Sunday, November 7, 2010

Bathroom Farmer?

Welcome to my new blog, Bathroom Farmer. I know I have some explaining to do. My name is Laura Fisher and I am a textile artist and clothing designer making fashions friendly to humanity and the planet. You may already know me from my Baisebeige Studios blog or from a variety of social networks I use. Those of you who know me in my flesh and bones life are aware that I truly do walk my green talk. I believe sustainability is the right of every person. I decided to raise the bar a little in my own life and try gardening. In. My. Bathroom.

My lifestyle is a little bohemian which is the way I like it. I share a house in a historic neighborhood with other people. I live here free in exchange for light housework. I experimented with creating a personal economy with no money for five years in order to understand the true meaning of wealth while I learned about the shifts occurring in social classes and the changing trends in the way we communicate. I started building social networks in June and in September opened an Etsy shop. During the experience of making "green" friends on the web, I have become more aware of foods. By making better choices in foods since June, my overall health has improved remarkably.

I toyed with the idea of planting a garden last winter and aborted the plan. I wanted to make a container garden on the veranda, but the property owner nixed that idea. He did offer me space in the one-acre naturalized yard which I nixed because I had been learning about container gardening and this was a big deviation. Plus, the yard is naturalized and I don't think the wildlife who have habitats there will distinguish my plants from their food source.

Yesterday, I saw the most astounding image. Have you ever clicked on a link in a tweet and seen THE THING  that solves your biggest problem?  This is a LIVING WALL at a company called Pigment. It was posted by my Twitter friend, @dejakester, who shares wonderful images and news about art. To me this was a miracle! I had thought about growing a container garden in my bathroom but dismissed that for lack of horizontal space to place pots. However, now, I can think of arranging a garden in three dimensional space and make good use of a wall.

Later the same evening, one of my vegan blogger friends, @snarkyvegan, turned me onto the idea of gardening vegetables and herbs year-round. Perfect!
This is going to be a lot of work and I am determined to plant my garden in the spring. The time frame is reasonable considering my room and bathroom will be undergoing extensive renovation because of water damages during a fire in the house. This wall will become a vertical garden.

Starting now, I am beginning to chronicle my experience in this blog in order to share information many of you may be able to apply in your own lives. I believe that when you become the authority in determining how you meet your most basic economic needs, you become powerful!

1 comment:

  1. I wonder if growing plants vertically outside up an external wall, particularly one which gets a lot of sun in the summer, would also help with air conditioning and cooling costs by absorbing all that direct sunlight?

    I'm looking at that picture and seeing a couple of those mounted on a wall would make a large vertical herb garden (or some leafy green veggies) AND potentially save some a small amount of money in A/C costs!

    Heh, anyway, good luck with your indoor farming :) I saw some plans for an indoor vertical garden using hydroponics and plastic drain pipes a while back which might be something else to look into. Can't remember the link but I'm sure loads of people have blogged similar projects.

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