Choosing Voluntary Simplicity » Green Living

What Our Finished Compost Looks Like

Shirley — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 12:57:49 +0000

This year, for the first time ever in all my years of gardening, I have had more compost available than I could use. It has been WONDERFUL... I have put thick mulches of compost on all the gardens, around all the hostas, and mixed it in with the soil when we have planted anything... and there is still more compost left in the 2-year-old pile. This particular compost started life as a combination of grass clippings and weeds from the garden, vegetable peelings, shredded leaves, goat manure, and the wood shavings we use as the goat's bedding.

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A “Green” & Natural Method for Cleaning Stainless Steel

Shirley — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 15:18:42 +0000

Reader question... "I have a stainless steel sink and stainless steel appliances and they always look dull and streaky. I won't use chemical products. Do you have any natural way to keep stainless steel looking clean and shiny?" --Bonnie W.

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196 Little Seedlings

Shirley — Tue, 12 May 2009 16:09:50 +0000

This year I have 196 little seedlings growing under lights... lots and lots of tomatoes, a variety of other vegetables, and some herbs. We usually get a killing frost in early June, so I have learned to start my seedlings late so they will be just the right size when it is time to transplant them into the garden. I have a two-tier white metal plant stand that will hold four trays at each level. The stand came with one long fluorescent grow light for each tier. We modified the design slightly to add an additional grow light at each level so the plants near the edges of the trays get as much light as the plants in the middle.

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More Leaf Mold in the Making — It’s Starting To Heat Up

Shirley — Sat, 09 May 2009 16:19:31 +0000

We don't add anything to the leaves, but they will naturally contain some pine needles and pieces of grass and other vegetation that get caught up in the raking. These all help the pile to heat up. My husband builds each pile layer by layer as he rakes and grinds the leaves, and he always moistens each layer thoroughly before adding more ground leaves. The leaves must be damp or the pile will not heat up quickly, but if the leaves are too wet, the pile will probably not heat up at all. With practice it becomes very easy to find the right balance.

This new pile is just starting to heat up now. Four days ago the temperature inside the pile was in the 40's (it's been cold here!). The next day the temperature had gone up to just over 90°F and continued to rise. This morning the thermometer is registering at just slightly under 130°F. Usually this type of pile will achieve and hold fairly steady temperatures of around 140°F before slowly cooling down again.

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Digging Dandelions in the Spring

Shirley — Tue, 05 May 2009 01:05:29 +0000

Every afternoon for the last four days we've taken an eight-quart kettle and two knives and gone out to our meadow to get some dandelion greens for dinner. And yes, I'm talking about the common dandelion... the weed. In New England, we call it "digging dandelions," but the dandelion isn't really dug... we use the knife to cut the entire plant off just below the surface of the soil. We're lucky to have a large meadow just filled with dandelion plants. In a couple of weeks when the dandelions we leave are in blossom, the meadow will be a field of brilliant yellow... and next year there will again be as many dandelions as we want to dig. It's a common sight this time of year to see people in this area out digging dandelions. I think it is a testimony to how much we New Englanders like our dandelions, because getting enough for a meal... or bigger quantities for canning or freezing... is a VERY time-consuming process.

When Organic Isn’t All It’s Cracked Up To Be

Shirley — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:18:15 +0000

Yesterday I needed six eggs for a sponge cake, so I opened one of the new boxes of "farm-fresh" organic eggs that my husband had purchased on Friday. As I cracked the first egg, a lot of clear liquid came pouring out, and I noticed immediately that the gelatinous part of the egg white was cloudy and excessively thick. It all was pretty disgusting, so I discarded that egg and cracked another one.