j souther

Lots of good ideas here, and I especially concur with deep mulch for improving soil. It takes a few years, but it will happen. Once the soil is healthier, many things will reseed. In my garden that includes dill, cilantro, Malabar spinach, cherry tomatoes, amaranth for both leaves and seed, buckwheat, arugula, Japanese red mustard, lots and lots of different flowers.

Building raised beds: untreated lumber from dumpsters, craigslist and FB marketplace.

Containers: Home Depot and Lowe's have empty pots that get returned to the grower for recycling. But you can take anything as long as you don't make a mess. Just look around in the garden center for tall carts with empty pots, usually near the back.  I have little pots and trays to fit that I have been using for a few years. I also have a collection of tree-size pots that I use for growing sweet potatoes. They eventually degrade in the sun so I have to keep them covered when not in  use.

Filling raised beds: start in the late fall so it has time to age, plants don't like fresh wood chips or sawdust. Sometimes you also just have to buy soil.

Plants and seeds:  My local free produce market often gives away seeds and plants in the spring. It's run by Bountiful Cities, local to Asheville but other cities may have similar. I've also seen free seeds at another local garden.

Weeds: Eat 'em. Dean Green has a website, probably a book also, called Eat The Weeds. When you pull weeds, just shake off the dirt and let it lay on the ground it came from. Exception would be if it has seeds, then dispose of it further off. I don't put seedy weeds in my compost because I can't be sure it will get hot enough to kill the seeds.

Drought: Every fall, we haul home a couple trailer loads of bagged leaves from local neighborhoods. Most are in paper bags so another bonus for compost. Rule of thumb: soil never wants to be naked. Cover it up with dead leaves and keep it covered. It really will help keep the soil moist and cool when there is no rain.

Scrounging: Don't be shy! If it's laying on the curb, you're doing  someone a favor if you pick it up. There's a limit, of course. I can hear my husband saying "Amen" to that.

A quick word about potatoes. I know they are cheap in the store, but they can go in the soil earlier than many summer veggies like tomatoes. You can let other things grow around them and since the potatoes are shallow, you can harvest with a minimum of disturbance to other plants that want to stay longer.

I used to get plenty of sun in the garden but at 64 years, I notice that everything tan is wrinkling way faster than the hidden white bits. Here in North Carolina, mosquitos are a nuisance also. I like a loose long sleeved shirt, preferably cotton or linen. I just removed the buttons from a stained, fraying shirt today, 1/2 of one sleeve missing, the other not far behind. It's now in the compost. I guess I could have scavenged a bit for quilt squares? Nope. Too far gone.

I can't abide jeans in the summer, but recently found that scrubs are perfect for garden work as they are lightweight and abundant at the thrift store, plus they have pockets for gathering eggs, carrying pruners, etc. Wide brimmed hat and sunscreen for middle of the day sprints outdoors. Otherwise, I work first thing in the morning and late afternoon. I have worn a work skirt in the past. Very comfy, but it doesn't protect against the mosquitos.

Not sure about hand washing rather than dishwasher. I use my dishwasher with a couple of caveats:  1) I don't rinse. That's right. DON'T rinse.  A few things get left in the sink for awhile and get rinsed second-hand when we wash our hands, etc. but otherwise goes right in.  2) Stuff it full. I work pretty hard to shuffle things around, use the sides creatively, prop up a big mixing bowl with small plates under it. I have things squeezed into every crevice. And yes, it comes out clean. This is not a special dishwasher; I've always done this with every one I've owned. One thing to keep in mind is that a dishwasher sometimes needs to be cleaned out. That drain thingy in the bottom might occasionally need to be removed and wiped free of debris.

Increasing thermal mass is interesting. Doesn't work here in the south. More stuff means more places for the the mildew to hide. I'm looking at you, closets! We do open windows all night with a box fan venting out, then close in the morning. But when hot wet summer actually hits hard, we turn on the mini split. Also, we learned the hard way that our mini-split works better when it is on before the house gets too hot. Wait too long and it just can't catch up.

After having chickens for many years, we switched to ducks about 5 years ago. Their needs are a bit different but nothing crazy difficult. The eggs taste more "eggy" if that is possible. Some people we have shared them with didn't like the taste, saying they were too rich, but this could be a matter of being used to WalMart eggs. We love them, as do our family members. One advantage is that they poach much easier than chicken eggs. The whites hold together really well. Ducks lay more eggs across their life span, and are better at foraging. They love slugs, which I could never talk my chooks into eating.

Saute whatever veggies need to be finished and taste good together. When they're half done or so, spread them out in the pan, add a little more oil or butter and throw an egg on top. Turn down the heat and cover it. Maybe turn it over, maybe not. Sprinkle some cheese and recover. Make sure you start the toaster in time to have everything on the plate together.

We use mostly glass with snap-lock plastic lids. The oldest of the lids have hung in there for at least 7 or 8 years. I look for them in thrift stores regularly. We also have a good collection of silicone food bags that have replaced ziplocks for us. Not as easy to use or clean, but I don't care. I haven't bought a ziplock bag in about 10 years, longer for plastic wrap.

If I put a large mixing bowl in the fridge, I use a plate to cover. Then something can be put on top of it also. Cut veggies, like onions, go cut side down on a small plate. Does that mean something else in the fridge might get tainted with a whiff of onion? I guess so. Do I care? Nope. It will get used in the next day or two anyway.

I should add that I almost never cook anything in a 13x9 dish, as I am normally cooking only for 2. I don't know what I would cover that with...a cookie sheet maybe? Doesn't seem practical, space-wise. I guess I would transfer leftovers into something smaller.

Some people would point out that silicone is a kind of plastic. I have looked into that a bit, and not come to a strong conclusion. I decided that the environmental harm from manufacturing is better when weighed against the manufacturing and throwing away of disposable options. I would love to hear some real science on that point.

My husband and I eat much less than we used to, and I no longer cook for our kids who now cook for themselves. But I will still sometimes buy large size produce. One cabbage can be sliced and sauteed into a stir fry, then a bit added to minestrone. A new favorite is to oven roast wedges with olive oil and seasoning of choice. Prepared this way, we can polish off half a head in one meal. Another quarter of it might get finely shredded and put in the fridge to add to salads. I'll prep it any way I can, but there might still be a big wedge in the fridge waiting for future use. When I do pull it out, I just shave off the cut side that turned a bit unpleasant looking, and carry on.

We often have 1/2 an apple cut side down on a plate in the fridge. Same with onions, avos, grapefruit, etc. We make an effort to finish it in the next couple days, and we usually do. I think the trick is to tell yourself that you aren't going shopping again until you eat up what you've got.

It also helps to plan a meal beginning with the vegetable, and not as an afterthought alongside the protein. And if you absolutely can't stand the thought of another cabbage dish, check with your neighbor.

I just want to elaborate on something Pearl mentioned--the flammability of tents. All synthetic fabrics are much more flammable than cotton, linen, wool, etc. We learned this from when our friends' cabin was badly damaged in a forest fire. We found the curtains--polyester--thrown outside away from the house. It was one of the first things the firefighters did when they arrived.  We also had this fact pointed out when we attended a fire prevention talk.

We recently sold our Toyota Highlander hybrid to our daughter; still in the family but not close enough for me to use, boo hoo. I know some folks would not put straw, buckets of compost, lumber, boulders etc in their car, but in the absence of a truck, we did. Even buckets of manure went in the back, on a rubber floor protector. It fits 7 people if they like each other, and we occasionally put the back seat down and slept in it on a road trip. Not great, but safe, dry and cheap. We called it our "truck" and we hauled all kinds of things in it. But I'm not one to consider a vehicle something that needs to be pristine. A car, like a hammer, is just a tool. And a tool that gets used is going to show wear and tear. It's going to get dirty, and it can be vacuumed out.

My wire whisk is definitely older that 10 years, maybe 20. Can't remember where I bought it. It has no brand but at the base of the solid, heavy handle it says  "Stainless Steel  Made in India"