Odds and ends

Just a few things you might want to put on your calendar or in your brain:

1. The GREEN + SOLAR Home and Landscape Tour is seeking residences to include on its 2010 route. The tour was held for the first time last September and was well attended. It’s part of Sustainable September , a month-long series of discussions, activities and other events dedicated to teaching people how to live in more environmentally friendly ways and how to make our local economy more resilient.

This year’s tour will be held Sept. 12. It’s made up of new and remodeled projects that showcase sustainable design in some way.

“The tour is seeking to feature a wide variety of projects ranging from small do-it-yourself owner remodels to large contractor executed additions. We want to highlight all the ways homeowners can go green – whether it is a custom built strawbale home, a green kitchen remodel or an urban chicken coop designed with reclaimed materials.” tour organizer Alli Kingfisher wrote in a recent press release.

If you’d like to nominate a home or project, contact Kingfisher at (509) 329-3448 or allison.kingfisher@ecy.wa.gov

2. The big gardening expo at Spokane Community College will be held Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. A lot of people buy their veggie starts—among many, many other things—at this annual event. More than 200 garden-related vendors will be selling their stuff, so bring your shopping wagon. There will also be free demonstrations, seminars and door prizes. The event is organized by The Inland Empire Gardeners club (TIEG).

While you’re at it, mark your calendar for TIEG’s annual tour of residential gardens . It will be held June 19, and this year’s location is the lower South Hill.

3. Tonight, tomorrow night and Thursday night, the Spokane Bicycle Club will host free informational nights at the Moran Prairie, Spokane Valley and North Spokane libraries, respectively, teaching people how to improve or start their bicycle commutes. The sessions run from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

4. This last one isn’t a calendar event, but a tip for those of us with backyard gardens (or front yard, in my case): Check out Susan Mulvihill’s gardening article from Sunday’s Spokesman-Review. It’s basically a guide telling you what to plant when (and how) over the next couple of weeks. Way more valuable than a big gardening book written by someone who lives in southern California, if you ask me.

Anything you’d like to add to the list?