Tomato planting part 2

OK, so the first attempt at getting the tomatoes going has failed. I had to take a trip to Indiana and the temperature got cold. I'm not sure if I overwattered them or if the cold got to them. Anyway, all but one died. The one that survived was one of 2 that I planted on top of the litter box. 6 of 8 of the green peppers survived.

One of my neighbors has a hobby farm as well and he knows what he is doing. I volunteered to help him out to learn a thing or two. I layed out some hay on his new tomato plants to work as mulch. He must have planted about 50 plants. We also planted 2 jalapeno plants. He said that he only needed 2. We also planted a few rows of lina beans. We used his great grandather's wheel plow to dig a little trench, drop the beans and then covered up the trench.

After helping him out, he gave me a couple of tomato plants and I planted another upside down plant with another on top. We shall see how they live.

I also mowed the lawn today and trimmed the hedges. Lots of work done today. Next time, I need to wear a hat. Got some a little sunburn.

Have a green day!

Auctions

When my wife and I bought our McMansion, we had to buy stuff to fill it. I know, accumulating things is very anti-green. So, we decided to do it in a green way. Buy recycled. But in this case, not just buy recycled items, but recycled at a lower cost than you would think. One can go to ebay, craiglist.org or Goodwill, but we discovered auctions.

If you have never been to an auction, you ought to go just to watch. You might want to register in case you want to buy something. But just watch for the first hour or so. If something gets sold in the first hour that you absolutely fall in love with, just let it go. You will find another one in the next hour, or at the next auction.

The auctioneer will ask for bids first at a very high price. Just wait until he drops it until someone else starts bidding. Then jump in and go. But don't let your emotions get to you. If you do, you may bid more than it is worth. Remember, that there is another piece of furniture or antique just like it later on.

Remember that there is usually a buyer's premium plus sales tax. You may end up paying 20% more than what you bid for. Just ask before you start budding. Also, keep in mind that what you buy is sold as is where is. You have to load it up on your car or truck and take it home.

So, in the last year or two, we have purchased furniture, carpets, glassware, antiques, and many other kinds of eclectic things. Most items are recycled from someone else. Recently we found an auction that has food, toilet paper and salvaged merchandise. It is kind of like going to Costco or Sams, only cheaper.

It is fast, entertaining, and you get to buy stuff for a huge discount. And, because you are often buying used items, consider it green. So, at the end of the day, you save money and it is entertaining as well. But be careful, it is very addictive. Be careful not to spend too much.

Go to http://www.auctionzip.com/ to find the auctions near you.

Have a green day!!

Slamming the cardboard!

It is Tuesday, so I put the trash out along with my recycling. They do a single stream recycling here so it is very easy to toss it all into one pile.

We went to an auction this week, so we had a lot of boxes to get rid of. The recyclers take cardboard as well. So, I had a large pile of boxes set out on the curb.

A few minutes later, a neighbor's kid knocked on the door and asked if he could jump into the pile of boxes. He said he would clean up the mess afterwards. We said OK and watched him as he dived onto the pile of boxes. We thought it was great.

The kid was a young skateboarder. So is my stepson. When my stepson was in his teens, he and his friends slammed themselves into the basement wall until they busted through the wall and outside. My wife repaired the large hole in the basement wall by putting a door in it.

I think slamming the cardboard is much better than slamming into a wall and causing a lot of homeowner damage, but boys need some kind of outlet.

Makes me think of a cardboard playground for these boys to knock themselves out in. Hmmm.... a recyclable playground....

Have a green day!

Green Shaving

Here is a little way to save some money on shaving. I have given up on shave cream. Instead, I take my little soap chips from the shower and put them in a large coffee mug which sits at the sink.

In the morning, I add a little water to the mug and stir it up with my boar hair brush, slather the mixture on my face and shave away. Now, if you are a wuss and need it to be thicker, try adding a little cocoa butter to the mix to give it a little thickness.

When I get more soap chips, I add it to the mix. This mix has been sitting on my sink for more than a year and I have never run out. Saves money and the environment on those cans of shave cream.

Now, I will say that an old man told me years ago that the best brush you can find is one with badger hair. But they don't make them anymore. Maybe they are endangered? If you find a badger hair brush, hold on to it. Until then, you can find a boar hair brush in your local drug store.

Now, I am tired of paying high prices for the blades on my mach 3 razor, such I went on Amazon and found a German Merkur safety razor and blades. I've heard great reviews and plan on giving it a try when it comes in.

Have a green day!!
Dave

Tomato planting part 1

OK, so I have seen all of those new upside down tomato planters. I saw them selling for $10 a peice at home depot the other day. However, I wanted to make my own.

I have 6 cats (long story), who use a lot of litter. I wanted to reuse the litter buckets that I get by the pallet load it seems. Yes, I can recycle these buckets, but I wanted to try to use them out for planting upside down tomatoes.

I found a sunny spot in my 1/3 acre property in the backyard by the retaining wall. I drilled 3 holes side by side at at angle on the retaining wall. Then, I insterted 3 garden hooks (which we used at our wedding to hold morrocan lantersns) into the holes. Then, I put the hooks through the holes and let them hang. Drilled a hole through the bottom and then hung the bucket on the three hooks. I hope it will hold.

OK, so I hung 6 buckets like this and then let my wife look at it. She took a look at these white and yellow buckets and said they were terribly ugly. She said that they were an eyesore. She suggested that I paint them to match the color of the retaining wall.

Well, that means that I need to use paint. Paint made for plastic. No low VOCs here. So I got 4 cans of tan plastic paint to paint the buckets. Haven't painted them yet, but they are in the garage now waiting for me.

Julie and I went to Home Depot on Sunday. I bought some tomatoes and Green peppers. Tomatoes go on the bottom bucket (upside down). The peppers go on top of the bucket. I have never done this before, so we shall see how it goes.

My wife bought some flowers to plant as well. Got some weed and feed for the yard and potting soil for the flowers and tomatoes. If anyone has any suggestions for an organic weed and feed, let me know.

The home deport said to wait until after Tuesday because a cold snap is coming. So we have not planted it yet. The plants are in our dining room right now awaiting for the weather to get a but warmer.

Maybe by this weekend we will put them in the dirt.