Rain City Gardener
Sustainability experiments in the lush city of North VancouverCompost Mania
With help from Sheila I have finished my five-bin and two-heap compost system. I have two black bins I got for $20 each from the District of North Van. One holds active smelly compost and the other holds the finishing compost. Sheila fabricated mesh wire bins from stucco wire and they hold weeds, leaves and garden plant wastes. I will need at least two heaps for leaves as I’m using lots of mulch to protect the winter garden.
I have yet to build a screen for the compost out of 3/4″ stucco wire and some scrap 2-by-4’s. That’s a project for another sunny day.
I have started composting the cat litter. I use pine pellet cat litter and I scoop out all the poo and put it into the garbage before adding the pine sawdust to the compost. I have put one tray in so far and holy man, did that smell bad for about two days. I didn’t turn it under right away because the worms were not happy about being mixed into ammonia-laced sawdust. They looked a little less pissed off when I turned it under two days later. There is no discernable cat-pee smell anymore (if only because it is overpowered by the smell of my brother’s latest compost contribution). The ammonia should be broken down to beneficial nitrogen substances very quickly but I have no idea what the effect of the pine sawdust will be on the quality of the end product.
Interestingly enough I was out for dessert last Saturday night with eleven other girls and at one point during the evening we ended up talking about this very subject. Six of us had a rather lengthly conversation about apartment composting and cat poo in the middle of a very swanky restaurant. Modern women do not shy away from raunchy topics, nossirr!
The Spring and Summer Garden Review
Did Really Well and Will Grow the Same Cultivar Again
- Radish, Plum Purple, WCS
- Arugula, WCS
- Lettuce, Gourmet Blend, WCS
- Sunflowers, Music Box, WCS
- Sunflowers, Autumn Beauty, WCS
- Dill, Long Island Mammoth, WCS
- Basil, Siam Queen, WCS
- Basil, Sweet Organic, WCS
- Dahlias
- Cucumber, Homemade Pickles, WCS
- Zucchini, Gold Rush, WCS
Did Well and Will Grow a Different Cultivar Next Year
- Peas, Snow Green, WCS (try a non-dwarf variety)
- Cabbage, Charmant, WCS (try a purple variety)
- Sweet Peas, Supersnoop, WCS (try a climbing variety)
- Swiss Chard, Ruby Red, PNW
- Tomatoes, NUR (try growing heirloom varieties from seed)
- Carrots, Bolero F1, WCS (try a sturdier cultivar)
- Potatoes, Sieglinde, WCS (try a purple storage potato)
Did Poorly and Will Try Again Next Year
- Cilantro, WCS (needs more water next year)
- Leeks, Bandit, WCS (start earlier next year)
- Onion, Walla Walla, WCS (start earlier next year)
- Beets, Touchstone Gold, WCS
- Nasturshum, Tall Single Mix, WCS (needs to go on the deck)
Did Poorly and Will Not Grow Next Year
- Pak Choy, WCS
- Leeks, Varna, WCS
- Red Onions, NUR
- Green Onions, WCS
- Bush Bean, Venture, WCS (got a nasty virus)
- Cucumbers, Long English, NUR (got bad mildew and made lots of bitter cukes)
- Cucumber, S.M.R. 58 Pickler, PNW
Greenish Tomato and Carrot Salsa
I tried this recipe for the first time to use up some of the many, many green tomatoes we have on our hands right now. You can’t use totally dark green tomatoes because they contain a poisonous chemical but light green tomatoes are safe to use. This recipe can be made with tomatillos but I haven’t tried it because I don’t grow them and they are expensive to buy.
Greenish Tomato and Carrot Salsa
2 lb tomatoes, chopped
8 hot green chiles, seeded and chopped (wear gloves!!!)
8 cloves garlic, minced
6 C chopped veggies (a mix of onion, carrots and sweet peppers)
1 C cider vinegar
1 C apple juice
3 tsp pickling salt
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
4 tbsp sugar
1. Put everything except the sugar in a pot and bring to a boil then simmer covered for 10 to 20 minutes. If your tomatoes were watery and you want thicker salsa you can cook it a little longer with the lid off to evaporate excess liquid.
2. Remove from the heat and when the pot is cool enough to handle it put the whole thing into the fridge overnight.
3. Taste the salsa the next day. If it’s not hot enough add more peppers, cook for another 10 minutes and refigerate for another few hours. Taste and repeat if necessary. If the salsa is too hot add more tomatoes, vinegar and apple juice, cook for another 10 minutes and refigerate for a few hours. Taste and repeat if necessary.
4. When the salsa is perfect stir in the sugar and simmer it gently for about 20 minutes or until it thickens to desired consistency. Ladle into sterile jars leaving 1 cm of headspace and process 20 minutes for pints and half-pints. My batch made about 3 1/2 pints but it’s hard to tell because I ate so much of it out of the pot.
Obituary - Blue Travel Mug
Blue Travel Mug
June 2001 - September 2008
I am very sad to announce the sudden death of the Blue Travel Mug. Blue Mug died suddenly last Tuesday morning. Full of coffee and ready to go as always the mug suddenly fell apart. Blue Travel Mug will be sorely missed and not easily replaced.
Blue Mug was bought at Starbucks on Dollarton Highway in June of 2001. During the long bus strike of 2001 there was a great need in the households of myself and my neighbors for travel mugs as we were commuting together to BCIT. I bought my neighbors each mugs as thanks for driving me to school every day and eventually bought one for myself as a reward for entering the healthcare profession. Blue Mug helped me ramp up my addiction to caffeine by enabling me to bring coffee with me just about anywhere. Blue Mug accompanied me on many travels including a recent drive to northern California and back. Blue Mug was a constant presence in my left hand all those long highway hours.
Blue Mug was a tireless crusader for the environment. At a rate of four cups per week it is estimated that Blue Mug saved over 1500 cups from the landfill. Blue Mug survived the washing machine an equal number of times and never showed any signs of ageing. Blue Mug never started to smell funny and never leaked. Blue Mug was comfortable in the cup holder, the bottle cage and stuffed between my knees in the car.
Blue Mug is survived by Giant Black Coffee Break Mug, Stainless MiSYS Mug and Irridescent Blue Mug That I Finally Got Back From Shawn.
In lieu of flowers please have a coffee in your travel mug for rememberance. And maybe light a candle.
Try This At Home
My canning season is nearing the end. The peaches have lost that brain-tingling flavour, the tomatoes are starting to rot on the vine and the cupboards are absolutely bursting with canned goods. I haven’t kept an accurate list of all the produce I processed this year but here’s what I can remember:
Produce processed:
- peaches, 60lbs
- pears, 20lbs
- apricots, 40lbs
- apples, 40lbs (and not done yet)
- plums, 20lbs
- tomatoes, 45lbs
- pickling cukes, ??? lbs, four large ziploc bags
- zucchini, about 25
- strawberries, about 12 gallons
- tayberries, about 1 gallon
- raspberries, about 6 gallons
- peas, 3 gallons
- cherries, 20lbs
Resulting Canned Goods:
- canned fruit - pears, apricots, peaches
- frozen fruit - peaches, strawberries, rasperries, apples
- jam - peach, raspberry, strawberry, tayberry
- applesauce
- dehydrated fruit - cherries, plums, apples, apricots
- tomato stuff - whole tomatoes, sauce n zucchini, sauce n basil, plain sauce
- salsa - regular, southwest and green tomato
- plum sauce
- pickles - dill and sweet
- zucchini relish
I still have designs on canning fish. I bought some really cheap pink salmon fillets to practice on before I butcher my whole frozen coho. I want to get my skills finely honed before I try canning all the sockeye I intend on catching in the Queen Charlottes next summer.
