Does Your Garden Need a Little TLP?

Before we ever put in a garden, we should start a compost pile, but most of us start gardening and as we learn, we realize that we need to make more compost. Then we start collecting kitchen scraps, leaves, grass cuttings, and cow, horse or other manure, if we have a source for it, either a dairy, stable, or by the bag at our local building or gardening center. The problem with the later, is that if we don’t have a pickup truck, bringing the manure home, is a little inconvenient. Manure stinks and even the thin bags at the garden center always seem to have holes in them and our car smells like manure for a long while.

What’s the solution, besides renting or borrowing a truck?

I had the same dilemma and I drive a sports wagon, where I don’t even have the illusion of a trunk to separate me from the odiferous manures, but I came up with a better solution when I was doing the research for my Master Composter class project at the Solana Center: I discovered the multiple benefits of using “TLP”, “P” as in pee or urine.. It goes by other names among enthusiast, such as Liquid Organic Fertilizer, Homemade Compost Activator, and, my favorite, Liquid Gold. Liquid Gold has many benefits for the gardener and composter. It is always available, it is inexpensive (free), it is a good NPK fertilizer, it is easy to apply, it is easily absorbed by the plants, it is safe to use, it has minimum odor when used fresh, it is a great compost activator, and it’s use is backed up by research and practical application around the world; even the astronauts on the Space Station use it.

Liquid Gold is readily available; we only have to collect it. Each of us could supply enough urine to fertilize around 6300 tomato plants a year and tomatoes are heavy feeders. This would yield 2.41 tons in just one season. Most of us urinate into a flush toilet that is filled with drinking water that has been purified by our water district and then flush it away. We are wasting a great source of natural fertilizer, using precious drinking water in an arid, drought prone region each time we flush the toilet. When I started collecting urine instead of flushing it, my water usage was down 38%, by just flushing pee down the  toilet, so it is not only inexpensive, it can save on your water bill and conserve precious water instead of adding to sewage waste pollution.

Urine is a great NPK source, NPK is a fertilizer that is very high in nitrogen, low in phosphorus, and moderate in potassium, the average Westerner’s urine has a NPK ration of 11-1-2.5. Pee also contains urea, creatine, ammonia, uric acids, salt, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur., but it is 95% water.

Pee is easy to collect in a “Super Size” cup and poured into a larger container with a  top seal. This collection method is good for both sexes. My wife and I find it convenient and we bring the filled and capped bottles down to the compost area or use it directly or diluted in our garden, depending upon the plants, their needs, and whether they are in the ground or in pots. The NPK is in a form that can be readily absorbed by the plants and unlike other “teas” for the garden, doesn’t need to be steeped. As a Urine Tea, simply dilute it 1:20 and use on your garden or potted plants. If you don’t it all within 2 or 3 days, pour it into your compost or under your perennials.

Pee is safe to use; actually must safer than animal manure, which can be a source of e coli unless properly composted. Research around the world has shown that urine has little risk of contamination of urine-borne pathogens as they would be in competition with the microorganisms in the soil or compost bin and lose. Urine is relatively clean substance. Urine has a minimum odor when used fresh, any smell is caused by the conversion into ammonia gas, which represents a loss of nitrogen, which is why we want to use it soon after collection (1 or 2 days) so as to keep the most nutrients for our soil.

Pee is a great compost activator as it will feed the microorganism that break down the browns, the dried leaves, straw, and paper in our compost. It helps keep the temperature high for complete and fast breakdown of the raw materials and turning them into ‘”black gold” for our gardens. Pee is recycled on board the international space station as a NPK source for their hydroponic gardens, so it is not only an old technology, it is also cutting edge for space exploration in the 21^st century.

Isn’t it time you gave your garden a little TLP? 

Your Community and Social Networks are Vital to Your Life and Health

As a Vintage 1946 Baby Boomer I'm approaching a turning point in my life as I reach 65 years old. Like many of my generation, my identity and friends have mostly been made through my work. It is one of the characteristics of our age. Everything seems to be work and time related. When we retire, we are sometimes removed from this community and retirement sometimes means a loss of health and even a death sentence to some, but a time to thrive to others.

One of the key differences between a healthy and an unhealthy retirement is your social network. The type of network or community that you belong to is not as important as having one. There are many ways to approach this: some people have a rich social life with their church, others with sports, some volunteer and work for causes that appeal to them with people of like minds.

Like many of my generation, most of my friends were through work and some of my best friends to this day are from jobs that I held years ago. As I've moved to follow my changing careers from art gallery owner, to furniture designer, furniture manufacturing executive, Waldorf school teacher, non-profit charity executive, life insurance sales, etc. I've worked with large communities to small communities, in public and behind the scenes. Once I had accepted that I had retired, it is my turn to decide how to survive or thrive.

A friend who belongs to a strong supportive community in Los Angeles introduced me to the writings of Eckhart Tolle and this led me to start to slow down and pay attention what was happening in the Present instead of living in the past or future, where many of us spend most of our time. I started with my garden, an uncultivated collection of trees, wild grasses, with drought resistant ground covers and my wife's potted herbs. I listened to the birds, paid attention to the plantings and became interested and aware, for the first time of my whole home environment, instead of driving up the drive and virtually ignoring the fruit trees the watering needs of each, etc.

After several weeks of reading Tolle and contemplating my wild garden, I noticed a class to become a Master Composter through the Solana Center of Environmental Innovation. I had done some Biodynamic inspired composting in the past when I was teaching at the Waldorf School  of San Diego, but I had become busy with  my work and had abandoned it. I thought that this was familiar subject where I could learn more. One of the requirements of this class was to volunteer 30 hours for the Solana Center and I thought that this was an additional benefit that would help me to connect with a new community,which it did. The class was very informative and inspirational and I've been making compost since the class and using it in my brand new garden.

How did I get a brand new garden? One of the unexpected benefits of the class was to learn about a new series of classes created by Victory Gardens of San Diego. The first class was Gardening 101. I had never had a successful garden before and I learned enough to feel empowered to create my own after the class. Victory Gardens also gave me an opportunity to volunteer for Garden Builds where a group of volunteers meet at a individuals home and work  together to help them create a garden in half a day from start to finish, with seeds and seedling planted and transplanted before we go. After a volunteering on a couple of successful, supervised Garden Builds, I was finally ready to apply what I had learned to my own garden.

Of course, by this time I had started by second class with the Solana Center in Encinitas and this was Community Gardening 201, about developing and managing a community garden. It was because of this class that I started volunteering with Judith Jacoby, the Community Garden Coordinator for the City of La Mesa. Today, I received and email that the City of La Mesa is closer to having its first joint use Community Garden with Helix Charter High School as it was the recipient of the Joint Use Garden Pilot Project Planning Grant. When this is fully realized as a community garden, there will be many opportunities to volunteer and associate with a community of adult gardener of all ages and students and faculty at the high school.

The value of community gardens goes beyond the ability to have one's own garden space to grow fresh vegetables and the exercise, fresh air, and sunshine that go with it. The value is in the coming together of a community of people who can meet and enjoy the support and friendship of each other. According to Younger Next Year, an excellent book by Chris Crowley and Henry S. Lodge, M.D. there are three important aspects to a long and healthy life: stop eating crap (and you know what that is), exercise vigorously every day (at least 6 days a week), and form and maintain strong, positive social connections through memberships in organizations, volunteering, etc.

In The Longevity Project, authors Howard S. Friedman and Leslie R. Martin reviewed studies of 1500 individuals that was started in 1921 and found out that the strongest predictor of health and long life was their continued strong social connections throughout their life whether in church or secular memberships. It is the belonging and participating in a positive community of your choosing that will give you the edge and help you to "live long and prosper."

The Noble Eightfold Path

The Noble Eightfold Path describes the way to the end of suffering, as it was laid out by Siddhartha Gautama. It is a practical guideline to ethical and mental development with the goal of freeing the individual from attachments and delusions; and it finally leads to understanding the truth about all things. Together with the Four Noble Truths it constitutes the gist of Buddhism. Great emphasis is put on the practical aspect, because it is only through practice that one can attain a higher level of existence and finally reach Nirvana. The eight aspects of the path are not to be understood as a sequence of single steps, instead they are highly interdependent principles that have to be seen in relationship with each other.

1. Right View

Right view is the beginning and the end of the path, it simply means to see and to understand things as they really are and to realise the Four Noble Truth. As such, right view is the cognitive aspect of wisdom. It means to see things through, to grasp the impermanent and imperfect nature of worldly objects and ideas, and to understand the law of karma and karmic conditioning. Right view is not necessarily an intellectual capacity, just as wisdom is not just a matter of intelligence. Instead, right view is attained, sustained, and enhanced through all capacities of mind. It begins with the intuitive insight that all beings are subject to suffering and it ends with complete understanding of the true nature of all things. Since our view of the world forms our thoughts and our actions, right view yields right thoughts and right actions.

2. Right Intention

While right view refers to the cognitive aspect of wisdom, right intention refers to the volitional aspect, i.e. the kind of mental energy that controls our actions. Right intention can be described best as commitment to ethical and mental self-improvement. Buddha distinguishes three types of right intentions: 1. the intention of renunciation, which means resistance to the pull of desire, 2. the intention of good will, meaning resistance to feelings of anger and aversion, and 3. the intention of harmlessness, meaning not to think or act cruelly, violently, or aggressively, and to develop compassion.

3. Right Speech

Right speech is the first principle of ethical conduct in the eightfold path. Ethical conduct is viewed as a guideline to moral discipline, which supports the other principles of the path. This aspect is not self-sufficient, however, essential, because mental purification can only be achieved through the cultivation of ethical conduct. The importance of speech in the context of Buddhist ethics is obvious: words can break or save lives, make enemies or friends, start war or create peace. Buddha explained right speech as follows: 1. to abstain from false speech, especially not to tell deliberate lies and not to speak deceitfully, 2. to abstain from slanderous speech and not to use words maliciously against others, 3. to abstain from harsh words that offend or hurt others, and 4. to abstain from idle chatter that lacks purpose or depth. Positively phrased, this means to tell the truth, to speak friendly, warm, and gently and to talk only when necessary.

4. Right Action

The second ethical principle, right action, involves the body as natural means of expression, as it refers to deeds that involve bodily actions. Unwholesome actions lead to unsound states of mind, while wholesome actions lead to sound states of mind. Again, the principle is explained in terms of abstinence: right action means 1. to abstain from harming sentient beings, especially to abstain from taking life (including suicide) and doing harm intentionally or delinquently, 2. to abstain from taking what is not given, which includes stealing, robbery, fraud, deceitfulness, and dishonesty, and 3. to abstain from sexual misconduct. Positively formulated, right action means to act kindly and compassionately, to be honest, to respect the belongings of others, and to keep sexual relationships harmless to others. Further details regarding the concrete meaning of right action can be found in the Precepts.

5. Right Livelihood

Right livelihood means that one should earn one's living in a righteous way and that wealth should be gained legally and peacefully. The Buddha mentions four specific activities that harm other beings and that one should avoid for this reason: 1. dealing in weapons, 2. dealing in living beings (including raising animals for slaughter as well as slave trade and prostitution), 3. working in meat production and butchery, and 4. selling intoxicants and poisons, such as alcohol and drugs. Furthermore any other occupation that would violate the principles of right speech and right action should be avoided.

6. Right Effort

Right effort can be seen as a prerequisite for the other principles of the path. Without effort, which is in itself an act of will, nothing can be achieved, whereas misguided effort distracts the mind from its task, and confusion will be the consequence. Mental energy is the force behind right effort; it can occur in either wholesome or unwholesome states. The same type of energy that fuels desire, envy, aggression, and violence can on the other side fuel self-discipline, honesty, benevolence, and kindness. Right effort is detailed in four types of endeavours that rank in ascending order of perfection: 1. to prevent the arising of unarisen unwholesome states, 2. to abandon unwholesome states that have already arisen, 3. to arouse wholesome states that have not yet arisen, and 4. to maintain and perfect wholesome states already arisen.

7. Right Mindfulness

Right mindfulness is the controlled and perfected faculty of cognition. It is the mental ability to see things as they are, with clear consciousness. Usually, the cognitive process begins with an impression induced by perception, or by a thought, but then it does not stay with the mere impression. Instead, we almost always conceptualise sense impressions and thoughts immediately. We interpret them and set them in relation to other thoughts and experiences, which naturally go beyond the facticity of the original impression. The mind then posits concepts, joins concepts into constructs, and weaves those constructs into complex interpretative schemes. All this happens only half consciously, and as a result we often see things obscured. Right mindfulness is anchored in clear perception and it penetrates impressions without getting carried away. Right mindfulness enables us to be aware of the process of conceptualisation in a way that we actively observe and control the way our thoughts go. Buddha accounted for this as thefour foundations of mindfulness: 1. contemplation of the body, 2. contemplation of feeling (repulsive, attractive, or neutral), 3. contemplation of the state of mind, and 4. contemplation of the phenomena.

8. Right Concentration

The eighth principle of the path, right concentration, refers to the development of a mental force that occurs in natural consciousness, although at a relatively low level of intensity, namely concentration. Concentration in this context is described as one-pointedness of mind, meaning a state where all mental faculties are unified and directed onto one particular object. Right concentration for the purpose of the eightfold path means wholesome concentration, i.e. concentration on wholesome thoughts and actions. The Buddhist method of choice to develop right concentration is through the practice of meditation. The meditating mind focuses on a selected object. It first directs itself onto it, then sustains concentration, and finally intensifies concentration step by step. Through this practice it becomes natural to apply elevated levels concentration also in everyday situations.