EcoGUIDE
Facts, tips and advice by Danny F isher
Did you
know...?
Save up to £90
per year in just
one room with
LEDs
Always wash
a full load. Two
half loads use
more energy
than one full
load.
Modern Light Emitting
Home-made soil tester
Two cups of shredded red
is suspended and add
cabbage with water and
3mm of the cabbage water.
boil until tender. Drain and
Diodes (LEDs) were only
achieving between 25 -35
watts some two years ago
and many early adopters
were disappointed with
keep water. Put a table
RESULTS
spoon of soil in a cup and
Bluish red – neutral
half-fill with fresh cold
Greenish yellow – alkaline
water. Stir well until the soil
Very red – acidic
their performance. Modern
LEDs can now achieve
Infiltration rain garden
between 65-100 watts, a
dramatic improvement and
comparable light levels to
conventional light bulbs. The
LEDs have a life span of
20,000 hours compared to
a conventional bulb of 1,000
hours.
The savings are dramatic,
although LEDs are three to
four times more expensive
than conventional bulbs
the annual running costs
are £4.77 against £95.37
giving a payback of just four
months.
48
www.visitislandlife.com
Plastic milk
bottles and ice
cream containers
cut into strips
make good plant
markers. Use
permanent ink.
An attractive rain garden can be easily built by taking
rainwater direct from a drainpipe into a structured
installation. This is a very low maintenance project even in
the time of drought. The idea comes from Australia and can
provide all year round garden colour.