Yesterday we went to visit the farmer in Mgongo (Mombasa slum) with some advice on how he could produce more on his shamba. Unfortunately I forgot my camera so I'll try to give you a description.

We got off the Matatu (mini-van bus) at the end of the line and walked down the puddle filled road to the shamba. We entered through the corrugated metal gate into a relatively green area that might be the biggest open space in Mgongo. Sammy and Eric (the farmers) meet us and immediately we take another tour around and get to discussing some options. The house on the compound is falling apart, with half of the roof still intact and the other half completely fallen into the house itself. There is a roofed area where they do tie dying of dresses to sell at market that has a roof that is for the most part intact.

The almost dry borehole (the well) and the underground rain water tank are located directly beside the septic tank, which is definite cause for concern as most of the community comes here to get their drinking water. Both the well and the tank are covered by cracked cement that the goats walk over and could be contaminated really easily.

The growing area is dry and not nearly as productive as it once was, we were told. There is one area where the grey water from the neighbours seeps under the cement wall which is watering the banana trees nicely, making for a little green oasis in the corner of the property. There are papaya trees dispersed throughout the production field in an attempt to offer some shade to plants growing below, which is a step in the right direction. There is a small forested patch that Sammy has left as he understands the importance of shade. This area is beside the chicken coop which is great as the chickens go in and forage frequently. As we're chatting seven goats come running along butting each other out of the way to get a drink of water.

Sammy and Eric are set. They have small animals, land to use, trees growing and are keen to produce more food in any way possible. We told them it may be more experimental at this point and their response was that so little grows now that they are willing to try anything.

We offered the advice we could. One suggestion was to stop tilling their land. Currently they weed all of the dead plants out and mix up the soil. This is fairly common procedure, but in doing this they're drying out the soil and killing the micro-organisms that keep the soil healthy we explained. They agreed to try direct planting into the soil without tilling. We also pushed the idea of mulching everything. It's crucial that they not have any soil bare in this climate. When it's exposed to the elements you run into erosion and evaporation, which they already knew, but needed reminding. When we mentioned using a green mulch like groundnuts and squash they were happier to hear that they can do this and produce food at the same time.

A borrowed picture of the garden bags.

We decided that as there are no gutters on any of what's left of the roofs that planting things below it would be ideal. Sammy decided to do garden bags, grain bags filled with compost and soil in which he'll plant kale on all sides. This way he can grow as much kale as he would have on his field in bags and leaves the field space free for growing different things. He was jazzed about this idea. He also has a lot of tires lying around. This is a great place for him to grow potatoes we told him. Just fill the bottom tire with soil and plant some potatoes in it. As the plant comes up through the soil, add another tire and fill it with soil. The plant will continue to reach the top of the soil. By the end you'll have a stack of tires with kilos of potatoes all only using 2 square feet of ground space. He liked that too.

These were some of the ideas we presented them, mainly Sammy as he's the main farming guy. We also talked about swales, intercropping and not using straight lines. I'll keep in touch with Sammy and Eric and hopefully we can get them to a permaculture course in the future and use their plot as a demonstration to the community at Mgongo.

Happy Holidays

I hope everyone has enjoyed a wonderful holiday season this far. My Australian friend, Morika and I have been spending the holidays relaxing and enjoying a bit of Kenya's beach life. Christmas day started with hazelnut ice cream and espresso, then capuccino and the newspaper, followed by a long walk down the marine park beach. The afternoon consisted of a few drinks at a fancy hotel and swimming in the ocean. We felt we had to relax as we'd spent the whole day before snorkelling, watching dolphins and boating through Mida Creek.

Tomorrow we head back to Mombasa after one more day of relaxation to work with Sammy, the farmer in Mgongo slums. It's been a nice vacation, but I'm looking forward to getting back to different projects.

Permaculture Plus

The last few weeks have been amazing. I have finished my Permaculture Design Certificate and now am itching to find a project to do. Luckily, a lot of people are open to an idea that costs little and produces a lot of food. So far I've met a farmer in Mgongo slums outside of Mombasa who is keen to have his farm revamped and another volunteer conservation officer who wants some advice on his shamba in Watamu (just north of Mombasa). So I hope to work with them in the next few days to develop a plan for their properties. Fun!

The rocket stove.

The course itself was incredible. Every day I woke up excited about learning the next bit of information we were going over. We had a demonstration of making a rocket stove, learned a lot about biogas, went over different strategies for different climates and designed a demonstration plot for the Nyumbani Village, where we were staying. That among two weeks of other information, which I'm sure you'll all hear about in the future. It was really interesting doing the more theoretical part of permaculture after having already worked on a few projects. I came away with a better understanding of the principles of permaculture and really excited to put them into practice in many aspects of my life (and other people's properties).

There were 47 people in the course, 11 westerners, 10 Liberians, and the rest from different parts of Kenya and Tanzania. It made for interesting conversations concerning the meaning of wealth, different cultural beliefs and how to grow food.

The maize field, and probably the extent of its growth.

Where we stayed in Nyumbani Village was nice. The Village has had a lot of money put into it from the Vatican amongst other sponsors so it was unlike anything else I'd seen in Kenya. The infrastructure was amazing, but though there have been many permaculture courses held there, it hasn't really taken off among the families. Instead maize is still being mono-cropped and with the dry season coming up things don't look good. Luckily the village offers subsidies of food from their permacultural areas (which are thriving) so there is still enough food for the community to eat.

One of the definitions of permaculture that came up was -- a design science surrounding human settlements and the environment. It seems every time I try to explain it to someone new I come up with a different explanation, so I'll leave you with this definition until I see you all again.

Off again!

After a few relaxing days in Nairobi, I'm headed out to Kitui to do my Permaculture Design Certificate. I've been looking forward to this for a while and am excited to share ideas and experiences with the other 47 people who are attending. It sounds like a good mix from the U.S., Tanzania, Liberia (a group of peace building workers who used to be child soldiers), Kenya and of course Canada. And at the end I'll be certified!

As I'm already running late, this post is short, but I thought I'd let you all know my next move. Happy December everyone!

Butula Living

the girls.

In order to give you a better picture of what the last few weeks have been like, I thought I'd take the time to describe the people we lived with and the lifestyle we led.

our house.

We stayed with the family of a man who three years ago was a teacher at one of the schools that Michael was working at. After working with Michael he turned his land, where he was making bricks and producing maize, into a lush permacultural landscape that now provides his family enough food to feed themselves nutritiously as well as sell some for profit. This includes bananas, peanuts, cassava, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, kale, papayas and much more as well as having hundreds of trees growing and a tree nursery. Needless to say this man, JB, now stands as an example for his community and is the permaculture coordinator in the area, setting Michael up with interested schools and offering consultant work through his farm shop.

the dining/living room.

His family (including his wife, five daughters, his daughter in law, her two daughters) welcomed us into their home and really made us feel like part of the family. On the last night the women also joined us for dinner, which is a cultural taboo in their culture.

Abbie and my room.

Their house was considerably different than living on Gogar farm. There was no electricity, kerosene lamps and flashlights in the evening (and in the daytime as our house had no windows). We ate very well, but a different type of cuisine. Delicious Chai and peanuts for breakfast with sometimes a sweet potato or bananas (all from JB's land). Ugali (kind of like polenta), rice, meat, kale, chapati, beans, green grams, fish and cabbage for lunches and dinners.

the toilet.

Some things took some getting used to (ie. the shower) and realizing the challenges that people face in that part of the world (particularly girls) made me understand how lucky we are to have modern conveniences (like a stove to not have to build a fire to cook daily) that we should be thankful for.

the shower.

Bountiful Butula

the green grams coming up.

Back to the world of internet from the most inspiring and rewarding part of my trip this far. For the last two and half weeks I've been working with Seven Ravens (who I worked with on Salt Spring) at schools in Butula (near the Ugandan border) developing a permaculture landscape and establishing tree nurseries.

The main project was at Buduma primary school where we worked with the students, teachers and parents to transform their school into a food producing, incoming generating piece of land for the future. And it wasn't taking long. By the time we left trees in the nursery were coming up, the green grams (similar to lentils) were 3 inches tall, the ponds were full and the community was inspired.

banana in a swale.

We worked at two of the schools that Seven Ravens Africa had worked at before doing similar projects to get them up to speed after facing challenges such as corruption and embezzlement. A board of directors was also elected during this time to ensure that they would not run in to the same problems they had in the past and to ensure that the children would this time benefit from the food grown on the school grounds.

I cannot explain how inspiring this project was. Everyday the permaculture team would come out and work with us all day. Community members would come out for the day to help, including a man of about 85 who joined us everyday and stood as a great role model to all of us. The project went faster than expected due to the involvement of these community members and gave us hope that this project would succeed above all expectations.

some of our permaculture team.

Close to the end of the visit, we met with five boys who had worked with Seven Ravens at the initial project site, Bukate Primary School. We went to two of these boys houses and saw what they had transformed their shamba (their land) into. They had tree nurseries, banana pits, intercropped vegetables (with no maize...yay!), fish ponds, swales and an abundant amount of food produced without chemicals. It was amazing at what these boys of 16 or so had accomplished based on Seven Raven's influence and work at their school. One of these boys had actually made 300,000 shillings (about $3,000) just last year in tree seedling sales from his nursery. In a part of the world that struggles to make 200 shillings a day, this was phenomenal news. We were all left speechless at the hard work and determination of these boys to make a better life for themselves and their families. It makes the challenges and work worth it to see these types of outcomes.

team tree nursery!

the beginnings of a food forest.

Moving on

Tomorrow I head out from Gogar. I thought I'd be here for another week or so, but upon Michael and Abby's (Seven Ravens on Salt Spring Island) arrival plans have changed. I'll be joining them in Butere to work on setting up a permaculture garden. Michael has done two projects there in the past so I'll get a perspective on how projects run over time.

There is still a bit of work to finish up at the girls' school, but I should be back here at the end of the month to check on the trees, label trees and plant some bananas.

It will be sad to leave Rongai and the girls here, however it's time to move on and learn something new. This does mean I'll be without internet so will be posting less than now (which isn't that much to begin with).

                                          Off to a new adventure and very excited!

The Tree Club Planting Day

Yesterday was tree planting day with the tree club. We met in the morning and went over how to plant a tree properly. They dug square holes, it's easier for the roots to spread this way, filled the bottom of the hole with compost soil from the nursery and planted their trees. Some of the girls had a very hard pan they hit while digging and used more compost soil in their holes in hope of giving the tree a stronger start to spread their roots. The size of trees ranged from a very small Passion Fruit vine to a great big Nandi Flame, but they all dug their own holes and feel proud of their trees. There are still a few more trees to plant, which is lucky as some girls came out of the woodwork interested in planting trees (yayyyy!), that we'll plant later this week. Now it's a matter of maintaining the trees health and labeling them so everyone who comes to the school knows what the tree is, who planted it and in what year. Already the school looks a touch more finished and someday will be a shady oasis. Here are some pictures of the big day!

A very small passion fruit vine. We'll trellis it to the school as it grows.

Two of the girls with the Nandi Flame.

A freshly planted Teclea.

Countdown to Planting

Tomorrow we plant trees! This morning I went to the tree nursery and picked up the trees we needed for the school. We've got quite a variety and I picked up some extras in case some other girls want to join in the planting (and because we probably should have a sausage tree on the school property.)

The school map.

Just to give you some information on how we've got to this point of being able to plant I'll give you a little recap as to what's been going on. Throughout the last week the 'tree club' has been meeting to decide what type of tree each girl wanted to plant based on whether they wanted a fruit tree, a shade tree, a flowering tree, a fast growing tree, a water loving tree, a drought resistant tree, etc. We've come up with the best tree for each of the girl's locations and placed a symbol for it on my professionally crayon-coloured, almost-to-scale map.

Moving the trees from the nursery to the school.

This afternoon I'm meeting with Patrick, who works at Red Shank Nursery and knows a lot more about Kenyan trees than I, to verify that we have decided to put these trees in the best spots possible to have the most beautiful school in Rongai.

Primary school planting

On Friday I went to the primary school as they were having a tree planting day. The grade 8s are leaving the school this year (the new school year starts in January) and the principal, Sister Hiltrude, wanted them to leave a mark. After an awkward introduction of myself, in which I had to write my name on the blackboard, I became the guest of honour and got to plant the biggest tree. This isn't quite what I'd anticipated as I just wanted to observe and instead had to give a little speech. Let's just say it wasn't a very good speech, but they were all really excited to plant trees which was inspiring. Every kid wanted a picture taken with their planted tree and as it would take forever to upload all of them, I'll only give you a few. In total around eighty trees were planted, which will make for a cool, shady school in the future.

Life on Gogar Farm

My house.

For those of you wondering more about how I'm living, this post is for you!

When I arrived I moved into a house with three of the girls volunteering at the schools. After a week of sharing rooms myself and another girl moved into the second house so we would all have our own space. Now we share a kitchen and common space, where we spend most of our time eating and watching movies on laptops.

We have indoor plumbing though we have to light a fire for hot water, which has turned out to be really hard to do. I'll post a picture of the burner soon and you'll understand.

For drinking water we use rain water and put it through and sand and bone filter. It's a pretty great system if you ask me.

The inside of my house. The bathroom is in the back.

My bed.

 The farm where we live is huge and has security gates at all the entrances. There are eight houses (that I know of) on the property that are mostly inhabited by British families. There are some really cool things happening here including a floriculture business (they propagate seeds and send them overseas) that has an awesome boigas system and permaculture garden. There are cows everywhere and corn (maize) growing in all the fields they're not in.

Everyone has been very inviting and we have had delicious meals and drinks with many of the people on the farm. It's not quite how I expected to live in Kenya, but it's important to experience and great to meet all these amazing people.

What do we eat when we're not at other people's houses? Rongai (the closest town) offers us rice, pasta, vegetables from the market, beans, fruits and most of the things we need. If one wants cheese or meat you have to go to Nakuru about an hour away on matatu (think mini van meets city bus). This is where we get our cereal and coffee (it's instant) as well. It's about as exciting as going grocery shopping at home except the roads are a bit crazier and the prices of things are cheaper.

Nakuru is also where the craft market is. They have some beautiful things, but probably the most popular with the girls I'm living with are the kiondos. These are bags that they just can't get enough of. They are beautiful and I had the chance to learn to make them last weekend. Emily, one of the volunteers, and I were taught by the principal at the handicap school. It was a lot of fun and now I know how to use all the scrap wool I have at home.

A kiondo.

Prices of things vary. For the most part everything is very cheap. I spend about ten dollars a week on food and drink (a big beer is about a dollar). If we feel lazy we take a boda boda (a motorcycle) home at the end of the day instead of walking the half hour home. It costs thirty cents so it's easy to justify.

 That's just a quick update for you all. I can't really think of anything else to share. If you want to know something, ask away!

The Tree Club Introduction

There is a lot to tell, so I'll break up these posts into a few different ones.

The school yard as you walk down the center walkway into the school

First, I'll explain a bit more about the project I'm working on now as I have a few more details since arriving.

It turns out I'm not working at the primary school, I'm working at the Girls' Secondary School, which is a boarding school for Kenyans. This is where we'll be planting the indigenous shade trees around the property for education and, of course, shade. I went to the school yesterday and introduced myself and what the plan is to the 'tree club'. That's right we have a club! There are fifteen girls that will be making the decisions on what trees we use and where they'll go. The idea is I will be a resource to help ensure the trees go in to the best spot possible, but as it is their school they need to be the decision makers. I have done the research and found the trees at the nursery on the farm (where we hope to take a field trip all together) and will teach them how to plant them properly and how to take care of them once they're planted. They'll be responsible for taking care of them until they are established. This way they'll live on at the school (the trees will be labeled with the name of the tree, its uses, the girls who planted its names and the year it was planted) as well as hopefully learn something.

A courtyard inside the dormitories we hope to make look like the secret garden.

The dream of starting a tree nursery and a garden are fading as there is only so much time until the term is over (November 18th). I'll still be doing some work on the woodlot around the sports field, but it is a challenge. It has poor drainage and already has trees growing. Ideally we would dig swales (trenches on contour with the slope) to capture some of the water draining down to the area that floods, but the trees already growing there cause a bit of a problem. It will take some problem solving but the solution may be to wait until the trees that have already been planted are bigger and plant underneath them. I guess that means another trip to Rongai in the future!

The original compost pile.

We have started a compost system at the school. The kitchen has been great about making sure to throw only compostable food and ash into the box. They had already started before I arrived, but we've worked on adding different things like dead grass and manure so that we get a really rich soil at the end of the process. It's been smelly work, but will be worth it in the end.




Another project we hope to initiate is a wetland garden. We hope to plant some bananas and bamboo in the area where the grey water from the kitchen drains in to, to make a lush landscape and use that water instead of losing it to the ditch beside the road.

My pants covered in black jack from walking around some of the fields. I still have to pick them all out.

There is a lot to be done and it's all very exciting work. Everyone is very positive and thankful when it comes to planting trees and I'm so glad I'm getting to be a part of it!

Kenya-ya!

Just a quick post to give everyone an update. Am now going to be using this blog to let you all know what is going on while I'm in Kenya (provided I have internet). Currently am at the airport getting ready to take off on this new adventure.

First stop: Gogar Elementary School.

Here the plan is to set up a mixed tree plantation. This project is being sponsored by the Rift Valley Tree Trust and will help educate the students (and me) about indigenous species as well as how to sustainably use the forest. The hope is it will also be a nice shady area to spend time and learn. We'll also set up a tree nursery to help maintain the forested area.

A kitchen garden will also be set up with the help of some friends to produce food for the girls and the community. Using local manure and the soil that surrounds the school we'll try to create a productive garden that is drought resistant (means some experimenting... fun!)

Next stop: ..... I'll figure that out when the time comes.

At this point nervous and excited are the feeling, but I know it will be worth it and a major learning experience. Things may change, but that's the fun part.

Keep checking for updates. I'll write and post pictures whenever I can.

Have fun friends and thanks for being so supportive!

digging, composting, and mulching

Here we are, in my last week in Toronto and there is a lot of work to be done in the garden. I'll give you a quick update before I get back outside.

Over the weekend I managed to track down some free soil. Having a vehicle definitely made the work of bringing the soil from one location to another a lot easier. I managed to get six garbage pail loads to the car before I felt like we had enough for the time being (meaning I didn't think I could carry another load at that moment without collapsing.) After a short drive I unloaded it into a pile in the backyard as I wasn't quite sure exactly where I wanted it.

I was also able to find a lumber tarp free from the Home Hardware lumber yard. Can you believe they just throw those out? They are perfect for putting over your compost pile in the yard. With the black side up they insulate well and keep the compost with just the right amount of moisture. And free!

Also people were willing to give away all their old leaves they'd raked up this spring. I scored a bag of leaves (though judging by the amount of brown bags on the side of the road I could have enough leaves to fill the backyard numerous times.)

This morning I also found a full dumpster of straw. It was being used to insulate a foundation that had been built over the winter and was about to be thrown out. If you need something to mulch* your garden you can find this bounty of straw in the alley between Spadina and Roberts, South of Harbord.

So now its off to find some free cardboard and get going with digging out some beds and turning some soil. This week I'll be in search of some heirloom seeds, some buckets (hopefully free) for hanging the tomatoes and some kelp to add to the garden to give the seeds a kick start in nutrients.

Hope you're having as much fun in your garden! Keep your eye peeled for cheap or free garden aids!

*One uses mulch to retain moisture reduce erosion, provide nutrients, and suppress weed growth. You lay a mulch over your beds once you've planted your seeds.

for the love of seeds

Food. We love it and would die without it. But how often do we take a moment to think about where it comes from. Do we consider those DNA filled capsules that have been saved and reproduced through the generations in order to feed us in the future? How is it we have so little interest in one of the most crucial aspects of our survival? We've become so accustomed to food being readily available to us, whether in a processed form or as 'fresh' produce at the grocery store, that we take it for granted. Many of us no longer value the seeds that we scoop out of the pepper. We don't have to think about where the seeds for lettuce come from. We ignore how much genetic information that chickpea holds.

Over centuries our ancestors reproduced seeds and took note of their characteristics so that we could someday be able to have hardy varieties that would grow in our own specific climates. All of this time and energy put in to ensuring that the future generations would have food and what has happened? We have become so disconnected from our food and its sources that few of us realize how endangered our seeds are. We, through our acceptance of what is offered at the grocery store allow seeds to become part of an industry that is hoping to scrap everything our ancestors have done for us, by mutating the makeup of seeds so they cannot reproduce, in order to grow profits.

We are exposed to a variety of different vegetable and fruits when we go to the grocery store, right? One can decide if they want a zucchini, a tomato or that weird green thing that no one seems to know how to cook. This seems like enough. Yet instead of having an option of hundreds of tomatoes it is dictated to us that we have five or six options that are readily available at most grocery stores. The other hundreds of flavour-filled varieties will be forgotten because they are not quite as good at growing quickly and strongly on a mass production scale.

It is near impossible to ensure that everything you consume is made from heirloom seeds and happy plants. From the bread you eat to the eggplant you buy, there is a good chance that somewhere along the way a mutated seed has made its way into your food. What I'm suggesting is that we become more aware of this phenomenon of becoming disconnected from our food.

Look at the seeds the next time you're cutting up a fruit or vegetable and think about the history behind that specific food.

Learn ways to save the seeds (though many grocery store varieties will not be able to reproduce). 

Buy your seeds from responsible seed and food lovers.

Be aware of the fact that people throughout the world are fighting a battle against multi-national seed companies to stop them from turning seed saving into a profit driven industry.

It would be lovely to think that we would all buy only heirloom seed vegetables and products, but for now knowing the challenges facing our food is a promising first step.

The canvas

what we're working with

So here we are. Spring is just around the corner and we've found our yard to turn in to a delicious, beautiful garden.

In order to have the best garden we can imagine, we have to observe and understand different aspects of the space. Some important things to recognize about your space are where the warmest spots are, what sections get the most sun and where the wet spots are.

north side of yard

Knowing this will help you make important decisions when planting.

For example, in the garden we're attempting, we know there is a lot of sunlight hitting the North side of the yard. As the yard is beside a lane it is not blocked by a building so we can expect quite a bit of sunlight. There is a tree on the South side which Jess has informed me is not too leafy and shouldn't be the cause of too much shade. Previously there has been a vegetable garden in the back of the yard (the West side). The yard seems to have good drainage. Even after all the snow melt it is not too muddy and there are no pooled areas of water. As it's a fenced yard we don't expect too much wind that could damage our plants.

Now that we've considered the aspects of the space we need to utilize that information in the mapping process. This is one of my favourite parts of the 'starting-a-garden' process. Here is when we'll make our first attempt of deciding where we want certain plants. We know there is sun on the North side so we'll want to put our fruits and vegetables that really thrive in the warmth in that area. My initial thoughts for that area is corn, berries and grapes. I have also heard of growing pole beans that climb the corn stalks, which I'd really love to see happen.

To the left is my first attempt at a map.

Now we can start to decide (if we haven't already) what type of seeds we'll use. We'll also have to decide if we want to use raised beds. This will cost more but could be beneficial considering we didn't mulch the soil in the fall to kill the grass and could be used to keep certain plants living longer in the fall (I'm thinking mini greenhouses.)


So here we go! We're one step closer to our delicious summer garden! Coming up: Raised beds, herb spirals, compost piles and much more!!!

spring, space and seeds

Spring has been teasing us as of late in Ontario. It's here for a day, then the snow flies. That means it's time to start thinking about the garden. I myself, don't have anywhere to start a garden, but am lucky enough to have a friend whose landlord is keen on growing delicious fruits and vegetables in their apartment yard. If you're in the same situation as I was and not having a space to grow food outside, fear not there are networks to help you. Have a look on sharingbackyards.com for your city. This website lets you see where people are that have yards and don't have time or interest in gardening. But would be willing to let other people like you, who don't have somewhere to garden, use their space to grow. How convenient!

Another exciting step that can be taken at the moment is looking through seed catalogues and considering what you might be interested in growing this season. This is a really fun part of the gardening experience. With numerous heirloom seed catalogues available, you will be shocked and amazed at the variety of vegetables that you may not have even know existed. Remember that in order to have a variety of species, it's important to put your money towards supporting companies that reject genetically modified seeds. Past generations have worked hard to save seeds that are nutritious, hardy and capable of reproducing seed. It's important to respect this part of our history and support the companies that are fighting to keep seeds that stay true and can reproduce to provide food for our future.

These are two of my favourite catalogues at the moment.

Salt spring seeds

Urban Harvest

Shortly you'll be mapping out your garden, starting seeds inside and testing your soil to decide what you may need to add and where you'll place different plants. In a matter of months you'll be eating delicious produce from your own garden.

Throughout the next few weeks I'll be updating you on what we're doing to achieve the most productive, efficient garden we can. Stay tuned!

worm update

I'm sure everyone is curious about how the worms are. Who wouldn't be? So here it is. There are more of them. A lot more of them. My worms have at least doubled and I recently had to move half of them over to another container. Honest Ed's supplied me with a reasonably priced tupperware which I drilled some holes in to. I'm not sure I put in enough, but it is an easy fix if not. I also noticed that the kit I bought had a small drainage type vent near the bottom. I did not add this to my new tupperware but haven't noticed a need for drainage since the first major leak. I'm glad to report there have been no more leaks of compost water since then.

To get this new kit started I layered some shredded newspaper on the bottom of the tupperware, added some compost that I hadn't been able to fit in my overly full initial compost worm haven, spooned half the worms and compost from the initial worm bin into the new one and added another layer of shredded newspaper for good measure. I plan on giving this to a friend to take care of his compost needs as I'm not sure I can provide enough vegetable scraps, egg shells and coffee grinds for this number of worms. Stay tuned for more updates on the exciting world of worms!

We all have different ideas on how we can cut down on our food waste. I thought I'd provide some hints of what I do (or try to do rather) in order to limit the diet of the compost worms under my sink.

Look in your fridge. If you're anything like me you'll be surprised at what you have in there. You may not have any idea what you had initially planned on making with that asparagus, but now it is time to experiment.

Buy what you need. While you're shopping decide what you're going to use the things you buy in. We all have the impulse buy, but don't buy that half price cauliflower unless you know what you're going to use it in. It's easy (for some) to get sidetracked in the grocery store and buy things you don't need. If it helps, make a menu ahead of time and write out a list to stick to. Having eggs, puff pastry, pitas and canned soups in the house can be really handy when you're trying to get rid of some of the near-rotting vegetables. Why not make a delicious broccoli pizza on your frozen pita breads or bulk up a canned soup for a quick meal? lovefoodhatewaste offers great ideas on storing food and making menus.

Produce bags. These are the answer to the bendy carrots in the 'not-so-crisp' crisper drawer. You put your produce in the bags in your fridge and the food lasts a week or so longer. It's genius. Schedules change and maybe you didn't get to make that broccoli casserole you bought those two heads of broccoli for. Not to worry, with produce bags there is always next week. I don't love the idea of more plastic bags, but in the battle with keeping lettuce fresh, I'll make my concessions. Brown bag your mushrooms; they won't get slimy, they'll just dry up and you can rehydrate them when you cook them.

Soups are an ideal way of cutting down on waste. Though the art of making soups was not always a skill of mine, i.e. Great depression soup of 2008, I've started to experiment with the crisper drawer remnants. When you have scraps from your veggies instead of throwing them “elsewhere” put them in a bag in the freezer for stock. This way if you ever have the urge to make a wonderful soup, boiling your scraps will lead to a tasty stock.

Eat your leftovers. You're out to eat with friends and you forgot to ask for the half order of fries because you know that you can never finish all the fries on your plate without feeling sick. Take home your leftovers (lunch tomorrow) or give your fries to the hungry guy on the street (dinner tonight). If you hate the styrofoam containers, carry around one of those handy collapsible tupperwares that can fit in your purse or manbag.

Being aware of what you're buying and keeping track of what is still left in your fridge is crucial to not wasting as much food as we do. Check your vegetables and fruits. If something is going bad before you intended to use it be flexible and change your plans. If there is a small bruise or rotten spot on some of your produce cut it out and use the rest.

If you're concerned about how long you can keep things in your fridge check out this sweet website that gives you the low-down on what is safe to eat after how long.

http://www.stilltasty.com/

Don't be afraid to use your senses. If it smells rotten, it might be. If there is a foreign shape in your fridge covered in fuzzy mold, put it in the compost. The expiry date on your yogurt says today, but it seems fine. It probably is. Give your food the benefit of the doubt. A quick wash off of the spinach at the bottom of the bag might be enough to have a delicious salad instead of a meal for the worms.

Experiment with your foods. Mix different ingredients from your fridge. If you have a mushy pear and some shrivelling zucchinis maybe its time to make zucchini-pear muffins. What is the worst that could happen?

wasted food

There is no such thing as throwing something away, there is only throwing something somewhere else.

Since we were young we've been taught the three R's: “Recycle, Reduce, Reuse.” I even remember this mantra having a catchy little tune. When we evaluate our day to day life are we considering these important ideas? Or are making excuses for why we are not considering these suggestions when going through our day to day motions? Many have caught on to recycling, but what about reducing and reusing?

In an age where it is estimated that we throw out 40 per cent of our food, it is easy to assume that the majority of us are doing the latter. Instead of attempting to use the bendy carrot in the fridge we throw it in the compost, or even worse the garbage. Whether it is because we don't realize the potential for that onion that is soft on one side or we just don't want to bother with the aesthetically unappealing, almost compost-worthy broccoli, we are throwing out more food than at any other point in time throughout our history in a world where people are hungry not only across the world but also within our neighbourhoods.

There are other reasons throwing out food is bad.

For example, it costs you money that you lose when you don't eat what you've paid for. Whether you've bought dinner at a restaurant or bought groceries that are making the smell of your refrigerator offensive, you paid for it. Now you consider it useless. It may not be, but a lot of us haven't learned the fine art of using it in other ways. Not to worry in the next few weeks I'll try to give you ideas on possible solutions.

It also can affect your bank account in a less evident way. Taxes. The more you throw out the more garbage has to be picked up. That means more garbage trucks on the road. Believe it or not you pay for this. Though it may be a bit far fetched it is another reason for one to think about food waste.

The environment suffers as well when you throw out food. You might say to yourself “I buy my food from local suppliers so I'm not impacting the environment.” Think again. When we throw “away” our food we add to the increasing amount of greenhouse gases by sending it to a landfill to rot. As consumers who compost or throw away as much food as we do we are to blame for more environmental damage than the food miles that we recognize as the main contributor to environmental issues.

These are some of the points that I feel we all need to be aware of when it comes to food waste. I'm excited to write more about this and hope that you'll all consider these important points next time you look at that less than crisp bunch of asparagus or slightly mouldy cheese and think about throwing it “elsewhere”.

Through the use of experiments, available resources and personal experience the upcoming blog posts should help you expand your view on how foods can be used that might otherwise go to waste . Hopefully, by providing you with information that could help you decrease the amount of food waste coming from your home you'll become accustomed to delicious soup stocks, spending less on food and embracing a different perspective on what food can mean to us as a community.

worms in your city

Hey gang,

If you're thinking in the new year you'd like to make some changes in your lifestyle, why not start by buying some worms and helping to cut down on the 40% of our waste that goes to landfills instead of being used more efficiently as soil in healthy gardens. A nice low maintenance, bin of scrap food eating friends. Not sure where to find them in your neck of the woods? I have done a search for resources available in different cities to make it easier for you to find your new red wiggler friends.

I found mine on kijiji in Toronto from a guy named Jason under the home and garden section. There is also an extensive list of worm suppliers to many different cities on the city farmer website at:  

http://www.cityfarmer.org/wormsupl79.html

If you're living in Montreal, you're lucky enough to have available to you a worm swap. Sustainable Concordia will sell you worms and all the equipment needed to vermicompost and will buy your worms back from you as they reproduce. Genius! This way you can compost and provide others with the ability to compost without having to do all the legwork of finding someone to buy your worms. I wouldn't depend on the cash flow to pay rent but you will be able to make the money that you initially spent on the worms back. Also in Montreal two websites that may be of use are:

http://wormgirlmontreal.wordpress.com/vermicomposting-101/ 

http://www2.ville.montreal.qc.ca/jardin/en/info_verte/fiches/vers.htm

If you're an East coaster you can find worms to be shipped to you at:

http://www.wormfirm.ns.ca/

If you're living in our country's capital region check out:

http://www.capitalwormranch.com/servlet/StoreFront

Living further west? Don't worry Alberta there are worms for you as well. Lucky you Calgary! Your city has a nice pamphlet for you to look at and offers workshops to help reduce your waste!

http://www.wormsatwork.com/ 

http://www.greencalgary.org/images/uploads/File/Vermicomposting.pdf

Edmonton you have resources too:

http://www.edmonton.ca/for_residents/garbage_recycling/worm-composting.aspx

And for our friends in Vancouver you have the option of buying a discounted vermicompost bin from the city and taking a one hour workshop to better understand it. 

The hotline number is

604-736-2250

I know there are cities left out and for you folks I suggest searching your cities on:

www.craigslist.org
www.kijiji.ca

or check out

http://www.cathyscomposters.com/

If I've left any place out that you know of please share.

I hope that this list will be useful to some of you particularly if your resolutions this year involved having a great garden due to your healthy soils, helping the environment by cutting down your amount of waste sent to landfills, or just learning something new!