I am often asked how I keep my plants so healthy and how I control the pest.

The truth is if your plants are healthy they can defend themselves. That makes a lot less work for me.

My secret weapon is Composted Manure tea.

I happen to have horses, pigs, chickens and a Steer, so I have more manure than I need. I have experimented with several different ways and receipts. The method I use is something I came up with on my own because of what I had on hand. I suggest you start with what you have before you run out and buy something. Remember being GREEN should cost you less, not more. Well composted organic material from your garden also works. At last resort you could buy some compost.

I use a pillow case as my tea bag. Because I do this often I need to buy then, at the thrift stores or Garage sales. I usually buy the ugliest one I can find that way I leave the pretty ones for someone that wants to use it for their pillow. I fill the bag with composted manure and tie it shut with the string from the hay bails. I have an old 55 gallon steel drum with a lid that I put it in. Leave the string hanging out and then fill it up with water. I let it “steep” for a few days to a week. If you do not have a steel drum, use a trash can that can hold the weight of the water or make a smaller batch in a 5 gallon bucket.

I fill a 5 gallon bucket with the tea and put it next to the faucet my hose is connected to. I use a siphon Mixer, it connects directly to a hose bib and the vacuum action siphons the tea at a 1:16 gallon ratio as I water. When that bucket is gone I refill it and move it and the siphon mixer to the next faucet. If I do not use up all the tea I made it stores well in the covered barrel. I found my siphon mixer on eBay for $17.95.

We have all heard that you should not drink from a garden hose; this method gives you another reason not to drink from your garden hose.

Benefits of Manure tea

Manure tea works like a steroid, without the negative effects, it will strengthen the health of your plants and a strong healthy plant can fight off pest and diseases. Pest and disease look for weak plants to attack, if yours are strong and healthy they will move on to our neighbors. Along with making you plants healthier it will also make them more productive. I like to use it as a foliage feeder to cover the entire plant and also apply directly to the soil. Evidence suggest and I believe this is what keeps away the pest and disease. It’s a snap to make. And not to worry: if you use well-cured manure there’s no unpleasant odor.

Manure tea is primarily nitrogen, which encourages leaf growth at the expense of flowers, so when plants are ready to set flowers or vegetables back off the tea. On things that do not flower, like grass, ferns, Palms and non flowering trees etc… use throughout the growing season. I also suggest using manure tea very diluted as not to burn the leaves. When in doubt – dilute. You can always repeat the application over and over again. The best part of using manure tea is that it has the nutrients and enzymes your plants need without damaging the nutrients, organisms, earthworms and other inhabitants already present. The benefits to the soil carry over year after year.

There are as many different recipes and ways to make manure teas as there are sites on the web, I have tried several.

Manure tea helps both present and future garden plants. It carries immediate nutrients to the plants presently growing in the garden. It also enriches the soil as it continues to decompose, leaving the garden in better shape for the next crop to be planted. This is a form of soil amendment that doesn’t have to wait until after the current crop has been harvested. It starts working on next season’s crops while it is helping the current season to produce as bountifully as possible. It’s not often you find a fertilizer that does such easy double duty.

Manure tea is a great source of macro and micro nutrients and valuable enzymes. It contributes those to the plants it feeds and leaves a supply behind in the soil for the plants to follow. At the same time, unlike many inorganic fertilizers, it does no damage to the nutrients and organisms already present. It builds a healthier soil without damaging the environment of the earthworms and other natural inhabitants of the garden. It becomes a healthy part of the garden cycle, giving benefits that will carry through from year to year without creating conditions that will lead to an imbalance in the natural health that every gardener tries to build into their soil. Any plants that live in that garden, now or later, can only thrive and shine in that kind of environment

If you read “How it all got started” you know the basis for my Green Thing is because I am “CHEAP” The side benefit is that it is easier, healthier and safer, oh yeh, it saves the planet too.

I think growing organic has two aspects:

1. the products and 2. the practices you use.

By products I mean synthetic verses Organic with it comes to pest and disease control, and fertilizers. The practices are things like composting and mulching. However, your practices have a huge effect on the amount of products you need to buy.

Let’s start with – THE SOIL

Everything starts with the soil and everything goes back to the soil. So lets feed the soil first and it will get to the plants.

Keep the soil alive. You may not think of soil as being alive, but, I can assure you it is. They are actual living microorganisms in the soil. This is what turns everything in the compost pile in to soil. I am not a Microbiologist, however, I have listened to them talk about the microorganisms in the soil. I will not boar you with the details and try to keep it simple.

As small as they are, soil microorganisms are the real giants in your garden, Healthy soil is swarming with billions of these microorganisms in every teaspoon.

Some of the organisms are big enough to see, such as earthworms, ants and small insects. But, most living things in the soil are so small that you can only see them if you use a microscope. These microscopic organisms include nematodes (tiny worms), bacteria, fungi, algae, Protozoa and some soil insects.

These Organisms have several jobs.

1. They break down dead leaves and other plant debris, converting them into organic matter and making their nutrients available for the roots.

2. Burrow in the soil to make small tunnels that increase aeration and water movement.

3. Cause tiny soil particles to stick together, opening up spaces that allow water and air to enter the soil more easily.

4. Protecting plant roots from harmful organisms.

5. Serve as food for predators such as beetles.

To keep your Organisms happily thriving and multiplying-

1. Feed then through regular supply of organic material (compost)

2. Minimize soil compaction. 75% of soil organisms are found in the top 2 inches of the soil. (Do not walk on garden beds)

3. Protect it from erosion by covering the soil (Mulch).

4. Reduce disturbing factors such as pesticides and high doses of chemical fertilizers.

5. Rotate your garden crops or provide biodiversity with mixed species planting

Microorganisms are critical to nutrient recycling in ecosystems, because they act as decomposers. Because some microorganisms can also take nitrogen out of the air, they are an important part of the nitrogen cycle. Most important, consider your soil’s microorganisms as part of your complete garden ecosystem. These microorganisms will actively decompose organic matter and replenishes nutrients, ensuring soil and plant health.

So I hope you can see why keeping the soil alive, it is important. By using organic products you will preserve the beneficial insects, and make your plants stronger so they can fight off the harmful pest and disease. Then you will use fewer products to control pest and disease. In the end it saves you money and time, which is where I started off, because I am CHEAP.

STEP ONE

Make a compost pile, it is easy and cheap. Refer to my blog Step it up with Simplified Composting . To get compost now while you are waiting for your homemade compost, you can go to the nursery and buy bags of finished compost. Adding compost to you soil improves the drainage and microbial activity. In turn giving you plants everything they need to be healthy and strong so they can fight off pest and disease.

STEP TWO

Mulch everything! If you have a wood chipper you can make your own if not you can buy it. In my case I use so much I “let” the County empty their chippings from the tree trimming trucks on my property. Check in your local city and County for places that may give it away. My neighbor runs a tree trimming service and is always looking for places to dump his chippings that don’t cost him.

Mulch looks nice, controls weed, keeps the soil moist and controls erosion. Many things can be used as mulch, such as wood Chips, bark, straw, pine needles, cocoa bean hulls, shredded leaves, grass clippings, newspaper, the non biodegradable kinds are rocks, black plastic and landscape fabric.

After all that I have said what I want you to remember is COMPOST and MULCH, COMPOST and MULCH, COMPOST and MULCH, COMPOST and MULCH. , All the rest takes place in a world we need a microscope to observe. So first mix compost in to your soil while planting and every spring scratch some in the top soil. Second keep a thick layer of mulch on top of the soil. As time goes by the mulch will decompose and release nutrients in to the soil so you will need to add more mulch. And that’s a green thing.

Composting and Mulching allows us to reuse in a way that gives back to us and makes us and our earth healthier.

My bogging has been sparse this month because I have had a house guest (my mother in-law) not: “that” kind of Mother-in-law, I actually love my mother-in-law.  However, I have learned something.  Not everyone lives the way I do.  The idea of putting the CRV (cash redemption value) in one barrel and the rest of the paper, plastic and cans in a separate City trash recyclable can is foreign to some people.  I think putting the kitchen scraps in the compost bucket and then dumping it in the garden is an easy thing, but is seams it is not the simple.  I am asked repeatedly “tell me again what barrel this goes in?”  The idea that Dryer lint and Junk mail have a place that is not the trash can just seems in comprehendible!!!!  The Idea that you go out side to pick what is in the garden to decide what is for dinner, what a concept.  I love her and think she is a saint, however, most things I do seem so complicated and squeamish to her.  She was born in 1928 the year before the great depression.   She does not know the hardship of the generation that lived through the depression like my grandmother.  She never knew any different, the older she got the better things got. Her early years of marriage were in the late 1950’s and 1960’s the years of mass consumption with no regrets.  I know she and my Father-in-law lived on a shoestring budget and made many sacrifices for their 4 children, so, I found it odd that I need to teach her these things.  What I have found out is that her idea of living cheap was to buy store brands, clip coupons, cook from scratch and sewing a few items of clothing.  I believe she is just a product of society and the Media telling her what to do.  She grew up with her mom using what we would call “home remedies”, but during the 50’s, 60’s and the 70’s large Corporation told us in their TV commercials how buying their product would make life easier.  Now the new generation of commercials tell us how they have added baking soda, lemon and even peroxide to there products just like grandma used to use.  If there is a way of doing it faster or easier she was told to buy it and she did.  She was raised in Los Angeles, far from the country, and in a very urban setting.  If all of your sources tell you the same thing day after day you learn not to question.  

My mother is only 10 years younger, and grew up in Los Angeles, what a difference, she was taught to question everything.  The big difference may be that my mother’s parents grew up in Nebraska and raised her with their simple mid west values.  Her idea was to use and reuse everything, or figure out how to get more than one use out of everything.  As much as I rag on my mother for her hippie ways, she was a pioneer.   She took that mid west, “make it work” attitude and mixed it with a “living on less attitude”. 

Like I have said before it was never about “saving the planet” it was about getting through it and doing the best you could on what you had.  In my mothers case it became about being “self sufficient”.

 My mother-in-law does have those three bins, one for paper, one for aluminum and one for plastic.  She is good and puts what she thinks she should in each bin. She puts very little in to each one, most goes in to the general trash.  Because she lives in an urban track home she has no “other” use for any of her trash.  She has a garbage disposal and weekly trash service.  If she eats a TV dinner it never occurs to her that the plastic trays are recyclable, or how about the box the TV dinner came in, plastic grocery bags, the yogurt cup and milk jugs.  My mother on the other hand saves her Yogurt cups because she might find another use for them. 

We all need to think harder about our trash, once it is in the land fill it is to late.  Take a second to think about it before you just through it away.

In most cases we have more than we can reuse, so make sure you recycle.

For example buying a more expensive faucet with a “buy it for life” warrantee is cheaper and greener than the cheaper faucet with the 1 years or 90 day warrantee. Originally you save $30 to $50, but, by the time the cheaper one breaks and you buy another cheap one you could have saved money by buying the more expensive faucet in the first place.

Example:

In February of 2003 I bought a Moen faucet with the “buy it for life” Warrantee. After many years of replacing cheaper faucets I decided to try out this warrantee. Over the years different parts have warn out, with a phone call they replaced them. Then in January of 2007 the faucet was beyond repair, so they sent me a whole new faucet. Again as internal parts ware out they would send then to me with detailed instructions, good as new once again. I decided this worked so well for me that I would buy them for a rental unit I have, anytime there is a problem with the faucet, it is just a phone call. When they say “buy it for life” they mean it.

Another great example is when I bought my Corona clipper; I am an avid gardener, so my clippers really get a work out. When they break I mail them in and I get a new pair. Last time they broke I called and asked since they are only about 10 miles from me, could I bring them in, they said yes and I have a new pair again. I have replaced them twice now. I saved them the postage when I drove, but I had to go that direction for another errand anyways.

I have also bought cheap sheets and regretted it, one day on a whim at a high end discount store (Tuesday Morning) I bought what they called “$700.00” sheets for $80.00 I still sleep on those sheets today, and that was over 8 years ago. I know I will use them for years to come. Do the math at this point I am at $10.00 a year. If they last 6 more years it will be $5.71 per year. As apposed to $30.00 sheets that last about 2 years, at a cost of $210.00 over the same time period. You just have to find quality sheet at a discount price.

My biggest pet peeve: I have spent an uncountable amount of money on cheap hoses, and then one day (many years ago) I was done with the cheap hoses that kink, so I paid over $40.00 for a hose. When I got home my husband had a friend over and they both made fun of me, for spending so much on a “hose” well I still have that hose. Since then I have found even better hoses. I always keep the receipt and the label, and I have used the warrantee to get a new hose. My current favorite hose is called “the last hose you’ll ever buy” it is not available at your normal “big box stores” but worth finding. Since buying it I see it at many nursery or construction sites.

When my son bought his house I told him to by the best hose he could afford, he did not take my advice, so he bought a cheap hose and then another and another … I do not know how many hoses he has bought since then.

Cheap garden tool are the same, the cheap ones are welded and they break at the weld, one piece tool cost more, but last longer, less in the land fill. (how GREEN is that) But if you have old broken garden tools there are uses for them too. I do not through mine out I use them as yard art. I also use old broken metal racks as racks for hand tools.

Cheap patio furniture breaks of falls apart, the expensive stuff last longer, and can usually be recovered when it wares out. I like to buy things that are easy to be recover, because as styles and my taste changes it is easier and cheaper to recover. My bar stools can be recovered with a staple gun and my cushions take a slip cover similar to a pillow case. Buy some remnants on sale and you have a hole new look.

These are just a few of the basics, think before you buy and think before you through away.

Being green should cost you less… not more.

I am always looking for ways to be greener, well, I found one.

In my front yard along the driveway I have several plants with bubblers and then some spray heads for the ground cover and other plants. This area is on a slope, so when there is any kind of problem with the sprinklers the water runs down the driveway and into the street. This has been a constant source of frustration for me. Just the other day I looked at the situation and I saw it completely different. Now in hindsight I can not believe I did not see it before.

I changed the spray head out for bubblers, took out the groundcover and spread mulch. It was so simple, cost only a few dollars and the area looks much better. Just think of the maintenance I no longer have to do. Because I was having so many problems with the water distribution, the ground cover just looked bad; it was too thick in some spots and non existent in others. The plants that have bubblers have grown to a good size, so they look great with the mulch around them. The other plants near the spray heads now get their water from the new bubblers. I had to turn the bubblers down very low, because the water is only going to the roots.  the savings in water and maintenance are immediate.

If I can come with another way to be greener/dryer, so can you.

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.

]]> http://www.thegreenladything.com/2009/07/30/ed%e2%80%99s-got-nothing-on-me/feed/ http://www.thegreenladything.com/2009/07/28/step-it-up-with-simplified-composting/ http://www.thegreenladything.com/2009/07/28/step-it-up-with-simplified-composting/#comments Tue, 28 Jul 2009 23:15:15 +0000 Kathy http://www.thegreenladything.com/?p=35 Well, it has been two weeks of unemployment now, so far it has just felt like vacation. Odd thing is I had a vacation planned for this time along with several summer parties and a wedding reception. The one topic that seems to come up everywhere is the economy and of course me loosing my job. So inevitably everyone wants to know what I am going to do now, so, I tell every one who will listen about my blog. I am amazed how excited everyone gets, and then I get the questions.

The number one questions concerns how I recycle or reuse everything. So I thought I would start there. I tell people if I found a way to reuse dryer lint and junk mail than anything is possible. The way it works in my house is reuse it in a different way, recycle it in to something else on our property, or last resort is to put it in the “City” recycling barrels.

Every one knows how to put a soda can or bottle in the recycling bin, but did you know in most areas they take many different types of plastic, paper, cardboard, and metals. You need to check with your local city or Trash Company. I was surprised to find when I visited my mother in Oregon that the rules for her trash on what they would and would not pick up were so different than mine. Also some areas do not do curb side pick up, so you need to collect it and take it to a recycling center or transfer station.

For the sake of my blog I am assuming you are not a newbie to recycling, so lets get started with stepping up the process.

Composting

Here are the basics on Composting; I will go more into detail in a later blog.

You want equal parts of Carbon (the brown/dead stuff) and Nitrogen (the green/alive stuff) mixed with water, air and time. This recipe is so simple, because if you mess it up all you need is more time to fix it. Soon it will render the fabulous fertilizer you would have paid money for.

Here goes that cheap side of me. Why through out something you will later pay money for.

Kitchen trash, I am talking about the stuff you put down your garbage disposal. Kitchen scraps less the bones and fat can be collected in a container next to the sink and emptied in to the compost pile. If it smells empty it more often. (green/alive stuff)

This category includes many things that will surprised you, apple cores, orange peels, banana peels, egg shells, avocado skins and pits, peanut, !– /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:”"; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –>

Pistachio and sunflower seed shells, oyster shells, onion skins, potato and carrot skins, Hair - human or animal, coffee grounds, tea bags and even the stem cutting from the flowers your husband gave you on valentines day, and then the flowers themselves when they die. Just think before you use the garbage disposal or put it in the trash.

Almost every body has a shredder now days, and if you do not you should to help prevent identity theft. Just run your junk mail through it and add that to your compost pile. (brown/dead stuff)

If you use paper towels in the kitchen, they can also go into the compost pile, provided you did not use them cleaning up something that should not go in the compost pile. (brown/dead stuff)

Dryer lint has a few good uses, it can go straight in to the compost pile (brown/dead stuff) or you can put it on a branch of a tree or shrub for the birds to use when building their nests, but my personal favorite is to feed it to my worms.

Instead of filling up that green barrel that gets picked up once a week add it to your compost pile. If you do not uses a mulching lawn mower put the grass clippings and leaves on the compost pile.  This will be your biggest supplier to the compost pile. (One is green and the other is brown) Other yard trash like clippings take longer to decompose, but they will given enough time. You can run them through a shredder, just not the same one you use for your mail.

I could write a book on all the things that can go in a compost pile, and many have been written, but by using these simple rules and thinking before you through something out you can figure it out. I could write another book on ratios of green to brown, layering , mixing methods, and maintaining moisture, but the truth is composting is a process that can not be stopped.  All the tips, trick and recipes you here are all ways to speed up the process.  There are 5 things you need to make compost - Green, brown, air, water and time.  Time is the great equalizer, if any of the other things are out of balance it just takes more time.

Your reward will be shown in what you grow, bigger and healthier, vegetables and flowers. The healthier and stronger your plants are the less susceptible to insects and disease they will be, so the less work you need to do.

Being green should cost you less…not more

My motto is:

Buy it cheaper, make it last longer, fix it when it breaks, use it less or use it up, and when you are done with it sell it, to get some of your money back.

OK, so it is not a short cute motto, but it is a motto

Buy it cheaper

My favorite places to start at are garage sales, craigslist.com, and recycler.com.  With the internet it only takes minutes to find almost anything at a cheaper price.

Put the word out – someone you know may know someone who knows someone…

Someone you know may also find it for you while they are looking for something else.

Know when thing go on sale, for example; August is a great month for everything outdoors, like: patio furniture, bathing suits beach towels, gardening equipment and camping equipment

Make it last longer

Sharpen dull tools and knives instead of buying new ones.

Learn how to do routine Maintenance on house hold items.  Just by taking good care of what you have will make it last a long time

Fix it when it breaks

If you do not know how to fix it, you can learn or just try, it was broken anyhow,  right!

sometimes it can be as easy as tightening or replacing a screw

If it can not be fixed, find another use for it.  Like a broken clay pot, the shards can be use to cover the drain hole in a new pot, stained or torn towels can be used for rags…

Use it less

Use an indoor clothesline instead of the dryer, especially for delicates, or the shower curtain rod or even a screen across your tub will due in most cases.

Use a fan instead of the air conditioner, open the windows in the evening when it cools down.

Use it up

Scrape the last drop out of every jar, like mayo and ketchup

Reuse zip lock bags, wash them out first

Reuse containers with lids in the garage for all sorts of things, like nails, screws or sprinkler parts

Use old socks and t-shirts as rags (so you do not have to buy rags)

Repair shower curtain with duct tape (color match the curtain)

Wrap gifts with newspaper, or reuse gift bags

Pantyhose with a run in one leg. Cut off the bad leg on two pairs and wear them together. You get twice the tummy flatting also.

Sell it, to get some of your money back

Get an ebay account, have a garage sale or list it on craigslist.com, and recycler.com

Trade it for something you can use

But sometimes;

You can also save money by buying quality,  sheets and garden hoses are perfect examples. Cheep sheets get those little fuzz balls on them and a cheap hose will kink so much it makes watering a chore. Sometimes the cheaper product need to be bought more often, or they are just more trouble than they are worth. There is an old saying

“Avoid bargains in parachutes and brain surgery”

]]> http://www.thegreenladything.com/2009/07/21/get-green-by-going-cheap/feed/ http://www.thegreenladything.com/2009/07/17/things-we-have-all-herd-over-and-over/ http://www.thegreenladything.com/2009/07/17/things-we-have-all-herd-over-and-over/#comments Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:41:11 +0000 Kathy http://www.thegreenladything.com/?p=13 Things we have all herd over and over and over ad nauseam

These things as minimal as they are can save you a lot of money year to year.  Because I believe being cheap is “so green” I go at most things from the cheap angle.  You use less water it saves you $money$. you use less electricity is saves you $money$. secondary benefit is it also works to “save the planet” and help out in a drought.  Everybody wins!!!!!

These things are a great place to start, but if you live in a fairly modern house and use the trash cans the city supplies you are more than half way there.

Install a programmable thermostat and keep it turned down.

Install ceiling fans or use freestanding fans in the summer.

Separate your trash, the city gives you the barrels. The best part about this is if you can not reuse it, it still gets reused.

Insulate your attic

Weather strip cracks and windows

Insulate your water heater and hot water lines

With a little more effort

Turn off the water when you brush your teeth or\and shave

Take shorter showers

Use a mulching mower (or hire a gardener that does)

Use solar lights in the landscape

Use drip irrigation wherever possible.

Mulch your garden/planter beds. (Saves you water)

Plant deciduous trees on the south and west side of your house

Turn off the lights and fans when you leave the room

Open the windows when it cools off at night and close them 1^st thing in the morning

Car pool

Shop locally

When running errands combine trips

Keep your cars tires properly inflated

Wash with cold water

Pee twice before you flush

Use low energy light bulbs

SEE… NOTHING HERE HURTS

Recently I was asked to wright a short bio on myself for a local radio station that is interested in interviewing me about “being green”  below is what I wrote.  While writing this I realized, I have a lot to say.  that is where the idea for this blog came from.  Then one day I herd that I could do it my self.  later that same day about 2:00pm I was laid off from my job as a landscape inspector for the City.  By 3:00 I was at home on the computer learning everything I could about doing my own Blog.  In moments I realized I had a lot to learn.  At this point I think learning Chinese might have been easier. I was determined to have it all set up by morning.  About 9:00pm my head and eyes were spinning, so I went to bed.  by sure persistence this is 5 days later and I am up and going.

Remember I have a lot to say on being and getting green so….

I hope you keep coming back for more…

My “bio”

It all started back when I was a kid, my parents were/are hippies, and in the late 1970’s moved from Los Angeles to a 60 acre ranch (in the middle of nowhere) in Northern California, to be “self-sufficient”. Mother Earth News magazine was the “bible” for the back to the earth crowd, and it came every month to our house. I never remembered much about “saving the planet” it was about being self- sufficient, and it sure was a cheap way to live. With a limited income, lots of property and no trash service you sure learned how to make the cycle of life work for you. At first we made a monthly trip to the dump, but as time went on, those trips became less frequent.

By 1980 I had had just about all I could take so I packed up my stuff and moved back to LA. I met and married my husband; we bought a house in Redondo Beach with almost no land. This was about 1985, before there were city recycling cans and a recycling center in the grocery store parking lots. I do not even remember the bottles and cans having a cash value. I had a garbage disposal and once a week trash pick-up. The most I did was growing my own tomatoes (because they tasted better).  Ido remember the occasional newspaper drive or the neighbor kid asking us for aluminum cans.

In 1988 we moved to Riverside, I wanted some space for our 2 boys, and daughter, still to come, to grow up. Back when track homes where going up at a record pace, we bought almost 2 acres with a 30 year old house. That was 21 years ago. The first thing I did was put in a vegetable garden so I could have vegetables with taste. But again, I had a garbage disposal and once a week trash pick-up, but this time I was on a septic tank. It was after the first septic tank back up that I realized things had to change. At first the garbage just went in the kitchen trash can, and then when that started to smell the trash went to the barrels. But slowly I started remembering all the things I had learned. I can still remember the first Earth day that the media made a really big deal about. I was living in Riverside and still getting the LA Times. I canceled my LA Times subscription on Earth Day “to save a tree”. That was the start of the Media making a fuss over saving our planet. I thought they were silly because they were acting like all this recycling and reusing was a new concept.

Through the 90’s money was tight for us, my husband was in law school and the kids were in private school. It is amazing how easy you can cut cost when you put your mind to it. The ironic thing is to live truly cheap and frugal is so green. You buy less and reuse everything also you take hand-me downs or buy stuff used.

Today, because I have almost 2 acres I have taken advantage of all of my opportunities. We have blended the cheap, frugal and green lifestyle into our everyday life and if you were to come to my house you would not even realize these simple differences/modifications until I pointed them out. We reap the benefits but we don’t deprive ourselves. We live nothing like the Birkenstock wearing, garlic eating, arm pit hair growing, unshaven, commune style living, free love hippies of the 60’s and 70’s.

Today our kids are all grown and I work for the City of Riverside as a Landscape Inspector. I also keep my self busy with gardening, riding my horses, volunteer projects and the Riverside Rose Society. My husband is a well respected Criminal Defense Attorney in the Downtown Riverside Court. His hobbies are cooking, brewing beer and making wine. He cooks the things I grow and raise (animals and vegetables). I also grow the hops for his beer and the grapes for his wine.

There are so many things we do on a daily basis, without thinking about it, that are green because they save us money. I have learned there are many simple ways to live a better and healthier quality of life with little to no effort. Most things I do take no expensive fancy gadgets or machines.