MetaEfficient Reviews » Gardening

Best Backyard Compost Tumblers

benjamin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:10:21 +0000

Best Compost Tumblers

Composting is a great way to reduce the amount of waste your household generates, plus there’s the added benefit of free fertilizer for your yard or garden. There are some nifty options for indoor composting on the market, but to do it on a larger scale you need to move outdoors. Here are four of the best compost tumblers available, each of which will help keep your backyard composting as easy and tidy as possible.

(more…)

Updates From The MetaEfficient Kitchen Labs

Justin — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 07:12:00 +0000

This summer I’ve been working on food-related optimization projects, here are some updates:

I now have subscriptions with two local farmers (through a CSA or Community Support Agriculture). One farmer provides me with raw milk, raw butter and eggs, the other farmer provides vegetables and fruit. They both happen to deliver to same street in my neighborhood, so I ride my bike about one kilometer and pick up both deliveries using a bike trailer. (more…)

Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers

Justin — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 21:16:10 +0000

Self-watering container gardens are an efficient method of growing. You can go on vacation and not have to worry that your tomatoes will be wilted when you get back. Ed Smith, the author of Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers, became fascinated with the possibilities of self-watering containers and began testing dozens of vegetables in various containers, experimenting with nutrients, soil mixtures, plant varieties, and container positioning.

(more…)

The Best Push Reel Mowers

Justin — Thu, 15 Sep 2005 11:28:54 +0000

Modern reel mowers are quite efficient at cutting grass using nothing but your own push power.

There’s a good overview of manual reel mowers at Reel Mower Guide. They cover the advantages and disadvantages of manual mowers, and offer some tips for using the mowers.

Here are the top rated reel mowers:

Scotts 20″ Classic Reel Mower

Reviewers seem to think the Scotts 20″ Classic Reel Mower has great performance, and it gets a average of 4/5 from 356 Amazon reviewers. The price is around $100.

Brill 33 Reel Mower

Brill Luxus 33 is also well-liked — it is lightweight at 16.1 pounds, making it easy to maneuver and push. It uses a silent cutting blade system, and the cutting height is adjustable. It sells for about $200.

Botanikka Heirloom Seeds

Justin — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 09:00:06 +0000

Botanikka sells very affordable heirloom vegetable seeds. They come in packs with quaint, retro images on them. We planted some of the seeds, and sure enough, we now have heirloom varieties of vegetables growing all over the place. See more info on heirloom seeds here. The French Cuisine mix, for example, contains ten packs of unusual, French-themed vegetables and herbs, for $7. Available from the
Botanikka Store.

Biopavers

Justin — Tue, 31 May 2005 11:08:29 +0000

We mentioned previously that using porous pavers is an effective alternative to paving with concrete. They make patios and driveways less erosion-prone and they do not get as hot as hard-surfaced pavement.

Now a company called Biopaver is trying to take things a step further by introducing a new type of paver designed to catch storm water run-off but also to reduce the impact of petroleum-based pollution (from oil and gasoline spills for example – quite a widespread problem).

(more…)

Upside-Down Tomato, Flower and Vegetable Planter

Justin — Mon, 28 Mar 2005 07:53:18 +0000

An interesting idea.

This planter can used to tomatoes, other vegetables or even flowers from a small area.

Hang on decks, patios, porches, balconies, or even from a tree.

The manufacturer claims feeding and watering is easy: you pour water or nutrients into the top of the funnel.

Web Site: Clean Air Gardening ($19.95)

Raised Beds: Efficient

Justin — Sat, 26 Mar 2005 20:28:17 +0000

The “Raised Beds” method of gardening is certainly metaefficient, and should be included in our guide here. Raised beds are widely acknowledged as the method to obtain the greatest yields of vegetables per alloted space.

You can read about the benefits here: Aaron’s Home & Garden weblog (Aaron is an expert in Rainwater Harvesting).

Website: Aaron’s Home & Garden

The book Cubed Foot Gardening: Growing Vegetables in Raised, Intensive Beds shows how to build these simple, inexpensive beds and how to grow the most popular vegetables in them, using innovative tricks and techniques that would not be possible to employ in a conventional garden.

Clumping Bamboos: The Ones To Grow

Justin — Mon, 14 Feb 2005 19:20:40 +0000

Many people are reluctant to plant bamboo because they are afraid it will spread like wildfire and have the entire neighborhood up in arms against them. But there’s a simple solution to this problem — plant the right kind of bamboo — the “clumping” kind. The invasive kind is the “running” bamboo which probably should never touch foot in your garden.

Victor Cusak is an Australian expert in clumping bamboo, he is the author of Bamboo World, a book which explores some of the 1500 different species of bamboo in the world. He says:

The problem is that many countries, Australia amongst them, have inherited these originally northern Asian, cold-climate, monpodial bamboo species from European settlers who didn’t know the existence of the clumping species. The spreading habit of running bamboo has caused a strong prejudice to develop against all bamboos.

Cusak explains, with obviously enthusiasm, which clumping bamboos can be grown in cold climates, which bamboos are great for eating, and which species produce great windbreaks or “walls”. Bamboo World has many photographs of unusual, colorful species such as black bamboos and striped bamboos.

Available from: Amazon

Metaefficient Fertilizer: TerraCycle

Justin — Mon, 07 Feb 2005 21:13:52 +0000

TerraCycle is a product that could be called completely Metaefficient.

It is a liquid fertilizer produced through vermicomposting, or feeding organic waste to red worms. The worms’ excrement is a nutrient rich compost that can be mixed to produce liquid organic fertilizer.

The TerraCycle bottles are recycled soda bottled collected by students in elementary schools, and the trigger sprays are collected from large corporation who normally discard them.

Here is a list of retailers who sell TerraCycle, or you buy it online.

TerraCycle also sells a hydroponics fertilizer in a larger bottle.

Website: TerraCycle via Treehugger