Recycle...........

A third life for tree protectors...

Willamette Valley Filbert Orchard

Previously, I had posted about the tree protectors that we had used to support our newly planted native shrubs and trees.  These came originally from Winter's Hill Winery where they protected new grape plantings.  Then they came to our farm to protect the native shrubs and trees planted in our Conservation Restoration Enhancement Project.  Our next door neighbor has put them to use a third time, protecting his new hazelnut/filbert orchard.  He has promised that they will continue to be used after that.  In the end, they can go to a place near Salem that takes plastic to recycle into an oil product. 

We don't want them to go into the horrible, most gawdawful, stinking, leaching, gross, polluting Riverbend Garbage dump that sits on the banks of the Yamhill River, that flows into the Willamette River, that flows into the Columbia.  This billboard sign went up today!

Stop Riverbend Landfill 

I wish you all could see the detail on this sign.  In the heart of the Willamette Valley, sitting on prime farmland, on the banks of a river.  This dump does no sorting.  You can put anything you want in your garbage can (or your dump truck) and it goes on the banks of the river....glue, paint, dead horses, Japan tsunami debris, Washington soil contaminated so badly that no dump in Washington will take it.  Yup, it's all there and oh so much more.  Waste Management, the owner of the dump, is a vile multi-national corporation from Texas that doesn't give a rat's ass about the degradation and long term impact of this dump.  And they want to expand so they can dump garbage here for another 30 years.  They have so much money, and the Department of Environmental Quality Degradation carries their polluted water for them.  

On a little lighter note, having been inspired by Julia with her greenhouse, I decided to build a cold-frame.  It's made of an old window, a Stone for Judge political sign, some wood that has been hanging around in the barn for eons, and some old rusty screws. 

Cold Frame from Recycled Materials

It has been placed next to my plant debris compost pile, aligned east to west, so it will get maximum sun.  The composting debris and straw surrounds it, providing warmth to the cold-frame.   The cold-frame has the regular soil, then a layer of alpaca poop, followed by a layer of red gopher soil, and then a layer of black planting soil.   This little shabby cold-frame is not yet planted, but bought lettuce and onion seeds today. 

It's just a big science experiment!