The Green Lady Thing

The difference between us has to do mostly with the size of our land. I have more, so I can do things he can not, mostly because of zoning. I raise my own food for 3 reasons, 1- it taste better, 2 - it is healthier, and 3 - it cost less, sometimes the cost is the same but the quality is quite superior. I am sure if Ed could have chickens, pigs and steers, he would.

My extreme side;

WORMS - I raise worms, they eat Garbage and put out fertilizer, both worm tea and castings.

CHICKENS – They eat weeds and bugs, then put out eggs and fertilizer

RABBITS – Their droppings are the only manure you can put directly on your garden. Everything else needs to be composted. Just remember all females or all males.

BATS - I do not feed then, they live on the flying insects, I do clean up after them, bat guano is a great fertilizer.

PIGS & STEERS - We raise our own, because we have the land. This takes some space and it is not for everyone. The cost per pound is about the same pound for pound, but, the meat taste better and is a much higher quality. Also, you also know where they have been and what they have eaten. Not to mention all that manure!!

PONDS – Their mere existence can cool and calm an area. Not to mention the scum that collects in the filter and at the bottom of the pound is full of nutrients for your yard/garden. I raise crawdads in one of my pounds for summer time clam bakes.

MANURE TEA – As you can tell I have an abundance of manure, so I make tea and give my plants a drink, great fertilizer.

MULCH –Because I need a lot of it, I have contacted the County and a few tree trimming companies I offered to take the chipping off their hands. It cost money for them to take this to the dump, so I give them a place to dump it for free.

COMPOSTING -  There are only 5 things any compost pile needs, green stuff, brown stuff, air, water and time.  Things you do not put in it are - plastic, glass, metal, meat, and bones.

SOLAR PANELS – I have 27 of them, they are going to pay off sooner than expected because the price of electricity just keeps going up and up.

WATER SOFTENER & REVERSE OSMOSIS – This saves money on soap and in turn puts less of it down the drain, and it feels sooo gooood. I think the reverse osmosis water tastes better than bottles and I do not have to deal with all those plastic bottles.

TANK LESS – when our water heater broke we made the switch. I love it, no more waiting on hot water.

HYBRID – We have a Prius. I have never met anyone who owns any Hybrid who does not love it.

CLEANING SUPPLIES - I make my own out of things almost every household already has, like Vinegar, baking soda, lemons, borax, cornstarch, olive oil, salt, club soda, alcohol, ammonia and sometimes bleach.

PEST CONTROL -use cayenne pepper, citrus oil, lemon juice, cinnamon, coffee grounds, Boric acid, garlic, rosemary, sage, brewers yeast, beer and plane old soapy water.  the best control off all is cleanliness.  Fly traps with raw meat as bait are better than anything I have bought in a store.  There are also many beneficial insects that pray on you pest.

I know I need to elaborate on each of these subject in future blogs, because I have a lot to say, so stay tuned.  If you have specific questions, send me a comment.

Trackback URL

alcohol, ammonia, baking soda, bats, beer, beneficial insects., bleach, borax, boric acid, brewers yeast, castings, cayenne peper, chickens, cinnamon, citrus oil, cleaning supplies, cleanliness, club soda, coffer grounds, conposting, cornstarch, Ed Begley, extreme side, fertilizer, fly trap, garlic, Green, guano, hybrid, lemon juice, lemons, manure tea, mulch, olive oil, pigs, pounds, prius, raw meat, reverse osmosis, rosemary, sage, salt, soapy water, solar panels, steer, tank less, tea, vinegar, water heater, water softener, worms