It seems I'm always proud of my garden in July and this year is no different.  My garden is thriving and it made it through the heat wave we had in New England thanks to my drip irrigation. My tomatoes are growing, I have zucchini and asian eggplant ready to eat.  I've been munching on lettuce greens and arugula.  The grapes are growing really well this year.  The vines are prolific and quite stately.  I can't imagine my garden without them.  So in this month's issue of USL, I have included a variety of images taken of my garden this summer.  Don't miss it.  Going along with the garden photo theme, there's a Garden Photo contest running this month sponsored by Sloggers/Insect Shield.  Get the details below and please watch the promotional video I made for Sloggers/Insect Shield.

Many of you have loved the duck videos so I wanted to give you an update on them.  One of the males has flown away, so I have 4 ducks: 3 female! and 1 male.  They've matured to the point where you can really tell the male from the females.  And yes they can fly.  We have video footage of them flying and it's quite beautiful to watch.  My bees are still here.  They are active and seem to be taking to their new home nicely.  I'll have video of it all for you to see in an upcoming issue of USL.

This month's issue features articles from two new contributors.  Zero Waste Advocate, Valerie Jenner, puts waste into perspective and Melanie Clothier tells us her garden story which so many of us can relate to.  My favorite Master Urban Gardener William Moss is back to talk container gardening.  It's sale time at garden centers so it's a great time to put together elegant containers at half the price.  For those of you who are still making excuses and haven't gotten their hands dirty yet, watch my 30 minute Herb Garden video.  Herbs are easy to grow and don't require daily waterings or any water for that matter except for in drought conditions. There's no excuse not to plant with garden soxx.

Enjoy this issue of Urban Sustainable Living Magazine.  I look forward to seeing your garden photos and please support the proud sponsors of this online magazine.  Their continued support makes it possible for me to provide this content to you absolutely FREE!

Be sure to check out www.growingagreenerworld.com and make sure it is available in your local area by sending an email to your local public broadcasting channel.  And if your new to the magazine don't forget to visit our archive page or our top bar navigation.

Happy Summer!
From the Sustainable Home Front,  
Patti Moreno, the Garden Girl

Check out Last Months issue!

Reduce, Precycle, Refuse, Reuse, Compost and Recycle

As consumers we all have extraordinary opportunities to make a change for the better through our purchasing power. Every purchase we make counts as a vote in support of the manufacturers, marketing and policy setters established practices and future actions of each product we purchase. Let your wallet do the talking.  This is incredible nonviolent power speaks loudly to companies that will adjust their business practices to gain an edge over their competition and increase their market share. If the ultimate goal is to be greener than we are and to lighten our carbon footprints we need to start looking at the objects in our hands, our cupboards and consider their true impact and cost on our planet.

Read the Full article Here

Featured Urban Sustainable Living Video

Rewards of Gardening

Plotting Along by Megan Clothier

Last spring, when we bought our little old house, there was a kid's sandbox in the back yard. In the days after we moved in, our packing boxes lay untouched as we immediately dove in to our first house project: converting the sand box in to a veggie patch.

Little did we know that the simple idea of growing a few vegetables would turn in to such a rewarding love affair with gardening! 

Read the Full article Here

Photo Gallery

More on Photo Gallery

30 Minute Herb Garden

There are some of you out there who haven't made the leap and started gardening. There may be many of reasons for that. But if you subscribe to USL you probably like the idea, but don't feel like you have enough time and don't know what to grow. I always suggest that beginners start by growing their favorite herbs. Herbs don't need any special soil or special attention and have little or no pests or diseases. For those of you in a time crunch, using garden soxx are a quick way to get started.

Read the Full article Here

Garden Photo Contest Sponsored by Sloggers/Insect Shield

Summer is in full swing and we're all eating out of are garden.  Show off all of your hard work by entering this month's photo contest.  Reply to info@gardengirltv.com with a photo of your garden to enter.  Make sure you include your full name. One entry per person. We want your best.  Entries will be accepted thru August 15th, 2010. By entering this contest you agree that Urban Sustainable Living can republish your name and photo on UrbanSustainableLiving.com. 4 Readers with best garden photos chosen will receive a free Sloggers/Insect Shield Hat.

Read the Full article Here

Around The Web

Eco Cycle Zero Waste Systems

Rather than looking at our production systems as one way and linear, we can redesign them to be cyclical, as in nature, where there is no such thing as waste and materials are kept in the production cycle. Zero Waste is emerging as a paradigm shift, a new, comprehensive socio-technical system that addresses our resource use from product design to disposal.

Extreme Knitting

Rachel John, Extreme Textiles, broke records by knitting with a 1000 strands simultaneously! This video shows the set up of the event and the event itself. This event took place at the Southhill Park Unravel Textiles exhibition in October 2006.

Serenbe Farms Supper Club 

Enjoy a tour of the beautiful Serenbe Farms Supper Club.