Free WaterSmart Gardening Classes here in the LBK

So, I was getting situated to read and write this morning when I looked over and noticed a postcard on the board next to me. (When I see "free" and "garden" on the same page, my MH senses tingle.)

mylubbock.us/watersmartclasses

 

With all the rain we've had lately, it'd be easy to get blasé water conservation, but a few back-to-back days at triple-digit temps, and we will be downright crispy again. With a little heat and a little breeze, our evaporation rates will skyrocket. We need to be smart with every drop.

 

Each class lasts from 10am-12pm and is limited to 30 participants. You can sign up and learn more at the web address above. (I'm hoping to attend the August session at the TTU greenhouse - I like succulents and I have looked longingly into the greenhouses as I've admired the Tech horticultural gardens. All is good!

 

 

May we all take advantage of opportunities to learn and make West Texas a little less dry.

Fossil Free Friday: Pedal Power and a Plow

 It's been a little while since we featured anything bike-like that's not really a bike, but this week, that seemed to be the theme of the internet meandering, so here goes.

Let's Plow

Have you found yourself thinking, "Man, I would trade all of these crappy old bicycles for a single carbon-neutral plow?" No? Is that just me? Oh well. This idea is still pretty cool. Click the link under the picture for plans and a video.

Turn your old bike into your new plow!

Whatever Floats Pedals Your Boat

 

So, maybe you're more of a boater than a gardener. Or maybe you're a tiny houser who lives near water. Or you just find yourself wanting to build something named after a French snail. If any of those describe you, check out the next creation:

 

Tiny House + Boat + Bicycle Drive = Something really cool that floats!

Tiny Pedal-Powered Electric VW's

Y'all know me as a guy who wants a small electric car - the Citicar. [I had to bring in a Citicar somehow!] But my love for electric cars started at a very young age. And I hate to brag, but I owned scads of electrics cars as a kid. And they were awesome! (I still have most of them.) They were tiny electric slot cars like these:

 

Why am I reminiscing like this? Well, I was perusing Autoblog.Green this week and ran across a photo of VW's Electric Transparent Factory. One of the photos showed two people powering a pair of slot cars by pedaling electric unicycles. Are you finding it hard to visualize? Then click here: Pedal-powered slot cars at the VW factory!

 

I know a little guy who has a birthday in July - we may need to break out the old slot car track and build a few of these DIY Bike Generators from Instructables. I feel a carbon-free, pedal-to-the-metal car race coming on! (A mesquite-hugging dork can dream, can't he?)

 

May you find inspiration pedaling you to betterment!

Lubbock on a Bike AND Arugula Gone Wild!

Super busy at the day job and life in general, so I'll keep this one short.

Yesterday marked one month down in the 2016 National Bike Challenge. I logged 130 miles in May, which isn't that impressive, but considering that I never ride over 5 miles per trip, not too shabby. That's about 9 gallons of gas not bought or burned. Striving for better! (Thanks, Spencer. for pushing me to ride more!)

The days I rode are in blue. Please join me in the NBC!

 

On to the garden:

 

 

 

See, arugula is taking over! Does anyone want some fresh arugula?

The stray red-leaf lettuce is trying to be arugula-rific!

Sweet peppers are almost ready - 4 so far.

 

For me, each attempt at consuming and releasing less carbon leads to a better life. I find that I love bicycling and I love gardening. Life is indeed better outside, and outside is better when you are not polluting it. Who knew?

 

May you find joy in things that make the world better for all.

 



 

Carbon Munching Garden Pics

Not a lot to say today, so I will let you see how the garden grows.

This is what arugula flowers look like. 

All of the arugula plants exploded this week with tall stalks and flowers.

I (literally) tried drowning my roly-poly sorrows in beer this week. Not one little crustacean was harmed in any way, but I did enjoy the rest of the beer and the roly polies have not shown themselves. Weirdness!

The food-is-free-planter exploded - mostly arugula.

One gecko has returned to the compost box. Stubby, it's always good to see a friend!

The big honking celebrity tomato stays green.

Three little sweet peppers!

The front-porch planter fit right in.

It's hard to beat a squash flower for a final pic!

Quick and unpictured:
The new pallet garden is struggling so far. Probably a poor compost to soil ration - I overdid it with the compost.
I am learning that ollas are my favorite approach to gardening. If you garden in a dry place - try it!
Hoping to build two more pallet-lumber raised beds for the front yard soon.
Planted black garbonzo and calabacita seeds this week. Hope!
The romaine and celery still show great growth daily.

May you know the joy of growing your own!

Tiny Munching Invaders: Roly Polies in the Garden

It's good to be back in spring!

 

In our front yard, we have a recycled Food is Free planter where we grow food to (theoretically) share with the neighbors. If anyone needs a tomato or a pepper or whatever, they can come by and grab one. But last year, the little patch o' heaven wasn't really productive enough to do much sharing. We are hoping for better this year. 

 

 

However, the sharing has started early this year, and we are trying to figure out what to do about it.

 Nope, it's not Swiss cheese arugula - someone's been munching.

 

We have been invaded by roly-polies! (aka pill bugs, and lots of other names)

 

Over the last few days, we have learned a lot about these rather cool little creatures. First, they are not bugs. They are land-based crustaceans. (I think we should rename them crusty pills or pill crusties.) And, like everything else, they are great in moderation, but they are not so great when there are lots of them. And we have lots and lots and lots of them in the Food is Free planter - we created a little roly-poly Paradise City and they have populated with abandon. They like moisture, wood to munch on, and rotting vegetation. We added lots of water, lots of compost, and lots of wood mulch. Yep, it's Party in the Planter 2016. They usually just munch on the dead stuff, but they go after the live stuff when their numbers get high. And their numbers are high! It's time for a mass exodus.

 

Link here

 

What's a gardener to do? Our first attempt is in place - we made a honeydew list assault by slicing up a melon to work at attracting the roving hordes of crusties. I checked it yesterday morning and found the hordes to be lacking, but I am going for the Patience approach and let the melon get over-ripe. I will keep you posted.

 

Not too hordish yet.

 

May you not need guns to protect your roses, and may the crustaceans be your beneficial friends.

 

Bonus roly poly trivia:

 

There is a Roly Poly Japanese girl-pop band!

 

It's easier...

I struggle with easier.

It's easier for me just to turn on the tap.
It's easier for me just to pay the electric bill.
It's easier for me just to drive a car.
It's easier for me just to pump gas.
It's easier for me just to throw plastic dishes away.
It's easier for me not to save and eat leftovers.
It's easier for me just to ignore the news.
It's easier for me just not to vote.
It's easier for me just to buy a new one.
It's easier for me just to trash it.
It's easier for me just to shop at the big store.

Yes. Those things are all easier.

(Here)

 

It is time to find a new adjective.

It's worthwhile for me capture rainwater.
It's worthwhile for me just to conserve electricity.
It's worthwhile for me to walk, pedal a bike, ride a bus, or carpool.
It's worthwhile for me to choose renewable energy in all forms.
It's worthwhile for me to wash dishes.
It's worthwhile for me to save and eat leftovers.
It's worthwhile for me to follow impactful stories.
It's worthwhile for me to research and vote for my beliefs.
It's worthwhile for me to repair my stuff.
It's worthwhile for me to compost.
It's worthwhile for me have a garden, shop local, or buy used.

(My favorite)

 

May you find life rather than ease. (Thank you for reading!)

When you gonna ______? (A live better sidestep)

Grizz and I discussed it over coffee yesterday morning. Most of us have that thing to get past. Some of us just skip from one to the next. What's yours right now?

Need some help? Just fill in the blanks.

Is your head swimming now? Mine does when I fill in those blanks. A lot of Mesquite Hugger motivation comes from chasing these statements. It goes something like this:

• I am going to start eating local after I grow some veggies.
• I am going to grow some veggies after I build a greenhouse.
• I am going to build a greenhouse after I trim the trees.
• I am going to trim the trees after I buy a saw.
• I am going to buy a saw after I sell some unused stuff.
• I am going sell some unused stuff after I clean the garage.
• Snagit - when am I going to clean the garage?!!!
• I guess eating local is going to have to wait.
• But wait, there is a five-gallon bucket and a little space on the porch - Honey, we're gonna grow tomatoes!

Mesquite Hugger blog posts often look like this.

Where do we go from here? Maybe it's time to figure out our I am going to statements so that we can figure out how to sidestep them. You don't have to be wealthy to live healthy, smart, or well.

So here's your challenge for this week. Identify one (or several) of your I am going to goals and get creative. Find a detour or a shortcut. If you get stuck, google it. Someone else has been there and may have good advice.

A few Mesquite Hugger suggestions to help with your planning: garden, transportation, energy conservation, compost, water conservation, recycling, xeriscaping, food production, food waste, homelessness, hunger, wildlife preservation, simple living, reducing meat consumption, minimalism, spreading the word, anger reduction. You can tackle the whole big world or a tiny piece of your little slice. Any improvement is a win for all of us.

If I can help, shoot me an email.

As always, thank you for reading! May our little sidesteps lead to huge improvements.

Mesquite Huggery Stuff in Lubbock this Weekend

Yep, it's a crazy busy weekend in the LBK this weekend - arts festival, wine festival, secret society of introverts avoid-a-thon, etc. In the midst of all that, I wanted to throw out a reminder for those of you who like gardening and locavorism and teaching kids about the world outside.

More info here

Good luck! (There's not a lot of info out there.)

More info here

May you have a phenomenal Saturday regardless of where you end up!

Lubbock Community Garden Party Animals and 10 Tips!

If you find yourself in the vicinity of  21st and Avenue X, you need to check out the Heart of Lubbock Community Garden. If you can't make it by, you can check it out on this video.

The Video (and Gofundme campaign)

 

While I do encourage donating money online for this cool and worthy campaign, I would rather use my money to party and still support the garden. On any other day of the year, that might be tough, but not today...

 

Yep, there is a fundraising party this evening right there at 40th and University. Check out the details on the pic. If you go, wink at Beth, start talking about dwarf seahorses, and then tell her the Mesquite Hugger sent you!

 

For those of you who are feeling jealous that Heart of Lubbock has a community garden and you don't, here is a link to a site that can help you get your own darn garden started.

 

10 Steps to Starting a Community Garden

 

May you and your neighbors grow something great, donate money to people who are trying to do the same, and create a better place for us all!

Saturday Minipost: Instructable 3 published in a pickle barrel

Happy Saturday, y'all!

 

Check it out here!

I have been wanting to make this one happen for a while, but it took an Instructable Bucket contest to get me in gear. I will keep you posted through the blog. (Please consider voting for it.)

May you reach a tiny goal today.

Be a Master of Foul, Fish, Flowers, and Veggies in Lubbock!

Yep, you have to love beings with "Master" in their title. Master Yoda. Master Splinter. Master Bean. Master Blaster. Masters of the Universe. And, of course, Master Gardener.

Be a Master G! (Sugarhill Gangsters unite!)

The Lubbock Master Gardeners are at it again - and it's your chance to become an apprentice in the art of gardening and backyard farming.

They are offering four stand-alone 2-hour classes - $15 per class or $50 for all four! (Liking the math on that one!)

• Chickens and the Garden
• Attracting Hummingbirds and Butterflies to the Garden
• Aquaponics
• Mastering Vegetables

Learn more here (Avalanche Journal) and here (Lubbock Master Gardeners site).

May you go to the classes and become a Lubbock Master Eco Hero!

PCR Olla Update: Tomatoes and Pollinators equal success!

For those of you following the olla progress, here are a few photos and notes from the weekend.

Getting close!

 

These are the free tomato plants from the "Preparedness Fair" that have been present in almost every olla post. I have been excited for a week now watching this tomato start to blush.

 

A welcome sight!

 

We are seeing lots of pollinators passing through - this one showed up yesterday.

Success!

 

Yesterday I reached in to check the olla for water and found this hidden and fully ripe tomato. This is our first produce from the olla planters. It was rich and wonderful. My lovely bride and I enjoyed the first fruit of the garden.

 

In the immortal words of some singer from Indiana, may "we cannot forget from where it is that [our food] comes from..." or something like that. May you find a little joy today!

¡Ollas! (Oi-uhs!) Oy vey! - PCR Garden Progress

While it's still too early to plant, I snuck in a little more prep work this weekend. In a very short period of time and with very little money invested, I made 4 ollas.

 

Why ollas? They are reputed to be simple, efficient, and effective for watering plants with minimal water waste and consumption. And they are super cheap to build! (And I am super cheap! And I love to conserve water!) So I decided to build a few to try them out. I hear that tomato plants really like ollas.

 

Straight out of wikipedia.org:

Because water seeps through the walls of an unglazed olla, these vessels can be used to irrigate plants. The olla is buried in the ground next to the roots of the plant to be irrigated, with the neck of the olla extending above the soil. The olla is filled with water, which gradually seeps into the soil to water the roots of the plant. It is an efficient method, since little water is lost to evaporation or run-off.^[2]

 

I need to go back and do a little sealing with some silicone - the one I tested leaks a bit. In the bottom photo you see $11 worth of pots.

Two four-inch pots, glue, and a plastic sour cream lid.

I used a cordless drill with a stone to quickly remove casting lips on the drain.

Be sure to cut your lid in a perfect circle like I did! I tried to cover the entire bottom surface so that water would only seep out the sides of the olla. Glue the plastic over the hole in the bottom.

Glue the pots together. I used duct tape to hold the glue in place while it dried.

 

What will I do different next time? I will skip the glue and go straight to a silicon product. I will probably purchase a bigger stone bit to open the hole on top of the olla a bit more so that it will be easier to pour water into the olla. I will keep you posted!

 

May we find simple ways to eat better, healthier, and cheaper.

 

 

Click this line to see last Mesquite Hugger post about ollas and a group in Albuquerque that makes some grogeous ollas to sell.

PCR: Our FoodIsFreeProject Update and the Noocity Version

Our favorite sailor man is going to be proud!

Impatience and urban farming...snagit! They don't go together too well, but I know that you are dying for an up date, so here goes:

Tiny non-GMO spinach!

We have spinach sprouting - indoors. The shoots are sharing a little of the LED grow light from the aquaponics setup and some indirect sunlight from a north-facing window. And they are growing quickly. (The photo was taken Monday. They have quadrupled in size since then.) The general consensus is that it is folly to do much planting here in Lubbock before mid-April. Even then it's a gamble.

Okay, that's it for our first foodisfreeproject.org garden; however, I did find something cool to share with you in vaguely the same neighborhood.

Let's say that you are one of those four people who have been following our self-watering garden project and you have been thinking that you want to do that, but you have more money than time and you live in a place where they have an ordinance against pallet-based construction and gosh-darnit you don't want to attract any ukulele-playing Austinites to your yard but gosh that garden is cool and so on and so forth.

Surely it's not better looking than ours....

Well, you are in luck! (St Patrick's Day is coming!) Somebody (Noocity) decided to build you pretty much the same garden and design it as a flat-pack so they can ship it to you easily. You can assemble it with no tools and you won't get dirty until you add your own dirt!

You can start checking it out in the Derek Markham article on TH, then follow the links to the Noocity website and their Indiegogo campaign. Have your Euro conversion table handy and be prepared for some Euro shipping too.

These modular urban gardening growbeds water themselves

May your thumb be Shamrock green and help you feed your veggie-loving neighborhood with truly local food!

PCR: A Brave and Trashy New World - Composting at Home

This thing fit the Mesquite Hugger budget beautifully!

A compost pile, vermicompost, a compost tumbler, closed bin, open bin - I have been on the fence getting started with composting. Then it came to me in a dream. No, that's not right. Then I was driving home while lazily daydreaming and I saw a sign - "Free". And I was inspired by that sign. So, I pulled Lucy over and loaded up the free 2'x4'x3' shipping crate and hauled it home.

Now it's in the backyard filled with some overly ambitious spring weeds, some newspaper, coffee grounds, and lots of 1" holes.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: The EPA Advice for Composting at Home

The EPA Composting .pdf

Do I know what I'm doing? Not at all, but it's a start. The goal? More of that personal carbon reduction. Less garbage in the landfill and some healthy soil to grow vegetables. And I can use the compost on our foodisfreeproject.org planter.

I am now thinking of going compost crazy - I want to get some worms and do some vermicomposting, I want to build a tumbler from an Instructables plan. We can have three competing methods of compost and do a comparison. Compost party anyone?

I will keep you (com)posted.

May each step turn our garbage into something good.

More on Vermicomposting (Worms!)

PCR: Another form of self-watering garden - cheap and easy!!!

While searching out the method for building the self-wicking raised-bed planter, I ran across another interesting form of subterranean (big word points on that one!) watering setup. This one is simple, cool, and ancient. And it's cheap and easy to build. And it's been used for centuries. And it's easy to install. It's the olla - pronounced oy-uh.

These beauties are from the Growing Awareness Urban Farm (link below)

Yes - you can buy fancy, artsy, beautiful, ready-made ollas; but here at the Mesquite Hugger alternative growing lab, we believe in things like cheap, like DIY, like quick, like cheap, and ugly does not bother us if it's cheap and effective. Besides, these things are designed to be buried.

Check out the Closer to the Dirt link below to learn more about making and using your own ollas.

Closer to the Dirt: Experimenting with Ollas

For those of you who are not cheap and do have an eye for the aesthetic, check out this site from Albuquerque. They have some beautiful ollas with very reasonable prices (especially if you are local and do not have to pay shipping). The site is very informative and inspiring. I urge you to spend some time poking around there to see people who are working hard to make a difference in their community.

Growing Awareness Urban Farm

May we not ignore the past when learning how to thrive in the future.