Sunday, May 20, 2012
Sunday, April 22, 2012
The Season Starts
The growing season has started. Granted it hasn't felt like April with the lack of rain and random spikes in temperature. In some ways I can't complain but it has thrown me off and doesn't feel right for the Northeast. It is finally raining today but in such a gloomy glum way. I am posting some photos of what I've been working on lately in the lot. Keyhole beds, garlic sprouting that were planted in the fall, strawberries, herbs and flowers. I hope to experiment a lot this summer with fruit tree guilds and perennial herbs and vegetables. I can't wait.
The bee chillen in the cantaloupe flower was from last year. Its like a little cozy bed. All it has to do is fly right in. Everything nature makes has its purpose and when you see those connections it is inspiring and magical.
The bee chillen in the cantaloupe flower was from last year. Its like a little cozy bed. All it has to do is fly right in. Everything nature makes has its purpose and when you see those connections it is inspiring and magical.
Monday, April 2, 2012
How clean is your water?
Here is my water filter in action. This is just the ceramic filter I scrubbed clean. You can see what I'm NOT drinking everyday. NYC water is considered one of the cleanest in the country but that doesn't mean it doesn't have it's share of contaminants from old pipes and whatever chemical additives they put in municipal water such as chlorine and fluoride.
I installed a 3 tiered water filter in my kitchen sink a few months back. I have a ceramic filter for cysts, bacteria and small particles down to .05 - .09 microns, a fluoride filter and an Activated Carbon filter to remove chlorine, VOCs, Heavy Metals and Pesticides. The Ceramic will last 3-5 years cleaned once a month. While the other two need to be replaced yearly. My water tastes cleaner and fresher and I don't have to let it air out before I water my plants. I bought my filter through this site. He was reliable and quick and I got my system packaged nicely. I just had to do some simple plumbing and I was all set to go. I recommend plumber sealant over the tape to prevent dripping. Also you can buy a shower filter attachment so you're not showering in chlorine water which is also evaporating and getting into your lungs from the hot water. Isn't that lovely!? I will showcase that on another post.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Compost Party
This Sunday I participated in Queens composting history with a pilot project headed by Western Queens Compost Initiative (WQCI). Man did I smell funky afterwards. It's amazing what people will throw out and what people eat. Avocado pits, perfectly fine onions, limes, lemons and oranges that were never eaten, a giant blue potato, coffee grounds, carrots, loaves of bread, mint from the yard, etc etc.
We managed to combine TONS of food scraps along with leaves and woodchips/shavings to create a compost pile sitting on top of two forced air vents. Hopefully this project will show that we can compost locally and with less labor in order to utilize important environmental resources we spend so much energy and time to dispose of in landfills in Pennsylvania that end up polluting our land and water. Read below for all the details provided by WQCI.
What do you get when you mix 15,000 lbs of food scrap from GrowNYC Greenmarkets, 8000 lbs of wood chip, 1,600 lbs of leaves from Astoria Park Alliance & Socrates Sculpture Park, 1,600 lbs of shavings; the combined wisdom of Earth Matter..., Red Hook Community Farm, and Gowanus Canal Conservancy compost operators; the technical expertise of O2Compost; the skills imparted by the US Composting Council's Compost Operator Training course instructors; the social media coverage of Shorty Awards recipient for Food, and LA school garden magnate, Mud Baron; and the loving touch of Jeanne Hodesh, Michelle Hughes, Peter Tzellos, Tanya Bley, Jae Lee, Sonya Pena, Julia Koullias, Becky Thorp, Justin Lau, Peter Richter, Nick Knoll, Josh Gallaway, David Buckel, Erik Martig, Chris Bivens, and Charles Beyrer?
A: A 20ft long, 15ft wide, 6ft high answer to urban ag, street trees, sustainable materials allocation, natural resource conservation, and direct environmental action at the community level.
We managed to combine TONS of food scraps along with leaves and woodchips/shavings to create a compost pile sitting on top of two forced air vents. Hopefully this project will show that we can compost locally and with less labor in order to utilize important environmental resources we spend so much energy and time to dispose of in landfills in Pennsylvania that end up polluting our land and water. Read below for all the details provided by WQCI.
What do you get when you mix 15,000 lbs of food scrap from GrowNYC Greenmarkets, 8000 lbs of wood chip, 1,600 lbs of leaves from Astoria Park Alliance & Socrates Sculpture Park, 1,600 lbs of shavings; the combined wisdom of Earth Matter..., Red Hook Community Farm, and Gowanus Canal Conservancy compost operators; the technical expertise of O2Compost; the skills imparted by the US Composting Council's Compost Operator Training course instructors; the social media coverage of Shorty Awards recipient for Food, and LA school garden magnate, Mud Baron; and the loving touch of Jeanne Hodesh, Michelle Hughes, Peter Tzellos, Tanya Bley, Jae Lee, Sonya Pena, Julia Koullias, Becky Thorp, Justin Lau, Peter Richter, Nick Knoll, Josh Gallaway, David Buckel, Erik Martig, Chris Bivens, and Charles Beyrer?
A: A 20ft long, 15ft wide, 6ft high answer to urban ag, street trees, sustainable materials allocation, natural resource conservation, and direct environmental action at the community level.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
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