DIY - Magical Bottle Cap Candles

These little candles are easy and fun to make! They burn anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half, so they are perfect for when you need a small dose of positivity, magic, or just a pick-me-up! I put mine on my meditation altar to burn while I meditate, but they'd be great as emergency candles, outdoor candles, or even for a relaxing bath. 

To make, you'll need:

• Bottle Caps - Chose caps that aren't dented or damaged in any way. 
• Wicks - I took the wicks out of cheap dollar-store tea lights. It was way cheaper than buying them at the craft store and I wasn't going to use them; I try to only use soy or beeswax candles in my home. 
• Soy Wax - You can use any kind of wax, but I used soy for mine. 
• Essential Oils - I made two different scents: sweet orange, which is an uplifting, positive, joyful oil, and lavender, which is calming and peaceful - but you can pick any oil to suit your soul! 
• Spoon
• Double Boiler or Similar - I just put a small glass dish in a pot and called it a day! :)
• Glitter - You can't have magical candles without glitter! 
• Newspaper

Step 1

Pour water in your double boiler - enough that it'll heat the contents of your bowl, but not enough to fill the bowl. Bring up to medium heat, then turn on low. 

Step 2

Pour wax into the bowl. I added about 20 drops of essential oil - but this is dependent upon personal preference and the scent you choose. 

Step 3

Stir slowly until all the wax has melted.

Step 4

Add one drop of wax into each bottle cap. Press your wick into the wax to secure it while you fill the bottle cap. 

Step 5

Using your spoon, gently pour the melted wax into each bottle cap. 

Step 6

Before the wax hardens, sprinkle a pinch of glitter onto each candle. As you do this, visualize all the joy and positivity these candles are going to bring as they burn!

Step 7

After the wax hardens, trim your wick to about 1/4" before burning. 

Use caution when burning. Since these are so tiny, they will get hot! I have mine set up in a candle holder filled with Himalayan sea salt for a cleansing effect on the whole room!

Enjoy!

Urban Farming Externship - Week 9

This week I began volunteering for Vilardi Gardens! They specialize in growing organic, edible plant starts for gardens. Their plant starts are available for purchase at several farmer's markets in the Phoenix area. They also supply local nurseries and even the Desert Botanical Garden. A link to their Facebook page is here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vilardi-Gardens/148632058518894

Today I met with Alex to help out at their booth in the Roadrunner Farmers' Market in Phoenix. I spent the first few minutes learning what types of plants they had for sale. You wouldn't think that there would be that much to grow in August in Arizona, but Alex proved me wrong! Vegetables ready to plant included cauliflower, kale, rainbow chard, cabbage, and broccoli. They also had a few handy planting guides ready to help convince us Arizonians that you really could grow vegetables in August! :) 

I also learned about all the different varieties of mint and basil! Orange mint turned out to be one of my favorites, but they also had lime and even pineapple. There was an entire table dedicated to basil. I didn't realize how many different varieties there were! One of my favorite teas is lavender tulsi; little did I know that tulsi is a form of basil. Neat! 

I had a lot of fun volunteering at the market. It was neat to connect to so many different people who care about growing and the food they eat. One young man even showed me pictures of the raised bed he just built; it was really great to interact with so many people with like interests, even if it was only briefly. This is something I'd definitely like to do more of in the future. 

Alex and his neighbor, who was there helping him out, were able to share a few great gardening tips for me. One thing I realized is that I need much more shade than I have right now. I think our next project should definitely be some type of retractable shade for our garden. I also learned about a neat type of spinach called Red Malabar Spinach. It's a type of vine spinach that grows great in Arizona. It grows most of the year, then dies back and re-seeds itself! It's also very pretty, with deep red veins - something I'll be getting for my garden! 

Of course, I couldn't leave without bringing new plant babies home with me. I picked up some Graffiti Cauliflower (it's purple!), broccoli, rainbow chard, kale, White Rain Lily, and some I'itol Onions. The onions have an interesting back story; they almost went extinct, but were brought back about 25 years ago and are now available in many places across Arizona and online. This is one of the reasons why conventional agriculture makes no sense to me. Why would you grow one field of one type of onion and leave your crop more susceptible to disease (which you prevent by dousing your field with pesticides and fungicides) when you could just grow tons of different varieties organically? Something is wrong with that system. It goes beyond pesticides, GMOs, and the loss of heirloom vegetables. It has to do with respect. What's going to happen to a society that lacks respect for its nurturer, Earth? 

Lets take care of her and not find out! :)

Anyway, I planted my new veggies in random openings in my flowerbed, since my wicking bed has the cover crop in it right now. (No sprouts yet!) So I'm interested to see how they do. I think I also finally learned my lesson about gloves - wear them. I have blisters again! Arg! Now grow, baby, grow! 

Urban Farming Externship - Week 8

This was the final week of work on my first wicking bed. I began by adding the compost and worm castings that we had, then I began sifting the native dirt I dug out for the reservoir to finish filling my bed. After filling it, I realized that I didn't have enough compost in it - the consistency was still very sandy - so I bought a bag of organic "Amend" soil to bring it to the consistency I wanted:

The final breakdown of the substrate looked somewhat like this:

• 5% Worm Castings (from our worm farm)
• 10% Organic Compost (a mix of our own and a store-bought bag)
• 10% Organic Plus Amend Soil
• 75% Native Arizona Soil (sifted)

After filling my bed, I sat and mixed the soil and compost with my bare hands. I did this for quite a while; connecting and feeling the dirt and watching the life all around it. It was a very zen-like experience, and a great way to relax after all the shoveling and sifting!

Next, I dug tiny little rows with my fingers and planted my cover crop seeds. I mentioned it in a previous post, but the cover crop I chose is a green manure mix from Johnny's Selected Seeds. It's a mix of winter rye, field pea, annual rye grass, hairy vetch, and crimson clover. The instructions say that it's great for mid to late summer seeding and that it'll germinate in 5-10 days. 

I filled the reservoir with water until it began to drain out and wished my little bed luck. 

I'm honestly a little nervous at this point. The worrier part of me keeps thinking "What if nothing happens?" or "What if I did something completely wrong and it doesn't work?" The optimistic part of me is super excited for all the organic vegetables I'm going to grow!

Thanks for following along with me during my little project! I'll post an update next week of how my bed is doing and what new projects or volunteer work I'm up to. 

Right now, my bath tub, lavender essential oil, and Epsom salts are calling my name. :) 

Urban Farming Externship - Week 7

Hi everyone! I was able to get a lot of work done outside this week. My mouth healed quickly and I was more than ready to go play in the sunshine! I began by adding the needed gravel to my bed. At the end of week 5, it still needed a couple more inches to get the gravel up to ground level. If you look to the bottom left of the picture below, I also added some little rocks outside my overflow pipe, just because it looked cute! (Maybe it's a fairy pool?!) 

Next, I cut a piece of weed barrier cloth to fit over the gravel, with a hole that fits around the watering pipe. This will help to separate the soil from the gravel. If the soil mixes with the water in the gravel, it could make the soil soggy and lead to root rot. 

After I put in the cloth, I began to add my substrate. I added a couple of inches of compost along with worm castings from our worm farm. My intention was to mix this with the soil dug out for the bed, however, I ran into a problem. 

We are in the middle of monsoon season in Arizona. The heavy rains made the pile of dirt I dug out hard and compact. I also saw that it was very rocky - something I didn't notice before. I reached out to my instructor, Torrie, for advice. Torrie recommended that I sift the dirt before putting it in our bed and mixing it with the compost we had. Though our native soils are sandy, rocky, and prone to compaction, they are rich in many nutrients needed for plant growth. Though it's a bit more work, I'd much rather use what the Earth has given me than go out and buy something else from another part of the country. 

To make the sifter, I used pieces of wood we had in our backyard along with screws and a staple gun that we had on hand. The only thing I had to buy was the hardware wire, which was relatively inexpensive:

I present: Arizona Soil Sifter!

Next week I will sift through the soil and remove any rocks and large debris. After that, I plan to plant a cover crop before finally planting some veggies! I did decide to hold off for a bit on the second bed. I want to make sure that the first wicking bed is functioning as it should before I put as much work into the second one. If there are improvements to be made, I'll update the necessary posts. 

Lastly, I'm finishing my project much quicker than I thought I would. My externship requires 25 hours of work, which gives me time to gain more hands-on experience in another area. I plan to do some volunteer work at a local urban farm - I'll keep you posted with updates! 

Thanks for reading! 

Going Green - One Day at a Time

I was talking to a co-worker about how harsh perfumes bother me the other day. I explained that since I stopped using most perfumes and cheap room fragrances, I was more sensitive to the "chemically" smells that most of them gave off. She said that she wanted to live a more natural life, but that it seemed so hard! Learning about all the toxins and unhealthy things around us today can be very overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be hard. Here is some advice I have to share from my journey. 

1. What's most important? For me, it was going vegetarian. I was concerned about the quality of the meat I was eating and frustrated at the cost of quality, humanely-raised and hormone-free meat. Do some thinking and discover what's most important to you. It could be the cleaning products in your home, the bath and beauty products that you use, your food, your transportation, how much waste you produce, among others. Try writing down those areas that are important to you, then focus in on one at a time. 

2. Replace things as you run out, unless you can afford to buy green products you want to use all at once; most of us can't, and that's okay! I still have some bath and cleaning products that I'd rather not use, but I  opt replace them as I run out so I don't stress myself and my bank account out. Say you run out of surface cleaner, hop on the internet and see if you can make one yourself. There are a ton of great beauty and cleaning DIY instructions out there. It's fun and it'll prevent you from getting too overwhelmed. 

3. Don't fall for the "well everything is bad for me, so why try" argument. It just isn't true. Yes, it's nearly impossible to remove every cancer-causing hormone-disrupting free radical nastiness from your life, but you can make a difference in your own well-being! For instance, I can't currently help the fact that I live in a big city that has pollution, but I can make sure that I eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables to give my body the strength it needs to stay healthy as long as possible. 

4. Make a goal list. This goes hand-in-hand with number 1. After you've decided what things are most important to you, make a goal list and divide it into three columns:

• Short-Term Goals
• Mid-Term Goals
• Long-Term Goals

The length of time for each is completely up to you. I have my goal list hanging on the wall and I cross out things as I accomplish them. It's a great reminder of how far you've come! 

Bonus: If you don't live alone, try making a goal list with those that you share a home with. It's a lot of fun and a great way to get to know your room mate, significant other, or family member better!

5. Lastly, here are some of the easy things I did to be more green that you can do, too! 

• Replace your paper towels with wash cloths. We got ours from the dollar store. I fold them in half, roll them up, then store them on the kitchen counter in a cute basket I got at the thrift store. Perfect!
• For company, have a nice set of linen napkins on hand.
• Stop buying water bottles. Our investment in a water cooler paid for itself in a short time and helps the environment. If you can afford to install a water filtration system, even better!
• If something is in walking distance, walk! It's great for your body, mind, and the environment. Every little bit counts!
• Those reusable bags you bought? Use them. Some stores even offer discounts for using reusable bags. 
• Start growing your own food, even if it's just one tomato plant. You won't regret it.
• Shop local.
• Plant flowers that bees love; they'll love you for it!

Do you have any tips or tricks? Please share them below! :)

Urban Farming Externship - Week 6 (Quail!)

This week's externship work was limited to research, since I had my wisdom teeth removed on Friday. It went better than I expected, but my face is still quite swollen and sore, so no outside work for me. 

I wanted to look into what to do with the space on the side of our house. Originally, we wanted to get chickens, but the Mesa Arizona Chicken Ordinance states that chicken coops must be 75 feet away from another residence, which isn't possible for us. Our next idea was quail! Specifically, the coturnix quail:

Aren't they cute? Since they aren't native to Arizona and aren't as loud and messy as chickens can be, there aren't any strict regulations with keeping them. Here are some quick facts about the coturnix quail:

• First domesticated in Japan in the twelfth century.
• By the early 1900's they were widely raised in Japan for their meat and eggs. (However, we don't eat meat, so we'd be raising them for their eggs only.)
• An adult male weighs just 100-140 grams, while an adult female weighs 120-160 grams - much smaller than a chicken!
• They lay small, speckled eggs that usually weigh about ten grams.
• Hens usually lay about one egg a day. 
• Nutrition:

Hatch or Purchase?

You can raise and hatch your own quail, but this requires more of an investment. To hatch quail eggs you would need an incubator and a special brooder. I think, at least to begin, we'd rather purchase adult quail. I have seen quail for sale for between $3 and $5. 

Getting Started - Checklist

Regardless if you hatch your quail yourself or buy adults, once they are 5-7 weeks old they are ready to go outside. Here's a checklist of what we'd need to adopt adult coturnix quail:

1. Aviary - Your aviary should be fully enclosed and at least 6 feet tall, also, have at least 2 square feet of floor space per bird. 

2. Containers for both feed and water - Consider having more than one container for water, in case one runs out or dries up. 

3. Sand - They like to take sand baths!

4. Feed

5. Supplemental oyster shell to provide calcium. 

6. Wood chips for bedding.

7. Provide hiding and play spaces - wood planks or even cardboard boxes work well for this!

For further reading, there's an excellent article on raising and keeping quail here: http://www.squidoo.com/raise-coturnix-quail-for-eggs-meat-and-profit

Our goal right now is to complete the wicking beds and get some vegetables going. After that, I'll be sure to document us building an aviary and purchasing quail!

Urban Farming Externship - Week 5

This was the week of the gravel. We opted to clear out an unused space on the side of our house and use the gravel there. First, we had to clear the space of the weeds, debris, and random junk. Next, we shoveled the gravel into ten gallon buckets, which we then carried over to a setup I made with a plastic produce tray and a couple of bricks to rinse the gravel of dirt and leaves. Finally, after rinsing, the gravel was ready for the bed. 

By the end of it, I was soaking wet, covered in dirt, and sporting a legitimate farmer's tan! I'll admit, I was actually a little excited about the farmer's tan; it feel's really amazing to finally have a little piece of land that I can work with and connect to, and the silly-looking tan lines are a reminder of what's important to me - a connection with the Earth and learning to live a sustainable life. 

Here's a before-and-after of the space we cleared. I have so many ideas for what I want to do with it! Rows of veggies, quail, chickens, or even a quiet little reading nook! The space probably only gets a couple of hours of afternoon sun, so I'll have to take that into consideration when planning.

Here's a picture of the bed we filled. It still needs a bit more gravel for the overflow to work properly. I did fill it with water, and it seems to be functioning as it should. I'm actually glad I tested it as we added the gravel, because lots of little crickets had set up house in the pipe! 

Next week is the week of my wisdom teeth removal, so I'm not sure what it has in store for me as far as our project goes - but I'll post an update regardless. Blessings!