False Spring or Just Crazy Tucson Weather?
Sustainable Living Tucson
by Jana Segal
1M ago
First poppy of false spring If you strolled past my yard yesterday morning, you might have caught me outside in my pink housecoat. On our sporadic cold winter days, I love to hang around the house bundled in my cozy robe. Who would have thought that I would be inspired by the sunny 57 degree weather to snap photos of the wildflowers sprouting in our rainwater harvesting catchment basin!  I just had to capture a photo of the first poppy of False Spring.  The term 'false spring' refers to a period in late winter or early spring when temperatures become unusually warm, befor ..read more
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Harvesting Before the Freeze
Sustainable Living Tucson
by Jana Segal
2M ago
Thursday, I heard it was supposed to freeze overnight so I went ahead and harvested the moringa leaves that were big enough for tea. I rinsed them off and laid them out to dry.  (When I have longer branches, I hang them to dry.) It didn't freeze that night.  But it snowed yesterday!  So our moringa survived to live another day. I went ahead and grabbed a handful to add to some left-over moringa and chayote soup. The hot soup warmed me right up.  Pulling the moringa leaves off of the little branch. You may have noticed that our largest moringa tree (shown abov ..read more
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Catchment basins sink in winter rain
Sustainable Living Tucson
by Jana Segal
3M ago
What a joy! There has been a nice steady rain all day long - the kind of flow that sinks so well into our catchment basins. If only our photos could capture that. Rainwater streams from the roof into gutters where the downspout directs it into the jujube basin (shown above.) The leaves and palm frond pieces create a layer of natural mulch that (along with some native grass) hold the water like a sponge to nourish the soil. Again, this photo doesn't do the basin justice, but this is how the front yard basin looks after raining all day long. It has sunk in beautifully.  The front ya ..read more
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Choose Your Climate Story: Extrapolations or ReGeneration
Sustainable Living Tucson
by Jana Segal
6M ago
Just finished watching Extrapolations and I can't help but share a few thoughts about it.   Most of you know me from my environmental advocacy with Sustainable Tucson or from following my blog about sustainable living. But in another life I wrote reviews of meaningful films for Reel Inspiration. Before that I was actually a theater major! Funny how our journeys don't always go the way we imagined. I went on to get my MFA in playwriting which led to writing screenplays, which led to becoming active in Tucson's indie-film community, which led to me writing film reviews - where I wat ..read more
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Leaving the Nest
Sustainable Living Tucson
by Jana Segal
7M ago
The day had finally arrived - when Jeremy left us to go off to college. We had been preparing for this day since we read him his first board book.  But there were still mixed feelings as our last child left the nest. I was excited to witness this move towards independence and exploration, but I was going to miss him. I hoped that we had prepared him to live a sustainable lifestyle on his own. As the departure date grew closer, we started gathering what he would need for his first apartment. Jeremy drafted a list and I kept adding to it. I was pleased to see that he included vinegar in ..read more
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Surviving the "Nonsoon"
Sustainable Living Tucson
by Jana Segal
8M ago
Tucsonans have developed many theories on how to bring forth the monsoon rain. Some claim washing their car will do the trick. Others swear it's deep watering your trees. A Facebook friend urged me to use the last bit of water in my rain tank that I reserved for my veggie garden. (I had already gone through most of the water in four cisterns and two fifty-five gallon rain barrels.)  So...despite proclaiming that I don't use any city water for my landscaping on the six o'clock news last spring, I finally broke down and deep watered my jujube trees. It stormed that very afternoon...  ..read more
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Reporter shares my passion for rainwater basins
Sustainable Living Tucson
by Jana Segal
11M ago
Anyone who has followed my blog for a while knows how passionate I am about our rainwater harvesting catchment basins. I've been known to share the benefits with anyone who strolls by our yard. I even started a "Love my rain basin" campaign to promote them.  If you're looking for a way to conserve water, putting in catchment basins to water native plants is one of the most effective and affordable things you can do. Sure, covering your yard with gravel and drought tolerant cactus and agaves saves water, too. But there are more productive uses for that space that actually enhance our de ..read more
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How to get rid of toxins in your kitchen
Sustainable Living Tucson
by Jana Segal
11M ago
The average American is contaminated with 212 synthetic chemicals* Including pesticides, phthalates, flame retardants, and chemicals used in plastics and other consumer products. Many of these toxins come from your home, and in particular, your kitchen. Where they can have a serious effect upon you and your family’s health: Many common toxins are endocrine disrupting, can cause developmental and reproductive issues, disturb the gut microbiome and have been linked to cancer. In short, toxic exposure is NOT GOOD. But there are simple things you can do to reduce your toxic load... Starting ..read more
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"Love my rain basin!" campaign
Sustainable Living Tucson
by Jana Segal
1y ago
I love my rainwater harvesting basin!  Most Tucsonans are finally aware that we are in a serious water crisis, but many aren't aware of one of the best solutions out there: rainwater harvesting! On a normal year, Tucson gets enough annual rain to provide every Tucsonan's water needs. Since Tucsonans use up to 40% of our water on our landscapes and gardens, collecting rainwater in our yards can go a long way in conserving city water!  Tucson Water understands that rainwater harvesting and green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) are some of the most impactful actions we can t ..read more
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The life (and death) of a California poppy
Sustainable Living Tucson
by Jana Segal
1y ago
I've always wanted to draft a blog on wildflowers, but some other feat of nature - like rain or even snow in the desert - inevitably grabs my attention...   A while back, I did highlight a few wildflowers in my timely "Good Weeds vs. Bad Weeds" blog.   But this season we've been blessed with some really spectacular wildflowers - nourished by, not one, but two days of SNOW in our desert town! Thanks to Jared from Spadefoot Nursery for identifying this native Lacy Sleepy Daisy that is growing along our sidewalk. The native globe mallow is really showing o ..read more
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