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Green Living

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Green living topics are all over Hometalk, from the ground up. Since every part of a house can benefit from green living upgrades, Hometalkers are always talking about green living. Saving the earth starts at home! Do you want to make greener living choices? Talk to Hometalk members who have made green living choices that they could live with. Browse photos of ecological projects around the home and garden, or search green living posts - your questions might have already been answered!

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Gardening: This may be a silly question, but here it goes...I have heard that some people compost their fall leaves and/or use

them for mulch. Being on a tight budget, buying mulch for all of our shrubs, trees, etc. is not possible. I was thinking we could mow the lawn AND the leaves using with the bag ...»

Starr Pease on Apr 14, 2013

Absolutely. The best garden I ever had happened after all of the walnut tree shed it's leaves ...»
and composted naturally. The dirt was soft and better than any bagged compost.

Gardening: Any suggestion on purchasing a good rain barrel to water flower bed and hanging plants in the yard.

I don't want to draw mosquitoes and such bugs. How does one keep the water clean and how to use with a watering hose.

Talithagrace K on Apr 11, 2013

Thanks for the tips on rain barrel. I made one from a 55 gal car wash soap container. the ...»
water did not turn brown and I am saving on my water bill I use it for many out dooor projests, watering plants, washing out paint brushes, washing the back patio. Thanks Walter Reeves from my home state of Georgia. I doubles screened the barrell.

Solar {or other} conversions of bed side lamps and fans

Is there anyone who can help me to convert our bed side lamps and fans {ceiling or floor standing} to work with anything other than electricity? Solar, maybe? Any ideas welcome!

Linda@With A Blast on Feb 23, 2013

Electricity is without a doubt still the cheapest way right now, unless one has a solar system ...»
to cover a full household {it's just getting to that point..}. Thank you for the chart - although SA is the cheapest ,2010, it seems we are chasing at a ridiculous percentage rate to catch up with Italy! With all the fuel we are using, we can only put away a smallish amount every month to get to the R 7500 or at least the start-up which would only be around R 4000 - hope to get there soon, as Winter is approaching.

Gardening: composting in a city garden

I have a small space but, I am interested in composing. When I look for ideas on line everything is so big. I have just been putting egg shells and coffee grinds in my garden.

Becky J on Feb 05, 2013

it took a good year of composting to net any usuable compost. But, I know what you mean, I ...»
can't wait for spring, either!

Is there an all natural pest control product for indoor use?

New Era Pest Control on Jan 20, 2013

Truth be told! Eco Smart is ok at best. In the pest control industry, there are measures of ...»
control known as repellents. Using eco smart is like using a repellent. Repellents simply repel insects. They do not normally work for any given amount of time. Things like lemon peel, orange peel, thyme, and so many other home remedies are only effective for a very short time. Factors like humidity, UV lighting, temperature have a drastic effect on the residual effect of repellants. These repellents only kill for a short period of time and reapplying these is a pain in the rear. Baiting is the best concept here. In the case of ants, placing baits that the workers will take back to the queen would kill the nest and not just 1 or 2 ants with much greater success. :)

Gardening: Can compost attract bad insects and if so what are they?

Douglas Hunt on Aug 02, 2012

You can probably get your compost pile back in shape by adding more greens or browns until you ...»
get the proportion to about two parts green to one part brown.

Cleaning & Organization: How to keep a rainbarrel clean?

I have a 35gal. and a 55gal. rainbarrel and was wondering since they are homemade from food-grade plastic barrels is there a way to keep them clean and discourage mosquitos and other bugs from breeding in them? Or algae- one is in morning sun.

DeAnn L on Jun 06, 2012

Yes I just bought the feeder fish and keep them warm and happy in the winter in the house. I ...»
also have a small plastic type pond in the back yard and keep a few in there also.

Green Living: Can someone clarify the whole rain barrel thing for me?

Here's where I'm confused about the logic -- if it rains hard, and the gutter from your roof empties into the barrel, it's full -- and you aren't emptying it too quickly to water plants ...»

Jimmy C on May 28, 2012

this is a great thread. I have experience the same way, but what i did is to use a downspout ...»
diverter. You can check this http://www.downspoutdiverters.net

Gardening: Where can I find straw bales to plant an organic vegetable garden in? I live in NW Orange County.

Jan M on May 21, 2012

Check with you local feed and seed outfits or farming suppliers and they should be able to ...»
help you. I know that there are farms in the out lying areas of LA, like in Simi or Moorpark or even in the Ventura areas. They should be able to tell you where to find WHEAT STRAW BALES. Oat straw would work but you would get a lot of grass growing up from them. Wheat Straw is what you really want.