Unidentified mushrooms growing in your yard where you don’t want them? Easy. Edible mushrooms growing orderly in your garden? Not so easy. But you can make growing mushrooms easier with Gaiam’s Pearl Oyster Mushroom Kit.

All you need to do is place the kit in a dish and add water. Within two weeks, mushrooms will grow. After the kit has run its course you can use it to encourage mushroom growth in your compost pile or garden. Mushrooms make a great addition to lots of meals and while they used to be overlooked as a nutritional source, it turns out fungi have a lot to offer. Studies suggest they can reduce cholesterol levels and that they have anticancer properties.

Growing food in your own backyard is just about one of the most eco-friendly ways to fill your plate. With a green garden, there’s no carbon cost of transporting the food and you’ll know what natural fertilizers and pest products were used.

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If you walk down the streets of Chicago neighborhood Oak Park, you’ll see fantastically painted rain barrels placed along the streets. The 100 colorful 55-gallon kegs are there to catch rain and catch your eye. The League of Women Voters of Oak Park/River Forest, organized the eco-friendly art display to stir up interest in rain barrels.

They’re a smart way to conserve water right in your own backyard or rooftop. If you have a barrel out in the open or connected to a gutter, it’ll collect and store rainwater every time the sky opens up. Each one is equipped with a spigot at the bottom, so it’s easy to use the collected H2O for watering plants, watering your yard, washing your car or for any other reason you may need water outside other than drinking.

Conservations love rain barrels and they’re a great addition to a green garden, but they haven’t caught on in a widespread way yet. So campaigns like the one in Chicago are important to get the ball rolling. Another plus–aside from saving water, you can also save money on your water bill.  Click here to read more

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