Alina Green

I stay away from synthetic fabrics as much as possible because I see the synthetic rope inside my clothesline degrades to teeny tiny fibers that go airborne every time it moves.

That makes me think I'm contributing to putting more microplastics into the environment, AND I'm likely breathing them in, increasing my toxic burden of microplastics, further reducing my health, and the health of the animals that share my space.

The neighbor's house on fire the other night reminded me of the horribly acrid, toxic fumes released when plastics burn.

So I'd much rather use a cotton sheet and throw it into the compost bin, or "away" (where it will get burned to produce electricity, or buried to degrade back to reusable natural products), and get another, more often, than using a synthetic, which doesn't "go away" to some mythical place at the end of its life.

I'm trying to mimic the systems of Nature, which are cyclical (inputs get used; breaks down, creating more inputs for the cycle to repeat)...versus "man-"--and at this point, that definition is at question, eh? wink, wink--  -made linear systems (resource is extracted; input is created by combining extracted products, creating toxic byproducts, causing further ecological destruction and downstream unintended negative consequences for Nature and life; resource is used, again creating toxic byproducts and effects; resource must be created once again by toxic extraction from, etc.)

Surely we haven't reached this horrid state of affairs by just one person buying a synthetic shower curtain?!  No.  But when synthetics eventually become the norm, the result is what you see around us now--collapse of non-sustainable systems, with accompanying ecological wastelands, physical health deterioration, economic crash, instability.

Because it's all connected.  And driven toward ends that continue to profit the top of the pyramid, while the bottom of the pyramid suffers.

I'd be willing to bet that using one thrift store or old bed sheet uses less water and detergent and fragrance, too, since it's "washed" every time someone bathes.  That's another permaculture principle in action:  use a resource multiple times before it leaves your property.  Like every drop of water being funneled through multiple earthworks and growing systems.

I'm basically lazy (so I don't bother to wash it) and do not like to encourage continuation of the current system, which values form over function, overconsumption, and a careless attitude toward resources, their production, and disposal.  Who profits from the current system, and who loses?  I'd like that to reverse...even if my one person's actions(deemed ridiculous or crazy by some) have just an infinitesimally small effect.

Again, multiply that one effect times hundreds, thousands, millions--and at some point, a tipping point is reached, and things pivot and go in the other direction.

I'm assuming most people on this forum believe that is not only possible, but a worthy and lofty goal to aim for, and since we cannot control the top of the pyramid, we can only change our individual actions.  So it is there that I begin.

I try to eat it or drink it, if it's a medicinal or edible.  The chickens and ducks will typically get to it first, though.  Whatever is left is usually something too prickly or thorny or has tiny, irritating hairs on it.

Dodder has been the worst.  Looks like yellow-orange silly string, draped over everything, and it seems to double overnight.

I cut that carefully, trying not to drop a single flower, and drown it in a bucket of water, covered, for months, until it has rotted down to sludge and black liquid. Then I throw it into the compost pile.

I do NOT want to take a chance of any of it spreading.  It's THAT bad.

Some info--catch it ASAP if it ever shows up!
https://ipm.ucanr.edu/weeds-identification-gallery/dodder/#gsc.tab=0
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/weeds/dodder-weed-control.htm

I'm in the tropics.  I usually bathe outside, watering the plants at the same time, with a bucket of cold water and a pot to scoop and dump.  During cooler times of the year, I bathe in the afternoon or just after sunset, or it gets too chilly for me later.  Saves a lot of energy in unneeded water heating, and a lot of water, too.

If I want it warm/hot, I can either bathe earlier and put the bucket of water out in the sun, or use a garden hose that's been sitting in the sun, or heat up the water on the stove, or use hot tap water.

My surround is a flimsy PVC frame with some screws for stability,  with thrift shop sheets as barriers (only on two sides; the side of the house and the back yard full of vegetation provide enough screening privacy on the other two sides.)

Yes, the sheets get mildewed over time, but if they are 100% cotton, they can be thrown into the compost. Sometimes I cut off the bottom mildewed portion, then cut the top into smaller rags to wipe up grease on dishes and pots before washing them.  I throw the rags away and save soap, water, and time washing dishes that are less dirty or greasy.

I stab the sheet with a knife or cut a notch with scissors to make holes for shower curtain rings.  I have some "rings" that are just scrap short lengths of indoor electrical wire (copper, with or without the plastic sheathing intact.)  The copper doesn't rust.  I also have some old plastic rings I reused.

Sheets are cheap, or you can use ones from your house that are too old or in poor condition.

I do NOT miss having to clean the bathroom, squeegee a surround, or, like a friend used to do, bring a fan into the room on a chair for 20 minutes, to dry it out.  Nor do I miss the plumbing headaches and bills with leaks, replacing stems or o-rings, or needing to re-do the entire fixture because they no longer sell parts for your old one.

I change the sheets after a loooooooooooong time.  The only other maintenance has been to sometimes scrub some moss off the stone wall next to the area, or re-level the pavers if necessary, or tie the legs to driven-in pipes for stability.  My abilities are low, so anyone can do this version!    And it's never collapsed or blown away in a storm.

I still chuckle when a friend wanted to come over to see my "outdoor shower."  Later, when I stayed at her home, which looked like the June cover for House Beautiful magazine, I realized the image she had in her head was probably:  woven palm frond surrounds and a fancy rainshower head, bamboo and birds of paradise landscaping and lush jungle vegetation, including monstera winding up the gargantuan banyan trees, with birds chirping as you rinse off after a naked plunge in the pool or ocean.

I can imagine her horror as she saw my ghetto "outdoor shower," with scrap broken concrete paver chunks for a floor, mosquitoes, and leaves I needed to kick aside, after the chickens had been scratching through there, looking for bugs!  hahahaha

But like a true friend, she said nothing as I pointed out that the graywater watered the papaya, banana, katuk, ong choy (kangkung, water spinach), ginger, and tropical sunflower, but as I finished, she commented, "Wow, looks like you have a very thorough setup here!"

After I had arrived at her house and saw HER place (albeit without any "outdoor shower"...so there!), I said, "Oh sh!t, I would have never let you see mine, had I known how nice your place is!"

We just had a huge storm over the weekend, and many people were without power for days.  I think her area was hard hit, because I haven't had a response to my emails.  She's not the type to save rainwater, canned anything, or have a backup water filter, rocket and butane stoves, or other preparedness items.

But she lives in a rural area on another island, so I know the people there will be fine.  Her neighbor has a garden, and she's friendly with her sister, so they'd help each other

But she got an example, when she came to my place, of what some people can and DO do, to live in ways more attuned to Nature, and more adaptable when things like hurricanes happen.  Maybe now she'll start to put in her own "outdoor shower"...?

Timothy Norton wrote:powdery mildew is a constant in the area that I garden. After a few growing seasons, I have identified a few types of each veggie that I like that resist the mildew and grow them now.

Can you share which varieties have worked for you with the mildew?  It's a big problem for those in the tropics.

A few thoughts:
- rabbit or guinea pig for manure you can use immediately

- quail for manure to be composted

- cover cropping can produce fertility plus compostables (think things like millet, teff, corn, oats, rye, sorghum, or other grasses, in addition to soil-breakers like daikon radish, plus legumes such as cowpeas or beans, plus amaranth for the goosefoot family, plus vetch, sunflowers, cosmos, or something to attract pollinators and beneficial insects.

- making an indoor worm composting bin for all kitchen scraps

- collect scraps from others who are more than happy to assuage their guilt by giving them to you (I collect from two apartment-dwelling friends)

- JMS (Jadam microbial solution) to extend the microbes in the small amounts of compost that you can product, so that it can be used over a greater area

- low-quality carbonaceous waste such as  shredded newspaper, junk mail, or cardboard.  There is a lot of argument about the chemicals in the dyes and colorants.  Some say they'll kill you.  Others insist they are broken down by the microbes.

Some resources:
JMS how to:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lv-TOGhwlW4

To be fair, I have not yet used this method, and I understand you can also add compost with the leaf-mold soil.  The principle is you are creating conditions (with starch/sugars) to feed the microbes in the soil/compost you provide. The salt provides micronutrients.

Cover cropping for compost materials:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ecxi9RiQn8


And an example of how this is being implemented in Peru, to help the indigenous people to thrive:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9UqfOnE58c
Notice the division of crops for guinea pig food (which in turn provide food for them plus manure to return fertility to the system), plus food for humans plus carbon compostable materials.

You can find miner's lettuce, rat-tail radish, and corn salad at Baker Creek:  https://www.rareseeds.com/lettuce-miner-s
also at Nichol's Garden Nursery (they have a nice array of herbs, too):  https://nicholsgardennursery.com/

I like mizuna, choy sum, or bok choy as a fast-growing crop.  They withstand humidity and heat better than some of the above, more temperate-climate plants.

Actually, most of the Asian greens grow faster.  I get tired of waiting 2 months to eat kale.  While it is still a tiny seedling, the Asian greens are almost bolting already.

And if you can get your hands on some ong choy, aka water spinach or kangkung, you can put a cutting in water and get roots in 2 days, and greens in a couple weeks if you plant that cutting in the ground...then continued harvests from that thereafter.  (they have hollow stems, if you need help identifying them)

They like water, will grow in water-logged soil.  Jack Spirko grows tubs of this to have food security and duck fodder.

It doesn't like cold climates, though.  It also will grow from seed, although not as quickly as a cutting.

I just skimmed this long string and am so happy to see you not only got a uke but are also progressing quite well, it seems.

And you're also noticing things like the "feel" or the "soul" of a piece--how one person playing can seem so blah, but another can make it come alive.

Music is a language, a means of self-expression.  And like a language, you can read, write, speak/play, and listen.  You're gradually incorporating all of those facets in.

And I love imagining your geese mesmerized, listening to you.  Glad they liked it!

I've discovered it helps to start on a lower quality or "student" instrument at first, because of cost.  Once you've stuck with one for a while and can afford it, you can upgrade to a professional quality instrument.

Have you considered asking at your local music store if they have any referrals to other players in your area?  That might be a way to get some questions answered, but it might also be an avenue for you to try and maybe buy another instrument.

Musicians tend to have multiple instruments, and we often have something we no longer want and may be willing to part with it to someone serious, who will respect the instrument, rather than sell it blindly, since someone might just treat it disrespectfully.

Instruments have souls, after all...  

When we do African dancing, we must pay respects to each of the drummers and their drums when we are finished.  As a musician, I truly feel that respect, knowing firsthand how much time, money, energy, and hard work goes into playing an instrument before one gets to the point where it sounds good enough to be played in public, or as a performer or professional.

But in your case, where you're doing this for enjoyment and expression, you are listening more than you realize, because you're already changing things to what seems to sound better in your heart and ears. This is part of the progression.

And isn't it amazing?  Like a sort of magic.

For inspiration, here is Jake Shimabukuro.  One reason I enjoy his playing is he so thoroughly enjoys it.  He's been playing since he was 3, by the way.



Keep up the fantastic work!  If you get brave enough, I'd encourage you to video yourself playing a song from start to finish...or as much as you can, at various points along the way.  It will give you an outside look that can often point things out for you to improve, correct, or continue.  AND it's a fabulous way to document your progress.

A system that is growing in popularity (and I hope will continue to do so as this shortage ramps up) is Korean Natural Farming.  Farmers can create what they need in-house, using items they have on hand, or can obtain very inexpensively, such as milk, salt, eggshells, and potatoes.



Also, there are inputs made even more simply by his son, using a method he calls JADAM.  He's also developed a liquid soap farmers can make at home, which can incorporate various herbs or things to target pests more naturally.



Both of these are regenerative, rather than degenerative, and sustainable because they use products that are grown or used, rather than thrown away.

Growers who have used Jadam liquid fertilizer say it's better to let it sit a long time, until the anaerobic stench has dissipated.

Another benefit of JADAM methods are that he got rid of the heaters and pumps, something that may become increasingly important if the costs rise or availability of gas, oil, energy drops.

Think of making kombucha, sauerkraut, yogurt, or kefir, and herbal teas...but for your plants.

And it moves us more and more toward a full circle of usability, versus the linear, input-heavy methods currently in use in the endangered western world methods.  We're working with Nature, instead of against it.  Encouraging growth and balance through biodiversity, rather than decimating select species.

These practices have been used by production farmers, so they already have a proven track record.

<I wanna find out if we could use horse poop, but without food particles that in turn germinate seed.
Are there any in stores that are without food particles?>

I'd be far more concerned about getting persistent poisons in poop, not seeds.

Seeds create biodiversity, and yes, while some weeds are so horrendous (dodder, anyone?) that you must be on your toes to eradicate them, most are merely fitting into a space in the ecosystem and provide benefit in some way.

But the persistent poisons will kill anything you have growing, and render that soil useless for several years, I've heard.

Yes, it goes right through the animals, and farmers don't know what is sprayed on hay that they purchase, in most cases, I think.