How to Build Walls with Pallets

...ng sun. It’s difficult to figure out a use for these objects other than as art. For utilitarian needs, such as building walls, we must turn to the many pallets that also litter our streets. Sketchup model by Ron S. But pallets can be tough to work with. The wood splinters easily making disassembly a tricky proposition (watch the Garden Fork TV pallet breaker video if you want to go down that route). Famed internet pallet guru Michael Janzen, of Ti...

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Showers to Flowers

...tive effort barring some apocalyptic water shortage. SurviveLA agrees with Art Ludwig, author of Create an Oasis with Greywater that the best greywater systems are the simplest, and involve the least amount of effort and maintenance. One of the easiest and more permanent greywater solutions is simply rerouting your shower straight out a pipe and into the garden. Here’s how to do it: 1. Confirm that your shower is higher than the point you are wate...

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Grab and Go

...f the contents of our first aid kit in a subsequent post. 6. Fire Our fire making kit includes waterproof matches and kindling material made with dryer lint and candle wax 7. Repair kit and tools We wear a Leatherman multi-tool at all times on our belt. 8. Nutrition Our grab and go bags contain an array of Cliff bars and other items with a long shelf life. 9. Hydration We have both extra water and a ceramic water filter. 10. Emergency shelter We h...

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Our new front yard, part 3: design

...nials shade them out, the wildflowers are pretty much done anyway. How I started: I started by considering the site, the light and the soil conditions. I considered native plants I knew already, and got some books out of the library and began reading. I also used Internet resources, particularly the Theodore Payne wiki, for looking up native plant specs. I realized that in the past, I had always thought of native plants (all plants, really) as spe...

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How to make hot sauce

...lt, and it is fermented to bring out the flavor. I don’t subscribe to any particular school of sauce, but this is the easiest sauce to make for my purposes. The outcome of the recipe depends mostly on your choice of pepper, but also a bit on how much vinegar you put in it, and what type of vinegar, and whether you strain it or leave it chunky. We used fresh red peppers labeled Anaheim peppers (kind of like a red New Mexico chile), which are mild,...

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