InstantForum.NET v4.1.2Hobby Farms Forumshttp://board.hobbyfarms.com/forums@bowtieinc.comThu, 24 Jul 2008 21:00:27 GMT20http://board.hobbyfarms.com/Topic1319-6-1.aspxThough I'm not (our family's way to big) alot of people around here are buy scooters (100mpg) and it only costs about $6 to fill up...Um, we bought a pool so no more commuting to the local lake...um, we have a compost pile, where all the horse and chicken manure goes along with the kitchen scraps the chickens won't eat...we don't have AC (which sucks) we did buy two window AC's though, one for the living room the other for my dads room (he works nights so he has to sleep during the day so he HAS to keep the door's and windows shut)</P><P>We switched lightbulbs, but we did that for the money saving part, it's just a bonus that it's good for the world...</P><P>We planted our garden really big this year...we joined a "Fruit &amp; Veggie club" where ever month someone goes to a large farmers market and for (this is two "memberships") $50 we get all the fruit and veggies needed for a who month. </P><P>We had flags up for the dogs invisable fencing and after we took them down we saved the metle wire piece and yesterday we just used them to stake down landscaping cloth....</P><P>Our family can affored new clothing really so (I love this store) us ladies shop at a Salvation Army so we recycle clothing! lol....</P><P>Though we arn't swapping our windex/bleech/funiture polish for vinager I think we're off to a great start! One day I hope to have solar pannles or a wind generator...At only 18, I think I'm off to a great start!Tue, 10 Jun 2008 07:29:53 GMTgcwpapillonhttp://board.hobbyfarms.com/Topic1319-6-1.aspx<A href="http://www.o2compost.com/content/Bay_Systems_Sm.htm">http://www.o2compost.com/content/Bay_Systems_Sm.htm</A></P><P>Dropped the GMC Jimmy for a Honda Civic Hybrid...</P><P>Still have F350 Dump but its trips are all planned...</P><P>Still have GMC3500 Duramax but its jobs are limited to towing the horses to the shows and for emergency runs to the vet...</P><P>Still have the K2500 Pickup, but trips to town are now scheduled so that multiple stops still make it a useful farm truck...<img align="absmiddle" src="http://board.hobbyfarms.com/Skins/Hobby Farm/Images/EmotIcons/Smile.gif" border="0" title="Smile">Tue, 20 May 2008 13:00:22 GMTPaulChristensonhttp://board.hobbyfarms.com/Topic1319-6-1.aspxRecycling yard waste. During the summer months I can bag 2- 94 gallon garbage cans of grass clippings a week. I left a 20' natural buffer along the sides and rear of my property. Tree limbs, grass catcher waste go's into that area.<br><br>My garbage man love me again. Plus I can notice the natural vegetation starting to benefit from the compost.<br><br>I also use the thatch from the yard in my garden . I pulled 148 bushel bags of thatch from my 1 acre yard. This allows the water and fertilizer to get to the roots of my lawn.<br><br>I roto till the thatch into my garden area and toss a little lime in with it and my garden has never been better. <br><br>By de-thatching the yard I can reduce my watering from 30 minutes a zone to 20 minutes a zone and get the same results. The thatch doesn't block the water from the roots.<br><br>Hoot<br><br>Tue, 20 May 2008 06:50:21 GMTHoothttp://board.hobbyfarms.com/Topic1319-6-1.aspx[quote]<b>Sue Weaver (5/13/2008)</b><hr noshade size="1" class="hr">We've been living fairly green for quite a few years--recycling everything we possibly can, not buying items wrapped in a lot of packaging, favoring products made using recycled content and so on. Also, we drive small vehicles and use our trusty, battered (gas-guzzling) farm truck as infrequently as possible.<P>Soon, we plan to replace our car with a small van so we can haul some of our farm needs in that. Since John and I are the only human members of our family, in the past we've permanently removed the back seat from small vans and configured that way they really do accommodate a lot--like a fullgrown goat or sheep or a pretty good-size load of bagged feed. Can you tell that for us, serviceability is more important than style? :o)</P><P>Something else we plan to do this year is to resist turning on our air conditioning until we can't stand the heat a moment longer. When we moved to the northern Arkansas Ozarks from Minnesota, we thought we'd never have air conditioning in our home. However, the heat and humidity here is outrageous; air conditioning is a necessity but we've vowed to tough it out as long as we possibly can.</P><P>SueTue, 13 May 2008 21:07:40 GMTSue Weaverhttp://board.hobbyfarms.com/Topic1319-6-1.aspxWe've been living as green as possible for quite a few years--recycling everything we possibly can, not buying items wrapped in a lot of packaging, favoring products made using recycled content and so on. Also, we drive small vehicles and use our trusty, battered (gas-guzzling) farm truck as infrequently as possible.</P><P>Soon, we plan to replace our car with a small van so we can haul some of our farm needs in that. Since John and I are the only human members of our family, in the past we've permanently removed the back seat from small vans and configured that way they really do accommodate a lot--like a fullgrown goat or sheep or a pretty good-size load of bagged feed. Can you tell that for us, serviceability is more important than style? :o)</P><P>Something else we plan to do this year is to resist turning on our air conditioning until we can't stand the heat a moment longer. When we moved to the northern Arkansas Ozarks from Minnesota, we thought we'd never have air conditioning in our home. However, the heat and humidity here is outrageous; air conditioning is a necessity but we've vowed to tough it out as long as we possibly can.</P><P>SueTue, 13 May 2008 21:06:03 GMTSue Weaverhttp://board.hobbyfarms.com/Topic1319-6-1.aspxThere is so much out there about "green" these days--changing lightbulbs to flurorescents, reducing carbon footprint, etc. What kinds of things are you doing in that direction? Personally, I am growing a bigger garden this year. Food prices are so high, I have increased the variety and amount of vegetables I'm growing, and I will put up lots for the winter. Also, my husband is getting a motorcycle to commute to work on. Instead of driving our Jeep (18 mpg on a good day), we're spending about $3,000 to buy a 250cc Honda motorcycle that gets about 70 mpg, and the insurance is only about $100/year. I think it will end up paying for itself in a very short time, and will be putting less emissions into the air.Fri, 09 May 2008 09:26:50 GMTPygmy Princess