Sometimes Simple Is Better

We got a $2 bucket from Home Depot and have been using it to catch water in the shower while it heats up.  Then, we take that water and dump it in the rain barrel outside.  This has been the primary source of water all summer for all of our non-food plants.

I was gushing about this to my friend Lorraine who informed me that her parents have done something like this for the past 50 years!  This made me think of some stories I recently heard about “age old” conservation practices.

My cousin and I were reminiscing about our grandmother one lazy afternoon, and she began to tell me about things our grandmother had her do as a child that made no sense at the time but turn out to be ingenious environmental strategies.  My cousin, who is a brilliant and thoroughly modern woman,  spent much of her childhood in our family’s village as a little girl, with our grandmother, who was a very traditional Samoan woman.    As my cousin and I laughed about the inconveniences of living in a remote coastal Samoan village versus the main town or the relative luxury of my college town upbringing, she shared some wonderfully clever things about how traditional Samoans managed their environment.  Like so many cultures, including American culture, we marvel at our modern “conveniences” and that we’ve left the “old-fashioned” days behind us.  Don’t get me wrong,  I love my ipod and blackberry and am genuinely amused that people follow me on twitter, but  there is tremendous wisdom to some of the common-sense practices of our more humble rural ancestors.

For instance, grandmother used to make all the children go outside and pick up little bits of lye soap that were embedded between the rocks that lined the washing area.  My cousin says that she hated to do this chore, but now realizes that this was an important task because it suppressed the growth of slimy algae and bacteria, and supressed worms that could potentially make you sick. 

She also told me about learning to fish and how all the children were made to catch a fish and place it on a board, about 1.5 feet long.  The children were forewarned that a hiding would result if their fish was smaller than the length of the board, so there was great consternation among the village kids as they returned from their fishing expeditions to have grandma measure their fish.    They quickly learned only to bring back the larger fish and leave the small fry in the ocean.   My cousin had me in tears with her description of her bafflement about why grandma would get out this strange board and lecture and even “box the ears” of the kids who didn’t seem to understand.  But we also marveled at the simplicity of this tool to manage fish stocks and ensure that only mature fish were taken from the seas.  Whoever made this connection centuries ago was a genius.

The sad part of this story is that these and many other so-called green practices that our grandparents employed every day have already disappeared.  The encouraging news is that if enough of us recall these simple practices, talk about them and recycle them back into common practice, then we can re-used the wisdom of those who figured this stuff out generations ago.  Grandma would be proud.

The Ting Ting and Hong Hong

English is my mom’s second language.  One night after dinner many years ago, when I was probably only about 3, my sisters, dad and and mom and I were sitting in the living room watching TV after dinner.  My mom heard dripping from the kitchen faucet.  She wanted someone to turn off the faucet, to stop the infernal dripping, but she was tired, and the word, let alone the English word, could not come to mind for her.  Try as she might, she could not muster the word “drip” to her mouth. 

Poor mom kept saying, someone go get the thing!  get the thing!  My dad, either knowing and just being a butt head, or just not knowing, kept asking her, what thing?  Finally in frustration, she shouted, THE TING TING!  THE HONG HONG!  DAMNIT!  We should not have, but we all laughed.  Don’t get me wrong – we all love my mom, but growing up in a family with one native English speaking parent and one ESL parent often led to hilarious exchanges between my parents.   I’m laughing right now…but we all understood, and eventually, someone stopped laughing, and turned off the dripping faucet.

The moral of this story is, it’s fun to make fun of your mom, and then you grow up and become a mom, and then it’s not so funny.  No, that isn’t the moral.  This is:  dripping faucets: BAD  Drip irrigation: GOOD

Drip irrigation is a watering method where water is administered by low pressure hoses, literally dripping onto the soil.  The main advantage is that the water goes where it is needed – into the soil rather than evaporating as spray or all over leaves which can create plant disease problems.  It is said to be about 90% efficient in delivering water to roots over sprinklers or other methods, and done correctly, does not disturbe the soi. 

I installed a drip irrigation system to cover my raised beds while we are out of the country, and let me offer this additional wisdom:  get some guidance first!  I did many things wrong.  As I’ve said before on this blog, I’m an enthusiast, not an expert, so I am like the everyman novice gardener commentarian here.  Here are some basic pointers:

1.  sketch the area you want to irrigate before you go to the store.

2.  if you buy a kit, make sure you buy a few extra of the little goof plugs (yes, that is the name), emitters and connectors

3.  take your sketch to a retailer that can help you find everything you need.  Here in San Francisco, we have The Urban Farmer (which I only found AFTER making a bit of a mess).  Find help and get some sage advice.  Better yet, if your community offers gardening classes about drip irrigation, attend one.  It isn’t hard, but there are details that you wouldn’t intuitively guess at stading in the aisle at Lowes (trust me on that one).

4.  make sure you have time to trouble shoot

5.  for connectors to your water supply, use brass, not pvc or plastic

There are lots of resources on the web to help also, and here are some:

Urban Farmer

This Old House ‘how to’

About.com’s ‘how to’

wikipedia drip irrigation entry

Univ. of Rhode Island article about benefits of drip irrigation

If you’ve put in drip irrigation, what has been your experience?  If you are thinking about it, what do you need to figure out before you do it?

It Ain’t Easy Bein’ Green

 

 Being “green” is a misnomer, thank heavens.  I have no wish to be green, not even a little bit green.

What I strive for is to not be such a burden.  Don’t get me wrong…I don’t have a complex.  But like so many Americans, it’s clear that the way most of us live is out of balance with the actual amount of biomass we represent.  Let’s look at it like this:  a fruit fly (now, why do fruit flies spring to mind!) has a small biomass, and represents a small part of it’s ecosystem.  Now, it displaces the environment just a little bit – it breathes and makes carbon dioxide, it produces waste, but it also consumes things.  It’s output is balanced by it’s input.  But we humans, especially ones who live like the typical American, displace far more than we take away.

But look at the cost of replacing your washer and dryer, your old furnace, insulating with denim, and you quickly realize you have to be pretty well off to reduce your footprint, or so it seems.   Plus, with all the “green” things being marketed to consumers, it’s hard to know what is cost effective, what is safe and what the unintended consequences may be.  So, it’s easy for paralysis and flat out denial to set in.  For instance, my sister washes her towels after each use – she says, well, the environment is screwed, but really, is that nearly as bad as the factories and power generation stations?  I wasn’t surprised or offended.

Yesterday at my daughter’s elementary school a nice young man was handing out posters and CFL’s to the kids to raise awareness for Earth Hour.   Another parent commented to me about how hazardous they are, and how there’s little knowledge of how to dispose of them and how toxic they are if they break.  I’m not sure I share the same sense of outrage, but it does make you think about unintended consequences.  These things are pushed on consumers as a “green” alternative…but to what?  Yes, you save electricity, but you also risk mercury exposure.  It’s not the end of the world if one breaks, but it’s chilling to think you may breathe it in or absorb some through your skin – or worse, you kids will with their developing brains and all.

Then this parent went on about how “low flush” toilets really take 5 flushes, unless you spend mucho dinero on the good ones.  He might have been complaining, but he raised two important points – one – being green is nice, but less meaningful, or downright foolish, if it introduces health risks and two – to be effectively green, it seems like you have to have a lot of disposable income, at least in the US.

If I may, composting can be so cheap its free.  Starting a little garden is inexpensive, and has many rewards besides the food.  Get outside and plant some carrots!

Harvest Day!

I entertained my daughters by going out to the garden to pick stuff. We got a few nice carrots, sugar snaps and a whole mess’a collard greens!  It’s so nice to garden in winter – almost no pests.

Now, Johanna Has a Manure Smell

Oh great, this isn’t going so well right now.   This morning, I added some kitchen waste and poked, and got a strong whiff of Flossie the Cow. Shazam!

manure

In reading thru the faqs, the manual and everything else I could find, I blamed my husband.  Okay, not really, but I think that the current manure smell, mold, slime, flies, etc.  all stem from the same original issue:  for about 2 weeks, my husband Matt was the sole depositor in the Johanna.  I never took the time to explain some of the finer points to the poor guy, so with a few brief statements from me, he took the bull by the horns, so to speak.

When I finally got off my butt and started taking a more active role in the composting process, what I found was that he was busy adding “greens” (kitchen waste – high in nitrogen) without layering, and he was adding water each time he made an addition.  Not his fault, since I didn’t explain.  The results came in stages:  first, it was just slimy.  Then, it started smelling musty, then there was mold and fuzz, then flies, and finally, manure smell.   Heck, there may be something after that, I don’t know.  Despite all this, it’s all correctable, and is no big deal.

So here’s what I’m doing to get the compost back on the right track: 

First, I explained to my husband (no, I didn’t nag) that he needs to spread out the compost – not just dump the bag.  Then, cover it with some browns (even just a torn up paper bag).  Don’t add water unless it looks a little dry.  Poke it and cover it back up.  Lesson:  If you end up choosing a Johanna, make sure that everyone in the household knows how to maintain the composter.

Second, I poked, turned, poked and turned.  Lesson:  aerate your compost.

Third:  I added mature compost (from my cheap composter) plus some peat moss.  Lesson:  slimy, smelly moldy – all these are signs that there is too much nitrogen, not enough carbon.  The compost and peat moss will even that up, and the peat moss will soak up some of the excess moisture.  The flies are still there, but diminishing. 

Now, I’m back to my indoor project: painting the kitchen.

Gore Urges Action on Environment Despite Economy

Right on, man.  I don’t think I”m the only one who can see the connection between economic recovery and addressing global climate change.  They can work together, and not be at odds.

Johanna Update – 6 weeks in

I haven’t updated the progress on the hot composting lately – so here goes.

We’ve had the Johanna for just over 6 weeks.  Everything from egg crate to raw chicken fat goes in there.  The vast majority is coffee grounds, fruit/vegetable scraps and uneaten milk/cereal.  I’ve made many mistakes (even though I read the directions three times and have composted before) .  Too much water, not enough “brown” matter etc. 

My observations so far…

• the compost is hot – I haven’t purchased a thermometer yet, but it is steamy and warm when you put your hand close;
• I let it get too wet a few weeks ago, and it made things slimy and fungus and mold really kicked in – not good, but it continues to be hot in there;
• The smell is musty, but so far, not bad – except for in the beginning.  I turned it today, and notice a faint sulfurous smell, so I know I have too much anaerobic activity happening.  I aerated and will monitor it to see if the odor improves as it dries out – otherwise, I have to get something drier inside like sawdust;
• We have little flies on the inside but not the outside;
• A rodent tried once to get in, but didn’t really make any progress, and we’ve had no evidence it’s been back since.

All in all, the Johanna appears to be performing as promised, even though I haven’t been the best compost practitioner. 

Can I recommend the Johanna?  Yes, I can – but only if you have  enough browns to keep your kitchen waste covered.  Otherwise, you’ll have to be creative there.

A Modern Day Heloise?

You buy fresh produce and fruit in the hopes of making wonderful dishes for yourself and family.  Then, reality sets in – your 4 year old resolves to eat nothing in the vegetable category,  you end up working late three nights in a row, and the yellow bananas get covered up by the huge bag of cuties you got on sale at Trader Joe’s.  Suddenly, you have fruit that is past its prime and wilting lettuce in the fridge. For many, that food won’t get eaten, and will eventually go to a landfill, with little hope of breaking down properly.   If you’re lucky, you can compost this stuff. 

But, if you feel industrious, make lemonade from those lemons!   Enter Canada’s environmental guru, David Suzuki and his wonderful maven of re-use, Lindsay Coulter (no relation to Ann Coulter – ick!).  Suzuki’s Environmental Challenge program is a monthly newsletter that provides tips for reducing your carbon footprint and living a more sustainable life. Coulter, or the Queen of Green (a modern day Heloise?) has recipes for coffee ground body scrub (I’m not kidding), strawberry/oatmeal facial scrub, hair conditioner, toothpaste, many of which consist of 2 food ingredients.

I have to admit I haven’t tried any of these recipes yet, but I applaud the spirit of finding uses for that food before you throw it out, even if it is to the composter!

http://www.davidsuzuki.org/NatureChallenge/QueenofGreen/recipes_videos.asp#greenspa

Have weird spots on your squash? Wilting potatoes?

Cornell’s vegetable disease/plant pathology website, cleverly named Vegetable MD Online, can be a good resource before you cart your plant to your nearest nursery.  I know it will save me some hassle this spring.  Last summer, my squash was ravaged and I never figured out the problem.

Besides kitchen waste, here are some other things you can compost:

Seaweed, pond scum - uh, okay.

Water from fish tanks (use wisely – don’t get it too wet)

Dryer lint

Hair – spread it out to avoid clumps

Fireplace ashes (careful that the wood is natural)

I found a great site that lists all kinds of items (on my links)