My husband, Stuart, and I decided years ago to change our lives to get closer to the goal of doing no harm. Some things are difficult, like driving cars and flying on planes, both of which contribute to climate change and ordinary noxious air pollution.

Other things have not been so hard.

In 2001 we made the decision to close down our commercial greenhouse operation because, among other things, the oil needed to heat the greenhouses was unacceptable from an economic and environmental standpoint.

Now, we are moving slowly toward a much healthier life that is more in harmony with nature. However, for as long as we have family spread around the globe, we will probably continue to fly to different places. My hope, in this regard, is that technology will, in fact, find a solution to the problem of flying on fossil fuel. Similarly, driving a car, will, I believe, become more environmentally friendly in the not too distant future.

At home, we have made changes. We changed to compact florescent light bulbs. We changed to energy efficient appliances whenever we could. Our freezer and washing machine, for example, are energy efficient. We have installed solar photovoltaic panels with the help of a grant and lease program from the State of Connecticut. Now we feel terrific that we are selling electricity back to the utility company.

We have removed most of our old 10,000 square feet of greenhouse space, retaining some square footage for our own personal use. this has freed up a large area of land that has now been covered with raised beds, fruit trees, composting areas and firewood processing and storage. There is also room for a woodworking shop in a portion of one of the old greenhouses we kept, and a bright classroom in a converted section of a garage building.

Because we live on a piece of land that has very little arable soil, we are continuing our, now 30 year-long, endeavor to build soil every way we can. Eradicating lawn by spreading cardboard covered with leaves and manure, or spreading out sheets of black plastic and then moving them when the grass underneath is dead, is a way we have used to create more food growing space. By spreading copious amounts of fallen leaves (we live surrounded by hundreds of acres of forest, by the way) with light layers of horse manure, we have created beautiful soil and lush gardens where forests of tomatoes, beans, garlic, zucchini, sweet potato, sunflowers, potatoes, onions,root crops, herbs and flowers, all thrive.

The soil is the key to all this productivity. In fact, soil is the key to life on the planet, although we do not treat it as such. Organic matter is the key to all that may ail the soil. Believe me, as a soil scientist, I can tell you, the soil is ailing in most of the country, and possibly the world from what I've heard, too.

We have so much free organic matter going to waste that could be used to increase soil health and create better productivity for nutrient rich food crops.

Let me tell you, the food you buy in the supermarket is not healthy and not nutrient rich, unless you shop in organic markets. Why do we have an epidemic of asthma, allergies, autism, cancers etc? My intuition tells me what the answer is and I believe others know it too, but as a society we refuse to take the steps we need to, to clean up our place. We are the only animal I know of that fouls its bed.

Here are some thoughts for today:

"A teaspoon of living earth contains some five million bacteria, twenty million fungi, one million protozoa, and two hundred thousand algae. No human can predict what vital miracles are locked in this dot of life, this stupendous reservoir of genetic materials that have evolved continuously since the dawn of life on Earth. One pound of topsoil has as much surface areas as the whole state of Connecticut."
From "Septic Tank Practices by Peter Warshall.


"One gram of living compost can contain 10 billion bacteria belonging to several thousand species, almost all of which are still unknown to science." E.O. Wilson

Step lightly as you go.