Thanks to a (insert a long string of curse words and creative name calling) hacker, I spent most of this afternoon, evening, and night repairing the damage that was done.

Thankfully, I got my database backup to work; unfortunately, all the images on my site (pictures in posts, etc), are long gone.

Since I have posts dating back to March 2008, I don’t know if all posts will ever get all their images returned.

I’m not pleased. Like a poster on the facebook page said, it’s too bad these jerks don’t spend as much time trying to better the world.

But, at least most of my content is in tact. THAT is a huge sigh of relief.

Please read this post in it’s entirety.

This is a fairly simple contest, just email me a picture of your, or a family member’s, hands during/after you’ve been gardening. The top 4 dirtiest hands will receive a bar of my handmade gardener’s soap! Any kind of gardening counts – planting seedlings, preparing your garden space, etc. NO CHEATING. Please be mature and honest – don’t just run outside and slop around in the mud.

Last day to enter: April 12, 2011 at 5pm Pacific

This soap is mostly natural – all natural ingredients with the exception of the very small amount of fragrance oil used. I have been using a bar from the batch at my kitchen sink for a couple weeks and love it. I think you will too, it really gets the gunk off my hands and leaves them nice and soft. It’s got great lather and bubbles. This soap has a high amount of “scrubbiness” and is not recommended for highly sensitive skin or children.

I will send the winners an email after a couple of weeks asking for feedback on the soap, so please expect this and respond, even if you end up hating the soap!

Value: Approximately $10 USD | Open to residents of the US and Canada

Ingredients: Local Tallow, Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Castor Oil, Cocoa Butter, Distilled Water, Gardener’s Scrubby Mix (Whole Ground Oats, Cornmeal, Coffee Grounds, Lemon & Orange Zest, Dill Weed), Sodium Hydroxide, Fragrance.

Boring legalities: This is a contest/giveaway held by me, Amy Williams of garden-of-eatin.com. Entrants and winners are under no obligation to buy anything, ever. Your email address and other information collected will only be used for the purposes of this giveaway and then deleted. The soap you receive is a gift from me to the winners and the winners agree, upon receiving your gift, not to hold me responsible for any injuries or other issues that may occur during use of the soap. As with any bath/body product, I recommend the winners test their soap on a small area of skin before full use. Do not get soap into eyes.

How to enter:

Email me at amy_e_williams@hotmail.com and include a picture as described above. The winners will be chosen on April 12, 2011 after 5pm Pacific and notified by email, as well as on the blog and facebook. The winners will have 24 hours to respond with a mailing address. If I don’t get a response, someone else will take that person’s place.

I post a lot more over on facebook, so come on over and “like” the page (how I hate that, I miss the “fan” setup)!

I just finished a relatively minor update on the Monsanto page. If you have issues with any of the seed companies on the CRG safe seed list, PLEASE email them (I can’t do anything about it!).

I’m sharing my soap blog address in case anyone wants to follow along with my successes and setbacks:

http://naturalbornsoap.blogspot.com

I will keep this blog free of soapy stuff unless it is gardening related, like the new gardener bar I made and love, or herbs I’m growing and using, that kind of thing.

Oh my gosh readers. It’s been far too long since I posted about anything.

Before I go any further with that, I do update the Garden of Eatin’ facebook page a bit more often, so if you are worried I’ve fallen off the face of the planet, head over there and see what I’m up to, or not up to as the case has been for many moons now.

I’ll let you in on a little secret, to the reason I don’t post about things as much as I could – even should. I have some unsavory ex-inlaws who I can’t let have too much information about me. These people are dangerous – kidnap my kids kind of dangerous. So much of what I want to write about – say a new gardening location – can’t be done until after it’s happened and we’re safe and secure. I tried to keep that from being melodramatic, it’s just the truth!

For now, I’m working on some ideas for the Monsanto page. It’s in need of a revamp, and I need to respond to people’s comments and questions. I can say with some certainty, that Territorial Seed does sell a limited amount of Monsanto/Seminis seed but it is my understanding that they are phasing them out. I would like to hear from the horse’s mouth on this, because they are such a big company, I may shoot any email to them and try to get a seed list for my readers to avoid. I cannot do this with all seed companies. I’m in school full time, working at home part time, I have 4 kids and there’s some other huge life changes happening that, again, I can’t talk about until after the fact due to them pesky ex-inlaws.

The funny thing is, I have 2 sets of ex-inlaws and they both are reading this wondering if I’m talking about them or the other one, or both. Ha. Let them wonder!

I expect to do some very small scale gardening this spring, maybe indoor herbs and a few container plants. Most of my posting will be geared less on my own gardening experience and more on recipes, safe seed, and other organic gardening methods. I look forward to posting more, and having a pretty new Monsanto page to show you

I thank each and every one of you for the comments and emails I’ve received in support of me and my little ol’ blog. <3

Are you ready?!?

I rolled 1-14 at random.org, with each commenter being 1 to 14

1. Jasmin
2. Myra Henderson
3. compostings
4. sara9894
5. christinemv
6. SalemMom
7. Bobby M
8. Patti Reid
9. Jeff Kyle
10. Christine
11. shanyag
12. jesse f
13. noelrich
14. jamie wright

And the result is 6 – SalemMom. According to SalemMom’s website, she is also known as Dynee Medlock and has “liked” both pages as required so she qualifies as a winner! Congratulations!! Watch for a message on facebook from me (Amy Williams) today!

Thanks to everyone who entered. I wish everyone who entered could win! Keep an eye out for future contests!

Clean Air Gardening is giving away a Spin Big Compost Tumbler, valued at $170, to one lucky winner! Only available in the lower 48 US states.

To enter, simply “like” both Clean Air Gardening and Garden of Eatin’ on Facebook and post a comment to this blog post.

Only those who comment on this blog post, that have “liked” both Facebook pages, will be eligible to win.

Winner will be chosen at random using random.org. If the first winner has not “liked” both facebook pages, another “roll” will be done, and so on. So make sure you’ve “liked” both our pages! The contest will run until July 11, 2010. A winner will be drawn July 12, 2010.

About the Spin Bin Compost Tumbler

We’ve seen a lot of different compost tumblers since we started this business back in 1998, and the Spin Bin composter is our new favorite.

The Spin Bin has a large 60 gallon capacity making it the perfect size for most homeowners. The bin itself is molded in the USA of 100 percent recycled plastic. The dark color absorbs light, heating up the contents inside to boost the composting process.

Wide locking lids on each end make adding materials easy, no matter which end of the compost bin is up.

With 20 ventilation slots, the Spin Bin has superior aeration compared to other compost tumblers. These slots also act as drainage holes for the compost tea to easily drain out into the soil.

Along with the ventilation slots, the bin also has four compost thermometer ports (one on each panel), giving you quick, easy and mess-free access to monitoring your composting process.

The Spin Bin compost tumbler sits on sturdy, 1 inch thick, powder coated steel legs that are made to last outside in the elements. The legs lock together when assembled, making it easy to move the composter around the yard or garden without the legs falling off.

And because the Spin Bin body sits off the ground with its locking lids, animal pests cannot get into the bin to the materials inside.

Spin Bin Compost Tumbler Technical Specifications:

• Made of 100 percent recycled plastic.
• Holds up to 60 gallons of materials (9.3 cubic feet).
• Extremely sturdy and durable 1 inch thick, powder coated steel legs.
• Assembled Dimensions: 26″ W x 32.5″ D x 45″ H

Spin Bin Composter Feature Overview:

• 20 ventilation / drainage slots — means that your tumbler will give you superior aeration of the contents, one of the keys to successful composting.
• 4 compost thermometer ports — so that you can easily keep track of how well your compost is doing.
• Dual locking lids — make it easy to add materials to the compost tumbler, no matter which end is up.
• Sturdy Powder coated steel legs — will effortlessly hold your bin for years outside in the elements.
• Easy assembly design — means that you’ll only needs a Phillips screwdriver to put the bin together.
• Wide mouth — for easy access to contents inside.
• Compost instructions embossed in each lid — so you’ll always have the instructions handy.
• Large 60 gallon capacity — is the perfect size for most homeowners.
• Ribbed interior design — gives your compost bin added strength and superior mixing action.
• 90 Day No Risk Free Trial — so that you can buy with confidence.
• Sealed, off the ground design — keeps animal pests away.
• 2 year manufacturer’s warranty — so you know it will last for years to come.
• 100 percent recycled plastic — construction is environmentally friendly.
• Dark color — absorbs light and helps heat up the materials inside for quicker composting.
• Tumbles in place — so it’s easy to keep your compost mixed up and aerated, which makes for faster composting.

About Clean Air Gardening

To the winner -

There is no cost for the winner. Clean Air Gardening will cover the cost of the product and the shipping fees. All Clean Air Gardening needs is the winner’s address, which they will only use for this one time shipment. The composter is the winner’s, to keep. They never have to return it. Should the composter arrive missing any parts or happen to have any other problems with it, they can contact us and receive our normal customer service as if they had purchased the bin from us.

To prevent fraud, I will contact the winner on facebook via a direct message to obtain your email and mailing address, which I will in turn provide to Clean Air Gardening. After I have sent your information to Clean Air Gardening, I will delete your information and promise never to use it ever, for any reason.

Garden of Eatin’ (and owner Amy Williams) assume no liability for this contest. Any issues that arise must be dealt with directly, between the winner and Clean Air Gardening.

A review is requested, but absolutely not required, of the product.

Garden of Eatin’, Mobile version is live. Now when you’re at the store and want the ingredients for a recipe, it’s much easier to get to (been there, done that, ha!). Or if you’re slacking at work, you can view more content before the boss catches you. Just don’t get fired, huh?

….but only if you head over to Double Danger and enter their giveaways (and, of course, win). These people are awesome, doubly so for giving away freebies (I swear to god I didn’t make a play on words right there), don’t miss out!

I read all the emails you guys are sending. I have very little time to respond, but I do try. Some readers have sent me some very good information about Monsanto that I hope to get added to that page before too much more time passes. Just so y’all know I’m not ignoring you!