Pasadena's new seed library

This is so cool - Pasadena has a seed library! Can't wait to try it. 

http://coloradoboulevard.net/sat-april-19-pasadena-1st-seed-library/

#interstellar #whydowekeepbuyingmorestuff

Saw Interstellar on Saturday - loved it! What a twist, and what a reminder that we are not doing enough to protect this earth. We've got to somehow get to a net-zero impact. There are too many of us living on this non-infinite planet to not do something major right now: save water, save electricity, buy less disposable goods, buy local, drive less, plant more, get outside more. What can I do today to make a smaller impact on this earth?

Rain Barrels - LA Rebates

Check this out! I'm waiting to find out if my water company offers rebates.
Top 5 Reasons to Harvest Rainwater!

• Protect our rivers, streams, and ponds from runoff pollution
• Divert water from the municipal storm drain system
• Conserve this vital natural resource and reduce your water bills
• Use the nitrogen-rich rain water to grow healthy and lush plants
• Control moisture levels around the foundation of your home
• Hey! Tanks LA

http://rainbarrelprogram.org/la



#savewater
#rainbarrels
@Hey!TanksLA

Solar for electricity and $1,000 in October

This month Sungevity is offering a $1,000 for those that sign up in October at www.Sungevity.com. Check it out and get a free solar quote.
Use referral code 219245

 

Sungevity | Home Solar | Go Solar and Save! | Sungevity

Get started with home solar power from Sungevity, the easiest way to save money on your electricity bill, and switch to green, clean energy!

sungevity.com

Perfect flusher

#savewater #greatdesign

 

Small button for #1 and big button for #2 and I don't know about you but I'm not inclined to use my foot to flush this one, which is perfect. Great design @lavenderandhoneyespresso.com in Pasadena

This as opposed to the green handle flusher that needs to be pulled up (with your hand - ick! or with the top of your foot - ick!) and has been used by me in many airports (yes - with the top of my foot)and has been described in detail by others including here www.portigal.com. I guess if you were quite flexible and had great balance you could turn around and lift it up with the bottom of your right shoe, or facing the toilet bend your left knee out to the side and use the bottom of your left shoe to lift this up but given that most stalls are barely big enough to turn around in I'm guessing you won't do that.

 


 

Green roof with chickens (and guinea pigs?)

http://www.movoto.com/blog/novelty-real-estate/green-roofs/

I love this educational graphic @movoto.com, and I'm wondering if this could be my solution to finding a place to keep chickens?  I don't think the coyotes could jump up there. Guinea pigs I would worry about falling off though. 

Solar panels on one side and green roof with chickens on the other - perfect. 

#greenroofchickens

Two less trash bins to fill

So pleased to have the trash company haul off two of our three trash bins today. We had one green for yard waste, one blue for recycling and one black for the landfill. Since realizing that all three were going into the same trash truck and into the same compartment we've been putting all the trash, recycling and yard waste into one and rarely filling it. Now we have a little more yard space where we can build a bicycle shed!

#reducereuserecycle

Hot mess

Just picked up a very full bag of fresh messy coffee grounds for free. Can't wait to put them in my #compost pile and #organic garden! Thanks!  @Starbucks

Please don't walk on the coral

Snorkeling is one of my favorite things to do in the world. I can stay in the water for hours floating around looking at fish, corals, sponges and urchins.  Each place is different and special.  I hate it when I have to adjust my mask though - treading water, trying not to kick anything below, trying not to float away, not suck up water, and get the mask back on. What I hate even more though is seeing people STAND on the coral.  What they don't know won't kill them (usually) but it will kill the coral,  and lots of it. They don't know that this simple action on their part is destroying what took years to develop.  http://www.gomanzanillo.com/snorkeling/protect.htm has a great overview. When we travel we usually visit at least one science or history museum to find out more about where we are and know how to be responsible visitors there. On our trip to Bocas del Toro, Panama,  one of the first things we did was go to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute 

http://www.stri.si.edu/ what a great experience!  Our guide Marlon was passionate about sharing his knowledge with us and very patient with our many questions. We even got to hold spiny sea urchins in the touch tank. 

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Sustainable travel

Flying anywhere definitely increases your carbon diet but there are ways we can make positive choices when we travel. Choose the option of not replacing your towels everyday in the big hotels. Stay in small eco-friendly lodges like the Tinamou Cottages in Panama. 

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Eat local, organic and homegrown

Purple peppers from the local organic high school CSA, red bell pepper and yellow tomatoes from the front yard and citrus from a neighbor. Less petroleum involved, better health and beautiful flavors. 

Got it!!!

So it's 5 in the morning and I'm home alone and probably snoring away when I am awakened by a joyous sound - the rat trap! This little creature has been the bane of my existence for a few weeks now and I am so happy to have finally captured him/her. I turn the lights on to check it out and sure enough it's the rat! We live in the foothills so we have tons of critters but this little one was persistent and destructive - it had eaten through our screen door to have it's own little ratty door and freely came and went when we forgot to close the sliding door. Several avocados were obliterated and the dog food bag was regularly invaded with new cutouts giving the darn ants easy entrance as well. I borrowed a rat zapper from my co-worker but to no avail and to this little rat's fortune, it did not work and before I could try any more to get it to work, my husband convinced me that we could do something more humane - we live in their space anyway, right? (I think these are Norwegian rats, though) So, I got on Amazon and voila! a Havahart rat trap was at my door the next day. So after many days of trying I finally got it and drove it down the hill to the far end of the foothills where there is a big open natural canyon, with a lot of coyotes.

Water-wise (or not) drip system

So, I got the bright idea from somewhere, can't remember where now, to recycle my plastic mineral water bottles into drip systems for my potted plants. I punched 2-3 holes in the top of the lid with a push pin, filled them with water and then turned them upside down and put them in my big pots of cucumber, zucchini and tomato.  Worked well for the most part, but in some cases I needed to add more holes or re-punch the holes to widen them if they got clogged with the potting soil.  This produced a slow drip system for each pot that would water over 1-2 days. Genius! You can see something similar at yougrowgirl.com. Then when I showed my oldest daughter my new contraptions, she asked the question that had been nagging at the back of my brain, "What about BPA?" BPA is a substance in most plastic used for food and beverages and is considered safe in small doses per the FDA, but why take chances. Theoretically BPA could be released from the plastic by the sun's heat and then absorbed by the plants into the fruit we eat, which sounds pretty nasty. I'll switch to glass wine bottles with the screw caps and see if that works.

Ladybugs and praying mantes

(Had to look up the plural of mantis - could be mantises or mantes according to Merriam-Webster We try to use as few chemicals in and around our home as possible. In the garden I try not to use any chemicals that are not specifically for organic gardens. I've had a bad problem with snails in the past and have used Sluggo for organic gardens purchased at Armstrong nursery. It's an iron phosphate pellet that you sprinkle on the soil around the area where the snails are. It works great! Picking off the snails from my plants and chucking them into the ravine had been my previous method but they seemed to reproduce faster than I could find them. For aphids I spray a hard stream of water on my plants. If that doesn't do the trick, I purchase lady bugs or praying mantis and release them in the garden. There's a great article here on natural aphid control and it explains the part that ants play in the whole system. http://www.attainable-sustainable.net/aphid-control/

A patch of lawn for people, dogs and cats who just want a little grass

Click here to order Pooch Patch

Indoor Pooch Patch shown here with Cookie and a flat of pennyroyal

Made in the USA of corrosion-resistant brushed stainless steel

Outdoor Pooch Patch

 As a decorative element inside or out

A flat of grass from your local nursery can be dropped in directly. 

Shown with Korean grass

Owls eat rodents - that's the ticket

The neighborhood cat, Jazz, and our dog Cookie, are both severely lacking in their ability to eradicate these pests so I've got to try something else. I took the compost bin apart and found no rats in it, but now Cookie digs in the pile and makes a mess. New plan: I found hungryowl.org and they have nesting boxes and nesting box plans for those that don't live in the bay area. I found their information very interesting and helpful. According to the Hungry Owl Project, if the male owl finds the nesting box in the winter he will coax his female to join him and make a nest in the box. A single barn owl can consume 3,000 rodents in a 4-month breeding cycle. Wow, I don't think I have that many rats, but I do have gophers and moles and voles I think and I'm sure my neighbors have plenty as well. In the meantime I am going to have to get some traps TODAY since this plan won't materialize until next winter and I can't have these rats destroying anything else.

I won't use D-con, although I have in the past; it's awful to watch these animals suffer and then there is the huge problem of these weakened animals easily getting captured and eaten by all of the local wildlife, including owls, who then are poisoned as well. Hopefully I can find a good trap.

Urban Homesteading workshop and store

Two great resources if you live in Altadena/Pasadena area:
Urban Homestead at 631 Cypress Ave., Pasadena with a farmstand, workshops and more. I just bought some organic pumpkin and cucumber seeds there this morning. http://urbanhomestead.org/


And a workshop tomorrow from 10am to noon at the Altadena Library, 600 E. Mariposa http://www.supportlibrary.com/nl/users/altadena/web/nl_22.html

Mad as heck and I'm not gonna take it

I just deconstructed my compost bin because I've had enough. Found evidence of a rat in the house the other day: they had chewed a hole through the screen door, aka a rat door, which I thought I did a good job of blocking up - not. In the middle of the night I heard what I thought was chewing on the other screen door, so I thought there was a rat outside trying to get IN. Cookie started going crazy then trying to get at something under the couch, which led me to believe that there was a rat trying to get OUT. Turned on the light and sure enough, there it was underneath the couch, so I shooed it out with Cookie's help. Then when I got home last night and looked at the fruit bowl, there was a big chunk of avocado that had obviously been nibbled out. So enough with the cute way Cookie likes to watch the compost pile to see if a rat will come out. But I'm not giving up - I took apart the plastic compost bin so that they cannot hide out in there while they eat their dinner. Hopefully if the compost pile is open, the neighborhood cats, Jazz et al., will come and have those rats for a tasty treat. Eventually I will need to get a rat-proof compost bin, so if you know of any good solutions for me, please let me know. And I have to get the screen door repaired - not fun.

Great overview of simple but effective steps to reduce your carbon diet

http://www.davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/reduce-your-carbon-footprint/four-places-to-cut-your-carbon/

Harvest getting more bountiful!

Lemon cucumbers,  etc. Worm tea and compost paying off! 

OMG - check out L.A. Design Festival

I'm on this self-guided tour right now. Stopped at L.A. Louver art gallery in Venice and Living Home in Santa Monica - wow -  1st home in U.S. to be certified LEED Platinum. Beautiful- what an amazing use of space - I could live here. ladesignfestival.org 

Organic Father's day omelette

Locally grown (front yard) zucchini, green beans, coriander and Swiss chard
Happy Father's Day!

Have to remember to turn off old fashioned sprinklers to save any water

Okay, I got the water bill and it was $80 which is much more than what it has been. Time to get an irrigation overhaul. Our sprinkler system has gone out and the hand watering and old fashioned sprinklers aren't working to reduce water usage especially when I'm multi-tasking and forget to turn them off after 10 minutes.  Any suggestions for a local company or person that does irrigation systems? 

Voila!

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First zucchini!

This lovely little thing has inspired me to make a frittata for breakfast

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Not so fast

I thought I had killed my earthworms, and they were doing so well! I've been getting worm tea (a nasty name for the liquid gold that comes from the worms eating all those cantaloupe rinds into paper thin layers) several times a week to add to our organic vegetable garden. Getting worm tea sounds like milking a cow but that's not how it works. Anyways, I had added a bunch of food for these worms of mine and they didn't seem to be eating it. So I dug through trying to find them and couldn't really see many. I added some shredded paper and misted it and within a week they were back in business!  You should see my tomato plant now. It looks like I gave it steroids. Capresse salad anyone? 

One of my favs on sale - The Edible Front Yard: The Mow-Less, Grow-More Plan for a Beautiful, Bountiful Garden:Amazon:Books

The Edible Front Yard at Amazon

Long showers or short?

I have to admit that while I am conscious about the length of my showers I don't skimp much on the hot water. We do have a tankless water heater though - actually two of them - one for the bathrooms and one for the kitchen and laundry.  I do try to turn the water off when I'm shaving my legs but if I get cold then I get goosebumps, and there go the smooth legs. What do you do?

Solar anniversary!

In the past year, my solar home has offset 9019 lbs. of carbon emissions - that's the equivalent of planting 105.1 trees or eliminating 10329 car miles.

If it's yellow let it mellow...

...if it's brown flush it down. I totally do not follow this as it is pretty disgusting.  Low flow toilets are much better. But I have to say that I don't get why the low flow toilets in airports and other public buildings are designed the way they are:   two options, one for a little bit of water and the other for enough water to take care of business,  but the green handle gives the most water if you push it down and the least if you lift it. Supposedly it is antibacterial but I am not going to lift it with my hand - eww. And the reason it's gross is because most women step on the handle to flush these public bathroom flusher wands. So, please tell me why these functions aren't reversed? I would opt for the flusher buttons on top of the toilet.

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Refresher: made this drink over the weekend - one organic Persian cucumber with the skin on but ends trimmed, about 2 cups of watermelon and 1 cup of strawberries with 1/2 cup of ice and a splash of water to thin, in the blender until smooth . Yum!

Why not go solar? Even Walmart is doing it, along with Apple, Home Depot and many others. Whatever your views on Obama visiting Walmart you have to agree that it's a win win for companies to go solar. We were able to go solar over a year ago with no money down. If you haven't gone solar, what's stopping you?

Microclimates are my new friend

My family would starve if we had to live off of my meager vegetable garden, even if we could find the occasional gopher to barbeque. I try and try to get a good crop/yield whatever it's called, but it's so hit or miss with me! So imagine my surprise this year when my tomato plant, which I bought at the same time as my dear friend A bought her very same tomato plant, quickly surpassed hers in size - I mean this thing is a tomato monster!! The difference? My tomato plant is on the south side of a 5 foot retaining wall and gets hot sun almost all day. So, I guess this is the spot where I need to put all those veggies that call for "full sun."  This microclimate idea has been talked about but the message that was clearest for me was from the book, "The Edible Front Yard," by Ivette Soler - beautiful book and I highly recommend it. Published by Timber Press. I'll let you know how the tomatoes turn out. Maybe A and I can have a taste-off. :)

Cash for Grass - if you still have some

L.A. County is offering a very cool program - replace your grass with drought tolerant landscaping for $1 per square foot! This is sooo cool - I have no planted grass but I am passing this on to you. Let me know if you take them up on it! See the link for details: Cash for Grass - Los Angeles County

Even better for those living in the City of Los Angeles, up to $2 per square foot. See the link for details: City of Los Angeles - Replace Your Lawn

Nostalgia

"They just don't make 'em like they used to." I heard my parents say that and now I'm saying that. I need to get a dresser for my daughter and it would be so easy to go and get an inexpensive pressed board assemble-yourself piece from that big Swedish company that is so easy to buy from, but I would so much rather buy an old dresser that might be a little dinged up that I could sand and paint and clean up. It would probably last a lot longer and the only greenhouse gases we'll be putting into the atmosphere will be for driving around to garage sales and for the paint. Craig's list here I come!

Less Is More, usually

Trying to be "green" can mean so many things. There are so many ways, big and small, that we can contribute. One thing I have tried to do is to buy things that will last. This generally takes a bit more planning and budgeting though as the more durable, long-lasting items are usually more expensive.  Patio furniture for example - we can buy a new set of patio furniture every five years if we buy the cheap stuff, or we can invest a little (or a lot) more money and get patio furniture that will last our lifetime, or at least for the next twenty years.

Water Water Everywhere

And by that I mean it's going down the drain. Water is a necessity and overuse of water is a luxury we can no longer afford. There is no less water than there was years ago, and in fact some of it is more available now as the icebergs have been melting. However, there are more people on this earth than ever before and most of those people are using more water than ever before. So we need more fresh water for all, and that is why it is so important for us to be frugal with the fresh supply we have. One way we've done that is with drought tolerant landscaping. This does not have to be cactus and it does not have to be dry and ugly. The concept of drought tolerant landscaping includes grouping plants/trees with like water needs together. So, in the front of our house where the sun shines brightest, we have the pomegranate trees with white lantana mixed in between. The pomegranate trees are Mediterranean and don't require much water once they get started. In fact, we learned the hard way the first year that over-watering them causes them to drop their flowers, which meant very little fruit that year. Like I said before, I'm not a purist.  I love tropical plants - they remind me of Hawaii and Brazil where my two sets of grandparents lived when I was little. So I have one small partial-shade section of my yard that has all tropical: gardenia, giant bird of paradise, ferns and begonias. The rest of the yard has drought tolerant plantings. That works for me and keeps our water use down.

Delicious!

When life gives you root vegetables...

...make roasted veggies! I had a stockpile of root vegetables from  Muir Ranch including white and purple carrots, red and yellow beets, turnips and leeks. I put them all in a pressure cooker along with a tablespoon of olive oil, some salt and pepper and about six cloves of garlic for a quick healthy meal. It's going to be delicious as long as I don't burn them!

Talk This Way, Walk This Way

So often we jump in our cars to go somewhere without giving it a thought. But what do we miss when we whiz by at lightning speeds? On our trip to Seattle to visit family we stayed downtown and decided not to rent a car. I'm so glad we didn't because we saw so much of the city we had never seen before.  We also saved money on both the rental and expensive downtown parking.   I probably walked at least three miles each day and was able to see, smell and hear Seattle.  I got to take pictures of some amazing sculpture and architecture that I probably would have missed otherwise.  There were grapefruit sized brass plaques of Native American icons on one building, intricate man-hole cover art, and tulips popping up out of just about every pot. Also I explored much more than I would have by car, went into little shops and even toured the public library.  Next time you go out of town try using public transportation and walking - you might be amazed.

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Cut the Grass

Lawns are not very eco friendly as you know. They take lots of water and also fertilizers and mowing, contributing to both greenhouse gasses and wasting of valuable resources. We have no grass in our yard, partly because of these reasons but also because of the way our house sits on a steep lot. If I had a different yard I would probably have a small lawn - they're great for playing on, picnicking and letting dogs roll around. If you have a large lawn and you want to reduce it you can cut out the grass around the perimeter and have more planting beds for ornamental, veggies or both mixed in together. Doing this will not only save water but will also draw more birds and butterflies to your yard. Enjoy this beautiful day!

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Slim but delicious pickings = healthy dinner

I took the swiss chard I harvested today and added a bunch more that I got from Muir Ranch, plus squeezed the lemon I got from my tree today and boiled/steamed it all in 1/2 inch of water with some sea salt and it was delicious! The whole family loved it, except the dog.  I used the cilantro I harvested today in pasta sauce that I made with browned chicken and garlic, with the tiny red bell pepper (added a great flavor!), and Putanesca sauce from Trader Joe's and served it over brown rice and quinoa pasta (everyone but me is gluten free). It was a hit!

Today's Harvest

Swiss chard, snap peas, a tiny red bell pepper and cilantro. 

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Worms employed to make organic fertilizer

Got the worm bin all set up!

#worm-factory
+Nature's Footprint 

Excited about getting a new worm bin tomorrow, su...

Excited about getting a new worm bin tomorrow, subsidized in part by L.A. County.

Fish poop disappeared and compost bin getting thick around the middle

Several months back I noticed that when I did a water change on my aquarium and put the water on my strawberries they became much bigger and also sweeter! Sounds kind of gross but it worked. Then I added more plants to my aquarium including a philodendron that I let drape into the aquarium. Well apparently I have now created a complete ecosystem because when I did a water change yesterday and sucked the water off the bottom of the aquarium it was barely murky where usually it is deep brown. So I guess I have to up my game with my compost or I'll have to keep buying it organic compost like I did today.

If I don't use compost I notice that my veggie plants just sort of sit there but when I use the compost they just take off. My compost bin is in dire need of replacement and it is looking more like a round barrel than the tall rectangle it started off as. In addition to the sides giving out, I now have two rat doors at the top. The little guys made one and were using that for quite a while but then I decided to plug it up, and they quickly chewed one out of the thick black plastic on the other side. L.A. County offers composting classes along with compost bins at a reduced rate in different neighborhoods all over L.A. County. I guess I'll be going to the one in my neighborhood soon - hopefully the new one will be rat-proof.

Use All Your Food

When I was little I had to eat all the food on my plate. I don't think that's the best way to handle kids and food but I do believe it is in all of our best interests to not waste food.  Per the USDA, "In 2010, an estimated 133 billion pounds of food from U.S. retail food stores, restaurants, and homes—valued at approximately $161 billion—went uneaten.  Wholesome food that could have fed families in need is sent to landfills."  Per Feeding America, "Hunger in America exists for over 50 million people. That is 1 in 6 of the U.S. population – including more than 1 in 5 children."

Wasting food is also hurting our environment.  "Food is the single largest component of municipal solid waste going to landfills, accounting for over 20% by weight. Food waste quickly generates methane, a greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Landfills are the third largest source of methane in the United States." (USDA) In addition, think of the energy and water that is required to produce and transport the food we buy from the farm to the market to our homes. So what do we do to not waste food? 

1. Buy only what we need. It's great to buy in bulk but if it means food going to waste, then it's not worth it.
2. If we buy more than we need, share with others or give to those in need including homeless shelters and families in need. I asked my husband to pick up a bag of black beans from Smart and Final but instead of getting the 10lb. bag that I can use in a month or two, he bought the 25lb. bag!  Fortunately I have a friend who also cooks a lot of black beans, so I gave her half.
3. Use up fresh foods first.  I generally go shopping once a week. So, I try to use my fresh meats and vegetables soon after I go shopping. Then once all of those foods are used up I transition to the frozen and canned foods if needed.
4. Some vegetables can be replanted. Potatoes that have started to root can be planted in the garden to make more potatoes. The bottom parts of cabbages, leeks and lettuces can often be made to root and then can be planted to grow more. I've been experimenting with this and it works well sometimes!
5. Share prepared foods with friends if we have extra. I bought some pastries for having a friend over for coffee today and there are a lot left over, so I'm going to take them to work tomorrow, since my gluten-free family won't eat them, and neither will I (unless I get hungry at work tomorrow).

Saving Gas

We live in the foothills and have a steep road to climb to get home. My goal is two or less round trips a day - doesn't always work, but when it does I know I'm saving gas (and money) plus releasing fewer emissions into our air. I carpool with two other families which saves me three to four trips a week. I try to keep my car in good condition with oil changes and keeping my tire pressure up as well as not letting the gas go to E - these things all help with gas efficiency, too.
Hypermiling is like the frogger game - you have to look ahead to plan: if I see the light turn red I take my foot off the gas and coast to a stop. This drives some of the California drivers behind me crazy but that's okay. I tried the extreme hypermiling of putting my car into neutral to coast until my husband told me that's illegal and not safe because you don't have as much control of the car - so don't try that. My next step is to get a 21-speed bike and start working my legs up that hill. Happy driving!