Here are some more tricks, perhaps for your Christmas or New Years dinner? Explained by Professor Wiseman from the University of Hertfordshire in the UK in this video. As some of those tricks involve fire, kids should not be doing this alone.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everybody!

The hair dressers always tell me what nice thick hair I have. And 2 minutes later they advise me that I should do something against the dandruff and the dry, aggravated scalp and sell me expensive shampoos. But even some of those shampoos and hair treatments at the hair dresser show only limited results.

So instead of buying expensive shampoos or setting up a production line to make our own body care products, we are going again old-chool and try a simple olive oil treatment.

It leads to soft, silky hair and removes dandruff. However, it will probably not remove the cause of dandruff, so you would have to repeat that treatment.

You only need:

• Cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
• Ethereal oils, if desired
• Towels
• Shampoo

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A while ago a friend gave me some rose bushes. And I was very happy when they bloomed during the whole summer, over and over again, which was a nice experience for me as a beginning gardener.

Sometimes I was wondering what kind of wasp-like bugs were sitting on the plant. But I thought that this is normal in a garden.
One afternoon I was horrified to see that a larger amount of leaves were eaten nearly blank.
I found 1 caterpillar but that was it. On the internet I found that those were sawflies whose caterpillars feed on leaves and breed in the soil and pots.

I also had to regularly wash off the plant lice with a dish detergent which seemed to work acceptable but I had to repeat it every few days.

I wanted to get something effective against these bugs, but not using any chemical pesticides.
So I found information about the Neem tree and tried it.

The Neem tree (Azadirachta indica)is mainly found in Asia and in Africa, as it thrives in tropical and subtropical climate. Even in arid areas it can sustain, as long as it does not get too cold or droughts are too extreme. Especially in India it has been used for centuries as pesticide, fertilizer, for cosmetics and body care, for medical treatment. It is called the “village pharmacy”. This is also caused by a compound called azadirachtin which is found in the seeds.

It is said to defend against 200 pests but does not harm any useful insects like bees or butterflies. Neem interferes with the fertility and reproduction process of pests.

If you are also interested in treating your plants with Neem, you can try the following:

• Grounded Neem seeds (50 gram per square metre) can be poured directly onto the soil against snails in the form of a ring or wall. As they react on contact, the plants should be encircled so that the snails cannot cross.
• As a spray against bugs protecting your plant externally: Let grounded Neem seeds soak for at least 3 hours in cold or luke-warm water (50 gram in 1 litre). To avoid clogging your spray can, pour the liquid through a sifter or a nylon sock separating the powder from the liquid. The sifted powders can be worked into the soil or composted. Fill your spray can with the liquid, it should be used up within 3 days. Make sure that you especially spray the underbelly of the leaves. You can use the left-over portion as plant water.
• Plant water treatment for an internal systemic reaction: Grounded Neem seeds soaked for at least 3 hours in cold or luke-warm water (50 gram in 1 litre). You can water your plants including the Neem powder, making the plants more resistant.

  If you want to use it for indoor pot plants, you should also separate the powder by sifting as otherwise the powder builds a crust.

• Neem cake as a fertiliser: Neem cake are seed residues from Neem oil production. In the end it also just looks like a powder. For older plants you should use 30-50 gram per 1 kg of soil. It is supposed to make the plants more fertile and healthy.

I paid around 6 EUR for 250 gram of grounded Neem seeds and 12 EUR for 2 pounds of Neem cake. The prices might of course vary depending on the country, shop and amounts you are buying.

You can also buy the leaves, bark and Neem oil for similar treatments or other usage like body care products. Some companies also offer ready-made Neem products, which might be more expensive as if you make them yourself.

Here you can find some interesting information: http://www.neemfoundation.org

In Europe and in the USA the toilets are hooked up to your regular water system meaning that many gallons of fresh water are still wasted on each flush. The optimal usage for a dual flush toilet is to connect it to your grey water capture system. Then you are maximizing your water conservation. Changing toilet types in your home is a great half step but, it is your grey water capture system that really makes it a smart move.

Rain water capture:

Simple grey water system:

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*Tell your plumber to add a water pump and connect the system to your rain water capture tanks so that you have a strong flow to your toilet..

The future is now. The sun has begun to set on the age of the combustible engine. The trans warp dc electric motor is designed not only to replace your motor but your transmission as well. For as little as $5,475.00 and as much as $7,250.00 you can convert your old car into a green machine. If you do it yourself. That’s right, that 1985 Toyota you got handed down from your brother can become a state of the art driving machine….well, loosely speaking of course. Well, 100 percent green nonetheless. No emissions check! Less maintenance costs!

You need to replace the gas tank with an electric refueling cable and pack the trunk with a battery bank and you are good to go. Of course the product is depending on your level of commitment . For each type of car there will be a need for custom work on the motor mount and speed control among others things. Wiring may give you a headache if you are not familiar with the electrical diagrams for cars or trucks. So it is even more helpful if you have some mechanical experience with that make of vehicle.

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This segment is perhaps the most important as it represents the key stone of self- sustainable living. Because this topic is so important and many of us are being introduced to this topic for the first time, we will go into depth.  There are many different types of items you can use to achieve the same results. We will show you a number of Hydroponic systems that are cheap during this series. The You tube videos we have featured is a perfect demonstration of a basic hydroponic system.  We have already tested the method and  found it to be very workable and inexpensive.  Ultimately to achieve totally sustainability you will have to be able to grow seedlings to mature plants from one generation to the next.

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Mats:

A battery holder, C cell or D cell.
A small magnet
Some magnet wire Enamel coated 22 gauge strip about 2 feet.
Wire 18 or 20 gauge,  remove the plastic insulation from the wires (you will need less than a foot of this wire per motor)
Small plastic tube. (like a Pen…)

We start by making the armature, using the magnet wire. The armature is the part of the motor that moves. To make the armature nice and round, we wrap it around a cylindrical coil form, as an ex. The pen. The diameter should be related to the wire size. Thin wire requires a small form, thick wire requires a larger form. Leaving a couple of inches of wire free at one end, wrap 25 or 30 turns around the coil form. The coil will end up looking like the photo: X

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