Costa’s Complete Compost Compendium
Posted October 25, 2009 – 12:05 pm in: gardenOK, I’ve no idea if you would really class this as a compendium, but with “Costa” & “Compost” to be used in the same title, I had to come up with something!
I hope you’ve been catching up with Costa’s Garden Odyssey on SBS Tv of late. This guy’s characterful enthusiasm really makes this the best gardening / environment show on TV by a long shot. If you’ve missed the episodes, you can watch them online direct from the SBS TV website.
On one of the recent shows, Costa showed, with the help of horticulturist and teacher Ali Rutherford how to make the perfect compost. As you might have worked out from my Goals Update post, I like compost, so any information I can find about how to make a better compost is always welcome.
Fortunately, if you’re not able to see the show, or absorb information better in the printed form (or on screen form), Costa’s website has a fact sheet with all the relevant info. You can find it here: Costa’s Compost 101. (Hey, maybe that would’ve been a better title?!)
Well, good luck with your composting efforts, I’m off to give my a bit of a stir… why not let me know how yours is going in the comments?
No Comments | Tags: composting, costaWhy no posts?
Posted October 12, 2009 – 9:52 am in: generalWhile my blogging frequency here on Treading Lighter wasn’t anything to write home about; I feel that there’s been a sufficient absence of new posts that probably deserves an explanation and apology.
My apologies firstly to any of you who may have been checking back here to see if there were any updates, the explanation is this…
About 4 months ago, I made a conscious decision to stop watching the news. Mostly due to the fact that the lack of action on environmental issues displayed by our esteemed national and international leaders was frustrating me to the point that I’d be shouting at the TV when they strated sprouting their latest piece of face-saving spin. And with an impressionable 3yr old in the house – that’s not a good look for Daddy!
Of course, what I didn’t realise at the time was that in making that decision – my passion for writing about these things also ebbed away, and so the resulting cessation of posting.
On the flip side, I have discovered my new outlet, and much like my previous post saying we should just get on with it, that’s exactly what I’m doing.
You may remember in my Goals Update around May this year I mentioned we now had some space to grow our own veggies. Well I’m happy to report, we’re now up to some 20 varieties of fruit & veg around the house (and I’m scouting for areas to put more as move into the summer months.)
So to wrap up, I hope to be bringing you (at least) slightly more frequent updates on the Treading Lighter lifestyle, but if nothing’s happening – nothing’s happening! Now stop reading and go and plant something…
(Zucchini, Baby Carrots, Lettuce, Brocolli, Basil, Spinach & Strawberries)
Queensland’s ClimateSmart Home Service Review
Posted June 13, 2009 – 7:33 pm in: reviewI’m very excited to say it’s time to welcome Treading Lighter’s first ever guest post, coming to us today from Greg Howell. Greg is well-known in my local area for his involvement with Surfrider Foundation, which being a surfer is also a cause close to my own heart. Also a pretty good surfing instructor, Greg has a great passion for all things environmental. Here he reviews the Queensland Government’s ClimateSmart Home Service Scheme. Take it away Greg…
The Queensland Government ClimateSmart Home Service, which started on 1st of January 2009, aims to improve energy efficiency in your household. The service operates in a similar manner to that of the successful Home WaterWise Service.
For a $50 service fee, a qualified trades person will visit your home to conduct an energy audit, provide energy advice, install energy saving tools such as a household energy monitor and a water efficient shower head, and also supply 15 compact fluorescent light globes.
When the friendly installer arrived, I told him that as we’d previously taken advantage of the local council’s Waterwise service, we already had a water saving shower head and compact fluorescent light globes. I did ask him if he had some of the softer warm lights though, as the Waterwise representative had run out, leaving us only with the harsh colder version, and in this he was happy to oblige. As I discovered though you’re better off getting him to replace them, so you don’t forget how many screw in and how many bayonet fixings you have!
I allowed him to launch into his spiel (which he was very good at), and he explained how the service worked. Unfortunately I was disappointed with the energy audit, this part of the service in my circumstance was poor and I was left with many questions unanswered. Looking back, I should have pulled him up during his pitch or written down the questions I wanted to ask for later.
He then proceeded in setting up the wireless energy monitor (this is the toy I was really interested in). The reader device is attached to the meter box and comes with a wireless LCD display that you can move around the house. I have found the monitor useful in changing the habits of household members, because you can’t argue with the facts! The numbers are right there in dollars and cents or tons of greenhouse gases.
As far as the customised Energy and Water Efficiency Plan being sent to us, we haven’t seen it yet. And also the My ClimateSmart Home, a customised online resource for more energy and water savings hadn’t materialised either. Following up, I rang the department, only to be told the system had crashed, and they were not sure when access would be available. Unfortunately I’m still waiting – over 6 months later.
It might sound like I had a negative experience, and that the service is flawed, but even though I found the whole package was wanting, it doesn’t take away how important it is to make these small changes.
So in the big picture does this service make any difference? Well to me, it is a change I can manage, therefore I must! My tip to those about to get the service? Write down your questions and stop the installer when you need something explained.
1 Comment | Tags: climatesmart, energy savers, governmentSolar Feed In Tariff Update
Posted June 13, 2009 – 6:42 pm in: newsJust a quick update on the solar feed in tariff petition that I posted about recently. The petition is now nearing its final days and will be submitted to Green Senator Christine Mine early next week. So far 15,000 signatures have been collected so if you haven’t yet added your name to the list – you should head over to FeedInTariff.com.au quick smart!
No Comments | Tags: renewable energy, solar feed in tariff, solar powerTreading Lighter 2009 Goals Update
Posted May 17, 2009 – 4:58 pm in: generalWell, we’re nearly half way through this year already, so I thought it’d be a good opportunity to get up to date on how I’m going with the sustainable living goals I set at the beginning of the year. You may remember that I decided to make them ones I could actually achieve.
Growing Veggies
I’m happy to say that this has so far been going well – definitely aided by the fact that we moved house about 6 weeks ago. Aided in the sense that we actually now have a garden, as opposed to what is euphemistically known as a “nature strip”
(Yes, what you see in the two pictures here constituted the entire green space at our previous house!)
And this is what we have now:
Actually we have cheated a bit in that the previous owners of the house were fans of home grown themselves – we’ve got oranges, lemons, passion fruit, paw-paw, chili’s and pineapples growing about the place. So far we’ve added the obligatory tomatoes & basil, which will be followed by some more herbs and some strawberries a bit later this afternoon. (We’ve also noticed that the neighbour’s mango tree has a bit of an ..ahem.. overhang…) There’ll be more posts on how this is all going over the coming months.
Building a Compost
I have to say for me, one of the biggest revelations so far has been the compost bin. Composting is a concept that I’ve not been around since my age was well in single figures, so to watch a pile of something previously destined for landfill slowly become a useful product is simply amazing! And therein lies the secondary reward of building your own compost heap – I would comfortably say that we’ve halved our landfill bound output since introducing the compost – imagine if everyone could do that! I’m going to feature some more articles on composting in general in the next few months, but my recommendation for now is that if you don’t yet have a compost or compost bin, you owe it to yourself to get one.
Use Less Chemical Products
This one has been a bit of a winner for me also. Since picking up a few random books from the library on natural cleaners, remedies and the like and discovering just how easy (not to mention cheaper) it is to replace multitudes of harmful chemicals in the household, I’ve been on constant look out for replacements.
(My caveat here is that while seasoned ecologists may say it’s been this way for years, I’m approaching this from the point of view of a product being commercially available. The average modern day consumer is not going to go out of their way to get an environmentally product if there’s a chemical alternative already sitting on the shelf in front of them.)
So far I’ve replaced shower gel, shampoo & shaving gel for my bathroom products; washing powder, washing up liquid, dishwash powder and kitchen handwash in the rest of the house. I’m quite confident this list will expand through the second half of the year, and my ultimate goal will be to make chemical products the second or even third choice for any situation I may have previously used them.
Using Car Less (Get a bike, use public transport, walk)
I’m going to call this one a grey area! Due to the house move, I feel I am actually using the car less – e.g. I now walk to the beach for a surf, or to the shop for some milk, whereas previously I would have driven. And as far as surfing is concerned, this is augmented further in that I now live in the village that I would have more than likely driven too before getting in the ocean.
Of course, the flipside of this is that I’m now further away from my workplace, and in factors of distance that it’s now unpractical for me to consider riding a bike or catching public transport. But the cloud hath a silver lining: as a much greater percentage of my driving is now on the highway, my average fuel efficiency has improved by some 2 – 2.5L/100KMS, which personally I think is a pretty good acheivement!
I’d love to know how you are going with your own goals, so please let me know in the comments.
3 Comments | Tags: chemical-free, composting, transport, veggies
