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lwoodEarthy Crunchy Things I Forgot to Post Yesterday
RIGHT! In seeing this meme (ooh, I made a meme) pop up in others' journals, I was reminded of stuff I've done that I couldn't easily think of yesterday:
Re: canning/preserving
I learned how to make homemade pickles, both sauerkraut and cucumbers. For my next trick, I might just pickle Brussels sprouts. To aid in this, I have commissioned a pickle crock from a heathen potter in Indiana (who isn't really taking commissions just now, else I would point you all at him). After all, how else would I get a pickle crock with runes on, because obviously runic pickles would taste better.
Now I just have to think, "what runes are good for pickles?" I'm thinking Ingwaz--not Isa, because a fermented pickle isn't static. What else? Throw me some comments.
re: paper and cleaning products
Yep, am upgrading paper and cleaning products. Forgot to mention this.
re: Speaking up in organizations:
Idunna, the Troth's quarterly magazine, is now printed on 100% recycled paper with (I believe) 30% post-consumer recycled content*. This was one of our justifications for the dues hike awhile back, and as it came through, here we are.
The Fellowship of the Spiral Path, a local pagan umbrella organization, has, at my urging and with my help, allowed people to choose to have a PDF of the newsletter mailed to them. Once we can really support this within the Troth, you can be assured that![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dr_beowulf and trogula will co-announce summat similar for Idunna (underlying database issues prevent that from happening on any real scale this time).
Remember, if you've been doing stuff to live more responsibly in the past year, please post in your own journal to spread the love. If not...hopefully some of the low-hanging fruit on these lists is an inspiration to you.
* - Post-consumer content? Well, recycled paper that's not post-consumer means that the leftovers at the old paper mill just get another round on the guitar. While that's definitely Good, and I applaud practices that reduce waste and promote thrift, that's not directly supporting my recycling bins at home and office--obviously the second half of the equation. So: read the fine print. Check for post-consumer content!
Steal This Plant:
Today, here at the Mad Scientists' Home, they were bringing in a new plant--there is now one by our elderly black and white LaserJet, and one by our spiffy new Xerox Phaser 8560DN (if one must print, laser is less expensive and more efficient than inkjet, and solid ink is more responsible and healthier to breathe near than toner). The new plant had small, shiny leaves and looked like it would trail prettily over the sides of a pot. As they lifted the pot out of the plastic water dish they'd been using, I noticed a lot of short cuttings in the bottom of the water tray. Plants that look like that will often propagate from cuttings and, hey, FREE is a good price for new houseplants.
"Hey, that's pretty--what is it?"
"Oh, it's a goldfish plant because when it blooms, the flowers look like bright golden goldfish."
The leaves were small and shiny, which told me that it wouldn't want a lot of water, either, which in turn would keep the fungus gnats at bay. Damn gnats. "Goldfish plant" refers to any of several members of genii Columnea or Nematanthus; I have insufficient data to determine species at present. "Will it grow from cuttings?"
"Sure! They'll root in water in no time--would you like these trimmings here?"
"Sure!"
So, I gathered up the half-dozenish stems, each 4-6" long and went over to the breakroom with a pair of scissors. Longer would have been better, but I knew this would be enough to get on with, and hey, it's cloning not to be afraid of--so do try this at home!
Each leaf, or pair of leaves grows toward the light from a bump. This bump is a node--if you look underneath, you might, on some plants, see another pair of things underneath that might look more-or-less like roots. With nice, sharp scissors, cut diagonally across this node, and cut (or just pick) leaves from 1-2" of stem. If I had been at home, I would have stuck them in a small glass, like a shotglass or liqueur glass, or a wine glass if they'd been a big longer. I was at work, though, so I used the same scissors to cut down a paper coffee cup (the office is also greening, hooray!) to a good height for the cuttings, and they're now in my office window. To transport them home once they've rooted in a couple weeks, I will wrap them in a couple layers of damp paper towel, and keep it safe with a layer of (*wince*) foil or plastic wrap.
There are a lot of plants you can propagate just this way: Wandering Jew (Tradescantia spp., I have two varieties of T. zebrina in my pot) and Pothos (oh fine, change your Latin name on me, Epipremnum aureum, see if I care), several among the Kalanchoe spp. Basically, if it trails, this is worth a shot. Obviously, anyone who turns up at my place is welcome to a cutting of anything I've got that can be spread this way. I'll even root it for you if you like.
So--go steal a plant!
-- Lorrie
RIGHT! In seeing this meme (ooh, I made a meme) pop up in others' journals, I was reminded of stuff I've done that I couldn't easily think of yesterday:
Re: canning/preserving
I learned how to make homemade pickles, both sauerkraut and cucumbers. For my next trick, I might just pickle Brussels sprouts. To aid in this, I have commissioned a pickle crock from a heathen potter in Indiana (who isn't really taking commissions just now, else I would point you all at him). After all, how else would I get a pickle crock with runes on, because obviously runic pickles would taste better.
Now I just have to think, "what runes are good for pickles?" I'm thinking Ingwaz--not Isa, because a fermented pickle isn't static. What else? Throw me some comments.
re: paper and cleaning products
Yep, am upgrading paper and cleaning products. Forgot to mention this.
re: Speaking up in organizations:
Idunna, the Troth's quarterly magazine, is now printed on 100% recycled paper with (I believe) 30% post-consumer recycled content*. This was one of our justifications for the dues hike awhile back, and as it came through, here we are.
The Fellowship of the Spiral Path, a local pagan umbrella organization, has, at my urging and with my help, allowed people to choose to have a PDF of the newsletter mailed to them. Once we can really support this within the Troth, you can be assured that
dr_beowulf and trogula will co-announce summat similar for Idunna (underlying database issues prevent that from happening on any real scale this time).Remember, if you've been doing stuff to live more responsibly in the past year, please post in your own journal to spread the love. If not...hopefully some of the low-hanging fruit on these lists is an inspiration to you.
* - Post-consumer content? Well, recycled paper that's not post-consumer means that the leftovers at the old paper mill just get another round on the guitar. While that's definitely Good, and I applaud practices that reduce waste and promote thrift, that's not directly supporting my recycling bins at home and office--obviously the second half of the equation. So: read the fine print. Check for post-consumer content!
Steal This Plant:
Today, here at the Mad Scientists' Home, they were bringing in a new plant--there is now one by our elderly black and white LaserJet, and one by our spiffy new Xerox Phaser 8560DN (if one must print, laser is less expensive and more efficient than inkjet, and solid ink is more responsible and healthier to breathe near than toner). The new plant had small, shiny leaves and looked like it would trail prettily over the sides of a pot. As they lifted the pot out of the plastic water dish they'd been using, I noticed a lot of short cuttings in the bottom of the water tray. Plants that look like that will often propagate from cuttings and, hey, FREE is a good price for new houseplants.
"Hey, that's pretty--what is it?"
"Oh, it's a goldfish plant because when it blooms, the flowers look like bright golden goldfish."
The leaves were small and shiny, which told me that it wouldn't want a lot of water, either, which in turn would keep the fungus gnats at bay. Damn gnats. "Goldfish plant" refers to any of several members of genii Columnea or Nematanthus; I have insufficient data to determine species at present. "Will it grow from cuttings?"
"Sure! They'll root in water in no time--would you like these trimmings here?"
"Sure!"
So, I gathered up the half-dozenish stems, each 4-6" long and went over to the breakroom with a pair of scissors. Longer would have been better, but I knew this would be enough to get on with, and hey, it's cloning not to be afraid of--so do try this at home!
Each leaf, or pair of leaves grows toward the light from a bump. This bump is a node--if you look underneath, you might, on some plants, see another pair of things underneath that might look more-or-less like roots. With nice, sharp scissors, cut diagonally across this node, and cut (or just pick) leaves from 1-2" of stem. If I had been at home, I would have stuck them in a small glass, like a shotglass or liqueur glass, or a wine glass if they'd been a big longer. I was at work, though, so I used the same scissors to cut down a paper coffee cup (the office is also greening, hooray!) to a good height for the cuttings, and they're now in my office window. To transport them home once they've rooted in a couple weeks, I will wrap them in a couple layers of damp paper towel, and keep it safe with a layer of (*wince*) foil or plastic wrap.
There are a lot of plants you can propagate just this way: Wandering Jew (Tradescantia spp., I have two varieties of T. zebrina in my pot) and Pothos (oh fine, change your Latin name on me, Epipremnum aureum, see if I care), several among the Kalanchoe spp. Basically, if it trails, this is worth a shot. Obviously, anyone who turns up at my place is welcome to a cutting of anything I've got that can be spread this way. I'll even root it for you if you like.
So--go steal a plant!
-- Lorrie
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no subject
Date: 2008-01-16 09:05 pm (UTC)Hm.
::ponders where to put such a thing in our already overcrowded space::
no subject
Date: 2008-01-16 10:16 pm (UTC)-- Lorrie
no subject
Date: 2008-01-16 10:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-17 01:52 pm (UTC)-- Lorrie
no subject
Date: 2008-01-16 10:05 pm (UTC)http://www.zenncars.com/
Zero-Emission-No-Noise.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-17 01:54 pm (UTC)Looks like fun, though!
-- Lorrie
no subject
Date: 2008-01-17 01:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-17 01:54 pm (UTC)-- Lorrie