Tire Swing
Submitted by tired_gardener on Mon, 07/28/2008 - 21:14.
I want to make Emma a tire swing. I've been seeing these swings on various sites around the web that are tires cut into the shape of a horse, a dragon, or a motorcycle. They come in many shapes. I found these basic instructions for a horse. Or you can click on the image to the right to be able to purchase the dragon from Shop.com. Buying them is of course the easy way. And might be safer, as cutting tires is not an easy business and that knife can slip. I've cut many and may use the plans to make my own, but if I had the money, I'd much rather buy it. It is not easy to manipulate the tires.
I think Emma would really get a kick out of having her own horse in the yard. This also is an easy way to make use of a garbage item that we have far too much of in the land fills. There are a lot of ways to turn your tires into something useful. But most of them work better with non-steel belted tires. Most tires these days have steel in them, so that makes these kinds of projects much harder to work with.
Here are a few of my favorite projects for making things from tires:
- Sandals last a really long time when made out of tires. In some countries, these are very common shoes. I think I'd want to wear socks or moccasins with them, but they will last forever.
- Flowering Tire Pot - This flower pot looks like a flower too. I've seen them nicely painted and can be quite nice.
- Hanging Bird Flower Pot - I thought I'd found plans for this at one time, but now all I can find it this place selling the pot. It is cool though.
Stumble Upon, Earthday Campaign
Submitted by tired_gardener on Sat, 07/26/2008 - 07:30.Stumble Upon has started a campaign to plant trees for Earth Day. All you have to do is go to this page and Stumble it and they will plant a tree for you.
It costs you nothing and it gets a tree planted. By stumbling the page, you will get others to see it as well and get more trees planted. Go now and get your tree planted!
There were 66,163 trees getting planted when I stumbled it. How many were there for you?
Adding Chickens to the Family
Submitted by tired_gardener on Thu, 07/24/2008 - 06:14.I've been wanting to add chickens to my family for a while. I'd love to have fresh eggs every day and one of the best pest controls around. I want to see the slugs tremble with fear as those hungry ladies come marching through.
I've convinced Elizabeth to let me. She has, however, requested that I don't get the chicks until I have their permanent home built. As chicks, they will not be spending a whole lot of time in their new home until they get larger, but it is still a good idea.
I'm in the process now. I've cleaned up the area along where I'm going to build the fence and I've drawn some plans. I'm going to fence in the west side of our lot, which I call the orchard. It includes three apple trees, a large shed, another tree that has never fruited, but I'm told is some sort of fruit tree, and a whole bunch of arborvitae. There is other stuff there that is getting removed, such as blackberry that I used an chemical spray in order to kill (shame on me).
I hope that the fence will go up this weekend, so that the free range area will be ready. I'm then going to clear about 8 square feet in the shed and build the coop right into it. I think this will be the safest place for them as the shed already has a good floor and the raccoons will not easily get at them. In the front I'm going to put a run made out of 1/2 inch metal netting that will have a bottom I'll bury a few inches down. This way they will be able to come out and play before I get up in the morning. I'm usually up around the same time as the sun, but this way I don't have to be.
The front and top of the run will open. So I can open the front, let the ladies free range, open the top and clean it out. Then close it all up again when they are safely inside. Since the run is extra, I'm going to do it last. I can get the ladies without it, I would just need to be up early to let them loose, and I'd be worried about their safety, perhaps.
Why you ask? Why not? They lay eggs, which give me extra food. They eat bugs, which reduces the work I need to do. They poop like mad, which fertilizes my yard. Yes, it is work to scoop up the droppings and compost it. They will eat just about anything, so feeding them is easy. And, if you get the right breed and spend time with them, they can be wonderfully social pets.
Housing from Shipping Containers?
Submitted by tired_gardener on Tue, 07/22/2008 - 14:35.I recently heard about architects turning used shipping containers into new housing. Shipping containers are used for a while, then they sit on our docks collecting dust. The US imports more than we export, so the containers often do not go anywhere. There is a place up the road from me that has them stacked up like firewood. Making use of these hunks of useless metal would be a very good thing.
Basically, the architect takes a container, or two, or 50, or 500 and alters them in some way to make them homes. They have been made into single family homes, apartments, schools, and more. If you had the expertise with a torch, you could even do the work yourself.
To see a list of some architects that design these, see the list here.
Dandelion Jelly
Submitted by tired_gardener on Fri, 07/18/2008 - 08:32.As I've been learning about canning, I thought I'd try some dandelion jelly. After all, dandelions are so easy to come by. The recipe called for 4 cups of petals, so I went out to get them. I came back a half hour later, with 2 cups... I made a half batch.
To collect, I picked up a bowl and headed out into the yard. I grabbed all the flowers in my yard. This added up to not a whole lot. So I headed down to a park that I know is not sprayed and started picking. After a half hour Elizabeth called to say that dinner was prepared. I got home with very grungy hands and a mere two cups of flowers. I've read that you can freeze the flowers without damaging them. Maybe next time I'll just pick a few from my yard and when my bag reached the full amount, then I'll make the jelly.
You want to pick the largest flowers you can find to keep you prep work down. You will then pull off the green. I just used my fingers to squeeze as much of the yellow flower out and pull as much of the green away as I could. Some of the green still got in, but that is ok. You want to remove as much of the green as you can, because it is bitter.
I then boiled the flowers for a few minutes to get the flavor out of them, added the sugar, forgetting that you are supposed to add the pectin first, and then added the pectin. I then remembered the lemon juice and added it. Next time I think I will make the jelly in the morning when I'm a little clearer in the head and don't make so many mistakes. I had the recipe in front of me to reference, and kept referencing, but still made mistakes.
The next day, I came back to check it out and guess what? It didn't set. I poured it back into the pan, got it heated up again, added a little more pectin and sugar and burnt it in the process. It is now too dark, and too thick. It tastes ok, but it has the look and consistency of honey.
The first recipe I read on dandelion jelly actually claimed it tasted honey-like. It does. I recommend trying it if you have not. It is a little too sweet to eat on its own, but works great on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The recipe I ended up using is this one, but I cut the recipe in half as that is how many blossoms I had.
Recycle the Waste
Submitted by tired_gardener on Thu, 07/17/2008 - 07:37.We have talked about reducing waste, and about reusing waste. However, there are some things that we have to buy and have waste which we can't reuse. We can toss it in the trash, but how about recycling it?
Many of us have curbside recycling. Mine allows me to put paper and cardboard, plastic bottles and tubs (no lids), all metal that fits into the bin, motor oil and glass. This is much of the most common recycled material, but there are other things we toss in there that can be recycled. Below is a list of some things you may not think of.
Rocks, concrete, etc
You usually have to pay a little to have these recycled, as they don't make anything off of it, but they will take the scrap rock material, crush it up, and use it as filler for concrete, or for land fill. We don't want it in our dumps, as it takes up the limited space we have in these nasty garbage pits.
Wood and brush
When you cut down a tree, or take out a wood fence, wall in your home, whatever, you will have some wood you need to dispose of. If you need some firewood, go ahead and burn it, but don't just toss it on a burn pile just to get rid of it. These burn piles create CO2 gas that adds to global warming. Some of the woods we build with have chemicals in them we don't want to burn (presure treated). Instead, take them to a paper mill or a recycling center. From here, the paper mills are too far away to drop at. They will allow you to drop the material for free, if you have one near by. They love for you to drop it off, because then they don't have to go hunt it down, or cut it down. It saves them time and money. If, like me, the mills are too far of a drive, you probably have a trasfer station that takes wood. They will charge you $20 or so for a big truck load, but unless you have a mill close by, it is worth it.
Styrofoam
You get a new computer, tv, stereo, whatever. It is packed in this nice styrofoam material to keep it from getting damaged in shipping. Once you have it all unpacked, you toss the packing into the trash, right? No! Styrofoam is recyclable. You cannot put it curbside, unfortunately, but you can take it to a recycling center to dump it. They should not charge you for this material.
Electronics
Electronics can be recycled too. You cannot recycle them curbside, and because of some of the things in them, it is against the law to place them in the trash. Some electronics can be rejuvinated and reused, others are beyond repair or just too old to be useful. I'd suggest taking them to a center that specializes in rejuvinating the old crap and then they can decide what to get rid of and what to reuse. You will have to pay a little for some items, such as CRT monitors and TVs (the old style with the tube) but much if it they will take as a donation (tax deductible).
Tires
Tires are a bane. We can't put them in the land fill. We can't pile them up, they might catch fire and never get put out. What are we to do? There are some things that they can be used for such as running surfaces, blacktop, asphalt and more. We don't use enough of them to use all the tires that are no longer wanted, so you will have to pay a small fee (about $1 each here) to get rid of them, but then they will take care of them until something can be found to d with them.
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comments: 1
Tired Garden Newsletter
Submitted by tired_gardener on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 10:19.Thank you all for subscribing to and reading my newsletter. I'm no longer going to maintain a separate newsletter. It has been a lot of work putting together the newsletter that only a few people will look at. Instead, I suggest that you subscribe to my feed. You will then get updates on my entries, whenever a new item is posted.
I have two choices for subscription. You can subscribe to the feed in your favorite rss reader. To do so, visit here. If you don't have a favorite RSS reader, or don't know what RSS is, you can also subscribe by email. With the email option, you will recieve a message automatically when I post a new item. You will recieve at most one email per day. You will only receive a message if I have posted something.
Thanks again and I look forward to seeing you around the site some more.
Jason
Upside Down Planters: Lessons Learned
Submitted by tired_gardener on Mon, 07/14/2008 - 22:12.I've had my upside-down planters going for a while now and they are doing very well. Only a couple of the plants I started from seed made it. I collected several from someones compost, which has me thinking more about winter sowing for next year. I've got a couple of lessons learned that I'd like to share with you.
1. Avoid plastic handled buckets. Several of my buckets are plastic handled. One broke and I lost my only pepper plant. That was a very sad day. I then emptied about half the soil out of the remaining buckets and only use metal handled buckets for the remainder. I've been meaning to add a wire reinforcement to the remaining plastic handled buckets, just in case. One is hanging in such a way that I keep expecting it to break.
If you have to use a plastic handled bucket, I suggest drilling small holed in the sides of the buckets, then sending a thick gauge wire through those holes and over the top of your mount. That way, if the plastic handles do break, the metal ones will hold the buckets up.
2. Use smaller plants types, or tie them up as needed. One of my plants has grown down a few feet and then back up a few feet. In looking at it, when it starts getting big fruit, I see two things happening. First, the stem is going to bend back and get damaged. Then, it is going to be so long that some of the fruit will be dragging on the ground. Part of the reason for upside down planters is to keep the fruit away from slugs. I have some string that I will be tying this plant up with. I'll tie any others that look the same, and this should keep them from getting damaged, or dragging on the ground.
3. Follow fertilization guidelines. I did not screw this one up too badly, but I didn't read about how to fertilize them until they were well grown. Basically, you fertilize them when they are started, and then when the first flowers set. I used an organic tomato food that I got at the nursery locally. Don't use too much as this can harm them as well.
4. Watch the water. I had one that was draining too well and the leaves are always curling. It is still very big, but I use it as a guide for when to water. Make sure they get plenty of water, but let them dry a little between soakings. In the heat, you might need to water them every day or even twice. In not so hot weather, you can let them go a couple days. But they are in pots, so they need watering more often that they would in the ground.
Gooseberry Jam: First canning experience
Submitted by tired_gardener on Wed, 07/09/2008 - 21:50.I mentioned a while back that I was taking a self study course in preserving. I am about 1/2 way through the course and it turns out that by preserving they mean canning. It mentions freezing as an option, but does not talk about drying or any other preserving techniques. I am learning a lot about canning though.
For my first canning attempt, I made Gooseberry Jam with the leftover berries from the Gooseberry Pie I made the other day. Again, it was very tart. I used some small jars that I go, they hold about 1/2 cup. I got 8 jars worth, so 4 cups. I had to cut the recipe to 3/4 size as that is all the berries I had. Here is the recipe I used, at full size, it should make an extra jar or two more than I got. Next I think I'm going to make dandelion jelly.
Gooseberry Jam
ingredients
4 cups chopped gooseberries *
6 cups sugar
Pectin Package
* Start with about 2 quarts of berries. Lightly chop them in the food processor, or chop them by hand. Should make about 4 cups.
Directions
Start water in canner boiling. Sterilize jars and lids. Keep jars hot.
Heat the berries in a large pot along with the pectin. Stir frequently until it reaches a full boil. Stir in sugar. Return to full boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring continuously. Remove from heat and skim foam. Fill hot jars, 1/8 - 1/4 inch from top. Wipe top, put on lid and screw on ring. Place into canner with water 1-2 inches above the tops of the jars. Cover, bring to boil. Boil for 10 minutes at sea level (adjust if at a higher altitude). Let cool 24 hours.
Dirty Fingers - Issue 5
Submitted by tired_gardener on Sun, 07/06/2008 - 22:41.Tired Gardens is proud to bring you another issue of the Dirty Fingers Blog Carnival. In this months issue, we have several great entries. It is late here, and has been a busy week, so I'm going to let the entries speak for themselves. Enjoy! Check out all the other blogs, and comment as well. They will appriciate it!
Gardening
Amy L. presents Creating a Butterfly Garden posted at Housekeeping Tips, saying, "A great way to bring butterflies closer to your home is with the construction of a garden that includes plants known to attract butterflies."
Tiffany Washko presents Freedom Gardens - Grow Your Own Food posted at Natural Family Living Blog.
Jeff Tincher presents Lawns Do More Than Make Your Yard Look Good | West Glenmoore, PA - Beautiful. Green. Home. posted at West Glenmoore, PA - Beautiful. Green. Home..
Victoria Evermanpresents Grow Organic Sprouts Sustainable Wisdom For All posted at Victoria Everman :: Sustainable, Creative, Enlightened Living :: San Francisco.
Tommy Smith presents Why Are Your Tomatoes Splitting - Is there hope? posted at Gardening Everyday, saying, "Learn more about this common problem."
Sarah presents Caring for Your Lawn in the Winter | Spring Lawn Care - Lawn Care Tips posted at Lawn Care Tips, saying, "Even though your grass doesn't need much attention during the winter, it's still important to follow some basic seasonal lawn care guidelines, especially if you live in a cold climate."
Amy L. presents Four Secrets to Growing Indoor Miniature Roses posted at Housekeeping Tips, saying, "Every year, thousands of people purchase miniature roses, only to have them die in a few months."
Matt Johnson presents Terracycle brings earth friendly products to mass market | EnviroHumanImpact posted at EnviroHumanImpact, saying, "We recently ran an article on a relatively new sustainable gardening company called TerraCycle. It has been one of our more popular articles lately and details information on their liquid fertilizer product and all of the steps they take towards sustainable business practices. Note: This is an independent review and commentary as we have no affiliation with the company or any of its affiliates."
Sarah presents Diagnosing and Managing Brown Spots on Your Lawn | Spring Lawn Care - Lawn Care Tips posted at Lawn Care Tips, saying, "If there are brown spots on your lawn, repairing them and preventing them from returning can be an exercise in frustration."
Pest Control
Jamie McIntosh presents Control Carpenter Bees posted at Suite101: Organic Gardens blog, saying, "No one likes carpenter bees drilling into their decks and homes. However, these insects have an important role in your organic garden."
Victoria E presents Aphids, Bettles and Cabbageworms - Oh My! How to Handle Garden Pests Organically posted at Victoria Everman :: Sustainable, Creative, Enlightened Living :: San Francisco.
Tip Diva presents Top Ten Tips - Treating And Preventing Mosquito Bites posted at Tip Diva, saying, "Ahh, summer. The sun is warm, the water is cool, the flowers are blooming, and unfortunately, the bugs are biting. The worst offender of them all is the mosquito, carrier of pain, itching and possible diseases like West Nile. Here’s how to treat and further prevent bites"
Food
Stephanie presents Basic Canning Equipment posted at Stop the Ride!.
valereee presents Garlic Mustard Dill Pickle Relish posted at Cincinnati Locavore, saying, "This is a great recipe for all those early small cucumbers!"
Thanks for reading. Submit your blog article to the next edition of dirty fingers using the carnival submission form at Blog Carnival. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival tag page.
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