brightmillion blog

we went out to one of our favorite organic coffee houses, the coffee table, in eagle rock.. and it was a beautiful day…!! which, of course, is not unusual in los angeles…. but sometimes i forget that funny enough… our house is mostly in shade, so it doesnt always seem that sunny out there,,, even when it is!! hmmm,, well, on the short term project list is,,,,  ADD SKYLIGHTS!!  i’m gonna add some of those newfangled solar tube tube gismos– easy to install and give LOTS of light for the small surface area they take up. they are all the rage now in green living, as seen on ‘living with ed’ !

win win situation, sunny inside all day.. and energy efficient! free solar light all day and even in the night, yup skylights even let moonlight in, how romantic

BUT,,, that a project for another day,, back to my original story.. which was… umm.. hmm.  oh yeah, it was a beautiful day outside… and that inspired me to plant some seeds! spring is almost here, i think,, so, lets get a jump on it! i direct seeded some wild flowers along the neighbors fence– (free water since they irrigate their lawn,, but there is always some stray grass that gets watered and goes under the fence into our driveway, that their mower cant get to…) so, why not have it be daisies peeking out under the fence rather than stray grass..?? right! also a lot of alyssum  which the beneficial insects like, both in front and back yards. – direct seeded again, no transplants for the wild flowers.

also a few other types of flowers,,, along fences, in planter boxes, etc

inside on the vegetable front– starting some seedings for spring planting- cucumbers, zucchini, squash, basil, marigolds, and MORE kale!

the recently transplanted kale and lettuce plugs have been growing SOOO fast they’ve already outgrown their new pots!! the bigger ones got a new home today in recycled DVD spindle tops.

they make great planting pots! perfect size to let the roots spread out without taking up too much room. after the plants fully grow to these  pots, they will be ready to go outside. I start the seeds with peat moss, so as to be sterile for the new little guys… i still have a large bag of peat that i bought over a year ago.. however when its gone, im gonna switch to coconut instead- since peat is a dwindling non-renewable resource! but i hear there are lots of coconut shells going to waste , now being made into planting material… but, i also hear lots of rainforest is being cleared to grow coconuts,,, because of the HUGE demand of coconut meat for cosmetics, lotions, etc… arrrrggg!!!! maybe i can find some coconut growing material that is at least from a sustainable coconut farm. sorry world for using peat moss, i was an -uninformed gardener when i bought it… but no more! i guess thats the point of it all, not to be perfect from the get go, but to at least be better today than we were yesterday!

anyhow….. the DVD pots are being filled with a standard potting mix, mostly of compost, this way the plants get some well needed food to grow even more. i am also watering the larger pots with a liquid organic fertilizer to reduce the re-potting stress.

there are LOTS more seeds to plant, but that will wait for another day….

not sure if i’ve shown this before… but i found that a great way to gently water seedling inside is with a garden sprayer usually used for fertilizers, insecticides, etc… avail at any hardware store/ garden center.. they are perfect! they give a nice even yet gentle spray, and since they are portable work great for indoor use… it was either plumb a sink into the spare bedroom to water the plants or get a $10 sprayer….!!! i did seriously consider the plumbing project, but then came back to my senses!!  just fill em up in the tub and youve got a portable watering system. i have 2 , one for clean water, one for water with fertilizer. i dont fertilize small seedlings since i dont want to burn their fragile roots.. but once they get bigger in pots, i give em a little yummy juice to get goin! – all organic of course!!

click here to see the watering system in action:::::

click here to see the watering system in action!!

we’ve uploaded a bunch of new videos to the youtube channel-from our recent shows, so head over to YouTube.com/brightmillion and watch em! while you are there.. subscribe to our youtube channel so you will be updated when we upload new videos.

we’ve got a show coming up on feb 27 in los angeles, so if you are in the area.. .mark your calendars!

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