Better Holiday Shopping

The holidays are just around the corner. If you're anything like us, you're sick of shopping in box stores for run-of-the-mill, utterly forgettable items. This year, why not shop for American-made apparel that looks fabulous and goes to a good cause? Every dollar Better Farm earns from these sales goes directly into workshops next summer and improvements on the grounds.

Click on the items below to be redirected to our merchandise pages.



[Zazzle and CafePress]

Swine Flu Party!

Because no one should ever be shut out, even swine flu victims.

Symptoms of this nasty little virus run the gamut of unpleasantness; including everything from extreme fatigue to loss of appetite to achy muscles and fever. Check, check, check, and check, as two of our nearest and dearest fell victim to H1N1.

The shot is mostly being administered to pregnant ladies and small children, which meant our fallen soldiers had to ride this illness out old-skool; with lots of steam to breathe, homemade chicken noodle soup, gallons of tea, echinacea, juice, and TLC.

The epidemic swept Better Farm two weeks ago, lasted about six days, and left as quickly as it came. The Better Theory teaches us to address our fears and misfortunes head-on, and to take those demons and make them sing. So, that's just what we did. Cue Better Farm's first (and hopefully last) swine flu party, which had to double as Clayton's goodbye party since he sadly had to hit the road the following morning for Baltimore.







Photos by Clayton Carlson

Better Farm Welcomes Three Very Special Guests

This weekend Better Farm enjoyed the company of Cheryl, Annie, and Sarah of New York City and Philadelphia. They brought with them home goods to donate, and willing arms and legs to help us out with a few ongoing projects. We are very blessed to have such wonderful people track us down and lend their hands. That sort of humanity invigorates this space and validates our efforts at Better Farm.

But first things first. Here are Sarah and Cheryl just after arriving Thursday evening, already getting in the spirit of our family dinners:


On Friday the ladies got right to work. Last Tuesday Fred gave one pass along a couple hundred feet of ground with his rototiller to loosen up the hard, recently hayed ground for planting. Here's Sarah carrying a bale of hay from the barn:


We had a bunch of raspberry trimmings to plant, so the girls set about nailing stakes into the ground equidistant apart for the stalks. From there, it was just a matter of a little digging and getting the raspberry plants good and comfortable. The strip of land these plants will frequent get lots of excellent sunshine (raspberries need at least six hours of daylight daily) and is conveniently located close to the house to make for easy picking and noshing.


The girls also threw their weight behind helping to clear out the attic attached to the loft. Cheryl, Annie, and Sarah hauled everything from electric train sets to typewriters out of the space, which we're planning to reinsulate and convert into another loft accessible by a ladder from the upstairs hallway. The empty cardboard boxes were great kindling for a good old fashioned campfire we made Saturday night. Between that, a nature hike Friday, raucous visit to the Redwood Tavern, steady chilling on lawn chairs outside, pancake breakfasts and Mexican feasts, we count this visit as perfect. Thank you ladies for all your hard work and kind donations to Better Farm!






Please contact us if you'd like to pay a visit to Better Farm.

Roofing Goes Green with Solar Shingles

While browsing

Time Magazine's 50 Best Inventions of 2009

, I noticed lucky number 13: The Solar Shingle. With Better Farm's continued efforts to lower our energy consumption, this seems like a cheaper and easier (can be installed by a regular roofer) solution. While not yet available to buy, a little web research sounds promising...

The New York Times

October 7, 2009, 11:46 am

Dow Unveils Solar Shingles

By TODD WOODY

Dow Chemical has unveiled a residential roof shingle in the form of a solar panel designed to be integrated into asphalt-tiled roofs.

Jane Palmieri, managing director of Dow’s Solar Solutions unit, said the Powerhouse thin-film shingle slashes installation costs because it can be installed by a roofer who is already building or retrofitting a roof.

“As a roofer is nailing asphalt shingle on roof, wherever the array needs to be installed he just switches to solar shingle,” said Ms. Palmieri, who said the solar singles are similarly attached to the roof with nails.

“You don’t have to have a solar installation crew do the work or have an electrician on site,” she added. “The solar shingle can be handled like any other shingle – it can be palletized, dropped from a roof, walked on.”

An electrician is still needed to connect the completed array to an inverter and to a home’s electrical system, but unlike conventional solar panels that must be wired together, the solar shingles plug into each other to form the array.

Read the rest of the article here.

Fast Company

Covert Solar Power? Dow's Solar Shingles for Rooftops are Burglar-Proof

BY Ariel SchwartzTue Oct 6, 2009 at 2:09 PM

...There's another hidden benefit to Dow's shingles--they are less likely to be visible to thieves than traditional panels. California has seen a slew of rooftop panel burglaries in the past few years. Thieves make off with the solar panels and sell them on the black market. But shingles nestled into a roof can't just be removed by snipping off a few wires.

Read the rest of article here.

Gizmodo

Dow Powerhouse Solar Shingles Could Finally Have You Hugging Trees

by Sean Fallon

Oct 7 2009

...As you can see, the panels look like standard asphalt shingles—and they can be installed without any specialized knowledge. In fact, they only take about 10 hours to install on average compared to the 22-30 hours for traditional panels. Since a basic roofer could handle the job in a short amount of time, installation costs should be more manageable. Plus, Dow claims that their Powerhouse will be 30% to 40% cheaper than other solar shingle designs.

Read the rest of the article here.

Solar shingles photo from ecogeek.org

Have Fun with Decorating: Bathroom ideas

The downstairs bathroom at Better Farm is structurally sound, but lacked the details that would make it feel cozy and stylish. Here are a few things we did to combat that problem, utilizing garage sale finds and reappropriated objects.

Because we have gorgeous blonde walls, we went with the tan and gold theme. In addition to some fresh new towels, we threw in a Gustav Klimt print bought for 25 cents at a garage sale (he loved his golds!):



The toilet area was a plethora of unused space, so in addition to artwork (the Klimt print, an old family portrait of yours truly's great-grandmama, and an unused, unbacked frame spray-painted gold), we took the Bible racks off the backs of our kitchen's church pews and are now using them as magazine storage:

Before:


After:


A fresh shower curtain going with our color theme and a broken "Health Services" sign from a boy scout camp round out the rest of the room:

Before:


After:

Tailgate Parties Turn Pro

Oh,

barbecue grills

. You make the act of tailgating an art. You are the maraschino cherry cream pie to our grossly exorbitant dinner parties. Without you, we would be living off raw hot dogs, uncooked hamburgers, pink chicken patties, droopy shish kebabs, and underserved

Tofu Pups

.

Yes, we could be prepping for the

Boss

show with a DIY

BBQ grill

fashioned out of a

metal garbage pail

and sticks for mallow-roasting. But there's something so striking about going pro with equipment such as that featured at left; which will make all the lot kids green with envy, and all the yuppies blush with embarrassment. Behold Outdora.com's latest outdoing of itself: the perfect tailgating

BBQ grill

.

Okay—tailgating admittedly doesn't have all that much to do with

Better Farm

; unless you begin to consider future opportunities to tailgate at one of our many

upcoming festivities

, and the fact that anyone from the farm would be happy to join you on any number of

soon-to-materialize concert tours

.

But this also brings up other ideas of no-nonsense grilling; such as the ever-growing trend of outdoor kitchen areas, the increasingly acceptable idea of making dinner out-of-doors, and that nagging sensation you have of improving on your hubby or leading lady's idea of "campfires".

From hobos in train yards to campground pastimes to a major surge in barbecuing in 1950s America, today's outdoor cookers have taste. And expectations. And a refusal to settle for mish mashed concepts of shoddy grilling tendencies. Thankfully, everyone from retched box stores and glamorous boutiques have answered the call. You can go as basic or complicated as you please with your grilling. Utter freedom!

Us Better Farmers envision the reappropriation of an indoor, wood-burning cookstove as an outdoor grilling-machine-under-gazebo setup (complete with sinkwater gleaned from rainwater collection bins) by Summer 2011. It's ambitious; but with so many inspiring ideas to inspect and dream about (tailgating ideas included) we don't see any roadblocks up ahead. It's time we took this "timeless grilling accessory" to new heights—beyond its role as a centerpiece to outdoor entertainment and into a realm where this cooking style speaks for itself.

Help Better Farm win $10k

Vote THIS WEEK ONLY for Better Farm to win 10K from Idea Blob!

[Originally posted on ideablob.com]

Ring My Bell

The

dinner bell

has acted for hundreds of years as a signal to farm workers that the workday was over and food would soon be served. Growing up in suburban New Jersey, my mother rang a version of this bell to summon my friends, sister, and I in from our ongoing tree house projects in the woods.

There's something sweet about the sound of a cast-iron bell ushering loved ones (and lackeyes) in; and something made more authentic by the practice of communal, family dining. A

farm bell

suggests a familial spirit, can be used to gain the attention of unruly dogs (of which we currently have two); and sounds absolutely classic against a backdrop of chirping frogs or

whip-poor-wills

.

Nowadays the

dinner bell

is all the rage, whether you've got a small herb garden out your city window sill, a backyard with a few tomato plants, or a full-blown

Better Farm

.

Of course, there are many ways to make your own dinner bells—even if you're not a master welder or blacksmith. There are at least two methods: Track down an old triangle to strike (check to see if any music classrooms at local schools are getting rid of used instruments), or gather some hangers, anything that clangs when struck (silverware, metal scraps, nails, broken glass, pie tins),

Gorilla Glue

, string, and some creative spirit. Tie or glue the pieces to some durable hemp, and hang them from outside your door (or a nearby tree branch). The next time you want the attention of those far away, save your vocal chords and simply ring that bell. If the pieces are extremely mismatched, consider coating each with a layer of uniform paint.

If you're interested in a more classic look for your farm bell, expect to spend between $50 and $100 for a nice, wrought-iron piece that is likely to last a lifetime with proper care and use. Or invest in a nice wind chime, which you'll never have to go out of your way to ring but which will look lovely in a nearby tree or eave. These start in a lower price bracket, and the DIY version requires the same equipment as the DIY bell.

Better Farm Does Fall

Gutter Protection

Gutters are a no-brainer for most homes—which is why we've been doing

a lot of research

on the outdoor pipes here at Better Farm. We're pretty excited about galvalume gutters, but the price tag for replacing existing systems vs. enhancing what you have is enough to give pause to anyone intent on keeping the water out of his or her basement (and maybe

into

his or her rain catchment system?).

This is mostly a money-crunching issue. The cost effectiveness of cleaning your gutters out as opposed to buying a system promising to remove the need for gutter maintenance varies from home to home.

Here's a great calculator

designed to help you decide what's most appropriate for your needs.

Gutter protection

is a big consideration when choosing a system for your house. For one thing, without protection you're looking at hefty bi-yearly bills for gutter cleaning, replacement, and general upkeep. Mold, mildew, fungus, fires, ice, standing water, mosquitoes, clogs, and leaves all count as your enemy when working with gutters—careful planning is in order. What's cheapest up-front isn't always the best long-term decision; and things like location and climate can make all the difference in the world.

Whether you're replacing an old system, adding fresh to a gutterless house (as we are), or tacking a

gutter protection system

to what you've already got, it's important to do your research.

While you're shopping around and searching for price comparisons and product reviews, there are a few things to look out for:

• Gutters and gutter protection that are fire-resistant and flame-retardant

• Systems that are mold-, mildew-, and fungus-free

• Filter and guards that encourage fast-flowing water to reduce ice and its inherent damage (and mosquitoes!)

• Systems that won't steal the show from your home—gutters should blend!

• Easy or low-cost installation

• Warranties—some of the best systems and gutter protectors we found have up to 10-year warranties

• Systems that will work with rain catchment systems (water your lawn with a clear conscience next summer!)

• Rust- and corrosion-free systems

We'd love to hear your thoughts on the issue as we stew over what system to get on Better Farm next year!

Toto I Dont Think I'm in Iowa Anymore!

Hello, I'm Chris, one of the new tenants here at Better Farm! I've recently moved to New York from Iowa. I would like to tell all you readers out there about my move and life up here in New York. But, I feel none of that will process correctly unless you get to know me more. So first off, I will tell you about my past.

Although I don't remember much about my life back then (I mean, who really does), I will fill you in on what I can. I was born in Dallas, Texas. I'm guessing we moved to Iowa not long after I was born. When I was around 2, my older brother, sister, and I were put into foster care due to my mom's drinking problem. I don't know much about what all happened, besides stories I've heard from some of my mom's friends. But from what I've heard, we weren't all that bad. Some kids these days are a lot worse off than we were; and no one does anything to save these kids. I guess my mom just had back luck. But the Brindle family--Beth, Gary, and their daughter Erin--welcomed us into their hearts and home. Even after we were able to come back to our mom, the Brindles stayed in touch and showed that we mattered. Although we didn't keep in touch every day or every month, they showed up to my high school graduation 15 years after we lived with them.

My siblings and I lived most of our lives in Iowa, but not all. We also lived in Arkansas for a while; in a salvation army, and with my mom's boyfriend in a trailer that had no door, running water, internal plumbing, or electricity (your typical redneck trailer). Dogs lived under the trailer, we used an outhouse, and bathed in a spring during the summers. It was in Arkansas that I developed a fear of spiders: I was bitten under the arm by a brown recluse. Came near close to dying, and been afraid of spiders since.

After Arkansas, we moved back to Iowa, where we lived the majoritity of my life. But enough about where I lived. How about I tell you about who I lived with. There is my awesome mother Janie, 45, who was born in Iowa City, Iowa:

My older brother Shawn, 29, my only sister Amanda, 26, and my younger brother Robert ,22, were all born in Marshalltown, Iowa. I've never known my father (although I'm working on that now). I've grown up thinking his name is Terry and that I just didn't matter enough to be part of his life. But I've come to find out my sister's father could also be my father; so I may end up trying to get a paternity test to find out.

From the age of 22, reality shifted for me and I felt something wasn't right with my life. I knew something was calling me and it wasn't in Iowa. So at the age of 24, a few months before my 25th birthday, I called my cousin in New York. She said I could move in with her until I found a job and place to live. So with much regret and drive to do better in my life, I moved to Great Bend, N.Y., and got a job at Stewart's. A few weeks later, my cousin informed me that she wanted to move to North Carolina by October. With a rush and fear in my heart that might have made a BIG mistake by moving up here, I started searching for a place to live. I ended up posting an ad on Craigslist saying I needed a place to live, and prayed each night for God to help me out. Not long after I posted it, God answered my prayers and I got an e-mail from Nicole saying that there was a place for me here at the Better Farm!

Better Farm Echoes Green

Echoing Green, an organization founded in 1987 that "invests in and supports outstanding emerging social entrepreneurs to launch new organizations that deliver bold, high-impact solutions," is accepting applications for its next round of fellowship recipients.

The two-year fellowship program offers support to social entrepreneurs and their organizations to "solve deeply rooted social, environmental, economic, and political inequities" so all individuals may reach their potential. The organization has to date invested more than $28 million in seed funding to more than 471 social entrepreneurs and their innovative organizations.

Better Farm applied yesterday. Here's a quick recap of some main points we covered in the paperwork:

Q. As specifically as possible, demonstrate the need for your organization.
14.7% of people in Jefferson County are at or below poverty level. Paired with the fact that fewer than 14% of Redwood residents pursue diplomas beyond high school, the area has few alternative education options. An injection into Redwood of affordable or free public resources to expand cultural understanding, push for ecological advances in science and construction, and open people's minds in regard to what education can be, will drive the community forward in ways currently unavailable to local residents. The community [sic] will benefit by bringing artists, writers, thinkers, green builders, and the like into its folds. The surge in residency and visits will invigorate Redwood's economy; and the educational opportunities will drive high school graduation rates and percentages of those pursuing education beyond high school.

Q. Help Echoing Green visualize what your organization will do. Describe the specific programs that your organization will engage in to deliver your long-term outcomes.
A. Residencies: We will offer workshare and residency programs in which college students, high-schoolers, and people of all stripes and persuasions can come together to live communally and work on different projects. In exchange for inexpensive or free rent, an individual will commit to bettering his or herself and the encompassing space—by participating in or teaching a workshop, performing home reparis or maintenance, tending the herb or vegetable garden, or managing the compost.

Workshops: We will hold courses ranging from a few hours, to a day, to a weekend or week in any number of subject matters to bring new ideas to the community-at-large. Whether green building, solar installation, pottery, welding, writing, yoga, or alternative housing structures, Better Farm will hold itself to a strict standard of revolutionary ideas and curriculum to ensure new ideas are the norm.

Events: Through festivals concerts, kids' days, arts & crafts, day camp, and celebrations open to the public, Better Farm will strive to be a community center for all Redwood residents, where eople can gather in a productive setting to share ideas.

Those selected for Phase 2 of Echoing Green's Fellowship Application will be notified by 5 p.m. EST Jan. 8, 2010.

DIY Green Holiday Decorating

With Halloween just a couple of weeks away and an onslaught of holidays following on its heels, it seems an appropriate and obvious time to discuss some do-it-yourself ideas for making your home all festive-like this season.

One of the nice things about making your own spooky mobiles,

large Christmas ornaments

, or

clay menorahs

is that in doing so you're likely to reuse items that might otherwise find their way to a landfill. That is to say, many things you might be looking at as junk are actually just a bunch of treasures you didn't even think could be applied in a practical sense. I mean, take a look at the pumpkin, spray-painted twigs, and pieces of cardboard and paper in the photo above. This ain't your kindergarten arts 'n' crafts, people. You

can

make your own decorations without turning your posh pad kitsch. Cross my heart.

Case in point: Here are a few Halloween-related DIY projects you can pretty much get together with items found around your home (click on photos for full, easy-to-follow instructions):

Specimen jars, headless horsemen, fake blood, and ghoulish treats—oh my goodness, the things we could do to scare the locals!

For large Christmas ornaments, Thanksgiving bling, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and even Festivus ideas, keep your browser parked here in the coming weeks. We've got the market cornered with all sorts of big imaginings for cornhusk vases, Christmas stockings, and kufi head coverings. Time to dig out those glue guns and empty your junk drawers!

In the meantime, there's nothing saying you can't act lazy and just order a solar-powered corpse or unbelievably large Christmas decorations online. We promise we won't tell.