The Swimming Pool Of The Future - Nature's Way Video and 17 Fab Examples! Introducing the swimming pool of the future – only this kind is not your typical backyard pool. Instead of using chemicals, this pool is not only much less costly than the traditional pool, but it’s made with natural clear water.... video ahead on page 3 Natural Swimming Ponds Natural swimming ponds, also called natural pools, are a wonderful way to recreate nature in your backyard. They offer a much lower maintenance alternative to conventional pools and allow you to swim in clean, chemical free water. Consider this comment from member, Emma O’Connor (left on our Natural Ponds blog): “I would love one of these. Another pool converted to a swimming pond Wetlands have been purifying water for hundreds of millions of years so it should not surprise anyone that you can do the same in your backyard. Click on any image to start lightbox display. You’ll find links to videos below the image gallery. If you liked these, you will also like viewing these DIY water feature projects…
Bag gardens Figure 1: An example of a bag garden. Bag/Sack gardens, also known as “vertical farms or gardens”, are tall sacks filled with soil from which plant life grows. This concept for a small, portable garden is good for areas where the gardener may have to continually relocate, as well as for areas where there is little or no healthy soil (as the soil in the bag is contained). Due to their vertical nature, sack gardens are also fairly efficient in terms of using water. Most of the initiatives and projects concerning sack gardens have been or are being conducted in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya, where the lack of appropriate farm land combined with the very low incomes and employment rates of families and individuals, as well as natural disasters such as landslides, result in very poor food security. Several initiatives aimed at providing and training in the use of these sack gardens have reported high levels of success in terms of improving nutrition, food security, and income.
Natural pools are beautiful and environmentally friendly A natural swimming pool is a magical addition to a home where you can observe nature throughout the seasons and be closer to the wildlife you share your land with. Some of the creatures you will attract are insects like water beetles and dragonflies; birds will visit the pond to bathe, feed and collect nesting material and amphibians like the frog and newt will take up residence. Your pond will become a stepping stone for the wilderness where local native flora and fauna will find your pool and flourish. A conventional sterile pool will typically cost around £50,000 ($80,000) but a 180 m2 (2,000 ft2) organic pool like the one above only cost David about £6,000 ($10,000) to make. You can find out how he did this in his DIY manual which is free to download from his website here: Organic Pools DIY Manual. He has also produced a 90 minute DVD that takes you through all the construction steps.
Natural Swimming Ponds Ditch the Chemicals This gorgeous swimming pool isn’t a typical chlorine-filled watering hole–it’s actually a natural swimming pond that relies on plants to filter the water. (Don’t worry, you’re not swimming among the plants and stepping in squishy mud; the plant regeneration area is kept separate from the swimming area.) Even if you already have a swimming pool, you can enjoy the benefits of a chemical-free pond and relaxing natural environment using the structure you already have with a few design changes. Natural swimming ponds are already quite popular in Europe and are gaining interest in the US. A natural pond is usually larger than a normal pool to accommodate the plants, rocks, and natural vegetation that comprise the filter zone (separate from the designated swimming area). Whereas a conventional pool is little more than a concrete tub, a natural pond is a landscape centerpiece that will enhance the value of your home and quality of your life. + Clear Water Revival + Total Habitat
Natural Pools or Swimming Ponds Natural Pools or Natural Swimming Ponds (NSPs) Let nature clean the water... Chemical-free water garden and swimming pool. The plant portion, or regeneration zone, is separated from the swimming area by the wall seen a few inches below the water’s surface. naturalswimmingpools.com The pools have skimmers and pumps that circulate the water through the regeneration zone and back into the swimming area. There are many options as to design. A gradual slope contains the plants, gravel and loamy sand, a wall keeps them separate from the swimming area. Vacuum but twice a year and tend to the plants as needed. The regeneration zone can be along the perimeter of a natural pool or a pond unto itself but connected to the swimming area. gartenart.co.uk For a true natural pool with no help from ultraviolet light or other such technology, the requirement is half swimming area, half regeneration area. biotop-natural-pool.com Plants steel the nutrients away from algae. gartenart.co.uk Northeast U.S. France:
Bag gardens - How to make one Bag Gardens not only help to feed children in Africa, they are a simple way for children in the UK to find out about sustainable living. By growing vegetables in a Bag Garden (or 'sack garden'), your pupils can find out about growing plants, composting and healthy diets. They'll also discover how we help African children to make them, ensuring they have food to eat every day. And as a Bag Garden is a sack filled with compost and soil with a column of stones up the middle – they’re easy enough for pupils to make together. To get you started, buy one of our Bag Garden Starter Kits* costing £12 inc. p&p, containing one large or three small sacks, three packs of seeds and lots of information sheets and posters. Order a Starter Kit Buy kits using our order form, use our online form, or call us on 01225 874 222 Choose between one large sack (100x60cm) or three mini sacks (45x30cm). Sue Walton, Headteacher, Bishopstone Primary School, Swindon. Bag Garden Competition! Teachers Resources
Pallet Inspiration Pallet Inspiration You can find free pallets at flooring and furniture stores, lumber and stone yards, etc... Pallet stools at a pop-up restaurant by Joost Bakker for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. The whole building and all the furniture were made from reclaimed materials. byjoost.com An old alcohol distillery in Barcelona gets warmed up with pallet sofas. www.micasarevista.com Ingenious - a multi-tiered TV watching platform. More ingenuity: a pallet TV holder. Kitchen in Lombardy by Katrin Arens, who reuses "materials from derelict country houses, cellars, and carpentry studios." Pallet kitchen island. www.home-dzine.co.za Pallet wood kitchen cabinets.New Moon Cottage Long Beach Island, NJ Designed by: Richard Bubnowski Design LLCPhoto: Sam Oberter Photography Pallet Bed Frame. djacoose.blogspot.com Pallet bed, side table and end table. Pallet bed by Sandbox Studios. s3.media.squarespace.com, www.sandboxstudio.com See Lori's detailed How-to! Pallet Sofa. seaseight.blogspot.com Books:
How to Build a Natural Swimming Pool - DIY Easy Poolish Bread Recipe This recipe will show how one extra step can add extra flavor and texture to your homemade poolish b... Learn how to build a natural swimming pool in order to create a cooling summer retreat for your homestead. Whether you like to practice your dolphin dives or lounge away the day on a raft, swimming is one of summer's perfect pleasures. With a minimum of materials and without an arsenal of chemicals, you can build an idyllic water oasis right in your own back yard and thwart summertime's sultry dog days. Though fairly common in Europe, natural swimming pools (like the one pictured above in an Austrian family's backyard), are in their infancy in the United States. Dig It: Creating a Natural Swimming Pool by Hand The cheapest and most ecologically sound way to build a swimming pool is simply to hollow a hole in the ground. Zoning Your Pool Inside the plant zone, the water should get steadily deeper, reaching a maximum depth of 18 inches near the swimming zone.
Natural pools are beautiful and environmentally friendly A natural swimming pool is a magical addition to a home where you can observe nature throughout the seasons and be closer to the wildlife you share your land with. Some of the creatures you will attract are insects like water beetles and dragonflies; birds will visit the pond to bathe, feed and collect nesting material and amphibians like the frog and newt will take up residence. Your pond will become a stepping stone for the wilderness where local native flora and fauna will find your pool and flourish. A conventional sterile pool will typically cost around £50,000 ($80,000) but a 180 m2 (2,000 ft2) organic pool like the one above only cost David about £6,000 ($10,000) to make.
L’iode, une solution trop simple au mildiou Depuis 8 mois, j’ai la chance de travailler dans une toute petite boîte agricole qui se spécialise en alimentation animale et aussi en fertilisants, tous à base d’algue. Le fondateur de la petite entreprise, M Serge Therrien, est un libre penseur, un homme sans diplôme mais avec un sens de la liberté féroce et une attitude face au pouvoir que ne détesterait aucun Kokopellien. Des décennies avant tout le monde, il prônait l’utilisation de bactéries en agriculture, et même pour assainir les plans d’eau moribonds pour cause d’empoisonnement chimique. Même chose avec l’utilisation de l’iode. »Rappelons que l’iode est acceptée, même en bio, mais comme »désinfectant ». Quand on opère une personne dans un hôpital, on désinfecte avec quoi? L’iode, bien sûr, est le fongicide et bactéricide le plus puissant connu par l’homme. Mais l’iode a un énorme défaut: il est naturel, pas de copyright à l’horizon. Pour le sens commun et le sens de l’observation, on repassera. À bientôt j’espère Michel
Peinture à la farine. Simple et à petit prix à partager pour vos amis. - ¤ peinture à la farine ¤ laissez vous tenter par une belle peinture (avec les pigments naturels), écologique, résistante, simple, pour un coût ridicule. Ingrédients pour 3 litres de peinture à la farine - 300g de farine - 3l d’eau - 600g de pigment - 300ml d’huile de lin Recette de la peinture à la farine *Faire chauffer une vieille marmite, verser 300g de farine avec 300ml d’eau, quand çà commence à chauffer, verser au fur et à mesure 3 litres d’eau en remuant (comme pour une sauce blanche), et porter à ébullition pendant 10 minutes (et vous avez une sauce blanche sans le beurre). Utilisation *Nettoyer les bois avant application (un coup de nettoyeur haute pression est parfait), je vous conseille de retirer la peinture ou lasure existante (ou poncer grossièrement). Un réel plaisir de créer sa peinture pour repeindre les bois extérieurs, les enfants participent volontiers à cette activité, voilà qui amène une touche de gaieté au jardin. voir video :
Complete Genius! What They Did With This Piece Of The Yard Is Simply Awesome! This cool dad decided he wanted to build a swimming pond for his family, with his son and daughter’s help. Getting started with the excavator. There a lot of digging to be done, no matter how dirty the job was. (Although this looks kind of fun.) 27 Examples Of Living Willow Fences In Use Living Willow Hedges Or 'fedges' = fence + hedge. Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix (Latin for willow), which consist of around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs. Willow are native to moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Almost all willows take root very readily from cuttings. Living willow fence at Vevey Garden, Switzerland. The angled rods tend to sprout along their entire length, while the uprights oft times sprout from the top only. Simply make a hole in the ground with a metal bar, then insert the willow cutting. Use Salix Viminalis and rub off the new shoots on the lower portions of the rods to achieve this open look.