What's Growing On?

 It's been over a month now, and my mini-plant menagerie is doing really well! I've had to transplant most of my basil and tomato plants, of which most survived. Less than half of the basil seeds I started germinated, and I lost some of the tomatoes a while ago, don't know why- they just withered and collapsed. It's a tough job, sprouting. The good thing is, I have at least one tomato from most of the varieties I started, some even had 100% germination! After a bit of a crazy week of transplanting (in between my other housework) I got the tomatoes into new homes and they are LOVING it. I like to think the waxing moon is also giving them a booster.

As much as I've been enjoying watching my seedlings grow, I've also been itching to visit my community garden. I have a plot there, and during a meeting on site the other week, I determined that the soil was warm and dry enough to start work on. So, today I hopped on my bike and rode over. It was a beautiful morning, bright and sunny though a bit windy but I got out my gloves, spade and mini rake and started peeling off the layer of straw mulch that I put down last fall.

I never fail to be amazed at the soil- everything about it! I found piles of squishy fat worms, lots of bugs of all sorts and an assortment of early spring weeds. Most gardeners HATE the idea of weeding and generally have a very antagonistic sentiment towards weeds. Me, I'm a bit different. In fact, I LOVE weeds. I marvel at their very presence (how the heck did YOU get here?!?!) And I believe they have much to teach us, about how to change our perspectives and what bounty there is in the places you least suspect. More on weeds later. So, what did I find underneath the thick layer of straw mulch? A vertiable bounty! Lots of lush, black soil, a bit clay-ey but still wonderfully crumbly. I also found the delightful Sorrel (see right) AND some parsley coming up (right beside the sorrel in the picture). The sorrel was planted two years ago, it's not the weed, but the French Sorrel, and it was an addition to our garden for my mother. While the leaves can be eaten, my mother prefers to make a soup and it's among her most cherished garden recipies. It's a very simple recipe: Take a bunch of leaves, sautee them in butter or olive oil until wilted, then put them in a blender and puree them with soup stock (veggie or chicken).Heat up this puree and just before serving comes the final ingredient: The most important thing, according to my mother, is to serve the soup with some dairy product: she prefers sour cream but you can add milk. It makes it creamy and helps the absorption of calcium. For those non-dairy folks, I can't offer any advice regarding substitutes. I've never tried adding soy milk or any other non-dairy so I'm not sure how it would affect the taste. Adding a chopped hard boiled egg is also good, but it should be eaten with one or the other Either way, it's a great spring soup.

The next major surprise (well, not really for me) was the yellow dock. I was surprised because I could actually dig it up; I tried many times unsuccessfully last spring and summer to uproot the large plant in one corner of my plot and always gave up. The taproot I could feel was thick, almost the width of my wrist and heaven only knows how deep it went. I thought I'd give it another go again today, not having much hope. But I got a nice big chunk out! Not the full root of course, which means it will come back but I've been really wanting some of the root for over a year and I was allowed to take it today! (Many thanks, Mother Earth)

So, I imagine you're wondering what the fuss is all about. What is Yellow Dock and why am I so excited about it? Yellow Dock (rumex crispus) also known as Curly Dock, Indian Rhubarb or just Dock, is a hardy and prolific weed with many varieties and can be found all over Canada. It is a perennial (clearly) and has distinctive curled leaves and a tall stalk that in the fall produces seeds that look like coffee grounds. There is debate amongst herbalists as to whether the leaves are edible (at least in the sources I've consulted) but I'm more interested in the benefits of the root. It contains rumicin, a liver decongestant, stimulates bile production, and the decoction of the root works as a tonic for the stomach to stimulate persitalsis, making it a remedy for consitpation. The tannin content also makes for a good astringent for external use on wounds and bleeding and anthraquinones present in the root are also good for fungal infections. Most interestingly, yellow dock is noted for its high iron content, and has been used for treating anemia.

Sources:North American Folk Healing (1998), Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild and Not so Wild Places (1994), and Edible Garden Weeds of Canada (1988).

I'm not a herbalist or medical professional, so I feel it is my obligation to state that all of the information I'm sharing on my blog are my own ideas and thoughts (and where noted, information quoted from texts) and I take responsibility for my own actions and decisions regarding harvesting herbs and weeds. I strongly encourage you to research on other sites and texts and consult your doctor before trying any herbal remedies. PLEASE DO NOT USE THE INFORMATION ON THIS BLOG AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL ADVICE!

So, now that we have that out of the way I can relax a bit. I've been looking into herbal preparations and roots, since they are tough and fibrous, need to be either made into a tincture or slowly boiled for a decoction. I'm going to do both, as I think there are pros and cons to both methods of preparing this and it's going to be used for two different purposes which require different amounts of the compounds. The tincture is made by chopping up the root and putting it into a sterilized jar and covered with vodka (ethyl alcohol). The jar is then sealed and put in a dark warm place for days/weeks, shaken occasionally. The decoction is made by chopping up the root and boiling it slowly and gradually over low heat for a length of time, minimum 20 mins or more depending on how strong you want the decoction to be.

This will be an experimental process, but which is based on profound respect for the herb and its properties. Respect in the sense that it is a powerful herb with known properties; each herb reacts differently with different people, so never underestimate or overconsume anything especially without guidance or medical advice. I find this is true of any harvesting, be it of wild edibles or of cultivated vegetables. Having that mindset of respect and not overharvesting allows the plant to regenerate. Moreover, there might be other animals and creatures that also depend on the plant for sustenance - they have a right to their share too. Whenever I'm on a walk in the park or around, I often am tempted to pick to my heart's content but then remember this very simple rule passed on to me by a dear friend: "Pick only as much as a deer would eat".It's a quaint rule, a bit vague or maybe even completely irrelevant for city folk, but to me it really embodies a holistic way of thinking about sharing resources and being mindful of other beings.

How much would a deer eat?



Spring is Coming to South Etobicoke, so are Eco-Events!

I'm really amazed at how much the change in season affects us, whether or not we are conscious of it. On a very subtle level, the transition from winter to spring brings about changes in the Earth's vibrations, sap starts to flow, microbial communities start to awaken...generally there is a buzz in the air and all around. It's really marvellous to witness once you become aware of it, and it's all the more awe-inspiring when you realize that you yourself are a part of it!

I've been feeling really energized lately, and even on the days when I'd rather spend an extra hour in bed, the demands of life keep me going. All of the committees that I'm a part of (the Garden Committee, the Environment and Sustainability Committee, Lakeshore Environmental Gardening Society) all seem to be coming back to life after a bit of a winter lull, which is coinciding nicely with the longer days and milder weather (seems to be easier to convince people to leave their homes and come out to meetings before it gets dark!).

The most exciting upcoming event happening on the Lakeshore that I'm pleased to announce is the Tree Workshop, planned for Saturday April 30th at the Assembly Hall. It's a two-part interactive workshop led by a local resident, Ian Bruce, who is also an experienced arborist; the first part is an educational workshop about the basics of Tree ID'ing and health issues, and the second part will be held outdoors, where Ian will lead us on a tree walk to identify some of the native and non-native species in Colonel Sam Smith Park.

If you're at all interested in trees, live in the area, and would like to be a part of an exciting committee that is developing a community initiative to build the urban tree canopy, please check out the E&S website (see link above!) for contact information. I'll blog about the event and take some pictures too for those, far and away, unable to make it.

Hurray for Spring!

Pushing Further: An Miniconference on Job Opportunities in the Food Sector

I'm really looking forward to attending an upcoming event hosted by Food Forward called "Pushing Further:Building Your Career in the Good Food Movement" on Saturday April 9th 2011. 

The event, supported by the U of T Urban Agriculture Society, is a miniconference-style , providing "educational and interactive sessions for those interested in getting or starting a job in the food, and related environment and health sectors". Speakers include Harriet Friedmann, Nogah Kornberg,Kathleen Mackintosh and Noelle Munaretto. This is a great opportunity for networking and sharing ideas on strategies for building a career (if that's what you're interested in) or just finding out what other folks are up to in the Toronto area.

For more information on the event and how to register, visit the event page here.

Hope to see you there!

Worm Composting Shenanigans

March was rough for me- lots of stress with school and work and life in general. The usual stuff, I guess. But unfortunately, my worms have also been experiencing a stressful spring. Today I'd like to share a story that I hope will be entertaining and serve as a learning experience for everyone out there who is currently worm composting or is thinking of adopting a herd.

As I mentioned earlier on, I adopted a herd (aka a squirm!) of red wigglers and put them in a green bin provided by Cathy's Crawly Composters. Things were going fine up until one fateful day when I visited a friend's farm and he gave me a bagful of dried leaves to add as carbon for the worms. Made sense to me; worms generally like dried leaves and natural carbon sources. So, I added the leaves to the bin and mixed them in a bit. After a few days, periodically checking on my worms, I noticed a few small bugs on the inside of the bin. My first thought was "oh no, fruit flies. What am I doing wrong now?" but upon closer inspection they weren't flying away and they were smaller than fruit flies (which generally get fat if there is plentiful food around). I left it at that, but the next day I checked again and the whole bin was overrun with these small, fast moving little things. BIG problems. I knew I had to deal with it so I picked up the whole bin, bugs worms and all and put it outside on my balcony while I frantically tried to clean up the stray little bugs that had escaped with a vacuum.

As it happens, that was right about the time Toronto experienced a spring deep freeze- temperatures were well below freezing and that very night was the night we also got a deluge of snowfall. So, I figured that the cold would kill the bugs and the worms would hopefully huddle together in the centre of their pile, keep themselves insulated from the cold with their bedding and then everything would be fine. I was only partly right. I phoned my friend who gave me the leaves and told him the story. He identified the bugs as spider mites which he assured me didn't bite but that they were definitely from the leaves and he should have told me but didn't think about it at the time. No kidding. So, I asked him what I had to do now- either save the worms or let them freeze to death essentially were my options.

He told me that if I wanted to save the worms, I would have to collect them individually, put them in a yogurt container and bathe them to make sure they were clean of all debris and possible mites. Afterward, I'd have to make them a whole new container with fresh bedding and food. *sigh* I really didnt' want to let my herd die so I went out in the bitter cold and tried to scoop up the worms. Luckily my prediction that they would huddle was correct, so it didnt' take long to find them and scoop them en mass into a container and bring them inside where it was warm. However, almost immediately the mites started escaping out of the container and I knew that I had to start the bathing process immediately. Those darn mites didnt' die after only a few hours in the cold, so the only option left was to clean off the worms I saved and make sure they had a clean new home.

This is where it got interesting for me. I was told to use a sieve to put the worms in and essentially rinse them off like you would spaghetti. I also was instructed to make sure the sieve was fine enough that the worms couldn't fall through. Well, I thought, I have a sieve that spaghetti doesn't fall through so this should be good enough. Red wigglers aren't called red wigglers for nothing. As I was trying to rinse off my worms, using the most tepid, gently flowing stream of water I could muster from my tap, they came alive and then some. In fact, some of them, evidently not liking the shower of water, were trying to escape through the holes of the sieve. Slippery worms they were, some of them made it half way and then got themeselves stuck so I had to hold the sieve in one hand on the bottom to prevent this, while with the other hand trying to collect the stray worms that managed to abandon ship altogether and unknowingly were making their way to their doom down the drain. No easy task doing this while wearing rubber gloves, either.

Finally after repeatedly switching the worms from the yogurt container full of water to rinsing them in the sieve, and trying to rinse of each worm individually (just to be safe), I tried to give them one final rinse and accidentally turned the hot water tap too far and gave my worms what looked like an electric shock. I felt so bad, really didn't mean to do it but after that they were very displeased. Finally I put them in the yogurt container with some water to rest a bit while I washed up everything and began the process of finding them a new home. I had to borrow a ziploc bin and took about half an hour shredding fresh newspaper by hand till my fingertips were black. To make amends, I pureed some of the finest worm food I could find to make it easy for them to eat and placed the clean worms in their new home.

Fast forward a week and a half later- my worms got transferred to a slightly larger bin and have been doing o.k. I found a few dead worms in the corners of the bin but the ones that have survived look really healthy and well-fed so I'm hoping that these strong ones will reproduce and create a new strong herd for me. There is no strong odour (except for when the worms die- they really stink when they're dead), so I know things are back to normal. I'm considering keeping them in the bin they are in (it's clear but they seem to like it so far) and just adding another one of the same size on top to start building a worm tower. As I build it I will post pictures and give some updates on whether or not it works.

So, the moral of the story is: if you are going to worm compost indoors, DO NOT include carbon materials from the outdoors, even if it doesn't look dirty. If your composter is kept outdoors, that is a different story of course, but generally it's better to stick to carbon sources like newspaper, cardboard, paper egg cartons, etc. It was a very interesting learning experience for me, and even though it wasn't funny at the time now when I look back on it I can' t help but chuckle. Me giving my worms a bath, trying to convince my worms not to embark on a suicide mission down the drain, apologizing frantically for shocking them with hot water..hee hee hee.
I also realized afterward that I really have gotten attached to them, bless their little wormy hearts!

Happy worm composting, everyone!

Photos from Earth Hour 2011

 Planting in the dark can be quite tricky, as is trying to capture it on a cheap digital camera without flash. Still, it was a success- I planted some anise-hyssop and more sweet basil in an egg carton.

I got out my supplies and candles beforehand, and tried to create as much candlelight as I could. I forgot how tiny the anise-hyssop seeds are, so trying to select only four in the dim light proved to be very difficult.

I enlisted the help of my mother to
document the process but she left on the flash. As a result, I got temporarily blinded and the photo looks like I'm planting in daylight!

The whole process didn't take too long, including clean up so I decided to take a photo of myself with my plantlings. Had to set the camera down on the table to avoid getting a blurry shot- et voila!

Let's hope the seeds germinate soon! I'm really looking forward to munching some basil and sipping a lovely anise-hyssop tea!

Plant a Seed for Earth Hour!

This Saturday, March 26th is a day for celebrating the Earth, and the collective power of change.

Traditionally, it is a day when, for one hour, people turn off their lights and power down (and sometimes, step outside to enjoy the sight of stars!). Some people hold mini Earth Hour parties at their home, lighting candles and playing board games, or just chill out and have a good long chit chat with their loved ones.

So, what else can we do to celebrate this day, and that doesn't require electricity? What about planting a seed? Such a small gesture yes, but very symbollic and appropriate for a day when we are celebrating Earth and ways which we can change things for the better.

This idea was launched by Push Food Forward, and it's wonderfully simple: plant a seed, any seed, at home and watch it grow and provide you with foliage, food, flowers or all three!

There is a facebook event page, and I would encourage you to check out more of Food Forward's events and follow the blog too!

Happy Earth Hour!

More Seed Starting Shenanigans

Another beautiful sunny day, and the birdies are chirping. I've been checking up on my first batch of seedlings and still no germination. It has only been 3 days but I am getting anxious. Hopefully they will wake up soon. The worms are doing ok so far- none have tried to escape, and I adding a fan to increase air circulation in the closet has helped I think. I also visited a friend who gave me some dried leaves he collected (all disease free and clean as a whistle). It was on his recommendation since worms generally love outdoor carbon sources, and since all I've been doing is overloading them with newspaper and egg cartons there is some sense in adding some au natural carbon sources.

Today I endeavour to start the rest of my seedlings- this time, I'm going for the mega batch. I purchased a flat of 50 cells of coir cups in a tray (bit of an expense but it will save time later when I'm trying to separate them and put them in another container or to give them away), as well as a Coir Brick.  For those unfamiliar, coir is dehydrated coconut husk fibre, a by-product of the coconut growing industry. It is quickly gaining renown for its ability to retain water and provide a light weight material for mixing into potting soil. It doesn't provide any nutrients, but simply adds lightness to any mix which is beneficial for container gardening (promotes drainage, decreases water logging that might increase mold and rotting). It is a potential competitor (or usurper of?) peat moss, a non-renewable resource that is currently very popular due to its locality. More about this debate later, but for now I'm using both materials: the coir for adding to my potting soil mix and in the cups, and peat which is already in my mix and in the Peat Pellets I got from a friend.

I also was very fortunate to get an extra four varieties of tomatoes from a seed exchange with the same friend I got the leaves from. The new varieties are from his own collection of saved seeds, and he was able to tell me a lot about their growing conditions, preferences, tastes, sizes, colours... Due to the limitations (and some benefits) of container growing he suggested four varieties of tomatoes to try:
Green Zebra
Isis (LOVE the name!)
Golden Girl (another charming nomer)
and Black Cherry.

So altogether thats 16 varieties of tomatoes that I'm starting in my 50 cell tray. It doesn't make for an even division of varieties, so I am in the process of deciding which varieties to start more/less of. I have to take into account the age of some of the seeds and therefore the reduced germination rate but also the practicality of each of them. The Cherokee Purple, for example I had difficulty with and my friend confirmed that they are finicky. No kidding- last year I only got a few fruits even when planted in the community garden (not in containers). I had a great success with my cherries (except whippersnapper) but now I also have some determinate varieties that I may want to favour instead of the indeterminate. Urg, so many factors!

I also want to start some basil to accompany the tomatoes, and these I will plant in the peat pellets I got. Basil and tomato are the best of friends, so it makes enough sense. I also got my hands on some sacred basil (or tulsi) seeds which are very widely grown and used in Indian homes and is a known aryuvedic herb for its adaptogen properties (not to mention its calming effect when prepared as a tea).

I forgot to mention that in addition to the coir and potting soil, I'll be mixing in some of my left over perfect for potting mix which has some mycorrhizae in it- a natural fungus that benefits the plant roots to improve nutrient uptake and water retention. I used it last year in my containers, so I'll try it again in my seed starting. There is some information floating out there about the benefits of innoculating soil for plants as some (many?) benefit from the fungal microorganisms. I'm still in the process of learning about the complexities of soil ecology, but container gardening is a bit different, since it already presupposes a controlled environment. Gardening is one big experiment anyway, so I'll leave it at that and go with the flow. I am an intuitive gardener, afterall :)

Now to begin. Before I do, I think a good seed starting dance is in order so a quick detour to youtube, search for Xavier Rudd and hit play.

 Spring is nigh!