green update...

Life is just a whirlwind of events it seems these days. So here is my update... finally

My summer garden did pretty well but I have to say my fall garden is looking amazing. I have okra by the dozens. Beautiful squash growing as we speak and many other veggies popping their heads up too like collard greens, eggplant, and lots of varieties of squash. I continue to use only chicken poop for fertilizer. I actually take the soiled hay from their chicken coop and use it as mulch between my rows in the garden. So it multi-purpose! Mulch and fertilizer. My cherry tomatoes continue to grow and my spinach has never missed a beat. I think spinach and okra may be the easiest veggies I have ever grown.

I am in the process of becoming a member of a local organic buying club called Flagler Organics. I was a part of a buying club in the past but this one seems to make more sense. You pay a set price for a full share or half share each week which gives you 15-30lbs of fruits & veggies. You dont control what exactly you get but they also provide you with recipes for many of the veggies which helps when you get something you have never prepared before. And of course they buy only organic and mostly local. I love that part.

I continue to help my parents convert to more "green" ways at their restaurants. As of now they save me all their old bread (uneaten) and instead of throwing away their unused dough my dad now bakes it into bread for me. I bring it all over to the pigs. I am still working on a couple of other things I'd like to change over there but it is a slow process... lol. I am trying to convince my parents that sometimes making the right choice actually saves you money too. I'll let you know how that goes.

My most exciting news is that we are working on getting solar panels for our water pump and sewer system. We cant do it until we build our pump house but we have priced it out and it should pay for itself pretty quickly. It will save us electricity on one of our biggest power drainers (besides the a/c) but even better we will have water even when the electricty is out. I'll keep you posted!

Thanks for reading!