Construct a Greenhouse using Free supplies

On top of planning the construction of our Cob home, we are planning to construct a Greenhouse using readily available recycled materials.  

Greenhouses allow you to extend your growing season up into the Winter, and grow your starter plants earlier in the season. Plants like Tomatoes, peppers, and melons have a long growing season, which is why it is crucial to begin these plants as early as the beginning of February. 

I have the fortunate opportunity to use my home (Mother's house) as a greenhouse. I started many vegetables indoors at the beginning of March, and had to keep these plants indoors up until April till I could sit them out during the day. Even then, I had to bring my starter plants back in every night until the beginning of May. You can imagine my Mother was shocked to have so many trays of growing plants taking up half the living room, utility room, and our bedroom. 

Finally, at the beginning of May I started leaving the starter plants on the front porch at night. For two months, my morning ritual began by taking all of my starter trays outside on the porch, and at night I would bring them all back in the house. 

 

The perfect Greenhouse would be large enough to house hundreds of starter plants, and even fruit bushes and fruit trees. I would even like to construct a greenhouse that was half underground and half exposed for growing tropical fruits. For now I would start small.

We have thought of many different designs, for example a recycled bottle greenhouse (like in the picture below). For a step-by-step tutorial on constructing a bottle greenhouse, click the link here for the PDF.

picture source: Khakibos

Another cheap Greenhouse option is using transparent plastic with recycled wood, see below. Considering I do not drink water from plastic bottles, and because constructing with plastic bottles would take longer-- a 6'X10' greenhouse with recycled wood would also be a simple, cheap construction. You can easily find wood pallets (for free) at sawmills, factories, and behind other stores. Wood pallets can be deconstructed in order to use the wood to create the structure of the Greenhouse. I have posts on how we constructed raised beds out of wood pallets here and here.

picture source: Bepa's Garden

A third option are polytunnel designs using PVC pipes. Polytunnel designs are equivalent in efficiency and cost, it simply depends on the materials you can scavenge for free or have around your house. Piping is easy to come across, as you can ask many people if they have any around, or go dumpster diving.

picture source: Home design

There are of course simpler Greenhouse methods that need no construction, for example in the picture below, you can purchase a small, pre-fabricated Greenhouse at many store outlets. However these come at a higher cost. Even a mini pre-fab Greenhouse as the one in the picture below may cost as much as $40, the same cost for all the Transparent plastic you would need to construct a much larger Greenhouse.

The cost of a 8-ft L x 6-ft W x 6-ft H Metal Polycarbonate Greenhouse at Lowe's is up to $800. Similarly, Palram 6-ft L x 4-ft W x 6-ft H Metal Polycarbonate Greenhouse at Lowe's cost up $500. Much larger Greenhouses, Palram 16-ft L x 8-ft W x 8-ft H Polycarbonate Greenhouses at Lowe's cost more than $2200! What would possess people to pay that much money when they could construct the same size Greenhouse for a 1/20 of the cost?

This isn't the only project people pay 1/20 of the cost for. As I have mentioned before, cob homes made out of clay soil, straw, and sand are virtually no to little cost because of their availability. Actually the only cost when constructing a home out of all natural materials is the cost of gas in transporting these materials. However, if you're obtaining these materials on your own land without the need of transporting materials, then you will be constructing your own at a cheaper price. Even growing Winter Wheat to dry out to use for straw will allow you to save money.

My perspective of our world is this: with all the waste and trash our society produces, we can feed, house, and clothe our nation's poor. Much food, supplies, clothes goes to waste because of the mass production in America. We simply discard food that we barely touch, and yet it is illegal to dumpster dive. What makes sense in this? (Recently I heard of volunteers get fined by the government from feeding the homeless/poor). 

Not only that, but America demands clothes and supplies from other countries instead of producing our own. Why are we raising cows in India, have them shipped, then stripped of their skin in order to be shipped to America to use for "leather", "suede", "fur". As of now, we could end mass producing clothes with all the clothes in second hand stores.

National Geographic, from their article "Feeding 9 billion" states "A bumper crop of corn piles up outside full silos in Brazil's Mato Grosso state, which sends much of its grain to China and South Korea to feed pigs and chickens. The demand for more crops to feed livestock is one reason experts say we'll need to double crop production by 2050". And what makes sense that America destroys forests and land in order to raise cattle when we could raise crops for feeding our poor?

We hear often that other countries grow grains that get shipped to America which could have fed them instead, in other words, they ship more food than they are able to eat! These imported grains also feed our nation's livestock.

On a final note, this post is to be focused on using Free resources to construct Greenhouses in order to produce free food, which is exactly why I bring up the "idiocracy" of our America's corporations and industries waste. We can easily build greenhouses and our homes with free, readily available, all natural materials or free, discarded trash.

Animal Rights Activists/Gary Yourofsky & Creating change

artist, Pawel Kuczynski

"As long as people will shed the blood of innocent creatures, there can be no peace, no liberty, no harmony between people. Slaughter and justice cannot dwell together." - Isaac Bashevis Singer 

I have been vegan for a 1/3 of my life, yet I truly haven't exhibited random acts of kindness the way Gary Yourofsky demonstrates his passion for saving animals. Yourofsky of ADAPTT , has liberated 1500 minks soon to be slaughtered at a fur farm; he has chained himself to many objects during protests; and landed many fines/arrests committing random acts of kindness. You can watch Yourofsky's inspirational lecture on animal rights at BEST SPEECH EVER.
I am not aware of many other animals rights activists that have taken the measures Yourofsky has. It is remarkable the efforts Gary has made to create a vision for our future. Recently I came across a group, PALS which protests businesses on profiting off of slaughtered animals. For footage see here PALS vs Whole Foods and PALS vs Chipotle.
The actions of people like this inspires me to step up to the plate. It is unfortunate that many people like me feel threatened by "authority" figures in the process of protest. There is a chance of getting gassed too during protests! Not only protesting, but I would get fined, arrested, and interrogated for writing "KILLING" at the bottom of a Stop sign. Even something as harmless as holding a picket sign saying "COPS ARE RACISTS" would alarm a police officer. 

Founders of 30Bananasaday, Durianrider and Freelee are known for their "abundant" way of eating, for example eating up to 70 bananas a day. Durianrider draws in a large audience through ironic humor and vocalizing his opinions of the corruption within the Raw food community. Durianrider and Freelee have encouraged more people to live the Vegan lifestyle than many of the Vegan activists. Here is a recent interview of Durianrider explaining his vision for a growing Vegan community "PBG Interviews Durianrider".  

For the last two years I have been focusing on Vegans Living Off the Land in an effort to encourage people to live the Raw & Vegan lifestyle as well as living for free. I envision a world where education and information are free, where technology can live in harmony with nature, and all animals can live in peace. 

"Monkeys killing monkeys over pieces of the ground"
 Lets move on from war, enslaving races, slaughtering animals, exploiting the poor and foolish. We pretend we are unique from other people/that we are different from others; but this invokes discrimination and prejudice. Not realizing individuals have the same needs, fears, and desires creates division.

Marshall Rosenberg, an excellent teacher on Non-violent communication, explains in this video how we can radically change our perspective of others by restructuring our language, for example he says, "when can see each others needs we see our oneness-- we then can realize we get more joy contributing to one another's well-being than trying to dominate or compete".

It is in our best interest to create change from within in order to inspire others to do the same. "Nothing can be changed except ourselves" but with the technology revolution, we can provide fast information and education that will enrich a world collectively. 

9 year Vegan Anniversary

I remember having shrimp for the first time and feeling disgusted with my decision to eat animal flesh after understanding the cruelty. That day, the first Sunday in April, I stopped eating animal flesh and became vegetarian. I am certain that I was vegetarian for several days to a week before Veganism.
After several days of vegetarianism, I realized I was contradicting my beliefs by continuing to have a milk and eggs in my diet with Ranch dressings, ice creams, and such. So towards the middle of April I stopped eating animal derived foods completely.
I also stopped using non vegan Shampoo, lotions, cleaners, detergents, cosmetics and many other products.

Looking back on what I ate the first few months of Veganism, I realize how uneducated and misinformed I must have been. Perhaps I was not given the proper foods because I was young and did not have much choice in the groceries. All in all I thank my Grandmother for helping me stick to my values through foods that allowed me to feel sustained.
Back in 2005 I was a Freshmen in High school, having to take my Breakfast and Lunch to school everyday. I ate bagels and Boca chicken patties for breakfast. Sometimes I would eat icing-less Pop Tarts, bananas and oranges and apples for breakfast. For Lunch I would eat peanut butter sandwiches, chips, Soy Turkey sandwiches. I think I had lots of salads at night and boxed Vegan meals.

I learned through my Grandmother how to eat healthy, whole, and much cheaper. My grandparents grew a large garden with lots of corn, potatoes, tomatoes, beans, and that's exactly what I ate everyday. I ate fresh vegetables that were lightly cooked or not cooked at all from the garden. My Grandma was used to making dairy-free desserts and breads due to my Aunt's allergies, so my Grandma made me dinner every night with fresh vegetables, Vegan breads, with Vegan desserts and fruits after our dinner meals.
Overall, I thank my Grandmother for teaching me how to eat. Actually I thank my Grandparents for influencing me to grow food and eat healthy! I remember I would eat several plates full of potatoes, carrots, peas, and other vegetables till I felt stuffed. Without my Grandparent's guidance teaching me to eat High Carbohydrate, I may have continued to eat high fat processed foods. Without my Grandparent's teaching me how to feel satiated with fruits and vegetables alone, I may have been unsuccessful.

Semi-Permanent Debris Shelters (Minimal Living or living in the woods)

I've become obsessed with videos on constructing debris shelters, survival shelters, and creative ways to build out of readily materials within a short amount of time.

There are many types of emergency survival shelters such as Wikiups, wigwams, Tarp shelters, igloos, underground, and the list goes on. The most basic constructs are shelters formed with dead wood, then layered with an insulation such as twigs, sticks, leaves, mud, tree bark and so on.

A debris shelter allows you to form a fireplace and chimney attached.

 Below I will list some of the videos I think will help you build these shelters in a survival situation. These shelters can also be added to on a larger scale for semi-permanent to permanent dwellings.

Shelters like these are easier on our environment, they allow us to reconsider what is important in life: reading, breathing, meditating, walking. With this way of living, we let go of material, frivolous items, and spend more time in nature.

The list below consists of videos on the construction of debris huts, underground dwellings, and survival shelters. You can type in any search engine these keywords to look at more interesting pictures of these shelters. They key to learning how to build these shelters is by experience. Go outside to the nearest woods or your backyard and build you one of these shelters out of the readily available dead wood (and because it's winter, there will be plenty of leaves to use to act as insulation for your hut).

The video above "How To Build a Semi - Permanent Shelter (part 1)" which teaches you to build a debris shelter with a fireplace/chimney included, remember to watch part 2

In this video, Mike Douglas of Maine Primitive Skills School teaches you a step by step on how to pick a spot, what to use, and other information on debris shelters. Remember to watch part 2.

Here is a small tutorial on how to make a lean to natural shelter out of spruce limbs. The only tools are an axe and some twine. I do not advocate cutting down any live trees, only use dead wood.

 I have more posts on this subject with pictures of other structures which you can view here "Extreme Environmentalism", "Constructing your own home: cob building, homesteading, & free materials", "Cob building: straw, clay, & sand for building dream Earth home"

How Single Mothers (Homeless, Needy, or Poor) Can Live for Free

As I have mentioned before, I studied social work while I attended college; and from that I learned to be critical of a society that subtly manipulates women (especially working mothers and single mothers.) Technically, I was not raised by a single mother, because it wasn't until I turned 15 that my Dad left; but I certainly was treated like a second Mother during the time my Mom and Dad were married. When my parents divorced, I became the "Dad" of the house. Being a Mother is undoubtedly one of the hardest jobs, considering it takes four people to equal one Mom of four kids. For example, my boyfriend and I are the "housewife" and "handy-man" while my Grandmother is the cook, and my Mom pays the bills. 

I'll also say that it is difficult for a Mom (making just over minimum wage) to have decent clothes, furniture, car, or house. Most single Mothers try to apply for food stamps, child support, or seek some other government aid because a minimum wage job cannot afford necessities and luxury. But what if I told you, just by changing your priorities, that you can live debt-free, mortgage-free, and rent-free without having a career or going to college. Throughout this blog, I have repeatedly stated people should aim to live self-sufficiently and independent. In other words, we should aim to live for free by using the materials around us that are recyclable, reusable, all natural, and biodegradable in order to live cheap, save the planet, and save each other. 

the Media still promotes unhealthy eating standards

Famous weight loss programs/products, such as Weight Watchers, Atkins Diet, Jenny Craig, Sensa, and QuickTrim are telling people to starve themselves (or learn to starve yourself). While advertisements tell women/girls to lose weight by learning to calorie restrict, female figures (i.e. Mothers, teachers, sociologists, etc) tell women/girls they should be happy about their body and proud of their curves.

Overall, we believe women should feel good about their body while protesting media's beauty standards. Although it is not always possible to be proud of your body when you're overweight or even slightly chunky because it suggests you've "let-yourself-go" or "got-out-of-control." Subsequently, weight loss programs want you to restrict your food intake SO THAT YOU CAN STILL EAT YOUR ANIMAL PRODUCTS (meat, dairy, eggs, poultry, gelatin, etc.) The media would NEVER promote a low fat (cooked or raw) vegan diet because they cannot make money off of you that way (because you actually lose weight and save money and can eat as much as you want!!!) Plus, the media would not want you to give up your meat products because that would be like telling you to give up your cell phone.

Considering this, even a feminist woman, like myself, is not happy with her body shape... IF they're eating a high-fat diet. Most women have jobs (or several jobs) while attending college, taking care of kids (which is a four-person job), and trying to have a social life or intimate relationship. And of course it's easy to be eating fast foods, prepackaged foods, pre-made meals, frozen dinners when you're constantly on-the-go! That's what the MEDIA wants you to think. While the media is making you spend more money on skin care products, diet pills, multivitamins, makeup, exercise DVDs, and diet programs -- they're also making you spend more money on expensive, high-fat, low-calorie foods and diet plans. The media is promoting a calorie and carb restricting, anorexic, and bulimic diet!
The media also doesn't want you to grow your own food or eat a whole foods/plant-based diet because big corporations cannot make money off of you that way.

You should be eating for less money, for best nutrition, high-carb, high-calorie, and low fat to get skinny and happy about your NATURAL BODY SHAPE. Want to know how? If you want to look like a goddess, model, powerful, and happy woman: eat all the fruit, veggies, beans, and grains you want! Did I say you could have vegan pasta?!? Did I say you could eat potatoes!?! Did I say you could eat rice!? Yes, yes, and yes!

Get rid of the meat, dairy, eggs, poultry, OIL, OIL, OIL, and limit the amount of plant-based fats like nuts, seeds, and avocados. Since you're getting rid of the fat in your life, eat all the fruit and vegetables as you want (with some beans and grains.)

Eating a plant-based diet comes with an overwhelming amount of benefits. Studies have proven we should take out the fat (meat and dairy products) in order to overcome health obstacles, for example the China Study Many US doctors have seen drastic improvements in their patients health and weight loss when switching to a low fat vegan diet, like John McDougall, Neal Barnard, and Caldwell B. Esselestyn, Jr.

The most natural diet is consumption of fruit and greens, carbohydrate rich, low fat vegan practices. A moralistic diet represents ethical treatment of humans and animals.