Joan Goes Green

Little hapu`u

2011-12-30T13:00:00.000-08:00

I am finally in my "new" house and yes, I took this photo in my living room. LOL. I bought the ultimate "green" home. It's a great cabin and very homey. Most of it is made with salvage lumber and what you see is the result of my taking off 1 3/4" canec from the walls and 3/4" canec from the ceiling. Canec is pressed cane fiber impregnated with arsenic. So, you see why this was the first things I removed. The image is of the inside of the wall. Not a pretty sight but it's solid. The ceiling is now insulated and drywalled and I'm about to build a 2X4 studded wall and plan to insulate it with some R-13. That should warm things up quite a bit. That, and my new stove. :) I brought in this little hapuu (tree fern) from outside and it caught the light in such a pretty way that I HAD to capture the moment. It feels good to be in my own home. :)

Aquaponics Update, April 27, 2011

2011-04-27T21:04:00.000-07:00

I'm excited that folks at our Seicho-No-Ie truth realization seminar made a short visit to the house to see my "mini farm" this weekend. We checked out my aquaponics system, little chickies, bunnies, fishies, and even worms. I think the kids enjoyed feeding all of them and collecting eggs! Chicken eggs, that is! And we picked alot of lettuce and watercress for our dinner salad. It felt really, really good to share what I grew with friends.

That evening, we boiled and colored the eggs using natural dyes ... blue with purple cabbage, green with spinach, yellow with ground tumeric, yellow with onion skins, pink with beets, and red with red onion skins. To make green, we also mixed the purple cabbage and onion skins dye and it worked really well! It made a delicate green.

And we even had a taste test. Clifford, our chef for the weekend, tasted mainland eggs and my chickie eggs side by side ... and he said there is a definite difference and that my chickie eggs tastes like what eggs used to taste like! That's the biggest compliment ever!

Layla ... pure sweetness!

2011-04-14T01:19:00.000-07:00

Shut out and shut down!

2011-04-10T16:28:00.000-07:00

Lily is looking rather confused ... "NO CHICKENS ALLOWED!"

*fingers crossed*

OH NO! THEY DI'INT !!!

2011-04-09T11:48:00.000-07:00

*Sigh* The chickens DID ... and ate every single morsel of my kale. It was fine yesterday and bare today. One more reason to keep chickens and gardens separate. Well, their eggs better be good now that they've had an extra dose of leafy greens!

Aquaponics Update - April 7, 2011

2011-04-09T01:57:00.000-07:00

Powdery mildew

2011-03-13T17:29:00.001-07:00

Eeek! powdery mildew on my potted kale!

Milk treatment of powdery mildew on kale in my aquaponics bed

Powdery mildew ... powdery mildew ... powdery mildew. It's a funny word combination, isn't it? Anyhoo, this fungus ended up on my redbor and regular kale in my aquaponics grow beds (It also infested my long beans in my garden but I'm so tired of eating long beans, I'll let them have it). I found out diluted whole milk (1 part milk to 4 parts water) is an effective treatment so I tried it ... and it is working! For a soy milk kind of gal, I had to buy a half quart of the stuff! It looks like I will need to treat again because there are spots that I missed but I am pleasantly surprised by the results and there is apparently no harm to my fish. I mean, milk?! Really? Yeah, really! :D

Waste and growing my own food

2011-02-09T10:35:00.000-08:00

I used to waste a lot of store-bought vegetables! Know what I mean? I'm sure we all have that browning head of lettuce in our fridge and are watching 3/4 of our parsley or basil bunch turning right before our eyes. Such waste!

Wanna eat fresh veggies, reduce waste, learn about the circle of life, work outdoors, be more self-sustainable, live a healthier lifestyle? Consider growing your own food! No matter what the kind of garden, as Martha Steward says, "It's a good thing." I have an aquaponics setup but I also have fruit trees (tangerines, papapya, star fruit, pomelo, etc.) and traditional garden beds and I'm able to pick only what I need, when I need it. Of course, I have to eat more seasonably, but that's part of the circle of life and takes some getting used to. Okay, I know I'm spoiled because I have to constantly fight the urge to demand what I want when I want it ... but that immediacy is just an artifact of the un-sustainable nature of our food system. I have to remind myself of that.

Compost recruits

2011-02-04T11:55:00.000-08:00

Fanciful mushrooms have shown up in my compost bed, including a forest of little strawberry papaya plants. Anyone need seedlings?

1000 Awesome Things Blog

2011-01-23T22:38:00.000-08:00

Need a reminder about what is so awesome about your life? Check out the 1000 Awesome Things blog. For me? My cayenne chillies are awesome! When morning sunlight hits them at just the right angle, they glow! That makes me giggle.

Vapur, the anti-bottle

2011-01-18T23:42:00.000-08:00

I found these really great BPA-free, freezable reusable bottles at Ben Franklin tonight, for $7.99 (0n sale, $9.99 regular price). They're only 0.5 L so they are easy to carry around. Yeah, it's plastic but I figure that it's a great thing to carry on my off-island jaunts because they fold flat. I've been taking my Sigg aluminum bottles with me but they can be bulky, especially when space is a serious consideration on flights. They stand on their own and are made in the US and seem pretty durable.

Aquaponics Update - 12/29/10

2010-12-29T23:37:00.000-08:00

I never would have believed it if I hadn't taken before and after shots. The picture on the left was taken on Nov. 27, 2010 and the one on the right was taken today, Dec. 29, 2010, just one month later.

2010-12-29T23:29:00.000-08:00

A Christmas story of kindness

2010-12-25T21:03:00.000-08:00

I believe how we treat the planet is just a symptom of how we treat the people and things around us. I hope you'll find inspiration in this story like I have and vow to treat everything on this planet with respect and gratitude. Click link below.

Help Others.org: Compassion in Action at a Nursing Home -- A Kindness Story

Long beans

2010-12-23T11:55:00.000-08:00

I also have some crops growing around the house, including this long bean, setup next to my compost bed. The soil around the heap is really rich and full of fat earthworms so I knew it would be good for beans. I started the beans from a pod from a bunch of long beans that I got at the farmer's market but had gone to seed before I could eat it! It's nice to know the 4 seeds have turned into large vines that have produced enough beans for several meals already. I saute the beans in garlic, oyster sauce, and hot peppers and is a delish combo with a hot bowl of rice.

Layla and Murk

2010-12-19T18:48:00.000-08:00

Layla loves her Murk!

Aquaponics Update - 12/18/10

2010-12-18T09:52:00.000-08:00

It has been 7 days since my last update and O-M-G! I am thinking the claims that veggies grow much faster in aquaponics systems than in soil medium are possibly true. I only wish I had my raised garden bed prepared to test this hypothesis. Maybe next time.

I shoulda known the ants were up to no good! Where there are ants, there are aphids. I found the source ... hidden amongst my mint leaves was a healthy colony of fat aphids that eventually invaded my fennel. One nice thing about the floating rafts is I can pull the plant out, spray with soapy water, wash it off, and return it to its spot. :) Aphids are HISTORY!
I had some problems with what I think is iron deficiency so treated with some foliar Fe/Zn spray and added some Maxicrop with iron for insurance a couple days ago. I'm still waiting to see the results but chucked one struggling chlorotic mizuna. No space for the weak in this system! LOL
I've started a new rotation of lettuce in the hopes this system will provide lettuce year round.

Nature happens

2010-12-17T19:24:00.001-08:00

The pleasure of gardening is finding signs of renewal like this ... :)

Rabbit cage using storage cubes

2010-12-16T06:51:00.000-08:00

I found these indoor cages really easy to make, especially in a pinch. I used 5/8" plywood with 12" square tiles and pretty much zip tied the thing together and put 5 casters on the bottom so I can wheel it around. It doesn't keep "debris" from *rolling* out (if you're a rabbit owner, you know what I mean) but a quick sweep usually does the job. It's nice cuz the rabbits have 3 levels to explore and get some exercise in. Oh, I should mention I'm not quite done and in true form, I would like to expand it a bit.

If you're interested in owning angora rabbits so you too can spin their wool and have hours of entertainment, check out this video that describes how to build a spiffy rabbit condo.

Okay, it's not very "green" but it is excellent in a pinch. I am finding that going green requires a lot of storage space to keep things you might need at a future date (get what you can when you can) and time to search for the things you need. In this day and age, we often have neither. Hmmm ... what to do ... what to do ... Any ideas?

Joan's aquaponic setup

2010-12-13T21:30:00.000-08:00

33 golden tilapia, 12 cayenne peppers, 11 kinds of veggies, 5 colorful koi, 4 grow beds, 3 collard seedlings, 2 electric pumps, 1 timer, and a flower in my eggplant treeeeee! Happy holidays everyone!

More requested info: pump in 100-gal tank runs @ 500 g/hr (runs intermittently, every 2 hrs for 30 min but only twice after sunset for 5 min), pump in 40-gal sump runs @ 250 g/hr runs continuously. Since I live in Hawaii, the system runs year round. Cost of system (plus fish and plants) is in the $1000 range. I'll post more accurate totals once I figure it out. (Updated, 8/18/11)

Aquaponics fish tank - golden tilapia

2010-12-13T20:36:00.000-08:00

Dinner, Lunch, and Jack (the one-eyed tilapia) are doing well amongst the minion. I'm sure they get the best morsels too.

If you're an aquaponics nerd, you might find this info interesting ... pH is 6.8, ammonia is negligible, nitrites 0.25 mg/L, and nitrates 15 mg/L. I dunno the dissolved oxygen but I use an airpump and airstone. Oh, and the PVC pipe with holes that is running along the bottom of the tank is part of the pump, drawing off fish solids (i.e., poop). It's been really effective so far!

My fish tank is 100 gallons and receives the overflow from the sump. The pipe to the left is the overflow drain so I don't flood my downstairs when it rains hard.

Aquaponics update - 12/11/10

2010-12-11T09:24:00.000-08:00

The aquaponics system is finally equalizing and the little buggers have the nitrates and other nutrients they need. The veggies are doing well and the little sprouts are about as big as the ones I started separately and transplanted 2 weeks before! Seeding the beds directly saved me tons of time and the seeds seem to have set at the right depth, which means the mizuna and collards won't fall over like the others! Check here to see the beds two weeks ago.Whoa, is there enough space to fit everything? Prolly not but I'l cull as we go. However, I think the system should be able to handle the close proximity. With the roots bathing in nutrients, there would be less competition, right? It's all theoretical now so I'll be interested to see how things go. I'm so stoked about the mizuna. Just the idea of having it available year-round is worth the effort of putting together this system!
The deep water culture beds are doing well too! The watercress is finally picking up speed and so are the ong choi and mint. Click here to see the beds two weeks ago.

I'm so glad that my lettuce are doing what lettuce is supposed to do!

Starfruit season returns!

2010-12-05T20:20:00.000-08:00

Happy, happy, joy, joy :D!!!

Silly Murk in his bowl

2010-12-05T19:40:00.001-08:00

Murk, do you like your new cage?

2010-12-05T09:31:00.000-08:00

`Nuff said.

My little English angora rabbit is now about 7 weeks old and he is so much fun! He's already a ball of fur and his fur keeps getting longer by the day. His wool has a wonderful crimp so he will no doubt be a great wooler. But I love his personality most of all ... inquisitive and such a wonderful lap bunny!

Jamming to the beat

2010-11-30T21:46:00.001-08:00

Surinam cherry/strawberry jam! Fruit picked at a friend's house in Ookala, prepared with strawberries and love, and on their way to friends and family in their Christmas baskets! Best eaten with vanilla ice cream!

Aquaponics update - 11/27/10, part duex

2010-11-27T10:21:00.000-08:00

In case you're wondering about the floating rafts (deep water culture), this is what it looked like this morning. I've got lettuce (2 kinds), watercress, spearmint (2 kinds), ong choi, marigold, basil, kale, Swiss chard, and fennel. The nitrate levels are slowly creeping up and thankfully, nitrite levels are lowering so I am hopeful that this batch of starts will do well. The one before this failed miserably ... no nutrients means sudden death for little seedlings! Lesson learned.

Aquaponics update - 11/27/10

2010-11-27T09:35:00.000-08:00

11/27/10 - 6 days later ... The sprouts have come up! (I added the eggplant to the cinder bin about 5 days ago, on 11/22/10). Check out how big the cayenne chili and kale got!

cinder - 11/27/10 hydroton - 11/27/10

I transplanted some starts six days before, on 11/21/10. The plants are from KTA (curly parsley, purple kale, fennel); vegetables I started myself (Swiss chard, mizuna); and a couple basil starts that the guy at Ohana Greenhouse gave me. I planted the chili and larger purple kale a few days earlier. I also sowed some mesclun, mizuna, and Swiss chard seeds in the hopes they'll start and sustain themselves on their own. But really, it's jus' cuz I'm really lazy. Check out the pics above to see what the bins look like 6 days later!

cinder - 11/21/10 hydroton - 11/21/10

My first beanie!

2010-11-19T18:39:00.000-08:00

Yipee :D! I finished knitting my first beanie! The wool roving was in the bag of supplies that came with my spinning wheel so I spun the wool and plied two lengths into yarn and knitted this little beanie. Well, it's not so little. It's huge actually and thankfully, I have a big head. So, I guess I'll have to keep this one and start working on my next, being careful to measure next time.

Spinning and knitting is so addicting! And everyone, be nice to me or you'll be gifted beanies and scarves for every occasion for the rest of your life! LOL

Green School in Bali

2010-11-18T09:29:00.000-08:00

A new day

2010-11-18T09:05:00.000-08:00

Chickies are fed and watered, pup let out, koi and tilapia fed, ... and now coffee for Joan. It's a good morning. :)

Yarn ball!

2010-11-17T19:19:00.000-08:00

It's Zen. All Zen. It's easy to get lost in spinning.

Here's my first yarn ball that is destined to be my first knitted beanie. :) Wow, it's incredibly satisfying to know that I can transform tufts of wool into something that will keep someone warm this winter! It's about as sustainable as it gets.

A bobbin's worth

2010-11-11T15:16:00.000-08:00

My new spinning wheel arrived this week! I bought it on Ebay from a wonderful woman in NM who included a bag of wool, instruction book, and a pair of carders. I L-O-V-E my "new" Ashford Traditional wheel! My engineer brain thinks it's a fascinating piece of machinery and my artist brain considers it a work of art!

Can you tell I've been practicing? I tried using the white wool first, then the beige. What a difference practice makes! After spinning another bobbin's worth, I'll ply them together and then I'll be ready to knit! Oh, I am getting an angora rabbit next month ... but that's another story.

Golden tilapia

2010-11-11T14:07:00.000-08:00

I just added 16 more fingerlings to the mix. 34 in all. The 2 largest ones are Lunch and Dinner (sick, I know) and one without an eye is Jack, the one-eyed tilapia. And I put 5 pretty koi in the sump. They all seem to like their new digs.

Oh my ... folks, please remind me to stop naming animals I will be eating!

My aquaponic setup

2010-10-30T01:08:00.000-07:00

Aquaponics setup - 75% done!

2010-10-27T10:37:00.000-07:00

I probably have just one more weekend of fiddling before my aquaponics setup is fully functional. The continuous flow half is up and running and I started my lettuce yesterday. I also inoculated the flood and drain grow beds with some vermicastings and worms in the hopes I've introduced necessary nitrifying bacteria. The pipe fittings are not glued yet as I'm still tweaking the system. I've yet to connect the fish tank pump and of course, I still need to get some fish! Almost there!

Rules of Daily Conduct

2010-10-20T10:24:00.001-07:00

Words I *try* to live by:

Be grateful to all beings in the whole universe.
Always be your natural self.
Be sincere in all things.
Have deep consideration for all people and all things.
Look on the bright side of people and things and not their dark side.
Destroy your selfish attitude.
Believe your life to be God life and move forward with faith in certain victory.
Practice prayerful meditation at least once a day to enlighten yourself.

Aquaponics! Getting there!

2010-10-17T18:03:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to get the media into the bins today! The two black tubs are my biofilters, which will accept the water directly from the fish tank. One is filled with 3 bags of black cinder and the other is filled with a 50-liter bag of hydroton. It could probably use another 10 liters tho'. Before filling the tubs, I sifted the black cinder with a screen of 0.25 inch hardware cloth and washed it. I just washed the hydroton.

So, generally, my setup operates in two integrated parts, in theory:

Part I, Ebb and Flow: Water runs from fish tank via 500 GPH water pump => 2 biofilter grow beds => through bell siphon (CTAHR-style) => sump => overflow returns to fish tank.

Part II: Continuous Flow: Water runs from sump via 250 GPH water pump => 2 white floating rafts grow beds => overflow from grow beds returns to sump => overflow from sump returns to fish tank. Note: the fish tank is not shown. It's located in the slightly sunken basement, behind the brown laths of the house.

Goodness, I really hope this works.

Afternoon harvest, 10/14/10

2010-10-15T09:28:00.000-07:00

Walking around the house after work and gathering fruits and veggies from my garden and coop is such a relaxing afternoon treat. BTW, the tangerines are the Okinawan variety. Each of the section of the fruit is more like a packet of sweet juice than a typical tangerine wedge. If you come to visit, you'll have to try some!

A Good Day

2010-10-02T00:55:00.000-07:00

I believe that gratefulness is the basis for appreciating the beauty of our planet and all of its occupants. I am thankful ...

love

2010-09-30T22:31:00.000-07:00

2010-09-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

"A man is ethical only when life, as such, is sacred to him, that of plants and animals as that of his fellow men, and when he devotes himself helpfully to all life that is in need of help." ~ Albert Schweitzer

Little Tulip

2010-09-15T11:50:00.000-07:00

Tulip is a bantam silkie pullet and already 5.5 months old! She's gotten quite a bit fluffier in the past couple months.

Backyard aquaponics ... the adventure

2010-08-29T23:58:00.001-07:00

On to my new project ... AQUAPONICS! Aquaponics is the cross between hydroponics (growing plants in a water medium) and aquaculture (growing fish for food). It's a rather ingenious idea, actually, and is really catching on by those who want to grow their own food and to remain sustainable. Basically, one grows vegetables using fish poo, which is high in nitrogen. The fish water is piped to vegetable growing beds where bacteria break down the ammonia to nitrites and then nitrates, which is a form plants can take up. In doing so, the plants clean the water, which is then circulated back to the fish!

I've started building my three grow bed benches and have already finished the table for my 100-gallon fish tank. Thanks to Donna and Tracy, the Vierra's, and donations from church, I have enough recycled wood for my construction projects. And bless you Dennis for cutting the 2x4s to length for 2 tables! It helped tremendously!

Oh, did I tell you that I am running all of this on solar power? The generator is purchased and ready to install! I'm so excited! More pics soon!

Home grown

2010-08-20T12:31:00.000-07:00

I love the recruits from my worm bin! This papaya started sprouting in my flower bed after applying my worm compost to the soil. Just like my other crops that have come before, they were from kitchen scraps that I had thrown into my worm bin. After a year of doing nothing but watching the tree grow, I finally got to enjoy the "fruits" of its labor for breakfast this morning! :D Yum ... strawberry papayas are the best!

I'm really enjoying being able to eat the things I've grown myself. I know for a fact that I have not used any pesticides, are picked at the peak of ripeness, and well, I know I can share them to feed the people I love. There's a lot of satisfaction in that. :)

Plastics: They find a way into these birds

2010-07-24T18:35:00.000-07:00

Young Laysan albatross birds, Kauai, Hawaii. (Photo by Pauline Sato)

Regurgitated bolus from Laysan albatross chicks on Kauai. (Photo by Pauline Sato)

For more information, check out this article in Albatross Biology and Conservation. More soon.

Edit: A new partnership that allows people on Oahu to recycle their bottle caps will help to keep plastics out of the ocean.

I got to thinking ...

2010-07-17T16:00:00.000-07:00

I got to thinking and sometimes that's not a good thing but I think it is this time.

Ever notice how accustomed we've become to having one carefully labelled, sealed package of basil leaves grown on the mainland that's available at your grocery store at all times? I got to thinking about that. So this is what I figure ... it took someone to farm the land it grew on; someone had to make the fertilizer they put on it; maybe even someone to make the herbicide they used, which probably took chemists and engineers to create; then the machinery to till the soil; apply the fertilizers; and harvest the crop. Someone had to make the plastic bags, right? And that took chemical plants, petroleum from underground and the wells to dredge it up, and places to make the bags and not to mention the resources and people it took to make the plastic bag sealers. Then, the labels: Ink (I'm sure that took a lot of people) ... paper, which meant trees were cut down, sticky stuff on the backs of stickers. Not to mention what it took to truck the produce around and fly or ship the produce to Hawaii (more fuel, cargo staff, jets, truck builders, etc.) and the people who sell it to us and all the accountants, packers, delivery persons, lawyers, and the list goes on. Dang, that must be, like, over 2000 people and not to mention the fuel and resources!

I never thought about that before. It got me kinda sick, to tell you the truth. So the question is, did I create this machine? I guess I have, because I support it.

So, I figured the least I could do is grow my own locally started basil ... and my own oregano, green onions, mint, kaffir lime, dill, etc. And yeah, this is Brown Thumb Joan talking so it's no easy task but if I'm successful, I'll save the seed for the next crop or to share with others. Don't get me wrong. I'm not a saint and you'll prolly catch me at the grocery store buying ingredients I could have grown myself but this gets you thinking, huh? I mean, it's not to put anyone out of business or anything. This just represents my vote that produce ought to be grown locally, if possible. So that's my thought.

Creating change one tomato at a time

2010-07-07T11:30:00.000-07:00

I am so excited! My yard guy just dropped off this tomato at my house. He had grown it from seed that he had gotten from my tomatoes and fertilized his plants with worm castings! He was so excited about his huge tomatoes and brought this one over just for me! He even asked if I might share my vermicomposting worms with him cuz he wants to start a bin as well! It's so exciting to make a change in this world, one person at a time.

Egg to riches

2010-06-30T14:52:00.000-07:00

From this ...

... to this.

The Experiment: Raise chickens from hatching eggs (i.e., purchased fertile eggs), sell them, apply funds toward feed and supplies needed to raise 2 hens for eggs. Goal: net input = net output.

The Result: Utter and dismal failure ... sort of.

The Analysis: I ended up adoring (*love*) my three silkie chickies as pets rather than commodities and the idea of selling them became very distressing and yes, there were many tears. I should have known. Already, 2 have crowed (roosters *gulp*) and had to be reluctantly rehomed. Buttercup has already been rehomed to a ranch in Kona and Camellia will follow this weekend. Sell them? God forbid! I gave them to a family with 13 kids that I know will give them a good life and love `em up and that was a good feeling.

The Lesson: I am not cut out to be a chicken farmer. Maybe having many will offset their uncanny ability to tug at my heartstrings but then, of course, naming them was the first big red flag. I guess I'll just have to admit my little silkies are my pets and I should just relish the fact that my pets provide me eggs for breakfast. Will I be hatching chicks again any time soon? Heck no! Well, maybe not.

13 weeks old

2010-06-09T14:39:00.000-07:00

Camellia is looking awfully rooster-ish!
The gang ... Tulip, the splash one in the middle of the picture is a lot smaller than the others but she's the sweetest.
Buttercup is just plain beautiful! The white and blue (i.e., black) ones are my adult hens, Lily and Daisy.

Got worms?

2010-05-22T13:18:00.000-07:00

Hey, does anyone on the Big Island (Hawaii) need Indian Blue worms for their vermicomposting bins? I need to separate the worms and castings this weekend and would like to share the wealth, depending on how much extra I have. I'll probably have at least half a pound of worms to share. Only request I make is that when yours reproduce that you share your extras with others so they can start their own bin. If you want the worms, I'll be happy to help you start your own bin!

Pay It Forward Day - April 29, 2010 (Thurs)

2010-04-28T10:13:00.000-07:00

Aloha all, tomorrow is Pay It Forward Day, a day to start performing random acts of kindness ... of love. If you are rusty at it and need some ideas, check out the Help Others website of stories of simple acts that have had huge impact on the giver. If you feel this world is becoming too intolerant, too selfish, too self-centered, please take a step to change the situation in your life and maybe you will find the greatest joy is not in the getting but in the giving. Join me and millions of others to change the world by starting with one random act of kindness. Maybe you'll be compelled to do it everyday. I hope so. :)

5 weeks

2010-04-10T15:00:00.001-07:00

At 5 weeks, they are making up their way up the steps to the front door to loudly pronounce they need more food. *sigh* Lily and Daisy are really good teachers. Too good, in my opinion!

1 month old ... Buttercup

2010-04-03T14:02:00.001-07:00

Buttercup's bloomers seem a bit oversized but she's ... he's (?) growing into them. Yes, I do think we have a rooster here but I don't think I'll know for sure for 3 months.

Sun power!

2010-03-28T17:26:00.000-07:00

I gotta thank my pops. He had our solar water heater system installed decades ago, back when our electric company offered incentives and tax breaks. Maybe he believed in renewable energy back then or maybe he was just interested in the cost savings. Either way, I reap the benefits now. With an electric bill of only about $90 per month (was $45 before the recent price hike) and knowing I am taking advantage of the abundant sunshine we have, I consider that a win-win. :) Thanks Pops!

An hour for a cause

2010-03-28T17:14:00.000-07:00

I spent my Earth Hour last night imagining the world we are leaving our children. I don't know about you but I want to leave it better than it is right now. I think this is the year to do something about it.

Earth Hour 2010 ... tonight, 8:30pm-9:30pm

2010-03-27T20:46:00.001-07:00

Show your commitment to living a more sustainable lifestyle. Join hundreds of millions of people world wide for Earth Hour 2010, where we turn off our lights for one hour, 8:30 - 9:30pm on Saturday, March 27th, to show our support for actions that address climate change. It's a simple act of solidarity and a reminder to all of us that positive change starts with a single person. Check it out on Facebook too.

Sufficient Self - a forum for the energy conscious

2010-03-25T13:55:00.000-07:00

A sister forum to Backyard Chickens is this one, called Sufficient Self. If you're looking for a community of like-minded individuals looking to become more sufficient through renewable energy, recycling, hunting and gathering, organic consumption, etc., this is the site for you. Check it out!

The awkward stage

2010-03-24T00:18:00.000-07:00

19 days old ...

2010-03-22T22:09:00.000-07:00

Tulip, Buttercup, and Camellia had their first independent adventure into the yard today. They somehow got themselves down from the top level of their coop in the morning and after much squawking, made their way up the ramp and back upstairs at the end of the day. It took much prodding from their mommies but they did it themselves. The life of chickens is amazing to me. They were tiny eggs just over 2 weeks ago! Now they look like awkward teenagers growing into their feet and wings!

12 days old ...

2010-03-15T23:22:00.000-07:00

Twelve days old and their feathers are growing in.

4 days old ... Fluffy butts

2010-03-07T12:59:00.000-08:00

From egg to this in 21 days. It just amazes me!

2 days old ... Camellia has two mommies

2010-03-05T16:58:00.000-08:00

This little one is named Camellia. I think she's a splash-colored silkie, which is essentially spotted.
Daisy and Lily take their responsibilities very seriously ... I mean VERY seriously.

Hatch Day (Day 21): One fluffy butt!

2010-03-04T11:10:00.000-08:00

All three silkie chicks have hatched! YAAAAYYYYY! Two are this color (blue, probably) and one is buff. More pics will be forthcoming as soon as they start venturing from under the mommas.

Day 20: Happy Birthday Tulip!

2010-03-03T22:09:00.001-08:00

Found this little thing at 4:30 pm today (so that's 31.5 hrs since it pipped). Since then Tulip's been joined by another one! So, now I have two little fuzzy butts and maybe one more on the way!

Day 20!!!! We got pipping!

2010-03-03T12:38:00.000-08:00

WOOHOO! Two of the 3 eggs have started to pip! That is, they have broken through the eggshell! Daisy and Lily have been fighting over the eggs so I took the dud one (the 4th) and placed it under Daisy to settle it. I'm a little worried this jostling about is not a good thing but watching the hens carefully and may have to separate them if it goes on. I got this shot of one of the pipping egg right before Lily slipped it under her. If you look carefully, you can see the crack in the shell.

Day 17

2010-02-28T17:33:00.000-08:00

I guess hatching could take place from tomorrow through Thursday! I candled the 4 eggs last night and one unfortunately died. I haven't removed it yet because I have not fully acknowledged that one of the precious eggs has stopped developing! I am an optimist after all. The chicks are taking up most of the space in the egg with an air pocket at one end ... and not moving around at all so I am hoping that is a good sign. I will keep my fingers crossed that at least 1 will hatch. I took this pic today. Don't they look so SERIOUS?

Day 12

2010-02-23T23:16:00.000-08:00

Just 7-9 more days to go. I tried candling the eggs tonight but it is already too dark to see anything. The air pocket is on the fat end of the egg but that's about all that's visible. I didn't see any movement but my guess is that it is a pretty tight squeeze in there right now so maybe I ought not see too much movement. The wait is killing me! I hear that Daisy and Lily can feel the chick's heart beat now. I wonder what they are thinking ...

Day 10

2010-02-21T17:34:00.000-08:00

It is Day 10 (of ~19). Checked 2 of the 4 eggs last night and this is pretty much what the eggs look like now (the video's not mine; it's from YouTube):

*fingers crossed*

An egg at Day 4 (This is what they look like now! ... but it's not my video)

2010-02-15T19:19:00.000-08:00

Countdown to Hatch!

2010-02-14T23:39:00.000-08:00

Success! I bought 3 silkie chicken hatching eggs on Ebay from muki1234, a highly recommended silkie breeder from TN. The eggs were laid on Feb 8 and arrived on Feb 11th and set under Lily and Daisy the same day. Melinda (the breeder) stuck an extra egg in the box so my chances of success are even greater! My little hens were already broody and took to mothering immediately! They sit all day, leaving the nest only once a day to eat, drink, and poop. Since it takes 21 days to hatch, I am counting down the days. They are hopefully hatching on March 4. There's a countdown clock to the right so I welcome ya'll to join me with the watch! I'm so excited! If I get a chance, I'll post some candling pics of the developing embryos!

Update: 2/14 (Day 3) - three of four eggs are showing spidering veins! That means embryos are developing!

Update: 2/16 (Day 5) - Maybe it was wishful thinking. Two of the eggs showed embryo development.

Update: 2/16, 7:21pm (Day 5) - Candled tonight and ALL 4 eggs show signs of life!!!! I'm so so so happy!

Plumpness!

2010-02-08T20:08:00.000-08:00

Vermicomposting has a lot of benefits! Some tomato plants came up in my worm bin and I transplanted them in a little 12 in planter with 6 inches of soil ... and these are what I got! I've been fertilizing the plant with worm castings and O-M-G (!), the plants has burgeoned into a luscious bush dripping with large, plump tomatoes! At last count, there are over 50 tomatoes and I've already picked a dozen! It is still growing in the little pot and despite what I thought, it hasn't rooted below the pot. All its roots are getting the nutrients from the soil and castings and I've been watering it everyday since we haven't had a good rain for weeks. I love eating my fish tacos with tomatoes still warm from the sun!

Why don't we implement solutions when we know they work?

2010-02-01T09:18:00.000-08:00

Check out this TED video about how psychology needs to combine with technological development to fully implement innovative solutions to some of the world's biggest problems.

Raised garden bed, step 1

2009-07-27T20:36:00.000-07:00

I have filled my raised garden bed halfway with hay and chicken manure (from Lily and Daisy) and soil so it is taking it's sweet time to decompose. I think it should be ready soon. I am slowly filling the bed with more soil but it is slow going as soil is practically non-existent in the area. I have some starts ready to go, including some parsley, dill, green onions, oregano, chives, and both tomatoes and bell peppers that came up in my vermicomposting bin (yay!). And, I see some acorn squash coming up as well! Maybe I won't need to go to the grocery store as much.

Is this going to make much of a difference to the world? I know it won't be obvious ... but I used recycled lumber that would have been decomposing at the dump, fertilizer from my chickens and worms (free!), and starts the would have gone to the dump as garbage instead. Maybe I'll make a teeny tiny dent in my own sphere of influence ... and maybe a little more on my purse. :)

One giant step

2009-07-16T23:08:00.000-07:00

The first giant step is to separate recyclables. The next giant step is taking them to the recycle center!

Worm ball!

2009-07-09T18:10:00.000-07:00

I cleaned out my worm bin today and removed all of the castings, which amounted to about 3.5 -4 gallons worth of material. This is what was left, a hefty ball o' worms that ranged in size from teeny tiny (whatever age that is!) to adult-sized. I've only seen this kind of images on YouTube so it was cool to actually carry a ball like this. Pretty nifty if you ask me!

I should add that I LOVE my vermicomposting bin. It cost me about $3.50 to start! I get rid of all my kitchen scraps and junk mail, have little or no fruit flies, no smelly garbage, I got lots of beautiful fertilizer, and I get to play with worms!

Best Tasting Water!

2009-07-08T19:40:00.000-07:00

According to MSNBC article, "Take a sip! America's best tap water." by Mike Celizic (Todayshow.com, July 20, 2007), Salt Lake City is the winner, followed by Boston and Columbia, S.C.

I have something to say about this. I've tasted the water in Boston, MA. I mean, I rarely will comment on the water when I visit a city ... but the tap water in Boston is SWEET and YUMMY and surprisingly noteworthy! I am serious! I never thought I could say that any place tap water that rivals Hilo but I have to say that it certainly deserves that title! Boston deserves a special trip just to see if I'm right. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

But then, they only test water from 12 cities ... and if they tested the water in Hilo, I think they'd be pleasantly surprised too!

Wise words

2009-07-04T22:15:00.000-07:00

"In wildness is the preservation of the world." - Henry David Thoreau

Thoreau, in one sentence, explains my life's work.

What did the salad say on its honeymoon?

2009-06-21T17:01:00.000-07:00

Lettuce alone!

Heh, it was too tempting to share my childhood joke. I thought it was pretty funny back then mostly because I didn't know what it really meant but the adults laughed. Now, it's just lame. This is a pic of my lettuce, just shortly before I harvested the leaves. They were lovely! Very tender and fragile and pure loveliness. It's a variety developed at the University of Hawaii. It was supposed to form a head like Manoa lettuce but it decided to grow a long stalk instead. I think my front porch was a little too shaded for this variety.

Perionyx excavatus, anyone?

2009-06-10T22:14:00.000-07:00

In Hawaii, these Indian Blue earthworms (Perionyx excavatus) are pretty common vermicomposting worms and are much more active than the *ordinary* red wrigglers (Eisenia foetida). I don't think you'd ever find red wrigglers hanging out on the insides of your worm bin. They grow faster, they reproduce faster, and zip around and are so much more fun to watch! My friend Jennifer gave me a bunch of red wrigglers and they are pretty sluggish compared to these that have, I dare say, personality! And yes, that is castings on the side. Poop all over the place!

Lily and Daisy's home gets an award.

2009-04-20T23:10:00.000-07:00

I'm in a celebratory mood, just coming off a high from a great birthday retreat with a bunch of 6 Aries women I met through a dear friend Melora. We call ourselves "Rambo Wahines" ... Get it, RAM-bo? Hah! (wahine = women in Hawaiian). Our birthdays are all within 12 days of each other! We all celebrated by singing "Happy Birthday to us" over a circle of candles on a vegan cake that Melora made. DELISH!

Oh ok, here is the good news. I found out that Lily and Daisy's coop won a "Golden Feather Membership" for coop designs at Backyard Chickens (dot) com! I think that is a hoot! It was a lot of fun to build and getting an award for it is like icing on a chocolate vegan cake! LOL Oh, and here is the link.

Diet eggs

2009-04-01T22:56:00.000-07:00

I call these my "diet eggs" because they are tiny ... much smaller than the large size I used to buy from the store. They are from Lily and Daisy and are absolutely yummy! I've already given away 3 dozen eggs and have more than enough for myself!

Shopping bags galore!

2009-03-30T09:46:00.000-07:00

I am so bad! I have all these reusable shopping bags (and a few others not shown here) and for some reason, they don't find their way into the grocery store with me and when I asked, "Paper or plastic?" I cringe to realize I've forgotten again! I keep thinking, BUT I HAVE SO MANY in the car!

A few months ago, I made a pact to myself that I would go back to the car to get my shopping bags if I ever forgot them. It worked! The hassle of going back to the car broke my really bad habit after a few times. Anyone else ever have this problem?

At three weeks

2009-03-26T14:08:00.000-07:00

The roots are starting to grow into the nutrient water that is being aerated using a small air pump that pumps air through a hose, through an aerating stone at the bottom of this 30 gallon tub. The clips on the side are keeping the lid on, otherwise, the pressure and weight of all that water would bowl out the tub and pop the lid off. At the moment, it is totally dark in there, retarding any algal growth inside the water. This lettuce was developed at the University of Hawaii but the stalk is rather thin and not hearty at all. It may because of the reduced light on my front porch, resulting in a spindly stem. I'm going to try another kind of lettuce next time.

I already clipped some lettuce leaves for a salad. Niiiice!

At two weeks

2009-03-26T12:32:00.000-07:00

After 1 week

2009-03-17T11:57:00.000-07:00

Hydroponics or bust!

2009-03-08T22:54:00.000-07:00

This is hydroponics for dummies. Seriously. It's a deep water culture method and seems to be easy enough for beginner, like moi. I will have to explain the set up in another post since I'm trying to get a drawing done but essentially, this is a 30 gal tub filled with water and nutrients with air pumped through an airstone to circulate and aerate the water. Theoretically, the roots grow down into the water and grow like mad. They are supposed to vegetate much quicker than in soil so we shall see. This is the first picture I took a week ago. You will be amazed how fast they've grown since. Stand by for more!

: (

2009-03-04T23:00:00.000-08:00

This is why they say not to put undiluted worm leachate on your plants! Sheesh, I know what I read but MY plants are tough and hearty and can withstand just about anything because I love em so much! Right? LOL Yeah, reality hurts sometimes.

I've only lost 3 plants. The others are fine. So, let this be a lesson, dilute your worm leachate before watering your plants. I tried to leach the stuff out of the soil by watering it a lot so we'll see if that works.

For the love of chickens

2009-03-03T21:33:00.000-08:00

I know I said I got my hens for their eggs but really, they provide much more than food. They are hilarious and provide hours and hours of entertainment. Seriously. I'm really one of those people that used to find it pretty silly for people to call their chickens "girls" and "my flock" but I think I've been bitten by the fowl bug and now count myself as one of those "people." My evening entertainment (oh my, I can't believe I'm admiting this ... ) is to let the hens roam around the yard while I sit with Kanoe to watch the scratching and squawking goings on. If you suffer from high blood pressure like I do, this is THE PERFECT stress relief! So, in lieu of meds, take two hens and call me in the morning!!!!

PS: Sorry about the dark photos on my blog so far. I leave the house early and get home late so it's usually late when I can take pics.

Name that fruit!

2009-03-03T00:05:00.000-08:00

Our Farmer's Market rocks!!!! I don't know the name of all these fruit but I bought them at my local farmer's market in downtown Hilo at the corner of Kamehameha Highway and Mamo Street. The market is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays but you can find vendors there throughout the week. It's a great place to find organic fruits and vegetables and on a practical level, the produce is really inexpensive so very easy on the pocket book. Supporting our local farmers is a great way to promote island subsistence and get inexpensive super fresh produce. For example, you can usually get 3-6 solo or rainbow papayas for $1! I spring a little more for my daily strawberry papaya but they are still only 4 for $2!

Ok, here is the list from top to bottom, counterclockwise in each bowl (some of the fruit is imported but most are locally grown):
Bowl 1: Kabocha pumpkin
Bowl 2: Strawberry papaya, purple sweet potato, ginger, tomatoes, mandarins
Bowl 3: Persimmons, pulasan, dragon fruit (yellow pitaya), dragon fruit (red pitaya), rambutan
Bowl 4: longan (Tiger's eye)

I LOVE Worm Poop!

2009-03-02T09:17:00.001-08:00

Worm poop. Yeah, you know that stuff that goes in one end of an earthworm and then out the other? If you take issue with "worm poop" you could call it "worm castings". Worm castings are high in nitrogen and in a form that is readily taken up by plants so they make a great fertilizer. I read online that you could also use "worm leachate" for fertilizer (or what I call worm poop sludge). It is that liquid that drips out the bottom of your worm bin. Admittedly, it doesn't smell at all but it looks like crap! So I tried it and well, the results are obvious. All of the plants are the same age. I treated the ones on the left side of the pic with leachate a couple weeks ago and the ones on the right only this weekend. If your plants looked anything like this, I bet you'd love worm poop too!

These marigolds were grown from seeds from my wonderful friend Kate Rietz.

* Note that this worm bin leachate can actually be harmful to your plants if it has material that is still decomposing, which produces alcohols that are toxic to plants. You take your chances tho'. You can guarantee your results by making your own "worm tea" by putting mature worm castings in cheesecloth and soaking the ball in water that is aerated with an air pump and air stone for awhile.

Vermicomposting in Hawaii

2009-03-02T09:16:00.000-08:00

One way to reduce your garbage is to compost kitchen scraps and green waste, thereby reducing our carbon footprint on earth and save yourself from beastly fruit flies! Believe me, I tried composting outside ... you know pile the kitchen scraps outside with the garden cuttings and hope for the best. Well, if you are like me or most of the other people 've talked to, you will undoubtedly develop problems with RATS! Bad news!

When I saw this video on YouTube, I knew I had to look into this further ...

What? I can compost INDOORS!?! I figured this was the answer to my prayers! So, I started my beginners vermicomposting bin at the beginning of December, just like the one on the video. It is my attempt to control my yucky garbage issue at home (I take mine to the dump and before I can get there, my garbage starts to stink to high heaven). Figured I'd be green too so, hey, I can kill two birds with one stone (that's a bad reference, isn't it?). It's a win-win situation, right? Believe me, finding worms that are legal is difficult in Hawaii (more about my worm fiasco later). We use Indian Blue Worms more commonly here (the video shows red wrigglers). I'll share my pics soon, if I can get those darn things to stay still and pose!

Remember: Shipping worms to Hawaii is illegal without proper procedures so please review Hawaii's Agricultural rules before you attempt to buy or ship any! It could cost you up to $25,000!

Here are some resources for composting with worms in Hawaii that I found useful:
1. Waikiki Worm Company: Mindy Jaffe, owner, is a great resource and understands the challenges and benefits of vermicomposting in Hawaii. She's committed to helping us beginners and was wonderful in responding to my emails quickly and connecting me to her supplier on the Big Island.
2. Hawaii Rainbow Worms: Piper Seldon, owner, sells larger vermicomposting units.
2. Small Scale Vermicomposting by the Cooperative Extension Service, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa.
3. Vermicomposting in Hawaii video, produced by CTHR, available here.
4. Check out YouTube vermicomposting videos. They're fascinating!

The freshest eggs ever!

2009-03-01T22:40:00.000-08:00

Lily's egg from the coop to the table. Can't get fresher than this!

PS: That speck on my eggs is black pepper, sorta like that mole on Marilyn Monroe.

Fresh, organic eggs? You've gotta be kidding!

2009-03-01T21:49:00.000-08:00

I always thought that fresh organic eggs were a great idea but come on, who would want to keep their own chickens anyway?! Don't they smell?

How wrong could I be! While attending the Sustainability Conference in town in November, I noticed a few of these really cool Silkie chickens hanging out with a guy, "Just Tom*" (no, really, that's his name). They were for sale and I knew I had to have these fluffballs. I figured my dream of having eggs whenever I wanted could really be a reality.

So, I went about building my two hens, Lily and Daisy, a little cottage-style "coop," which was quite an endeavor. If you're interested in checking out my coop construction page, it's here.

If you're interested in raising your own chickens for eggs or for meat, the Backyard Chickens Forum is a great resource that covers just about every aspect of raising chickens. They boast over 22,000 members and I swear, there are people there that can answer just about any question you may have. So even if you're a beginner like me, you won't feel like you're going it alone. Also, the Backyard Chicken website has construction pages of over 150 small to large chicken coops, if you want some ideas to build your own.

*Email me if you want Just Tom's contact info.

"Think Globally, Act Locally"

2009-03-01T14:41:00.000-08:00

I am your average Jo. The hype of the elections is over and we are all getting back to our own center of focus, dealing with our day-to-day lives. Some of us are struggling to keep our jobs or making ends meet. Some are worried about our children's education or about the number of guns on our streets. But if you're like me, you still feel that sense of hope that things will get better. Of course some of it has to do with a new President whose ideals are similar to mine, perhaps idealistic and realistic at the same time. I can get on that bandwagon. But it is also the realization that it is not our President that will make things better singly but a whole nation.

I created this blog to document my progress in helping, in my very small way, to make my community a better place ... and maybe in the process, if we all did the same, we'd have an impact on a state level, then a country level. Wouldn't it be grand if we could say we made a positive difference in the world?