Categories
Urban Farming

Moving Time

Moving boxes

Photo by Rick Gush

Moving these boxes—all 360 of them—down the cliff is going to be a real challenge.

I’d enjoy being able to recount the marvelous work that I’ve done in the garden this week, but it just ain’t so. Instead, I’ve been moving my office/workshop. (Well, I did at least manage to plant the fava beans this week. The little strip (pictured below) where I planted them is, in fact, my largest bed, so one can better understand the little handkerchiefs of cultivatable land I’ve created on the cliff face.)

Anyway, my office/workshop has been in its current location for 10 years now, so the process of packing everything up is sort of an archaeological exercise. I’ve been packing boxes and cleaning out the old place for the last month, and except for the computers, I’m mostly ready. I’ve counted 360 boxes and other wrapped stuff, all ready to move. Whew! 

Garden bed

Photo by Rick Gush

Despite all the work I’ve put into packing boxes for the move, I managed to find time to plant my fava beans.

The new place is full of charm. It’s a series of three rooms strung out behind a garage.  I’d estimate that it was last painted before the second world war, and there’s a fair amount of fixing up to do. The rear room was used as a wine-bottling and storage location by a local fellow and his brother. Along with a lot of cool old bottles, I’ve inherited some other winemaking equipment, so I’ll probably try my hand at winemaking the next abundant grape season.

There are windows running down the south side of the building, so even without lights, the place is pretty bright. Well, at least it’s bright now, since I’ve taken down all the ancient drapes that covered the windows. The ceilings are really high in two of the rooms, almost 10 feet tall. I like the frequency of tall ceilings here in Italy.  The ceilings in our home are also more than 9 feet high.

I did have to cut out some iron beams that supported a sort of second story built into the room I’m going to use as the office, but the upper floor was made with some ancient tongue and groove boards. I’m going to use those to make a nice wood floor for the office room. I’ve also inherited a truckload of mixed ceramic tiles, because the previous tenant was a builder back in the 60s. Some of the tiles are wonderfully wild, and I’m planning to tile the workshop room with an abstract pattern before I build the workbenches.  

There’s a little creek that runs right alongside the building, right underneath the windows. I like the loud gurgling that one can hear in all the rooms. I’ve already dropped a few tools into the creek while fixing up the windows, but I did manage to put a hook on the end of a long tube and reach down into the creek to retrieve them.  

My goal is to finish at least the one room I’ll use for my desk and computers by the end of the month, at which point I’ll round up my friend with the big truck and make the move. There are about 200 steps down to the street in the current location, so lugging the 360 boxes down to the street level will be a task.

I adore making shelves and stuff for my workshop. The opportunity to create a brand new workshop is intoxicating.  I’ve got a whole lot of lumber all ready to go and a delivery of some new plywood scheduled for next week.  It’ll be a fun winter.

Read more of Digging Italy »

Categories
Crops & Gardening

Post-frost Garden

Kohlrabi
Photo by Jessica Walliser
I’m keeping my kohlrabi in the garden as long as possible to avoid their time in the fridge.

We finally got a few hard frosts last week. Funny how it always seems to happen just after my pineapple sage starts to flower. I don’t know why I plant it every year, because it blooms so late. I wish a breeder would come up with a variety that begins to bloom a month or so in advance. It’s such a great plant for the butterfly/hummingbird garden, but only if it manages to bloom while they’re still around. Maybe next year.

I have been continuing to dig carrots up every few days. They are now nice and sweet and have been terrific additions to salads. I hope to keep them coming until Thanksgiving. I have yet to pick the Brussel’s sprouts, though, as I’m trying to let them get really sweet. It seems to take several weeks of really cold nights for that to happen. The tiny heads on them aren’t as big as they’ve been in previous years, but I think there will be enough on my three plants for a few meals. Sometimes they are better when they’re smaller anyway. 

And, believe it or not, I still have a small patch of potatoes to dig and kohlrabi to pick. I’m trying to extend things as long as possible without having to keep them in the pantry or fridge. So far so good. I also apparently managed to miss some onions when I pulled them up this summer. They have sent out new green shoots (which I’m using like scallions). I’ll probably end up pulling them for Thanksgiving dinner.  I get a lot of joy out of telling our guests what parts of the meal came fresh from the garden. I’m hoping it will be the taters, carrots, onions, sweet marjoram, sage, parsley and butternut squash. Someday I’d like to raise our own turkey, too—but my husband and our chickens might take issue with that! 

« More Dirt on Gardening »

Categories
Homesteading

Fun with Leaves

Maple leaves
Photo by Cherie Langlois
Fall, with its maple trees ablaze, is the perfect time to do crafts with leaves.

On a visit last week to our town library, I parked next to a line of ornamental maple trees ablaze with brilliant, sun-struck foliage. Beneath them, a riot of scarlet, crimson and orange leaves covered the ground, free for the taking. (Or so I assumed.) So I  grabbed a shopping bag from the car and stuffed it full, a little guiltily—as if I were pilfering rubies instead of dead leaves. 

Back home, I swept our porch, sort-of-artfully arranged our own stubborn green pumpkins and the two beautiful orange Cinderella pumpkins bought from a local farmer, then gleefully scattered my leafy treasure around. Inside, I strewed them as autumn decorations here and there, and pressed some between two paper towels in a big telephone book for a future card-making project. 

Doing all of this reminded me of how much my daughter and I enjoyed leaf crafts when she was young, so I thought this week I’d share two simple ones so you and your kids can have some leafy fun, too, if you haven’t already. Both are adapted from a nature crafts book called Snips and Snails and Walnut Whales: Nature Crafts for Children by Phyllis Fiarotta (Workman Publishing Company, 1975).  (Used with permission of Workman Publishing Co., Inc., New York.) 

Make Leaf Rubbings

  1. Gather a variety of leaves with different shapes. (They can be any color). 
  2. Place the leaf on a covered work surface, with the more heavily veined side facing up.
  3. Place a sheet of paper over the leaf. 
  4. While holding the paper in place, use crayons, colored pencils or pastels to firmly rub and color the paper until the leaf and its intricate veins appear. 
  5. Try making a collage picture of different leaves in various colors, or cut leaves out, punch a hole in the stem part, and use ribbon or yarn to hang them.

Print with a Leaf

  1. Gather a variety of leaves with different shapes. (They can be any color.)
  2. Cut a piece of cardboard slightly larger than each leaf.
  3. Spread some white glue on the top, smooth side of the leaf, and glue the leaf onto the cardboard. (The veined underside should face up). Let dry.
  4. With a paintbrush, paint a thin coat of poster paint on the entire leaf. 
  5. Place the painted side of the leaf down on a sheet of paper and press firmly. Lift up the cardboard carefully and admire your “inked” leaf design. Repeating this without adding more paint will make a lighter design. 
  6. Try making leaf-printed cards from cardstock paper or blank store-bought cards.

Enjoy!

~ Cherie

« More Country Discovery »

Categories
Urban Farming

Gardens Transform Urban Living

This statement by Eve Mosher, a New York-based artist, referring to urban agriculture was the unifying theme of a panelist discussion at The New School’s Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Gallery in New York last week. As a part of “Living Concrete/Carrot City,” a Ryerson University and New School collaborative series of discussions and exhibitions aimed at exploring the interaction between design, food systems and community, four sustainable pioneers shared their diverse experiences in activating seeds of creative urban agriculture. The panelists included:

  • Laura Delind, anthropologist and co-founder of the Lansing Urban Farm Project
  • Eve Mosher and Tattfoo Tan, two New York-based artists
  • Domenic Vitello, a professor of urban planning at the University of Pennsylvania

Using urban agriculture as a platform for community interaction, Mosher conducted a citywide project, leaving tags in various public locations that invited passersby to insert what they hoped to see on that land instead of a cement sidewalk or a gas station. She found a majority of the participants desired more green space. This desire is translating into action from urbanites throughout the U.S. As the mediator of this discussion, Jean Gardner, an author and professor at The New School, puts it: “We are thinking by doing.”

Panelist DeLind started a community garden in Urbandale, Mich., a town where 25 percent of inhabitants live at or below the poverty line and 25 percent of the land has been abandoned. The community garden offers residents both inexpensive local produce (a sliding-scale pricing system gives discounts to residents of the town and volunteers) and a platform for social interaction. Now, neighbors who didn’t know one another before the garden participate in throwing a neighborhood Halloween party as a way to show their appreciation for the garden’s effect on the community. Children in the community see the garden as a place to discover and explore.

Vitello stresses the important role that urban agriculture plays in providing communities with food security; a greener, more beautified environment; and community bonds and enrichment. He talks specifically of Camden, N.J., a town often listed as the poorest U.S. city. Places like The Camden Men’s Garden, a club for older male residents, offers an environment where they interact as they fish in the nearby creek and garden on their land. 

When asked about whether the skills learned in a garden could influence the economic futures of the children participating in these programs, the panel answered with an indisputable yes.

DeLind recalls the enterprising nature sparked in some of the young participants of her project. Nine-year-old Nancy has become the resident entomologist, and a little boy started a service to help older patrons of the community garden’s farm stand carry groceries back to their vehicles.

Urban agriculture artists like Tan have also been sharing their experiences with school children. He volunteers his time teaching children the lessons he’s learned through the New York City Parks Department.

“Children are a blank canvas. It’s hard to change the social conscience of adults, but you’ll find that children will influence their parents—not the other way around,” Tan says.

His GREENade program, developing biodegradable grenades filled with wildflower seeds, aims to add patches of green in unused lots and unkempt land. At the schools that he visits, he shares a Sustainable Organic Stewardship (S.O.S.) pledge with students that they can volunteer to swear to. The S.O.S. pledge states those who swear to it will consume local, organic produce; reduce, reuse and recycle; compost; conserve energy; and walk, bike or take public transportation. By teaching young children these virtues at the start of their lives, Tan hopes to instill behaviors that will occur more naturally to them in the future. 

These stories and others are part of a strong new wave of a national movement 25 years in the making, says DeLind. The recession and the gradual break down of the American community has left citizens hungry for solutions and interactions that improve quality of life and plant seeds for a healthier, greener, and happier tomorrow. As demonstrated through the panel, urban agriculture is becoming a welcomed answer to these calls for change.

    Categories
    Equipment

    Stop, Look and Listen

    Why are we always in such a hurry? This past weekend, I was determined to clean out the raspberry patch. That meant clipping and clearing 60 feet of fall bearing plants and going through 60 feet of black raspberries and removing old canes. I had made good progress on the “fall bearing,” which I was cutting off at ground level with a blade attachment on the end of my Stihl weed trimmer.

    Everything was going well until the engine stopped. I started it … and it stopped again … and again. The symptoms pointed to the fuel-line plug, so I grabbed a pair of needle-nose pliers and pulled the fuel line, flushed out the tank and refilled it after replacing the fuel line.

    Unfortunately, the engine started … and ran, and a few minutes later I was back at work. I say unfortunately because it was a beautiful, late-fall day. One of those gems with a light breeze and a 55- to 60-degree-F temperature. I should have stopped and looked. I should have stopped and listened to the geese flying overhead. I should have, but I didn’t. Did it really matter if all those canes came down so quickly? Would it have mattered if they had stood another hour while I enjoyed the good things that living in the country offer?

    I hope you stop, look and listen. Life is too short, and the beautiful days of autumn are too precious to spend them rushing from one job to another. The next time my mower, weed trimmer or ATV stops for some reason, I’m going to take a minute or two, perhaps even an hour or more and just enjoy. The work will wait.

    << More Shop Talk >>

    Categories
    News

    Farm Dog Disease on the Rise

    Farm dogs
    Photo by Isabelle Francais/ BowTie, Inc.
    Pet owners should watch for signs of leptospirosis in their farm dogs.

    A potentially dangerous bacterial disease that can be fatal in farm dogs and other animals is on the rise, warns Dr. Melanie Butera, DVM, of Elm Ridge Animal Hospital in Canal Fulton, Ohio. She says she has seen an increase in the number of dogs at her practice that have contracted leptospirosis.

    Leptospirosis, a contagious bacterial infection, is contracted when animals or humans come in contact with the urine of wildlife.

    “In 25 years of being a vet, I had never seen a true case of it until three years ago,” Dr. Butera says. “Then this year, I have seen 13 cases in my practice.”

    If left untreated, the disease can be deadly. At least half of the dogs treated at Elm Ridge Animal Hospital have died because of the disease.

    Dr. Butera says she has spoken with a veterinarian from a neighboring county who also mentioned a spike in leptospirosis cases. Leptospirosis outbreaks have been documented throughout the Midwest, including in Detroit, Mich., and Kansas City, Mo.

    Leptospirosis has tended to be most prevalent in outdoor and sporting dogs, but Dr. Butera says many of her recent cases have been inside dogs. While any animal or person can contract the disease, she says cats appear to be resistant to it.

    Animals that come in contact with urine of wildlife, such as rats, groundhogs and squirrels, can become infected. Dogs that spend a lot of time in the yard, in ponds and creeks, and even mud puddles are susceptible.

    “The bacteria need [the environment] to be wet,” Dr. Butera says. Even dew on the grass can harbor the bacteria.
     
    Symptoms of leptospirosis can vary and are hard to identify, she says. They include vomiting, fever, fatigue, increase in thirst, loss of appetite and a hunched back.

    “It’s treatable,” she says. “The sooner we start treating them the better.”

    Depending on the strain of leptospirosis, Dr. Butera says the disease can cause liver failure, blood clotting disorders and kidney problems.

    While a vaccine available to combat the disease only protects against four strains, she says it’s useful. The vaccine was once part of the routine vaccinations for dogs, but because of a high number of reactions to the vaccine, vets stopped giving the immunization. However, Dr. Butera says the vaccine can be safe and is available.

    She warns pet owners to take action if their animal is exhibiting any of the signs associated with leptospirosis.

    “It’s hard to diagnose, and the tests for it are not perfect and expensive, but if it is not treated it can be fatal,” she says.

    A standard dose of penicillin and a second antibiotic will treat leptospirosis. It can take several months to fight the infection.

    “Some dogs don’t have any clinical signs and recover without anyone even knowing they have had it,” she says. “Others don’t respond well (to treatment), and it takes a prolonged period of time to treat.”

    Categories
    Urban Farming

    NASDAQ Tracks Green Markets

    NASDAQ

    Courtesy The Nasdaq OMX Group, Inc.

    The Green Economy Index updates investors about companies engaged in sustainability sectors.

    The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc., the world’s largest stock exchange company, now offers a comprehensive family of indexes designed to track the green economy. Leading the launch in September was the all-inclusive NASDAQ OMX Green Economy Index (Nasdaq:QGREEN), designed to serve investors who wish to benchmark an investment portfolio based on the segment of the economy that supports clean, renewable and sustainable economic development. NASDAQ OMX plans expand the Green Economy Index family with additional indexes.

    Combining the economic factors that power renewable and clean growth, the Green Economy Index covers the green economic landscape with constituents selected across all industry sectors participating in the green solution. The Green Economy Index acts as a benchmark for the performance of stocks in the following sectors: advanced materials, biofuels, energy efficiency, financial, green building, healthy living, natural resources, pollution mitigation, recycling, renewable energy generation, transportation and water.

    “The NASDAQ OMX Green Economy Index provides a global investment benchmark for institutional and retail investors,” said John Jacobs, executive vice president of the NASDAQ OMX Global Index Group. “Amid the transition from a fossil-based economy to the sustainable nature of the green economy, NASDAQ OMX continues to play a leading role in benchmarking the companies and sectors that are engaged in developing environmentally enhancing goods and services.”

    The Green Economy Index comprises more than 350 securities from 13 distinct sectors from more than 460 companies. Following the initial launch, indexes tracking each sector and region of the Green Economy Index were released. Companies for the entire Green Economy Index family are selected by Rona Fried, PhD of SustainableBusiness.com, LLC.

    “Through the NASDAQ OMX Green Economy Index, investors will be able to get exposure to all the companies worldwide that stand to benefit from a societal transition toward a green economy. The Index covers the broadest array of companies from natural resources to healthy living, from energy efficiency to renewable energy, from green building to efficient transportation, and from green IT to advanced materials,” says Fried, whose company jointly developed the Green Economy Index family with NASDAQ OMX.

    Four versions of the NASDAQ OMX Green Economy Index began calculating on Sept. 22, 2010, at a base value of $1,000. The versions are a Price Return (Nasdaq:QGREEN), Total Return (Nasdaq:QGREENX), a Capped Price Return (Nasdaq:QGREENCP4), and a Capped Total Return (Nasdaq:QGREENCP4X).

    Visit the NASDAQ OMX website for more information about the Green Economy Index family and the Green Economy Sector indexes.

     

    Categories
    Animals

    Biscuit and Bijou

    Baby goats
    Courtesy Sue Weaver
    My baby goats look even cuter now that they are dry.

    Meet my newest sons, Biscuit and Bijou. Aren’t you surprised they were born in October? So was Mom.

    See, one night in early June, my daughter Jadzia came in heat (dairy goats don’t usually do that when it’s super-hot outside). She smelled so nice that I shinnied over the barrier between my run and the dairy goat barn and I bred Jadzia. When Mom found me in the morning, she was not amused. She put a strand of electric wire along the barrier (ouch!) so it wouldn’t happen again. And she marked her calendar, just in case.

    A month or so ago, slim, svelte Jadzia started getting fat. Mom sighed and carried the birthing kit to the barn. 

    Wednesday afternoon, Jadzia went into labor. She pushed and pushed, she didn’t take rest breaks like most does do. Finally, a kid started coming out, but he seemed to be stuck. Mom gently pulled as Jadzia pushed, then out he came. Mom stripped the goo from his nose and toweled him off. Then she placed him in front of Jadzia’s nose. Jadzia sniffed, tentatively licked, and then she began licking her baby in earnest. But Mom saw two more hooves at Jadzia’s vulva. Here came the second kid back feet first but so quickly that Mom didn’t have time to help. She named the boys Biscuit and Bijou.

    Jadzia is a perfect mom and my new sons are extra cute. And because I’m their dad and their granddad, Biscuit and Bijou are their own half-uncles!

    « More Mondays with Martok »