March is here and spring, my favorite season, is right around the corner. I have garden fever and am anxious to get my hands dirty again! I am starting to think about what I want to grow in my vegetable garden this year. I know the thought of gardening seems really far off to those of you still covered in snow, but you can actually start sowing seeds indoors for certain plants months before the last frost.

But how do you know which plants to start when? Or when you’ll be able to plant directly into the soil? If you’re like me, it’s a relatively new concept to actually plan these things and not just pick a random warm weekend to get started. Well, I found a great online Vegetable Garden Planting Calendar that takes the guess work out of planting. All you do is plug in the date of the last spring frost in your area and it gives you the start date for everything from onion and broccoli to tomatoes and corn.

So how do you know when the last frost is? You can get a good idea from this growing zone map on Burpee’s site which divides the country by average lowest winter temperature. These zones are used in many gardening guides and nurseries to let you know the right time for planting in your area. However, you need an actual date for your city to calculate your planting calendar, which I found here. Now all I have to do is decide what I’m going to grow and mark those date on my calendar. This y ear I want to try a few new things like cucumber and eggplant. What veggies are you going to grow in your garden this year?

As I woke up this morning, my 3 month old was still asleep having spent his first night in his crib in the nursery (not in the bassinet next to my bed). I was struck by how quickly time passes. It seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital; filled with equal parts fear and excitement. Those first weeks were insane! Drew and I were so overwhelmed with our new roles as parents. Everything else took a backseat – gardening, cooking, and even eating healthy.

I suddenly found myself eating junk and fast food, choosing convenience over quality. This is something I’ve been known to get on my soapbox and preach against! I have stressed the importance of choosing healthy, organic, ethical foods to my friends, family and blog readers. Through a haze of exhaustion, I told myself that we’d eat better the next day, that once things settled into a routine we’d get back on track. Well, things still haven’t really settled down and from what my parents tell me, I have at least 18 more years before they do. So here we are 3 months later and while we’re not still eating greasy take out every night, we certainly picked up some bad habits and learned a few things about committing to your decisions. I realized that my choosing to live a sustainable and organic lifestyle is a choice I make every day.

Like all important, life changing decisions (like becoming a parent) you can’t just choose it when it’s convenient or easy. It’s the choices you make when you’re busy and stressed; the decisions you make when no one is watching that count. And that’s something I’d like to teach my son, by my example. I’m not perfect, but I’m trying to make choices every day that are aligned with my beliefs that sustainable and organic foods are essential.

We all know eating a diet filled with fruits and vegetables is essential to good health. But many people are still not convinced that organic is worth the extra price. It's important to realize that chemical residue from non-organic foods can accumulate over time in our fatty tissue and effect our immune and endocrine systems - scary. Since organic foods (the green and white USDA organic label assures it is 95-100% organic) are produced without the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, all you get is the nutritional benefit and great taste. That being said, with organic produce typically costing 15% more than conventional, price is still a real issue for many families. That's why I wanted to find out which fruits and veggies are critical to buy organic. According to the Environmental Working Group, the twelve non-organic fruits and vegetables below consistently contain higher levels of pesticide residue (even after washing) than others.

Highest Pesticide Residue

1. Strawberries
2. Bell Peppers (green and red)
3. Spinach
4. Cherries
5. Peaches
6. Cantaloupe (Mexico)
7. Celery
8. Apples
9. Apricots
10. Green Beans
11. Grapes (Chilean)
12. Cucumbers

Although my husband Drew and I just had our first baby in November, we officially became parents 3 years ago when we brought home Molly (our Bernese Mountain Dog, pictured above). We immediately fell in love with the adorable ball of fur and our lives were changed. We want her to have the best of everything: veterinary care, food, toys, bedding - and I know many of you feel the same way about your dog. Well, I stumbled across something I didn't even know Molly needed - a dog house with a "green roof"! Green or living roofs are covered in plants and soil, on top of layers of a waterproofing membrane, drainage and often irrigation systems. Green roofs have caught on in large cities where they not only absorb rainwater and help insulate buildings, but actually reduce air temperatures (which are higher in urban environments). Like the living walls I wrote about previously, they look amazing! Green Roofs Australia's blog has great photographs of all types of green roofs.

Sustainable Pet Design is bringing the green roof concept to a backyard near you with their stylish dog (and bird) houses. There are a number of different styles, all worthy of your pampered pooch. The dog houses not only look great, but are entirely pet safe. Each home is constructed with non-toxic materials: red cedar wood, zero VOC paints and beeswax waterproofing. They even created a palatial dog house for Bo Obama, "the first dog". The people at Sustainable Pet are not the only ones making designer digs for dogs. Architects Kohn Pederson Fox designed a stunning dog house with a green roof that could pass for sculpture. This short video on YouTube shows how they came up with their inspired design. It would be an amazing complement to a modern home - unfortunately the $6000 price tag is out of my league! However, I found the perfect solution on Instructables: a DIY project to build your own green roofed dog veranda. Now I just need to find the time - I'll keep you posted.

Lately we hear a lot about “going green”, but living walls take the idea in a whole new direction, literally. Living walls or vertical gardens allow you to bring green where space is limited, either indoors or out. They are basically a framework of plants placed onto the side of a building or wall. Patrick Blanc, a French botanist and pioneer in the field vertical gardens, has created some truly amazing large scale installations and his website is a must-see. However, these walls can be small scale as well using flowers, succulents - even vegetables. Keep in mind that plants with shallow roots are best as they have an easier time staying attached to a vertical surface. If you are a do-it-yourself-er check out ELT Living Wall Systems list of plants that work well.

The living wall trend has recently caught on here in San Diego, where space is definitely a commodity. The wall above (photo by Scott Neubacher Caligure) was created by Tend Living a local company whose inspired owner; Britton Neubacher describes the walls as “living art”. Tend Living’s various “plant scapes”, including fantastic hanging “orbs” (modern terrariums in locally hand blown glass containers) have been displayed at Jett Gallery. They recently teamed up with Pigment to erect a 6’x8’ wall in their North Park location and are busy with many residential projects around town.

The living wall concept is really catching on. They really are gorgeous, not to mention beneficial, purifying the air by removing harmful toxins and adding humidity. The visual effect is amazing; it reminds me of an aerial, bird’s eye view of a rainforest. A smaller wall could easily replace framed art on the wall of any home. Succulents would be perfect in a modern setting; flowing plants or flowers would work well in a traditional home. I love the idea of bringing the outdoors in and can’t imagine a better way to do it.

Well Black Friday and Cyber Monday have come and gone, but if you're like me and haven't started your holiday shopping I have four great gift ideas for the gardener in your life. The adorable "Eggling" designed by Jun Inui and available at the MoMa Store is a fun stocking stuffer for apartment dwellers or gardening newbies. The extra large egg, hand-made from white ceramic with a terracotta tray, comes with a seed packet of either basil or mint and is ready to grow in the peat mixture. The eggs are $9.50 each and make a cool modern design statement in a grouping of three.

Every gardener, expert green thumbs and novices alike, needs a reference book like this one from the American Horticultural Society's New Encyclopedia of Gardening Techniques (above). It contains thousands of illustrations, hundreds of color photos and covers a wealth of gardening techniques. It is an incredible resource and at $29 on Amazon, quite a deal.

For the gardener who has everything, these Bionic Gardening Gloves may be just the gadget. Although I love the feel of the dirt in my hands, when it's time for serious weeding you need a good pair of gloves. Designed by a hand surgeon, these leather gloves have breathable zones and cushioned areas to prevent calluses. They are $39 and available at Target.

Lastly, for the stylish gardener who wants to look good even when she's covered in dirt, there's the Orange Mum Garden Belt and matching Hat from Hable Construction. The utility belt features 3 big pockets and 4 loops to hang tools for $65. The wide brim hat made of cotton canvas has a raw edge and is currently on sale for $30! Any one of these gifts are sure to please the gardener in your life - happy shopping!

You may have heard that houseplants help purify the air, but did you know that they can actually remove toxins like benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene?!  These chemicals are VOC's or volatile organic compounds which are commonly present in paint, home furnishings and other household products and contribute to indoor air pollution.

With a baby on the way, I have become somewhat obsessed with creating a clean and healthy environment throughout the house...

Autumn has finally arrived here in San Diego! After way too many really hot weeks (and no air conditioning in our old home) I am thoroughly enjoying the crisp, fall air. Yesterday, a particularly cool and overcast day, I was longing for the comforting aroma of my favorite fall vegetable (or is it a fruit?) pumpkin! So although it's early in the season; I decided to bake a Simple Soymilk Pumpkin Pie. (Indulge me, I'm pregnant and nesting!) You'll be amazed how deliciously creamy and easy to make this pie is. I love it, because soymilk is something we always have in the house, unlike the evaporated milk many traditional recipes call for. Although there's no diary, this is not a vegan recipe - it does contain eggs. If you would like to make it vegan, check out the Vegan Society website to learn the best egg substitutes for baking.

Harvesting vegetables from my garden is something I look forward to all season, but knowing exactly when to pick can be sometimes difficult. Each vegetable exhibits different signs when they are ripe, either color or size or both. So how do you know when to harvest each vegetable? My dog, Molly, lets me know when the strawberries are ready to be picked, which is when they turn uniformly red. (You can read more about Molly and our garden, here.) However, when it comes to the rest of the veggies I'm on my own.

When my husband and I decided to start an organic vegetable garden, we were so excited! We talked about how satisfying it would be to grow our own food, how convenient it would be to step outside and pick fresh veggies, and how much money we would save on our grocery bill.  The only problem was we had no idea where to start! We had so many questions. Fortunately, we were able to take advantage of an amazing free resource, City Farmers in San Diego. This small organic farm and nursery, run for over 20 years by Farmer Bill, offers free classes and has a knowledgeable staff eager to help. If you are ready to start a garden, a small local nursery is the best place to get valuable advice (and supplies). However, before you head off there are a few things you should consider when getting started.