GoingTrueGreen's Blog Postings

1,000 Red Cherry Tomatoes

11/29/2021

Cherry Tomatoes

As the leaves on my one Cherry Tomato plant start to wither due to the extra cold nights and minimal sunlight from the shorter winter days, I look back on the last 7 months and the One Thousand Cherry Tomatoes which we received.

There are about 25 green Cherry Tomatoes still on the plant, but after picking the 1,000th one yesterday, I am not sure if the remaining ones will ripen. Nevertheless, I am sharing this information to inspire others to also grow whatever they deem possible. A yard, terrace, window shelf and applicable roof, will all suffice to various degrees.

For me the following actions have brought me to 1,000 Cherry Tomatoes from one plant:

- Composting
- A greenhouse
- A rope trestle (The plant grew 7 feet tall and then curve back downward 7 feet)
- A soaker gardenhose with timer
- Pruning and pruning and pruning
- Natural homemade spray for bugs
- Marigolds for insects
- More Compost

We enjoyed the 1,000 Cherry tomatoes by making:
Soups
Salads
Bruschetta
Pasta Sauce
Pizza Sauce
and just eating them as a snack!

Also we loved sharing them with friends and family who stopped by for a visit.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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Harvest of Mine and You Can Too

10/10/2021

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I am not a farmer, I only have about 10 feet by 25 feet of space to grow food and I do the best that I am capable of within my own budget of time, money and knowledge. This available space that I use is almost half my back yard. I am thankful for that amount of ground and I have chosen to grow food over using the space for any of the other outdoor elements people enjoy. Why?

So I can eat fresh amazing tasting food, so I can share the same with family and friends, so I can appreciate what is "needed" for a happy life, not what is "wanted". So I can enjoy the wonder shown on the faces of those who taste a carrot just harvested from the earth for the first time, so I can watch the smile grow on a child after they enjoy the grape jam just made or the astonished look on my father when he says: "This is the most delicious tomato I ever had, and I have eaten many tomatoes over my 89 years of life!" And the last reason is to be more humus, the Latin humus definition.

I am sharing all this because I am not only thankful to God for what I Harvest, I am shocked at how well my organic food growing has turned out. Due to this, I want to offer support and confidence to everyone else with a yard, windowsill, rooftop or empty field to do the same. Just imagine if we all used the space available to us to grow food how that would change the world. More organic food means less chemicals, more food for those in need and delicious amazing fresh meals made for those that come over to share a table and give thanks with us.

Now please do not assume that I have everything working out so easily. While this year has produced the most produce for me, I also had the most in failed crops. I had planted 8 Brussel sprout plants and lost all to insects, my sweet pea crop was almost ready to harvest and then turned white as they died off, and the scallions I planted have failed to sprout. Nevertheless, my harvest can be your kind of harvest within your available space, time and money.

The images playing in the video above are some dishes made and food grown. In total so far this year, I harvested the following with the help of my own compost material that I used for topsoil and nutrients:

6 Beets, one plant
82 cucumbers, one plant
15 Zucchini, one plant
491 Cherry Tomatoes and counting, one plant
10 Roma Tomatoes and counting, one plant
12 White Eggplant and counting, three plants
10 Purple Eggplant and counting, one plant
5 Green Peppers and counting, one plant
14 carrots and counting

I also had / have blueberries, grapes, figs, onions and several herbs growing in cedar wood pots.

Start small like I did so many years ago and slowly "grow" into the most you can grow. Each year is a new experience and the learning curve improves year after year. Changing the world as an individual with God's guidance is the only way our environment, our happiness and our future will be secured.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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Dahlias, Texts, Composts and Anniversaries

8/9/2021

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Dahlia Garden, Long Island, NY

The other day I received a text with a few photos from cousins that were celebrating a wedding anniversary on the East end of Long Island. They knew that the flowers called Dahlias had a strong memory connection for me and sent the photo shown on the viewer's right for this page.

While enjoying part of a beautiful day at this peaceful garden for their anniversary, they also noticed that this Dahlia garden was a farm. Upon viewing signage about composting, they couldn't resist sending me photos of the information boards that were on displayed. Since they know how much I enjoy talking about composting!

Display Board On Composting

Me Adding To My Compost!

Composting Display at William Wolkoff Dahlia Garden

Now I am posting the images of these display boards about composting on this Going True Green blog post because of the important basic information they state and the image layouts. I believe the information is helpful for everyone and a great start for those looking to start their own composting actions to help save money, energy and our environment. Happy anniversary and best wishes to all the future composting fans.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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Healthy Herb Harvest

7/12/2021

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Basil, Herbs, Oregano, Thyme, compost, composting, Mint, Sage, Rosemary, Basil, Mint, Oregano, parsley, Sage, Lavender, sustainable living, sustainability, going green, gardens, veggie gardens

Basil, Oregano and Thyme

A Triple H is always wonderful... Just sharing that my first Healthy Herb Harvest for this year came in last month and the aromas were amazing! They are always amazing each time a new pick is done.

Having your own herbs is something we all can do! From clay flower pots on a windowsill or in a small sunny area of a yard or on a green roof top. Add some compost,* that can be made by us over the winter months, along with appropriate watering, we can all enjoy some fresh picked Basil or Mint or Oregano or Parsley.

NOTE: Herbs such as Thyme, Sage and Lavender are perennials. Parsley is a biennial and Basil is an annual. Use this information to plan for getting seeds.

* Use the SEARCH text box at the top of this page for more information on making your own top soil, aka: Compost. Just type in the word COMPOST.

Bon Appétit !

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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Don’t Wait For The Rebate

4/15/2021

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Example of a rebate insert, mailed with utility bill, fine print on utilities' websites

With Earth Day coming and Spring in the air, some Utility companies are again offering Rebates for certain products. The big push this time is on energy saving appliances and rechargeable cordless yard tools.

Some of us may have put off buying an Eco-Friendly Weed Trimmer or a new lawn mower to see what Rebates would be offered. Any savings, either from the manufacturer or utility company always helps. Yet, does the wait for the rebate really help save us the most money and our environment?

When considering the benefits for our environment as well as our wallet, the answer is NO.

The reasons are based on the amount of time we could have already been saving money and our environment, along with the fine print stating the qualifying rules to receive the rebate.

Allow me to break down some issues:

To wait until next year to see what rebate may or may not be offered for a rechargeable lawn mower to replace an old gasoline mower, is a gamble. The odds are no rebate will be offered and yet, we can be saving money, oil, gasoline, noise and energy for a year ahead of time.

One current $40.00 rebate for a rechargeable lawn mower is also elusive. The fine print will state something like “Up To $40.00” and using a rechargeable lawn mower for a year prior will probably save that much in gasoline and oil alone.

Another caveat in the fine print will state that the product had to be purchased in the last 45 days! The rebate program wasn’t previously announced and the ads mailed out with the utility bills are really just for PR (Public Relations) work that aim to receive a favorable public opinion about the company’s so called concern for helping the environment.

Bottom Line: That rechargeable lawn mower under the Christmas Tree, doesn’t get a rebate. Neither does the one purchased on the President’s Day sale in February, because the rebate program started in April and 45 days ago also disqualifies that purchase.

Additionally, if we run out upon receiving the rebate notice and buy a rechargeable lawn mower, that too does not qualify, because of the wording stating, “Purchased WITHIN the last 45 days.”

How sincere is a rebate program that doesn’t give advance notice and when notice is received, the time to qualify has already concluded?

Don’t wait for the rebate!
Let us start saving on our own as soon as we can.
This is up to us. Our environment is not going to be saved by a corporation, politician, government, organization or celebrity. Each one of us is the superhero.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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Still Harvesting God's Bounty

10/28/2020

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harvest, farming, eggplant, tomatoes, growing food, organic food, sustainable living, backyard bounty, going green, going true green, carrots, blueberry jam, canning for the winter, growing food, saving money, energy and earth

Eggplant and Tomatoes

Carrots

As we approach the end of October, I am also approaching the end of my small garden's bounty of food. Despite a few cold nights last week, my garden has endured. Tomatoes abound and I still have eggplant growing. I did just pick the last of my carrots, but I am very happy with my organic harvest.

As I have said before in previous Going True Green blog posts, the actions I have taken with having a food garden are the same actions we can all do, obviously to various degrees based on what you have available. A yard, terrace, or window shelf, all suffice to those various degrees. So please consider growing some food for yourself, family, friends, and strangers next year.

Additionally, for the coming winter months, I have canned Grape jam and Blueberry jam; froze blueberries and homemade tomato sauces and dried various herbs.

The end product is an individual action that allows you and others to live a more sustainable life that saves, money, energy, health and earth.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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Summer 2020, Soylent Green 2022

9/30/2020

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soylent green, Charlton Heston, taylor young, Edward G. Robinson,

Scene from 1973 Soylent Green movie

Summers come and go, but this summer felt like the summertime enjoyment never arrived. Times are difficult, I know first hand how much with the loss of friends and family. We held on and pushed forward. These efforts also included continuing actions for living a more sustainable life.

Food supplies became an issue for many more people this year, especially for those of us who were sick in bed. Now while food is a major environmental issue, we the people must change the tide of reductionist. Our food supply is not an automatic conveyor belt to our dinning table. However, despite our ecological surroundings being resilient, we all still need to review our own efforts for obtaining food.

We cannot wait around for "technology" to solve all of our needs for food. There was a movie made about this very topic back in 1973. The title: Soylent Green and the story takes place in the year 2022!

The plot was straight forward... Overcrowding, pollution, and resource depletion reduced society's leaders to providing an artificial nourishment to the teeming masses. Actual ingredients are not made known and soy is not an ingredient. A homicide detective stumbles onto the secret that is so unbelievable, no one would believe him.

Nevertheless, if you have a yard, terrace, or window shelf, please consider growing some food for yourself, family, friends, and strangers. This year, even now at the end of September, I still have watermelon and eggplant growing.

watermelon, going green, going true green, garden, growing food, planting food, composting, eggplant, sustainable living, sustainability, food issues, food shortages, ecological, food depletion, growing crops

This year in my small garden I grew:

Blueberries
Cantaloupe
Carrots
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Grapes - Bluebell Grapes for jam
Grapes - Red Grapes for eating
Red Peppers
String Beans
Tomatoes - Cherry/Plum/Beefsteak
Zucchini

BlueBell Grapes

In my clay or cedar wood pots I grew:

Basil
Garlic
Mint
Onions
Oregano
Parsley
Shallots
Snow Peas
Thyme

In the long run, we all can grow some food, we can all make the difference, we are the solutions.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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Fertilizers: To Use Or Not To Use?

2/27/2020

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FTC Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate Ad link below and GTG will be compensated if a purchase is made after clicking the link. Thank you.

fertilizer, compost, composting, phosphorus, potash, nitrogen, plants, garden, gardening, lightning, garden nursery, Shakespeare, going green, green, flowers, growing plants, soil, sustainable living

Homemade Compost/Fertilizer

Fertilizers... To use or not to use? Yes, that is the question.

In William Shakespeare's time there wasn't any conventional fertilizers at a local Garden Nursery. In fact, there weren't any Garden Nursery stores. People back then, made fertilizer from composting. Today, too many people believe that they must apply conventional fertilizers for plant nutrition. After all, once applied, almost immediate satisfying results are seen.

The Truth of this matter is the fact that conventional fertilizers do provide a fast level of plant growth at the start. However, when placed head to head with natural high-performance plant care actions, such as using your own custom made compost, store bought fertilizers come in last for the long run. Here is why...

Store bought fertilizers have three ingredients: Nitrogen is number one, phosphorus and potash. Potash is the ingredient many of us are not familiar with compared to nitrogen and phosphorus. Potash is an alkaline potassium compound, from potassium carbonate or hydroxide.

Therefore, store bought fertilizers are mostly electrolytes that increase the electrical conductivity of the soil. This will produce fast plant growth and BURNOUT your soil's microbial community. Thus, in the long run, chemical fertilizers can destroy all the microbial life in the soil and decrease the growth process for healthy plants.

Lightning bolt, lightning, fertilizer, compost, composting, phosphorus, potash, nitrogen, plants, garden, gardening, lightning, garden nursery, Shakespeare, going green, green, flowers, growing plants, soil, sustainable living

Free God Made Fertilizer From The Sky

To put this electrical conductivity into an everyday prospective, Lightning storms naturally fertilizes all living plants. The electrical conductivity of a Lightning bolt causes the nitrogen molecules in the air to cling to the oxygen molecules. This bond forms nitrogen oxides. The nitrogen oxides will either fall from the sky, or be collected by the rain drops. That plus all the decaying matter in the soil and microbial life, adds up to dozens of different minerals and trace minerals for the optimal growth of a plant or crop. Have you ever noticed how much better plants and crops look after a thunderstorm? Store bought fertilizer only provides 3 components as previously stated and starts to burnout the additional elements of the living microbial community that help make up all the other necessary factors for long term plant growth.

So in several cases, especially for a Homeowner with room in a yard to compost, buying fertilizer is just buying another Bill Of Goods! Peruse my previous GoingTrueGreen blog posts on composting. The category is on the right of this page. Before you know it, we can all be on our way toward a more sustainable life that saves us money and Earth.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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Check out this Compost Bin for your Backyard at Home Depot...

Easy buy On-Line and home delivery!

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My Own Great Tasting Blueberries In January

1/28/2020

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blueberries, organic, organic food, fresh frozen, sustainable living, going green, going true green, plastic, BPAs, freezer storage bags, water bottles, carcinogens, contaminants, pyrex, ziplock

Fresh Organic Blueberries

I grew them, I harvested them, and I didn't eat all of them.

Besides sharing my organically grown blueberries with family and friends, I also froze some immediately after picking them. The objective: To have fresh frozen organic home grown blueberries in January!

I am writing this GTG blog post just after cooking up some blueberry pancakes all made with healthy ingredients. It is the end of January and a cold wind is gusting outside, but this pancake breakfast started back in early August of last year.

First, I placed the fresh picked blueberries into a glass pyrex bowl with a rubber cover.

Second, I placed the covered pyrex glass bowl filled with blueberries into a ziplock freezer storage bag.

I made sure as much air as possible was expelled from the plastic bag before closing. I labeled the plastic bag with pertinent information, such as date frozen and date to use by.

I did all this for better tasting blueberries come the middle of winter. I never place blueberries or any food item directly into a plastic bag. As I have stated in many previous GTG blog posts, only three items do not put carcinogens or contaminants into our food and drink:

Glass, Porcelain, and Wax Paper

If I was to use another container, I would use cast-iron cookware or steel / tin. All other containers, such as aluminum, viscose, plastic bottles, bags, and wrap, will leach bad tastes, contaminants or carcinogens over time into our food and drink. Especially when there are changes in temperatures, such as being placed into a freezer or leaving a water bottle in a car on a hot summer day.

So if you have grown or just purchased fresh organic blueberries in the summer, try freezing some for a cold winter morning early the following year!

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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Victory Gardens Are Needed Again

10/2/2019

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Victory Garden, Victory Gardens, World War One, World War Two, World War II, fresh food, food, organic food, growing food, compost, composting, Home Front, Going Green, Sustainable Living, Sustainability, Going True Green

I am sadden how the stories of our past, let them be His-Story or Her-Story, are forgotten or completely changed for a false narrative. I know just a few people reading this Going True Green Blog Post will know what a Victory Garden was so many years ago. Nevertheless, Victory Gardens are needed again.

Victory Gardens were planted by individuals on the Home Front as a patriot sign to make a difference as World War I and World War II were being fought. The premise was simple and the difference made was tremendous. These Victory Gardens were planted in yards, window pots, apartment rooftops and empty plots of land around the neighborhoods. They helped in the battle against food shortages as two world changing wars raged on for years. The food that was produced, was used and shared with those in need.

Today, a Victory Garden would be a major part of the multitude of solutions we can do as an individual. Having a Victory Garden will allow us to eat healthier with fresh organic food and be a positive contributing factor for our changing world. For more facts and information see my Going True Green Blog posts under the Category called: Composting.

If we truly want to be part of the solutions, we all need to have or take part in a Victory Garden. This Fall is the perfect time to start planning your very own Victory Garden for next Spring!

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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