Sunday, July 28, 2013

dandelion root














Dandelion (taraxum officinale), historically speaking, had medicinal use as treatment for diseases of the liver, spleen, and kidneys. Fast forward into contemporary times, medical research could not find any dandelion root benefits to treat any such disease. Could it be that the ancients were wrong about the dandelion root? Some believe that old wisdom still has its merit as we present reasons why dandelion can still provide huge health benefits.

read more at
 http://www.bestherbalremedies.org/dandelion-root/dandelion-root-benefits-six-reasons-why-your-body-will-love-it.html

This is just a reminder that sometimes even a weed can be beneficial. So when thinking about your rosemary, oregano and basil you can take a look at dandelions for a benefit to your health.

Friday, July 19, 2013

Drip Watering System For Garden

I saw a YouTube on a watering system today. Turned out to be an add for a drip line to hook up to a water bottle. Cleaver.....
Any ways, I thought I would repost what I am using to water the garden.






If you don't have an ice pick handy, you can always use a bottle with a screw on lid. Fill the bottle and after turning it upside down in your planter, unscrew the lid slightly until it is dripping the amount you would like.

I have other garden video's on YouTube search kathy hunt. Please like and subscribe, thank you for watching.


Live Life Love Life

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

5 ways to use pee in the garden

 

Five ways to Use Pee In Your Garden

Pee. Yes, you read that correctly, pee. If you can manage to get past the ewww factor, urine is full of nutrients, making it an excellent fertilizer amongst other things.
The best part is it’s free, environmentally friendly and available on tap (kind of).

5 Ways To Use Pee In The Garden

Okay, I’ve convinced you! You are ready to drop trou’ and add your liquid gold deposit to your garden. But how do you pee in the garden in the most effective way (and without getting arrested for indecent exposure in the process!)?
1. Compost Accelerator
Is your compost pile cold? A little long on carbon and low on nitrogen? Pee, poured or – ahem – directly deposited – on the pile can start to speed things up and add moisture. If you are nervous about using urine directly on your plants, incorporating urine into a compost pile is the way to go.
2. Dilution is The Solution
Dilute fresh urine at a 4:1 ratio and apply to the root-zone of corn every two weeks or as needed. (Some people say corn, being a grass, can handle fertilization with straight urine. Proceed with caution.)
Dilute fresh urine at a 10:1 ratio and apply to the root-zone of fruiting plants like tomatoes, peppers and eggplant, or to leafy crops like cabbage, broccoli, spinach and lettuce every two weeks or as needed.
Dilute fresh urine at a 20:1 ratio and water in to the root zone of seedlings and new transplants.
3. The Straw Bale Sprinkle
When Straw Bales are used for gardening, they must be “conditioned” or partially broken down / composted before use. This is accomplished with the addition of a very high nitrogen fertilizer. Guess which free, Bud Lite-hued high-nitrogen fertilizer I’d recommend?
4. Deep Mulch Direct Application
If you thickly mulch your woody perennials, cane fruit and fruit trees with a high-carbon material like leaves or woodchips, you can apply your urine straight onto the mulch, which will absorb and moderate the straight shot of nitrogen in your pee.
5. That Asparagus Smell!
If asparagus makes your pee smell funny, take revenge and pee on your asparagus! Nutrient hungry, deep rooted, perennial and salt-tolerant, asparagus might be the ideal crop to fertilize with pee. If you grow your asparagus under a thick layer of carbonaceous mulch, like straw or wood chips, use the Direct Mulch Direct Application technique, otherwise dilute 2:1 if your asparagus is in the sandy soil it prefers, or 4:1 in heavier soil. Apply throughout the growing season, along with a good source of potassium, like bone meal, in the early spring.

I did a pee solution in my watering barrel for the garden. the boy's would pee around the edge of the garden and property to deter deer and other animals from coming into the garden. Now that I am no longer up in the mountains I haven't thought about this much.

Chicken's are also a great source of fertilizer for the garden. Mix the chicken poop in a barrel of water for the garden. We kept it covered other wise it was smelly.

Remember to water at the root so as not to get containment on the plant.  If you know what I mean...


Thanks to Tina, for bringing this to my attention again.

Live Life Love Life.

Monday, July 15, 2013

Bloom Energy The progress of the not so new energy source





Bloom Energy Box

Bloom Energy Server




From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from Bloom Box)
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This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. You can assist by editing it. (August 2012)
The Bloom Energy Server (commonly referred to as the Bloom Box) is a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) made by Bloom Energy, of Sunnyvale, California, that can use a wide variety of inputs (including liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons[1] produced from bio sources) to generate electricity on the site where it will be used.[2][3] This type of fuel cell can withstand temperatures of up to 1,800 °F (980 °C), which would cause many other types of fuel cells to break down or need maintenance, and is highly advantageous for its smooth operation.[4] According to the company, a single cell (one 100 mm × 100 mm metal alloy plate between two ceramic layers) generates 25 watts.[5]
Bloom stated that two hundred servers have been deployed in California for a number of corporations like eBay, Google, Wal-Mart and many more.[6]


BIO E® World: 12 foods you should definitely buy organic

BIO E® World: 12 foods you should definitely buy organic

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

photo review of my time off grid

Questions about solar panels and grid ties, has got me back to reviewing my life off grid. Being self sufficient means different things to different people. What one person may hope to achieve living in a country side setting, may not be the same as a city person. Remember every little bit adds up. It may take a 100 pennies to make 1 dollar but if you didn't save that first penny you couldn't make it to that dollar. OK pennies and dollars may be an out dated saying but it does make it's point. It is the same as moving forward has to take that first step.

Please share any questions or ideas. I am always inspired by what others come up with.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Grid tie and your solar power

 I love getting questions about self sufficient living. Weather it be about gardening, off grid, or energy storage. To tell you the truth i don't know every thing there is to know, but am happy to share and gather information.

Depending on where you live and what your plans are for energy saving, there will be a different answer for each of us. Living in a city or large community areas can be inconvenient and costly.   This is just my opinion not a factual statement. My experience has been on a peace of property that had no power service. As we worked on the property it was a plan to turn power on. While camping and building we found we could live just fine without being tied to the system. During storms when other people on the mountain had no phone or power, we where still up and running. When living in an area where a storm can take power out for hours to days at a time, it was very convenient to be self sufficient.

Some photo's of my living off grid.

A Spider in the garden shows how you can grow organic in harmony with nature. 

 
A little garden

Wood camping stove. I turned it with the opening for firewood up. This made it more efficient for cooking. We where able to put a Wak on it and have a wonderful stir fry out side without a hug mess.


Solar panel on hill side to the right.

This little garage became our studio apartment. The house that was on the property was so far gone there was no rehabbing it. Power had been shut off for 12 years and what it would have taken to upgrade to get it turned back on was not worth it. The plan was to build up the garage into a studio and pay off the property. Future plans to build a home and the hook up to PG&E. After seeing how well we did in the studio and saving power plans changed to become more self sufficient and finding ways to build and not hook up to the system. Although at times having PG&E would have been easier. 

Put together all of my research for web sites and references on info for self sufficient living.

 Additional informative sites about Grid Tie.

Check out Mother nature news for off-Grid vs. Grid-Tied
http://www.motherearthnews.com/green-homes/off-grid-grid-tied-zbcz1305.aspx#axzz2YYvpXlIs

 I found this insightful site title "Reality check: When the power grid goes down, all grid tie system will go down to.
http://www.naturalnews.com/036194_solar_system_grid-tie_power_grid.html