Earth Day

Thursday, April 22, 2010 is Earth Day and I have to confess...up until this year we did not recycle.  I know-with everything we do! Can you believe it?  I always said things like; we don't have room, wait until I buy an extra trash can, I don't have time...you get the picture.  

I should mention that in our town we have trash service and get a $2 credit for recycling.  We have giant forest green trash cans that are for food type trash and then large blue ones for recycling.  We use to have two trash cans and barely one recycling can out on the street.  Now, we have two full recycling cans, boxes waiting to go into them next week and half a regular trash can!

I have to say you just have to dive in and get another trash can.  Make a special trip or pick one up when you are out today.  I broke down one day and bought a second trash can and labeled it 'Cans Only'.  So, here we are recycling cans~all the pop cans.  The boys will take and smash them (something boys like to do) and we put them in a giant yard bag so that they take up less space.  

I then discovered that paper, other cans, and glass are still being thrown away.  Ugh!  Over come with (a little) guilt, we go to the store and get yet another trash can.  We label it 'Other Recycle'.  So now we have a total of 3 trash cans.  

We added a compost can and lined it with a clear plastic bag.  The compost can make great fertilizer and dirt~better then you can buy anywhere!  You can put in tea bags, egg shells, fruit parts, vegetables, paper towels and a bag of grass clippings water and stir!  

 

On Earth Day in our area some of the recycling centers will give double the money per pound to recycle (another great incentive).  We have been saving for a year and I will let you know how many pounds we recycled on Thursday. 
It does get easier as you recycle.  The kids get really good at going behind people and making sure that it is done properly.  Guests in our home are eager to 'do the right thing' and will ask which can should be used.  Some people that have visited us even started recycling for themselves!  It is a good start to a better environment.

Happy Earth Day~Old Wives Pails

April showers bring full rain barrels

We try to conserve as much as possible at our house; solar on our home with  LED and compact florescent light bulbs to help keep consumption down.  Dual flush toilet to lower water bills and now we have rain barrels.  Two different types:

The first one is a "kit" purchased from the store that Mister added to a 50 gallon plastic barrel that we bought separately.   He had to cut a hole in the side for the spigot (we had to purchase as well) and another hole at the top for run off and overflow.  He then had to cut the downspout on the gutter and add their diverter piece. This allows some of the water to go into the barrel and the rest to go down the spout like it normally would.  There is a black hose that goes from the diverter to another hole for the water to go into.  I got to pick the color we painted the barrel and we sat it on tumbled stones for a little height.  Even though this is somewhat hidden-it was difficult to cut the downspout with out ruining it and then having to put it back together again was tough. 

 
The second rain barrel is Mister's version and I believe this is the style that we are going with from now on.   We painted it the same color as well as putting it on the tumbled stones to keep it level and from sinking into the ground from the weight of the water.  Mister drilled a hole and installed the spigot at the bottom. Instead of the diverter we shortened the gutter downspout and put a drain with mosquito screen on it.  Much quicker to make and quicker to fill the barrel since all of the water goes into it.  Mister drilled a hole on the side and put in a spout for run over.

Now the garden will get even more rain water and the plants in the greenhouse will benefit as well.
  Until next time~Old Wives Pails

Green Lighting for a greenhouse

Mister put a light in my greenhouse.  The twist you wonder?  Solar!  We have solar on our home (another story).  We didn't want to use the solar from the house so we put in a 3 panel solar system with a battery back up on the shed.  Mister put a light in the shed and a light in my greenhouse.

Here is what the light looks like.  Mister hung it from the ceiling in the back of the greenhouse.

This lighting is great.  The other night we came home and it had been so hot during the day I had to water. If I hadn't had a light I would have not been able to see my plants! 

Now, in the middle of the night when I can't sleep I will be found working in my greenhouse.    The light makes it as bright as during the day.

Until next time~Old Wives pails

All the goodies inside our greenhouse!

I don't know about you but I have a terrible time remembering anything; birthdays, anniversaries, doctor appointments, you name it and I can mess it up.  So, I thought that when I start a plant I better do something to avoid this problem.  I write the name of the plant and the date I planted it on the marker.  I also keep the seed packet so that I can refer back to it. 

This Purple Beautyberry is going to stay in a pot.  As it grows bigger I will transplant it into bigger pots.  The reason you ask?  Well, after tons and tons of research I have discovered that this plant is not only pretty but keeps away mosquitoes and other biting bugs naturally as told by Mother Earth News!

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Natural-Health/Beautyberry-Natural-Insect-Repellent.aspx

 

I will be keeping this in a pot to move between the front porch and pool area so that we are not chewed to bits this summer.  If all goes well I will grow more and plant them permanently around the areas to be rid of bugs. 

Here are a few more pictures of my greenhouse.  I have wicker baskets to hold all my 'must haves' and one that keeps all my seed packets (in alphabetical order of course!) so that I can find them quickly.  Along with suction cups to hold my Sun Kapp in  place. 

There are two vents, (one on each side) that allow air to escape when it gets too hot.  One is automatic and the other I manually open myself.  

 

I have everything from A to Z and tons of in betweens growing.

With room on the floor for larger plants.

 

 

Back out to the greenhouse~Old Wives Pails

Update on a Greenhouse

We were not sure what we were going to do for a floor in the greenhouse.  We pondered mulch and stepping stones.  The one thing I was sure of is that I didn't want to have to mow the grass in the greenhouse!  That would be a mess. Can you imagine growing grass in my plants from it blowing around?  

Here is our floor.  We went with pretreated lumber and it will be easy to hose out and sweep if the need be.  Over the next few years if it starts to look 'gray' I will probably stain it. 

For right now I am going to leave the wood natural for a while.  I like the rustic look.  

As you can see we have already added a rug to wipe our feet on.  Now, on to the store to get seeds, potting dirt, biodegradable pots for the plants to start their lives in.  This is better than Christmas and my birthday all put together!  Mister asked what we are going to grow.  I think the list would be shorter if I just said that we weren't going to grow okra!  Everything else is fair game...Old Wives Pails

A greenhouse for a green home

Mister bought me a greenhouse.  We had talked about getting one but I didn't think it would be this year.  Wow, was I surprised.  We decided to make the base out of pretreated lumber and used 1 x 12 and then put 4 x 6 on top and attached it with really long screws.

I had it facing long end north to south.  Mister didn't like the direction and decided to turn it 90 degrees.  I was wondering how in the world we would move the greenhouse without taking it apart and all.  He stepped inside and lifted the whole thing! Then, we turned the wood base and he sat the greenhouse on top of it facing the direction that he liked.

The one we chose is an 8 x 10 greenhouse.  Not too big or too small.  They had a larger one but I don't think it would have fit in the space and I don't believe that I would have been able to put that one together by myself.  The smaller one I think would have been too small and not served our family well.  Also this size will be easier to keep up on maintenance as we get older without having to rely on others. 

Now to fill it full of plants and start them growing before the last frost.  I should point out that we are zone 5 which means that we just had an inch of snow 4 days ago and frost last night and today it will be 69 degrees! 

Our next blog will be about the finishing of the inside and all the plants that we are growing.  

Until then~Old Wives Pails

The Garden in Spring

I know that it has been a while since I updated everyone on what has been going on.  We have been going crazy!  Mister and I have been working in our garden; tilling the soil, pulling weeds that survived the cold, and we had to reinforce the potato bin.  

 

Let's start with the potato bin...we started out just like the other parts of the garden with a raised bed, however, as the plant grows we must mound more dirt on top of the plant to keep it growing.  Well, I am not sure what kind of soil we have.  I KNOW we didn't use any kind of chemicals on our garden and still those plants grew to be about four feet tall!  Mister added side walls to the potato bin and they just kept growing.

The walls started to bow and since we didn't empty the potato bin of the extra dirt we had a problem.  We had to  take out about a ton of dirt and reinforce the bin walls so that they will not bow again.  In doing so Mister also gives the bed little seats.  Anyone who has ever dug a potato bed knows that this is tiring and tedious work.  Not to mention the strain on ones back.  Mister was able to kill two birds with one stone as the adage goes. 

Introducing our new and improved potato bin.  Twice the amount of potatoes that we planted last year with room for the plants to grow and be mounded. Not to mention the terrific seating for when the time comes to dig those potatoes.  I am so pleased. 
More to come soon.  I promise...Old Wives Pails