Search Results for: label/greywater/page/7/2010/06/the-urban-homestead

447 results

Podcasts for the Urban Homesteader

Mr. Homegrown
Resources
12 Comments
Let̵7;s face it, mainstream radio programming, both talk and music, stinks. Podscasting democratizes the medium. Anyone with a microphone and laptop can make and distribute a podcast and, while quality varies, there̵7;s a huge amount of excellent, highly specialized programming available. So should be on the iPods of urban homesteaders? I̵7;ve got a few suggestions: Survival Podcast We just appeared on this podcast, which is hosted...

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Showers to Flowers

Mr. Homegrown
Water Conservation
1 Comment
Here̵7;s the truth, I̵7;m lazy. So when it comes to the aforementioned greywater strategies such as bucket flushing and siphoning, while we might try them for a while we̵7;ll most likely quickly tire of all the repetitive effort barring some apocalyptic water shortage. SurviveLA agrees with Art Ludwig, author of Create an Oasis with Greywater that the best greywater systems are the simplest, and involve the least amount of effort and...

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Laundry to Landscape 2.0

Mr. Homegrown
Water and Power, Water Conservation
13 Comments
I just installed a “laundry to landscape” greywater system at the house of Lora “Homegrown Neighbor” Hall using greywater guru Art Ludwig̵7;s free open-source plans. It was a cinch. And, thanks to a revision in the California plumbing code last year, it̵7;s legal with no permit required. I started in the laundry room by rigging up a three way diverter valve so that Lora can route the greywater back to the sew...

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Planting a Mini-Orchard

Mr. Homegrown
Gardening, Water and Power, Water Conservation
2 Comments
Ignore the bucket in this illustration! See update below. Update 3/13/2011: I met Brad Lancaster last night and he told me that he and Art Ludwig no longer use the upside down bucket described in this post. The reason is that detergents can build up in the hole. In my experience the bucket was also an unnecessary step. While I have a clay soil, the hillside drains fairly well. A properly sized mulch basin should suffice to allow greywat...

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Bucket Flushing

Mr. Homegrown
Water Conservation
4 Comments
SurviveLA is researching greywater systems and today we̵7;ve got our first tip on recycling your water. First a definition. Greywater is the waste water that comes out of your shower, sinks, and washing machine. Blackwater is the icky stuff that comes out of your toilet and because of the risk of contamination it should not be reused. For now we̵7;ll lump the kitchen sink in with the toilet since food scraps, particularly for meat eaters...

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Homegrown Evolution in Chicago

Mr. Homegrown
Events
2 Comments
...for a fun class on how to make a sub-irrigated planter (SIP) out of two buckets. As a bonus, meet Homegrown Evolution blogger and author Erik Knutzen, who will be co-teaching the class and signing copies of his book The Urban Homestead. Bring some gloves and learn how to make and plant your own SIP. Leave with everything you need for a summer of fresh heirloom tomatoes–all you add is about 6 hours of good sun per day in your yard, balcony, or roo...

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It Quacks Like a Duck

Mr. Homegrown
Animals
RLeave a comment
The Happy Ducks of the Petaluma Urban Homestead It seems a new lifestyle is taking shape, in part born of the ashes of the World Trade Center, the aftermath of Katrina, and the endless resource wars our country feels the need to fight. There̵7;s a great desire out there to “do something” and a refreshing DIY spirit of self-sufficiency is beginning to emerge. Two of the indicators of this new lifestyle seem to be the mixture o...

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Chicago’s Urban Bees

Mr. Homegrown
Animals, Bees
RLeave a comment
Founded in 2004, the Chicago Honey Co-op tends over a hundred hives on a former Sears and Roebucks site. The Co-op provides job training to under-employed folks and sells a variety of products. I didn̵7;t get a chance to visit it on my trip to Chicago, but hope to the next time I̵7;m there. In other Chicago bee news, the Green Roof Growers just got a hive. Urban rooftops and abandoned industrial sites make a lot of sense for beekeeping,...

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