For Homeowners

Rain Barrels

Why Choose Our Rain Barrels?

Our compost bins and rain barrels have had a previous life. After being emptied and cleaned of their original contents, they have been rescued from being dumped in a landfill or ocean, or requiring additional energy and resources to recycle them into 'new' products.

Although not 'new', and they may not be 'pretty', these compost bins and rain barrels perform their new function well. They can be easily personalized to blend with the environment or become an art statement.

Environmentally Friendly
   not from virgin plastics
   not from recycled plastics
   - additional energy required to transport, shred, process, and mold new items
   minimal fossil fuel consumed to produce and bring these to you
Re-purposed food grade barrels
designed for the weight and pressure of water (8.3 lbs per gallon)
Sealed design - safe for children and pets and mosquito free
Uses existing downspouts for Overflow - no extra piping
Automatic Overflow handling - no moving of pipes or valves
Clean lines - minimal visual impact
Location Flexibility - not necessarily under the downspout
Simple Installation - add sturdy foundation and splice diverter into downspout

Do not use Trash Cans for water barrels
Water weighs 8.3 lbs per gallon. Trash containers (even BRUTE™ brand) were not designed to handle the weight and pressure of 40-55 gallons of water (55 gallons weighs 450+ lbs).
Stick with containers designed for that purpose.

Consider overflow
Water flooding at your foundation can cause serious structural problems.
What happens to excess water when the barrel is full. Do you have to manually change the path of the water by valve, lever, or by moving a flexpipe when the barrel is full? A 3/4 inch overflow pipe, found in most rain barrels, cannot handle the flow of water from a 2x3 downspout. And, a 2-1/2 inch pipe cut into the side of a barrel can cut your storage capacity by 10-15 gallons.

Mosquito breeding ground & Child/Pet safety
Are the openings small and covered with fine mesh wire screens, or is it a sealed barrel ?

Where to Buy

Traditional Composting

Twenty percent of the solid waste placed in landfills consists of yard and garden wastes such as leaves and grass clippings.

One step we can take toward solving our waste disposal problems is to make use of lawn and garden wastes instead of dumping them. Through the process of composting, these organic wastes can be recycled to produce a natural material that can be used in gardens, landscapes, and flower beds. When mixed with soil, compost increases the organic matter content, improves the physical properties of the soil, and supplies essential nutrients, enhancing the soil�s ability to support plant growth. Compost can also be applied to the soil surface to conserve moisture, control weeds, reduce erosion, improve appearance, and keep the soil from gaining or losing heat too rapidly.

Composting turns yard and household wastes into valuable fertilizer and soil organic matter. Even though all organic matter eventually decomposes, composting speeds up the process by providing an ideal environment for bacteria and other decomposing microorganisms.

The final product, humus or compost, looks and feels like fertile garden soil. This dark, crumbly, earthy-smelling stuff works wonders on all kinds of soil and provides vital nutrients to help plants grow and look better.

Hot composting is a fast composting process that produces finished compost in 6 to 8 weeks. High temperatures are maintained by mixing balanced volumes of energy materials with bulking agents, by keeping the pile moist, and by turning it frequently to keep it aerated.

By using our re-purposed barrels to contain the compost, the heat and moisture are controlled. If aerated frequently, finished compost can be made in as little as 30 days. Our smaller barrels can be placed near the outdoor trash cans for convience, and can be disquised or accented using the new spray paints for plastics (Krylon Fusion for example).

Where to Buy

Composting - A Guide to Managing Organic Yard Wastes
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/pdf/ag-467.pdf

US Dept of Agriculture - Natural Resources Conservation Service
Backyard Conservation - Composting
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/FEATURE/backyard/compost.html

Vermicomposting

Vermicomposting is composting with worms and micro-organisms. Worms are kept in a bin with shredded paper or other bedding. You feed them kitchen waste. Operating properly, it does not produce heat nor odors.

They digest the waste and bedding then excrete nutrient-rich castings, loaded with beneficial microbes and bacteria. After a few months, the castings combined with the well-decomposed bedding, become vermicompost -- one of the richest soil improvements around.

We sell complete kits, How-To booklets, and composting worms (red wigglers).

One of our bins is based on the OSCR Jr© design, with some modifications to make it more ecological and 'user friendly'. Another bin is a commercially manufactured model (costs slightly more).

Both bin setups are complete Do-It-Yourself kits for composting your kitchen scraps. All you need to add is damp shreaded newspaper and cardboard, and food scraps. Our kit comes complete with bin, drip tray*, tools, instruction booklet, and worms (red wigglers).

There are many sources on the 'net, but we are local to the northeastern "Metrolina" area - Concord, Kannapolis, Charlotte, Salisbury, Albermarle. Less travel = less traumatized worms.

Where to Buy

Organic Fertilizers and Soil Amendments

Pure Black Worm Castings™

99% pure castings - NOT cut with compost or other materials

Nature's purest fertilizer - SAFE around children and pets
Reduces transplant shock - Encourages vigorous growth - Increases yields
Will not burn plants - Releases nutrients as the plants require
No nitrogen run-off - May be applied to phosphate sensitive areas - No ground water contamination
Reduce irrigation cost up to 50% - Increases drought resistance
Reduces the need for chemical treatment of diseases and pests
Reduce all chemical costs by 75% first year of 3 year program
Suppress fungal diseases (phythium, fusarium, dollar spot, etc)
Additional Efficient Microbes (EM)™ - phototropic bacteria (nitrogen fixation),
lactic acid bacteria, yeast, actinomycetes and fermenting fungi

application rates

Where to Buy

Nutri-Cast™

a proprietary blend of Black Casting, NutriSmart™, North Sea kelp, Mycorrhiza fungi
A valuable tool as part of a chemical fertilizer reduction program

Indispensable in reducing transplant shock and promoting faster rooting
Designed for use on turf, landscape trees, and ornamentals
Used by arborists to save urban and historic trees that are susceptible to stress and decline
Promotes plant health, stress tolerance and pest/disease resistance
Faster and higher percentage of seed germination and quicker rooting
Teeming with beneficial enzymes, microorganisms, humic acids and other plant growth factors
Fixes Nitrogen from the atmosphere and unlocks Phosphate and Potassium from the soil
Responds to the nutritive needs of the plants
Dramatically reduces nutrient leaching
Increases soil's water holding capacity, CEC's, vitality, and biological activity
Provides an organic energy source for biological activity in the soil

see Nutri-Cast brochure

application rates

Where to Buy

VermaPlex™

a liquid concentrate plant probiotic and soil inoculant

Derived from Pure Black Castings, Liquid Humate, Yucca, Soluble Sea Kelp & Amino Acids
Proven to increase Plant Growth, Flowering and Fruit Production
Will not burn or damage plants from direct contact!
This 100% organic microbial soil inoculant increases soil fertility
Made from natural products; SAFE for the consumer and environment
A natural liquid extract - not a compost teas - has a one year shelf life
For nurseries and greenhouses to be delivered through irrigation

Available in quarts (makes up to 25 gallons)

For foliage spray, drenches, or irrigation system delivery

application rates

Where to Buy

Liquid Humate

a concentrated liquid containing liquid humate, humic acid, yucca, soluble sea kelp, amino acids, and composted organic poultry manure extract, plus a wetting agent to increase soil permeability. For use when healthy soil already contains the beneficial microbes, but they need to be fed.

Humates make it easier for plants of all kinds to take up nutrients from the soil. Use on flowers, vegetables, herbs, and even trees! Plants become healthier, develop more roots, and are more able to resist environmental stresses like summer heat and drought.