Really? You don't say.

I've seen them online at a lot of places, but they're all over $100 each. If I couldn't get one from Terracycle.net, I was going to try Gardeners.com.

There are a bunch of tutorials online of creating your own from wine barrels, pickle barrels, even soap barrels from car washes.

The ones sold online have a fine mesh screen to prevent mosquitos and there are also tablets to drop in the water, just to be sure. Also, the barrels are supposed to be elevated on bricks or cinderblocks so that the water will travel down. Not to mention, the higher it is, the less chance a child will be able to climb up.
 
Ya know, how does one waste water? Does it vanish or is it returned to it's natural state (seperate hydrogen & oxygen molecules).

Yes, the fools from the east that came west & brought thier thirsty fauna should be bitchslapped. It is a desert after all. However, water does not just disappear because of a few gazillion flushed toilets or Grannies mulberry. It just is a litle harder to find.

That said, a hardcore drought may be a good thing. I'd like to move back home but the thought of 3 million people in my desert makes me nervous.
 
greenfreak said:
Blast me if you wish but I've jumped on the reduce/reuse/recycle bandwagon.
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No blasting here. But in the interest of free information, I submit that not every locale takes it too seriously. When we moved into the house, we had the requisite 291 cardboard boxes to dispose of. I dutifully broke them down, took them to the "convenience center", and sought out the recycle bin for cardboard. As I proceeded to deposit them, the old geezer what "works" there came up and said (paraphrase and translated into English from redneck) "Son, you're wastin your time with that. When they pick that bin up, it goes to the same heap the rest of this shit goes to. They don't even sort it. Only reason we got that thing here is, having it got the county a grant."
 
greenfreak said:
Blast me if you wish but I've jumped on the reduce/reuse/recycle bandwagon. I've got a passion for figuring out smarter and cheaper ways to do things.

I think the best way to go with these things is to exploit methods that are better for Mother Nature AND that save people money. Isn't it then a no brainer? If I'm gonna reduce my electric bill, water bill, gas consumption... Why the heck wouldn't I?

(For those who don't know, the green in greenfreak came from the color. Then the gardening. And now the environmental concerns I have.)

I plan on getting myself at least one of these, if not two this summer:

rain_barrel.jpg



This is a rain barrel that had a previous life as a wine barrel. This:



Is why I want to do it. Obviously, this stuff is not meant to be ingested. But for a gardener like me, the benefits are threefold. I have non-chlorinated water, a supply at the ready for soaker hoses, sprinklers, etc., and I can save some dough.

I know it's not a be-all end-all solution. But it's a start for me. When I see these monstrous showers with 5 showerheads (made specifically to thwart the government mandating the 2.5 gallon per minute showerheads) it pisses me off some. No one needs that much water, it's just stupid and wasteful.

As far as I'm concerned, it's never a bad idea to respect the planet we live on. Whether you believe in Gore, global warming, and all that or not. Maybe by it becoming "cool" to be green, those people will make enough of a difference to compensate for the ones who just don't give a shit. Maybe.
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I used to pipe condensation from my AC unit to my flower bed in AZ. Of course, you get a lot more condensation here or in NY but until last year it wasn't really an issue, I never had to water anything. I've always been concerned with the environment, I don't think that you should put it ahead of the concerns fof the people though. I used to be quite active in the environmental movement until it stopped being about the environment.

Gonz said:
Ya know, how does one waste water? Does it vanish or is it returned to it's natural state (seperate hydrogen & oxygen molecules).

Yes, the fools from the east that came west & brought thier thirsty fauna should be bitchslapped. It is a desert after all. However, water does not just disappear because of a few gazillion flushed toilets or Grannies mulberry. It just is a litle harder to find.

That said, a hardcore drought may be a good thing. I'd like to move back home but the thought of 3 million people in my desert makes me nervous.
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Psst, flora.

Hey, it's all good until 2021. ;) The comet's gonna kill us all by 2023 anyway. :tardbang:
 
If you're gonna have a rain barrel, look up larvacide. That's how you stop mosquitos. Alternatively, a cup of bleach weekly works. That said, check your local codes before buying one, as many municipalities have banned them.
 
SouthernN'Proud said:
No blasting here. But in the interest of free information, I submit that not every locale takes it too seriously. When we moved into the house, we had the requisite 291 cardboard boxes to dispose of. I dutifully broke them down, took them to the "convenience center", and sought out the recycle bin for cardboard. As I proceeded to deposit them, the old geezer what "works" there came up and said (paraphrase and translated into English from redneck) "Son, you're wastin your time with that. When they pick that bin up, it goes to the same heap the rest of this shit goes to. They don't even sort it. Only reason we got that thing here is, having it got the county a grant."
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Hrm. Now you're making me want to take a tour of my recycling plant. I've been there already to pick up my new containers for paper and plastic. And I've seen the seperated piles and mounds. I just haven't seen what happens to it after that.

I suppose it's quite possible they're not doing anything useful with it. You would think a town that works as hard as mine does would be responsible. Check this out:

Despite its reputation as a fiscally conservative town, Smithtown embraced environmental programs and put significant money into the purchase of alternate-fuel vehicles, wind-generated energy and its newest initiative: solar panels to heat and light the main recycling plant. On Jan. 1 2007, Smithtown became one of the few municipalities in the nation - and the only one in the state - whose contracts with garbage companies require use of compressed natural gas (CNG) trucks alone.
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It's actually illegal to throw out cardboard, you can be fined for it. They won't pick up grass clippings because they're supposed to be left on the lawn, and they give out free mulch to residents from the town. The mulch comes from the landscaping companies that drop off wood chips.

The only thing about the wood chips/mulch is that it's untreated. It comes from what people put out to the curb so it could be diseased. I'm going to have to think about that one before I partake.

I just called them and they do give tours. I'm thinking I should schedule one and go down there with my camera. We have a few local papers that might be interested in an article or photos.
 
We have free mulch from the county here too. Waste Management Corp. handles our recycling etc.
 
chcr said:
I've always been concerned with the environment, I don't think that you should put it ahead of the concerns fof the people though. I used to be quite active in the environmental movement until it stopped being about the environment.
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When you say put ahead of the people, do you mean the soccer mom's need to drive humongous gas guzzling SUV's for no good reason? :D Or that a lot of people think you should spend much more of your hard earned money than normal in the name of the environment? Or something else?

I don't blindly follow what Gore says or anyone else that's entirely pro-environment. But I don't cynically discount everything either. There was a proposal for a wind farm off the coast where I used to live, and I was excited about it. Until I found out that FPL's original bid was doubled over the years. The NIMBY's got involved and the deal is dead now. But the interest was there at least, and if they find a cheaper and safer way to do it, it may actually work around here. But not until it makes fiscal sense.

Something I've been struggling with the past few years was my tendency to have an all-or-nothing attitude. It's much safer to think in black and white terms instead of considering shades of grey. Truth be told, I came back here recently to test myself. To test the changes I'm trying to make in my attitude and the way I react to other people. One of those tests is to put down a grudge. And thus, my return to OTC and it's people. :D

What I'm saying is that there's ways of being active without buying into the BS of others. Everything I've talked about so far benefits me directly. What more can you ask? It has to start somewhere. Why not have it start with saving me cash?
 
chcr said:
We have free mulch from the county here too. Waste Management Corp. handles our recycling etc.
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Lord knows I threw my back out more than once loadin that free mulch too.

We got a bunch of it when we built the house in Murfrees-Shelby-boro-ville to put around new trees and in flower beds. Just scooped it out of the truck bed and let it alone. Following spring, we noticed a strange growth coming up. Since neither of us recognized it, and given that we had planted several thigs we'd never planted before, we decided to leave it be.

Fast forward a few months. Underneath our bedroom window, perfectly centered, is a stunningly beautiful Nicodemus bush. Attracted hummingbirds galore in the evening. Absolutely beautiful, and we couldn't have put it in a better spot. Dozens of passers-by stopped and asked for cuttings. I've tried for eight years to purchase another and can't find 'em anywhere.

So I don't really bitch about the mulch being non-treated...
 
SouthernN'Proud said:
Nicodemus bush.
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You mean this? http://www.simplybeautifulgardens.com/plant_info.aspx?phid=049800001011255

I had never heard of it before either. I love variegated foliage. Now that I have part/full shade, I'm going to try to grow something I've been admiring for years:

http://www.sloatgardens.com/images/Hakonechloamacra_000.JPG

That's Japanese Forest Grass.

Anyway, I see your point - getting a freebie you like is great. But it could work against me too, I could get weed seeds or pine disease from it. I could always compost it too but wood chips take a while to break down.

I'm going to do it anyway, this first year I won't be growing too much new stuff. I have to correct existing problems first!
 
greenfreak said:
You mean this? http://www.simplybeautifulgardens.com/plant_info.aspx?phid=049800001011255
Click to expand...

I don't think so. It's a night blooming bush, the blooms emerge around dusk, they are white and quite fragrant, bell-shaped, then by morning they drop off. It is called a Nicodemus bush becausae it blooms at night, and Nicodemus came to Jesus at night. It has a proper name but I have no idea what it is. I remember it dropped what I assume were seed pods, they were brownish, fuzzy, looked prickly but weren't all that much, about the size of a hazelnut or a little bigger.
 
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