Is Causal Green a crayola color?

We have some things in common with some of the other urban farming bloggers out there. We feel good when we can feed ourselves. It makes us feel strong and powerful even. We like that we can achieve this strength while respecting the earth and mother nature. We enjoy the idea that we have something to contribute, to share, to trade. But the truth is that we don’t want to make all the sacrifices. We, like our LA blogging comrades, enjoy a nice cocktail. Not sure one can buy organic vodka. We don’t want to work so hard to make it all work. And, we don’t think one has to work so hard. We hope to prove it.

Water is a constant issue that I struggle with. I’d love to use the water flowing down my shower drain while it warms up. I could divert the whole shower to a holding tank or right out into the garden. "Hang on, garden, here comes the grey water!" However, if I can’t use grey water on my food crops or what’s left of my lawn then I’ve very little use for it. Sure, I could fill buckets in the shower with the clean, warming water and then carry those through the house to the herb garden. But, I don’t want to carry buckets full of water through the house, over the wood floors, and out into the garden. A great buffalo of a dog will surely trip me and gallons of water will go splashing through the house. Then the little dog will come prancing through and all the dirt on his paws will turn to mud which he will promptly put all over the Ikea (thank goodness for slipcovers) couch. Then the boy will wander through and decide to run his hotwheels through the “carwash”. Plus, what do you do with the bucket/s while you’re actually in the shower? Carry it/them into the bathroom while standing there naked, leaving it/them in the middle of the tiny room so you can trip over it/them on your way out? Or drop your towel into it/them? I just don’t think so.
If someone could invent a lever system actually inside the shower enclosure that allows the clean water produced while waiting for the shower to "warm up" to be diverted directly into the garden onto any plant that would be fantastic. Easy! Enter bathroom, reach in, turn on diversion lever, turn on Hot water, take off clothes, have conversation with child about toothpaste, step in, turn off diversion lever, adjust temperature, shampoo rinse repeat.
And what about irrigation? Fill your garden with plastic tubes and hoses so that you can use less water and spend less time watering? I’m not so sure about all that plastic. Aren't I supposed to be using less plastic? Dig a bunch of trenches and lay pipe for some serious bigboy sprinklers? Well, sure, but what of the cost and the time, and the wife who is notorious for changing her mind? I love the little clay watering vessels you plant in your boxes. They’re called Ollas and everything I read sounds great. You can see them or buy them while supporting an amazing homesteading family here…Ollas

The problem for me is the price. At $25 each with approximately 3 large ones needed in an 8x4 raised bed, I can’t afford them. I asked my kiln owning friend Heather and she says they'd be quite inexpensive to make. If one had the skills and the tools!
I saw one website which showed a thrifty gardener using silicone to attach 2 terra cotta pots together. He sealed the drainage hole on one pot and buried that end. You then use the remaining hole to fill. Maybe it’ll work. That would run you approximately $10 to $15 for the pots and a tube of silicone. Then you have silicone in your garden and all over your hands and probably your patio as well. I don’t know. I think I’ll try it in one of my new beds and let y’all know if it works. But, what do you use for things that are grown in the dirt, not in fancy soil filled beds? What about the herbs and artichokes with are tucked in between lavendar and snapdragons surrounding the lawn? Must I have 1 olla for every other plant? Who could afford that? So then we’re back to hand watering which, when I’m in charge leads to stress, or rubber and plastic running through the garden. Yes, I could make those self watering containers out of 5 gallon buckets like the 215 growers use. But, they’re ugly. Yes, you heard me, ugly. Ugly is a problem. They’re small too. I don’t want 40 million of those ugly things all over my garden. Nope. I must research more options.
Lucky for me there's a class being offered at Daily Acts in 2 weeks. I'll check it out and report back.