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21.08.2023 - 11:48 / theunconventionalgardener.com / Emma Doughty
ESA’s ESTEC (European Space Research and Technology Centre) held their annual open day over the weekend. One of the projects on display was part of the MELiSSA (Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative) project, which is investigating ways to use microbiological cells, chemicals, catalysts, algae, bacteria and plants to process waste and deliver continuous supplies of oxygen, water and food.
The toilet facilities at large events can be a bit basic, but visitors to the open day could make use of some really high-tech, space-age facilities.
Visitors to ESA’s Open Day in the Netherlands could relieve themselves and quench their thirst in one go, thanks to technology developed for space. A toilet unit built by Semilla Sanitation Hubs demonstrated the reliability of a closed water loop system by recycling and treating wastewater… and serving it as tea!
Used water is treated in a number of ways, including passing through physical filters, reverse osmosis (which draws fluid through a membrane) and UV irradiation. The system can also recover nutrients for crop cultivation.
Permanent space colonies, on the Moon or on Mars, will need closed-loop systems like these, but they are also useful here on Earth. The Concordia research station in Antarctica has a water recycling system based on Melissa, and the same system was used to treat groundwater for a University in Morocco. Closed-loop systems also offer the potential to achieve the United Nation’s sixth Sustainable Development Goal of clean drinking water and hygienic sanitation for everyone.
Commercially-available units are easily installed and can be used for first aid and development projects, or installed in homes. The only question now is… would you drink the tea?
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Growing tea at home can be rewarding and fun. The best part is, you can also grow it in your balcony or patio! There’s nothing like watching a tea plant grow and sipping a piping hot tea made from the homegrown, organic tea leaves! Here’s everything about Growing Tea Leaves at Home!
After a couple of years living in the wasteland that was my allotment, my lavender plant has gone a little wayward and woody. The rosemary is the same way, really. They should have had an annual chop after flowering, to keep them nice and fresh. It’s possible that some serious remedial pruning later in the summer will shock them into more appropriate behaviour – but it’s not guaranteed. The garden wouldn’t be the same without rosemary and lavender (their flowers and their scents, their lovely flavours), but they’re easy plants to replace if they get out of control. (There’s nothing inherently wrong with a big, bushy lavender or rosemary, I just don’t have the space to let them grow.)
When I woke up yesterday morning, it was misty. We’re approaching the middle of October, which is the usual time for the first frosts of autumn in my part of the UK. People in different areas are already reporting the arrival of the frosts on Twitter. This means it’s time for me to pop out into the garden and bring in my lemon tree (which I grew from a pip, several years ago). It has been enjoying the summer weather in the garden, but it’s only really hardy down to -10°C. I’ve nearly lost it a couple of times, and it has died right back to nothing, but somehow it always manages to come back.
Mr. Liggett: Miss Mack… Could you tell us your answer to question number four? Why do nitrogen nodules cling to the roots of plants?
One of the things Ryan and I like to do is sit and make a cup of tea in the garden, for which we use a Kelly Kettle that can quickly boil water using very little fuel (even in inclement weather). We’ll enjoy it even more when the garden is finished and we have somewhere to sit!
When I was younger (so much younger than today), I learned how to ride a motorcycle. Whilst discussing the effects of weather on road conditions, my instructor said, “the most dangerous effect comes from a type of weather you can’t see. What is it?”
It’s a couple of days until the next stop on my virtual book tour, so it’s time to take off the pith helmet and put my feet up with a cup of tea and a biscuit. In a recent interview, I respond to a question I was asked about my favourite biscuit – which has to be Snickerdoodles. You can’t buy them, you have to make them, and they have nothing whatsoever to do with Snickers chocolate bars, or peanuts in general. They are a divine, spiced* biscuit (cookie) that’s very moreish and goes very nicely with a good cuppa.
Helen Anne Curry, University of Cambridge
I’m sure my parents didn’t know when they named me (and still don’t!), but Emma is the Tibetan word for a spice – the dried berries of Zanthoxylum species, more commonly known in the UK as Sichuan pepper. I really must replace the two species I had, which didn’t survive life on the allotment.
I’m not the kind of person who creates a meal plan and shopping list every week, and then sticks to it religiously. I do like to have some idea of what we’re going to eat, however, as this cuts down on the number of nights when there’s nothing for dinner. Our current methodology is to fill the fridge and the freezer with things we eat regularly, and to eat them in rotation to avoid food waste. It’s a mix-and-match, ‘that will go nicely with this’ kind of thing, rarely looking more than 2 days ahead unless there’s a special event happening. It works for us, and we have very little waste.
There’s nothing quite as British as a nice cup of tea, and sitting down for a good cuppa can certainly brighten up your day. A tea bush is unlikely to thrive in most UK gardens (although there are a couple of tea plantations) because of the climate, but there are plenty of herbs that are easy to grow and make a refreshing brew. They’ll even grow well in containers – so they make ideal plants for a windowbox or a patio. Having them close at hand means you can harvest leaves as and when you need them.