eco-Mom

I like to think I'm a fairly forward thinking person. I try to stay informed about world events and live my life with a conscience. However, it is never CNN, NPR, or The New Yorker that motivates me to change. Invariably, my two sons are my moral compass.

I stopped using plastic bags when their disparaging looks at the grocery store became downright embarrassing. Kill a bug in my house and you'll be given the guilt treatment for 2 days. Poisonous snake in the pool? Don't kill it! Trap it and turn it loose in the neighbor's field. Under my children's ever vigilant eye, I've gradually become an "eco-Mom". Eco-Moms travel through time before -- making a purchase, throwing away a recyclable container, or swallowing a high carbon footprint glass of milk -- to determine if our actions will negatively impact our children's future. Sometimes we hold our breath a little longer than we should less the co2 burn a hole in their little lungs.

What is my children's latest challenge? Run a garden business without using disposable plastic containers. Of course, the kids are right. Have you ever been to a garden center where there wasn't a mountain of planters stacked behind a shed? Why do garden companies use so much plastic? Well-because the containers are inexpensive and light weight. They are not, however, very durable, so they frequently end up in the land fill. This should be unacceptable to those of us who are in the greenest of the green industries.

What are the alternatives? Now that I've promised my 15 year old son I'll stop using the disposable plastic, I'm on a mission to find something else that will be equally light weight and inexpensive. I'm not entirely writing off plastic. But any plastic container I use will have to be durable.

So far, I'm testing out eco-containers (made of straw) and earth boxes (yes, made of plastic). I will share the results of my trials at the Green Festival in Washington D.C. on October 8. I'll continue to test the containers over the next few years and will share the results on my website, . Any other recommendations for non-plastic containers would be greatly appreciated. Hurry! I need to start fall planting!