Tippy Tap, Beta Version

...f I keep the support ropes snugged tight against the sides of the jug. The water hole Punch out a hole for the water stream in the front side of the bottle–or the side which is facing you when it is mounted. I’ve seen people burn a hole in the plastic with a hot nail. I just used a sharp screw to make the hole. You’ll have to experiment with the size of the hole to get the ideal flow. The exact placement of the hole is a compromise. The higher it...

Read…

What laundry detergent should I use for greywater applications?

...possible to reuse that water, but you need to do so very carefully. Diaper water is blackwater, not greywater, and needs to be handled in specific ways Perhaps we’ll do a separate post on that later.) Finally, during periods of heavy rain you may just prefer not to send any more water to the garden, and this allows you to make that choice. A few words about other greywater applications: If you’re using greywater from your shower, most soaps and sh...

Read…

DIY Outdoor Shower

...r will soon separate your real friends from superficial hangers-on. But we urban homesteaders don’t need to be stinky since it’s possible and easy to build an outdoor solar shower. There are two reasons this makes sense, particularly in a place with as warm a climate as LA. First of all, you can direct the water straight into the garden and in so doing irrigate some plants and keep that water from uselessly running down the sewer line. Secondly, p...

Read…

Out of Water!

...Now!, the first book in Process Media’s Self-Reliance series (our book the Urban Homesteader, due out in May, is the third in this series). It’s one of the more expensive options in water storage, with new drums costing several hundred dollars, but avoids the problem of an off taste that plastic can impart. But while there’s something to be said for avoiding all sources of potential crankiness when the shit cometh down, stainless steel drums are a...

Read…

My Fellow Californians, Please Water Your Trees

...The California Drought and Water Use,” challenging this sort of knee jerk water conservation. They said, Water the trees. Trees form the infrastructure of our landscapes and urban forest, and are their permanent or, at least, most long-lived and valuable components around which the other plants intermesh, if not depend. Mature trees are among the most valuable and difficult-to-replace plants in urban areas. Their loss would be devastating. Trees...

Read…