Solar energy is a clean and abundant energy resource that can be used to supplement many of your energy needs. Solar energy can be utilized as a form of heat, such as solar water heating, and as electricity, such as solar photovoltaicc. Solar water heating systems are commonly referred to in the industry as Solar Domestic Hot Water (SDHW) systems.

Solar hot water heater collectors are good for your wallet and the environment. Heating domestic hot water accounts for about 20-25% of your home heat energy requirement. A correctly-sized solar system can provide 60%-70% of a household’s hot water needs. Providing more than this is not advisable, as too much heat will be produced in the summer.

Solar should not be seen as an alternative to gas or electricity, but rather as a supplement. Solar cannot totally replace the need for gas or electric heating as there are sometimes days when there is little sunlight.

Consumers can now buy "off-the-shelf" solar water heaters that meet industry-wide standards, providing a clean alternative to gas, electric, oil or propane water heaters. Freeze-protected solar water heaters have been specifically designed to operate reliably through the entire year, even when the outside temperature is either well below freezing or extremely hot.

From March to September solar energy could provide all your hot water but will only partly heat the water during the winter months, when your conventional heating method will need to be used to bring it up to temperature. Most homes will need to replace their current hot water cylinder, with a dual coil solar model.

Coffee grounds can be an excellent addition to a compost pile and are an ideal way to slowly boost nitrogen levels in the garden. The grounds are relatively rich in nitrogen, providing bacteria the energy they need to turn organic matter into compost.

Coffee Grounds have an approximate Carbon to Nitrogen ratio of 20 to 1, which means it has 20 carbon blocks for every 1 nitrogen block. Used coffee grounds can be a safe substitute for nitrogen-rich manure in the compost pile.

Too much nitrogen can be a bad thing though because it can change the acidity of a soil and too much acidity or too much base can burn and damage your plants.

You should mix coffee grounds with the soil around acid-loving plants. Add brown leaves and grass clippings with coffee into a mulch to help balance the pH levels of the soil. The grounds help to accelerate the composting process of the mulch.

When composting, coffee grounds should not be more than 25% of any organic material. You can add one teaspoon of lime or wood for every five pounds of coffee grounds to balance the acidity in your compost.

Here area few recommendations on using coffee grounds:

• Sprinkle used grounds around plants before rain or watering. This will allow for a slow-release in nitrogen.

• Add to compost piles to increase nitrogen balance. Coffee filters and tea bags break down rapidly during composting.

• Dilute with water for a gentle, fast-acting liquid fertilizer. Use about a half-pound can of wet grounds in a five-gallon bucket of water; let sit outdoors to achieve ambient temperature.

• Mix into soil for houseplants or new vegetable beds.

• Encircle the base of the plant with a coffee and eggshell barrier to repel pests.

• If you are into vermi-posting, feed a little bit to your worms

If you are composting you are already on the right track... Keep it Green!

Urban Gardening and Urban Homesteading is becoming more mainstream then times past thanks largely to global realization of Peak Oil and how it affects our food. As the cost of gas goes up, so will the price of our food. People looking for solutions only have to look back 25-50 years when we didn't have the 3000 mile salad. People ate what they grew and shared their knowledge of harvest with up and coming generations. This knowledge has somehow been lost while the world got itself in a big hurry and hooked on Oil.

According to NGA, Natioanl Gardening Association, there are approximately 110 million Small-Scale Vegetable Growers in the USA alone in 2008 and 95 million of them are urban. In rural communities the share raising veggies is about 2 of 3 and in urban neighborhoods, from Boston to Fargo, it is about 1 in 3.

One of the largest seeds sellers, reports their sales of vegetable seed doubled in 2008 over 2007 and for the first time since WWII, vegetable seed sales in London have surpassed the sale of flowers. Due to increases in technology such as green houses the growing season in colder regions of the USA, Canada and Europe has increased by 2-3 weeks.

It is clear to see there is a movement and people are realizing the best way to ensure there is always food on the table is to grow it or buy it locally. The trend to "keep it local" also creates a sense of community and pride in what you eat. It does not matter if you insist on shopping at the local market to keep it local, take on the 100mile diet that's all the rage lately or simply convert some of your precious lawn to grow some carrots, tomatoes and cucumbers for yourself, friends and family, the point is you are doing something.

Keep it green!