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All About Cisterns!

Posted by hgorganics on August 6, 2018 · Leave a Comment

Have you been interested in a cistern but intimidated by the maintenance aspect? Never fear! We want to make sure that customers feel comfortable and educated on the use of their cisterns after installation. The anatomy of a cistern might be a mystery if you haven’t had a chance to study one up close yet. … Continue reading →

Filed under Rain Garden, Sustainability · Tagged with cistern, green, green infrastructure, permaculture landscaping, protect our waterways, rain barrel, rainwater, rainwater harvesting, rainwise, stormwater runoff, Sustainability

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"Produce No Waste" is a fantastic attitudinal principal by Rosemary Morrow, from "Earth User’s Guide to Permaculture" that we work hard to stick to as much as possible, and use in our designs. By paying attention to the content of your seemingly less useful output, you can determine ways to use it that can be beneficial instead of just sending material to the landfill. You've perhaps heard "waste not want not" and "a stitch in time saves nine," and it's true! By using this principle it's more possible to connect inputs and outputs so that different elements are not necessarily mutually exclusive. For example, composting kitchen waste allows it to be used to grow plants or crops that can later be eaten, closing the loop on that waste cycle! Have lots of old newspapers sitting around? Consider starting a worm bin! Local Buy Nothing groups are also a great way to keep items from going into the garbage that might not qualify for a secondhand store, etc. There are so many great options!🐛 🎨by Permaculture Women's Guild 🌱💚🌿 ___________ #permaculturelandscaping #hgo #producenowaste #closetheloop #homegrownorganics

Japanese anemones (also known as "thimbleweed" or "windflowers") are lovely late summer and fall-blooming perennials, decorating the seasonal transition with their pretty floating flowers on slender, graceful stems. Native to China, anemones have been cultivated in Japan for centuries and consist of several species, subspecies and cultivars. They can bloom from 6-8 weeks, and are a wonderful option for bordering a yardspace. The flowers can range from snowy white to dark purple and creamy pink. Be careful that they don't outcompete other species in your garden as they tend to clump, however removing extra sprouts is easy. Anemones prefer more moist soil, and some protection from the wind. Watching them sway in the breeze is a treat! 💮🍂🌱 _________________ #seeninseattle #japaneseanemones #gardening #seattlelandscaping #gardendesign

Flashback Friday to this lovely rain garden in the Central District! Rain gardens are built with a layer of special soil that acts like a sponge, while filtering the water that will be released once the surrounding water in the soil has drained out. As it does this, it traps (among many other things), unwelcome trace metals such as zinc, lead, and copper (found in stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces; e.g. roadways and sidewalks). This process is called bioretention! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Another process that helps with reducing pollution is phytoremediation (from Ancient Greek φυτό (phyto), meaning 'plant', and Latin remedium, meaning 'restoring balance'). It refers to the technologies that use living plants to clean up soil, air, and water contaminated with hazardous materials. It is defined as "the use of green plants and the associated microorganisms, along with proper soil amendments and agronomic techniques to either contain, remove or render toxic environmental contaminants harmless". ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ So many beautiful ways to make our world a cleaner place, one yard at a time!⠀ 🌿💧✨ _____________ #flashbackfriday #raingarden #rainwise #greeninfrastructure #stormwaterfiltration

Happy World Soil Day!🌎 World Soil Day 2019 and its campaign, "Stop soil erosion, Save our future" is envisaged to raise awareness on the importance of sustaining healthy ecosystems and human well-being by addressing the increasing challenges in soil management and, raise the profile of healthy soil by encouraging governments, organizations, communities and individuals around the world to engage in proactively improving soil health. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ What is your favorite way of improving soil health? A few things you can try are... -Rotating your crops -Increase organic matter inputs -Use cover crops -Choose not to till your soil (it disrupts the delicate microbial ecosystem contributing to the soil health) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Stay tuned for our upcoming classes next year to learn to care for your garden in meaningful and regenerative ways! 📸 by spiralseed 🌱🌎🌿 _______________ #worldsoilday #soilhealth #savetheearth #asabovesobelow #permaculture

Are you interested in hosting some bee friends in your garden this spring? We're happy to help! Like we did earlier this year, we'll be offering mason bee packages with garden care, through a great local program. They're a lovely, non-aggressive native bee species, and cute as a button. Feel free to reach out now (website in bio or dm) so we can get you signed up; what a wonderful and fun activity for 2020! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ "Visiting up to 2000 flowers each day, these highly efficient pollinators increase fruit production as well as improve the overall health of their ecosystems by aiding the health of native plants. As a solitary bee, they have no queen to protect therefore no reason to sting. They are fun to watch throughout the spring and are a important member of Pacific Northwest ecosystems."-Rent Mason Bees 🐝💚💮 _______________ #savethebees #livesustainably #organicpestcontrol #gardencare #savetheearth

One of the wonderful things about being in the glorious PNW is the massive variety of vegetation! We were treated to such a spectacular fall this year, with the changing leaves popping so stunningly against our beloved evergreens. One species that can be found in WA is the fragrant Blue Atlas Cedar! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ This gorgeous majestic evergreen tree is often considered the most popular of all atlas cedars, with its limbs covered in patches of blue-green or green needles. It remains a more conical shape until it reaches closer to 20 years, when it widens into a more pyramidal form. The aromatic oil the tree produces is actually a natural insect deterrent! Many love this cedar for furniture and chests of drawers as well. They originate from the Atlas Mountains of Algeria and Morocco and can grow up to 120 feet high (and 40 feet wide)! Another particular feature of the Blue Atlas Cedar is that it's quite tolerant of heat and dryness (after being established) - something you don't find in many conifers. 📸 by @jhncoghlan 🌱❄️🌲 _______________ #hikeseason2019 #treesareamazing #landconservation #blueatlascedar #pnwtrees
Past Rainwise Project: 34th Ave SW Block Cluster, Westwood
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All About Cisterns!

Grist Interview ; Alternative Lawns

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Past Rainwise Project: 34th Ave SW Block Cluster, Westwood

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