I was just perusing Amazon's special offers this morning (if you've ever bought anything on Amazon you'll know those offers spring up like a batch of dandelions) most dealing with a timely nudge to be green for Earth Day when my attention was grabbed by the roots by the number one selling book on Amazon - All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew.

Since everything is starting to green in our yard I've had the itch to start a garden, nothing fancy maybe just a little patch in the corner, but I'm a terrible procrastinator (like right now I should be writing the rest of this post yet I am going off on a tangent about procrastinating) Now where was I?

Oh, yah this intriguing book that has been on the Amazon top 100 book list for over 3 years! That's what caught my attention - next was how does a gardening book stay in the top 100 for 3 years not to mention who knows how long at number one.

Looking at Square Foot Gardening I can see why - it is a super simple method to gardening that claims 100% of the yield with 20% of the space - which fits right in with my plan for a little back yard garden. Not only that but Mel reveals his secret soil mix for perfect growing conditions (and never a need for fertilizer): 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat moss, and 1/3 agricultural grade vermiculite spread out in a 4ft by 4ft box. (oops did I just ruin the secret?)

This new version of Square Foot Gardening called All New Square Foot Gardening (pretty original title huh?) Reveals 10 new and improved methods to make the whole process more efficient, easier, and well, garden-tastic. Take a peek at the video and see if you are as excited to get outside as I am - in fact I'm outa here the sunshine is calling...

One last note though, Mel has also written a delightfully delicious book called All New Square Foot Gardening Cookbook (he's got a good thing going with his naming so why change it I guess) that looks to be as savory as the fresh herbs and veggies coming out of the garden.

What are you planting in your square foot garden this Spring? (and when can I come over for dinner?)

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Spring is Calling and So is My Square Foot Garden is a post from: Natural Health Goodies

Today I was blasted with a Green inspiration (just the thought of green sends warm flashes of Spring coursing through the room - I just wish some would flow outside where it is a not so springy 17 Degrees Fahrenheit). I was introduced to Victoria Boutenko and her series of books on Green Smoothie recipes thanks to a fellow natural health blogger and her recent post Drink Your Greens. She shared a video (see the video below) of Victoria talking about the wonders of green smoothies and a little taste test of a banana, mango, pear kale smoothie - a very vibrant green smoothie recipe that I look forward to trying since we just picked up some nice juicy mangoes.

After watching the video the green smoothie monster grabbed me by the hand and forced me to look up some of Victoria Boutenko's green smoothie recipe books. The video mentions Green for Life which is her highly lauded 2005 release. I also discovered her recent 2009 book Green Smoothie Revolution: The Radical Leap Toward Natural Health which includes 72 pages of green smoothie recipes submitted from all over the world. It is rather inspiring to hear the great reviews these books get and the stories of increased health and wellness from introducing green smoothies into their diets. I immediately reserved both books at the library, but if you aren't the waiting kind they are both for sale at Amazon.

Now I'm off to get some kale to go with that nice juicy mango... (and hey some of that Green inspiration must have spread outside after all... it's now a balmy 24 Degrees outside)

Update: I'm still waiting on those books from the library, but in the mean time we've been experimenting with some green smoothie recipes of our own - and I've been blown away! The kids actually LOVE these! I'll get a post up on one of our favorite recipes soon, but first I have to make our morning smoothie...

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My Green Smoothie Inspiration and a Green Smoothie Recipe to Boot is a post from: Natural Health Goodies