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Innovative Gardening Techniques

PostPosted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 6:21 pm
by cactuspete
Vermont town using “pee”-cycling to fertilize farmland
Is using pasteurized urine to fertilize plants an innovative idea? According to the researcher interviewed in this news clip it's been done for centuries. He even knows some guy who grows huge garlic using urine as a fertilizer. Ummm...
:wtf:

Re: Innovative Gardening Techniques

PostPosted: Sat Oct 18, 2014 6:56 am
by surfsteve
I always was taught that urine was sterile to begin with. I don't understand the need for pasteurization. Unless maybe it becomes contaminated from sitting around before it is collected. Why does that word sound so good like maybe the cows are put out to pasture just before they are milked or maybe the milk was blessed by a priest? What if the guys name had been something different like Maggot or Hitler or just plain Heat? I wonder what they would named the process then? "If it hadn't been for Louis Heat we would have never known about the process of heating milk to kill off the germs." I digress!

Re: Innovative Gardening Techniques

PostPosted: Sun Oct 19, 2014 8:10 am
by twister
The Innovative Gardener introduces Tree Hugger Vertical Garden :pac:
This could be useful in certain situations. People who have a lot of potted plants might light it.

Re: Innovative Gardening Techniques

PostPosted: Mon Oct 20, 2014 1:12 pm
by surfsteve
I kept thinking how it's cheaper to use a nail and some string and a whole lot faster than going to that store throughout the whole video. Perhaps one as a conversation piece might work.

I came across this video as one of the suggestions by youtube from yours.



Which made me think what a waste it would be to ruin a perfectly good bucket. I was surprised to find out the guy had some great suggestions though. Mainly using a Walmart bag as a grow bag instead of a pot. That's a really neat idea. I was amazed by the side by side comparison he showed of a spruce grown in a pot vs a "Walmart grow bag". Going to have to research that one more. Kiddie pools aren't cheap and look awful. I spray painted the one I used for my fish black but it wore completely off pretty fast and made a mess. Seems like a person could make a boarder out of rocks or dirt and line it with black plastic. A long time ago I made one out of 2x4's and lined it with black plastic to hold water. I had to stop doing it because of rot but I don't think that would happen as easily using the grow bags. Seems like it would work really good out here in the desert. You could use rocks and dirt to hold down the outside edges or staples in the case of a wooden, stick or RR tie boarder. Although I think it would look really cool to have a tree growing out of an old suitcase which is easy to come by since hardly anyone flies after 9-11. Maybe put a wrecked model aircraft around and go with some kind of "Lost" theme!

Re: Innovative Gardening Techniques

PostPosted: Tue Nov 11, 2014 8:15 am
by CoolChick
Ylvis - Maximum gardening
This might be the perfect explication of how not to work with plants! Some might find it humorous and others will find it horrifying!!!
:eek:

Re: Innovative Gardening Techniques

PostPosted: Sat Apr 25, 2015 6:35 am
by mrfish
Machine turns rotten veggies into fertilizer
Dumpster diving to turn rotten veggies into fertilizer. It sounds like it is probably good for the environment, but is it cost effective?

Super cheap Ebay shade cloth 2nds for projects

PostPosted: Thu Apr 30, 2015 7:39 am
by surfsteve
I was looking for 40% shade cloth for vegetables and stumbled upon a really great deal of seconds on the 60% cloth on Ebay. It's sold in 20 foot widths which is perfect for 20 foot long pvc pipe to make hoop houses. I don't think the fact that they are seconds is a big deal unless you like looking at it close up with a magnifying glass. I hope the 60% isn't going to be too dark for vegetables. I read some people in Arizona preferred it. I was only looking for a small piece to cover my tomato plants but at 5 cents a square foot plus 10.98, I got a huge piece instead to make a screen room and possibly a hoop house. I'll post the link in case anyone else is interested in taking advantage. Right now there is plenty of it.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R4 ... 9&_sacat=0

Re: Innovative Gardening Techniques

PostPosted: Mon May 04, 2015 10:58 am
by surfsteve
What about building some really strong raised benches, line the under part with plastic and using them as storage tanks for water from washing clothes to recycle for watering the plants up above it (and the rest of the garden too)? My problem is I use enough borax in my laundry to kill most plants and I imagine ours soils around here are high enough in borax already. Perhaps switching to vinegar and ammonia and maybe a little TSP for whites would be just the thing. Vinegar would be good for alkaline soils and the ammonia would break down into nitrogen. TSP is an excellent source of phosphate and great for plants. Most laundry detergents are good for plants too. I don't know which ones might be bad. Peroxide is also good for whitening clothes and good for plants. Almost forgot; mixing bleach and ammonia are deadly. Bleach isn't good for plants or people so why wash with it anyway when there are so many better alternatives available?

Re: Innovative Gardening Techniques

PostPosted: Sat May 30, 2015 7:37 am
by panamint_patty
Bottle Garden :thumb:
Done right this could be a way of producing lots of fresh veggies and using very little water!

Re: Innovative Gardening Techniques

PostPosted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 7:46 am
by shadylady
Environmentalist lives off the grid
Unplugged. Unpiped. Almost zero-impact living.