The Alternative Lifestyle Site

Green At Home: What Are You Growing?

I’m feeling a little envious of those who are experiencing a different weather pattern from me right now. It’s winter here in the Southern Hemisphere and because I live in the mountains the fog didn’t lift until around 2 pm this afternoon. I know, I know, before that it was too hot and everything around us was burning and smoke filled. Aaaah, the joys of living in a dynamic world!

As I was sitting here today wishing I was out there gardening I began to plan what I’ll do on the next sunny winters day we have.

• I have to clear up the left over vegetation in at least on vegetable bed.
• I need to stake a new olive tree I planted a few weeks ago, it’s very young and not yet able to stand up straight.
• I want to get on top of some of the winter weeds that are appearing due to our ample rainfall this month and
• I want to plant some more food.

What are You Growing?

• I’ve got black Kale which is so stunning (tastes a little like broccoli which we love),
• silverbeet – lovely green leaves which we add to just about everything,
• there are some onions, beetroot, broccoli, asian greens like boc choy which self seeded from last year,
• herbs such as coriander, parsley, and mint which just seem to appear like magic, along with a number of different cut and come again lettuce varieties. I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that I let them go to seed and then run around the garden waving them like magic wands to spread them everywhere?

I still feel the need for some more ‘stuff’ to be growing in my garden. I’m thinking in a couple of months I put some potatoes under straw but in the meantime, more broccoli ( We never seem to get sick of it), some carrots, more onions and maybe some garlic although I might be a bit early for that. Snow peas in the shade-house so the frost doesn’t get their flowers sound good too. I might even try parsnips on more time.

What are YOU Growing?

Even if you have only space for a few pots, or a polystyrene box you can grow fresh winter herbs to add to soups and stews. Fresh parsley, wet with dew is a delight just to pick and nibble as you walk by. Mint in tea gives it a real flavour boost – we just nibble on it whenever we walk past our many plants – so fresh and happy a taste and smell it really lifts your spirits.

In just one polystyrene box I can grow lettuce, parsley, baby carrots and beetroot and a good size broccoli plant. In two of them I can add kale, more lettuce, coriander and asian greens. In a hanging basket I can have all the sweet snow peas I could want and they take up no floor space at all. I no longer have to grow in containers as I have a big garden but don’t let a lack of ground-space stop you. Fresh, healthy, easy to grow food is a joy to behold and a big step towards creating as sustainable way of life. Your very own greener alternative lifestyle.

What are you growing? Share with me as I sit here in the cold and just dream of sun ripened tomatoes and strawberries still warm from the sun…..

Energy Saver Challenge Tip #3 – Heating and Cooling

The Challenge takes a look at how you can improve your energy efficiency and the performance of your home in terms of heating and cooling. Let’s come up with some simple, effective and achievable solutions anyone can implement.  Here is a quick video to get us started.

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Energy Saver Challenge: What Your Fridge Won’t Tell You

The first tip for the Energy Saver Challenge concentrated on helping people save energy and money on their lighting bill. The focus for now is on how your appliances can cost you unnecessary money, by using energy for which no benefit is derived, and how you can do better for the environment and your wallet no matter what your circumstances.

If you are in the market for a new fridge or freezer, dishwasher or oven or any other appliance for your home, now is the time to make some quality decisions. It’s not all about looks you know, these days it is just as important to select a model that will perform not only in the cooling department but also in the energy use department. Look for a model that has the top energy rating.

A model with a high energy rating can save you a lot of money over the lifetime of the appliance.

Plus, you can know that you have made a choice that is a better deal for the environment too.
Watch this video if you’ve ever wondered how the energy star rating system works and what you should look for when shopping for new appliances.

Now because this is an important issue, I’ve been doing a bit of research into ways the average person can save energy and save money by ensuring their appliances are running as efficiently as possible. I discovered some very useful information and as always, I’m willing to share it with you here.

Fridges and Freezers:

Did you know that your fridge and freezer account for a large proportion of the energy you use in your house?

The reason for this is they usually run all day and all night, every day of the year. Learning how to use your fridge and freezer efficiently can make a big difference to how much energy you use. This is all good news for the environment and for your electricity bill. Now I figure most people are not in the market for a new fridge and there are some important things you can do to improve the performance of your current fridge and freezer.

The first is to give it a bit of a tune-up in terms of it’s seals. Are they airtight?

You can check that by putting a piece of paper between the body of the fridge and the door. Now, shut the door and then tug gently on the paper.If it comes out easily then your seal is not tight enough and that is costing you money 24/7!

It may be that the door hinges can be adjusted to improve the seal or perhaps it’s time to get the seals replaced.

I read recently, on an energy company website,that an old inefficient refrigerator can use three times as much energy as a new one! That means it costs you three times as much to run. So if you can check the seal and make that better or replace it you will certainly benefit.

Many homes have an extra fridge in the garage, basement or even in the shed.

The party fridge, the beer fridge, the Christmas overflow fridge – whatever it’s name at your place, it is costing you money. Up to $200 a year!

So it may be time to ask yourself a couple of questions.

Is it necessary for this fridge to be turned on all the time or could you just turn it on when it is actually needed? This will cut your energy consumption and save you a stack of money.

Do you really need the second fridge at all? I mean, how bad is the refrigeration situation? Was it a good idea once upon a time but now circumstances have changed? Perhaps the solution is to sell it to someone who really needs it.

Now we can look at some behavioural changes that can really cut into your energy consumption where the fridge is concerned.

• First there is size. Is your fridge the right size for your needs? We usually have our fridges for a long time, and often we are using a fridge that is no longer optimum for our needs.

I used to own a really big fridge because there were five of us in the house and we needed the room. Now there are only three of us and we have a medium size fridge however, most of the time we could probably get away with one that was even a little bit smaller.

• Apparently fridges operate most efficiently when they are quite full. That’s the way they like it best.

So if you are looking in the door of your fridge and there isn’t much in there (and that is the way it usually looks) I can suggest that you are over capacity in the fridge department and it might be worth considering downsizing!

Here are a couple of other tips to help your fridge keep more money in your wallet and create fewer greenhouse gases for the environment.

• It’s best not to locate your fridge or freezer near your oven, or even if it gets sun on it. This just makes it work harder and you know what that means!

• Fridges need space – make sure there is a gap at the back near the ventilation coils so that it can work efficiently. Around 80mm is recommended.

• And last but not least, give the back of the fridge a bit of a dust now and then, this helps the ventilation system too – and you’ll be amazed at what makes it way around the back of the fridge when you are not looking.

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We’ve had a bit of a look at the various ways this Yahoo Answers request could be answered. We took a look at worm farms and there was a great YouTube family video from the UK!

Then we looked at compost and how relatively simple that process is. With composting of course it can be grand or simple, huge or small, round or square… the great thing about making compost is that once you discover what works for you it is like having the secret of spinning straw into gold!

Another wonderful way to recycle your food scraps is by keeping chooks. Hens, chickens or chooks – whatever you call them are very efficient cleaners of waste food. They just gobble it all up and you can feed them almost everything. Mine are not particularly fond of citrus skins but just about everything else just disappears.

Of course, if you live in a flat or unit then chooks are not an options for you. However, if you have even a little bit of room there is a chicken breed for you. You don’t need a rooster (who give keeping hens a bad name) and if you love to garden then the bantam varieties are the least likely to cause widespread damage if you allow them to free range.

If you have a small garden you can keep your hens in a small run with a coop attached and then let them out during the day. If you have the space you can purchase or build a more permanent run for your girls and then let them out occasionally. If you have lots of room like me… you can just let the chooks rule the whole place! My girls (and my roster and my ducks) free range across our entire property all day and then just before sunset they come back to their pen, I feed them, collect the eggs, check their water, have a little cuddle with them if they are in the mood and then lock them away so they are safe from dogs or foxes.

Keeping poultry is fantastic on so many fronts. You get to recycle your food waste, eat wonderful fresh eggs any time you want to, have some great gardening companions (free fertilizer distributed in your garden automatically) and great pets if you spend enough time with them. Check with your local authority about what they require of you to be able to keep them at home and just go for it!

Subscribe to the Alternative Lifestyle Site newsletter for more great information, tips and lots of other surprises along the way. Put your details into the form to the top right of this post . If you have any great tips on recycling your fruit and vegetable scraps share them with us. Leave a comment and share your wisdom.

Here is a little video about the series of posts which answer the question “How Can I Recycle My Fruit and Vegetable Scraps in my Yard? You can catch the answer Part 1, and if that is not your perfect solution you can check out the answer Part 2 and if you are still looking for your perfect answer Part 3 is coming soon!

How Do I Recycle My Fruit and Vegetable Scraps In My Yard? Part 2 – Making Compost

As with most things in life there is usually more than one correct answer for any question you might like to pose. This is certainly the case with the question recently asked on Yahoo Answers, about how to recycle fruit and vegetable scraps in your yard.

In Part 1, the option of the worm farm was explored and now we move onto what is probably one of the oldest and surest methods, composting.

Now composting, as with worm farming has many faces. There is the compost heap, the compost tumbler, the compost bin, the compost pile, the compost hole in the ground and they all work very, very well depending on your circumstances. If you have loads of space (as I do) you can build yourself a triple bay composting system that will keep you in compost for ever and a day. If you have a large garden you can simply wrap your vegetable waste in a few layers of newspaper and dig a nice deep hole somewhere and bury them. If you prefer a bin to a pile or heap then there are always an interesting assortment available for purchase, or you can construct your own from discarded materials or most simply, chicken wire and star pickets (steel posts).

As with everything, each successful composter has their own secrets to successful compost creating but there are a few well acknowledged hints, tips and rules:

1. Four main components are – wet (vegetables and fruit, fresh grass etc.), dry (fallen leaves, dry weeds, straw, shredded office paper, torn up newsprint etc.), water - enough to keep the pile nice and moist and air. Air is vital or your heap will rot rather than compost, so regular poking or turning is recommended and a nice layer of sticks right at the bottom will help keep it flowing.
2. My secret ingredient is to put in a couple of handfuls of soil when I’m adding new ingredients and giving the pile a turn or a drink. This soil is full of life – just the kind of life that will love turning your waste into useful, healthy compost.

I had a lot of fun watching video’s on how to compost and I wanted to find one that was suitable for many people no matter how big their yard was. I hope you enjoy it and it helps you get started in the wonderful art of creating your own fertile soil.

Are you ready to start living the new mainstream alternative lifestyle? If you are sign up for our newsletter – you can find the form at the top right corner of this page, just put in your details to begin receiving regular inspiration on how you can make a difference each and every day, in simple and wonderful ways.

In the meantime, happy composting!

Simple and Effective Tips to Help You Save Energy (and Money)

I am sure we have all seen and heard the advertisements urging us to Reduce, Re-Use and Recycle.

I am also reasonably certain that most of us just went right to the end of that slogan, started doing a little bit of recycling and gave ourselves a big fat pat on the back for being so eco-friendly.

Phew! Glad that’s over! That response may have been good enough 10 or 15 years ago but it’s becoming very obvious that only concentrating on that last component of the strategy will not solve any of our most pressing problems.

So what is an ordinary, average person or family to do?

When I asked myself that question, I thought I’d start at the beginning because that seems like the most logical place to begin. What I found though, when I did that, was that Reduce appears to be the least palatable of all the components of the strategy.

Reduce is the most inconvenient component, the part of the slogan that requires us to actually do less, have less, use less. Ouch! No wonder I didn’t really notice it before. Perhaps though, we can find ways to reduce our consumption without it actually negatively impacting on our sense of wellbeing.

Do you think that is possible?

Would you be willing to try?

You would? That’s Fantastic!

Welcome to the Energy Saving Challenge.

A series of Tips to get those of us who have decided to take the bull by the horns and really get serious about REDUCING our impact on the planet (and maybe save some money along the way)

Here is our Energy Saving Challenge Tip number 1:

Change one incandescent light bulb for an energy saving compact fluorescent bulb each time you do your family food shopping – which is once a week or once a fortnight (2 weeks) for most families.

I know they are more expensive to buy but just look at what I found out about them:

• If you replace a 75 watt incandescent with an equivalent compact fluorescent, you will get exactly the same amount of light but it will save you time and it will save you money.

• They save you money because they are incredibly efficient using only about one quarter of those ‘ordinary’ bulbs. Did you get that? You could cut your lighting bill by three quarters if you change all your incandescent bulbs over to compact fluorescents.

• They save you time because they last so long. You don’t have to go out and buy replacements and you don’t have to get out the ladder and change them because they can last for up to 10,000 hours. That is more than a whole year if you left it running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. How long would it last if you only used it for a few hours each evening? I’ve had one in a lamp for more than 4 years! Talk about value for money.

WARNING: All fluorescent lighting (even those long ones and the circle ones from the 1950′s) will eventually fail and they must not be put into your household rubbish. They all contain a little mercury and we don’t want that escaping out into the world, so find out from your local Council or Authority the best way to recycle them.

I did see an advertisement from a large hardware chain that you could recycle them through their stores so that would be well worth checking out.

Take the challenge, give it a go, do your bit, pocket the cash. Sounds pretty amazing to me that something so simple could be so very effective.

I wonder what Tip number 2 is going to be? Don’t forget to subscribe to the Alternative Lifestyle Site newsletter – you can find the form up in the top right hand corner, just pop your details into the box and hey presto! it’s done. Simple as that.

Here is a great advertisement (from a series by the Victorian Government in Australia) which gives a really graphic explanation about how we all contribute to greenhouse gases and Climate Change. I loved it when it came onto the television and I hope you enjoy it too.

Recently I was asked the following question: I was wondering about recycling fruit and vegetable scraps in my yard?

More and more people are wanting to recycle their food waste, grow their own organic fruits and vegetables and live a more sustainable life. Reducing your waste is a great step towards doing all those things and recycling the bulk of your ‘green waste’ on site is the most sustainable option of all.

Now, where was I? Oh, yes what to do with the fruit and vegetable scraps and left-overs. I figured there is more than one answer to that question and really it depends on who you are and where you live and what kind of lifestyle you have. Having said all of that though, there are lots of different things you can do. Most of them are really simple and anyone – even the kids – can do it. Lets begin with a simple commercial worm farm you can get from any hardware store or maybe even your garden centre.

I did a bit of research and came across a lot of information on this topic and so I thought I’d begin with this great video from the UK, includes Dad and his three sons putting a commercial worm farm into their very small garden. So if this option looks like it would suit your lifestyle go get yourself a worm farm. There are many other worm farm options available but this is a great one to get you started. Happy Composting.