Your Questions About Gardening

GardenersCardiff answers:

Just wait until they figure out they are part of the 1% that will have to pay more taxes. They will probably seek special tax exemptions for entertainers.

Oh wait, they already do that…
Http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2012/09/hollywood-tax-breaks-extended-under-bill-headed-to-gov-jerry-brown.html

GardenersCardiff answers:

I just did a web search for “desert gardens”, here are the results.
Http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=AuDyI0nMyXDNkFQLnXvHDj2bvZx4?fr=yfp-t-622-s&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8&p=desert%20gardening
and you’re correct about the major differences than English gardening.

GardenersCardiff answers:

Great Job! Here are a few things that I’ve done around my home:

Re-use “grey water”. “Grey Water” is water that you have already used for something. You can re-use it by watering plants with it, washing dishes with it or putting it in your toilet tank to flush the toilet with. This means that LESS ENERGY and RESOURCES are used to “purify” water to drinking quality which you don’t intend to drink. Europeans often re-use water.
1.) Attach a garden hose to the washing machine drain. Run the other end of the garden hose out to the flower, vegetable garden or lawn. I use biodegradable soap and when I wash my clothes the water goes right out the hose and does “double duty” by watering my gardens or lawn. The plants appreciate the extra dirt and fertilizer they get from washing machine water, and it reduces the amount of “drinkable water” that I use to water plants. You can do the same thing with water you used to wash dishes with.
2.) Collect rainwater and use it to water outdoors by putting a large plastic trashcan under your downspouts. Drill a hole on the bottom and attach an “off/on” spigot. Attach a garden hose to the spigot. When its been dry for a few days and you need to water, use the rainwater you collected. To prevent mosquito growth, put a couple “feeder goldfish” in the rain barrels to eat the mosquito larvae! To prevent leaves from getting into the water, put a piece of window screen over the top!

3.) Recycle everything: I throw away very little trash compared to my neighbors because I separate ALL recycleables, and I use containers that I wash and reuse again and again. I also tend not to buy a lot of things, and when I do, they are from second hand stores.

4.) Compost everything else: I put all my garden weeds, coffee grounds, tea bags, egg shells, vegetable scraps, etc. Into a compost bin I built out of 5 old wooden pallets. I then take compost out of the bin and use it on my gardens, houseplants or lawn.

5.) Garden: I grow a big vegetable garden in my back yard in the middle of the city. The more food I can produce myself, the less chemicals are used by big companies to produce what I eat, the less packaging will be wasted, and the safer my food is.

6.) Buy eggs and meat from family farms: I have friends who live in the country on a small farm. They grow their own pigs, chickens, turkeys, goats, etc. I know they don’t use a lot of chemicals to grow their meat, and I know the animals are treated well. I prefer to buy meat that they raise and butcher at home than from the supermarket. It supports their family, is cheaper than storebought, is better for the environment and is healthier for me to eat.