by Michael Smith
Despite many claims made to the contrary by what one could called “standard mainstream medicine” and their representatives, especially and including the pharmaceutical industry, as regards to herbal medicines, a recent study by German scientists has found that St John's Wort (Hypericum) may be as good as an anti-depressant as Prozac.
According to this study the herbal extract is as effective as the drug and has fewer side effects. As far as my own experiences go with herbal medicines there are very few, if any, what could be called side effects, whatever claims to the contrary are being made by the ordinary practitioners mainstream medicine and especially the pharmaceutical industry.
German researchers found that St John's Wort is also a match for other old and new anti-depressant pills.
While, I am sure, we can all understand the reasons for the pharmaceutical industry poohpoohing herbal and other alternative medicine why this is being done by the general practitioners in countries such as the UK and the USA is something that should give food for thought. In other countries, such as in the Netherlands, it is common for a GP to prescribe homeopathic and herbal alongside the conventional treatments.
There is but one problem, however, and that is the fact that products containing Hypericum perforatum vary greatly. This means that some may be more effective than others. Is that a good reason, though, to take the standard drugs and to be faced with the side effects, such as those of Prozac that seem to be rather dangerous? Personally, I think not.
Many of the readers, I am sure, will not surprised as to the fact that Hypericum has been “cleared”, so to speak, and has even, to some degree, elevated above the drugs, like Prozac.
So, let's her it for plant extracts and herbal medicines...
© M Smith (Veshengro), October 2008
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East Tennesseeans switching to firewood to save money
In order to save money this winter, some residents of East Tennessee are switching to firewood for their heating
by Michael Smith
One resident of the State who decided last year to switch solely to firewood instead of using propane gas to heat his home says that it cost him about $350 for the wood to warm his three-bedroom, two-bath house and with energy prices even higher this year, it is something he certainly will continue. He reckons that with the rate then it has saved him $600 and with the ever increasing prices it will be even more so. Others are looking into the old-world energy source as well.
Aside from the fact that it is, more than likely and especially if one has access to a cheap source of wood, a cheaper way to heat a home (and whatever else) than using gas or oil and even coal, it is also much more environmentally friendly. Burning wood is, basically, carbon neutral for the only carbon released is that that the wood used in order to grow and mature.
Many, like the Tennessee resident mentioned, in that State and elsewhere, and not in the USA alone, made and are making the switch to heating and even cooking with wood because of the
skyrocketing prices for gas and other sources of heat and cooking source.
Having said before that the saving that was made by this particular resident was $600 and that with the increasing costs of gas and oil it may be even more in the future we can, though, of that I am sure, be certain that the price of firewood is going to go us as well as demand increases.
Soaring energy costs and threatened scarcity of some fuels like home heating oil this year have led more homeowners to seek alternative sources for heat, and as a result, both seasoned firewood and some supplies of wood-burning stoves are expected to be in short supply.
The demand for wood-and-pellet burning stoves has caused local sales to increase this year, and already firewood sales have taken off about a month early.
The owner of Ben's Firewood in Knoxville said that while they normally start the winter season around October this year it has already started. People are apparently so worried that things are going to get worse, so they are lining up before it gets too bad.
The push for alternative home heat has largely been driven by the Northeast, where the price of heating oil, still the primary method for home heating, has soared. The average household is projected to spend more than $2,500 this winter, according to the Energy Information Administration, a 30 percent increase from last year. And even with crude oil prices - which factor largely into the price of heating oil - falling to a six-month low recently, the price of heating oil was still just under $3 a gallon, its lowest price since early March. Prices once were projected to hit as high as $4 a gallon.
The Knoxville wood- and coal-burning cook stove company already is backlogged on its most popular item, the Torridaire coal heater, a stove that requires no electricity. Stove sales are typically higher after natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, and when economic times are a little rough.
Sales also are up for many firewood dealers - business is up 40 percent in many cases - and the true firewood season has not even begun yet.
But the seasoned wood, or wood that has been dried naturally for about eight or nine months, is quickly becoming in short supply, since it has to be cut around March in order to be ready for winter months.
Kiln wood, or wood that is accelerated through the drying process by sitting four or five days in a 190-degree oven, also is limited based on how much that kiln can produce.
There are, on the other hand, woods that can also be burned green and some burn better and hotter green than seasoned and those are beech and birch. Where they are in ample supply things should not be too bad.
A full cord of seasoned wood will replace about 300 gallons of diesel fuel for heating a home while green wood would only replace about 225 gallons. The difference is water content - the more water that's in the wood, the more water you have to burn off before you get any heat. But even burning green wood is still cheaper than any other energy source.
The most important part in all of this is, however, and this must be observed, that the wood comes from well managed and renewable sources and that it is replanted.
In the UK, if would go back to firewood, and in many places we certainly could and even should, nay, let me rephrase that, must, the coppice woodlands could, once again, come into their own and new ones can and must be planted.
Coppicing, I am certain, could also be done in other countries and environments, such as in the United States.
Wood shortages will, no doubt, occur, especially in the places where it is more used such as in the rural areas of the USA and elsewhere, especially shortages of seasoned wood. Another source of firewood that should not and must not be overlooked for those that need to watch pennies is waste lumber from building sites. The only worrying aspect here could be the release of certain chemicals that were used in the wood, as some building lumber, even if only used for shoring up, is treated.
There is a lot to consider when deciding to switch to alternative heating, such as buying a wood- or coal-burning stove, but many of them do burn more efficiently and cleanly than they did in the 1980s. While there will be more cost up front for a stove, most mid- to lower-level priced stoves should pay for themselves in about two or two and a half years.
As for firewood, it is recommended buyers check references of dealers and be sure to have their chimneys swept at least once a year.
If you have got any amount of land or access to land, and a chain saw, you have basically an inexpensive fuel. A lot less expensive than fuel or gas or electricity.
© M Smith (Veshengro), September 2008
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by Michael Smith
One resident of the State who decided last year to switch solely to firewood instead of using propane gas to heat his home says that it cost him about $350 for the wood to warm his three-bedroom, two-bath house and with energy prices even higher this year, it is something he certainly will continue. He reckons that with the rate then it has saved him $600 and with the ever increasing prices it will be even more so. Others are looking into the old-world energy source as well.
Aside from the fact that it is, more than likely and especially if one has access to a cheap source of wood, a cheaper way to heat a home (and whatever else) than using gas or oil and even coal, it is also much more environmentally friendly. Burning wood is, basically, carbon neutral for the only carbon released is that that the wood used in order to grow and mature.
Many, like the Tennessee resident mentioned, in that State and elsewhere, and not in the USA alone, made and are making the switch to heating and even cooking with wood because of the
skyrocketing prices for gas and other sources of heat and cooking source.
Having said before that the saving that was made by this particular resident was $600 and that with the increasing costs of gas and oil it may be even more in the future we can, though, of that I am sure, be certain that the price of firewood is going to go us as well as demand increases.
Soaring energy costs and threatened scarcity of some fuels like home heating oil this year have led more homeowners to seek alternative sources for heat, and as a result, both seasoned firewood and some supplies of wood-burning stoves are expected to be in short supply.
The demand for wood-and-pellet burning stoves has caused local sales to increase this year, and already firewood sales have taken off about a month early.
The owner of Ben's Firewood in Knoxville said that while they normally start the winter season around October this year it has already started. People are apparently so worried that things are going to get worse, so they are lining up before it gets too bad.
The push for alternative home heat has largely been driven by the Northeast, where the price of heating oil, still the primary method for home heating, has soared. The average household is projected to spend more than $2,500 this winter, according to the Energy Information Administration, a 30 percent increase from last year. And even with crude oil prices - which factor largely into the price of heating oil - falling to a six-month low recently, the price of heating oil was still just under $3 a gallon, its lowest price since early March. Prices once were projected to hit as high as $4 a gallon.
The Knoxville wood- and coal-burning cook stove company already is backlogged on its most popular item, the Torridaire coal heater, a stove that requires no electricity. Stove sales are typically higher after natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, and when economic times are a little rough.
Sales also are up for many firewood dealers - business is up 40 percent in many cases - and the true firewood season has not even begun yet.
But the seasoned wood, or wood that has been dried naturally for about eight or nine months, is quickly becoming in short supply, since it has to be cut around March in order to be ready for winter months.
Kiln wood, or wood that is accelerated through the drying process by sitting four or five days in a 190-degree oven, also is limited based on how much that kiln can produce.
There are, on the other hand, woods that can also be burned green and some burn better and hotter green than seasoned and those are beech and birch. Where they are in ample supply things should not be too bad.
A full cord of seasoned wood will replace about 300 gallons of diesel fuel for heating a home while green wood would only replace about 225 gallons. The difference is water content - the more water that's in the wood, the more water you have to burn off before you get any heat. But even burning green wood is still cheaper than any other energy source.
The most important part in all of this is, however, and this must be observed, that the wood comes from well managed and renewable sources and that it is replanted.
In the UK, if would go back to firewood, and in many places we certainly could and even should, nay, let me rephrase that, must, the coppice woodlands could, once again, come into their own and new ones can and must be planted.
Coppicing, I am certain, could also be done in other countries and environments, such as in the United States.
Wood shortages will, no doubt, occur, especially in the places where it is more used such as in the rural areas of the USA and elsewhere, especially shortages of seasoned wood. Another source of firewood that should not and must not be overlooked for those that need to watch pennies is waste lumber from building sites. The only worrying aspect here could be the release of certain chemicals that were used in the wood, as some building lumber, even if only used for shoring up, is treated.
There is a lot to consider when deciding to switch to alternative heating, such as buying a wood- or coal-burning stove, but many of them do burn more efficiently and cleanly than they did in the 1980s. While there will be more cost up front for a stove, most mid- to lower-level priced stoves should pay for themselves in about two or two and a half years.
As for firewood, it is recommended buyers check references of dealers and be sure to have their chimneys swept at least once a year.
If you have got any amount of land or access to land, and a chain saw, you have basically an inexpensive fuel. A lot less expensive than fuel or gas or electricity.
© M Smith (Veshengro), September 2008
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The Romani People's Mokadi Law is right after all – proven yet again
by Michael Smith
Many Gohja believe that if some piece of food falls onto the floor and has been there for five seconds or less – the so-called “five second rule” - it can still be eaten and is entirely safe. They also believe that the Romani Mokadi code's rule of throwing away food that has fallen on the floor and not eating it is superstition and such.
However, yet again, much as with the case of not having dogs and cats indoors, science has proven that our Ancient Ones were right in the first place. There is no safe time with food falling on the ground.
It is probably not safe to eat anything that has been on the floor for even one second. In a recent experiment, food scientists contaminated several surfaces with Salmonella. They then dropped pieces of bologna and slices of bread on the floor for as little as five seconds and as long as a whole minute. In the five seconds, both the bread and the bologna picked up an alarming 1,800 types of bacteria. So unless sterilize someone's floor is sterilized and I mean sterilized on an hourly basis it is not safe in any way to eat anything that has fallen onto the floor. The same applies for anything that your shoes may have touched, too.
So, once again proof that the Mokadi Code given to us by our Ancient Onces is as valid today as it was in the days of yore. Hence, once again, we should live by it still and continue to do so.
What is the most amazing part, in my view, is that our Old Ones knew this without having the science to prove it. We do have, I know, all the means of sterilizing cutlery and such like so they do not, maybe, have to be thrown after having accidentally fallen onto the floor or the earth. Food, however, is a different kettle of fish, so to speak, and this does not just apply to fish, and with the food poisoning bacteria it can pick us to quickly by falling on the ground it just is not safe to eat anything that has thus fallen and come in possible contact with contamination.
We can now but wonder how much else is in that ancient knowledge transmitted to us via the old codes, such as the Mokadi Law, which science will, sooner or later, prove to be right and valid still to this very day. Very good reason, methinks, to keep living by it.
© M Smith (Veshengro), September 2008
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Many Gohja believe that if some piece of food falls onto the floor and has been there for five seconds or less – the so-called “five second rule” - it can still be eaten and is entirely safe. They also believe that the Romani Mokadi code's rule of throwing away food that has fallen on the floor and not eating it is superstition and such.
However, yet again, much as with the case of not having dogs and cats indoors, science has proven that our Ancient Ones were right in the first place. There is no safe time with food falling on the ground.
It is probably not safe to eat anything that has been on the floor for even one second. In a recent experiment, food scientists contaminated several surfaces with Salmonella. They then dropped pieces of bologna and slices of bread on the floor for as little as five seconds and as long as a whole minute. In the five seconds, both the bread and the bologna picked up an alarming 1,800 types of bacteria. So unless sterilize someone's floor is sterilized and I mean sterilized on an hourly basis it is not safe in any way to eat anything that has fallen onto the floor. The same applies for anything that your shoes may have touched, too.
So, once again proof that the Mokadi Code given to us by our Ancient Onces is as valid today as it was in the days of yore. Hence, once again, we should live by it still and continue to do so.
What is the most amazing part, in my view, is that our Old Ones knew this without having the science to prove it. We do have, I know, all the means of sterilizing cutlery and such like so they do not, maybe, have to be thrown after having accidentally fallen onto the floor or the earth. Food, however, is a different kettle of fish, so to speak, and this does not just apply to fish, and with the food poisoning bacteria it can pick us to quickly by falling on the ground it just is not safe to eat anything that has thus fallen and come in possible contact with contamination.
We can now but wonder how much else is in that ancient knowledge transmitted to us via the old codes, such as the Mokadi Law, which science will, sooner or later, prove to be right and valid still to this very day. Very good reason, methinks, to keep living by it.
© M Smith (Veshengro), September 2008
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Plant Minder - Product Review
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Clay Pot Irrigation, also known as olla irrigation, is used in many regions of the world including Asia and Latin America, and only more recently in the US in places like New Mexico.
Clay pot irrigation is an effective and low cost and minimum effort method of watering plants, whether in containers of in beds, and the technique is simple as well.
In principle all you do is to take an unglazed clay vessel and bury it in the ground up to the rim. Pour water into the pot and let osmosis do its thing. OK, maybe it is not that simple, but that is how it, basically, works.
There are a few factors to take into account such as the porosity of the clay pot or olla and the surrounding soil as well. The porosity of the vessel depends on the type of clay used, but unless you specifically purchase an olla or make your own clay pots, this factor might be out of your hands. In other words, it may probably not be advisable to use any old unglazed clay pot. In addition, the soil should ideally be well drained. Add compost or organic matter, or sand if needed. Ensure that it is enough to allow water to percolate from the clay pot to the soil and then to the plant root zones.
If you are planning on irrigating a vegetable garden, place each clay pot or olla about 3 feet apart and plant your crops around each olla. Fill the olla with water every week or so, depending on rainfall.
With the Plant Minder from Feed N Leave Ltd. in the UK, on the other hand, you don't have to worry as to whether you top up the container often enough. Checking whether there is still water in the green (blue in the diagram) “bubble” will do the trick.
Plant Minder is the modern way of clay pot irrigation and the principle is the same but it takes it a little bit further in that you fill a green plastic “bubble” - for lack of a better word - with water, turn it upside down into the clay “pot” rather than just fill up the pot with water. This prevents evaporation and also any debris falling into the pot and the water in it. Works brilliant.
A variety of different porosities are available, including for those kind of plants that are rather thirsty, such as tomatoes.
Plant Minder are entirely UK made with the clay pots made in the old pottery areas of Staffordshire.
I have a review sample of the Plant Minder installed in a pot with a newly planted lemon balm plant and I have got it in the pot for the last month or so and, while the plant is growing extremely well, the water i still half full in the green “bubble” which means that very little water, has so far been used from the clay pot. This may also be due to the fact that we have a rather wet summer this year – yet again, much like last year – but the pot does not really get that much rain water.
All I can say is that this system is a real great idea and invention and I can but recommend it to anyone, especially those of us who garden in containers, whether fruit and vegetables or just flowers.
Depending on condition and such it is reckoned that Plant Minder only will need refilling once every six weeks. That does not mean that you do not have to check on it as to whether it may need filling. As long, however, there is water showing in the green plastic globe then you still have more that enough water in the clay pot to water the plant or plants.
Plant Minder is available from PlantMinder.com in the UK and from a variety of garden centers and other such outlets.
© M Smith (Veshengro), August 2008
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Clay pot irrigation is an effective and low cost and minimum effort method of watering plants, whether in containers of in beds, and the technique is simple as well.
In principle all you do is to take an unglazed clay vessel and bury it in the ground up to the rim. Pour water into the pot and let osmosis do its thing. OK, maybe it is not that simple, but that is how it, basically, works.
There are a few factors to take into account such as the porosity of the clay pot or olla and the surrounding soil as well. The porosity of the vessel depends on the type of clay used, but unless you specifically purchase an olla or make your own clay pots, this factor might be out of your hands. In other words, it may probably not be advisable to use any old unglazed clay pot. In addition, the soil should ideally be well drained. Add compost or organic matter, or sand if needed. Ensure that it is enough to allow water to percolate from the clay pot to the soil and then to the plant root zones.
If you are planning on irrigating a vegetable garden, place each clay pot or olla about 3 feet apart and plant your crops around each olla. Fill the olla with water every week or so, depending on rainfall.
With the Plant Minder from Feed N Leave Ltd. in the UK, on the other hand, you don't have to worry as to whether you top up the container often enough. Checking whether there is still water in the green (blue in the diagram) “bubble” will do the trick.
A variety of different porosities are available, including for those kind of plants that are rather thirsty, such as tomatoes.
Plant Minder are entirely UK made with the clay pots made in the old pottery areas of Staffordshire.
I have a review sample of the Plant Minder installed in a pot with a newly planted lemon balm plant and I have got it in the pot for the last month or so and, while the plant is growing extremely well, the water i still half full in the green “bubble” which means that very little water, has so far been used from the clay pot. This may also be due to the fact that we have a rather wet summer this year – yet again, much like last year – but the pot does not really get that much rain water.
All I can say is that this system is a real great idea and invention and I can but recommend it to anyone, especially those of us who garden in containers, whether fruit and vegetables or just flowers.
Depending on condition and such it is reckoned that Plant Minder only will need refilling once every six weeks. That does not mean that you do not have to check on it as to whether it may need filling. As long, however, there is water showing in the green plastic globe then you still have more that enough water in the clay pot to water the plant or plants.
Plant Minder is available from PlantMinder.com in the UK and from a variety of garden centers and other such outlets.
© M Smith (Veshengro), August 2008
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Legal & General offers Brits ten top security and safety tips in support of National Home Security Week
Legal & General is encouraging Brits, in support of this year’s National Home Security Week, which runs from 23rd to 29th August 2008, to ensure they check their home security and safety. This would appear to be particularly important as a previous Legal & General online survey, ‘Safe as Houses', revealed that although we’re very good at putting home security features in place we’re not so good at checking that they are still working.
Research highlighted that although more than eight in ten, 84%, have smoke alarms in their homes and that almost one in three, 30%, have installed a security alarm, worryingly over 50% admitted that they have never checked their security alarm.
Elaine Parkes, Head of technical services, at Legal & General’s general insurance business commented: “Our research showed that while many Brits have installed security and safety devices to protect their homes, many are not as vigilant as they should be in carrying out regular checks that they actually work.
So, to help prompt people to carry out these important checks we have prepared the following security tips to hopefully encourage more people to make a conscious effort to ensure their homes are safe and secure.
Top ten home security and safety tips
More details on the National Home Security Week are available at http://www.homesecurityweek.co.uk
Source: FD Consumer Dynamics
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Research highlighted that although more than eight in ten, 84%, have smoke alarms in their homes and that almost one in three, 30%, have installed a security alarm, worryingly over 50% admitted that they have never checked their security alarm.
Elaine Parkes, Head of technical services, at Legal & General’s general insurance business commented: “Our research showed that while many Brits have installed security and safety devices to protect their homes, many are not as vigilant as they should be in carrying out regular checks that they actually work.
So, to help prompt people to carry out these important checks we have prepared the following security tips to hopefully encourage more people to make a conscious effort to ensure their homes are safe and secure.
Top ten home security and safety tips
- Check your burglar alarm works or consider installing one if you don’t have one already. These should be regularly checked in accordance with the installer’s or manufacturer’s recommendations, which normally suggest annually.
- At least every month check that smoke alarms are clear of any dust and that the batteries are working.
- Check locks fitted to all accessible windows are in working order, particularly those that may not have been opened for a while.
- Make sure your shed and any other outbuildings are secure. This may mean replacing any locks that have rusted and repairing or replacing any rotten or damaged window frames.
- Check trees and shrubs for storm and wind damage so they are not likely to fall on the house and cause any damage.
- Clean out your kitchen oven extractor hood to remove any oil build up to reduce the risk of fire.
- Clean tumble dryer filters and exhaust duct and the area under the dryer to reduce risk of fire and flood.
- Check the roof for any missing tiles or cracks in roofing felt and that the guttering and* drains are undamaged and clear of any debris.
- Check brickwork for any cracks.
- Check gutters for any debris collections or animal or wasp nests.
More details on the National Home Security Week are available at http://www.homesecurityweek.co.uk
Source: FD Consumer Dynamics
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Plastic Lids from Coffee Jars
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
The lids from glass coffee jars of the instant coffee variety, such as Nescafe, and others, which more often than not are of plastic, and of a kind of plastic that, so I understand, is not easily recyclable via local authority recycling schemes, for instance, can be easily re-purposed and recycled into nice and useful little dishes for a number of different uses.
Once the paper seal, that is, invariably, found stuck, by one means or another, in the top, is removed and the lid cleaned such lids can be used for a number of tasks, from holding paper clips, rubber bands, or drawing pins on the desk, to be used as individual serving dishes for peanuts, raisins, or other small snack of this kind. They also make great “small change” trays and such like. With some lateral thinking, I am am sure, we can all come up with a lot more uses for them.
The lids from the larger glass jars are, obviously, better suited for the use as serving dishes, though all sizes, I am sure, can be recycled into some use around the home and office and even the workshop.
The jars themselves, with lids, also have their uses, as our grandfathers and grandmothers sure could tell us. I am sure that many of us will have seen grandpa's workshop with those glass jars full of nuts, bolts, screws, nails, or whatever else, or grandma's button collection in jars. Other uses of glass jars shall come to be mentioned in another little article, with and without lids. Here the main issue, is and was, the plastic lids, and this primarily because they cannot, in most cases be recycled and even if we would send our jars to recycling the lids would still end up in landfill sites. Aside from the fact that it would be a shame of them filling up those sites it would be a shame to waste them.
© M Smith (Veshengro), August 2008
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The lids from glass coffee jars of the instant coffee variety, such as Nescafe, and others, which more often than not are of plastic, and of a kind of plastic that, so I understand, is not easily recyclable via local authority recycling schemes, for instance, can be easily re-purposed and recycled into nice and useful little dishes for a number of different uses.
Once the paper seal, that is, invariably, found stuck, by one means or another, in the top, is removed and the lid cleaned such lids can be used for a number of tasks, from holding paper clips, rubber bands, or drawing pins on the desk, to be used as individual serving dishes for peanuts, raisins, or other small snack of this kind. They also make great “small change” trays and such like. With some lateral thinking, I am am sure, we can all come up with a lot more uses for them.
The lids from the larger glass jars are, obviously, better suited for the use as serving dishes, though all sizes, I am sure, can be recycled into some use around the home and office and even the workshop.
The jars themselves, with lids, also have their uses, as our grandfathers and grandmothers sure could tell us. I am sure that many of us will have seen grandpa's workshop with those glass jars full of nuts, bolts, screws, nails, or whatever else, or grandma's button collection in jars. Other uses of glass jars shall come to be mentioned in another little article, with and without lids. Here the main issue, is and was, the plastic lids, and this primarily because they cannot, in most cases be recycled and even if we would send our jars to recycling the lids would still end up in landfill sites. Aside from the fact that it would be a shame of them filling up those sites it would be a shame to waste them.
© M Smith (Veshengro), August 2008
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Homemade window glass and mirror cleaner
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Make your own glass cleaner, and get beautiful, streak-free windows for little money.
You will need only two ingredients and one further item:
The benefits of using vinegar as a glass cleaner are that it inexpensive, contains no harsh chemicals or fumes (though the smell of vinegar is not everyone's cup of tea), it effectively removes fingerprints and other window grime and it does not leave streaks.
It is generally recommended that, for safety, you do not reuse empty cleaner bottles, as the vinegar can react with the residue of the chemicals that were in that bottle previously. Ideally you should buy a new bottle for your glass cleaner. I must say here though that I just thoroughly wash such a bottle and then use water in it a couple of times before I use it for anything else. I, fir instance, have used such spray bottles for use with washing up liquid for black fly and such on beans, etc.
Also, always label the contents of your cleaner bottles, regardless of what cleaner they may contain, and always keep out of the reach of children and pets.
A special word of warning here: Many recipes for glass cleaners that can be found on the Internet contain ammonia and/or isopropyl alcohol. Those ingredients are, so it is said, poisonous when swallowed or inhaled in large quantities. Ammonia is a very nasty substance that, while it has been used in cleaners for a long time, inhaled or ingested is poisonous, as said. Not something that is very safe to have around and definitely not safe for the environment.
© M Smith (Veshengro), July 2008
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Make your own glass cleaner, and get beautiful, streak-free windows for little money.
You will need only two ingredients and one further item:
- White vinegar
- Water
- A spray bottle
The benefits of using vinegar as a glass cleaner are that it inexpensive, contains no harsh chemicals or fumes (though the smell of vinegar is not everyone's cup of tea), it effectively removes fingerprints and other window grime and it does not leave streaks.
It is generally recommended that, for safety, you do not reuse empty cleaner bottles, as the vinegar can react with the residue of the chemicals that were in that bottle previously. Ideally you should buy a new bottle for your glass cleaner. I must say here though that I just thoroughly wash such a bottle and then use water in it a couple of times before I use it for anything else. I, fir instance, have used such spray bottles for use with washing up liquid for black fly and such on beans, etc.
Also, always label the contents of your cleaner bottles, regardless of what cleaner they may contain, and always keep out of the reach of children and pets.
A special word of warning here: Many recipes for glass cleaners that can be found on the Internet contain ammonia and/or isopropyl alcohol. Those ingredients are, so it is said, poisonous when swallowed or inhaled in large quantities. Ammonia is a very nasty substance that, while it has been used in cleaners for a long time, inhaled or ingested is poisonous, as said. Not something that is very safe to have around and definitely not safe for the environment.
© M Smith (Veshengro), July 2008
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BRITONS BITE INTO BYO SANDWICHES AND “FAKEAWAYS” AS THE CREDIT CRUNCH CONTINUES
- Plastic sandwich box sales up 36% and sandwich bag sales up 25% at Sainsbury’s as DIY lunches increase in popularity
- Trend reflects increasing tendency to check and use what’s in the fridge to make financial and environmental savings
- National poll shows collapse in household expenditure on the £5.2 billion takeaway sector, with 52% of us cutting back or no longer buying them
Sales of plastic sandwich boxes at Sainsbury’s are up 36% year on year and sandwich bag sales are up 25%.
The figures are released as evidence suggests that we are turning to our fridges and store cupboards in an effort to economise and reduce unnecessary food waste, and this certainly is not a bad idea.
Alison Austin, Environmental Manager at Sainsbury’s, said: “The cost of a homemade sandwich, using ingredients from the fridge and bread from the breadbin, is substantially lower than the prices at sandwich chains. Buying the ingredients on the weekend and planning ahead or using leftovers can save a huge amount.”
It is about time that people came to realize that they are being ripped off by the sandwich chains and sandwich bars and cafes. The cost of £1.90 and more for a simple Cheese & Onion Sandwich to me is not just excessive; it is daylight robbery.
A block of Basics Full Flavor Cheddar at Sainsbury's costs about £3.00 from which I can make an awful lot of cheese sandwiches. Add to that the cost of two slices of good quality bread and a couple of slices of onion and each sandwich would be probably less than 50pence, if that.
Britons who buy their lunch each day are likely to be spending as much or more as they would if they made their own lunches for a fortnight. For less than the cost of a £2.95 sandwich and £1 fruit juice, it is possible to buy enough food to make sandwiches for two for a week, as the following table shows. If leftover ingredients are used, the price effectively falls to zero.
According to the most recent available figures from the British Sandwich Association the market for commercial sandwiches in the UK is worth nearly £5 billion, with approximately 2.7 billion sandwiches bought outside the home each year.
YouGov research for Sainsbury’s also reveals that the Friday and Saturday night call to the takeaway is becoming increasingly rare as the DIY trend extends to other eating habits as the credit crunch bites. Instead, Britons are using what they have, supplemented with bought ingredients to make “fakeaways” - homemade curry, Chinese or pizza.
More than half (52%) of those polled for Sainsbury’s said that they had reduced significantly the amount that they spend on takeaway food or stopped entirely since the beginning of the year. More than a third (37%) have cut back their expenditure and 15 percent said that they have stopped buying takeaways altogether. The most recent ONS statistics revealed that Britain spends nearly £100 million per week on takeaways.
28% said that they now routinely use leftover meat and vegetables in curries and 26% use leftover vegetables in Chinese-style stir fries. Around one in four (22%) is more likely to make good use of leftovers as a direct result of the credit crunch and 20% said that they now throw away less food.
Sales of key ‘fakeaway’ ingredients are up at Sainsbury’s this year as households try to emulate Indian, Chinese and Italian restaurant tastes for a fraction of the cost. Vindaloo curry paste sales are up 33% year on year, plain poppadums are up 47%, light coconut milk is up 14% and Peshwari naans are up 16%.
Alison Austin added: “Fakeaways are here to stay. They’re created for a fraction of the cost of traditional takeaways, you know what’s going into them and they use up food that would otherwise be chucked out and sent to landfill.”
Alison continued: “A staggering third of all the food we buy is thrown out, according to recent research, so what tastier way is there to tackle an environmental problem and save a lot of money? Leftover vegetables and meat are ideal ingredients for curries, and pizzas lend themselves to a huge range of toppings. Cooking fakeaways at home is great fun and is the perfect way to love your leftovers.”
Better value Indian and Chinese ready meals, which were recently praised for their relatively low fat content by Which?, are also growing in popularity, reflecting the savings they offer over conventional takeaways. Sales of Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference pizzas are up 513% year on year.
Sainsbury’s five step guide to the fakeaway habit:
- Curries by their nature are a mixture of meat and vegetables. This makes bowls of leftovers from the fridge a perfect source for curry ingredients.
- Many leftovers are perfect for pizza toppings – leftover cheese, tomatoes, peppers, onions and mushrooms are perfect toppings, as are most meats. Always keep a box of ready-made pizza bases in the freezer.
- Most vegetables are also great ingredients for a Chinese-style stir fry.
- Keep a jar of stir fry sauce and pasta sauce in your cupboard for easy suppers on the go.
- Freeze any leftover tomato-based pasta sauce – it makes a great pizza topping.
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Grow your own small vegetable garden
Even the smallest space can produce plenty of vegetables, even a patio can
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
I am no market gardener, that's for sure, and I have varied success with my own small garden in that fashion but that is due to the location and the fact that I get overrun by slugs and snails and also the squirrels and pigeons think that my garden is a feeding station for them. Well, it is not but try telling them that.
Also, I must add that I am not the most consistent home gardener, as I am often too busy with writing material for the many magazines that I own and edit.
However, while I doubt that most families could become entirely self-sufficient (then again, is complete self-sufficiency even possible?) in the suburbs on their patio and/or small part of garden that they are often only willing to sacrifice for food growing, the food thus grown can go someways towards reducing food miles and costs.
Obviously, the bigger the area the more food you can grow. But, having said that, lots can be done in a small space. This was shown at the “Grand Designs Live” exhibition with the small garden that was shown there and also in other places. It is possible.
If you do not want to build raised beds with timber, bricks or whatever, then there are nowadays a couple of companies that produce “clickable” plastic siding that make then up a raised beds. But be warned! They are not cheap but they will last nigh on forever, unlike timber.
However, there are many other options for building a small garden – I mean other than digging up the ground. On a patio you would not and could not do that anyway. So, here comes “container gardening”.
There are containers and there are containers for gardening, obviously, From the old style terracotta put and tub to the plastic ones and everything else. You do not even have to go and buy such containers, as they can often be found thrown away. Old washing-up bowls can be used, the pots that contained trees from nurseries, the barrels that contained cooking oils – cut in half makes two – and many more. In addition to that there are the large bags in which building sands and the likes comes nowadays. Fold over the sides and – voila – one square raised bed of rather some depth.
The tubs presently mentioned all – bar the containers that once will have had trees in them – will require holes for drainage drilled into the bottom. I handle that quite simply and quickly here; a few shots of target practice with a .22 air rifle and, well, drainage holes. Who said they had to be x-amount of millimeter in size and perfectly round?
That is container gardening on the cheap, basically. It beats – in cost at least – any store bought tubs for plastic tub/container gardening.
In addition to that there are other containers that can be employed as well. Know of an old bathtub, whether iron (well, they are worth money...) or fiberglass? They too make great planters for vegetables.
There have been articles around about the advantages of growing your own vegetables and in them it is pointed out that not only do people waste less food by being able to go pick fresh vegetables when they need them, but the cost of having a small garden compared to buying fresh produce from the grocery store can save us all a lot on food.
So, what's stopping you?
© M Smith (Veshengro), July 2008
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
I am no market gardener, that's for sure, and I have varied success with my own small garden in that fashion but that is due to the location and the fact that I get overrun by slugs and snails and also the squirrels and pigeons think that my garden is a feeding station for them. Well, it is not but try telling them that.
Also, I must add that I am not the most consistent home gardener, as I am often too busy with writing material for the many magazines that I own and edit.
However, while I doubt that most families could become entirely self-sufficient (then again, is complete self-sufficiency even possible?) in the suburbs on their patio and/or small part of garden that they are often only willing to sacrifice for food growing, the food thus grown can go someways towards reducing food miles and costs.
Obviously, the bigger the area the more food you can grow. But, having said that, lots can be done in a small space. This was shown at the “Grand Designs Live” exhibition with the small garden that was shown there and also in other places. It is possible.
If you do not want to build raised beds with timber, bricks or whatever, then there are nowadays a couple of companies that produce “clickable” plastic siding that make then up a raised beds. But be warned! They are not cheap but they will last nigh on forever, unlike timber.
However, there are many other options for building a small garden – I mean other than digging up the ground. On a patio you would not and could not do that anyway. So, here comes “container gardening”.
There are containers and there are containers for gardening, obviously, From the old style terracotta put and tub to the plastic ones and everything else. You do not even have to go and buy such containers, as they can often be found thrown away. Old washing-up bowls can be used, the pots that contained trees from nurseries, the barrels that contained cooking oils – cut in half makes two – and many more. In addition to that there are the large bags in which building sands and the likes comes nowadays. Fold over the sides and – voila – one square raised bed of rather some depth.
The tubs presently mentioned all – bar the containers that once will have had trees in them – will require holes for drainage drilled into the bottom. I handle that quite simply and quickly here; a few shots of target practice with a .22 air rifle and, well, drainage holes. Who said they had to be x-amount of millimeter in size and perfectly round?
That is container gardening on the cheap, basically. It beats – in cost at least – any store bought tubs for plastic tub/container gardening.
In addition to that there are other containers that can be employed as well. Know of an old bathtub, whether iron (well, they are worth money...) or fiberglass? They too make great planters for vegetables.
There have been articles around about the advantages of growing your own vegetables and in them it is pointed out that not only do people waste less food by being able to go pick fresh vegetables when they need them, but the cost of having a small garden compared to buying fresh produce from the grocery store can save us all a lot on food.
So, what's stopping you?
© M Smith (Veshengro), July 2008
Growing potatoes in biodegradable cardboard boxes
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Growing potatoes in raised beds works well but building a raised bed can be costly and requires hard work. An easy to build, inexpensive, useful and attractive alternative for growing of potatoes can be had by using cardboard boxes.
Because of the hard work of building raised beds and the cost of it I decided to use the existing beds for other crops rather than potatoes and left growing potatoes out for a couple of years.
However, this year I came up with the idea of cardboard boxes, in lieu of the potato patio planters which are rather costly to the tune of about US$35 around these parts of the world. I am thinking, though, of maybe building my own (oar maybe I can find a manufacturer who would like me to review a couple of them). So, I have took two boxes that I had lying about, lined them up in the garden and planted potatoes in the bottom of the box using a soil mixed with mild potting compost. As the potatoes grew, I have added more soil. So far they are growing beautifully but we don't know as yet as to how good they are producing and as to whether it works at all, though there seem to be some small potatoes already to be had.
Such boxes are free, can be quite attractive and will bio-degrade and compost at the end of the season. New ones can be set up the following year and years in different parts of the vegetable garden to help rotate the crops. The top flaps of the boxes can be closed to protect the tender plants from a late frost. It is easy to build up soil around the growing potatoes; harvesting is also easy. You can either reach in for new potatoes, or you can peel the rotting sides away at the end of the season.
It is important to consider that as with all container planting you may need to check a little more on the watering.
So, why not grow your spuds in cardboard planters? No cost (for the planters, I mean) and at the end of the useful life of the “planter” it will compost to soil.
© M Smith (Veshengro), July 2008
Growing potatoes in raised beds works well but building a raised bed can be costly and requires hard work. An easy to build, inexpensive, useful and attractive alternative for growing of potatoes can be had by using cardboard boxes.
Because of the hard work of building raised beds and the cost of it I decided to use the existing beds for other crops rather than potatoes and left growing potatoes out for a couple of years.
However, this year I came up with the idea of cardboard boxes, in lieu of the potato patio planters which are rather costly to the tune of about US$35 around these parts of the world. I am thinking, though, of maybe building my own (oar maybe I can find a manufacturer who would like me to review a couple of them). So, I have took two boxes that I had lying about, lined them up in the garden and planted potatoes in the bottom of the box using a soil mixed with mild potting compost. As the potatoes grew, I have added more soil. So far they are growing beautifully but we don't know as yet as to how good they are producing and as to whether it works at all, though there seem to be some small potatoes already to be had.
Such boxes are free, can be quite attractive and will bio-degrade and compost at the end of the season. New ones can be set up the following year and years in different parts of the vegetable garden to help rotate the crops. The top flaps of the boxes can be closed to protect the tender plants from a late frost. It is easy to build up soil around the growing potatoes; harvesting is also easy. You can either reach in for new potatoes, or you can peel the rotting sides away at the end of the season.
It is important to consider that as with all container planting you may need to check a little more on the watering.
So, why not grow your spuds in cardboard planters? No cost (for the planters, I mean) and at the end of the useful life of the “planter” it will compost to soil.
© M Smith (Veshengro), July 2008
Birthday party snub sparks debate
Another good reason for, where it is permitted, to homeschool.
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
An eight-year-old boy has sparked an unlikely outcry in Sweden after failing to invite two of his classmates to his birthday party.
The boy's school says he has violated the children's rights and has complained to the Swedish Parliament.
The school, in Lund, southern Sweden, argues that if invitations are handed out on school premises then it must ensure there is no discrimination.
The boy's father has lodged a complaint with the parliamentary ombudsman.
He says the two children were left out because one did not invite his son to his own party and he had fallen out with the other one.
The boy handed out his birthday invitations during class-time and when the teacher spotted that two children had not received one the invitations were confiscated.
"My son has taken it pretty hard," the boy's father told the newspaper Sydsvenskan.
"No one has the right to confiscate someone's property in this way, it's like taking someone's post," he added.
A verdict on the matter is likely to be reached in September, in time for the next school year.
Sweden has, as we all know, a very strange set of laws in this department and tries to be so advanced that it is in fact making a mockery of itself.
© M Smith (Veshengro), July 2008
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
An eight-year-old boy has sparked an unlikely outcry in Sweden after failing to invite two of his classmates to his birthday party.
The boy's school says he has violated the children's rights and has complained to the Swedish Parliament.
The school, in Lund, southern Sweden, argues that if invitations are handed out on school premises then it must ensure there is no discrimination.
The boy's father has lodged a complaint with the parliamentary ombudsman.
He says the two children were left out because one did not invite his son to his own party and he had fallen out with the other one.
The boy handed out his birthday invitations during class-time and when the teacher spotted that two children had not received one the invitations were confiscated.
"My son has taken it pretty hard," the boy's father told the newspaper Sydsvenskan.
"No one has the right to confiscate someone's property in this way, it's like taking someone's post," he added.
A verdict on the matter is likely to be reached in September, in time for the next school year.
Sweden has, as we all know, a very strange set of laws in this department and tries to be so advanced that it is in fact making a mockery of itself.
© M Smith (Veshengro), July 2008
The school bus may not come next school year
In the new school year the bus may not make a stop for your kid as high fuel prices force cost-cutting nationwide
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Families are not the only ones who are examining their driving habits as fuel prices continue to climb. The same applies for municipal governments, police departments and school districts. They are all also tightening their belts, as budgets get stretched by high fuel costs.
In certain suburban areas, school officials are asking children to walk farther to their bus stops so districts can squeeze a few more miles per gallon. In other areas it may be a case that children will be asked to walk to school altogether or to cycle. I am sure that there will be more districts and counties to follow suit soon, as it would not appear that the prices will be going down in the near future. It seems that they will rise still further. The $200 a barrel oil by the end of the decade, e.g. 2010, does not seem all that far off anymore; a notion when mentioned by Dr. Stephen Leep in his book “The Coming Economic Collapse” was laughed off as impossible fantasy.
Read more here...
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Families are not the only ones who are examining their driving habits as fuel prices continue to climb. The same applies for municipal governments, police departments and school districts. They are all also tightening their belts, as budgets get stretched by high fuel costs.
In certain suburban areas, school officials are asking children to walk farther to their bus stops so districts can squeeze a few more miles per gallon. In other areas it may be a case that children will be asked to walk to school altogether or to cycle. I am sure that there will be more districts and counties to follow suit soon, as it would not appear that the prices will be going down in the near future. It seems that they will rise still further. The $200 a barrel oil by the end of the decade, e.g. 2010, does not seem all that far off anymore; a notion when mentioned by Dr. Stephen Leep in his book “The Coming Economic Collapse” was laughed off as impossible fantasy.
Read more here...
Free software for all
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Open Source software is the biggest open secret in the IT world.
Open Source software is free, secure, and supported by some of the world's largest software and hardware companies. The software they will be promoting includes OpenOffice, a complete office suite, Firefox, a secure web browser and Thunderbird, an email and calendar manager. Companies that are committed to open source include Dell, Hewlett Packard, Sun Microsystems and Novell.
Operating systems like Linux and BSD are safe and secure to use and some easier than others. The current one that I find, probably, to be the best is Ubuntu Linux in this regards.
Read more here...
Open Source software is the biggest open secret in the IT world.
Open Source software is free, secure, and supported by some of the world's largest software and hardware companies. The software they will be promoting includes OpenOffice, a complete office suite, Firefox, a secure web browser and Thunderbird, an email and calendar manager. Companies that are committed to open source include Dell, Hewlett Packard, Sun Microsystems and Novell.
Operating systems like Linux and BSD are safe and secure to use and some easier than others. The current one that I find, probably, to be the best is Ubuntu Linux in this regards.
Read more here...
PETA upset after pigeons shot dead at Wimbledon
Here we go again with PETA – Wimbledon under fire for pigeon cull
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
The Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Tournament has come under fire from animal activists on the second day of Wimbledon for using marksmen to shoot down dive-bombing pigeons.
The Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Club does “employ” two hawks during the tournament to scare away pigeons who that have become a pest swooping down onto Centre Court and distracting players in the middle of tense matches.
However, the hawks have failed to keep the pigeons away from the players’ lawn and the open-air media restaurant, due to the high number of pigeons in the area, so marksmen were called in to shoot them.
“The hawks are our first line of deterrent”, said Wimbledon spokesman Johnny Perkins, “and by and large they do the job well enough.”
“But unfortunately there were one or two areas where the hawks didn’t deter the pigeons, so it was deemed necessary to take a harder approach,” he explained.
The marksmen were summoned by Wimbledon as pigeon droppings on the restaurant tables were thought to be a health hazard.
The decision to call in the marksmen was condemned as “cruel and illegal behaviour” by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) which complained to the tournament organisers and the police.
“Since the use of marksmen to kill pigeons appears to have been carried out as a first, rather than a last resort, and not out of a concern for public health, but rather because the animals were deemed inconvenient by players, you appear to be in clear violation of the law,” PETA vice-president Bruce Friedrich said.
I do not know where this idiot from PETA comes from – what planet, I mean – but there is no law against shooting pigeons, as they are classed as vermin. It needs nothing to do with public health or whatever. PETA, kindly wake up and also, if possible, return to the planet whence you have come.
Apparently there are always again and again people who have nothing else to do but to involve themselves in needless campaign such as these. It looks like they cannot find anything else that can get them into the news well enough bar things such as the Wimbledon Tournament and pigeons.
I must say and will also do so that, while I am all for the environment and everything ecological, when it comes to pigeons, whether feral, as in rock doves in the cities, or to wood pigeons, as well as to the gray squirrel, that's where it ends and those end up in my freezer.
Does someone out there have the phone number for the marksmen? I'd like to contact them for the pigeons. My freezer could do with filling up and as food is getting a little expensive those would do nicely, thank you.
© M Smith (Veshengro), June 2008
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
The Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Tournament has come under fire from animal activists on the second day of Wimbledon for using marksmen to shoot down dive-bombing pigeons.
The Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Club does “employ” two hawks during the tournament to scare away pigeons who that have become a pest swooping down onto Centre Court and distracting players in the middle of tense matches.
However, the hawks have failed to keep the pigeons away from the players’ lawn and the open-air media restaurant, due to the high number of pigeons in the area, so marksmen were called in to shoot them.
“The hawks are our first line of deterrent”, said Wimbledon spokesman Johnny Perkins, “and by and large they do the job well enough.”
“But unfortunately there were one or two areas where the hawks didn’t deter the pigeons, so it was deemed necessary to take a harder approach,” he explained.
The marksmen were summoned by Wimbledon as pigeon droppings on the restaurant tables were thought to be a health hazard.
The decision to call in the marksmen was condemned as “cruel and illegal behaviour” by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) which complained to the tournament organisers and the police.
“Since the use of marksmen to kill pigeons appears to have been carried out as a first, rather than a last resort, and not out of a concern for public health, but rather because the animals were deemed inconvenient by players, you appear to be in clear violation of the law,” PETA vice-president Bruce Friedrich said.
I do not know where this idiot from PETA comes from – what planet, I mean – but there is no law against shooting pigeons, as they are classed as vermin. It needs nothing to do with public health or whatever. PETA, kindly wake up and also, if possible, return to the planet whence you have come.
Apparently there are always again and again people who have nothing else to do but to involve themselves in needless campaign such as these. It looks like they cannot find anything else that can get them into the news well enough bar things such as the Wimbledon Tournament and pigeons.
I must say and will also do so that, while I am all for the environment and everything ecological, when it comes to pigeons, whether feral, as in rock doves in the cities, or to wood pigeons, as well as to the gray squirrel, that's where it ends and those end up in my freezer.
Does someone out there have the phone number for the marksmen? I'd like to contact them for the pigeons. My freezer could do with filling up and as food is getting a little expensive those would do nicely, thank you.
© M Smith (Veshengro), June 2008
Dump that screen saver
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Dump those flying toasters and endlessly looping slide shows. They may be doing more harm than good.
In today's world the screen saver is no longer needed, and it has not been needed for many years now. Our monitors are no longer the ones that can end up with so-called screen burn or burn in, as the old green and gray ones once did. So, why do you still use a screen saver.
You do not still use a screen saver, do you?
Read more here...
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Dump those flying toasters and endlessly looping slide shows. They may be doing more harm than good.
In today's world the screen saver is no longer needed, and it has not been needed for many years now. Our monitors are no longer the ones that can end up with so-called screen burn or burn in, as the old green and gray ones once did. So, why do you still use a screen saver.
You do not still use a screen saver, do you?
Read more here...
<>
Wood Stoves and Air Pollution
Clean Burning Wood Stoves Minimize Health Risks
Many households use wood as a primary heating fuel, while other households use wood stoves and fireplaces as supplementary heating sources. For many people, the sight and smell of wood smoke curling out of a chimney brings back fond memories of hearth and home. Wood is a renewable resource, unlike fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas, which are non-renewable. In fact, if firewood is harvested in a sustainable way, woodlots can provide an abundant source of fuel for years to come.
Unfortunately, smoke from wood burning stoves and fireplaces can be a significant source of air pollution, negatively impacting public health and the environment. People can reduce the amount of smoke from their wood stoves by choosing low-emissions certified stoves, operating them properly, and using good quality firewood. This will improve combustion efficiency, reduce emissions, help protect public health and the environment, and save fuel costs.
The Problem: Smoke from Wood Stoves is a Public Health Risk
The smoke produced from woodstoves and fireplaces contains over 100 different chemical compounds, many of which are harmful and potentially carcinogenic. Wood smoke pollutants include fine particulates, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, dioxins, and furans. Breathing air containing wood smoke can cause a number of serious respiratory and cardiovascular health problems. Those at greatest health risk from wood smoke include infants, children, pregnant women, the elderly, and those suffering from allergies, asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, pneumonia, or any other heart or lung disease.
Fine particulate matter, the very small particles that make up smoke and soot, may be the most insidious component of wood smoke pollution. The most harmful particles are those ten microns or less in diameter (a human hair is approximately 70 microns in diameter). These particles can easily be inhaled deep into the lungs, collecting in the tiny air sacs (called alveoli) where oxygen enters the blood, causing breathing difficulties and sometimes permanent lung damage. The particles are also often composed of harmful substances, such as sulfate, which is acidic, and toxic trace metals like lead and cadmium. Inhalation of fine particulate matter can increase cardiovascular problems, irritate lungs and eyes, trigger headaches and allergic reactions, and worsen respiratory diseases such as asthma, emphysema, and bronchitis, resulting in premature deaths.
Pollution from wood stoves is a particular concern in the winter when cold, stagnant air and temperature inversions limit air movement. Communities located in valleys are more strongly affected. As wood burning increases on cold, clear, calm nights, smoke is unable to rise and disperse. Pollutants are trapped and concentrated near the ground, and the small size of the particles allows them to seep into houses through closed doors and windows.
In addition to its potential health impacts, wood smoke contributes to the unpleasant brown haze we often experience on winter mornings. Regional haze reduces visibility and obscures our enjoyment of scenic vistas.
The Solution: Increasing Wood Stove Efficiency to Reduce Smoke
Smoke from wood stoves is generated primarily by incomplete combustion, which can be caused by a number of different factors related to the wood stove's efficiency. Improving a wood stove's efficiency will improve the combustion process, and thus reduce the amount of smoke and harmful air pollutants released into the air. A wood stove's efficiency is affected by both the design features of the stove and how it is operated and maintained. Here are some ways to improve wood stove efficiency, resulting in less smoke and money savings on wood fuel costs.
Select a clean-burning stove and make sure it is the proper size
When buying a new wood stove, make sure you are purchasing a certified clean burning, more efficient model with design features that promote complete combustion. Wood stove design technologies that are desirable include advanced combustion stoves, catalytic stoves, and wood pellet stoves. Advanced combustion stoves are designed to create the conditions necessary to burn the combustion gases as they go up the chimney. Catalytic stoves contain a catalytic combustor that ignites smoke gases and particles at a lower temperature, resulting in a more complete burn of harmful substances. Wood pellet stoves burn small pellets of compressed wood by-products instead of cordwood. The pellets are fed into the stove through a hopper at a controlled rate, producing a clean optimum burn with low emissions.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set standards for wood stoves in 1990. Stoves cannot be sold to consumers in the U.S. unless they meet certain emission standards for particulate matter and carry the EPA Emission Certification label. Certified stoves reduce smoke emissions by as much as 90 percent, compared with conventional stoves, and are much more efficient. EPA-certified stoves often include design features that promote secondary combustion aimed at burning off dangerous chemicals and toxic substances before they leave the firebox. Be sure the wood stove you are using is EPA-certified, and if your wood stove is old, consider replacing it with a cleaner, more efficient model if at all possible.
EPA offers advice to consumers for purchasing woodstoves, ranging from considerations relating to installation, operation and maintenance, to determining the best size stove for your heating needs. A wood stove should be the proper size for the area being heated. A stove that is too large or too small will create more pollution.
Make sure your wood stove is properly installed
All wood stoves should be properly installed to ensure tightness, safety, proper draft and efficiency. Improper installation could result in more air pollution, chimney fires, or house fires. Follow the manufacturer's instructions and recommendations for flue size, clearances and connections, and consider having your wood stove installed by a certified installer. Before installation, be sure to check with your local authorities regarding building codes and permits, and notify your fire insurance company.
Choose the proper fuel
The best wood to use in wood burning stoves is air-dried hardwood (oak, beech, maple, elm, ash - not pine), seasoned for six to eight months prior to burning and stored under cover for protection from the weather. Wet or freshly cut ("green") wood is not energy efficient because the heat produced is used to evaporate water, rather than heat the home. The water content of a tree or freshly-cut firewood can be as high as 50 percent, compared with 15 - 20 percent in dry, well-seasoned wood. Burning dry wood produces a more even burn and helps prevent the formation of creosote, a highly-flammable crusty deposit that sticks to the inside walls of your chimney.
The use of properly sized wood pieces is equally important. Wood should be split to a maximum thickness of four to six inches, depending on stove size. This size increases the surface area exposed to flame, resulting in higher burn efficiency.
NEVER burn household wastes such as plastics, color newsprint, diapers, magazines, packaging materials, coated or laminated papers, or painted or treated wood in residential stoves or fireplaces. When burned, these products produce smoke, odors, and release toxic fumes, and the remaining ash may be hazardous. Only dry, untreated wood is acceptable to burn.
Use proper burning techniques
Efficient wood burning requires proper starting, an adequate supply of oxygen, and temperatures high enough to ensure that gases coming off the fire are burned. Start a wood stove fire small at first, with dry kindling or small pieces of clean paper. Once the flames from the kindling just begin to subside, add several small pieces of wood, being careful not to smother the fire. The key to maintaining a good fire is careful control of the air supply. The fire should be small enough for air to get to it, but large enough to be hot and able to be hot and able to burn for hours without opening the wood stove door. Unwanted emissions can be released in the house whenever the wood stove door is opened.
A fire that is burning brightly without visible smoke is a sign of good combustion. Excessive smoke from a chimney in the middle of a burn means the smoke is not being burned in the firebox, but is going up the chimney. Never allow the fire to smolder. Smoldering fires are the worst polluters because they burn at a temperature too low for efficient combustion. The result is more smoke - unburned wood going up the chimney, wasted. This means more air pollution and creosote deposits that could lead to a chimney fire.
In addition to checking the fire and smoke conditions, keep the wood stove properly maintained and check it frequently for leaks. Leaks in a stove reduce its efficiency and cause indoor air pollution. To enhance chimney safety and maintenance, periodically check and clean the stack pipe and chimney. See your local fire officials for more information on maintenance of wood stoves, stacks and chimneys.
Reduce the amount of firewood burned by making your house more energy-efficient
Before installing a wood stove, consider insulating and weather stripping your home to conserve heat. Also, make sure that all doors and windows are properly caulked.
Source: N.H. Department of Environmental Services
P.S. “NEVER burn household wastes such as plastics, color newsprint, diapers, magazines, packaging materials, coated or laminated papers, or painted or treated wood in residential stoves or fireplaces. When burned, these products produce smoke, odors, and release toxic fumes, and the remaining ash may be hazardous. Only dry, untreated wood is acceptable to burn” may be the advice of the agency but in the UK it is now being talked about that we should consider burning waste lumber in power stations and such. Well, as far as I am concerned, of you have a woodburner at home that's where that stuff gets burned as well. M.S.
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Many households use wood as a primary heating fuel, while other households use wood stoves and fireplaces as supplementary heating sources. For many people, the sight and smell of wood smoke curling out of a chimney brings back fond memories of hearth and home. Wood is a renewable resource, unlike fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas, which are non-renewable. In fact, if firewood is harvested in a sustainable way, woodlots can provide an abundant source of fuel for years to come.
Unfortunately, smoke from wood burning stoves and fireplaces can be a significant source of air pollution, negatively impacting public health and the environment. People can reduce the amount of smoke from their wood stoves by choosing low-emissions certified stoves, operating them properly, and using good quality firewood. This will improve combustion efficiency, reduce emissions, help protect public health and the environment, and save fuel costs.
The Problem: Smoke from Wood Stoves is a Public Health Risk
The smoke produced from woodstoves and fireplaces contains over 100 different chemical compounds, many of which are harmful and potentially carcinogenic. Wood smoke pollutants include fine particulates, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, dioxins, and furans. Breathing air containing wood smoke can cause a number of serious respiratory and cardiovascular health problems. Those at greatest health risk from wood smoke include infants, children, pregnant women, the elderly, and those suffering from allergies, asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, pneumonia, or any other heart or lung disease.
Fine particulate matter, the very small particles that make up smoke and soot, may be the most insidious component of wood smoke pollution. The most harmful particles are those ten microns or less in diameter (a human hair is approximately 70 microns in diameter). These particles can easily be inhaled deep into the lungs, collecting in the tiny air sacs (called alveoli) where oxygen enters the blood, causing breathing difficulties and sometimes permanent lung damage. The particles are also often composed of harmful substances, such as sulfate, which is acidic, and toxic trace metals like lead and cadmium. Inhalation of fine particulate matter can increase cardiovascular problems, irritate lungs and eyes, trigger headaches and allergic reactions, and worsen respiratory diseases such as asthma, emphysema, and bronchitis, resulting in premature deaths.
Pollution from wood stoves is a particular concern in the winter when cold, stagnant air and temperature inversions limit air movement. Communities located in valleys are more strongly affected. As wood burning increases on cold, clear, calm nights, smoke is unable to rise and disperse. Pollutants are trapped and concentrated near the ground, and the small size of the particles allows them to seep into houses through closed doors and windows.
In addition to its potential health impacts, wood smoke contributes to the unpleasant brown haze we often experience on winter mornings. Regional haze reduces visibility and obscures our enjoyment of scenic vistas.
The Solution: Increasing Wood Stove Efficiency to Reduce Smoke
Smoke from wood stoves is generated primarily by incomplete combustion, which can be caused by a number of different factors related to the wood stove's efficiency. Improving a wood stove's efficiency will improve the combustion process, and thus reduce the amount of smoke and harmful air pollutants released into the air. A wood stove's efficiency is affected by both the design features of the stove and how it is operated and maintained. Here are some ways to improve wood stove efficiency, resulting in less smoke and money savings on wood fuel costs.
Select a clean-burning stove and make sure it is the proper size
When buying a new wood stove, make sure you are purchasing a certified clean burning, more efficient model with design features that promote complete combustion. Wood stove design technologies that are desirable include advanced combustion stoves, catalytic stoves, and wood pellet stoves. Advanced combustion stoves are designed to create the conditions necessary to burn the combustion gases as they go up the chimney. Catalytic stoves contain a catalytic combustor that ignites smoke gases and particles at a lower temperature, resulting in a more complete burn of harmful substances. Wood pellet stoves burn small pellets of compressed wood by-products instead of cordwood. The pellets are fed into the stove through a hopper at a controlled rate, producing a clean optimum burn with low emissions.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set standards for wood stoves in 1990. Stoves cannot be sold to consumers in the U.S. unless they meet certain emission standards for particulate matter and carry the EPA Emission Certification label. Certified stoves reduce smoke emissions by as much as 90 percent, compared with conventional stoves, and are much more efficient. EPA-certified stoves often include design features that promote secondary combustion aimed at burning off dangerous chemicals and toxic substances before they leave the firebox. Be sure the wood stove you are using is EPA-certified, and if your wood stove is old, consider replacing it with a cleaner, more efficient model if at all possible.
EPA offers advice to consumers for purchasing woodstoves, ranging from considerations relating to installation, operation and maintenance, to determining the best size stove for your heating needs. A wood stove should be the proper size for the area being heated. A stove that is too large or too small will create more pollution.
Make sure your wood stove is properly installed
All wood stoves should be properly installed to ensure tightness, safety, proper draft and efficiency. Improper installation could result in more air pollution, chimney fires, or house fires. Follow the manufacturer's instructions and recommendations for flue size, clearances and connections, and consider having your wood stove installed by a certified installer. Before installation, be sure to check with your local authorities regarding building codes and permits, and notify your fire insurance company.
Choose the proper fuel
The best wood to use in wood burning stoves is air-dried hardwood (oak, beech, maple, elm, ash - not pine), seasoned for six to eight months prior to burning and stored under cover for protection from the weather. Wet or freshly cut ("green") wood is not energy efficient because the heat produced is used to evaporate water, rather than heat the home. The water content of a tree or freshly-cut firewood can be as high as 50 percent, compared with 15 - 20 percent in dry, well-seasoned wood. Burning dry wood produces a more even burn and helps prevent the formation of creosote, a highly-flammable crusty deposit that sticks to the inside walls of your chimney.
The use of properly sized wood pieces is equally important. Wood should be split to a maximum thickness of four to six inches, depending on stove size. This size increases the surface area exposed to flame, resulting in higher burn efficiency.
NEVER burn household wastes such as plastics, color newsprint, diapers, magazines, packaging materials, coated or laminated papers, or painted or treated wood in residential stoves or fireplaces. When burned, these products produce smoke, odors, and release toxic fumes, and the remaining ash may be hazardous. Only dry, untreated wood is acceptable to burn.
Use proper burning techniques
Efficient wood burning requires proper starting, an adequate supply of oxygen, and temperatures high enough to ensure that gases coming off the fire are burned. Start a wood stove fire small at first, with dry kindling or small pieces of clean paper. Once the flames from the kindling just begin to subside, add several small pieces of wood, being careful not to smother the fire. The key to maintaining a good fire is careful control of the air supply. The fire should be small enough for air to get to it, but large enough to be hot and able to be hot and able to burn for hours without opening the wood stove door. Unwanted emissions can be released in the house whenever the wood stove door is opened.
A fire that is burning brightly without visible smoke is a sign of good combustion. Excessive smoke from a chimney in the middle of a burn means the smoke is not being burned in the firebox, but is going up the chimney. Never allow the fire to smolder. Smoldering fires are the worst polluters because they burn at a temperature too low for efficient combustion. The result is more smoke - unburned wood going up the chimney, wasted. This means more air pollution and creosote deposits that could lead to a chimney fire.
In addition to checking the fire and smoke conditions, keep the wood stove properly maintained and check it frequently for leaks. Leaks in a stove reduce its efficiency and cause indoor air pollution. To enhance chimney safety and maintenance, periodically check and clean the stack pipe and chimney. See your local fire officials for more information on maintenance of wood stoves, stacks and chimneys.
Reduce the amount of firewood burned by making your house more energy-efficient
Before installing a wood stove, consider insulating and weather stripping your home to conserve heat. Also, make sure that all doors and windows are properly caulked.
Source: N.H. Department of Environmental Services
P.S. “NEVER burn household wastes such as plastics, color newsprint, diapers, magazines, packaging materials, coated or laminated papers, or painted or treated wood in residential stoves or fireplaces. When burned, these products produce smoke, odors, and release toxic fumes, and the remaining ash may be hazardous. Only dry, untreated wood is acceptable to burn” may be the advice of the agency but in the UK it is now being talked about that we should consider burning waste lumber in power stations and such. Well, as far as I am concerned, of you have a woodburner at home that's where that stuff gets burned as well. M.S.
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Make Do and Mend
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
This is a philosophy that I grew up with as a child as much as I grew up in hand-me-downs whether this were clothes, bicycles, or what-have-you, and it is one that I have never forgotten. I still practice this philosophy – nowadays known as practical recycling – in various forms to this very day.
Already as a small boy I developed the habit, and it has – unfortunately some of my friends would say – stayed with me, of picking up anything from the streets, the woodland paths, the hedgerows, and so on that might just come in handy. Old nails and screws; nuts and bolts; tools that have been lost or thrown away; old knives; and much more are in that category. Among the knives that I have found there have been knives for the re-working into sheath knives as well as pocketknives with nothing wrong with them; there have been spanners and wrenches, screwdrivers, and many other tools; the list would be far too long to write down.
This habit also applies with me to making use of everything that can be, in one way or another, re-worked into something else, whether this be old and worn Jeans into Ditty/Possibles bags or other things; old kitchen and butcher’s knives into “new” sheath knives. The leather of old boots, shoes and bags will be made into the sheath for such knives and/or into other items such as belt pouches for folding-knives, compass, pocket-watch, and so on. There is only one severe drawback to such a habit and that is the need for a fairly large storage area in your home for all the things ”that might come in handy some day”.
During WWII in England booklets galore were published by the Ministry (and there was a shortage of things but they seemed to have enough paper to produce those official booklets) on the very subject of Make DO & Mend telling people, for instance, of how to change adult clothes into underclothes for children; to convert Dad’s old cotton shirts into nightshirts for the boys, and so on.
The philosophy and attitude of making DO also applied in those days to digging up one’s flowerbeds and “digging for victory” by growing vegetables there instead of flowers in one’s garden. That could also still be a very valuable philosophy today to – instead of filling the garden up with grass and flowers, which may be esthetically pleasing to the eye and all that don’t feed no-one. Growing at least some of one’s own vegetables and such could give one some more cash in one’s pocket. Vegetables can – in actual fact – grown behind say a flowery border in a garden and look quite nice as well. The trees in one’s garden should not be ornamental this or that but fruit trees such as apples, pears, cherries, walnut and hazelnut, and anything else in that league and the ground beneath such trees should be utilized by vegetables and soft fruit such as strawberries. Also grow your own culinary and medicinal herbs in your garden, including such beneficial plants as Aloe Vera. If the weather isn’t suited for growing the latter out-of-doors than grown those in pots in the house. The same can also be done with many other herbs and spices. And if you have no garden to grow your own vegetables and such but live, for instance, in a trailer park with only hard-standing of concrete then you can use various forms of containers such as the raised bed, tubs made of various things such as old bathtubs even, and also old automotive tires. Even fruit trees can be grown in containers.
M Smith (Veshengro), June 2008
This is a philosophy that I grew up with as a child as much as I grew up in hand-me-downs whether this were clothes, bicycles, or what-have-you, and it is one that I have never forgotten. I still practice this philosophy – nowadays known as practical recycling – in various forms to this very day.
Already as a small boy I developed the habit, and it has – unfortunately some of my friends would say – stayed with me, of picking up anything from the streets, the woodland paths, the hedgerows, and so on that might just come in handy. Old nails and screws; nuts and bolts; tools that have been lost or thrown away; old knives; and much more are in that category. Among the knives that I have found there have been knives for the re-working into sheath knives as well as pocketknives with nothing wrong with them; there have been spanners and wrenches, screwdrivers, and many other tools; the list would be far too long to write down.
This habit also applies with me to making use of everything that can be, in one way or another, re-worked into something else, whether this be old and worn Jeans into Ditty/Possibles bags or other things; old kitchen and butcher’s knives into “new” sheath knives. The leather of old boots, shoes and bags will be made into the sheath for such knives and/or into other items such as belt pouches for folding-knives, compass, pocket-watch, and so on. There is only one severe drawback to such a habit and that is the need for a fairly large storage area in your home for all the things ”that might come in handy some day”.
During WWII in England booklets galore were published by the Ministry (and there was a shortage of things but they seemed to have enough paper to produce those official booklets) on the very subject of Make DO & Mend telling people, for instance, of how to change adult clothes into underclothes for children; to convert Dad’s old cotton shirts into nightshirts for the boys, and so on.
The philosophy and attitude of making DO also applied in those days to digging up one’s flowerbeds and “digging for victory” by growing vegetables there instead of flowers in one’s garden. That could also still be a very valuable philosophy today to – instead of filling the garden up with grass and flowers, which may be esthetically pleasing to the eye and all that don’t feed no-one. Growing at least some of one’s own vegetables and such could give one some more cash in one’s pocket. Vegetables can – in actual fact – grown behind say a flowery border in a garden and look quite nice as well. The trees in one’s garden should not be ornamental this or that but fruit trees such as apples, pears, cherries, walnut and hazelnut, and anything else in that league and the ground beneath such trees should be utilized by vegetables and soft fruit such as strawberries. Also grow your own culinary and medicinal herbs in your garden, including such beneficial plants as Aloe Vera. If the weather isn’t suited for growing the latter out-of-doors than grown those in pots in the house. The same can also be done with many other herbs and spices. And if you have no garden to grow your own vegetables and such but live, for instance, in a trailer park with only hard-standing of concrete then you can use various forms of containers such as the raised bed, tubs made of various things such as old bathtubs even, and also old automotive tires. Even fruit trees can be grown in containers.
M Smith (Veshengro), June 2008
Fourteen ways to save water in your garden
by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
It is important, especially nowadays, that we all protect our precious water sources and water resources by using water wisely. This does bot mean, however, that you have to let your yard and garden dry up completely. The trick is to know when to water and how much water to use on the plants and also and especially as well as what to plant and when. The following tips will help you water less often and more effectively.
Please also remember that everything that you put in or on your plants and lawn to make them grow is also going to find its way either onto your skin or into your vegetables, and the excess will go into the groundwater.
Chemicals do not all decompose into meaningless neutral entities. On the contrary rather. If you have not done so already, it might be advisable to make a change t to organic or natural fertilizers and insecticides. They are safer to handle, safer for your pets and safer for your kids, plus they don't contaminate the groundwater.
1./ Plant in the early spring or fall when watering requirements are lower and rains more likely. This gives smaller plants a good start and you don't have to worry about watering as much.
2./ Make sure your sprinkler isn't watering the roof, driveway, sidewalk or, worse yet, the street. Using the kitchen timer is a helpful way to remember to turn the sprinkler off.
3./ Spring is the perfect time to start a compost pile. Compost adds water-holding organic matter to the soil as well as fertilizer, keeps weeds down, reduces landfill waste and water waste from kitchen disposal use.
4./ Put mulch around plants to help keep water from evaporating. It also benefits you by keeping weeds down.
5./ Water your lawn when you notice you leave footprints when walking across it, that's an obvious indicator that it is dry.
6./ Set your mower higher. Longer grass shades itself and keeps water from evaporating.
7./ Use pervious paving options for driveways, walks and patios so your water does not run off into the sewer or retention ponds. Turn downspouts so that they drain away from the house and into bushes and gardens.
8./ Plants that are watered deeply need less frequent watering and send roots deeper, making them heartier.
9./ Group plants with the same watering needs together to get the most out of your watering time.
10./ Plant trees to help lower air and soil temperatures, reducing plant and soil moisture loss. (They also keep your house cooler in summer and warmer in winter.) One word of warning on that, however, and that is that lots of trees around your properly can also make the house dark and the garden too moist and lacking light for proper growing.
11./ Water lawns during the early morning hours when temperatures and wind speed are the lowest. This reduces losses from evaporation. However, in reality you do not, unless your zoning laws require you to do so (and then the authorities should pay you for doing so), have to water grass at all. I know that it gets brown when not watered under semi-drought and full drought conditions, but it reinvigorates immediately once the water returns. So far I have not found any lawn that has gotten brown that did not revitalize after a little rain. My advice would not to waste valuable water on grass. If you think that you have to water your lawns then also remember not to water your lawn on windy days. After all, sidewalks and driveways do not need water. Also avoid over fertilizing your lawn. The application of fertilizers increases the need for water.
12./ Replace worn washers between the spigot and hose to prevent leaking, and use a hose with a shut-off nozzle, which can be used to adjust water flow as needed. And turn off the hose at the spigot instead of at the nozzle to avoid leaks.
13./ Drip hoses and sprinklers work great for large areas, but water small areas by hand to avoid waste. Use a watering can for raised beds and tubs and such, whether those are used for flowers or for growing produce.
14./ Add rain barrels to catch rain off the roof. They are more popular now and are available in many sizes. Many include faucets and attach easily to down spouts.
© M Smith (Veshengro), June 2008
It is important, especially nowadays, that we all protect our precious water sources and water resources by using water wisely. This does bot mean, however, that you have to let your yard and garden dry up completely. The trick is to know when to water and how much water to use on the plants and also and especially as well as what to plant and when. The following tips will help you water less often and more effectively.
Please also remember that everything that you put in or on your plants and lawn to make them grow is also going to find its way either onto your skin or into your vegetables, and the excess will go into the groundwater.
Chemicals do not all decompose into meaningless neutral entities. On the contrary rather. If you have not done so already, it might be advisable to make a change t to organic or natural fertilizers and insecticides. They are safer to handle, safer for your pets and safer for your kids, plus they don't contaminate the groundwater.
1./ Plant in the early spring or fall when watering requirements are lower and rains more likely. This gives smaller plants a good start and you don't have to worry about watering as much.
2./ Make sure your sprinkler isn't watering the roof, driveway, sidewalk or, worse yet, the street. Using the kitchen timer is a helpful way to remember to turn the sprinkler off.
3./ Spring is the perfect time to start a compost pile. Compost adds water-holding organic matter to the soil as well as fertilizer, keeps weeds down, reduces landfill waste and water waste from kitchen disposal use.
4./ Put mulch around plants to help keep water from evaporating. It also benefits you by keeping weeds down.
5./ Water your lawn when you notice you leave footprints when walking across it, that's an obvious indicator that it is dry.
6./ Set your mower higher. Longer grass shades itself and keeps water from evaporating.
7./ Use pervious paving options for driveways, walks and patios so your water does not run off into the sewer or retention ponds. Turn downspouts so that they drain away from the house and into bushes and gardens.
8./ Plants that are watered deeply need less frequent watering and send roots deeper, making them heartier.
9./ Group plants with the same watering needs together to get the most out of your watering time.
10./ Plant trees to help lower air and soil temperatures, reducing plant and soil moisture loss. (They also keep your house cooler in summer and warmer in winter.) One word of warning on that, however, and that is that lots of trees around your properly can also make the house dark and the garden too moist and lacking light for proper growing.
11./ Water lawns during the early morning hours when temperatures and wind speed are the lowest. This reduces losses from evaporation. However, in reality you do not, unless your zoning laws require you to do so (and then the authorities should pay you for doing so), have to water grass at all. I know that it gets brown when not watered under semi-drought and full drought conditions, but it reinvigorates immediately once the water returns. So far I have not found any lawn that has gotten brown that did not revitalize after a little rain. My advice would not to waste valuable water on grass. If you think that you have to water your lawns then also remember not to water your lawn on windy days. After all, sidewalks and driveways do not need water. Also avoid over fertilizing your lawn. The application of fertilizers increases the need for water.
12./ Replace worn washers between the spigot and hose to prevent leaking, and use a hose with a shut-off nozzle, which can be used to adjust water flow as needed. And turn off the hose at the spigot instead of at the nozzle to avoid leaks.
13./ Drip hoses and sprinklers work great for large areas, but water small areas by hand to avoid waste. Use a watering can for raised beds and tubs and such, whether those are used for flowers or for growing produce.
14./ Add rain barrels to catch rain off the roof. They are more popular now and are available in many sizes. Many include faucets and attach easily to down spouts.
© M Smith (Veshengro), June 2008
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