365 Sustainable Decisions Challenge

During a walk, I came across stinging nettle plants. I remembered that I can brew tea from them. So I decided to harvest a few leaves for a fresh cup of tea after returning home.

As soil healthy is very important for biodiversity and for plants to grow, it is helpful to plant different crops in different years in the same area. More about this: https://medium.com/climate-conscious/how-organic-farming-can-be-made-even-more-environmentally-friendly-be55fe42686c

I used some dandelion leaves I found in my garden in my meal. As it was the first time and I didn't find a lot, I only ate a few leaves. Now I am sure I can eat them, so can now make a salad with more and taller leaves.

When I was a kid, we used to do this: gather sweet chestnuts and eat them. I haven't found them in years, so haven't done this for a long time, but will keep my eyes open, so that I can do it again.

Recently, I learned about the existence of community gardens. Coincidentally, last week I had the chance to visit one. It is nice how people work together, compared to allotments where everyone has their own. And it has many advantages for our planet: https://medium.com/the-environment/how-urban-gardening-contributes-to-sustainable-development-goals-785df8d72af5

Similar to me growing spring onions at home, someone on Twitter (who doesn't want to be credited) shared how she grows sprouts in a jar. This looks so impressive and sounded simple: "I bought the mixed seeds in a pouch. I use 1 tablespoon of the seeds each time I start a jar. The jar in the photo is one quart, but a liter jar would work. The sprouts are great in sandwiches and salads. The best part is, you can grow them all winter. It takes only 3-4 days. I soak the seeds in water overnight, then rinse them twice a day, allowing the water to drain off. (I put them in a plastic tray from mushrooms. It keeps the jar tilted.) My equipment: quart canning jar, outer lid with fly screen cut to fit, container for draining (tray mushrooms came in), measuring spoon, seeds and filtered water. Soak ~8 hours or so, drain and then rinse twice a day. Store in fridge when jar is full."

I read in one of my magazines (Happy Way) how I can regrow spring onions. It is very easy: I kept about 5 cm (2 inches) from the bottom and put it into an old pizza glass with a little water. Then only exchange the water every three days and after a few weeks, I have a new spring onion.  

Oops, this didn't work out. I took this picture to ask whether you can tell which one is from the shop. But the picture is blurred and I've already eaten both potatoes, so can't take a new one. Well, no one is perfect :) The secret: the left one grew in my compost bin!

You don't need a green thumb for this. I learned that when I cut off a spring onion and leave about 5 cm (2 inches), put this in a little water and refresh this every three days, I get a new one. And here it grows: when I "planted" the left, the right one was 6 days old.

This is what I had in mind when thinking of free-range chicken. They look happy and healthy and can walk around freely. As I know where I can buy their eggs, there is no need to buy eggs from the supermarket anymore. But how are they called when not free-range chicken?

Allotments. Do they exist where you live? I recently walked across an area with many allotments next to each other and noticed how I immediately relaxed. A great way to be able to enjoy your own garden, even when you live in the middle of a city.

What a beautiful and probably delicious harvest! Loading... Twitter Embed Code

Are these berries safe to eat? I was shocked when I realized that I don't know. This means I can't use natural resources that are available and have to buy fruit in shop instead. This shows how disconnected I am from nature even though I'm a nature lover! How about you?

Yeah, finally! What a beautiful basil plant! It took a lot of trial and error and several plants didn't survive. But now I know how to let it flourish and be able to put fresh leaves on my pizza every week: I give a little water every day or put its feet in a container with water.

I found a spot with a many of nettles. As I make tea from the leaves, I decided to make a tea supply. For the glasses, I used old pizza glasses, so happy to be able to reuse it instead of throwing it away!  

Last year, I tried to grow some vegetables.  But because I didn‘t have proper name plates, I couldn‘t figure out which plant was edible and which wasn‘t. That‘s why I this year plant herbs in a planter. This way, I know exactly what plant grows where.  

Recently, I met one of my friends on my walk. He told me he just went to a farmer who sells milk directly to the customer. So, you can just bring your own bottle and open a tap with fresh milk. As I like to buy regional food, I gave it a try.  

A lot of energy is put in producing and delivering soft drinks.  For example: the drinks have to be produced, put in a bottle and transported. So I decided to drink water.

When I shoveled snow two days ago, I noticed that my neighbors didn't have a chance to do it yet. So I knocked on the window to ask whether it would help them to their part too. As they didn't have the equipment, they really appreciated it. As a thank you, they gave me this local honey.

For the area I live, I can look up on the Internet what meadows are orchard meadows. The idea is that passery-by can take the fruits whenever they are edible. A great service and good to know where I‘m allowed to take them for free so that I don‘t accidentally steal them.