Waste Nest

I’ve been using those stackable glass containers lately, total game changer for fridge space!

Rick Valley wrote:At times when I have had no access to a big composting site- garden or collection system, I have gotten a thrift-store blender and designated it for compostibles. then when I have my thrift store plastic closable container full, I take it out of the fridge, and grab my cane with a streamlined bottom end- my dibble cane, and go find a new tree and work a few holes around the tree and pour in the blended compost. The worms can easily mange that stuff, and the racoons that would otherwise dig stuff up will go after the worms or whatever. If there is a compost system in a community garden, there won't be noticeable "garbage" which is often prohibited in "community garden-type" composting regimes. (i.e. "garden waste only! NO Food WASTE!").  (damn this city and the restrictions on chickens! I love their help with my food and garden systems- and when I hear a rooster call in the wee small hours, it seems normal, like being in Santiago Atitlan, or Quito, Nairobi, maybe.)

Love that idea! Blending and burying near trees is so smart.

Jeff David wrote:When do you usually start planting your sweet potatoes? I’m in zone 7b and curious how others time it.

By the way, I came across what’s probably the most detailed YouTube guide I’ve seen on growing sweet potatoes. It shows the whole process step by step with some really useful tips. Thought it might help others here too:  

Usually wait until the soil has really warmed up, like mid to late May for me. Sweet potatoes hate cold soil.

Charles Sullivan wrote:Several pear trees have grown from discarded cores in past years. Some are even producing fruit, however none of them are producing the same size pears as the original pears were. All of them seem to be dwarf pears. Several, local people have told me to heavily fertilizer the tree as that will cause the fruit in the coming years to be as large as the original pears were. I haven't tried this yet, but plan to try this next year coming. I would like to get some comments from someone with past experience in pear production.

That’s pretty cool, you’ve got pears growing from discarded cores! I’ve heard fertilizing helps with vigor, but fruit size usually comes down more to genetics and whether the tree was grafted. The original pears you ate likely came from grafted trees.

Genevieve Lisa Pearson Coleman wrote:I read both hs books and fell in love with the whole grey water idea. I live in Lanzarote where there is very little rain. Luckily we have a garage under our house so I was able to cut through all the grey water pipes (not blackwater obviously) and reroute them outside to the garden. The shower water feeds a kiwi, avocado and the raspberries - basically, all plants needing water on a daily basis.
Next I hacked into the washing machine water. Unfortunately our washing machine is in the garage, under the house so I lengthened the outlet hose until it reached outside the garage and could drain into a 100 lt tank with a sump.
When it fills, the sump sends the water to the highest part of the garden, where the water flows out through various small outlets, all onto day lillies. It then soaks away downwards towards banana trees, mandarin trees etc,  the day lillies have survived fine with the soapy water falling on them for several years now and brighten up the garden with their beautiful flowers.
Finally I put the kitchen waste water pipe first through a fat separator, then through a 2m long ditch/swale filled with gravel. The gravel is full of worms so when the water exits, it is also full of fertilizer from the worms. This water leads out onto the topmost part of the garden too, and constantly drips down onto the plants below.
These systems have made me love washing up and doing the washing because every time I do I know I'm watering the garden at the same time. I love that feeling of killing two birds with one stone.

This makes me want to do laundry more often too 😅 what a clever way to make chores actually rewarding.

That sounds so frustrating! Have you tried using soapy water to knock them down, or planting trap crops like nasturtium or sunflowers to lure them away?

Love this list! Such a great way to cut down on waste.