ECO Thread

luluc · February 2, 2008

I love the shared farm idea. My one horse pony of a town, has each Sat a co-op type sale of fresh veggies/fruit/dairy/meat...Not just for those participating but a general sale of goods. Over the holidays my mom taught me how to can cetain foods, and DH and I bought a freezer for the garage to start storing our garden once they take off.

Lindata - The solar panels are neat additon to the green house, I'm not overly scientific like DH is, I do know that the seeds I started in Sept (that's when the green house was complete) are taking off - far faster than anything I had in a window. I get lost inside there sometimes, I put my Ipod on and examine every little pod / pot I have going on. Right now I have a whole wall of Sunflower seeds sprouting , that I'm hoping to plant around our stocked Bass pond. I'd like to have the pond surrounded by Texas Wildflowers, and the only thing really missing was the sunflowers. The pond is one thing I didnt' mention that we eat from (Bass and some Crappie), since my Labs get the most of the fishing it seems as of late.

Allyson - we wanted to go the geothermal heat pump route as well, but it's just astronomically outrageous in price. I love your floor choices, my preference was cork as well, but I got overruled. Too many dogs so DH choose heated concrete floors. They've been nice especially during and unseasonably cold TX winter.

I love everyones ideas - the sponge is something new to me, I seem to put it in the dishwasher every chance I run it - or the microwave. Have clorox wips as backup for bathroom & dog needs:)

luluc · February 2, 2008

There have been articles in the Canadian media about the 100 kilometer/mile meal plans. The idea behind these is that many of our foods travel from very far away and thus come with a large carbon footprint. The concept is to make meals using only such produce which can be sourced locally. The trouble with doing this in Canada is that our growing season is so short. This leaves us pretty much deprived of everything except for root vegetables and apples during most of the year. blehhh..... I eat a lot of fresh produce and thus my carbon footprint will remain large in this area.
And as for drinks, I much prefer scotch over rye and French wines over those produced in Ontario.

Ah Green, I do very well buying groceries locally all but the "drinks". I like my Vodka from the Netherlands, Wine from the Russian River Valley & Tequilla from Mexico (Sonora State).

lindata · February 2, 2008

Sounds like fun! I can't wait til I am thin enough to ride a bike again...

It will be sooner than you think. Just 30 pounds ago it was very hard for me too - that was last summer. I've been using a stationary bike for exercise and I think that's helped, but definitely having a smaller stomach is helping greatly.

Lindata - The solar panels are neat additon to the green house, I'm not overly scientific like DH is, I do know that the seeds I started in Sept (that's when the green house was complete) are taking off - far faster than anything I had in a window. I get lost inside there sometimes, I put my Ipod on and examine every little pod / pot I have going on. Right now I have a whole wall of Sunflower seeds sprouting , that I'm hoping to plant around our stocked Bass pond. I'd like to have the pond surrounded by Texas Wildflowers, and the only thing really missing was the sunflowers. The pond is one thing I didnt' mention that we eat from (Bass and some Crappie), since my Labs get the most of the fishing it seems as of late.

Your pond sounds so nice! We're putting one in but not with fish. My DH got a solar powered pump for it. Are we green or what? We tried the pump out today and it works really great. We haven't lined it yet - we just tried it out with the Water collected in it from rain.

I planted some sunflower seeds for my son to see. I can't believe how fast they've grown! I just have a window to grow them in, not a greenhouse. It sounds like you have a really nice set up. Are you on a farm?

luluc · February 5, 2008

Your pond sounds so nice! We're putting one in but not with fish. My DH got a solar powered pump for it. Are we green or what? We tried the pump out today and it works really great. We haven't lined it yet - we just tried it out with the Water collected in it from rain.

I planted some sunflower seeds for my son to see. I can't believe how fast they've grown! I just have a window to grow them in, not a greenhouse. It sounds like you have a really nice set up. Are you on a farm?

Not a farm, more like a Ranch. Unlike most of TX, our property is all terrain..lots of hills / creeks / ponds..not much of flat land condusive for farming. I'm sure we could get one in place, however that would mean cutting a lot of Mesquite / Pecan / Cedar Trees, that I don't have the heart in doing.

Growing up in NY, I always wanted a big piece of land w/a bunch of animals. I pinch myself daily and try to not take advantage of it.