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Sustainability

Sustainability

Back to Nature: How to make a Survival Candle in 5 Steps

Published by communitypublishingabq@gmail.com on April 7, 2015 Respond

By Dan the “Glassman” Garduno

Here’s a simple survival candle you can make at home from a few free recycled materials to help you get Back To Nature!

All you need is a tuna can, some cardboard, and some wax. These survival candles are perfect for heat in emergency situations, and can be used as a flame to cook over as well! A portable camp fire in a can! Simply snuff it out by stepping on it and covering it with your boot.
Here’s how you make it!

5 Simple Steps

  1. Gather your materials: tuna can, cardboard, wax, scissors, another can to melt wax in, and a heat source. I used a candle.
  2. Cut cardboard into strips as wide as the height of the tuna can, or about an inch wide. And about 7″ long. You will need 5-7 strips depending on if using a smaller or bigger tuna can.
  3. Roll them all up and try to hold them all rolled at then same time between your fingers. You want to be able to keep them rolled tight until you place them into the can. One rolled strip in the center with the remaining strips surrounding that center strip.
    The strips will loosen and open up forcing them out and holding each other in place.
  4. Place wax in another can with label removed. I used a tall soup can. I also made a hole towards the bottom of one side of the can to use as a pouring spout. You can heat can over a stove directly or place in a pan with water and allow water to boil. Or you can hold over a candle. I rigged up a few things to place the can on over the candle with the spout directly over the tuna can with cardboard strips that way it started to pour automatically as the wax melted. I used wax from the small cheese wheels. You can also use old broken crayons.
  5. The idea is to pour the wax over the cardboard and to fill up the can almost to the top with wax. Only fill to the tops of the cardboard strips. These act as your wick. The entire can becomes a flame, not just one small wick. Its a portable camp fire. Use outdoor only and in a safe and controlled area. Use common sense at all times!

These are perfect for survival, camping, or at home. It can also be made in a large Xmas cookie tin for a larger portable campfire. And the lid is perfect for snuffing the flame and for travel.

*****
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The Glassman

Dan Garduno

“The Glassman” will be posting more blogs and ideas as well as hosting many workshops on Self-sustainability, urban farming/agriculture, windowsill gardening, composting, upcycling, self water planters  and grow beds, solar passive heating, collecting and purifying rain water, mass heaters and rocket stoves, papercrete, hemp cement, and so much more throughout 2015!

Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as multimedia eBooks while promoting literacy in our communities.

We are proud to be a community partner and digital marketer at the Rail Yards Market.
#JoinOurCommunity at http://communitypublishing.org“

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Back to Nature: Make a Self-Watering Grow System!

Published by communitypublishingabq@gmail.com on March 12, 2015 Respond

By Dan Garduno

In recent years I’ve learned quite a few different ways on how to garden. Some ways are very traditional with simple compost to soil and then planting seeds in the ground. And some ways are more modern with a twist of simplicity and ingenuity. Today I’d like to share with you a simple growing method known as self-watering containers or wicking beds/containers.
The idea of these systems is to make growing plants and starting seeds so simple just about anyone can do it. And keeping them alive in these systems is just as easy. These systems basically have a water reservoir underneath a grow bed and a wick to absorb the water up into the soil and directly into the roots.

Plants grow by taking up water through their roots and taking up nutrients from the soil around the roots. Constantly watering the plants from above ground eventually washes the nutrients out or down into the earth deeper. By using a wick to absorb water from underneath, just like a root does already, it helps to keep all the nutrients in the soil around the root without ever flushing it out as well as it allows the right amount of water naturally absorbed up into the soil and into the roots. The roots will only absorb as much water as the plant needs. The wick will never puddle/pool or over water your soil or your plant. It regulates a perfect constant moisture control for the roots. Some plants such as chile peppers tend to flourish in drier soils so these systems won’t work for some drier soil plants. However, these are excellent for tomatoes, basil, lettuces, non edible house plants, and so many more!

Make a simple self watering seed starter out of a plastic water bottle

You will need:

  • Water bottle
  • Scissors, knife, or razor blade to cut bottle and make a hole in cap
  • Absorbent material for wick such as organic hemp string or twine, shami cloth material, yarn, or even strips of T-shirt. (Cotton T-shirt wicks tend to form mildew and will have to be replaced always)
  • Organi Soil
  • Organic Or Heirloom Seed
  • Water

Step 1: You simply take an empty water bottle and cut it horizontally in half. Somewhere between half way and about 2/3 up the neck. Any size bottle will do; 12oz, 16oz, 1ltr, 2ltr, 3ltr, half gallon, full gallon. We will eventually use the top part of the bottle to add soil and grow in upside down inside the lower part of the bottle after we attach a wick through the cap. The lower part of the bottle will hold water.

Step 2: We then cut a hole into the cap while its tightly screwed on the bottle still. Be extremely careful not to cut yourself! You van also try using a hammer and nail and remove cap and hammer through top of cap to make a small hole good for twine. Also try using a hot tent stake or phillps screw driver and melt a bigger hole through the cap by using a candle to heat tip and melt through cap when really hot. Ventilation is needed and should be done outside. But you then release fumes and probably shouldn’t be melting plastic at all.

Step 3: Once you have a hole in the cap for the wick you simply shove the wick into the cap and into the bottle neck. The idea is to have a long enough wick so it will reach all the way to the bottom of the water reservoir as well as into the neck a good inch or two to saturate the soil and pull water up into the seed and eventually the roots.

Step 4: Add soil into the upside top part of the bottle around the wick into the cap and neck of the bottle fill this to the top. The wick should be hanging down from the cap now. You then fill the bottom of bottle with water and put the wick side of bottle with cap down into the water. You only need to fill water until the cap is just barely submerged into the water. You don’t want the soil to be sitting in the water.

Step 5: Add the seed into the center of the soil about 1/2″-1″ deep by using your finger or a pencil to make a hole to drop the seed in. Then cover with soil and place your new self watering planter in a windowsill or somewhere it will receive a good amount of light.

You will only need to water it once a week and maybe even once every two weeks. Its so simple to take care of many seed starts like this without worrying about letting the soil dry out too quickly and kill the seedling. That is the main reason most people don’t try to grow their own plants. They forget to water them only once and the plants are lost. And its so frustrating.

That is why this is such a simple and easy way to starts seeds and grow plants as well as helping to keep our own waste/plastic bottles out of the landfills as well!

Try to make one today!
Thanks for getting BACK TO NATURE with “TheGlassman“!
*****
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The Glassman

Dan Garduno

“The Glassman” will be posting more blogs and ideas as well as hosting many workshops on Self-sustainability, urban farming/agriculture, windowsill gardening, composting, upcycling, self water planters  and grow beds, solar passive heating, collecting and purifying rain water, mass heaters and rocket stoves, papercrete, hemp cement, and so much more throughout 2015!

Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as multimedia eBooks while promoting literacy in our communities.

We are proud to be a community partner and digital marketer at the Rail Yards Market.
#JoinOurCommunity at http://communitypublishing.org“

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Back to Nature: Save Money, Shop Organic

Published by communitypublishingabq@gmail.com on February 20, 2015 Respond

By Dan Garduno

Many shoppers and consumers these days have trained themselves to purchase items that cost less in order to purchase more to have a greater abundance of “food”. But most of this affordable abundant food is primarily processed foods which are usually genetically modified organisms also known as GMO foods.

chileMost average shoppers would like to argue that they simply cannot afford to shop organically and must purchase all these GMO foods for their families without weighing the health risks and costs associated with a non organic eating habit.
One argument would be to say,” Have you priced cancer treatment lately”? Eating organically now could save you hundreds of thousands of dollars in future cancer treatment costs. But most people are living for today and don’t care about tomorrow or aren’t consciously living for tomorrow. (Another topic we’ll cover eventually here).

But I’d like to argue that one can’t afford not to shop organically!!! And you could actually make money instead of spending more money by doing so! Imagine if you had the know how on being able to eat organic produce for FREE, or even for PROFIT!!!
Let me teach you how!!!

New Thinking: More Savings

So I’ve been an advocate for both the March Against Monsanto and the Food Is Free Project for quite some time now. I’ve been a speaker and have performed several rallies and events.
One of my simplest lessons and demonstrations on this subject is based on an organic bell pepper. I explain to everyone that an organic bell pepper is usually more expensive than a GMO pepper. In my area I can purchase an organic bell for around .88 cents each. GMO bells are around 3 for $1 or .33 cents each. So you get almost 3 times as much food by choosing the GMO bell as you would over the organic bell correct? Most would simply answer yes, of course. The weight and math is seem to support your decision. The average shopper thinks in this linear way since they have been programmed to do so.

I’d like to reprogram your thinking skills now! They have forgotten to teach you one important formula and mathematical equation to determine that organic shopping can become less expensive than GMO shopping, and actually profitable! Its impossible you say? The math is plain as day and 3 GMO bells will feed more people than 1 organic bell you are firm to believe?

New Math

Well here is the new equation! Let’s take 1 bell pepper from each group, 1 organic and 1 GMO. Usually we all prepare our peppers by washing them. The organic bell comes clean with water. The GMO plant will never come clean of pesticides or herbicides no matter how much you clean or scrub them. They sell you products to try to remove the wax layer and toxins from the skin of your produce so there is an extra expense and extra work involved to try to clean your food of toxins.

Throw Away the Thinking

Save Money Shop OrganicSo organically is much simpler and cheaper as far as preparing and cleaning.
Usually at this point we then clean the seeds out and discard them with the inner pepper veins. DONT THROW AWAY THE ORGANIC SEEDS!!!!! Toss the GMO seeds in the trash because they can’t be regrown and are basically worthless. I’m not even sure if birds and rodents would eat the GMO seeds or not either. So toss those but keep ALL organic seeds from now on!!! This is the new equation to add to your old formula!!!

At this point the organic bell becomes more valuable than the GMO bell! Have you ever noticed how many seeds are in one bell pepper, or any other produce for that matter? There are usually hundreds of seeds in produce! (Some fruits only have one seed and are usually grown into trees, which is also an expense we all need to generate more cleaner oxygen for us to consume for free as well. We’ll cover all this eventually as well)!

So now you have at least 100+ seeds from one bell pepper alone. That’s a lot of added value added to that .88 cent bell and could be viewed as profit now.
For instance, if you were to grow each seed and harvest several bell peppers from that one pepper plant from just one seed, you’ll eventually have dozens of free peppers and thousands of more seeds from just one seed alone!

But maybe you don’t want to grow your own food or don’t know how or simply can’t keep plants alive even if you try. (This blog will eventually help you with all those problems, excuses and dilemmas as well).

Simple Formulas

Let me educate you on this simple formula! Your highly priced organic bell pepper you once viewed to be too expensive now comes with a hidden value you’ve never noticed! It can be grown into more organic bell peppers!!! Yes there is a growing cost and time and labor associated now if you choose to grow them to full maturity. But you don’t have to grow them to maturity.

You can simply germinate them into seedlings and then sell each one for $1. That’s 100+ seeds now worth $1 each! Your .88 cent bell pepper just increased in value and just decreased its own cost to basically free or profitable!!! Ok… so you still don’t want to grow any of them at all! That’s fine! You can simply just save the seeds for the many of us who love to grow and we will even purchase the seeds from you if they are true organic!!!

Save Money Shop OrganicMost packages of organic seeds cost $2-$3 each and only contain a handful of seeds. Maybe a dozen or so! So now if you divided your 100+ seeds into packages of 20-25 seeds, you’d have at least 4-5 seed packages worth $8-$15 now! That’s at least 1000% profit right? Just by not discarding the seeds anymore, rinsing them and drying them out, and labeling them properly with seed type, date seed was collected, and the source the bell came from.
You can literally make over $100 off of the purchase of one organic bell pepper worth .88cents!!!

Simple Changes

It doesn’t make sense not to purchase organically or to collect the seeds to regrow!!!!
Change is simple! You just have to learn how to rethink everything you were ever taught!!!
Thanks for getting BACK TO NATURE with “TheGlassman“!
*****
[contact-form to=’communitypublishingabq@gmail.com’ subject=’Subscriptions’][contact-field label=’Enjoyed this article? Type in your email address to receive similar articles, no ads, no spam, no charge!’ type=’email’/][/contact-form]

The Glassman

Dan Garduno

“The Glassman” will be posting more blogs and ideas as well as hosting many workshops on Self-sustainability, urban farming/agriculture, windowsill gardening, composting, upcycling, self water planters  and grow beds, solar passive heating, collecting and purifying rain water, mass heaters and rocket stoves, papercrete, hemp cement, and so much more throughout 2015!

Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as multimedia eBooks while promoting literacy in our communities.

We are proud to be a community partner and digital marketer at the Rail Yards Market.
#JoinOurCommunity at http://communitypublishing.org

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