FREE Fertilizer for your Garden!

You can create fertilizer out of materials that are in your trash!  REALLY!  Believe it or not gardeners have been spending thousands of dollars on nitrogen and calcium enrichment fertilizers while at the same time throwing out after their morning meal thousands of dollars of perfectly great sources of nitrogen and calcium !!

Ok.  So I have a apartment garden and it is constructed on cement out of reclaimed wood and potting soil.  How do I keep my soil healthy if it isn't actually "real" soil? 


 I add what other folks would consider breakfast, still others may consider 'trash,' or here in the Seattle what many consider something that goes in the yard waste container.  . . . Coffee & Eggs!


Coffee Grounds
Get this!  Used coffee grounds (minus the filter) are great as mulch on the garden AND it deters slugs!  It adds nitrogen to the soil and can either be added to compost, dug into the soil, or placed on top directly.  Vegetables and other plants that grow fast love this nitrogen-rich amendment!  check out this great article by the Seattle Pi on the benefits of using coffee grounds in the garden: Give Your Garden a Jolt. . .   I suggest getting organic coffee!  Chemicals used on non-organic food sources leech there way not only into your body but into the dirt!

Egg Shells
Clean, crushed eggs shells make the perfect amendment to soil that is lacking in calcium.  Tomatoes LOVE calcium.  See my previous post "Huevos! How to get More Out of your Breakfast!   for more details.  I use organic, free-range  egg shells only!  If you haven't tried organic, they are worth the extra cost!  The egg shells are thick and rich with calcium!

Here is to gardens everywhere!

Gardening on Cement: Hummingbird Haven



"Hummer Chillin' Out" Photo by Compost This!



Hummingbirds are magic in motion!  Today a hummingbird hung out with me at my apartment garden (this garden was constructed entirely on cement (no liner)).   I believe I'm on her 'route' in that this is the second time I've seen her visit the garden at 2:30PM. 

The Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna) is common in Seattle but I didn't think they would find my little, tiny, hidden garden! 

I refuse to use hummingbird feeders (1) they need to be cleaned out daily because the sugar can go rancid and this can kill hummingbirds and (2) nectar is the true source of nutrients for these flying magical creatures.  I got this plant last year on sale at Home Depot, as soon as I figure out the name (common and scientific) I'll be sure to post it. 

All gardens NO MATTER HOW SMALL are important!  Start gardening today!  We need gardens  EVERYWHERE!



"Hummer Haven" Photo by Compost This!



City Dweller? Need a Garden? Try Urban Garden Share!

Urban Garden Share! Check out how Seattle is matching gardeners with homeowners who want gardens!  Click HERE

Community Harvest is a volunteer led organization that 'gleans' fruit trees for the foodbank! Check it out Click HERE!

In San Fran they are producing produce EVERYWHERE! Check out the article in Mother Jones HERE.

WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!  Gardens gardens EVERYWHERE!

Gardening in Black 101 -- Part 1: Dracunculus Vulgaris

This lovely flower is 12 inches long! Amazing! I found it while walking to work. It wasn't there, and then the next day the plant had exploded with color! I hope to plant this lovely devil in my garden next year. They stink like rotting fish to attract pollinators which means that I will need to be selective in where I place it. ---not under a window-- for example!

Sky Farms! We can eat the walls!

Ok....so as you probably already know I'm a big sci-fi fan..........this all started with the Jetsons, and then later Star Wars and of course Star Trek........ Well when I found something today on SKY FARMS I just was floored. Check it out ...........entire skyscrapers covered in lush, beautiful, at times edible! green growth! This isn't the ivy variety, it is a vertically landscaped paradise.

Check out the Environmental Grafftti website here for a long slideshow of vertical gardens around the world.

In Toronto, our friends to the north, they have several designs for urban skyscraper farms.....talk about eating LOCAL in the city! check out the skyfarms website here.

Here is to putting a garden everywhere there is free space.........the sides of walls........everywhere!
Photo from Environmentalgraffiti.com

Car Sharing---Go Green and Save Thousands!

I'm a "zipster."  This means that I have a car-sharing membership (like joining the gym rather than buying a pool).
I am a member of Zipcar, a car-sharing company.  I can choose from a  fleet of shiny, new Toyota Hybrids and pickups or BMWs.  If I'm wanting to be flashy I can tool around in my brand-spankin' new, zippy, fire-red Mini-Cooper  or soon the all electric Nissan Leaf--all for a fraction of what it would cost to own, keep, and maintain a car of my own.
 
Car sharing is on the rise.  There are car sharing companies like Zipcar in every city.  Zipcar and Connect by Hertz have branches all over the US and Europe.  Once a member you can make a reservation either by phone or Internet, at anytime during the day or night.  Prices range from around $5.00 to $10.00/hour.  The price includes (in most cases) up to 120 miles/day, gas, insurance, maintenance, overnight parking spot (close to where you live), and cleaning. 

List of Car Sharing Companies Around the World

You really can't beat it.
Here are some statistics.  On average I spent the following on my car per month:

• $100 insurance
•  $75 gas
•  $100 maintenance--it was an used, old car
•  $10 for cleaning
• Had it been new I would have paid at least $350 for the car payment and $100 for parking (I'm not parking a new car on the street!) 

Total =$735/month. (I would save money for maintanence each month because if I had a new car I would end up having to pay for another one some day).

With Zipcar I pay:

• a yearly fee $50.00/12=$4.16/month
• average monthly use (when I rented a car whenever I wanted it-outside of commute)= $250.00/month
• Monthly bus pass=$75.00/month (metro commute)

Total=$330/month

Net savings?  $735-330= $405
That equals an approximate savings of $4,860/year!

I'm putting what I save toward my down payment on a house.  Car sharing saves me time (I don't have to take it to the shop, get it cleaned, or deal with it when it won't start or has a flat--Zipcar will pay for a taxi).  It saves me money (and lots of it).  And most importantly, at least to me, it greatly reduces the number of cars spewing fumes into the air!

Energy Alternatives for the Apartment Dweller

Ok. So I want to go solar, but I want to live in an apartment. What is a renter like me supposed to do?
Well...........let me tell ya' we -as a human culture- will come up with everything. Check out this company: VERANDA SOLAR they are creating apartment-sized solar panels! SWEET! It is a load & go design.........sit it on the balcony etc. Here is an announcement article by Alternative Energy Info.

My friend Bernard and I were talking the other day about harnessing the energy of people! What about a cafe that had a bike hooked up to a generator...........30 minutes pays for the latte!
Well......Bernard and I aren't far off from this concept. Check out the "CROWD FARMS" large amounts of people -everyone actually- has electric charge and can create great amounts of electricity. In fact according to the article "sitting on a stool can light 4 LED lights". Go figure, and they don't talk about spinning in circles while you are sitting there.
So lets get going people! LETS LIGHT THE TOWN-literally!