Crisis tips: energy, climate & food - Page 2

wow. thanks caryn that was information for me!!! i shall take care from now on!

Thanks for the petrol filling tips, Caryn. I read the same thing somewhere. Problem is mornings are always a big rush for work and weekends ... er ... hard to get up. But still, at the prices that petrol is retailing for these days, it may be time I sacrificed some sleep.

Btw, some one has been sending round a cartoon that says, considering how expensive it is to fill up on petrol, it's about time we started drinking instead of driving 😉

I use a timer switch -- hardly S$20.00 -- to regulate a light bulb in my living room that I switch on when I expect to be away from home till late. Living alone most of the time, I do need the light as a safety device -- to give the impression that someone's home. Perhaps someday I will consider installing a burglar alarm instead though that too would eat up electricity, I guess.

Can anyone advise which herbs will survive well in the kind of weather we tropical folks experience all the time? Oh, and in pots rather than in gardens since I live in a flat. I have just started growing curry leaves and the plant is doing pretty well, so I shan't have to buy any more of it or go around after dark vandalising my neighbours' plants 😃 I tried growing mint but it's nearing death 😭

hey bon this is for you

Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum)

Cilantro is widely used in both Latin and Southeast Asian dishes but is not to be confused with Vietnamese coriander (Polygonum odoratum) which is a perennial. Still as well as using the greens, cilantro seed can be ground and then is known as the spice,
coriander.

Cilantro goes to seed quickly when temperatures rise. Sow seeds directly into the garden at two-week intervals to keep a fresh supply of cilantro. Plants grow to about 2-feet tall, but leaves can be harvested when the plant reaches about 6 inches in height. Thin seedlings to 7 to 10-inches apart.

• Marjoram (Origanum majorana)

When looking for sweet marjoram, you may find it classed as Majorana hortensis and Majorana majorana as well as Origanum majorana. This petite annual reaches only 12-inches in height. Although often substituted for oregano, a pleasing fragrance and velvety gray foliage make sweet marjoram a popular
favorite as an ornamental herb as well as a culinary herb.
Sow seeds outdoors in early spring when soil temperatures reach about 60F. Sweet marjoram is also a naturally sweet addition to an indoor herb garden.

• Parsley (Petroselinum crispum)

Parsley is actually a biennial, but you.ll have the best luck growing it if you treat it as an annual and plant it every spring.
Although it is aggravatingly slow at germinating, the best way to propagate parsley is through seed. For best results start seeds indoors six to eight weeks before you expect the last frost.
Since it reaches only a foot tall, parsley is also an excellent plant for your indoor herb garden.

Fennel (Foeniculum officinalis)

Fennel is a perennial herb that looks like dill, but has a very distinctive licorice scent and flavor.
Fennel is best grown in a patio pot place in full sun. The herb grows up to 4 feet tall and self-seeds to the point of being quite invasive. Use young fennel leaves with fish, Italian dishes. Seeds are used in many sauces and also to flavor sausage. Like dill, fennel also attracts swallowtail butterflies.

• Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus)

Lemon grass is an aromatic tropical grass that provides the subtle taste and smell of lemon with a bright edge of ginger.
Lemon grass grows in cascading clumps that can reach up to 6-feet high and 3-feet in diameter. It.s usually propagated by bulb planting or division of a mature clump.
The sharp blades are ready for harvest when they are about to inch in diameter.

Oregano (Origanum vulgare)

Oregano, although known as wild marjoram, has coarser leaves and a fragrance more similar to thyme than sweet marjoram.
Plants grow to two feet in height and adapt well to containers. Although oregano is a perennial, beds need to be replanted every three to four years when stems become woody.
Propagate oregano either by seed or by division. Unlike most cooking herbs, oregano leaves are their most flavorful after they have been dried.

thanks caryn for the useful information on petrol..

bon, you can try planting tulsi.


Avoid plastic bags.Recycle your plastic bags/containers.

Carry your personal bag to grocery shopping, so you can avoid plastic/paper bags.

In my office they provided us all with coffee mugs, so we stop using millions of paper cups every year.

Thanks for the tips, Jasunap. Priyav, I do usually carry a cloth shopping bag, either a small Body Shop one or a large one from the NTUC supermarket in Singapore. Unfortunately, shopkeepers in Singapore have the habit of grabbing plastic bags and putting even single purchases in them even before you can open your mouth to say no. I decline them anyway.

Hmm, I should start using my own mug for coffee. Problem is the office washroom is like a mile from my room but I should expend that energy., Thanks for reminding.

jenim,
i dont have bugs issue..i have a friend who has a great backyard and she grows tomato, lemon, squash..i will check with her.

Computer usage

I just read somewhere that laptops are more energy efficient than desktops. (Of course, laptops also allow you to switch to battery mode, using which is a must if you want to preserve the battery. When I first switched over to a laptop, I happily used electricity in preference to the battery and within a year or so, the battery died.)

Apparently screen savers don't really save energy; it's best to manually activate the sleep mode

On a separate matter, I understand that it's important to remove the lint from clothes dryers after every cycle so that energy efficiency improves.

Thanks so much for the petrol filling tips. Have past them onto my parents.

We have a backyard, so we normally dry clothes on the washing line but the washing machine is a must, I don't see an alternative to that. 😆 Got a couple of light saver bulbs up but they can be a bit dull at times. As for plastic bags, well they've started charging 2 pence per bag in some stores like Marks & Spencers so that's got us using alternative means.

My room light is also swtiched off atm though it 10pm and therefore very dark. But that's me being too lazy to get up and switch it on rather than being energy efficient. 😆

And ^^ Bonheur, oh damn, I always thought that using electricity in preference to battery, preserves the battery of a laptop. Whoops 😆. It's reaching it's 2 year birthday though, and it seems okay, or so I think.

Originally posted by: Bonheur

Computer usage

Apparently screen savers don't really save energy; it's best to manually activate the sleep mode

Yup..
http://green.yahoo.com/blog/forecastearth/49/you-don-t-still -use-a-screen-saver-do-you.html