Archive - Apr 2008 - Blog

Today I uploaded my first video to YouTube. I made this video to tell how to make your own hanging tomato planter using kitty litter buckets.

Today I choose to write about something I know almost nothing about. Seeding the lawn. I'm telling you this, because I want to make it clear that I'm not an expert. I am giving a place to start, if you are interested in seeding your lawn. I am working on doing this myself, so it is also where I am starting.

I have read several other sites with information on this. They are listed at the bottom. I have also consulted my local garden center, Portland Nursery.

Seed or sod?

First, you have to decide if you are going to lay sod, or seed. If you are doing sod, you will need another article. This article is on seeding. If you don't know the difference. Sod is grass that is already growing. It usually comes in a roll and you roll it out onto your lawn. Seed is just that. Seed. Sod is easier and quicker to start, but it is also a lot more expensive. Here at the tired garden, we don't just care about it being nice looking, we want it environmentally friendly and cheap as well.

Sod is not as environmentally friendly as seed because it is heavier. Heavier things take more energy to transport, therefor more gas is used. Even if you buy organic sod, it still needs to be transported and the machines that cut it and roll it need to get their energy from somewhere.

Preparing the soil

First we need to prepare the area the seed is going. Dig up any grass or weeds that are currently there. Get the roots too. Don't use an herbicide, since we are seeding organically, we do not want to kill the microbes in the soil. Herbicides may make getting the grass out easier, but it will also kill the bacteria and other benificials in your soil. You want a good live soil.

If your soil has already been heavily poisoned, you may need to rejuvinate it. You can let it sit and go to weed, or you can dig in some good organic material, such as some compost. Even if you have not had poisons added to it, it is still a good idea to add some compost. Most soils need more compost and it wont hurt, even if you apply too much. Dig it into the soil.

Test the soil. You can buy a soil test kit, but it is better to get a sample and send it in the your local extention office for testing. This test will tell you what you need to amend with. Check the seed you are using to see what PH it likes. Usually it is between 6.0 and 7.5 PH.

Organic Seed from Shop.com Applying seed

Now that your soil is ready, it is time to seed. Apply more than the package calls for. This is called overseeding and is key to having a lush organic lawn. The more grass you have, the less space for weeds and the more grass you will have. It is a wonderful cycle. Keep a lush lawn and the weeds have trouble getting started. Follow the packaging guidelines otherwise.

Take care of the lawn

Mow high. You should never cut more than 1/3 of the blade off at a time. You cut it short and it stresses the plant out. It will actually grow faster if you cut it too short, because it is trying to grow up tall enough to get some light. It needs the sunshine to get its energy and if you lop it too low it doesn't get enough. It is also more likely to get sick and weeds to come up. We don't want that!

Water heavy and infrequently. Let the yard sit for a while before watering it. If it looks like it really needs a drink, the blades are starting to curl, but are not yet turning brown, water it. You need to give it about an inch of water. Once a week is usually about right. Too make sure you give it the right amount, put a containter in the path of the water. When it gets an inch of water in it, you have watered enough. Heavy, infrequent watering premotes deep roots. The grass needs to go down further to keep getting the water. This chokes out the weeds as well.

Fertelize. Grass needs nitrogen. If you have a lot of clover in your yard, it needs more nitrogen. The clover can get the nitrogen from the air and fix it in the soil. Add more nitrogen and the grass can grow better and choke out the clover.

references

About.Com: How to start a new lawn from seed

washingtonpost.com: A Course in Growing Lawns Organically at Gallaudet

Organic Lawn Care For the Cheap and Lazy

So, I learned some interesting information today about how many web hosts operate. I have been with a company called host monster, who I have been including as an advert on the sidebar. Well, today I got an idea of their customer service and what their uptime "guarantee" is.

First. Their uptime guarantee. Apparently there are two types of uptime guarantees:

1. "Network guarantees". This is what hostmonster and a lot of the low fee hosts use. This means that they guarantee that their entire network will be up and running 99.9% of the time. So, if one server goes down (the one my site is on) then they are still in compliance as they have hundreds of servers. My site, and all the other domains on that server, could be down for 12 hours a day, every day, and they would be in compliance as long as it was that one server.

2. "Server Guarantees". This is used by the more expensive and more reputable services. This means that if your server is down, they are out of compliance. Even if every other server is working.

I will be changing services soon. I am looking for a site that offers a server guarantee. Preferably a 100% uptime guarantee. They also must have responsive customer service, and the tools I need: php, mysql, ssh, raw log files. Not much. If you know of such a host, let me know.

I'll do a lot more detail on this topic over at my shabamdevelopment.com site. I don't have a whole lot over there yet, but that is one of the things that is planned over there. I hope to work more on it this summer.

I'm writing this from the Pizzicato at Portland State University. As I've mentioned before, it is hard to find a place to eat vegetarian, so when I find one that is good, I need to write about it.

Pizzicato is a gourmet pizza house based in Oregon. They have a few stores in Washington and Northern California as well. They serve pizza, salad and panini which include some very interesting flavors. Their seven salads include the standards: Verde, Caeser, Spicaci (Spinach) as well as some other good varieties: Arugula, Chinese Chop, Greek and Mista (baby lettuce with walnuts and tomato). You can add chicken or shrimp to them for an added charge. With three salad sizes, they are ready for any appetite.

The pizza flavors varie by the day, with cheese, pepperoni and puttenesca always on the list. They also have a meat, veggie and vegan choice. Today the vegan option was Provincial. It included red and yellow peppers, garlic, mushrooms and red onion with an olive oil base. The crust is soft, with just a little crisp. It is a plain crust, with little flavor, but just the right texture to leave a nice pallet for building the rest of the pizza. The veggies are all roasted, giving them a nice mild, but flavorful medley.

This store in on the PSU campus, so I can tap into that wireless network. They do not seem to have their own, so if you don't have a PSU account, you may not be able to use wireless. The neo modern design gives a pleasant place to sit, without the overwhelming music and decor of some of their competitors.

The staff is friendly and energetic. They and are not afraid to assist when they need to. The prices are reasonable. I paid $3.50 for my slice. Not the best prices, but reasonable. Rating:

Food: A-
Atmosphere: A
Customer Service: B+
Variety: A

Overall: A-/A

I was listening to KLOVE and Lisa Williams was talking about getting some of those "curly" light-bulbs in her house. It started me thinking about the different types of bulbs and the pros and cons of each. Lets introduce the contenders and get to know them a little better.

Incandescent Bulbs (what your used to):

Incandescent bulbs are what we have been using since Edison's time. These are the great old bulbs that he invented. There are some problems with them, though. The main problem is that they use more power than the other choices. They also burn out much quicker, leaving you in the dark and heading for the replacement bulbs. Their use produces a lot of energy in heat. If you are in a cold climate, this means that you need to heat your home less, but in warmer climates, this is a problem. On the positive side, they have a less expensive purchase cost and produce a nice warm light. There is also a new bit of legislation outlawing them. It is phasing out their use over the next few years.

Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs):

CFLs are very energy efficient. Lisa Williams mentioned that her bulbs take a moment to come on. This is a real problem CFLs, especially in cold weather. They also do not work well on dimmers and burn out quickly on motion sensors too. Disposing of them is a problem. Most people just toss them in their trash. They contain toxic mercury! This mercury leaches out of the landfills and directly into the streams, then out food and water. Many people complain that fluorescent lights give them headaches, and they have a depressing nature to them. Their cold light is not as nice and studies have shown that they are linked to high rates of depression. They also break easy and can't be used for theatre lighting.

The positives are also numerous. They are not much more expensive than incandescent bulbs, but last 10 times as long. They remain cooler when on, producing some heat, but not a lot. CFLs emit the same number of lumens for about 1/4 the wattage compared to incandescent. These plusses make them very popular bulbs. Also, many advances in the technology has let to better CFL bulbs. There are now bulbs that work better outdoors, and some called "instant on" that do not take a while to turn on. You can even get the equipment to make them work on a dimmer, but it is spendy.

Light Emitting Diods (LEDs):

LEDs are a third option, not often looked at. They are expensive to buy, costing as much as $40 for a bulb that can replace a 15 watt incandescent. They are also directed lighting, which is good for spotlights, but do not give the multi-directional light we are used to in incandescent and CFL bulbs. They also can have problems with dimmers and motion sensors that are not made for their use.

On the plus side, they are even more energy efficient than CFLs, and last 10 times longer than CFLs (100 times longer than incandescents). They also stay very cool, so you can touch them when they are turned on. They don't have the mercury in them, so tossing them in the trash when they die is not a worry. Some LED bulbs can change color, which makes for some cool lighting on stage shows. They are also very bright, not what most people think of LEDs doing. LEDs have replaced the lights in most street lights, traffic signals and many automobile lights. These lights are hard to replace, so putting in super long lasting bulbs makes since. The other issues are also being worked on. They now have multi-directional lights, but they are also more expensive.

Buying new bulbs:

When buying a replacement bulb, you need to be sure you know what your getting. I recently saw an LED bulb and thought about getting it. I looked at the packaging and saw that it was a 90 lumen bulb. I choked and put it away. A 75 watt incandescent emits between 1080 and 1200 lumens, depending on the bulb. That is a LOT more than that 90 lumen bulb! You need to make sure the bulb you get throws the amount of light you want.

If anyone knows of a good, reliable source for LEDs, please let us know. They must be able to replace my 75 watt incandescents.

When you leave your wintersown plants in a location where your 2 year old can get to them, you can expect them to not make it very far in life. I had placed mine on a log that is left from a tree we had cut down a while back. Emma found them and thought they looked like the shakers we had made. What fun she had. I knew they were done for after that.

It turns out some plants are hardier than you might think. I was right, most did not make it. However, a couple came up. I hope that the purple tomatillo that smiled at me today will make a nice addition to some salsa this year. I've got a water bottle that it will soon find itself sitting under. With a little care, perhaps it will survive. That is, if I can keep little hand, and big paws, away long enough.

Portland springs are always fun. Last week we had a couple of days that got up to 75. Then yesterday at 2pm it started hailing and snowing. Within an hour it was melted and gone, the sun was shining again. I love the unpredictable nature of Portland Springs!

We were having a day on the town. We had forgotten something at home, so swung back by. Just as we pulled up it started to hail lightly. Elizabeth ran inside while I stayed and took care of Emma. Rat-a-tat on the windows. Soon it was a symphony of little ice chunks hitting the car, road, and surrounding area. It was quite lovely. I pulled out my cell, called into the house and asked Elizabeth to bring out the camera when she came. Afterall, we needed some more pictures of Emma.

When Elizabeth came out, the sun was out and the flower beds were covered with hail balls. I quickly got a picture and off we went, heading for the Children's Museum and a day of fun with Emma. And yes, I did get lots of good pictures of Emma too.

Each year every person uses about 4000 gallons of water to flush 75 pounds of crap into our sewer system along with about 130 gallons of pee. Not only is the water usage a problem with our sewage system, but the sewage itself is a problem. Sewage treatment leaves a lot of nitrates and other damaging chemicals behind. In New York, this has become such a concern that they now send their toxic crap half way across the country to Texas!

It is also very expensive to build and maintiain these systems. The sewage has to be piped across town to the treatment plants. This can be a trip of many miles. Anywhere along this trip there could be a leak. Many municipalities, such as Portland, Oregon are spending millions to upgrade systems with bigger pipes to keep the stinky mess from flowing into local rivers and streams. Septic tanks are better, since they don't have to transport the liquid poison under the streets, but they still can leak nitrates and other chemicals into the surrounding ground.

So, with the environmental impact and high cost of sewer and septic systems, we need an alternative. The answer came in 1873, long before most of the current sewage system was build. In this year, Henry Moule patented the first composting toilet. His toilet was simple and required a bit more interaction than you or I would want. Composting toilets have come a long way since then. They no longer require you to carry the slush bucket to the compost and dump it. The excreted material can now be composted in the toilet, or piped to a central location and composted there.

Composting toilets are made for RV use, campgrounds, cabins and other light use sites. They are also made for home use, as well as commercial and industrial buildings. The C.K. Choi Building is outfitted with such a system. These toilets can save a lot of money in sewer and water bills. They can also save the environment!

The major problem with composting toilets is that they are not as convenient. People have become very used to flushing away their humanure and the idea of containing it in the basement is distasteful. For me the cost saving and the environmental plusses are worth it. While I cannot retrofit our current home with composting toilets, it is going into the plans for the green house I dream about building when we move the next time.

If you are interested in composting toilets, below are a few places you can buy one from:

Envirolet - Running a sale for $300 off till May 12, 2008. 4 models ranging from $1799 to $3699
Sun-Mar - With dealerships around the country, you can check one out before you buy.
Composting Toilet World - Run by Envirolet, this site tells you all about sewage treatment, composting toilets, and where to buy them. A nice informational site that goes much further into details than I could here.

There are also some instructions available on making your own composting loo.

Practical Actions Guide - While my wife would not like this plan, it is inexpensive to build! The site requires a registration to download and is a little cumbersome to navigate.
The Humanure Handbook - I've just started reading this great resource, but many other sites have recommended it. If you are at all interested in composting toiletes, you need to check it out! It has ALL the information you need to build your own composting pot.

I've mentioned the plant index a few times in the blog. I've even created a link to it while I was building it. Well, it is much further along now, and I think it is useful. I only have about 10 plants in it at the moment, as I've spent all my time working on the back end and not much on adding plants. I will soon work on the entry system so that I can open that up so that all registered users can enter the data. I also need to do some work on the search functions and make it available.

In the mean time, feel free to look around. There are a lot of planned additions to this index and if you have any ideas of what you would like to see, please let me know! Click on Plant Index in the menu to take a look.

Enjoy!

Our new washer

Our new washer and dryer arrived today. We had an old top loader and we were not happy with it. The dryer would take up to three cycles to get our clothes dry, wasting a lot of electricity. We have been wanting to replace them for a while, but finances are tight, so could not afford it. We used our tax return to get it. As there are only 3 of us that wear clothes, one being small, at the moment, we do not need one of the super big machines. The one we got is very large. I don't want to talk about it, specifically, so if you want more information, check out the picture on the right. You can also click it to visit shop.com and get more information (or buy it, I get a commission if you do).

Why High Efficiency?

Some people have asked me why I need a front loader. The top loaders are so much cheaper. That is true, and that is why we got the top loader the last time. That and our in-laws purchased it for us. The initial purchase of a front loader is more expensive, but with all the credits you get for having a high efficiency washer, and all the money you save on utilities, it quickly pays for itself. Then you have to account for the impact to the environment. HE washers are more efficient and therefore better for the environment.

Frugality and Environmentalism combine

I care about frugality. Every middle and lower income family should. Living frugally means that we can splurge once in a while and have a nice weekend at the beach, like we did last weekend. It also means that we are able for me to not work for 2 years while I go to school and get my masters. Frugality is important to me, and while this washer was more expensive on the outset, it will save us money in the long run.

Less Water
HE washers use less water. We got a sample packet of tide with the washer. It came with a little information about HE washers, and says that HE washers use 1/5th to 2/3rds the water that a regular washer uses. So, you can cut the amount of water used by 1/3rd to 4/5ths! This helps the enviroment and saves you money on your water bill.

Less Electricity
Most of the cost of electricity for your washer comes from heating the water, up to 90%. There is less water to heat with an HE washer, so less electricity. The spin cycle on HE washers spins out more water than on a standard. This means they are dryer when they get into the dryer, so take less time to dry, again saving on electricity. You can also put more into an HE washer, so you have fewer loads, which means less water and electricity!

Gentler on clothes
Your clothes will last longer in an HE washer. Top loaders are very violent, dragging your clothes all around the tub, sometimes wrapping them around the central shaft. In front loader, they are gently tumbled around and around, causing less damage to your clothes

Less drycleaning
As HE washers are gentlier on your clothes, you can wash more of them in the machine that you might take to the dry cleaners. It also has a larger drum, making more room for large items you used to have to take to the dry cleaners.

Less detergent
HE washers use HE detergent, so you have to buy detergent with the HE symble on it. The good news about that is that you use less of it. Most detergents are now phosphate free, but check the container to make sure, this will help the environment even more.

Noise Polution
Front-loading HE washers are quieter than top loaders. This will lower the noise polution in your home.

Rebates
Many localities and states offer tax rebates if you buy an HE washer. In Oregon I can get $75 back as a state tax rebate (not refund). I can also get $100 credit from my electric company (Portland General Electric). I'm told that other water and electric companies offer the same. Call your local electric water and power companies to see if they offer any incentives for HE washers.

Overall savings

I don't yet know what the overall savings will be in my case. I'll have to wait a few months until I get a couple water and electric bills to compare. I'll then need to compare to the same time last year (we consume differently in different seasons). It is, however, clear that with the incentives and water and electricity saving, that I'll be saving a nice chunk of change, even though I spent more than I would have with a top loader.