"grow food"

grow food / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Landscaping

Urban farming turns beautiful gardens into a grocery store!

...growing food in places with less than ideal conditions. Here are some suggestions for maximizing your harvest in those spots. You can grow food in small spaces, and can also find out which are the best vegetables to grow in the shade - it simply takes choosing the right varieties and using the best techniques for succe...

Flexible house design

Design basics for flexible housing: Depending on the stage you are at in your life, you might have kids, they might be gone or you might want to have some in the future. Design floor plans that work for you right now but can be easily adapted to accommodate different family dynamics in the future. Flexible housing star...

Renewable energy

Renewable natural gas, RNG or biogas under the microscope...

...food that is simply thrown away. All this adds unnecessarily to the carbon footprint of the agricultural industry, which is growing as populations increase. GHG emissions (kg CO2) equivalents per kg of food products What are the targets for reducing food waste in the USA and Canada? While the argument for GM food is ...

Greenhouses and Sunrooms / Solariums

How to build a greenhouse in a cold climate

...growing food, in the Ecohome Green Building Guide and these pages here: Alternatives to a grass lawn that are bee-friendly A gardeners guide to growing vegetables in the shade Growing food in small spaces - apartment and balcony gardens How your diet impacts climate change - which foods have less impact And...

Greenhouses and Sunrooms / Solariums

Solariums in cold climates won't heat your home

...growing ornamental plants or perhaps food, that presents even greater concerns. A greenhouse full of plants will have high levels of relative humidity, and to allow that environment to mix with that of the rest of your conditioned space will increase the overall humidity levels in your home, for an idea of the principl...

Lifestyle, location and commuting

Creating a farm and building a resilient lifestyle

...food and water are becoming more and more scarce in some areas, and a growing world population means more and more people want a piece of that shrinking pie. To be able to offer your family a safe, warm home and enough to eat without relying on societal infrastructure is what defines resilience. After a lifetime of te...

Choosing where to live

Moving to the country - living a rural lifestyle

...grow a garden. One great advantage to having a bit of property is the ability to grow your own food. If you have the space, there is little that tastes better than food you grew yourself. In most rural communities you will be able to find local farmers offering vegetables, meats and eggs. In certain ways rural living ...

Choosing where to live

Green living in the city

...food production. Even if the only space you have is a balcony or patio, if you have a bit of sun, you can grow a bit of food. There are edibles that grow well in shaded areas, and investigate outdoor hydroponics to increase your yield. There is a small but growing movement towards urban agriculture, and replacing conve...

Landscaping

A guide to growing edible perennials.

...foods to grow at home, find more pages about edible landscaping and gardening in the Ecohome Green Building Guide and these pages here: build your own keyhole raised garden bed Which foods grow best in shade? Identify and avoid invasive species when gardening and landscaping All about growing food in small s...

Lifestyle and environment

how your diet affects climate change

...foods instead of imported Just because a trendy berry is grown in the Himalayas does not automatically make it better for you than berries grown in your locale. Strawberries, raspberries and blueberries are antioxidant-rich fruits that you are likely to find grown locally. Choosing local foods can help reduce carbon em...

Landscaping

Which are the best bee-friendly & eco-friendly alternatives to grass lawns in backyards?

...grown as a herb but can be kept low with mowing. Mother-of-thyme (Thymus praecox) is a low creeping species. Thyme grows well in the sun or in shade, on slopes and through rock gardens. In spring and fall it blooms into small purple or white flowers, it smells great all year round and it's edible. You gotta love Edible...