Garbage Gardening Down below this jungle of tomato and snap pea plants lies layers of organic waste and lots of composting worms busily converting the materials into rich vermicompost. As I mentioned a while back (and written about recently on Red Worm Composting), I’m involved in a pretty sizable restaurant food waste composting project this year. In a nutshell, I am receiving hundreds of pounds (per week) of fruit and vegetable waste from a very popular local restaurant and have been composting these materials on my property. Given the quantity of wastes, I’ve had to get a little creative with my methods, and I’ve certainly discovered some methods that really work well, and others that…well…don’t work quite so well! Most of my efforts have focused on various forms of vermicomposting. One simple technique that seems to be working quite well for me is what I refer to as ‘Garbage Gardening’ (although this name could actually be applied to much of what I’m doing in my backyard this year).
6 Easy Tips for Living with 100 Items or Less Every few months, it seems like I read another story about someone who has sold or donated nearly everything they own, reducing their total number of personal possessions to under 100 items. There are lots of reasons for a person to want to do this. Maybe you’re moving across the country (or to a different country), and you need to pack light. Perhaps you’re trying to reduce your carbon footprint. Maybe you just watched a marathon of “Hoarders” and you’re feeling like it’s time to clean house. Whatever your motive, if you want to try living with 100 items or less, you’ll need to start thinking about what items you can’t live without. 1. Once you know what you have, categorize it. 2. A couch that converts into a bed is perfect for visiting guests. 3. For example, say you are a heavy tea drinker. 4. 5. Don’t be afraid of ditching something you might need in the future. 6. Obviously, your needs will vary depending on what line of work you are in.
eetbare tuinen.be Greet De Wandel Opleidingen: oa: Lid van het coördinerend team van het PermacultuurGilde www.permacultuurgilde.org Lid van het kernteam voor opzet van het Permacultuur Netwerk voor Vlaanderen www.permacultuur.be Werkervaringen als freelancer: oa: -Permacultuur, transitie & eetbare tuinen: educatie, coaching & advies -Naailessen: educatie, coaching en advies -Moestuinbegeleider -bij het OCMW Westerlo Samentuin “Onzen Hof”- van sociaal kwetsbare mensen, vluchtelingen en vrijwilligers sinds 19/03/2012 wekelijks - Praktijkbegeleider van Velt vzw bij de Samentuin De Tuinfluiter te Vorselaar sinds 01/2013, 2 à 3 keren per maand - Moestuinbegeleider -bij het OCMW van Heusden-Zolder- vanaf 03/2014 -Samenwerking met Vormingplus Antwerpen voor voordrachten en workshops -Samenwerking met Elcker-ik Antwerpen voor voordrachten
9 Steps To Starting A Survival Garden In a time of economic uncertainty and rising food prices, it it always a good idea to have a garden to provide extra food for you and your family. Besides providing a source of food in an emergency, a garden is also a great source of wonderful vegetables which are MUCH healthier to eat than most of the food you can get at the supermarket. So how do you begin? The following are 9 steps that you can take to get your garden started..... #1) Decide What Your Goals Are - Do you want to grow enough just to add a few vegetables to your dinner once in a while? Some people who want to live "off the grid" end up building a garden large enough that it will provide almost all of the food that their family needs. #2) Evaluate Your Land - Once you know what your goals are, you need to evaluate the land that you are currently living on. If you decide that you want a "mega-garden" but you live in a condo, then you may have to end up moving to achieve your goals. So what is the solution? Comments comments
Sprouts and microgreens: edible houseplants Microgreens and sprouts, those immature vegetables short on size but large on taste, are making their way from trendy restaurants and stylish markets into family kitchens. The assorted seedlings add flavor, color, and crunch when included with sandwich and salad toppings, used as a garnish, or mixed into soups, dressings, casseroles, dips, sautes, pizzas, and breads, among other things. Sprouts and microgreens are similar, yet different. Sprouts are harvested younger than microgreens and can be grown without soil in closed surroundings such as bags or jars under sprays of lukewarm water. They should be harvested before their secondary leaves emerge. Alfalfa, sunflower, cress, lentil, and buckwheat seeds grow quickly into sprouts and can be served up roots and all. Microgreens are the adolescent versions of the leafy greens, edible flowers, and herbs that are popular salad fixings. When the first leaf appears, these plants are at the peak of their nutritional concentration.
Manage Your Identity © iStockphoto / Internet Society Every time we log onto the web we access (and add to) our own personal digital footprint that’s interconnected with plug-ins, links, and massive caches of personal data that follows us around. Learn About Your Digital Identity While none of us can control everything that’s known about us online, there are steps we can take to better understand our online identities and be empowered to share what we want, when we want. The Internet Society developed three interactive tutorials to help educate and inform anyone who would like to find out more. Each lasts about 5 minutes and will give a great foundation when it comes to making informed choices about our unique online identities. Watch The Tutorials Other language versions: Provide Us With Your Feedback Once you've completed all three tutorials, please take a few minutes to provide us with your thoughts. Identity Tutorial Feedback Survey Join the Internet Society The Internet Society is YOU. Follow us
LE POTAGER EN CARRES DU CHATEAU DES ALLUES Le reportage: Portes ouvertes: un succès publié le 6 sept. 2011 19:31 par Steph Vand. [ mis à jour : 6 sept. 2011 19:51 ] Fini le potager en ligne !!!! Dans le souci d'améliorer la qualité et diversité des produits proposés à nos hôtes, nous avons débuté la métamorphose du potager dès juillet 2010. Nous avons décidé la réalisation de 88 carrés , organisés en 4 planches de chêne massif non traité, de 24 ou 20 carrés de 1.20m*1.20, transformant totalement les potager, et tous muni d un système d'arrosage individuel, et distribués par des allées en gravier. Choix de culture bio, de nombreuses variétés de légumes, anciens et modernes , choisis pour leurs qualités gustatives, sont désormais proposés à la table d'hôtes. Désherbant, pesticides , produits chimiques polluants sont bannis. Notre volonté : que le potager devienne un lieu de découverte, de balade, et d'agrément, tout a été repensé pour le plaisir de visiteur ,la facilité de culture , et l'esthétique. Announcements
How to Build a Survivalist Homestead - A Complete Guide The author is a retired U.S. Army sergeant with a background in infantry, logistics and administrative and security training. He currently heads his own security firm and is an adjunct faculty member with the University of New Hampshire teaching seminars on home food production. It is a home in which you can live in a real-world/present-time economy and social order, yet at the same time practice on a regular basis the survival skills you may need later. All of this is accomplished while still living a normal life-style with access to work, schools, emergency services and stores, etc. The survivalist homestead offers one more very important option. In planning a survivalist homestead there are three concepts which must be incorporated into your thinking from the start and which must be adhered to if the goals are to be met. Plan A and Plan B-Plan A is that part of all planning of your homestead which has to do with dealing in the present/real world time frame. 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
How to Grow Your Own Superfoods Indoors 21th November 2012 By Carolanne Wright Guest Writer for Wake Up World No need to bypass all the health perks of fresh superfoods this season — simply grow them inside on a sunny window ledge. As the weather turns colder in the north hemisphere, now more than ever it is important to fortify the body with nutrient dense foods. What better way than with unprocessed superfoods? An economical and fun undertaking, cultivating a micro-superfood garden is easier than you may think. With food costs skyrocketing this season, consumers are looking for novel ways to stay nourished on a budget. Effortless to grow, these four superfoods are perfect for an indoor garden. Arugula Sometimes referred to as rocket, arugula is a mildly spicy, fast growing superfood. Cilantro Cilantro is an exceptional herb that controls blood sugar, detoxifies heavy metals and possesses strong antibacterial properties. Oregano Watercress Forget ornamental houseplants — cultivate an indoor mini-garden instead. About the author:
How to build a simple seed-starting stand Starting annual flowers and vegetables from seed indoors to get a jump start on spring sounds like a great idea until reality sets in. That’s the point when home gardeners begin to ask questions: Do I have room? Where will I put the trays so the seeds will get enough light? Shawn Bard, a master gardener in DeKalb County, Georgia, has the answer: build a simple seed starter stand. Here’s how Shawn built hers. She purchased inexpensive and easy-to-assemble shelves from a box store and built a three-tiered stand. She attached rope lighting with twist ties to the shelves to provide heat under the plant trays and hung fluorescent lights with a braided nylon cord under the middle and top shelves to provide light for the seedlings. She held the light tubes in place by feeding the cord through holes on mounting clips on both sides of the tubes and across brackets on the sides of the shelves. The “whole thing cost me maybe $25,” Bard said. Related stories on MNN: Photos: Shawn Bard
Get Home Bag Contents My Original Get Home Bag Contents A Get Home Bag is essentially the little brother to the Bug Out Bag. The Get Home Bag is lighter and smaller and built for quick movement to assist you in one purpose, getting home! The Get Home Bag is meant to be left in your primary every day use vehicle and it just sits and waits until needed in an emergency. In July 2011, I initially wrote an article about my Vehicle Every Day Carry items and included in that list was a Get Home Bag. All of the gear in my Get Home Bag fits nicely in a small backpack and it all weighs about 22 lbs. While most all of the items in a Get Home Bag should have multiple uses the extra cell phone battery, the cash, prepaid calling card and emergency credit card are in all likelihood the most useful in most real world emergencies (non-SHTF type scenarios). Check out this newer article with a couple of recent videos on the topic of Get Home Bags! Here are the videos that go with the my Updated Get Home Bag:
Micro Aquaponics Plans Aquaponics is becoming more and more popular and many people want to build their own system. Aquaponics integrates fish, plants and microbes into a sustainable and ecologically balanced food production system. This project will show you how to build your very own system using commonly available components from IKEA and your local hardware store. Anyone can set up their own system in an afternoon and start experiencing the pleasure of building their own little ecosystem! This is a basic set-up so please do make sure that you follow up with learning how to manage your new system and to look after the fish, the plants and the bacteria. Japan Aquaponics offers a growing amount of informational guides for anyone who is interested in aquaponics. Japan Aquaponics is a social enterprise set up to develop aquaponics, and particularly to promote its use in Tohoku - one of the areas worst affected by the earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan in March of 2011. Step 1 Notes: Continued on Page 2