woody tops of the fruits.

Then I put them in a bowl.

Since I needed persimmon puree and don't have a food mill, I used the laundry bag method.

I squeezed the persimmons with the bag. In hindsight, I don't recommend this method. I should've used a colander (easier to clean). Now I have a partially stained laundry bag.

The pudding was delicious!

Cold frame

2009-11-07T11:30:00.000-06:00

In September my handy husband built me a cold frame out of an old window frame.

Last weekend (Oct 31) I moved some of my plants inside. I'm hoping that my prickly pear and sedums will survive the winter, but it's harder to get container plants through the winter. The cold frame should help.

Green roof at Chicago Botanic Garden

2009-11-06T23:24:00.001-06:00

I spent all of today at the Chicago Botanic Garden for a research-related event. CBG just built a new LEED-certified building with a green roof! Here are a few photos.

Inside the new building

On the roof (above and below)

Native prickly pear cacti on the roof. I love these things. They have beautiful flowers in late spring but in the fall and winter they get all shriveled. Don't worry, it's part of their winter strategy.

Awesome

2009-10-30T21:53:00.000-05:00

These are photos from the sunset tonight. Totally awesome.

Long overdue

2009-10-28T23:33:00.003-05:00

This morning on my way to school I saw this long-overdue sight:

They're finally repairing the crumbling beams holding up the train tracks. I blogged about this particular underpass on Morgan last year. The underpasses at Halsted and Racine are equally as bad, and I think they're getting repaired too.

Predation in the city

2009-10-23T21:47:00.000-05:00

I saw the remains of this yellow-shafted flicker on the UIC campus along Taylor Street yesterday. I wonder what kind of animal ate it?

Peak color

2009-10-22T21:42:00.000-05:00

Just a few days ago I was skeptical that we'd get any good tree color this year, but the change from cold and yucky to warm and sunny seems to have brought out the best in the trees.

Just a few days ago I was skeptical that we'd get any good tree color this year, but the change from cold and yucky to warm and sunny seems to have brought out the best in the trees.

It looks like last year the colors came later in the fall, based on my photos from last year.

Earth Aid- what's your experience?

2009-09-19T12:04:00.003-05:00

I recently heard about a program called Earth Aid where you sign up and track your utility bills, then get credits for reducing your energy use based on the previous year's use. The way they do this is by bundling and selling your reduction in emissions (based on your energy savings). This sounds like a fantastic idea and a great way to incentivize energy savings.

But... I'm a bit wary of signing up because I can't find any reviews yet of actual users. I read the fine print ("individual member agreement"). The individual member agreement states that it lasts three years and then automatically renews (unless you request otherwise).

This is the part that I'm especially wary of (emphasis mine):

"I understand that the Program is supported in part by advertising revenue and that
Earth Aid may use my Member Information to (a) improve the Earth Aid Program; (b) deliver targeted banner or other advertisements on the Earth Aid website; and (c)
send me advertisements for third-party products via email or other mechanisms."

I really, really do not want to sign up for this if I don't have a way to opt-out of unwanted emails or "other mechanisms" (which sounds to me like it could be snail mail)... for 3 years.

Also, I rent my apartment and my landlord pays the water bill. I never even see it. I'm not sure if people who don't have all three utilities (electric, gas, and water) in their name are eligible.

Lastly, can I even participate in Chicago yet? Earth Aid Enterprises is based in DC and it's the only city mentioned so far. I didn't actually try to sign up yet (because of my concern stated above) so I'm not sure if it would let me.

So, I'm eager to hear from you if you are a member of Earth Aid.

Recycle your E-Waste at UIC!

2009-09-08T23:41:00.003-05:00

UIC is having an electronic waste collection FREE and open to the public on Saturday, September 19. It will be in the parking lot near Halsted & Polk, just off 290 and 90/94.

They will take TVs, computers (all components), printers, phones, and more. The complete list of items is here. These things should definitely not go in the garbage, so if you've got them sitting around now is your chance.

If you have a small or medium-sized business with E-waste, you can bring it on Friday, Sept. 18. Just register in advance so they know what to expect- it's free! Schools can bring things too!

Wii power

2009-09-05T08:16:00.003-05:00

We've had a Wii for more than a year now, and I've loathed that little yellow light that is always on. The Wii stays warm even when it's "off" and we are just about to rearrange our tv, stereo, etc so I ordered us a power strip that allows you to switch off each plug independently.* I want to cut the Wii power off at the source.

While doing some power strip research, I read about the Wii just to check if anyone had problems as a result of turning the power source on and off. Lo and behold, there is a way to turn your Wii to a lower power "off" (I should really call it standby) setting! On standby yellow, the Wii uses about 10 watts of power. If you hold the power button down for several seconds, it first thinks you're going to turn it on ("green") but then if you keep holding it goes to "red." On Red mode it uses about 1 watt. That's a huge difference! I'm kicking myself for not looking this up earlier.

Apparently, the default is to go to standby "yellow" rather than "red" when you have the Connect 24 feature on which allows your Miis to travel to friends' systems, checks the news, and is generally always connected to the internet (hence "connect 24"). You can read more about the different settings here to find the best option for you.

* In my exerience, it is the norm in many other countries for power strips to have independent switches for each outlet. Many countries also have switches on the wall outlets themselves, which is much easier than unplugging things all the time if you don't need them on. I'm not sure why we don't do this here. Anyways, here is another less expensive power strip with several independent outlet switches.

Request trees on Chicago 311

2009-09-04T09:08:00.000-05:00

Did you know that you can request trees to be planted at your address? Go to Chicago 311 and search for trees, or scroll down to "Tree Planting" in the dropdown menu.

You can also report graffiti, missing or damaged street signs, request a lead inspection, and a whole slew of other things. Pothole in your alley? Complaint about a cab? Worried about your elderly neighbor during extreme weather? Chicago 311 has an impressive list of things to report or request.

I've requested that a tree be planted in front of our building. The neighborhood could really use some more trees. It will take you about 2 minutes to request a tree. What are you waiting for?

Air Conditioner Cycling program

2009-09-03T11:29:00.000-05:00

I was going to sign us up for ComEd's Central AC Cycling program, but it turns out you have to own, not rent. That's too bad. Basically signing up for the program would allow ComEd to turn off your AC for certain intervals of time when electricity demand is very high. You get a $5 or $10 credit during the summer months for participation. Reducing demand for electricity during peak usage times like that reduces the need for utilities to power up extra generators (likely to be some on the dirtiest).

Maybe soon I'll blog more about ComEd's Real Time Pricing option. We're not signed up yet because I'm still reading about it but I think it's a great idea.

Seen in Pilsen

2009-09-02T23:15:00.003-05:00

I don't get it. It's a sign right next to the abandoned railroad tracks that cross 18th St. It says:

Watch the sky
Except for guide dogs
Min $25.00 fine
Code sec 13-151-23

I didn't forget about my blog

2009-09-02T23:13:00.003-05:00

It's been far too long since I've posted, but hey, life happens. I'm planning to resume, so I've got to get this post out of the way. I'm not going to apologize for not blogging because I don't think anyone reads this blog anyways. I'm starting again because I've thought of a few things I want to blog about and I might actually find the time to do it. Fingers crossed.

great ideas in urban gardening

2009-01-10T00:20:00.002-06:00

Fellow Chicago gardener/blogger Mr. Brown Thumb posted some great photos of a planter/table designed to make the best use of a small outdoor space such as a balcony. Go check it out here!

CTA bus route changes

2009-01-09T20:23:00.000-06:00

The new year brought changes to some bus routes, including two that I frequent as a car-free Chicagoan. As far as I'm concerned, one changed for the worse and one for the better.

The Bad:
The Roosevelt bus (#12) no longer goes all the way to Museum Campus. The #146 is now the only bus serving Museum Campus. As someone who frequents the Field Museum (I work there sometimes), this is disappointing. I must admit that I noticed the vast majority of passengers got off at the Roosevelt train station and many times I was the only person on the bus between Michigan Avenue and Museum Campus (or vice versa), but I also tended to travel at odd times (middle of the day, after 8 pm). It seems a shame to make the Museum Campus less accessible by public transportation. Now to get 2.5 miles to the museums, I have to take 2 from school (UIC) and 3 from home instead of 1 bus from school or 2 from home... or do I?

The Good:
The 18th Street bus (#18) now goes north on Halsted and across Roosevelt to the Red/Orange/Green line station instead of south on Roosvelt and across Cermak to the Red line station. At first I wasn't sure about this change, but Matt pointed out that now we can easily do our grocery shopping on the bus! We can take the #18 directly to the Dominicks and Whole Foods at Roosevelt & Canal. This bus is far and away the most convenient to our apartment.

Additionally, I can take the bus to UIC on days when it is too snowy/icy/cold/windy for me to want to bike. Before this route change, it was more worthwhile for me to either walk or bike than wait around to change buses. I took the bus* to and from school today and I have to say that I was quite pleased.

Finally, this #18 will now drop me off as close to Museum Campus as the #12 will. On nice days I'll gladly walk the last few blocks to the museum (though it's a bit of a hike to the planetarium). If it's too crummy to walk, I can pick up the #146 to take me the rest of the way.

Now they just need to change the #18 schedule so it runs later in the evening (or even all day, every day!) instead of just rush hour and weekends.

*Last year I would've biked on a day like today, but with the snow plowing budget cuts I didn't want to deal with the slushy streets on my bike.

Happy 2009!

2009-01-01T23:31:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year!

2009 is sure to be a year of change as Obama steps into office and the financial crisis takes it toll. I hope that many of the changes result in better environmental policy and improved quality of life for Americans and the rest of the world's people.

canisters for food storage

2008-12-21T20:42:00.003-06:00

I've spent quite a while on this very cold day browsing online for things for our alternative wedding registry. I selected organic cotton sheets, towels, and a retractable clothesline, but one thing that has eluded me are the perfect kitchen canisters. I want some canisters for our flour (white and whole wheat) and our sugar (white and brown). I want nice ones that I won't mind looking at for the rest of my life since that's how long I plan to keep them.

The canisters should have these features:
-Large enough for a 5-pound bag of flour (the two for flour must be this big, the sugar ones can be smaller)
-Large opening for measuring cup and hand to get in and out easily.
-Square (this is important for saving space. Why are all of the large canisters round?)
-Not plastic! Metal, glass, or ceramic are all fine.
-Solid colored or clear. Nothing with animals or fruit on it.
-Airtight

I must say that I am completely amazed that on the whole world wide web I cannot find any canisters that meet all of these specifications. Seriously, almost all of the canisters out there are round, and if they aren't round, they're too small. Why don't these ideal canisters exist?!?!? If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know!

I really do like biking in the winter

2008-12-11T22:02:00.002-06:00

Today was the first day that I rode my bike since last week when my pedal fell off. It was a nice, clear day and in spite of the cold it reconfirmed for me that I really do like biking in the winter. It's kind of a fun challenge to bike across the snow, too, though in general I wish they were plowing the streets this year like they did last year.

Well that explains a lot

2008-12-06T08:54:00.003-06:00

I biked to school on Wednesday (like I always do) and stayed late to finish up some things for Thursday. I'd barely left campus and crossed Roosevelt when my left pedal felt weird... almost soft. The next thing I know it's gone. It just fell off! So I pulled over and went back to retrieve it. I couldn't figure out how to put it back on in the dark and cold, so I just walked home with my bike.

It was above freezing for most of the day so much of the snow melted, but then it cooled off quickly and whatever was on the ground was refrozen by 9:30 pm when I left school. Once I turned (walked) onto the side street near our apartment, I almost slipped on black ice in the middle of the road. I'm almost sure I would've wiped out on my bike if I'd been riding. That same day, Hyde Park cyclist-blogger Jennifer posted news from the Chicagoist that Chicago will plow and salt side streets less often as a budget-cutting measure. She's right that this is bad news for cyclists.

I haven't had time or motivation to figure out how to put my pedal back on since it's mostly been dark and very cold when I've been home for the past 2 days. In spite of the fact that I ride my bike 5+ days per week (but not far), I'm pretty clueless about bike repair. That will have to change.

first sticking snow

2008-12-02T22:12:00.004-06:00

We were away for Thanksgiving and got back yesterday evening, so today was my first day this winter biking to work in the snow and ice. I've got my system for keeping warm pretty well worked out, and if anything I tend to overdress and get hot.

This morning when I biked to school it was about 23° F. Here's what I wore.
Bottom:
-jeans
-lightweight wool blend hiking socks
-sneakers
-Gore-tex rain pants

Top:
-tshirt
-wool sweater
-fleece jacket
-waterproof/windproof outer shell jacket
-fleece earband under my helmet
-wool scarf
-Thinsulate leather gloves (they cut the wind but aren't super warm)

When it gets colder I switch to my warmer items. I haven't bought any of these items specifically for biking (except the helmet). I cope with cold by layering, so I've got layers galore. My favorite and most useful winter layers, especially for biking, are my rain pants and my silk long underwear (I haven't worn them yet this year).

I'm happy with how my snow tires worked on my bike and I felt secure even on the slippery patches.

Sorry for the slow posting! I'll try to post more frequently.

Sunday Parkways

2008-11-15T13:05:00.000-06:00

At the Chicago Wilderness Congress I heard a presentation by one of the organizers of Sunday Parkways. Basically, they shut down about 4 miles of north/south streets for a few hours on a Sunday to give people the chance to walk, bike, skateboard, skip, or dance their way from neighborhood to neighborhood. I think this is a great way to encourage people to get some exercise, meet their neighbors, and explore the communities. The two pilot Sunday Parkways in October 2008 included the Logan Square, Humbolt Park, Garfield Park, Lawndale, and Little Village.

But what struck me most is this: the people on the near the lake have the lakefront trails. The people to the west have the forest preserve network. What about all of those people in between? The lack of greenspace in many parts of Chicago is painfully evident on this map (links to a pdf). Sunday Parkways essentially turns a boulevard into a public space, even if only for part of a day. Though it isn't exactly a forest preserve or lakefront trail, I think it's a step in the right direction.

oh. my. gosh.

2008-11-14T10:56:00.001-06:00

Yesterday I attended the Chicago Wilderness Congress at the UIC Forum. I could probably write an insanely long post with all of my thoughts, but I don't think anyone would read it. So, instead, I'm just going to encourage you to learn more about the exciting things going on with all of the Chicago Wilderness partner organizations! I'm particularly excited about the Leave No Child Inside initiative.

Honestly, I've been learning so much this semester about awesome organizations in Chicago that I've been overwhelmed to try and post about them so you've been stuck with ump-teen views of my plants.

Moving plants inside for the winter

2008-11-13T18:25:00.000-06:00

I wanted to post some photos of transplanting my window box plants to their new lives as houseplants. Some of their root systems were really impressive!

Below: Cordyline. The roots just kept going!

Asparagus fern 'springeri'. I had a hard time getting this one out of the window box.

Sweet potato vine. They really do make little potatoes! But don't eat them.

These were my biggest plants that came indoors (two cordyline, two asparagus ferns, and two sweet potato vines- one pictured).

This is my herb box. I moved it inside when I thought it was going to frost, but then I moved it back out. From left to right it has: sage, basil (scraggly), and lemon balm. The boxes behind it have dusty miller, which I gave away on Freecycle.

My nasturtiums are also inside now. I never noticed what a lovely scent they have until I brought them inside. They aren't doing quite as well as before, but hopefully I can enjoy them a while longer and then save the seeds for next year.

UIC in full splendor

2008-11-11T22:57:00.001-06:00

Photo taken November 3, 2008 from UIC campus. The Sears Tower is in the background.

I really don't think UIC is ever going to win any kind of awards for its architecture or landscaping, but for a few weeks in the fall there are some spectacular displays of color. Here's a series of photographs taken from approximately the same place on different days.

October 31, 2008

November 2, 2008

November 6, 2008

November 7, 2008

A closer look from Nov. 7.

These Norway maples do look beautiful in the fall.

November 3 (above)

November 6 (below)

Part of getting to know a place and its nature involves getting to know its seasons. I'll try to make regular posts of seasonal harbingers.

the real first frost

2008-11-10T22:16:00.006-06:00

Just kidding. Two weeks ago when I thought we might have our first frost, it only got down to about 36° F, and then we had more wonderfully warm weather! But last night was the real deal. For the past few days the lows have been hovering in the mid-thirties, but last night it was 28° F at Midway Airport.

Amazingly, I still have tomatoes. On November 10. In Chicago. Two weeks ago I went out and picked everything I could find, but it was dark and I missed some. I've actually got another round of cherry tomatoes. I think there's a strong microclimate effect on our porch. It faces south and gets direct sunlight all day. But most importantly I think, there is a roof over the porch. I think this, combined with the sun on the bricks all day, probably keeps our porch just that little bit warmer that keeps my tomatoes from freezing. Here's two cherry tomatoes:

I took this photo this morning before I went to work.

Today was also the first day this fall that I wore a scarf over my face to bike to work. I might do a post soon about cold weather biking.

Gosh, writing about those tomatoes reminds me that I didn't actually pick them and it's supposed to get cold again tonight. I should probably get out of my nice warm bed and go get them (this morning I did retrieve a few plants that really shouldn't have stayed outside last night)!

biking to Obama's big bash

2008-11-05T00:55:00.003-06:00

First of all, OBAMA!!! YEAH! We made history tonight.

Biking to and from the rally was definitely the way to go. We locked our bikes at State and Jackson and joined the rally in the ticketed section with our friends. Afterwards, we definitely weren't among the first to leave but we made it home at 12:20 am.

A scary thing did happen when we were walking back to our bikes. We saw a guy get knocked out cold in the middle of State Street a few blocks south of Jackson and some guys took off running. Another guy had a bloody nose. I have no idea what happened but we crossed to the other side of the street.

I'm so proud of electing Barack Obama. I think his election will go a long way to restoring our leadership in innovation. America has a lot of greening to do! This is our chance to make it happen. I can't wait!

turning on the thermostat

2008-10-29T21:54:00.005-05:00

We'd been putting it off, but we finally turned on the heat yesterday for the first time. It was 59° F in our apartment and we decided that was cold enough. We installed a new programmable thermostat just in time. I've got pictures and I'll try to blog about it soon, but I have a big deadline next week and I still don't have my new computer so no photos until then.

last farmers market and first frost

2008-10-26T22:26:00.004-05:00

Today was the last Pilsen farmers market of 2008. Neither of the regular produce vendors were there, so sadly I was unable to stock up on winter squash and apples as I'd planned. I wish I'd been able to go last week but I was out of town! According to the other people I talked to, the farmers didn't have enough produce left to make it worth the trip. It sounds like next year they'll end the market sooner.

There were pumpkins for sale and most of the regular neighborhood food vendors (Cafe Aorta, Soy Organic, Kristoffers) and of course the honey vendor.

(Photos to follow next week- I don't have space on my hard drive to download the photos from my camera!) ***UPDATE: Photos added November 10, 2008***

As I write this post it is 38° F at Midway Airport with 16 mph winds, 29 mph gusts, and some rain drops. It is fiercely windy and cold. The forecast calls for a low of 35° F but a chance of snow tonight and tomorrow morning (How does that work? Snow above 32° F?). So, I did a lot of pre-frost container garden work this evening.

I brought my window boxes into the kitchen to transplant my springeri ferns, cordyline, and sweet potato vines like I said I would eariler. I'm also going to try keeping my nasturtium inside.

I did all of the most important transplanting, but I still have to finish cleaning the window boxes because there's a lot of dirt left in them.

Then I went outside and cut all of the basil that wasn't already brought inside. We'll make our last pesto batches of the season tomorrow. I picked all of the tomatoes, ripe and unripe. My last two brandywines still aren't quite ripe, nor were my roma tomatoes. The plant finally produced some tomatoes without blossom end rot and I had to harvest them green. (photos in another post next week)

There's no denying it now- winter is upon us :-(

still no frost in sight

2008-10-20T22:34:00.003-05:00

We ate another batch of pesto with cherry tomatoes for dinner tonight (our fourth or fifth this year) and the basil is still growing. There's still no frost in the forecast, so I think I'm clear at least through the weekend. I've been putting off the final basil harvest and transferring many of my window box plants inside. Hopefully I can get them transplanted this weekend. I think we'll harvest all of the basil the night before the first forecast frost.

Photos to follow later this week, I hope!

Apple goes gold

2008-10-16T18:40:00.004-05:00

I'm still here and I really will blog more! I have a lot of pictures to post, but as I think I've mentioned before my poor little computer's hard drive is soooooooo full. However, I am about to get a new laptop and then I'll be able to download pictures from my camera to my heart's content because the new hard drive will be more than 10 times as large! So, until I get my new computer, I thought I should write about it.

Earlier this week Apple released their new MacBooks and MacBook Pros which have some major improvements that make them much more environmentally friendly. They have reduced the amount of heavy metals used in production, used materials that are more easily recycled (aluminum and glass), made the computers more energy efficient, and reduced the product packaging.

The new Apple laptops have been rated Gold by the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT). You can see other Gold rated laptops and see the critera used to rate them.

I'm buying the best MacBook I can get right now with the intention that it will last me for the duration of my Ph.D. (4-5 more years). My computer isn't dead yet, so I'll definitely be finding it a new home to extend its useful life for as long as possible. It is so important to keep computers and other electronic waste out of landfills- and to recycle them in a way that doesn't put human health at risk.

Little garden in Little Italy

2008-10-02T13:57:00.000-05:00

Last week I noticed this garden while I was biking down Taylor Street between UIC's east and west campuses. It's in front of an abandoned building that is adjacent to Arringo Park and across from Bar Louie.

They have a few watermelons in the garden.

Flowers & Food

You can see the trees of Arringo Park in the background.

The garden is completely fenced in but has its own water supply. I wonder who takes care of it? It looks great! I didn't see any signs but it's possible I missed them completely while peering through the fence at the plants.

most people probably think I'm crazy

2008-09-30T23:29:00.004-05:00

But maybe not you if you're reading this blog.

I've been reading this book called Garbage Land because I've always wanted to know more about recycling and what happens to the rest of our waste. I'll try to write a review about it later, but for now you just need to know that the waste system in most of the United States is dismal at best. We throw away so much stuff.

Last Friday on my way to school I noticed someone across the alley from us had thrown a pile of clothes in the garbage and they were just sitting on top. It looked like mostly baby clothes, and it didn't seem like anything was wrong with them. I thought maybe I should salvage and launder them, but I was running late. Besides, I didn't want to be known to my neighbors as the crazy girl who picks through the garbage.

Every time I passed the pile of clothes I thought about how I should really get them out because surely after a thorough laundering someone would find a free bag of baby clothes useful. I felt guilty knowing decent clothes were sitting in the garbage and I hadn't done anything about it. I thought about it on my way to school on Monday, and then Monday afternoon when it was pouring down rain I felt even guiltier. At least before the rain I could hope that someone else might take them.

On Monday night I was laying in bed reading more about garbage and suddenly I just couldn't take it anymore- I had to go get those clothes out of the trash. So at 12:15 am I got dressed and went outside with two plastic grocery bags and pulled all of the rain-wet clothes that looked ok from what I could tell in the perpetual city twilight. No one saw me, except for a cat. I took them inside and put them straight in the washer.

This morning I inspected them as I moved them from washer to dryer and, as I initially suspected, they look fine. A couple have stains. They are mostly girl clothes around 12 month +/- 6 months. Why didn't the previous owner offer them to someone else? Or put them in the alley with a free/gratis sign? So now I have a bunch of baby clothes and no baby. I even have an infant carrier! If anyone reading this blog wants them, let me know. Otherwise I'll post them on craigslist or freecycle in a few days.

Smart Home at MSI

2008-09-30T13:11:00.000-05:00

If you haven't been already, you should definitely go check out the Smart Home at the Museum of Science and Industry! We finally went to see it last weekend after months of intentions to see it. They showcase amazing innovations in eco-friendly technology. One of my favorites was the indoor composter.

My dream house (unfortunately not my current apartment) has a lot in common with the Smart Home, such as

native/edible landscaping
solar energy (passive & photovoltaic)
radiant subfloor heating
greywater toilet flushing
rainwater collection system

Check out the exhibit website for much better photos, but here are a few that I took.

Swiss chard comes in such nice colors, and you can eat it too.
The rain barrel has a screen on top to keep mosquitos from breeding in it while letting water in from the downspout.

The Smart Home is to the left of this beautiful oak tree.

You can visit the Smart Home until early January 2009. According to our tour guide, it will be reopened later in 2009 to showcase another set of eco-friendly options.

Planning our 'green' wedding

2008-09-29T18:30:00.000-05:00

School hasn't gotten any less busy for me as the semester pushes on, but I'm trying to keep up on the blog. Matt and I are also planning our wedding for spring 2009. Last weekend I was working on our wedding website and our registry. We've been living together for a few years now so we have most of the typical housewares. We have always tried to find things that we needed second-hand at yard sales and thrift stores (and craigslist!), or we've done without. We're trying to decide what things we want to put on our registry. Since we don't really need a new set of dishes, pots, or silverware, we didn't think it made sense to register at one of the typical stores if we only need a few items. Also, there are some things we'd like to ask for that you can't put on a normal registry (e.g. pottery from a specific potter that we like or non-material gifts such as assistance with flower arranging).

Thankfully, we aren't the only people in the world who have ever had this dilemma and the Center for a New American Dream created an excellent solution- the Alternative Gift Registry. It encourages second-hand or non-material gifts in addition to more traditional gifts by allowing you to put it all in gift registry format. You can use it for weddings, baby showers, pets, or whatever! I think this is a great way to encourage people to use resources wisely and think creatively about what others may have to offer them. Go check it out!

Musings on blogging

2008-09-28T22:44:00.003-05:00

I've met some great people at the Pilsen farmer's market during the last few weeks because I thought the organizers should know that this blog was getting a lot of hits related to the farmers market. The farmers market should definitely get its own blog since that is just a small part of this one, but in the meantime I'm happy that so many people are finding out about it here. (sorry no photos this week- I forgot to bring my camera!)

I am considering bringing on some friends (new and old) as additional bloggers, but the possibility also forces me to think about my vision for this blog. My intention when I started this was for it to be about my attempts to make eco-friendly chocies in life. Recently, though, I find myself writing more to inform others about happenings in Pilsen and the rest of Chicago, which is perhaps more appropriate for a blog called Living Green in Chicago. Or perhaps it is just more important? I also think it would be great to have many voices on a blog like this because other people could share their experiences and perspectives as well. But on the other hand, I think a blog about my tomatoes, recycling, and energy-saving has its place too.

I'm going to keep thinking about this. If you've been reading my blog I'd love to know what you think. Is there already a multi-person Chicago-based blog about trying to live lightly on the earth? I don't need to reinvent the wheel. Thoughts, anyone?

Windowbox plant to houseplant?

2008-09-24T18:38:00.000-05:00

Our new apartment has more space and better light for houseplants, so I'm trying to expand my collection (anyone else in Pilsen want to trade cuttings?). I'm thinking about bringing some of the plants from my windowboxes inside.

You might have noticed from my pictures that none of my windowboxes are actually in windows. Well, they were, when we lived on the north side of the building facing the street.
We moved them to our current alley-view apartment (much to the disappointment of our neighbor) but haven't mounted them so they're all at foot level.

This Cordyline is a houseplant candidate. I have two of them, and they remind me of New Zealand.

These soft-looking plants are asparagus fern 'springeri' and can live for years as houseplants according to the internetz.

I decided this year that I really like nasturtiums. I planted this one really late and it hasn't bloomed yet (those are petunias peeking out on the right). I didn't find much about them as houseplants. It sounds like it might do ok as long as it gets a lot of light.

This is a terrible picture of my purple sweet potato vines because I had to stick my arm out over the railing and point the camera at the plants. Not recommended. Anyways, I think they might do ok as houseplants too.

Any suggestions, wise readers? None of these are hardy through Chicago winters, so I figure I might as well give it a shot.

Tree of heaven

2008-09-22T10:01:00.000-05:00

I have a love-hate relationship with the tree of heaven. I hate that it is so invasive but I have to admire its tenacity to thrive in my tree-deprived, park-poor, coal-fire polluted neighborhood of Chicago. It's a hard life being a tree here where most everything is paved or otherwise impervious, but tree of heaven succeeds.

The five largest trees near our apartment are all tree of heaven.

Is there even soil there?

Tree of heaven (scientific name Ailanthus altissima) is one of the most common trees in Pilsen. It is an extremely vigorous tree able to cope with the difficult conditions of city living such as soil compaction and air pollution. These characteristics make it invasive and capable of displacing native trees. It was introduced from China first to Europe and the to the United States over 200 years ago. It is hard to eradicate from natural areas due to its numerous wind-borne seeds and tendency to resprout from stumps and roots.

The wikipedia article about tree of heaven has a lot of information and can help you identify if you have tree of heaven in your neighborhood. If you live in Chicago, you probably do.

Today's farmers market

2008-09-21T20:13:00.005-05:00

Since so many people seem to be finding my blog by Googling something like "pilsen farmers market" I figure I should keep writing about it!

The weather today was perfect and we really needed produce. There are also several artists and artisans who sell their creations. I took photos of some of the artist booths and lots of close up fruit photos today because it's just so fun to take photos of beautiful produce.

One of the artists is Diana Solis.

Here is some of her work.

One of the market vendors is Soy Organic. Their store is just west of Ashland on 19th St.

If this isn't a sign of fall I don't know what is.

I guess this is a sign of fall too.

Here's everything I brought home today:

Most of the produce was $1/pound. I spent a total of $15.25.

I ate one of the apples as soon as I got home and used the cucumber in gazpacho. The hot peppers are for making salsa, the tomatoes are for pasta salad, the sweet potates are for a casserole, and the squashes will probably become soup.

Jardin Mariposa

2008-09-21T20:03:00.003-05:00

In August while looking for a yard sale I discovered Jardin Mariposa. It's a nice little green space at 1835 S. Carpenter. On my way to the farmer's market today I stopped by to take some photos for the blog.

The entrance to the garden on Carpenter

Mural in the garden

Colorful stage

Looks like a variety of black eyed susans

Honeybee- probably from the local hive!

According to the Openlands calendar, there was a garden workday on September 6 and I think there will be another in October. I'm planning to go so I can meet some other Pilsen gardeners.

catching up on life

2008-09-20T22:28:00.000-05:00

I'm doing a lot of work this weekend but also a lot of catching up on the blog (and reading in a hammock). If you've been following the blog, I just published a ton of back-posts that were waiting on photos. See, my four year old computer's 30 GB hard drive is full so every time I have to download photos from the camera it's a bit of an ordeal so I put it off for a long time. I hadn't downloaded pictures in over a month!

I've got more posts planned for next week so stay tuned, and enjoy the photos!

my balcony tomatoes

2008-09-20T21:57:00.001-05:00

I have five tomato plants: one Roma, one Brandywine, and three Cherry. My cherry tomatoes have been the best by far- I've been eating them for weeks now and haven't harvested a single ripe Roma or Brandwine. My tomatoes all started somewhat late as transplants in early July.

Three of them are growing in a tub that I got for free when my lost luggage was returned to me (the tub is actually the reason I have any tomatoes at all- I hadn't considered it when I had nothing to plant them in).

Three tomatoes (July 11)

I planted the other two cherry tomatoes upside down in reused grocery bags (photo July 11).

I put one in a black bag and the other in white. I recommend white (absorbs less heat).

I planted basil seed all around the tomatoes and on top of the upside down ones because I love basil and I read that tomatoes and basil are good companion plants.

Here's the basil on top of the white-bag upside down plant.
The upside down plants didn't get very big (I don't think I gave them enough soil), but they have been producing a respectable amount of tomatoes.

The tomato plants in the tub got much bigger.

But the cherry tomatoes did the best. I love the way they look in bunches with varying stages of ripeness.

This is my biggest brandywine.

Although I didn't have this problem with the other two tomato plants right next to it, I've lost nearly every roma tomato to blossom end rot which is caused by calcium deficiency in the developing fruit.

I think I might manage to get a couple without blossom end rot. After doing some research online I trimmed a lot of the foliage and put crushed eggshells around the bottom of the plant.

I still have lots of flowers on my tomato plants.

I expect to have tomatoes until frost!

The cherry tomatoes seem to be sweetest when it is hot and sunny.

Losing the battle with powdery mildew

2008-09-17T19:46:00.000-05:00

After several weeks of trying to rid my cucurbits (squash, zucchini, & cucumbers) of powdery mildew, I cut my losses and put basil in their place.

I have to admit my plants didn't have an easy time. My squash started late (from seed in May) on the north side of the building (we moved to a different apartment on the south side of the same building in August).

Here are my plants on June 28.

And again on July 13. The keen squash grower would note that you can already see powdery mildew spots on a few of the leaves, but I didn't notice.

The leaves started to yellow, so we moved it to the south side of the building on our kind neighbor's porch. There are also beans growing in the box (July 26).

But the plant finally had a female flower! I had hopes of squash!

But the leaves got worse...

...and worse (July 26).

But I had some beautiful squash flowers

And my little squash was growing (August 2).

In the meantime, I'd also planted some late zucchini and cucumbers that were in close proximity to the squash once I moved it to the porch (far right by the bike tire).

And I even had some female flowers on my zucchini! (note powdery mildew on stems)

Meanwhile, the squash was only making male flowers, probably because it was terribly stressed.

But the zucchini and cucumbers got powdery mildew too.

And so did my bee balm (Monarda) that I bought at the first Pilsen farmer's market.

You can see the dead and dying zucchini leaves (Aug 25).

This is the same squash from the earlier picture, but this is as big as it got. The vine leading to it is all dried up (August 25)

So with my one hope at a squash squashed and the other cucurbits dying...

I decided to yank them out (cucumbers shown)...

And transplant some basil in their place (September 3).

So ends my attempts at cucurbits this year. If I plant them again, I'll definitely use powedery mildew resistant varieties. This time I just used some seeds I had lying around from previous years when I lived in a place where I could garden in the ground. I think my squash might have survived if it were in a bigger container (I knew it was probably too small, but I wanted to try...), if I'd caught the powdery mildew earlier, and if it had more ground to put down extra roots off of the vine. Oh well. At least the basil is growing fabulously.

A meal from the garden

2008-09-15T20:39:00.001-05:00

I haven't done nearly as much blogging about my garden as I intended and I hope to remedy that over the next few weeks.

We love pesto, so we tried to grow a lot of basil this year. It turns out we didn't grow nearly enough! We want to have more pesto than we know what to do with, but that takes a lot of basil. The recipe we use from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking calls for two packed cups of fresh basil leaves.

Pesto purists probably wouldn't approve, but we have three kinds of basil (one is purple) so we mixed them...

...in the food processor.

The cherry tomatoes from my garden tasted great with the pesto!

Mmmm... pesto.

Car crash at Irv's Bike Shop on 18th St

2008-09-14T12:22:00.004-05:00

A getaway car for two bank robbers crashed into Irv's Bike Shop on 18th St around 11:30 am on Saturday, September 13, 2008. Thankfully, it sounds like no one from Irv's was injured in the crash (WGN report).

I was on my way to the Sustainability Road Show around the time of the crash, so I think the several police cars I saw were related to to the car chase.

Seeking shelter in the storm

2008-09-13T21:52:00.001-05:00

Roadshow rainout :-(

2008-09-13T21:25:00.001-05:00

Well, this weekend wasn't exactly ideal weather for the Sustainable Living Roadshow. I biked over on Saturday morning to see what was going on and they were in the process of packing up. Still, there were a handful of us who braved the rain and stayed for a workshop about the University of Chicago's Civic Knowledge Project. They have a blog called Partnering for a Sustainable Chicago.

The workshop took place inside a cool geodesic dome tent.

Soggy, soggy field.

I met some students from UIC's Urban Planning & Policy program and learned how to request trees to be planted in your neighborhood, so it wasn't a total bust.

Sustainable Living Roadshow in Chicago THIS WEEKEND!

2008-09-11T19:47:00.003-05:00

Wow! I just looked at Google Analytics and saw that I've gotten TONS of hits, and the vast majority of you are in Chicago. Sorry for the nonexistent blogging recently. Classes have started for me again at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).

This Friday and Saturday UIC is hosting the Sustainable Living Roadshow! The UIC Office of Sustainability has information about the events here. It's totally FREE, so come check it out! 10 am - 7 pm Friday and Saturday.

With carnival-style games, live music, an alternative energy showcase, and a green marketplace it sounds like fun for kids and adults alike. They're also looking for volunteers in 2-hour timeslots (offer your time here). I also heard something about free compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) via UIC email... maybe you should go early?

So, if you're in Chicago this weekend... walk, bike, or CTA your way to the corner of Halsted and Harrison. It's right next to the UIC-Halsted Blue Line stop.

Yellow Pages opt out

2008-08-30T23:17:00.004-05:00

In the past year I've lived in Chicago, we've received enormous phone books at least twice. They get delivered to buildings where no one lives, can get soaked by rain and snow before getting picked up, and most seem to sit on the sidewalk for several days before ending up in the garbage. We have no need for a phone book (and apparently neither did anyone else in our building since they never brought them inside) so we recycled most of them.

Yellow Pages Goes Green is an organization committed to reducing the distribution of unwanted phone books. Ideally, the Yellow and White Pages should be delivered to people and businesses that request them. You can sign up to opt-out of the Yellow and White pages (there's still a possibility you'll get one anyways). The organization is trying to spread the word, so tell everyone you know to opt out! They won't share your information with anyone but the Yellow Pages to ask them to stop sending you phone books. It takes 30 seconds to sign up! What are you waiting for?

Vine on bike

2008-08-26T22:27:00.003-05:00

While we were away for a week doing this:

And seeing this:

(Eastern red bat, Lasiurus borealis, in Virginia)

My cucumber was doing this...
...slowly trying to claim my bicycle as its own.

Boulevard Lakefront Tour

2008-08-23T22:53:00.002-05:00

I just read about this on General Carlessness. The Boulevard Lakefront Tour has been going on for 20 years. They have different tour lengths highlighting the architecture and history of various Chicago neighborhoods. It sounds like fun!

Little Village Environmental Justice Organization

2008-08-23T22:46:00.002-05:00

A friend just sent me a link to this organization. Little Village is located west of Pilsen, so it's not far from where we live. It sounds like they're working on some great campaigns and have done some good events.

Thanks Rachel!

2008-08-14T23:03:00.002-05:00

One of my four readers gave me an award! Thank you Rachel.

I definitely don't have seven people to nominate, but there are a couple other Chicagoans worth noting for their beautiful blogs, and a California urban chicken blogger.

1. A WindyCityGal's Weblog
2. 24 boxes
3. Urban Chickens

I've got to figure out how to beautify my blog. It's so plain! Anyways.

Award Rules:

1. The winner can put the logo on her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you’ve nominated

Does this worry anyone else?

2008-08-13T23:59:00.006-05:00

Every day on my way to UIC I bike under the train tracks that separate Pilsen from University Village/Little Italy. I most frequently bike under them on Morgan Street, but also on Racine and Halsted. Metra, Amtrak, and freight trains use these tracks continuously throughout the day. All of three of these train bridges are in a terrible state of decay. Yes, decay is the most fitting word. They are literally crumbling.

Those are holes on the right, and those flakes all came off of that column.

There are several tracks running across the bridge, and there is obviously an older part of the bridge and a newer concrete part. The new part looks fine, as far as I can tell. It's the old part that has me worried.

When I moved here a year ago and first saw the rusting supports, I thought, Eeek, that doesn't look good. I guess they don't use those tracks anymore. Then I saw an engine parked right on top of it, right on top of the crumbling supports.

This morning when I biked under the Morgan Street bridge the engine didn't stop right over it, but you can see the flatbed cars parked on top of it in this picture. Thankfully they're empty.

Above you can see the upper support beams (forgive me, I'm not an engineer) rusting away, and yes, that's daylight you can see through the holes.

Not only are the columns and support beams rusting, the concrete at the sides of the bridge is crumbling. I think the big storm on August 4 really made the erosion worse.

Below is a closer shot of the concrete erosion at the top.

I know that bridges are designed with structural redundancy, but I have a hard time believing that these rusty things are doing their job supporting the several freight trains that run over this particular part of the bridge several times each day.

Who should know about this? Who declares this safe?

How can Chicago possibly be a safe, resilient, efficient city if our railroad infrastructure is crumbing?

Urban fungi

2008-08-10T23:45:00.001-05:00

On Friday I was walking from Union Station to the #60 bus stop when I spied something a little out of the ordinary. There was a mushroom growing in the few inches of bare ground between the sidewalk and a parking garage.

At first I just walked past, but then I thought, wait a minute, I don't remember the last time I saw a mushroom growing in downtown Chicago! So I stopped and took a picture of it, much to the bewilderment of the passers-by.

We know very little about fungi compared to plants and animals. The mushrooms that we see are like the tip of the iceberg- mushrooms are just the reproductive, spore-spreading structures for a vast below-ground network of fungi. I think this one probably immigrated with the mulch that you can see at the base.

I hope it goes without saying, but I'll add that I have no idea what kind of mushroom this is and therefore you should not eat it.

Erosion from the storm

2008-08-09T16:34:00.003-05:00

I was at a conference in Milwaukee when the big storm happened last week, but I could easily see there had been a lot of rain in a very short period of time. I bike under the train tracks on Morgan between 15th and 16th almost every day and there are huge amounts of gravel all over the road because the railroad right-of-way is steep and eroding.

This is the gulley that formed just north of the tracks near University Village.

You can see the path the gravel took from the slope down to the road and under the underpass. It's all over the road.

The real bummer about this for me is that late last winter I spread a prairie seed mix all over that ugly brown area in the hopes that some of it might establish and make the place a little less of an eyesore. By mid-June it was covered in green but then a sad, but not entirely unexpected, thing happened. It started turning brown. Unnaturally brown. And it only got browner. The whole area was sprayed with herbicide, and now it is dead and ugly like you see in the photos. I know there wouldn't have been nearly as much erosion if they hadn't herbicided my plants. I wish I'd taken a picture of it when it was green.

I know that they spray railroad right-of-ways to reduce the fire risk, but did they really have to spray all the way down there, way below the tracks?

First Pilsen Farmers Market!

2008-08-02T11:16:00.004-05:00

Sunday, July 26, 2008, was the first Pilsen farmers market at the Community Bank and 18th Street and Halsted. Here are some photos from the event. The weather was perfect and the turnout looked good.

I bought cherries, blueberries, Echinacea (purple coneflower), Monarda (bee balm), and sugar snap peas. I learned that there is a beekeeper in my neighborhood with a hive just a few blocks away! I think I've seen her bees at my squash blossoms.

*Sorry I didn't actually post this sooner- I was waiting to download the photos from my camera.

vDumpsters?

2008-08-01T18:10:00.002-05:00

I followed a link for a sponsored ad in my Gmail for vDumpsters. It looks like a cross between craigslist and freecycle. Virtual Dumpsters has branches in Australia and the UK as well. Has anyone tried it? I'm curious but don't want to make an account yet.

Walk Score your neighborhood

2008-07-26T22:12:00.003-05:00

I just learned about this great website called Walk Score. You type in an address, and it gives it a score of 0-100 based on how many amenities are within easy walking distance. My apartment scores 91- walker's paradise. The Lower West Side averages 85. The Loop is the highest scoring neighborhood in Chicago with 98, followed by the Near North Side with 97. Check out all the Chicago neighborhoods.

I love Walk Score because it draws attention to the need for our communities to be pedestrian friendly. This is important for reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, staying healthy, and getting to know our neighbors.

There are plenty of things Walk Score doesn't currently take into consideration, such as bodies of water, and it calculates distances as the crow flies, but this is a great tool for exploring cities and neighborhoods where you might want to live. Check it out!

freecycle vs. craigslist

2008-07-25T19:10:00.006-05:00

My preference when acquiring most household items and clothing is to get them second hand. Finding a new home for your unwanted items, and getting something second hand rather than buying it new, is one of the smartest ways to conserve resources. The old adage that One man's trash is another man's treasure is so true.

The ways in which you can find used items has grown considerably. In childhood and as a teenager, used items came from family, friends, thrift stores, the side of the road, and yard sales. Late in high school my family entered the ebay world (the long-distance yard sale as I liked to think of it). During college I got most of my second hand things from friends. Post-college, I still use all of the earlier methods, but craigslist has made the exchange of miscellaneous stuff so much easier. Just in the past month I also joined the Chicago Freecycle group. I'd like to compare the merits of craigslist and Freecycle for getting second hand items because they accomplish similar goals, which is getting things from people who don't want them to people who do.

Craigslist Pros

Extremely simple format.
Searchable by location, item, price range, etc.
Pictures can be posted to a listing.
More expensive used items can be found, such as cars (I bought and sold my first car on craigslist). You're not likely to see a working vehicle come up on Freecycle.
You can RSS searches so they come up automatically in your feed reader (or your bookmarks toolbar in Safari). This lets you know within about 30 minutes of the posting so you've got a much better chance of snagging high demand items like free furniture.

Craigslist Cons

Not everything is free.
Are there others? I can't think of any.

Freecycle Pros

Everything is FREE
The freecycle group you join is limited to your town or area (in my case, Chicago)

Freecycle Cons

The listserv format is tedious. You can either get each individual email offer as it is sent, or you can get the digest. If you get individual emails, it's a LOT of email. If you get the digest, by the time you read it it might already be 'promised' to someone else.
You can't easily search for items specifically from your neighborhood. This is important for someone like me who is car-free and lives in a big place like Chicago.
People tend to list their location by zip code. This is useful if you know exactly where all of the zip codes are in Chicago.
You can't easily search for specific items you want like on craigslist.
No photos of the items.

My verdict: I really like the concept of Freecycle, but I think they need to change the format. I think they need to find a way to make it more like craigslist so you can look only for the items you're interested in or items in your general area. I'm not terribly interesting in sifting through 6 digests every day to see if someone is giving away something I want in a place where I could actually pick it up without much hassle. My craigslist RSS's do a much better job of alerting me to items in my neighborhood that I might want (example: Pilsen yard sales), even if they aren't free.

Could I put a rain barrel on my balcony?

2008-07-25T00:03:00.004-05:00

I keep Googling things like "chickens on my balcony" and "rain barrel on my balcony" to no avail. I'm awfully excited about the south-facing balcony we'll have in our new place. The other day I noticed that it might be possible to divert water from one of the downspouts to a rain barrel because the downspout is located at the corner where the building meets the balcony.

At this point this is mostly a daydream since rain barrels start around $100 and the ones I like best are $130-$200. I think one important consideration before putting a rain barrel on a balcony is how much weight the balcony is designed to hold. If you've got a rain barrel, chances are you'll have some plants too, and it would be terrible for the thing to collapse when you have some friends over. I don't think weight would be a problem for our balcony, since my landlady told me that some previous tenants had a very large fish tank up there (she had a very large water bill to pay because of it)!

Do you have a rain barrel on your balcony? Do share.

Chickens in Chicago

2008-07-19T00:31:00.002-05:00

I learned last night while surfing around that you can keep laying hens in Chicago! I'm amazed there isn't some crazy law here prohibiting it. I found a blog by someone who keeps a few chickens in her backyard. I'm totally curious. It would be great to have fresh eggs. Could we keep chickens on the balcony? Our new place actually has poultry potential thanks to a large balcony. Hmm... Some research is in order.

movin' on up

2008-07-13T00:08:00.001-05:00

At the end of this month we'll have our easiest move ever- we're moving to another apartment in our building. Person power is the only thing required for this move! We love our current apartment, but it is a wee bit small and awkward for the number of overnight visitors we have. Our new apartment will have a bedroom large enough for us to fit a bed and a dresser! The other great thing about the new apartment is that it gets a lot more light. It's higher in the building, faces south, and has a great deck on the back that I plan to fill with plants.

The cons: larger space to heat and cool, lots of halogen light fixtures (very energy intensive), electric stove (less efficient than gas stoves), and no ceiling fans (yet?). Hopefully we'll be able to improve the lighting and ceiling fan situations to reduce the apartment's energy use (of course our habits impact this more than anything else).

I'm not sure yet how the apartments compare in terms of square footage or volume. I'll try to figure that out.

uh oh... too much winter squash?

2008-07-09T00:26:00.003-05:00

In May I planted some squash seeds that I saved from a calabaza squash that I bought at a farmer's market last fall (it's generally shaped like a pumpkin but variable in color). I planted them in a large window box that is actually sitting near our front steps. There are three squash vines all growing at one end of the box. I'm training all of the plants in this particular box (pole beans and squash) to grow on and around the fence.

Things seem to be going well. But. Today I did some reading online about calabaza squash and it says their vines can be 50-60 feet long with fruits up to 50 pounds!!! What have I gotten myself into? Where are these things going to grow? Surely they can't grow that large when planted in a container. But hopefully they can grow large enough to actually produce fruit! All three vines currently have flowers. If nothing else I can eat the blossoms.

clothing exchange!

2008-06-30T19:56:00.003-05:00

On Sunday I had a clothing exchange at my apartment. I invited a bunch of my friends to bring their unwanted clothes and accessories. My friends did this a few times in college. It's a great excuse to go through your clothes and get rid of things you never wear, and you get new clothes for free.

I think there were clothes from 8 or 9 women, although not all of them were there for the exchange because some dropped them off earlier. It was first come first serve so as soon as you found something you liked you could claim it. It was fun to see other people try on clothes of yours that you never really wore for no particular reason were much more flattering on someone else! Everyone went home with something 'new.'

The photos are after the clothing exchange! These were the things no one wanted. Just imagine how much stuff was there before!

I took the leftovers to Goodwill.

Fallen Fruit in Chicago?

2008-06-29T09:30:00.005-05:00

Last week I visited the Lincoln Park Zoo, but what got me thinking was actually some mulberry trees along Clark. I remember reading an article about a group that makes maps of urban fruit trees for scavenging fruit, so I Googled around a bit and found it- Fallen Fruit in Los Angeles and San Francisco. They encourage people to harvest and use fruit growing on or overhanging public property. I find their website a bit hard to navigate (maybe because I don't know the areas they're talking about) but here's another article about the project.

Chicago should have something like this. I can tell you that I have since discovered a small mulberry tree at 16th and Morgan and another on 18th St. near Cuernavaca. Mulberry trees tend to be unpopular because they drop the berries all over the place and they can stain. Most people don't know that they are great for making pie, cobbler, jam, and more. What fruits and vegetables have you seen growing wild in Chicago?

Pilsen is getting a farmers market!

2008-06-25T21:33:00.002-05:00

I'm so excited! I'll finally have a farmers market within easy walking distance. I saw a flier for it at Kristoffer's Cafe and Bakery on Sunday. The market will be on Sundays beginning July 27 and will continue until late October. The market has a site here, which is currently for recruiting vendors.

Chicago Green Festival

2008-05-10T11:19:00.000-05:00

I've been really busy with grad school as the spring semester wraps up and I prepare for a big research trip, so my apologies for not doing much yet with the blog! I'll be gone until mid-June, which unfortunately means I'll be missing the Chicago Green Festival. Hope you can make it!

Making Yogurt

2008-05-03T17:55:00.000-05:00

I eat a lot of yogurt. Typically I eat a quart a week. I eat plain yogurt for breakfast and add jam, fresh fruit, or honey to sweeten it. I don't make much money as a grad student and I like the store-brand plain yogurt which is half the price of Stonyfield or other organic yogurts, so although I like supporting organic producers I don't usually buy organic yogurt at the store.

Yogurt containers of all sizes are typically made from plastic #5, which is more difficult to recycle. Since you can't recycle #5 in Chicago's blue bags, we've been saving the yogurt containers to reuse. We have all kinds of things stored in them in the cupboards (raisins, quinoa, sunflower seeds...) and use them for storing leftovers and home made salsa. But adding one tub a week meant we were quickly overrun with yogurt containers. I wanted to find a way to stop our plastic container buildup, and it occurred to me to make my own yogurt.

I tried making yogurt once a few years ago but it didn't work at all. In New Zealand it was relatively common to make your own yogurt using supplies from this Kiwi company, and although we never tried it, it planted an idea in my head. I decided to use powdered milk to make yogurt because we don't keep a lot of milk in the house, but I always have powdered milk on hand for when a recipe calls for milk.

In the past I'd always bought the typical store-brand instant powdered milk, but I wanted to try a non-instant milk because the flavor is better. There were basically no other powdered milk options at the local stores (even Whole Foods), and surprisingly few powdered milk options online. After much searching and researching, I decided to buy Bob's Red Mill Powdered Dry Milk from Amazon.

Here's how I make my yogurt.

Materials needed:
-2/3 cup Bob's Red Mill Powdered Milk (the amount you use will vary- read the reconstitution directions for your milk. Use the amount for making one quart plus 1/8-1/4 cup extra).
-3 1/2 cups water
-2-3 tablespoons of plain yogurt from the store (this is your starter culture)
-blender for mixing dry milk
-double boiler (preferable to a regular pot because it keeps the milk from scalding)
-candy thermometer (about $5 at the grocery)
-clean spoon
-clean quart-size container with clean lid
-a warm place to let the yogurt set for 8-24 hours
-hot water bottle for keeping warm place warm (optional)

1. Reconstitute your dry milk in the blender to make 1 quart of milk. The blender is the best way to get the lumps out, especially for non-instant powdered milk.
2. Put water in the bottom of the double boiler and put the milk in the top.

Double boiler

The basic setup

3. Heat on medium and clip the candy thermometer to the edge of the double boiler to take the temperature of the milk.
4. Stir occasionally and watch the thermometer. When it gets to 180° F, remove the double boiler from heat and allow to cool.

5. Stir every few minutes to prevent skin from forming on top of the cooling milk. When the temperature falls to 115° F, stir in the store-bought yogurt.

6. Transfer the milk/yogurt mixture to the clean quart container and put the lid on.

I reuse the yogurt containers from the store. We have so many of them!

7. Set your container in a warm place.

My warm place is a down sleeping bag in a closet with a bottle of hot water.

8. Check on it every 8 hours until it is in the consistency you prefer (longer usually results in thicker yogurt in my experience).

Notes and tips
-My warm place is a down sleeping bag in a closet. I also pour boiling water into a Nalgene bottle as an improvised hot water bottle.
-Bob's Red Mill Powdered Milk gets very frothy when you mix it in the blender. All of the foam on top of the milk keeps it warm and it can take a very long time to cool from 180° F to 115° F. If you're getting impatient, try scooping off the foam.
-To eliminate the foam problem above, mix up your milk a day or more before you plan to use it and keep it in the fridge. This gives the bubbles time to go away.
-If you don't have a double boiler (I don't think many people do), you can just use a normal sauce pan but you'll have to be careful with the heat so it doesn't scald you milk on the bottom of the pan.
-It's best to use store-bought yogurt as a starter rather than using your own home-made yogurt because 'second-generation' yogurt is a bit less predictable in flavor and texture.
-You can freeze store-bought yogurt in icecube trays or popsicle makers and thaw some when you make yogurt.

I use these popsicle makers to freeze store bought yogurt for my starter.

Do you make your own yogurt? What tips do you have?

Bokashi

2008-04-18T17:43:00.000-05:00

My friends in New Zealand introduced me to bokashi, a system of composting food waste that has been used in Japan for a long time. It's not very common here, so I had a hard time finding bokashi and ended up ordering it online from sdcworld.net. The bokashi that you buy (or make) is made from wheat bran innoculated with microbes. You throw your food vegetable scraps in a bucket and put a handful of the bokashi on top. When the bucket is full, you wait a couple of weeks and then bury the contents of the bucket in your garden.

This is a really easy system... if you have a yard. However, my apartment is surrounded completely by concrete- there isn't a single bit of green space on the lot. What could I do with the bokashi?

I'm going to feed it to red worms for vermicomposting. I searched and search but didn't find any examples online of people in apartments feeding their bokashi to their worms, but I'm going to give it a shot.

First I'll tell you how I set up the bokashi buckets. You can buy a specially made bokashi composter that looks nice on your counter, but it's also $50-90. I wanted a more economical option. My friend in New Zealand said we could use nested buckets instead, so I set about acquiring buckets.

Sometimes you can get free buckets from the grocery store, particularly the bakery. After a few weeks of asking at my local grocery, I found out that an employee there takes them home so I was likely to be waiting for a while. I decided to buy some buckets, but if you can reuse buckets for this purpose good on ya.

I bought four ?-gallon buckets and two bucket lids from Home Depot. I think it all cost under $10 total. I drilled holes in the bottom of two of the buckets and nested them inside the two buckets without holes. The holes on the top bucket allow the excess water from the food and bokashi to drain. I set it up in early March.

I keep one pair of buckets under the kitchen sink and add vegetable scraps with a handful of bokashi. I've decided to avoid putting in citrus and banana peels for the time being since they take longer to break down. If I find out later that my system can handle it I'll start composting those too.

In the winter we don't have much produce so it took us several weeks to fill the first bucket (especially since we were excluding citrus). Soon I'll be transfering the full bucket of bokashi to my worm bin and we'll see what they think of it!

About the author

2008-04-06T20:51:00.000-05:00

I moved to Chicago in August 2007 to begin graduate school at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). I live in Pilsen, a neighborhood just south of UIC on the lower west side, with my partner and fiance Matt in a two-bedroom apartment (I haven't calculated the square footage but I think it is 800-900 square feet). Neither one of us owns a car. Shortly after we moved to Chicago, we both purchased bikes from Working Bikes and became commuter cyclists. I bike barely over a mile to get to UIC each day, but I do bike every day, even in the zero degree winter with negative windchill as long as the roads are clear. I'm still kind of intimidated by biking in the city, especially downtown, so if I have to go more than a few miles I take CTA buses or trains.

We try to get things second hand when at all possible, and are serious fans of craigslist for that purpose. We generally eat low on the food chain (I'm vegetarian) and just recently started bokashi and vermicomposting our food waste (more on this later). We eat some organic and some local food but it isn't a majority of our diet. This summer I'm really looking forward to planting some window boxes with flowers, herbs, and hopefully a few vegetables. We have no unpaved ground whatsoever around our apartment, so container gardening is the only option.

My interest in environmental issues and my personal environmental impact started in childhood as a passion for nature, animals, and the outdoors. I read 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do To Save the Planet when I was about 10 and I've been trying to do more ever since. I love reading about other people's journeys towards sustainability and the choices they make, so I thought I'd share my own.

Let's get this blog started!

2008-04-05T20:37:00.000-05:00

I've been wanting to start this blog for a long time. My plan is to share how I try to reduce my ecological footprint in my everyday life choices in Chicago. Eventually (once people actually start reading this blog), I hope that readers will comment and share their actions, ideas, and questions.

This blog will be personal in nature, as an illustration of what is possible through one person's choices. Everyone has different circumstances, so take from my experience what you will. I also intend to write about issues related to green living in Chicago, such as public transportation and infrastructure.

Welcome to Living Green in Chicago!