Spring "Greening" Tips

It's finally springtime, and spring cleaning time. How about turning it into spring greening? First, the laundry. Wash only full loads, use cold water whenever possible, hand your clothes and they will be so fresh!

Second, use Hydrogen Peroxide to clean most things instead of bleach and save your lungs and the oceans.

• Soak your toothbrushes in peroxide to keep them free from germs, use it as teeth whitening - way cheaper than other methods!



• Clean your counter tops with it, kills germs and bacteria - same with your cutting board, keep some in a spray bottle.



• Soak any infections or fungus on your body in it



• A cup of peroxide in laundry keeps it white and bright



• It cleans mirrors streak free!

Third, plant your garden with organic seeds and soil, and plant food. You can follow my son Jesse Grimes' adventures in his garden in Dana Point. He calls it the Trailer Trash Gardener at: http://jessebythesea.blogspot.com/ He is planting an organic garden in his yard at his mobile home, proving you can reap lots of food in a tiny space.

Vermiculture? creepy crawlies just in time for Halloween!

I got this e-mail from The Road Less Traveled, one of my favorite stores :

What: Composting Lecture

When: October 25, 2009 3:00 PM

Price: $15.00 per person

Where:The Road Less Traveled

2204 N Main St Santa Ana, CA 92706

714 836-8727

Learn the how, what and where of vermiculture, composting with earthworms, our hungry and efficient friends! Everything you need know plus product to buy to be successful at home! handouts and snacks are included.$15, $10 w/friend

OK, in all my studies for several years now, and in the 70's as a hippie, I have never heard the word "vermiculture". And my friend, Abbot John Drais of Madre Grande Monastery was a Worm Wrangler - he taught me all about worms and castings and how valuable they are, as he spent hours digging up the earth and making the soil a perfect environment for earthworms to sell their poop for organic fertilizer. Apparently it's the shizzle.

Why is it important to green real estate? First, let's properly define it.

According to http://www.vermiculture.com/, it is "The raising and production of earthworms and worm castings"

Well, wikipedia doesn't list it, but they do list Vermicompost: "composting utilizing various species of worms, specifically red wigglers, white worms, and earthworms creating the heterogeneous mixture of decomposing vegetable or food waste, bedding materials, and pure vermicast produced during the course of normal vermiculture operations. Vermicast, similarly known as worm castings, worm humus or worm manure, is the end-product of the breakdown of organic matter by the species of earthworm." That's clear as mud!

So, why is it important to green real estate?

Worm castings used as fertilizer can help your organic garden thrive and not only make your yard a living yard ("greener" than a grass yard - see my blog: Rip up your lawn!"), it can be a profitable yard reaping expensive organic produce and herbs for your family to enjoy. Your family might end up just a little healthier eating fresh and often raw food as you save money on your grocery bill and possibly your doctor bills. A beautiful thriving garden certainly enhances the curb appeal of a home, and last but not least, think of how happy the planet will be when you are not putting toxic fertilizers into it or the storm drains to the ocean.

I suggest if you are interested at all in vermiculture, you do attend the workshop. and you won't be all "muddy" about vermiculture anymore.