Olla Plant Watering System Saves Time & Water

Everyone gets thirsty during the hot summer months -- even your plants. An olla can help reduce your water usage and make gardening less time consuming. What is an olla? Simply stated, it is a ceramic pot. Ollas used for plant irrigation are unglazed.

This ancient form of plant irrigation uses seepage from buried pots to deliver a steady supply of water beneath the ground. The vessel is placed in a hole and covered with soil, leaving the opening above soil. The olla is then filled with water and covered with a lid. The permeable properties of the unglazed pot will then allow water to gradually seep through its sides into the surrounding ground. Plants are placed in the ground near the pot. As long as the olla is kept filled with water, the plant has water at its roots.

Four benefits of using olla irrigation pots are:

* The pots don't clog or lose water to evaporation as other systems can.

* Plants aren't overwatered as they only draw as much water as they need.

* Water usage is greatly reduced.

* Gardeners don't have to be on hand for frequent watering.

Ollas retail for around $27 for a large pot. However, you can make one yourself for about a third of that cost -- or FREE if you have the materials on hand!

You will need two unglazed terracotta flower pots that are the same size, one 4" pot, duct tape, Gorilla glue and silicone waterproof sealant.

Place duct tape over the drain hole of one of the larger pots. Use a caulking gun to fill the hole with silicone sealant. Wet the lip of one pot and apply the glue. Invert one pot on top of the other.

Moisten the bottom of the 4" pot with water and glue it on top of the pot with the OPEN drain hole, making SURE the holes are aligned.

Wrap these with duct tape for stability and allow to cure overnight. The glue will expand.

The next day, remove the tape and scrape any excess glue from the sides. Check the top drain holes and make sure they are still opened. If the glue has expanded to close the hole, you'll need to ream it back open using the narrow end of a file.

Your homemade olla now looks like a space capsule. Apply silicone sealant to the seams at the middle and where the 4" pot joins the top.

Let this cure overnight. The next day, check for leaks by filling the pot. You will notice a pleasant glugging sound as it fills.

If there are leaks, use a pencil to mark the spots, invert the pot, let it drain, dry and re-apply sealant. Test again for leaks after this application cures.

Watch your filled pot and you will notice the terracotta changes color as the water permeates through the sides.

Another alternative is to bury a tall pot and use a

dinner plate as a lid. Here's a video demonstrating that method:

To use your olla, bury it leaving the 4" pot elevated above the ground. I painted the 4" section white to make it watertight and prevent any seepage from the above ground terracotta. A small saucer or large flat stone can be used to cover the opening, discouraging mosquitoes and preventing water loss. Here's a video demonstrating how to incorporate an olla in your garden.

read more “ Olla Plant Watering System Saves Time & Water ”

The DaVinci Road -- Blazing a Trail for Learning

Rebekah Anast brings her unique perspective to her newest book, The DaVinci Road. I half-expected to find tales of her jungle adventures, fun childhood, devotional gems, poetry or parenting tips. By the time I reluctantly turned the last page, I had not been disappointed. All of this and more are contained in The DaVinci Road.

The DaVinci Road expounds upon the learning method of observation to arrive at a conclusion. The author reflects upon her varied experiences and brings them into the classroom setting and beyond. Using DaVinci as her model, she encourages others to look and see the evidence for themselves. She urges all of us to continue to seek, to chase after the truth and to not grow complacent in that endeavor.

Her observations about life, children and academic instruction are sprinkled throughout along with some of her favorite recipes. She shares methods that have worked for her and others when dealing with a learning difficulty. The reader is left with a challenge to pursue the adventure that is this life with both eyes and ears wide open.

If you are interested in receiving a free ebook, here's the author and her husband with details on how this can be done.

NOTE: If you've got a computer and an Amazon account, you can use their Kindle application free. In other words you don't need a smartphone or some other personal electronic device (other than your computer) to read the book online. Here's the link for Kindle https://kindle.amazon.com/

read more “ The DaVinci Road -- Blazing a Trail for Learning ”

SOME SAVING STRATEGIES

Getting quality ingredients that are packed with nutrition has become increasingly difficult on a tight budget. Finding someone to tell you how to keep expenses down can become even more confusing because every family has different needs and there are TONS of methods for saving on groceries.

So, what I will share in this article are a few things that work for me. These are not hard fast rules. I will not send the Learn and Live Well police to your home to check for violations. These are simply guidelines that I use which have proved helpful. Hopefully, there is enough here to help you get the most for your money.

Become a Low Price Expert
Your family's grocery shopper may not have a lot of influence over the household and food budget. Regardless of your circumstances, you can make yourself a student of pricing in your area. Knowing how much an item costs -- what is actually a good price and what isn't -- will make you a smart shopper. If you've only got $5 to spend, you may as well get the most out of your limited budget. One way to do this is to start a price comparison notebook. Give a separate page for each item you regularly purchase. Include cleaning products, snacks, toiletries and food. You can use your receipts, sales fliers or just walk the aisles of your favorite store and record the size and price of each item, along with brand name and a short description. Once you know what's a good price for an item, you can watch the notices for sales and make purchases when you see the price fall to that level.

Use Basic Ingredients
Another way to save money is to stop purchasing convenience items. Processed foods don't just compromise your health, they lower your bank balance. Learning how to organize your kitchen and cook from scratch isn't too overwhelming if you just begin with one thing at a time. Mastering one dish will encourage you to attempt more ambitious things. For instance, knowing how to make bread can lead to grinding your own grain which can lead to learning how to make your own tortillas and pasta . . . . all of which will be more nutritious and less costly than the name brand item you are purchasing now. I can get organic brown rice cheaper than the regular off the shelf version by knowing how to find it cheap, store it and prepare it.

Of course, this will change the items you purchase and your price comparison notebook will reflect the change. Instead of the best price on glass and surface cleaner, you'll want to know the best price on vinegar and baking soda. The good news is that you'll automatically be spending less by purchasing the ingredients AND you'll save more on top of this by finding the best price on those ingredients.

Invest in Local Farmers
It's one thing to tell everyone they should be eating farm fresh produce, but it's quite another to find a way to accomplish it in practice. Unless you have years of farming experience and plenty of acreage outside of a residential area, you may find the task a daunting one. Not everyone has the vision and abilities that Jules Dervaes has demonstrated by turning his little city lot into a working farmstead. (Check out the Dervaes' story on www.urbanhomestead.org you might be inspired to plant a tomato or two.)

Instead, you can do the next best thing. Consider purchasing shares in a local farm. Find farmers near you that are willing to allow you to invest in their farm. These are called CSA's which stands for Consumer Supported Agriculture. Using the web site www.localharvest.org we were able to find a farmer near us that had a good reputation and a wide variety of produce. After touring his farm (and meeting his lovely family), we agreed on a price and purchased shares in all three 7-week growing seasons in our area. In addition, we were able to make arrangements to purchase some beef in advance of processing. This required some up-front money, but it also insured that we would have weekly baskets of fresh produce and a freezer full of beef without a hint of pink slime. *blech!*

Purchase Bulk Dry Goods
Organic staples like dried beans, brown rice, wheat berries, grits, corn meal, etc. can be difficult to find at good prices. One way to make sure you have them on hand is to purchase them in bulk. These are often found in 25 pound bags or larger. The dry goods can be kept in a large freezer or at controlled room temperature in pest-proof containers. I've found that placing a bay leaf in containers keeps them weevil and bug free as well as placing them in wide-mouthed canning jars that I vacuum seal using a FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer using a Wide-Mouth Jar Sealer attachment. Combining this with a well built shelving unit has freed up my freezer space (for the beef I purchased from our CSA *smiles*).

Combine Coupons With Sales on Items You Use
There are a lot of web sites out there which tell you how to accomplish this. In fact, by making so many things from scratch you will already be beating most couponers in the low price game. However, when it comes to ANYTHING you buy off the rack -- from tires to toilet paper -- you can save some MAJOR money using coupons. One store near me sells organic canned vegetables for more than $1 per can. I wait until those same items go on sale for $.60 and then load up my cart with enough to keep the pantry full until the sale hits again. I use my customer loyalty card that gives me an additional discount on certain days and saves me money when my husband gets gas for the vehicles. For more discussion on whether coupons are worth your time, check our this post: STOCKING UP ON SAVINGS -- ARE COUPONS WORTH THE EFFORT?

Here are my three favorite sites for information on how to save money with coupons.

Southern Saver -- I like this site for practical strategies and information for beginners. She includes a lot of in-store videos that demonstrate her methods. She also gives workshops. Check her calendar.

Krazy Coupon Lady -- This site helps those who already use coupons increase their savings with various strategies. They also have a really good book available on the subject called: Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey: Save Big Money & Make the Grocery Aisle your Catwalk!

Coupon Mom -- This site includes a very handy searchable database to investigate the sales in your area and tell you where to find coupons.

Check out the coupon helps section of Morrison's Mercantile.

read more “ SOME SAVING STRATEGIES ”

WHY SHOP AT iHERB?

Let me tell you about a company that has been a wonderful blessing to me and my family on our journey to healthy living on a tight budget.

BIG SAVINGS

iHerb.com finds popular products and supplements and makes them available at low prices. Even better, with minimum purchases, they offer free shipping. That's a BIG savings when you are purchasing a heavy product such as organic coconut oil. I save gasoline, time and money when I purchase from iHerb because their prices are often lower than those offered by my local retailer -- And iHerb delivers!

FREE STUFF!!

Low prices and deals on shipping aren't all that iHerb offers. There is also a page on their site that offers FREE items. That's right, they often have sample size and introductory offers that you can include in your cart on checkout. There have even been instances when I was in a rush with my order, didn't select any freebies and they STILL slipped some treats into the box.

A VARIETY OF QUALITY PRODUCTS

Household items, toiletries, grocery items, herbs, and supplements are all available. I've often found myself running across an expensive brand name supplement while researching a condition only to find it at a much lower price at iHerb.

REWARDS FOR REFERRALS

For additional savings, when you make your first purchase from iHerb, use the discount code ZOS006 when you check out. Just cut and paste it -- ZOS006. That will knock $5 off your total! This is part of their REWARDS program for their customers. Once you've become a customer of iHerb, you can enjoy additional savings by recommending them to others. Sign up and you'll be assigned a code number that you can share with others for big savings. You can read more iHerb's reward program on their information page.

A GREAT RESOURCE

Even if you don't wish to purchase anything right away, you'll still want to check out their web site. They include a page of links that are valuable to anyone who would like to look over a natural library, medical library or research some conditions. Also included are links to cutting edge health practitioners. It's even a nice site to visit if you want to be sure you are getting a good price on an item. My personal rule is that if another retailer is able to beat iHerb's price and shipping savings, THAT'S a good price!

CUSTOMER SERVICE

I've always received very speedy service from iHerb. I've had to change orders and found them to be very willing to accommodate me. Friendly people, great service, quality products and low prices. If you haven't shopped there yet, you'll be glad you found them. This is one company I am glad to recommend to friends and family.

read more “ WHY SHOP AT iHERB? ”