There's some good, basic tips provided on TreePeople's website. Click here to connect to it.
Concrete Cutting
Composting
What Can be Composted
The following comes from Surfrider Foundation’s Ocean Friendly Gardens book, Chapter 13:
“Aquarium Water: Straight from the fish tank to the garden, aquarium water is high in nitrogen and phosphorus.
Bone Meal: High in phosphorus, bone meal supports flower production, and helps deter some pests, such as ants. Clean the bones from steak or fish, dry them in a microwave, crush them with a mallet in a bag, and then spread and scratch the powder into the soil.
Catch /
Coffee Grounds: This abundant and often-discarded resource is a good source of nitrogen and can be used as light mulch. When added to compost piles, coffee grounds also help produce nitrogen-rich humus. If asked, local coffee houses will typically give a customer their used grounds.
Compost: Along with the debris produced from a landscape, an actively working compost pile can absorb a variety of oddities, such as hair and dry dog food.
Eggshells: Containing a large amount of calcium and moderate amount of nitrogen, eggshells can either be scattered directly over a landscape, or put in a compost pile.
Feathers: While not an abundant resource unless there is a bird in a house, or the property has a cat, feathers are an excellent source of nitrogen. This resource should be composted.
Grass Clippings: The debris created from mowing a lawn is a perfect high-nitrogen fertilizer if it is cured in a compost pile first. Scattering freshly cut grass over soil does not work as well, because if it is not kept moist then the sun will chemically break them down and they will be blown off the property; on the other hand, if the clippings are kept too moist, they may produce an acidic barrier on top of the soil.
Hair: Human and pet hair is rich in iron, manganese, and sulphur. Hair is best used as an additive in a compost pile, but when used as mulch it can help deter larger pests, such as some rodents and birds.
Kitchen Scraps: Kitchen scraps of vegetables and fruits make some of the richest composts. Kitchen scraps are fleshy, moist, and loaded with nutrients, which speeds the decomposition process and time required to turn the scraps into compost and humus. Tea bags, coffee grounds, crushed and dry dog food, and eggshells can be thrown into this mix. These high-activity compost piles do not require a lot of room, just an area comparable to an old bathtub; yet they provide an excellent source of readily available nutrients. Kitchen scraps are typically high in phosphorus and potassium, but low in nitrogen (unlike animal products).
Pine Needles: An abundant resource in many landscapes, pine needles belong in a compost pile, or used as a mulch to deter weeds. Needles are low in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
Tea Grounds: An abundant resource in many homes and coffee houses. Tea grounds have a moderate amount of nitrogen and low amounts of phosphorus and potassium. This resource should be composted.
Wood Ashes: Completely cooled and dispersed straight from the fireplace to the garden beds, wood ashes are high in potassium, with minor amounts of phosphorus, which is perfect for flowering and fruiting plants. Ashes are a good addition to the compost pile.”
Composting Workshops
City of
http://www.ci.la.ca.us/san/solid_resources/recycling/composting/index.htm
Compost Bins
Those sold by the City of
http://www.ci.la.ca.us/san/solid_resources/recycling/composting/bins.htm
A broad variety
http://www.composters.com/compost-bins.php?gclid=CLSymq65ipoCFRMUagodSTdbFg
Earth Maker
http://www.earthmaker.co.nz/cms/index.php?page=user-guide
Spinning Composter
http://www.gaiam.com/product/eco-home-outdoor/outdoor/composting/spinning+composter.do
Tumble Weed Compost Tumbler
http://www.compostguide.com/Tumbleweed-Compost-Tumbler-Bin-p/200003.htm
Compost Tea
From OFG book, Chapter 13: “Compost Tea: An organic concoction that concentrates nutrients in a liquid form. Useful in overcoming degraded areas and supporting productive landscapes. Tea is made by filling a permeable bag, like nylon stocking or burlap bag, with compost (generally made from worm castings, manures, and/or grass clippings) and setting the bag in a large bucket of water. The tea takes frequent stirring, or mechanical aeration, and about 2 days of seeping.” Click here to learn more about compost tea makers from the company, Keep It Simple. Another company, Malibu Compost, is selling both biodynamic compost in bags as well as biodynamic compost tea bags at many nurseries - and find out if one near you is.
Grow a Green Manure Crop
From the OFG book, Chapter 6: “Sow Green Manure: There are a variety of plants that are particularly good at improving degraded soils, called green manures. These plants include those that can fixate nitrogen, like clover and vetch, and those that are tough and vigorous, such as alfalfa, millet and rye. These plants are seeded and once they have a hold of landscape they are tilled into the soil and allowed to decompose. The area will be ready for planting 3 months after tilling.”
The calculations are quite easy but I have done them for you here. You can fill a typical 55 gallon barrel from an average size house with only a ¼ inch of rainfall. The following formula will help you get an idea for how much rain you can harvest from your roof. One inch of rain for every 1000 sq ft of roof surface will result in a 623 gallon water harvest. You can do your own calculation of the yield of your roof by multiplying the square footage of your roof by 623 and then dividing by 1000. You can do all of the cost justification for this mini-project but that is not the intent of this article. Some benefits of using harvested rain water include: water with no chlorine, lime of calcium, reduction in your use of treated drinking water, and the reduction in use of treatment facilities and drainage systems.
1. Disconnect your down spout and then cut off a portion to allow a 55 gallon barrel to be placed underneath. Typically you will want to cut the down spout 12 inches above the top of the barrel but remember to include the height of any stand that the barrel will be placed on.
2. Build your rain barrel: Using 55 gal plastic barrel install a flexible elbow at the bottom of your newly trimmed down spout to divert water into the barrel. Install a water hose spigot at the bottom of the barrel to allow you to attach a garden hose for extraction of the water. And finally, install an over-flow valve at the top of the barrel. You will want to attach the overflow valve to a diverter just in case you get a big storm and a rush of water into you rain barrel.
3. Install your newly built rain barrel under the down spout, I recommend placing the barrel at an elevated position using (Two) 8” x 8” x 16” concrete blocks. Now you be able to harvest rain from your roof-top but you should limit the use of the water to outdoor irrigations, washing your car and other outdoor uses.
Materials List:
1. 55 gallon barrel , 2. ½” Hose Bib spigot , 3. ½” Overflow fitting and tubing to divert over flow water
4. two ½” lock nuts , 5. Mesh Screen and screws , 6. Silicon Caulking compound
Overview of basic steps:
1. drill opening for overflow valve (hose adapter)
2. secure with nut
3. drill hole for spigot
4. secure with nut
5. seal the over flow valve and the spigot with silicon caulk
6. cut piece of mesh to cover opening on top
7. attach mesh to top of barrel with screw"
Once you've decided where to place your garden, you'll want to scoop out a bowl-shaped depression. The center of the depression should be approximately six inches deep and the sides of the garden should slope gradually to the middle. The dug-up dirt should be used to bolster the lowest side of the garden to ensure that water does not trickle out. Add stones, logs or other ornamental features to break up and spread out the flow of water.
Once that is done, you are ready to start planting. Choose hardy native plants for your rain garden.... Water the plants in your rain garden every other day until they are established. They won't need any further watering. Once the plants are grown, add wood mulch to your garden to increase absorbency and control weeds.
Make sure your plants don't get covered by sediment move or replace plants that aren’t thriving."
Grass Removal through Sheet Mulching/Composting
Here's a technique from Green Gardens Group's (G3) Pamela Berstler:
1. If it's just plain old fescue or some other cool-season turf (seed produced above ground), sheet mulch/compost away. 
If it's NOT, then it is imperative that the green layer be removed by scraping it off and disposing of it. 
With nut grass, the nuts WILL sprout back, but less and less as the top becomes more nutritious and the green continues to be removed over time.
2. I'd remove the turf in any case, and use it green-side down as a layer in the mulch if it's just a nice fescue. But, that's my gluttony for punishment (removing turf is tough work!)
3. Apply compost tea or a layer of compost 1" or so BEFORE the weed barrier (cardboard, painter's paper, etc) goes down.
4. Water the soil BEFORE putting down the paper -- you want it to get hot beneath the cover (so so speak).
5. Layer 2" - 4" EACH dry leaves, straw, or other mulch material, then wet materials (compost). Then put dry material down to top it off. In the wet layer (compost), add a little garden soil to the mix as it's being put down -- this will stimulate any microbes asleep in the soil to wake up and smell the compost. -- and get to work. Think 5" - 8" of FINISHED layering as a minimum -- it's essentially a raised bed for planting.
6. Water thoroughly
7. Bake at 350 -- oh, that's the recipe for short bread, sorry -- plant. Water thoroughly on a regular basis while this stuff starts to cook.
This recipe assumes you are planting vegetables in this raised bed area. (bacteria-based microbes go to work quickly and support grassy, weedy things like veggies) If you are planting perennials, shrubs, etc. , then the sheet compost should cook for a couple weeks before moving forward. (fungal-based guys go to work to support the woody plants).
Most of the "literature" from gardeners says "go ahead and plant right away" since the veggies are SO bacterially based & they don't need the heavy nutrient stuff created by the breaking down of more celluose items like wood chips or mulch. If the compost is salty (which, BTW, I am completely assuming it will be, if it contains horse manure), then they may get tip-burning. Applications of compost tea may remedy this -- steady watering too."
Here's a link to the "recipe" offered by Marin Municipal Water District.
Free Rain Barrel/Rain Garden Program
“The mulch originates as yard trimmings which have been placed in the green containers by the City residents and collected by City crews engaged in residential refuse/recycling collection. Although we can't control what residents place in the green containers each week, we expend a lot of effort in cleaning the material before and during the grinding and processing process. No chemicals or additives are introduced into the material."
- Paul
SoCal Water$mart, the residential water efficiency rebate program, will re-launch on a full region-wide basis throughout Metropolitan Water District territory beginning on August 1, 2009. At that time, reservations will be available for all residential customers throughout the six-county region for all five product categories. We look forward to working with you in the new program and fiscal year to bring water savings and high quality products to our customers. Following are key program updates.
Reservations Required
Please note that as of April 1, 2009 reservations are required for all customers. Applications will no longer be processed for any purchases without reservations, including for products purchased prior to the April 1 transition. We are working hard to ensure that all retail and distributor locations have removed all applications and are informing customers about the reservation system.
Product Coverage and Rebate Amounts
There are changes to some product requirements and rebate amounts. We are updating program materials and will be working in a variety of ways to support suppliers and customers with accurate information before and at the time of purchase. Any retailers, distributors, or contractor groups interested in setting up program training can contact the program at materials@socalwatersmart.com .
“The following landscape companies have participated in a familiarization training course conducted by the City’s Office of Sustainability and the Environment. The course outlines the City’s recommendations for sustainable landscape design, installation and maintenance procedures. These companies have agreed to offer sustainable landscape choices to their clients and to comply with the City’s municipal code in all areas of their work within the City. Companies are listed in alphabetical order within each classification. No recommendation or endorsement is made or implied by inclusion in this list. These companies must renew their training annually to remain on this list. Training courses are held twice yearly. Companies listed as Certified have at least one employee who has completed a certification program in landscape water management.”
http://www.smgov.net/uploadedFiles/Departments/OSE/Categories/Landscape/SLP_List.pdf
At the Mar Vista Wise Water Use Expo, West LA/Malibu Chapter
s oceans, waves and beaches. Founded in 1984 by a handful of visionary surfers in Malibu, California, the Surfrider Foundation now maintains over 50,000 members and 80 chapters
The picture above: the way the landscape looked before we applied OFG principles.
Above: the shrubs (called pittosporum) were removed.
Above: What it looks like now that we've applied "CPR to the landscape:" Conserving water using climate appropriate plants; maximizing Permeable areas; contouring the site to Retain rainwater on-site.
