Day 74 of our Green Year: Watching The Weather

Often when I look outside, I see a neighbor across the street watering their lawn. They water it on a daily basis, then cut it, then water it more. One of the things that bothers me the most about this is that they water their lawn when it is supposed to rain, which just seems like a huge waste for me.

Therefore, for our 74th Day of Our Green Year, we are practicing the art of watching the weather.
So many of us are removed from nature that we don't even see the signs of rain, thunderstorms and more in our world. We are so out of tune, that it can be grey skies and humid, and people will still water their lawns.

Instead of doing this, Layla will be paying attention to the weather and the Weather Network so that we can see when it is going to rain. Why do this? Well, your lawn needs about one inch of water per week, and your garden, a bit more. Rather than waste water out there watering these things, we can simply check the weather for the next week and see what it looks like. If we are going to have rain for three days straight, then Layla and I will be putting out buckets and barrels to catch the rain water to reuse. If it looks like it is going to be 30 degrees with no rain during the week, then we can use the water we saved from the rainy week to water out garden.

We don't water our lawn, as we feel it is a waste (plus with using a manual lawnmower, I really don't want it to grow that fast.) Not once have I watered the lawn, yet my lawn is just as green as the neighbor across the street.

Knowing the weather that is coming can save you water, and help you save the environment as well.

Thank you to Vice TV which found our blog on banning Alberta products yesterday and sent me a link to a video on the oil industry in Sudan. It can be found here

Also, thank you to AboutMyPlanet.com, we have been hired on as bloggers for the website where we can help get out green message out to thousands of people. The first blog appears tomorrow, so check it out!

Day 9 of our Green Year: Milk Jug Flower Pots

Nearly every home buys milk, and many often buy them in the 4 Liter milk jug size. However, these milk jugs are often not recycled. Sadly, they often end up in landfills, or simply thrown away to sit for decades as they slowly decay. It does not have to be this way, and Layla and I have already committed to recycling our milk jugs. However, we thought we would also go one step further and starting turning our milk jugs into something useful.
There are really countless things that you can use a milk jug for if you don't recycle it, but here are a fraction of the ones Layla and I have initiated in our house.

1. You can poke holes in them and turn them into a great watering can for the garden. Leave them sitting outside (securely so they don't blow away) and let rain water fall in them. This then gives a double-whammy for the environment because you are using rain water and recycling a jug.
2. You can cut them in half and use them as flowers pots. As you can see, we have done this with three of our milk jugs already. You may be asking about the tops, well you can even use those as flower pots if you keep the lid on them, or you can use them as funnels.
3. The tops of the milk can also be turned into bird feeders and watering sieves, simply by poking holes in the top.
4. They also make great mini-compost containers. You can use them to transport compost from dinner or other meals to the compost bin. Just remember to keep it clean, and it will work great sitting under the sink for you until you can go out to your compost bin.

We are using three of our jugs to grow some flowers, one for watering the garden and one for composting transportation. Layla is also working on a great set of birdhouses and flower pots made from milk jugs that will be decorated and look wonderful, which will be available through our blog.

Waste Reduced: Several milk jugs worth and growing.

Day 4 of our Green Year: Storing Snow

We are just about one week into our Green Year, and today we took the advice of someone who has read the blog and began storing snow.
Yes, it may seem odd that we are storing snow, but the truth is that it is an excellent way to save water for the summer.
When people water their lawns, they can waste between 50 and 500 gallons of water. Some water in the afternoons, when most of the water evaporates, while others water their lawn too much. Typically, your lawn needs only one inch of water per week. This means that if you have a rectangle lawn (for simplicity's sake) that is 15 by 35 feet, you will need 271 gallons of water per week to water it. However, your lawn can survive on less, so watering your lawn as little as 100 gallons of water per week should be fine.
To that end, we have begun gathering up snow, which we will store in a 71 gallon rain barrel that can be bought from Canadian Tire for about $70 to $90. While we fill the barrel with snow, rain will also keep it full. This means that if we can maintain the barrel with enough rain water so that it is full twice a month, that is 142 less gallons of water we will be using on the lawn each month.
We have not bought the barrel yet, and are just using some containers we have around the house instead. They may be small, but every single drop of water helps and it is another drop less that we use from the watersheds in the area.

It should be noted that when we store our water, we will be purchasing a mosquito net so that no mosquito can get to the water to lay its larvae. You should never let still water exist in your yard, unless it is covered or protected from mosquitoes, who will use it as a breeding ground.

A Shout Out!
Thank you to everyone who has read the blog and sent us e-mails. In particular, Min, Jay and Sue have all told us they will be implementing some of the ten things you can do to save the environment. Every big change starts small, but overtime it grows larger and larger until it cannot be denied. We look forward to receiving more comments and feedback in the future.

Water Saved With Two Small Containers: 5.3 Gallons (small but a start)