You Grow Girl™

2008 Mouse & Trowel Finalists – Not begging for your vote. Nope. Definitely not doing that.

The War for Seeds – The French seed bank Kokopelli was recently fined and taken to court by the French government and corporate seed merchant Baumaux for selling rare seed varieties that aren’t on the official EU-approved list. The following is an excerpt from a press release that explains what this means:

“The European Union, has a system that restricts the sale of seeds that are not registered on their approved list. Any heirloom seeds that are sold must be formally registered with European Union governments and sold only by vendors who can afford to pay the registration fees.

By forbidding Kokopelli from selling unregistered seeds, it is likely that 99% of heritage seeds will no longer be commercially available in Europe and, according to the organization’s calculations, over 2500 varieties are at risk of disappearing.”

An online petition supporting Kokopelli is available here. – Thanks Gwynne.

Verbotomy – Are you suffering from the debilitating effects of discomposture or recychosis? You’re not alone. Help is on the way and operators are standing by to take your call.

Mouse and Trowel Awards 2008 – Vote for your favourite garden blogs.

Earth Hour – Turn your lights off for an hour starting at 8pm tomorrow night. March 29, 2008.

Buying Organic – This buying guide chart from Good Magazine illustrates the who’s who of the burgeoning organic food market. Not the small independents you might have suspected. via Heather Ink

Organic Miracle Needed – An article from Forbe’s magazine about Miracle Gro’s attempt at “owning” the organic gardening market. Thanks Renee.

Unmarketable: Brandalism, Copyfighting, Mocketing, and the Erosion of Integrity – This book from the co-editor of Punk Planet explores the ways corporate culture has co-opted the D.I.Y style and language of the grassroots and how in turn artists, D.I.Yers etc have inadvertently or intentionally forwarded a corporate agenda through their own work.