Garden

Use Your Blender for (Almost) Instant Compost

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In light of the fact that it’s International Composting Awareness Week it seems fitting to talk a little more about composting. What if you don’t have a lot of space for composting as Ruth commented awhile back? Your leftover salad greens, apple cores, egg shells, and gnarly vegetarian leftovers can go straight to the root of your garden when you use this method, which is ideal for urban gardeners. Toss compostable items into your blender so that it’s about a third full. Fill the container with water and blend until very finely chopped. Walk out to the garden and with a trowel, dig a small hole alongside a garden plant and pour some of the contents of the blender in. Cover with dirt and let the worms and microbes go to work. One blender full will fill three small holes (or, of course, one larger one). It’s so easy, I even did it single-handedly (LEFT-handedly) so I could take a video: Note: Only you know what your blender can handle. If you’re not sure if yours will tackle a whole, wilted sweet potato, you should probably skip it.

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Five Books Worth Adding to your Shelves

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Five Books Worth Adding to your Shelves

For years, my plant bible has been the Sunset Western Garden Book. Filled with listings of specific plants (over 8,000 in the 2011 edition) that detail plant characteristics, growth habits, and zone requirements, this is a must-have if you garden in the west. The book includes information about both edible and ornamental plants and trees. Of course, this is region specific and works for me; if you’re east of the Rockies I’d love to hear about your favorite regional reference book. In Animal, Vegetable, Miracle Barbara Kingsolver chronicles her family’s year of eating only homegrown food (supplemented by locally grown products, on occasion). It’s an inspiring look at the possibilities of living self-sufficiently. I particularly loved reading that even though this was her idea, even though she wanted to live this way, it was hard for her to actually begin. She worried that the spring months would offer spare produce for her family’s table, and she was right. I found reading about her choices in sustainable living to be an education in itself. Hungry Planet may seem like an odd choice for a sustainability site, but the images in the book are a visual reminder that the way we...

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Garlic Tower: Project Fail

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Garlic Tower: Project Fail

Remember back when I posted about dismantling a pallet so I could use the wood for a project? And remember when I mentioned that I’d be sharing both successes and failures in my attempts at becoming more sustainable? Well it’s time for a fail update. This was my plan: turn the wood from a recycled pallet into a stacking tower for garlic. My tower would have the ingenious addition of planned gaps in the side, so that garlic plants would sprout and grow out the sides of the container. This would allow me to grow about 40 garlic plants in a single square foot. Brilliant, right? My own little version of vertical gardening. Here’s how it came together: If you’re reading this on the front page, click through for photos. I planted garlic like this on every level. See how I cleverly pointed the little cloves in the right direction, as if to say, “That way! That way to the sun!” Mind you, the garlic did grow. And some of it even sprouted in the gaps as I’d intended. But my general opinion of this project is not much. I didn’t get nearly as many plants growing in this...

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Deep Watering in the Garden

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Deep Watering in the Garden

I’ve mentioned before the fact that my soil has a hard time holding on to moisture. Between that and the fact that some of my veggies are planted on a slope to utilize as much of our space as possible, getting water to the roots of my plants – and keeping it there for a moment – is difficult. By deep watering with a container sunk into the soil, I can direct the water right where it needs to go instead of wasting it as it runs off down the slope. To try this method, you’ll need a container of some sort. I used a 1.5 liter plastic bottle (cut in half) but you could also use a 1-gallon plastic plant container, a large tin can (the oversize kind you’d get at Costco or a big pineapple juice can), or a  half-gallon milk jug. Poke three or four small holes in the bottom of the container. Dig a hole alongside the plant you’d like to deep water, being careful not to disturb its roots. Sink the container in the ground, leaving only about half an inch above ground level. Fill around the container with soil. When your garden is...

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Save that Water!

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Save that Water!

Instead of pouring the water that you’ve used to cook hard boiled eggs, vegetables, or pasta down the drain, allow it to cool and then use it to water some of your outdoor plants. Alternatively, you can use the boiling water to kill weeds. Just pour the hot water onto driveway cracks or other weedy areas (NOT near plants you’d like to keep!) for a chemical free weed killer.

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Combat Poor Soil with Lasagna Beds

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Over on my Facebook page, Catherine laments the fact that her clay soil isn’t good for gardening and her budget just doesn’t allow for hiring a big piece of equipment to turn and improve the soil. While I don’t have clay soil, I’ve mentioned before that our soil is puny. When we first moved in, I wanted to get some plants in the ground right away, but knew that I’d need to improve the soil for better success in the long run. I’d read about lasagna beds (called such because the beds are layered, much like a lasagna) but had never tried them. This seemed like a perfect chance to try them out, and they may be the answer to Catherine’s troubles, too. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures of my lasagna bed process, but I can tell you how I did it (with thanks to Kelly at Kitchen Garden Table for tips!). I started by raiding my recycle pile. Cardboard boxes, newspapers, and even old catalogs form the base of the lasagna bed. I covered my planting area with a thick layer of these paper products, overlapping them as I placed them down, and then wet them thoroughly....

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Utilizing the Garden Space You Have

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Utilizing the Garden Space You Have

When we moved into this house, the very steep front yard was filled with pineapple plants (undeniably cool, I know). It was probably an easy way for the previous resident to use the awkward space, but we wanted more productivity from the only sunny spot in the yard. The pineapples ripened over the course of several months, and as they did, we pulled out the plants and shared them with friends and neighbors. We still have some pineapple plants, tucked here and there, but large-ish plants that bear only a single fruit just isn’t the best use of our small space. Instead, we’ll focus on plants that will offer a lot of produce for the space they take up in our yard. Of course, this year, our first full gardening year in the tropics will be a little bit of trial and error – my “high yield” crops from a past life might not live up to expectations here, but based on years of gardening on the mainland, these vegetables get high marks for high yields: Tomatoes – Caged and supported, a tomato plant takes up roughly a 2′ x 2′ piece of ground and produces a steady flow...

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Save Your Seedlings from Bugs

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Save Your Seedlings from Bugs

Something has been munching my seedlings and transplants off right at the ground, so I’ve been using cardboard toilet paper tubes to foil the little buggers. When planting large seeds like melons or squash, I push a section of tube (I cut the rolls in half) into the soil so about 1/2″ of the tube is above ground level and then plant my seed inside the tube. I do the same with small transplants, making sure not to damage the roots as I push the tube around the plant. The tube will decompose over the growing season. It does work. I planted out three small pepper plants the other day, but only used a cardboard ring around two of the plants. The third, unprotected pepper was gone by the next morning. To use this method with bigger transplants, just cut the ring open and slip it over the plant’s stem.

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Ten Tips for a Healthy, Sustainable Diet on a Budget

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Ten Tips for a Healthy, Sustainable Diet on a Budget

Over on the Attainable Sustainable Facebook page, I posted this video of Robyn O’Brien discussing America’s food system at TEDxAustin. It’s a very compelling video in which Ms. O’Brien offers a calm and concise look at the foods we’re feeding our families. For instance, did you know that genetically engineered corn is regulated by the EPA as an insecticide because it releases insecticides as it grows? Tortilla chips, anyone? After seeing the video, Sophia, one of my Facebook followers wrote: How can the average (poor) family of five eat on healthier food? I’m wanting to, but stumped. It’s a valid question. Learning about some of the atrocities in our supermarkets is the surest way to convince oneself that organic is the way to go. But organic food is expensive. It’s a sad day when food grown and prepared naturally is the alternative and not the norm, but that’s a whole ‘nother story. I live in a state that is notorious for its high food prices, so I’m all too aware just how costly it is to eat well on the cheap, but some of my tactics may work for you: Stop buying food products and start buying real food....

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Boosting Your Soil’s Nutrients Naturally

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Boosting Your Soil’s Nutrients Naturally

Good soil is the key to successful growing, but whenever I read or ask someone about how to make good soil, though, my eyes glaze over with all of the details. Some people love the details (N.P.K.! Ph! Acidity!) but not me. It’s too overwhelming. I know I need good soil, but I don’t want to spend tons of time getting there. I’m not a scientist; I just want to dig in the dirt. Good dirt. In previous gardens, I’ve had good luck improving the soil without testing. I’m not anti-testing; I just don’t think it’s always as necessary as some soil experts would have you believe. If you’ve got a serious problem, soil testing can help you pinpoint it, but poor soil can probably be fixed without a PhD. In my new garden space, the soil is puny. It doesn’t hold moisture at all; the water just drains right on past the plant’s roots, and probably waves as it goes by. There don’t seem to be a lot of nutrients, because the things I’ve planted are just failing to thrive. They’re not dying, but they’re not doing well, either. My soil improvement plan in two easy steps: Add...

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Welcome

It’s one thing to think, “Hey, I’d love to be more self-sufficient!” and quite another to implement a lifestyle change that might require learning some new skills.

Attainable Sustainable is about bridging the gap between wanting change and making it happen without becoming overwhelmed. Nobody’s saying you have to go get a tractor and a cow. Attainable Sustainable is about discovering – one step at a time – how to make changes in your life to support a sustainable lifestyle.

The Author

Kris Bordessa has been gardening for most of her life. She's been authoring books and writing features for the past ten years or so. It's about time she combined the two, don't you think? [More about the author]