plastics are easily recyclable, and yet most people are confused about what they can and can't recycle. earth911 (a fantastic website where you can type in your location to find out how to recycle anything) offers this chart to show how plastics are recycled and where. click the image to get the bigger version.
new moon today!
love, oshinn
do you know how awesome baking soda is? it does quite a lot, and it comes in a really inexpensive package, and there's lots of it. also, it doesn't rape the earth like phosphorus-containing detergents or other ickies do. TheFarm offers these uses for baking soda in their article "sixty uses of baking soda", written by Harry Godwin in 1999:
this entry is an excerpt from urban wilderness: a guide to resourceful city living by christopher nyerges, published in 1979 by peace press.
"The quality of our environment is becoming rapidly and progressively degenerate, but we need not be apathetic and uncaring. One person can do alot. Too many of us toss food wrappers on an already littered roadside. Hikers too often break branches senselessly, roll or throw rocks, scar hillsides or leave a sloppy camp behind. What differences can minor changes make when everything is so bad already? Nothing changes or improves unless individuals vow to change their personal habits. Know with pride that you are not contributing to environmental deterioration. Not only can you refrain from personally adding to environmental deterioration, but you can also teach others by example. Seek ways to improve specific areas, and make sure you leave an area clean before you move on. Don't leave your mess for the sanitation department or someone else.
Johnny Appleseed or John Chapman, a nurseryman, herb doctor, military hero and religious enthusiast of the early 1800s, became a legendary figure in American history, because he fervently distributed apple seeds and sprouts as he wandered through Ohio. The plants he established in the wilds made welcome treats for later wilderness travelers. When Johnny Appleseed left the earth, he left it a better place.
Become modern Johnny and Judy Appleseeds, planting seeds wherever you go. Carry small seed packets to distribute seeds wherever you can, in areas you pass daily. Hikers can introduce favorite food plants along trails and streams. You may think planting seeds is a small contribution, but we've got to start somewhere, making the earth a garden again.
What are the most feasible plants for us to spread? For starters, plant onion, garlic and chives; they commonly grow wild in sandy riverbanks. Onions and garlic are healthful foods, antiseptics that protect the body from contagious and infectious disease. Mashed raw garlic and onion leaves relieve external bites and wounds. Fresh onions can make a meal come alive. When you use wild onions, pick and use the greens only. If you leave the bulbs, they will continue to multiply and reproduce, year after year.
Tomatoes do surprisingly well in the wild and need less water than you might think. Once the seeds have sprouted and the plants establish themselves from spring rains, tomato plants will do well on their own. I have seen tomato plants in shaded canyon areas produce tomatoes for at least three years. When you harvest wild tomatoes, squeeze out some seeds, so more plants will sprout up. Tomato leaves and stems make a good dye that requires no mordant. They dye wool and silk reddish brown to light yellow, depending on the season.
Scatter fennel and celery seeds, especially in moist environments. Once celery is established, you'll have a permanent supply of this good salad addition. Fennel, also called wild licorice, is able to endure drier environments, such as vacant lots and roadsides. Eat the tender bases of fennel stalks as well as the celerylike bases of the leaves. The abundant fennel seeds make good licorice-tasting tea which has a great variety of medicinal uses.
Jerusalem artichokes are a potatolike tuber of the sunflower family. Like the potato, each "eye" will produce a plant. Moist, loamier soils are best for this plant, so the bulbs can expand easily. Planted in winter or early spring, the tubers will be ready to harvest the following autumn, after the plant has flowered and died. Eat Jerusalem artichokes raw in salad, boiled, sliced and fried, or boiled and whipped into "mashed potatoes".
Distribute the seeds of kale, collards, Swiss chard and broccoli. Althought wild greens tend to have smaller leaves, they provide a semi-permanent source of vitamin-rich food.
Plant radishes, carrots and beets in the "wild", and harvest the roots later. If the root is not used the first year, all but the outer layer becomes too fibrous to eat. The edible greens of beets and radishes will be available even after the roots are tough. Wild carrot seeds can be harvested, winnowed and used for seasoning.
For the more devout modern Appleseeds, try planting sprouted avocado seeds in empty lots or along roadsides. Grape vine and young fig trees will also do well. We really can change the world- but not until we change ourselves."
composting is a very groovy thing. it eliminates waste. it teaches you about enzymes and the cycles of life. it creates very awesome fertilizer for plants. and you can do it, too.
what composting requires
a large plastic trash bin (pref. with lid)
something to put under the trash bin to collect drips
dry material
moist material
ideally, you should have two trash bins with lids- one to fill, and then one to fill while the other one is composting. however, after having had my compost bin for several months, i do not fill it quickly enough need another. i will point out that i do not consume as much produce as i should (i throw in fruit/vegetable matter maybe once a week in large quantities.)
make your compost bin by punching holes in the plastic of the trash bin at least a foot above its base. make sure you punch holes in the bottom too. don't worry about things spilling out the sides- any leakage that occurs will probably happen through the bottom. position the bin over the tray or whatever you're using to collect drips (cookie sheets work great) and there you have it. your compost bin MUST have ways for oxygen to get in, so make sure you punch holes on all sides and on the lid. the lid, however, is necessary! open-air compost bins work well on country farms, but in the city can get a bit overpowering.
what can be composted
moist
after restating this several times to my husband, we finally agreed upon one simple conclusion: anything that has only one ingredient. do not put brownies, bread, dinner leftovers, pet food, or take-away food in your compost. do not put in anything that comes from an animal (no meat, bones, cheese, milk, eggs, fats.) DO put in fruits and veggies and their associated offal (peelings, cores, leaves, etc.) you can also put in coffee grounds, which are good for your plants on their own, and tea bags/leaves.
dry
dry matter that can go into compost follows similar rules, although it doesn't necessarily come with "ingredients". you can add paper to compost- newspaper is best- but don't add paper mixed with something else, such as paper envelopes with a plastic window. newspaper and sawdust are excellent "dry" additives to help keep compost layered properly. you can also add dead (dry) leaves or plant trimmings, and dry grass. in a pinch, if i don't have anything else to add, i toss a handful of (organic, potting) soil in just to help even things out.
rules of thumb
alternate wet/dry ingredients. if you add a bucketful of apple slop and peels from juicing, put a few sheets of newspaper or a few handfuls of sawdust in on top.
the smaller the pieces, the easier they decompose. if you have a bunch of bananas that didn't get eaten, don't just throw the bananas, whole, into the compost. take a couple of minutes and a nearby fork to peel them and break them up into smaller pieces. when adding paper, tear it into strips or small pieces to help it break down.
issues
fruit flies. fruit flies arrive when their eggs are laid and hatched on produce that you carry home. they're harmless, but can drive a person crazy. washing produce can help prevent their hatching, but once you get them they can seem unstoppable. a glass with a little wine or juice can do wonders to draw many of them to their deaths, but since they won't hurt you, let's do the humane thing and trap them. get a clear plastic container and put a banana peel in it. punch small holes in the top and leave it near your bin. the fruit flies will swarm into the container. you can move them wherever you please afterward.
smell. if your compost bin smells beyond the natural, slightly-sour musky smell that occurs with decomposition, you're probably adding the wrong items in there. anything containing animal products and feces will make a compost bin reek. the musky smell can also get too strong if you're adding way too much moist material and not enough dry. a little is natural, but if you can smell it inside the house, add a few layers of newspaper and wait a few days.
leaky runoff. the runoff that comes from compost formation is usually stinky and not pretty at all. if you're getting more than a little- like if you have to empty your pan more than once every few months- you're adding too much moist material. try to add a large amount of dry and then give it a little time before adding moist material again.
nothing's happening. composting is a natural process, and it's fairly slow. if you've gone a few weeks and seen little change, have patience. however, if it's been a couple of months and nothing is decomposing, you may lack oxygen in your compost bin, or are adding pieces that are too big to decompose more quickly. make sure you are putting small pieces into the bin of both moist and dry material. as well, make sure you have an adequate number of holes distributed evenly around your bin, and that they're big enough to make a difference (mine are about the size of a pencil eraser.)
cheers, and happy composting.
please note i am not an expert, just a humble girl who is trying to do her part who would like to share her experiences with others. feel free to reply to this post with questions or comments and i will do my best to answer.
