Search Results for: label/water conservation

370 results

Greywater Fed Tomato Plant Takes Over The World

Homegrown Neighbor
Water and Power, Water Conservation
7 Comments
Homegrown Neighbor Here: So a few months ago Mr. Homegrown helped me install a simple ‘laundry to landscape’ greywater system. Most of the plants that get watered by the system didn’t get much water before and were just barely surviving. There are several fruit trees, a rhubarb plant and an assortment of perennial herbs lining a narrow strip of land along the side of the house. Now, the plants getting fed by the greywater are...

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Growing Strawberries in a Self Irrigating Gutter (SIG).

Mr. Homegrown
Gardening, Self Watering Containers
13 Comments
I got this idea from Larry Hall, who made a video showing how he uses gutters as self watering containers. In the first part of the video Larry shows how to use a gutter to supply water to a row of pots. In the second part he shows a two gutter strawberry growing system. I decided to build Hall’s self-irrigating gutter (let’s call it a SIG) to grow strawberries. Here’s how I did it: With some scrap wood I made a support system...

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Notes on Mark Bittman’s “Behind the Scenes of What We Eat”

Mrs. Homegrown
Events, Reviews, Thoughtstylings
3 Comments
...egetable. And that number is actually 1 in 5, because the 1 in 4 number comes about from counting burger toppings as vegetables. Then think about this– our friends at The Ecology Center just gave us a a booklet on water conservation. In there they recommend you eat one vegetarian meal a week in order to save 450 gallons of water a week. They estimate that it costs about 650 gallons of water to raise, transport and process the meat for a sin...

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Making Salves, Lip Balms & etc.: Close of the Calendula Series

Mrs. Homegrown
Body Care, Calendula series, Domesticus, Herbal Medicine, Herbs, How-to
21 Comments
...to make. The only equipment you need is some kind of double boiler situation: a true double boiler, a heat proof bowl balanced over a sauce pan, etc. What I usually do is put a Pyrex liquid measuring cup into a small pan of water. I set the burner on to medium heat and bring the water to a very gentle simmer. Thus the oil heats without overheating or burning. To the oil I add a little bit of organic beeswax, and continue to heat and stir until...

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Straw Bale Garden Part II: Watering the Bales

Mr. Homegrown
Gardening, Straw Bale Gardening, Vegetable Gardening
27 Comments
In case you just joined us, we’re starting up a straw bale garden. I’ve decided to go with instructions provided by Washington State University. The first step is to wet the bales. Here’s what WSU suggests: To start the process, keep the straw bales wet for three to four weeks before planting. If you would like to speed up the process, here is a recipe that works well. Days 1 to 3: Water the bales thoroughly and keep them damp...

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In the Gutter

Mr. Homegrown
rainwater harvesting
1 Comment
...tion for the wealthy, but at present are still rare in the US. Most of us will still be dealing with conventional roofs. Now assuming you’ve got a roof we will hope that you have gutters. Gutters have two purposes, to channel water away from your fragile and very expensive to repair foundation, and to channel it to where that water can be useful, to your edible landscaping. As much as we support self-sufficiency, putting on gutters is a job we th...

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Rainfall Harvesting Math

Mr. Homegrown
rainwater harvesting
RLeave a comment
Our next step in designing a rainwater harvesting system is to figure out how much water your rooftop will provide. To do this measure the outside perimeter of your roof–you need not take into account the pitch or slant of the roof, since this does not affect the amount of water collected. Next, use the following formula: collection area (square feet) x 0.6 x collection efficiency factor x rainfall (inches) = gallons per year The collecti...

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Siphon Your Bathwater

Mr. Homegrown
Water Conservation
RLeave a comment
So it’s back to greywater today with a tip on siphoning your bathtub water. The concept goes like this. When you take a shower keep the plug in. Yes it’s a bit gross at first, but you get used to it. When you are finished, submerge a length of tubing in the bath water. Hold your finger over one end and pass it to an accomplice waiting outside in the garden. As long as your bathtub is higher than the part of your garden being watered,...

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Sourdough Recipe #1 The Not Very Whole Wheat Loaf

Mr. Homegrown
Bread, Food, Recipes
14 Comments
...le over 3/4 cups)13 oz unbleached white bread flour (about 2 3/4 cups)3 oz whole wheat flour (3/4 cups)2 tablespoon wheat bran1/2 tablespoon barley malt syrup (optional–makes a darker crust and boosts the rise)8 oz cool water (about 1 cup)1/2 tablespoon sea salt1. Mix the starter, flours, wheat bran, barley malt syrup and water. Throw it all in a mixer fitted with a dough hook if you’ve got one, or knead by hand like hell for 4 minute...

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Slaughtering Turkeys for Thanksgiving

Mrs. Homegrown
Animals, Food
25 Comments
...ade. I’m afraid of screwing up the cuts, and making the bird suffer. I’ve never been a fan of dilettante slaughtering. But next time we help Steve, I think I will try.   The next step is to immerse the bird in hot water to loosen the feathers. When Steve slaughters, he’s got a big pot heating on a propane burner standing by, heated to 158F.  The bird soaks for just a minute or two.  Here Erik is using a stick to hold the carcass...

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