What did you do in the garden today?

[TJAnonymous]

Speaking of recycling things, I use old medication bottles to save bulk seed from the garden, like dill, sesame, flax, black cumin, etc...

 

[Nym]

here's one for you....
You cannot, by law, but X, Y, or Z in the trash here. It must be sent to the recycle center.
The countryside in this county has no recycle center. The city where this law originated started with 25 recycle centers when the law went into effect. But then it got to costly to keep emptying them and they would fill up quickly. If you lived out of town, you had to collect it all at home, load it in the car and haul it to the city.
THEN since town thought it was too expensive to keep the public sites open and emptied, they closed all but 3, which are constantly full to overflowing. Every time I went to town to drop mine off, it was full, making me store it in the truck and try again the next week.
That got old really quickly.
NOW people to avoid the full sites, PAY $40 a month to have it collected at the curb, in a special roller bin, by the same company as the trash company. So not only are we paying for pick up, there are extra trucks on the road burning diesel fuel to pick it up, and want to guess where it ends up since it is too expensive to recycle??
So basically, I'm spending $40 more a month thatnI was when I was just paying for trash pickup, using extra time and water (it all has to be clean before going in the bin), and more energy is being used to haul it around. Brilliant.
All for their feel good movement.

Don't wash anything. I haven't washed a single jar or tin for over 20yrs before putting it in the recycle bin. Try it - you'll feel great! lol

 

[WthrLady]

Required here. If you have dirty containers, they leave your whole bin.

Don't wash anything. I haven't washed a single jar or tin for over 20yrs before putting it in the recycle bin. Try it - you'll feel great!

 

[TJAnonymous]

Well this is a major bummer!

 

[gtaus]

Yes, the numbers don't lie about this kind of thing (if reported honestly!). What we MUST do (IMO) is find better ways to recycle. Or build batteries for electric cars. Or whatever we can do to keep from killing the planet and ourselves. I don't know if we'll learn fast enough. Rant over.

I have converted almost all my small gas engine yard tools over to battery operated tools. I have been much happier with the batteries. Where I live, my grass trimmer, chainsaws, tillers, etc... will sit in the garage for more than 6 months out of the year. My old gas engines would clog up the carburetors and not run properly. For example, I used to replace my gas grass trimmers every 2-3 years because they cost too much to fix than to buy a new one. I switched over to a battery grass trimmer about 15 years ago and it still works like new with a fresh battery. Same story on my battery tiller, battery chainsaws, battery push lawn mower, etc... No regrets in leaving the gas engine tools behind.

I still think professionals are better served with gas machines, but that is not how most of us use our tools. The battery run time on my tools is enough to maintain my property, but not enough if I was working all day cleaning multiple yards for a living.

As to the batteries, my Li-Ion batteries are proving serviceable life going beyond 10 years. As I have stated, I'm in the Ryobi line of tools. The old Ni-Cad batteries died in about 3 years and had no value after that. But the newer Li-Ion batteries are proving to last much, much longer. My oldest Li-Ion batteries are now over 10 years old and still provide about 80% of their original capacity. No complaints from me.

Having said that, I know that Li-Ion batteries are made from toxic materials and when the batteries do go bad, they will probably be toxic in a landfill. In theory, they can be recycled, but I seriously doubt any of that is going on. My hope is that at least the batteries are disposed of in a manner that reduces the toxicity of the materials. Our local recycle center has separate bins for batteries.

A month or so ago, I watched a YouTube video on new upcoming battery technology. Someone is working on Sodium "salt" based batteries. The idea is that salt is not toxic in the mining, production, or disposal. I know I would welcome a less toxic battery for my tools. I would think everyone would as long as the batteries were another step forward in terms of capacity and performance.

Now that California is eliminating small gas engines, my hope is that market will respond with better, and safer, battery technology because there are a whole lot of customers in California that have no other options.

FWIW, I lived in Santa Barbara for two years while I was serving in the Navy. Santa Barbara was beautiful with clean air. However, when I had to go to Los Angeles for training, you could see, taste, and feel all the pollution in the air as you went over the mountain top and headed down into the Los Angeles basin. It was really disgusting for this boy from northern Minnesota. I don't blame California one bit for doing anything, and everything, they can do to clean up their air.

 

[Smokerbill]

My shipment from Baker Creek arrived today. In addition to my squash seeds I got a free packet of Merlot red leaf lettuce. I'm out of lettuce seeds and wasn't planning to plant any, but I guess I will now. LOL

 

[gtaus]

I will have to get a pair of those cutters! - thank you for sharing those. I don't make a habit of burning it. I had a run of buying online and ended up with several boxes. One was large enough to house my chicks for a few days. Some went in the base of hugelkultur beds, most were put in the recycle bin once they were wet from rain and could easily be torn. The quality of cardboard has certainly gone up a few notches recently.

Those type of power cutters are sold by many brands. I would suggest looking for the best price on whatever one you buy because I think most of them are made in the same factory in China. They have interchangeable blades, so they seem to be standardized.

I bought my power cutters from Harbor Freight, on sale, on a weekend where I got extra free tools/supplies for making a purchase. Plus, I had Harbor Freight Rewards money to use up. I got a really good deal after all those discounts. I use my power cutters much more than I expected. I have not sent a heavy cardboard packing box to the recycle center since I got my power cutters. All my cardboard is recycled at home as deep bedding shreds in the chicken coop, then tossed into the chicken run, then the finished compost goes into my raised beds and grows food for the family.

My hands are getting old and I cannot use my big manual scissors to cut up heavy cardboard without cramping them up. Another option is to use a utility razor knife, but those are not nearly as safe as the power cutters. But if you don't have the money for a power cutter, then there are other ways to process heavy cardboard at home. I just find the power cutters, for me, was worth the purchase.

Just a small sample of other brands of power cutters...

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Thanks for that info, @gtaus, I would have expected those to run considerably higher. We burn our cardboard around here, but with a set of cutters like those, composting becomes a viable option.

 

[akroberts1085]

@Smokerbill : you don't even have to clean up the seeds from marigolds. They will take off pretty much regardless of conditions. They are my go to flower just because of that reason. As for saving jars and bowls I save the glass jars but the bowls go out. I have a bunch of yogurt cups for planting seeds and possibly making some crafts out of them.

 

[chickengr]

Now I’ve shared my new seed orders, some with known to me varieties, many new. Sharing to let others know what I’m trying, and for encouragement to all of the gardeners out there.

One thing I’ve learned about gardening is that every year bring one challenge or another. But, hopefully, I’ll have success with this or that. My beans are nearly always successful, so I grow them. In addition, beans for drying are even less stress, and fun to shell when dried. So they get a spot every year.

The marigolds and Nastursiums are typically successful- especially marigolds. The marigolds are pretty, treats for the chickens, and can be pest deterrents, so they get a spot too.

Cucumbers are my challenge, so I keep trying!! But, seriously, they are my nemesis and I would be hard pressed to get enough to pickle even a single jar worth on any given day.

Yes. Yes, I do have way more seeds than I need. But, I also have 2000 sq ft of cultivated ground and raised beds, not to mention other places I can plant the flowers beyond the 2000 sqft.

Hopefully others are getting their seeds selected and ordered and ready for planting time!!

why do you have trouble growing cucumbers? I dig a hole just to put a handful or two aged manure and put a seed in. the only other thing it needs is water and sun. some dried grass around the stalk to keep snails and slugs away. I water it on the ground and early in the morning when it is cool. do you do any different?