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Monday, December 22, 2008

CBC Radio - Dispatches Vignettes on Local Food Sovereignity Yemen, Uganda, India, Zanzibar, Italy

Great radio show tonight on Dispatches (CBC), featuring vignettes about local food movements, food security and food sovereignity around the globe. Includes a segment on the fight to save seeds by small farmers in India, a country whose government is considering implementing a law that would not allow farmers to save their own seeds and instead force them to purchase from large corporations such as Monsanto and Cargill. Vandana Shiva is especially eloquent (as always) in her words, as she passionately speaks about using the "two planks" that Ghandi left them - self-organizing and non-violent resistance to unjust laws. She speaks of her work at the Navdanya Centre (www.navdanya.org) in India, which is a research centre for technology, science and ecology and has a mission to "protect nature and people's rights to knowledge, biodiversity, water and food". The urban agriculture movement in sub-Saharan Africa is also incredibly inspiring. It is estimated there are more than 800,000 million urban farmers globally! More and more people are turning to urban agriculture as food is scarce or food prices are on the rise in cities. Urban agriculture becomes both a way to feed themselves and their families, as well as earn income from selling at local markets.

To hear complete podcast go to: www.cbc.ca/dispatches (search Dec 22/28)

CBC Radio - Dispatches

December 22/28, 2008


The trouble with qat: Yemen's favorite afternoon narcotic is costing the country its water supply as Yemenis literally chew their way into drought.

Why roadside gardens may be sub-Saharan Africa's first line of defense against food shortages.

In India, angry farmers prepare to defy a government proposal to throw away their seeds.

The women of the surf in Zanzibar, where a bold attempt to build an economy out of seaweed is starting to wilt.

And the cesarinas strike back: a home-cooking movement tries to right the culinary wrongs masquerading as Italian cuisine.

Thursday, December 04, 2008

Final Shiitake Mushroom Harvest




We had forgotten about our mushroom logs and thought they were done fruiting for the season. Looked at them in passing the other day, and couldn't believe our eyes - the size of those mushrooms was incredible! Never seen shiitakes so huge. They photos don't do them justice - that's a Tablespoon and the largest kitchen knife we have. This one mushroom could have fed a family for a week (but we indulged and finished them in two delectable meals). Well, we did a little more reading about the logs and realized that the mushroom harvest is actually best done in the fall, so we'd been harvesting too early all along. Just imagine the quantity of mushrooms we could have had if we had waited. They were so delicate in texture, so delicious just falling off the fork after they had been marinated with a little tamari and garlic, and then lightly fried in olive oil. Oohh, can't wait to see the next years harvest (we'll wait for fall next time!).

Documenting Strawbale Addition - 10 Earthen Floor and Drywall






Last week Monday we had a BIG working day, as the entire earthen floor was completed in one go. We had a few friends who have experience with earthen floors here to help and we couldn't have done it without them! (if any of you are who were here are reading this, then a HUGE thank you for that day!)

One person was running the mixer and wheeling in the heavy loads of clay (4 parts concrete sand: 1 part clay to create a 1/2 inch base layer), then others troweling it on the floor, and then leveling and smoothing, packing it firm, and finally applying a clay-slip top coat (1 part clay slip: 2 parts very fine 50 mesh sand from pottery supply shop). It was a long working day but the end result completely satisfying. We didn't have champagne but did celebrate with locally made wine, as this really was a major accomplishment! The only issue now, 1.5 weeks later, is that with the cold weather this floor is taking quite a bit longer to dry. The final step is to apply a sodium-silicate sealer which protects and hardens the floor, but we will likely need to wait a few more days before we can do so.

Drywall in the vestibule, bathroom and new laundry has been put up. Taping and mudding to happen later this week, and then painting with natural paints. We bought the paint yesterday - and when you buy paint for any project it always signifies the end being in sight. I've bought enough paint to also redo the kitchen and new dining area, ambitious but I'm so excited about this non-toxic paint and the rooms do need new life. Due to slightly warmer weather outside we've also been finishing the final outdoor aspects of this project - roof vent pipe for composting toilet, heating ducts, yard clean-up, winterizing the new doors with weather stripping and so on. We still have someone coming to hook up the radiant floor heating pipes, and another person to install flashing on the roof edge to prevent water leakage - both key pre-winter jobs that should happen sooner than later. There are just so many details!

Winter chicken update

Can hardly believe it's December already! But we received my mom's annual "Nickolaus Tag"* package in the mail today (* a traditional German/Dutch celebration held on Dec 6th where children leave their shoe infront of their bedroom door the night before, and appropriately receive either treats or coal/sticks - depending on how good they have been that year - from Nickolaus who comes in the night).

We also have a sturdy layer of snow on the ground with more falling as I write, so it looks like winter is definitely here to stay. We've put the heat lamp back on in the chicken coop, and this keeps the temperature hovering at around zero to - 5 in there. We've read that chickens can tolerate upto -10C, but after that they are not happy and their wattles or combs can freeze. They are also laying significantly less now that the days are shorter and colder, and eat substantially more grain as they can't forage in the garden anymore. We've put straw in their yard which they can scratch at, new bran in their nest boxes and coop (which they like to nibble), and also frozen kale and broccoli plants pulled up from left-overs in the garden. We just don't seem to produce enough kitchen scraps for them, as at this time of the year (eating seasonally) we only have potatoes, carrots and other roots, squashes, onions and garlic, and I even use up the peelings and tops to make soup stock. There's not much left for the hens. It's a bit of a sacrifice to give them the kale, which we would also like to eat, so I approached the produce department at a nearby grocery store today to inquire about "waste" greens. They told me I can have as much as I like, as they go through the produce every morning. I plan to pick up as much kale, broccoli, romaine and other tasty treats for the girls several times a week. Our bike trailer should hold a fair sized box and make it through the snowdrifts. It's nice to turn "waste" into a useful resource!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Documenting Strawbale Addition - 9



Time to write another quick update about the strawbale project. We feel the end is nearly in sight, and are still aiming to move in by Christmas. The pine ceiling tongue & groove boards have all been oiled (two coats of Ontario hemp oil) and are beautiful. The oil really brings out the grain in the wood. This week we worked at installing them, and were thankful we had purchased a nailgun (which more than doubly paid for itself compared to if we had rented it).

We experimented with lime washes on the walls, using natural pigments to come up with a wheat colour. There is quite a variation in colour from one wall section to the next, which may have to do with parts of the plaster varying in wetness under the lime wash. We are hopeful this will even out and will give it a few more days to dry/cure. Lime wash goes a long way - you do brush it on like paint, but it is made up to be a very watery consistencty so it doesn't cover the way paint does. It is more like it gets absorbed into the wall and blends or bonds with the plaster. This is why lime washes can help "heal" cracks and repairs later on in subsequent years. We also tried to use a paint roller too, but had limited success as the roller didn't work the wash into the plaster as well as the brushes did.

We've shovelled in more limestone screenings, and are currently tamping them down with an electric packer ("jumping jack"). This is hard physical work, but what step of this project hasn't been? We'll be happy to be able to put our feet up during the winter months and rest, while we dream of spring projects like the outdoor plaster, the living roof, and maybe a new cob solarium addition. We'd like to experiment with more earthen plasters/cob/adobe. A few nights ago we watched the "Garbage Warrior", a documentary about Michael Reynolds, an architect turned extreme eco-builder of "earthships" in Taos, New Mexico. After being inspired about building affordable homes completely out of garbage (tires, bottles, cans) combined with natural materials found on site (clay, sand, earth, stone), we would like to work at continuing to learn about creating buildings that are low impact and self-maintaining. Here's a short synopsis of the film (www.garbagewarrior.com):

The film - Garbage Warrior

What do beer cans, car tires and water bottles have in common? Not much unless you're renegade architect Michael Reynolds, in which case they are tools of choice for producing thermal mass and energy-independent housing. For 30 years New Mexico-based Reynolds and his green disciples have devoted their time to advancing the art of "Earthship Biotecture" by building self-sufficient, off-the-grid communities where design and function converge in eco-harmony. However, these experimental structures that defy state standards create conflict between Reynolds and the authorities, who are backed by big business. Frustrated by antiquated legislation, Reynolds lobbies for the right to create a sustainable living test site. While politicians hum and ha, Mother Nature strikes, leaving communities devastated by tsunamis and hurricanes. Reynolds and his crew seize the opportunity to lend their pioneering skills to those who need it most. Shot over three years and in four countries, Garbage Warrior is a timely portrait of a determined visionary, a hero of the 21st century.

Earthship n. 1. passive solar home made of natural and recycled materials 2. thermal mass construction for temperature stabilization. 3. renewable energy & integrated water systems make the Earthship an off-grid home with little to no utility bills.

Biotecture n. 1. the profession of designing buildings and environments with consideration for their sustainability. 2. A combination of biology and architecture.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Wood (Forest) Kindergarten

I'm currently reading Last Child in the Woods: Saving our children from Nature Deficit Disorder, an astute book which talks about how children today are removed from genuine interaction with nature for many reasons: move from rural to urban areas and increasing loss of natural spaces in cities; parent concerns with inherent dangers of natural spaces; liability issues around children playing in natural, uncontrolled areas; increase of technology for play (computers, internet, tv, video games, etc); reduced natural play in school programs (e.g. elimination of recess in some schools); and so on. Throughout the book children in various parts of the US are interviewed regarding their interaction with nature. It becomes obvious that children are losing touch with "free" creative play associated with natural areas - a great loss when knowing that playing outside for prolonged periods has been shown to have a positive impact on children's development, especially manual dexterity, physical coordination, tactile sensitivity, depth perception, as well as strengthened immune system. The interviews also indicate that children are far less aware of their local flora and fauna (compared to their parents generation), yet know more about rainforests in distant places as taught in geography classes. What's more, the teaching on environmental issues such as rainforest depletion tends to take on a pessimistic tone, that has a distancing effect when learned from a textbook rather than experientally celebrating what is vibrant locally. The book advocates for environmental education to also include time outdoors, right here right now, as a way to build children's hope and care for the earth through local knowledge and hands-on relationship with common as well as endangered plants and animals.

This sentiment goes well with another article I just read, telling the history of the Wald Kingergarten (or Forest/Wood Kingergarten). It was created in the 1950s in Denmark, by a woman named Ella Flautau who often spent time with her own and neighbours' children in a nearby forest, as a form of daycare which generated great interest among the neighbourhood parents. The parents formed a group and created an initiative to establish the first Wood Kindergarten. Since then, the idea has spread to other Scandinavian countries and beyond.

Wood Kindergartens existed in Germany since the 1960s, but were first officially recognized as a form of daycare in 1993, which allowed for state subsidies to reduce the fees of children attending these Wood Kingergartens. Since then, the Wood Kindergartens have become increasingly popular. As of 2005 there were approximately 450 Wood Kindergartens in Germany, some of which offer a mix of Wood Kindergarten and traditional daycare, spending their mornings in the forest and afternoons inside. The daycare workers and children spend their time outdoors, in a forest, meadow, or on a beach. Another distinctive feature of Wood Kindergartens is the emphasis on play with toys that are fashioned out of objects that can be found in nature, rather than commercial toys. Despite these differences, Wood Kindergartens are meant to fulfill the same basic purpose as other preschools, namely, to care for, stimulate, and educate young children.The Wood Kindergarten aims to counter the lack of connection to nature, as well as the over-protection and lack of risk in everyday life, and the health threats of childhood obesity.

Though we don't have a Wald Kindergarten here, I am determined to take Maya on a walk each day rain or shine, and introduce her to the wild places, parks, gardens, plants and trees here in the city. Perhaps a Forest Group could be formed with other parents who have the same interests in celebrating our natural spaces here in the city with our children.

The author of Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv, is actually coming to speak in Burlington on November 21 at 7 pm. He'll be speaking at the Royal Botanical Gardens (680 Plains Road West) as part of an environmental event - see www.rbg.ca for more details. This event is part of "Back to Nature" a strategic planning initiative being led by RBG that brings youth development and environmental organizations together to look at how to reconnect Ontario's children to nature.


Documenting Strawbale 9: Hemp Oil Wood Finish




We ended up ordering hemp oil wood finish from Homestead House in Toronto. This is actually just a food grade hemp oil, made from "100 mile" hemp grown near Barrie at Hempola Farm. We could have ordered it directly from Hempola, but needed to get it here quickly and shipping from the Toronto store was faster. We are very happy with the results - the hemp oil really brings out the grain of the wood, dries quickly (minimum 12 hours), and is not messy to work with. It's nice to know that it's an all natural product (as opposed to other stains or wood sealants) so if it gets on hands or clothes it's not a concern. I used a cloth to rub the oil into the wood, and put on two coats. They recommend at least two coats for a good sealant, and even upto four coats if it's a high traffic area. Floors or furniture should be reoiled every year or so, but as these are ceiling boards this will be it. The boards will be installed over the next few days.

We finished up all the outdoor work on the house, including sealing up the last parts of the soffit, putting on the final board & baton walls, and cleaning up tools. We just need to use the commercial mixer for prepping earthen floor (a few days of work), but otherwise we are pretty much ready for winter weather now, as the house is cozy and basically all work left is interior. Quite satisfying to be at this stage - it is November.

Thursday, November 06, 2008

The Simple Life - Article From "Mothering" Magazine

Being a new mama myself, I have started a subscription to "Mothering" (natural family living) magazine. It's a wonderfully inspiring magazine that I look forward to each month - it promotes & educates about themes like natural healthcare, co-sleeping, cloth diapers, baby wearing (slings), breastfeeding, organic local foods, attachment parenting, and natural play for children.


The editorial by Peggy O'Mara is always thought-provoking, and this issue she writes about slowing down and getting back to the basics of life, including various ways to become more self-reliant. She hopes these will skills not lost, but rather ones passed on to our children. Although it's a simple and familiar message, the article still resonated with the goals I have for our family and I thought I'd post it here.

www.mothering.com

Keeping it Simple
Issue 150 - September/October 2008

by Peggy O'Mara, Editor and Publisher

Do you ever wish that life would just slow down? Sometimes we wish this because changing seasons suggest a more contractive mood. Other times, we're dispirited by unsavory events in the public sphere. And often, it's just because we're tired, or temporarily overwhelmed by the demands of our day-to-day lives. And yet, like you, I know that I must find a way to turn even these challenges into opportunities; if I don't, I'll fail to provide a model of optimism and resilience for my children. That's why, in tough times, I tend to fall back on the simple life.

The simple life is something I learned when, in the 1970s, I went back to the land and became a natural-living pioneer. Our watchword then was self-sufficiency. Now, when life in general feels out of control, I take comfort in the skills I learned, and in the knowledge that I can be self-reliant.

Nature herself is a model of self-reliance, creating myriad ways to fulfill the same function, to ensure that essential processes remain intact. We can learn from nature in our quest for self-sufficiency by looking for more than one way to supply our most basic needs. For example, I like to think of ensuring three sources of healthy and reasonably priced food. I don't want my food to come from far away, because I know that it is primarily the high cost of transporting food that increases its cost. I also know that local food is fresher and tastes better. Therefore, my first choice is my local farmers' market. it's the freshest food I can buy, and most of it comes from within 100 miles. Second, I choose my local food co-op, which has a policy of stocking as much food as it can that is grown or made within 400 miles.

Finally and most important, I grow a garden. This year I moved my garden to a new spot, and created raised beds rimmed with straw bales. I've harvested lettuce, beets, beans, summer squash, cucumbers, radishes, cabbages, and tomatoes—more than I've grown in years. I'm relearning how to eat out of the garden, to plan meals based on what's ripening. it's great to know that I can rely on this garden as needed. I can preserve or freeze. I can make sauerkraut and cucumber pickles. My grandmother always had the tastiest pickles, stored in barrels in her basement, and my Aunt Joy had a cellar room stocked with canned goods, some handmade, some store-bought. Having on hand extra staples such as rice, beans, pasta, salt, potatoes, onions, and garlic is always a good idea.

Having three sources of local foods means I can use them exclusively, or fall back on them as needed. Not only am I modeling resilience, I also have an opportunity to deepen ties within my community and to be outdoors.

In addition to looking for food from local sources, I like to eat foods when they're in season—not only are they then more flavorful, they're not priced at a premium. I also like to plan my meals more efficiently by making five menus for the week, based on what staples and other foods I have in the house. When I do this kind of planning, meals for the remaining two days seem to take care of themselves. it's tempting to plan exotic meals that require a lot of ingredients, but they're not simple by any means, and can be saved for special occasions. In fact, I've found that simple, elegant dishes of fresh, seasonal ingredients are often the most tasty.

When I was a young mom on a tight budget, I used food categories as a guide for my menus. Every week I would create five menus, one based on each of the following categories: Meat, Eggs, Beans, Vegetarian, and Soup. Beans and soup can be made on the weekend, or whenever there's more time. I can stretch my food dollars pretty far by basing menus on these or other simple categories, and on what I already have in my cupboards.

I stretch my food budget also by not buying prepared juices or snacks. I make a sun tea from Wild Berry Zinger that is great iced. This red tea is inspired by one I used to make from dried Jamaica (hibiscus) flowers. Both drinks are great plain, or with lime and/or sweetener. Fruit juices and bubbly water are choices for special occasions, and it's easy to make a quick glass of homemade limeade or lemonade. For snacks, there's popcorn with butter, salt, and special seasonings.

I save money by making my own salad dressings, which I think taste better. Those of you who bake bread can save your family money by doing so, and can even trade your bread for items your friends make. (I'll trade you some salad dressings!) With a few staples in the house, local sources for meat, dairy, and vegetables, and some signature dishes, you can feed your family a healthy diet while still being thrifty. In fact, eating more simply is one of those supposed sacrifices that turns out to be no hardship at all—simple food tastes better and is more satisfying.

it's also more satisfying to have several backups for energy needs. I currently have a forced-air electric heater, and this year my electricity bills increased by 40 percent. Though I participate in a wind-power program through my local electric company, I want to reduce my dependence on electricity. One option is to replace my electric heater with a gas heater, though it could be argued that gas is no more sustainable than electricity. In the long run, however, the photovoltaic cells I hope to install to gather solar power will largely offset these other energy sources. And third, if I had to, I could heat more with wood. Fortunately, I have enough dead-and-down trees on my property to sustainably heat my house.

As with my food choices, I don't think that any of these changes in how I get and use energy would be a real hardship. On the contrary, I understand that not only can photovoltaics provide most of one's power; one can actually sell back to the electric company the excess power they produce at times of peak sunlight—another example of an opportunity inherent in a difficulty.

I can also look for opportunities in the area of transportation. Recently, someone apologized to me for having only one car. But one car is enough. It may be inconvenient at times, but it's not a tragedy. I own a ten-year-old SUV because I need a four-wheel-drive car on my mountain road, and don't want to invest in a new car until there are better choices in terms of efficiency and a smaller carbon footprint. I usually limit my driving to four days a week, and drive fewer than 20 miles on the days I go into town. Nevertheless, this is an area that needs solutions. Because I live rurally, carpooling is challenging and public transportation is unavailable.

That's changing, though—by the end of the year, a light-rail commuter line will be running between Santa Fe and Albuquerque. And, of course, using the bicycle more is an opportunity to get in shape and save energy at the same time. we're going to get a few bikes for the office so that Mothering staff can ride them around town for lunch or errands. And for those of you who own horses: they may be the ultimate self-sufficient mode of transportation, as long as you can get hay.

Keeping farm animals is another way to be more self-sufficient. Here are some others:

  • Planting a vegetable garden
  • Canning tomatoes and peaches
  • Freezing strawberries and green beans
  • Pickling cucumbers
  • Growing an herb garden
  • Learning to identify mushrooms
  • Buying grass-fed meat in bulk with your friends
  • Starting your own neighborhood food co-op to buy bulk staples together
  • Heating with wood
  • Making your own clothes
  • Knitting a scarf
  • Installing a solar hot-water heater

All of these things are opportunities to become more self-reliant, and as we become more self-reliant, we feel more confident of our place in the world.

It is this sort of confidence that we want to give our children: to model for them problem-solving that is practical and powerful. To continue building the world we know our children will need, we can only start right here, right now, with our own lives. Teaching our children by example to turn challenges into opportunities by keeping things simple is an important lesson about what really matters, and about the essential nourishment of simple, everyday life.

Love,



Saturday, November 01, 2008

Everyday Oatmeal Bread


Quick post - just made another batch of our favourite bread, the "everyday oatmeal bread" from Simply in Season which I try to make each Saturday. This bread rises beautifully, can be ready in about 3 hours, and works well with many variations (seeds, nuts, grains, etc). This bread is delicious with a hearty soup or thinly sliced and toasted with tomatoes. I made it with 12-grain cereal instead of oatmeal today, for added texture of flax, millet and other seeds. Didn't bake it in the cob oven, but will do so soon again.

Everyday Oatmeal Bread
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 cup rolled oats (or whole oats, or 12-grain cereal, etc)
Combine and let stand 30 min.

3/4 cup molasses (or maple syrup)
3 Tbsp butter or oil
2 tsp salt
Stir into oatmeal.


2 cups lukewarm water
1 Tbsp active traditional yeast
Mix in a large bowl until dissolved. Add oatmeal mixture.

6 cups bread or all purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour

Work in flour to make a medium-soft somewhat sticky dough. Knead 8-10 minutes until smooth. Place in greased bowl and let rise until doubled about 1 hour. Keep covered with damp cloth while rising. Then punch down. Divide into two, and shape into loaves. Embellish tops of loaves with seeds (sesame, sunflower, hemp, etc) if desired. Place in greased loaf pans. Cover and let rise again, about 45 min. Bake in preheated oven at 350 F for about 35-40 min, until sounds hollow when tapped. Makes two large loaves.

Documenting Strawbale 8: Natural Paints & Finishes






It's hard to believe, but we're at the point of deciding on paints and finishes for the strawbale addition! The outer walls of the strawbale have been wrapped with ty-par construction paper for the winter, and we'll finish the outside plasters in the spring when the weather is hopeful again. There are still the soffits and fascia to close up, making sure we keep all possible entrances for rain or critters impassable. So, now it's basically just the last stages of the interior building to be completed (final wall coat, window trims, floor, hook up electricity and last step of plumbing).

The top plaster coat is going on the walls today, and will hopefully be near completion by the end of the weekend or early next week. We've mixed a small portion of sand and finely chopped up hemp fibres into the lime coat to act as a binder. We read that other fibres such as animal hair, flax, and so on can also be used. Straw is too coarse for this coat. The top coat can also be tinted with natural pigments, or covered with a coloured lime wash afterwards.

While the top coat is drying we will start on the ceiling. We are covering the insulation/vapour barrier with tongue & groove pine boards, the same kind of boards with which we have built the window boxes. This wood should be stained or painted to seal it. We are experimenting with a hemp oil finish as sealant - it's available from either Hempola (directly), or through Homestead House in Toronto (they also do mail order). Homestead House also sells a variety of milk paints and no-VOC paints, as well as other finishes. Friends of ours just painted a basement floor with the milk paint, and finished it with a thin coat of hemp oil. They were very happy with the products and the service at Homestead House and recommended them. Homestead House website is: www.homesteadhouse.ca

As mentioned, we will finish our pine boards and earthen floor with hemp oil. However, the questions are what to colour the lime wash, if at all; and how to paint the drywall in the new bathroom and laundry area (in the board & baton portion of the addition). Does milk paint cover drywall? There are mixed reviews on this so we need to do a little experimenting. When we've come this far with mixing our own earthen plasters for the walls and floor, it would seem wrong to simply go and purchase a ready-made milk paint. I found some recipes for homemade milk paint (also known as casein paint) and will try them out, adding some natural pigment powders that I sourced at a papermaking supply store in town. We have a red (made from bloodstone), a green (made from clay), and a yellow (made from ochre). We could get really adventurous by making our own pigments with clay from here, or food items like vegetables, berries, dried crushed plants, tea or spices, crushed bricks, or coal, but then it would be difficult to keep the colour consistent.

Why use natural paints? We all know that conventional paints and woodstain emit toxins that are dangerous to our health, especially on the interior of a building in which we will be living (and breathing)! Exposure to VOC's (Volatile Organic Compounds) in paint can trigger asthma attacks, eye irritation and respiratory problems, nausea and dizziness among other symptoms. Prolonged exposure has been linked to kidney and liver disease and even cancer.

The old method of milk paints was used by pioneers, with basic ingredients like milk and flour. Originally it was made from organic raw materials: curdled milk, lime and a pigment. Homemade paints should be used soon after mixing. They can be refrigerated, but binding ability may diminish. As it's hard to make a consistent colour over and over, make enough of a batch of paint to use reasonable in one session. If using lime, wear gloves and goggles. Crumpled oil-soaked cloths can spontaneously combust, so they shouldbe washed before disposing.


Tips on what kind of paint to use on various surfaces:
Interior surfaces: flour, casein or oil paint
Exterior surfaces: oil, flour in mild climates, casein in extremely mild non-humid climates
Bare wood: oil, flour, casein
Stone: flour, casein
Bare drywall: casein, flour (but not over joint compound)
Wallpaper: flour, casein
Earthen plaster: flour, casein
Gypsum plaster: flour
Masonry (cement, lime, unglazed brick, unpainted earth): flour, casein, oil
Painted surfaces, or sanded: flour, casein
Surfaces that require frequent cleaning: oil

Flour Paint
1 cup flour
5 1/2 cups cold water
1 cup finely screened clay or other filler
1/2 cup additional filler (mica, etc)

Boil 1 1/2 cups water while you mix the flour and 2 cups water with a whisk. Once all lumps have been removed add combined water and flour to boiling water. Reduce heat to low. When it begins to thicken remove from heat and slowly stir in remaining 2 cups water. Combine the clay and powdered filler in a separate bowl. Add to the water/flour mix. Stir until desired consistency is achieved. Makes 1 1/2 cups paint.

Milk Paint
1 cups organic powdered nonfat milk
1 cup water
powdered paint pigment or dye (for colour)

Milk milk powder and water. Add natural paint pigments to colour if desired. Too much pigment will lessen the durability of the paint. This piant formula should dry to a glossy finish. After the paint has dried 3-4 hours you may top coat with varnish, oil finish, Pure Tung Oil, laquer, or beeswax. Try in inconspicuous area first, the colour may change.

Casein Paint
Made from quark has a soft, matt, chalky white finish and is commonly used on interior walls. Quark, will be in the cheese aisle at the supermarket.

This will make enough colorwash to cover approximately 4 square metres (43 square feet).

Start by "slaking" the pigment. To do this put some pigment in a bowl and mix enough cold water to make a smooth runny paste and leave to stand overnight. Some pigments do not mix easily with water so try a little alcohol (organic vodka) instead.

Put the quark into a bowl then stir in the slaked pigment. Add enough to make a usable colorwash. Stir regularly during use, as the pigment will tend to settle out.

This wash needs to be applied quickly to walls (milk goes sour). Once this paint is dry, any smell disappears (you may like to add some of your favorite essential oils to the mix). Apply to a clean wall, which has two base coats of white eco-emulsion. Use a wide paintbrush or large bath sponge and apply the wash with sweeping strokes. Allow the first layer to dry thoroughly before applying the next. Further layers will deepen the color.

Milk Paint with Lime

1 gallon non-fat organic milk
2 ½ oz Type S lime (available at hardware stores) Builders Lime also called Hydrated Lime (do not use Quick Lime).
2 ½ cups water
pigment
6 cups chalk (or other filler)

Leave the milk in a warm place for a few days to curdle, then pour through a cheesecloth-lined colander to separate. 2 cups of curds should be the result.

Mix curds and lime in a blender. Add a bit of water if the mix isn’t blending well and strain to remove lumps.

Add water immediately. Dampen and crush pigment and add to mix until desired consistency is achieved.

Stir in chalk or other filler. Makes 1 quart

Oil Paint

Oil paint is great for exterior surfaces and the oil painted surfaces can be regularly cleaned without damage to the paint. Oil paint takes a very long time to dry, in fact some never completely dry – this is the property that gives oil paint its elasticity which helps it move with surfaces as they naturally swell and shrink with the temperatures.

Organic raw linseed oil and a natural solvent such as citrus thinner are the typical ingredients for natural oil paints.
If you intend to paint bare wood and want to cover the grain of the wood, prime the wood prior to painting. This will help seal the wood against moisture and will create a better bond with the paint. Oil glaze can be used over flour or milk paints to increase their resistance to water and makes a nice stain with or without added color.

Oil Glaze
1 teaspoon natural pigment
1 teaspoon powdered chalk
2 tablespoons powdered chalk
1 cup raw linseed oil
2/3 cup natural solvent
Dissolve pigment and powdered chalk in ½ cup of linseed oil. Stir in remaining ½ cup of linseed oil.Add solvent and remaining 2 tablespoons powdered chalk. Whisk to remove all lumps. Makes two cups.

Oil Paint
Different pigments will absorb different amounts of oil, so exact recipes are difficult.
Pour 3 tablespoons linseed oil into a bowl and add pigment a little at a time until you achieve a dough consistency. Add more linseed oil until the mixture just begins to flow. Add solvent until the desired consistency is achieved. Strain to remove lumps.

Oil Paint Primer
Apply a thin coat along the wood grain. Remove excess with a cloth. Apply a second coat after first is completely dry, estimate 48 hours between coats.
1 pint raw linseed oil
1 pint natural solvent

Staining Wood with Tea and Vinegar

Tannins are naturally present in woods like oak, but pale woods like pine can be darkened by having tannins added to them in the form of strong black tea. Iron acetate (made with vinegar), when applied to wood, reacts with tannins to produce a rich dark color.

For tannins you'll need: 500ml of water and 25g Indian tea leaves.Boil the water and add it to the tea leaves. Allow the tea to steep for an hour or two, then strain into a bowl. Apply the mixture to the wood with a medium paintbrush or lint-free cloth; allow to dry. You'll find pale woods will be colored by this alone; if not then apply the iron acetate.

For iron acetate you'll need: a large wad of fine wire wool and malt vinegar. Place the wire wool in a jam jar and cover it with the malt vinegar. Screw the lid on and leave overnight. The next day, strain the mixture through a colander or sieve lined with muslin or cheesecloth to remove all the wire wool. Apply the iron acetate solution to the wood with a medium paintbrush or lint-free cloth. The wood will darken for up to half an hour. Allow to dry thoroughly before lightly sanding.

Clean Coatings of the Future

Chemicals used in conventional paints and coatings leach into the environment and can cause air pollution as they dry. However, nanotechnology could be the answer. Sally Ramsey, founder and vice president of new product development at US-based nanotech company Ecology Coatings, says new, paint-like coatings are the future. Made up of tiny particles with innovative characteristics, they're sprayed on and cured (or dried) using ultra-violet light, removing the need for a solvent.The result is a coating with no polluting characteristics. Nanotechnology can deliver other benefits such as scratch resistance, waterproofing or anti-mold capability - all without adding toxic chemicals.

Resources:
The Natural Paint Decorator, by Lynn Edwards and Julia Lawless, published by Kyle Cathie. The Natural Paint Book bridges the information gap, offering an in-depth explanation of the differences between conventional and eco-friendly paints. Illustrated throughout with full-color photographs, the book provides complete instructions on how to make all-natural paints and finishes at home, using readily available ingredients such as clay, gelatin, linseed oil, and artist pigments.

Friday, October 31, 2008

Halloween for a locavore

Ok, it's halloween. I much prefer the tradition of the "Dia De Los Muertos" (or Day of the Dead), which happens in Mexico on Nov 1 & 2. This is a celebration that focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and relatives who have died. The holiday is connected to the American "All Saints Day" or "All Souls Day" which also stake place on those days. Traditions of Dia De Los Muertos include building private altars honoring the deceased, using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts.

Scholars trace the origins of Dia De Los Muertos to indigenous observances dating back thousands of years, and to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess named Mictecacihuatl (or "the Lady of the Dead"). Food, skulls, candles and so on (equated with our halloween) have come from this holiday.

Similar holidays are celebrated in many parts of the world; for example, it is a public holiday in Brazil where many Brazilians celebrate by visiting cemeteries and churches. In Spain there are festivals and parades, and at the end of the day, people gather at cemeteries and pray to their loved ones who have died. Similar observances occur elsewhere in Europe, and in Asian and African cultures (thanks Wikipedia!).

And we have halloween. So, what does a local-food inclined person who believes more in the traditional ritual mentioned above, and who does not want to support a multi-national corporation like Nestle, or hand out more sugar and chocolate to kids that are already getting bagloads of it, do? I like the idea of people on the street observing a common celebration, even if it has become a little skewed over the years, so I do want to participate in some small way. We can't give out apples or handmade treats anymore (at least to people who don't know us), as people don't trust anything that's not made in a factory setting and triple plastic sealed. I tried giving out non-food items like colourful fancy pencils and stickers one year, but this did not really go over very well. It didn't feel very good to see so many disappointed young faces, even if I was trying to teach an alternative.

Well for the people who we do know, including the parents who walked the young toddlers around, I made up pumpkin cookies (using local organic pumpkin). For those who didn't know us, I had granola bars (store-bought, alas), sesame snaps, and organic fruit leather. I felt pretty good about the selection, both in terms of what we were offering being fairly healthy yet still exciting enough to a trick-or-treater, and the response we got from kids (even the older ones seemed to appreciate the option of organic goodies).

Here's that pumpkin cookie recipe. Really easy, very tasty. You can leave out the chocolate chips and add more spices to get more of a pumpkin pie experience.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup veg oil
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup pecans, optional

Mix well. Bake in preheated 350C oven, on greased cookie sheets, for about 10 minutes (until golden and lightly firm).

Hazelnuts, Chestnuts & Heartnuts - grown locally!



I made my final purchase for the season at the Bailey's Local Foods pick-up today. The list of available local foods (even at the very end of October) was staggering! Nina had outdone herself, sourcing everything from butter & cheeses to free-range turkey, produce (including bushels of the last red peppers, bushels of apples, fresh herbs) to peanutbutter, popcorn to pickles, salsa to squashes, sparkling applecider to blackcurrant jam, pear sauce to peach custard pie, 12 kg bags of organic flour to locally handmade pasta, canned peach slices to raspberry cookies, dried beans and much more. Wow! I wish my wagon was bigger to be able to cart home more items (actually it was my handy baby stroller and a large backpack that carted my food home today, as Maya came along with me sleeping all the way).

In the end I had restrained myself and settled on only ordering a few special things that I can't find at our local farmer's market (because I do love going there each Saturday). In particular I was excited about the source for 100-mile nuts that she found. I had not known about the Society of Ontario Nut Growers (or SONG), and their active promotion of nut-tree growing in Ontario (see www.songonline.ca). Nina found a particular farm in the Niagara region that grows chestnuts, hazelnuts and heartnuts in their nut orchard (yes, it's still called an orchard), and was offering these to food buying club members by the pound. I can just imagine savouring these nuts over the course of the winter, bringing them out for after a holiday meal, and roasting the chestnuts in our new woodstove (or even outside in a small fire for a Winter Solstice treat). There is something precious about holding an edible nut (like any seed) in your hand and really thinking about what this means - the potential held within it, the possiblity of a full-grown tree someday - making it all the more potent knowing this nut is fresh, has been sustainably grown and harvested by hand, and came from only an hour or two from here...

The SONG website offers helpful advice for the would-be nut farmer, such as starting a nut orchard, how to harvest nuts, grafting, starting nut trees from seed, value-added products, and more. I was amazed to read that nut trees able to be grown in Ontario make up quite a long list, including the aforementioned heartnuts, hazelnuts, and chestnuts, but also Persian walnuts, black walnut (which we have four of on our property), butternut, buartnut, ginko (didn't know this was an edible nut tree), northern pecan, hican, shellbark and shagbark hickory, nut pines (in our climate the Korean, Swiss and Siberian pines), and even almond. On the site there are links to each variety of nut with more growing details, history, and photos. Many of the nut trees can successfully be started from seed here in Ontario, so I am hopeful to try sprouting some of the nuts I just purchased and start a nut tree orchard of my own. If the seedlings take, I'd love to develop a small urban tree nursery and pass on edible tree seedlings to people at our annual May 24 seedling sale.

www.songonline.ca

Quince Membrillo


A friend passed on a huge sack full of quince to us, which had come from a local tree in her mother's backyard that seldom gets harvested or used. This is the first time I've made anything with quince, and so I did a little sleuthing as to best ways to preserve it.

Turns out quince is similar in flavour to apple and pear, but is not desirable to eat uncooked as it is too astringent raw. Therefore quince has not become a popular fashion in grocery stores or farmers markets. It is ripe when it turns from green to yellow and softens slightly. It also has a lovely sweet smell, likened to the aromas of honey, pineapple, guava, or fresh flowers. Very aromatic! In older cookbooks (20-50 years ago) when quince was more well-known it is often referenced in applesauce recipes as a thickener, as it has a high amount of natural pectin. It can be made into sauce, jelly, jam, syrup, and a thick spread called "membrillo". This membrillo is a tradition of Spain, eaten on slices of good quality hard cheese or with cuts of meat. I decided to make my quince into membrillo and here is the recipe I used. I made it over the course of a few days (chopping and cooking down the fruit one day, saucing it through a food strainer the second day, cooking it into membrillo the third day, and canning the membrillo on the fourth day) - so it really was not a labour intensive process at all. The result is a gorgeous pink-purple coloured sweet smelling, rich tasting jelly.

Very simple traditional membrillo recipe:
Quince
Sugar
Water
Lemon juice, optional

1) Quarter the quince, not bothering to peel or core them. Add a small amount of water and cook down slowly in large pot until quince is softened.
2) Strain quince through food strainer to obtain a smooth puree.
3) Measure quince puree and add the same amount of white sugar (e.g. 1 cup quince puree = 1 cup white sugar)
4) Cook quince puree and sugar with a small amount of water, on low heat, stirring occasionally as it will start to thicken. When fairly thick, remove from heat and ladle into baking pans.
5) Bake in a very low oven (150-200 C) for several hours until quince becomes a thick jelly that can be sliced. Alternately, can the hot quince jelly in a food canner as you would any other jam (process in boiling water for 5 minutes). If not canned, the membrillo should be kept in refrigerator wrapped in plastic or stored in sealed container.
6) Serve with cheese wedges, meat cuts (or grilled tofu), or spread on bread. Would be great as an alternate to cranberry sauce for thanksgiving or holiday meals.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Fall planting & saving seeds

I wanted to make a note here that I planted our garlic bed (just over 100 cloves) a few days ago. I've also cleared up the garden beds for the winter, doing one final harvest of peppers, eggplant, green tomatoes, beans, basil and chard just before the first frost came (Oct 21). I prepared two coldframe grow tunnel beds, which have been planted up with winter greens, spinach, lettuce varieties, mache, chard and kale. I still want to add Asian greens like tatsoi but haven't been able to find seeds at our local OSC. May need to mail-order these from a supplier that has a greater variety of greens available (Vesey's, William Dam, Stokes). I also harvested seeds, saving tomatoes, hot peppers, bean varieties (french filet, cherokee cornfield), lettuce, and various annual herb seeds (fennel, dill, coriander, calendula, marigold), all to be planted again next year.

A few suggestions on saving seeds:
- "wet" seeds like from tomatoes, zucchini, squashes, and peppers can be washed free of pulp and dried on papertowel or newspaper
- hot pepper seeds like cayenne can be dried in the pod itself (I usually lay out cayennes in a large wicker basket to dry, then store in glass jars for cooking during the winter months and planting in the spring)
- annual herb seeds can be picked when they have dried on the plant itself (it will be obvious that the seeds are ready, as they will be completely dried and the stalks will break off easily from the plant stem)
- beans also need to be left to dry on the vine, then picked in their pods and shelled (either for eating as cooked beans in winter, or storing to be planted again)
- garlic is harvested in the fall, and to replant separate out the cloves and let air-dry for 24 hours, then plant out before frost if possible as you would other bulbs

Documenting Strawbale Addition - 7




Weather is turning much much colder, with several nights that have seen frost by now and days that are barely over zero degrees C. We've decided that we won't finish plastering the outside of the strawbale addition this year - if the weather is cold like this it would be difficult to get the plastering done well, with chances of it not drying properly, or cracking, and then having to redo the work in the spring. We can wrap the house with ty-par paper and open this up again in the spring when the weather is warm and we have renewed energy to do this work again!

As for the interior, we've now finished the two coats base plaster and are moving to the finish coat. We could tint the top coat, or paint over with clay or milk-based paints, or simply finish with a lime wash as the traditional natural white. I think we'll opt for this, as it will create a bright interior where light bounces off the walls and reflects the sun coming from the three large south-facing windows. We've installed windows and doors, insulated, and set up lights so we can work after dark (which comes early these days!). Still left to do: floor work, ceiling woodwork, some drywall on the vestibule, window & door trim, tiling the new bathroom and installing fixtures (including our clawfoot tub!), getting plumbing work done, and hooking up the electricity. May sound like quite a long list, but given everything that has come before, this actually feels very manageable. We have several friends who have experience with strawbale work who are now helping on a part-time basis, so this is moving us ahead in great leaps. We are still hopeful to move in before Christmas.

Central ArtWalk Success!





Yesterday we participated in the first annual Central ArtWalk - a walking studio tour of artisans and crafters in our neighbourhood, ranging from pottery, handmade chocolates, music, painting, knitted goods, handbound journals, woodwork, and much more. It was inspiring to see the variety of talents that have been hidden throughout our neighbourhood - more than 30 artists participated - and we hope this will become an annual event that draws more people out each year. We estimated that about 70-80 visitors come by our house, and the five artists who were set up here thought the day was worthwhile. It's so important to have these kinds of events to build community cohesion. Our neighbourhood is one that seems to just be coming "into it's own" and needs exactly this kind of opportunity for people to meet each other and to help develop the unique character of our neighbourhood. Thanks to everyone who dropped by and helped make this day a success. Here are a few photos of the vendors set up at Little City Farm - wooden games made from reclaimed wood; reconstructed clothing made from wool sweaters; silkscreen patches & handmade cards; herbal soaps, teas and salves...

Monday, October 13, 2008

Documenting Strawbale Addition - 6




Plastering has started! Here are a few updated photos of the strawbale progress. It's been a busy long weekend, as the weather was cooperating and we had a good crew of people to help. We finished sewing up the balewalls, being ever reminded how important it is to keep the walls stitched tightly to the mesh. Though tempting to hurry this process, it's valuable to painstakingly stitch the walls so that all the subsequent work of plastering is not lost.

After the stitching, we sprayed on a clay slip (made of locally purchased powdered clay and a small amount of wheat flour paste). It was helpful to have a rental texture sprayer as this made the job much faster, especially reaching up to the second story of the tall wall. Then today the base plastering started - spread on in a satisfying way by hand, and something that reminds us how age-old this building process really is. In fact, as one volunteer reminded us, this is the "normal" way of building when you look at how homes are constructed on a global scale: people using natural materials that are sourced locally, and building by hand. We like to call this "traditional" building rather than "alternative" building for this reason.

One photo above shows an arched "niche" being formed into the wall. This is a common element in strawbale homes, using the wall cavity to form shelves, niches, recessed benches, etc. We will also include a "truth window", a section of raw straw left unplastered to show that there really is straw insulating these walls and remind us of this link to our local farm community where we sourced the straw.

Tomorrow, more plastering...thanks again to all the friends who've been helping out. It's been great to have kids on the site as well, including two babies - it's really another benefit of strawbale or natural building when entire families can be involved in the build!

Friday, October 03, 2008

Cooper's Hawk in the yard


This morning I heard an unusual ruckus coming from the chicken pen in the back part of our yard. I rushed out to see what was going on, and saw a large hawk swooping over the yard, coming from the chicken run area. It settled on a low dead branch of a nearby tamarack tree, to watch as I approached. Usually as soon as I open our front door, the hens come running to the edge of their pen to wait for snacks and attention. Now, not a single hen was visible, obviously hiding from the hawk. They were all hiding under a huge pile of dried sticks and branches which we have left in their yard as shade/cover, and now I was extremely glad they had this refuge. I neared the tamarack and the hawk flew off, but not before I could get a fairly good idea of colouring to identify it.

I am pretty sure it's a Cooper's Hawk, and once I read more about this type of hawk I was pretty assured that's what we had. The Cooper's Hawk is well known by farmers and has earned the nickname "chicken hawk" for it's predatory nature on chickens in poultry yards. It's main diet is smaller birds, as well as chipmunks and other small mammals. In the 1950s-60s the Cooper's Hawk population dwindled, and some suspect it was due to DDT chemical spraying. Today, populations have risen again to the point where these hawks are becoming nuisances again. They are becoming well-known in urban areas as well (as cities encroach on farmland and hawk habitat), and many urban chicken keepers mention seeing these hawks in their yards or even having their hens attacked (and sometimes eaten). We back onto the railroad tracks lined by tall trees, and have heavy tree cover at the back fence of our property, so plenty of places for this hawk to live. I know this may all be part of nature, and the life of a farm (urban or rural), but I would be very upset to see one of our hens taken. We'll have to consider covering the run with mesh to keep unwanted predators away as this hawk may become a regular visitor now that it knows the hens are here.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Documenting Strawbale Addition - 5












There has been loads of progress on the strawbale addition since the last documentation post. Above is a series of photos to show the developments. To summarize - we laid the radiant floor heating pipes and covered them with crushed limestone, on which we will lay our earthen floor. Then Greg picked up the strawbales, purchased from a local farm - a very exciting day to have them arrive in the huge moving truck! Of course, baby Maya is around most days to help supervise the activities...

By now, all the strawbales have been placed, and the walls are now filled in. As we are doing wood framing (as required by our city building department in order to get our permit), we need to notch every single bale to fit them tightly around the stud walls. This is immensely labour intensive, compared to load bearing walls or even modified post and beam, which most strawbale homes are built as. Thus, the photo of me using a small chainsaw to notch the bales! We also had to retie bales to be able to fit them into the smaller spaces, or triangular segments of the wall near the roofline. We are currently stitching on the mesh (chicken wire) with baling twine to hold the bales tightly in place and for the plaster to stick on. The walls will have an appealing organic undulating shape and curved corners, as it's impossible to have bales so tight that they form straight walls. This is the beauty and warmth of the strawbale "look".

We hope to start plastering on the weekend, including simultaneously the interior and the exterior plasters. We hope the weather stays warm and dry for at least another month! These coats of plaster need time to dry slowly, and we need 3 coats (scratch coat, second coat, finish coat).

Organic Beekeeping



Thanks to Les Eccles, from the University of Guelph beekeeping lab, for an excellent beekeeping workshop here on Saturday!

We held the workshop in our unfinished strawbale house addition, where we set up extra bales into risers for people to sit on. Turned out to be the perfect "farm" setting for a beekeeping workshop (see photo above)!

The workshop was packed with information, definitely whetting the appetite of would-be beginner beekeepers. He mentioned a 2-day hands-on workshop in spring, which would be the next step for someone getting serious about beekeeping (otherwise apprenticing with a seasoned beekeeper would be a good way to start). He was encouraging of urban beekeeping and there was some interest from participants in the idea of forming a beekeeping co-op, sharing equipment such as honey extractor, yard space, and also the care of the bees. Hopefully we can stay in touch through an email list to see a group like this form next spring!

A highlight was the honey tasting, with varieties of honey from Les' apiary - examples of raw and liquid (pasteurized) spring honey (harvested in June, made from flowers such as dandelion and red clover), and fall honey (harvested in September, made from summer flowers such as alfalfa). He mentioned that trees such as willow, linden and buckthorn make excellent honey, and that certainly there is enough greenspace and gardens in the city to supply bees their nectar.

Organic Beekeeping
Our group had strong interest in organic beekeeping, and although he said it's virtually impossible to become certified organic with honey (given that you need such a large radius of certified organic farmland around your beekeeping operation to ensure bees are only feeding on organic plants), you can use organic practices to reduce chemical residue in honey. Here is the contact information for those who wish to follow up on organic beekeeping:

Ontario Beekeepers' Association Technology Transfer Program
Alison Skinner, Janet Tam and Rachel Bannister
519-836-3609
www.ontairobee.com

From the organic beekeeping brochure:

Why choose organic beekeeping practices?

- risk of relying on a single solution is eliminated when using a combination of treatments
- monitoring disease levels and treating when it is required saves the expense of treating for the sake of treating
- alternating treatments reduces the selection pressure for that treatment, decreasing the likelihood of resistance
- organic management eliminates the potential of residues from hard chemicals

The national standards for Organic Honey as reviewed by the Canadian General Standards Board are available at: www.honeycouncil.ca

Resource List

We recently presented at our local library as part of a series on Local Food initiatives. Our talk was about "urban agriculture and urban homesteading", done as a slideshow as well as discussion based on questions from the audience. There were some great questions raised, including:

"is it legal to keep chickens and bees in the city?"
(In our city the bylaws seem unclear, but we do know of many people keeping both hens and bees locally, and also of many cities that do allow this)
;

"is it really making a difference to go off grid in the city?"
(We say why not aim for net-zero by reducing your energy comsumption and producing your own energy even if you are on the grid)

"how can we produce more food during the winter months?"
(We use grow tunnels, cold frames, a passive solar greenhouse, and an audience member mentioned both an underground greenhouse which has been set up at the University of Guelph, and a geodesic greenhouse model)

"does buying local food hurt international farmers?"
(We believe local small farmers will never put other small farmers out of business. The problems with trade are to do with the largescale agriculture and production which has taken farming out of the hands of individuals, as well as the disparate systems of distribution that are set up for global trade. If every city could be supporting it's small farmers, plus individuals growing much for themselves in whatever space they may have - rooftop, balcony, yard, acreage - and trading for those commodities that can't be grown locally - in our case, coffee, chocolate, spices, rice, etc - then we would be more sustainable globally. But a very good point for discussion, and much more could surely be debated on this topic.)

There were some requests for our resource list, so here it is. I hope to post the entire presentation on our website at some point, but for now this is all I have time for.

Resources

URBAN AGRICULTURE
Kitchen Gardens - www.kitchengarden.org
Heifer International - www.heifer.org
FoodShare - www.foodshare.net
Centre for Ecoliteracy - www.ecoliteracy.org
Ryerson - www.ryerson.ca/foodsecurity
American CG - www.communitygarden.org
Cdn Organic Growers - www.cogwaterloo.ca
SPIN Farming - www.spinfarming.com
Edible Schoolyard - www.edibleschoolyard.org

URBAN HOMESTEADING
City Farmer - www.cityfarmer.org
Path to Freedom - www.pathtofreedom.com
Fairview Gardens Farm - www.fairviewgardens.org
Rhizome Collective - www.rhizomecollective.org
Little City Farm - www.littlecityfarm.ca

LOCAL FOOD
FoodLink - www.foodlinkwaterlooregion.ca
Baileys Local Foods -
www.baileyslocalfoods.ca
Fertile Ground CSA -
www.fertilegroundcsa.com
100 Mile Diet -
www.100milediet.org
Slow Food Canada -
www.slowfood.ca
Edible Toronto Magazine -
www.edibletoronto.com
Food KM -
www.foodkm.com
Local Eating
- www.localeating.ca
Locavore -
www.locavore.ca
Ontario Farm
Fresh - www.ontariofarmfresh.com
Ontario Harvest -
www.harvestontario.com
Kitchener Market - www.kitchenermarket.ca

SELF-RELIANCE

Lehmans Hardware -
www.lehmans.com
Mother Earth News –
www.motherearthnews.com

There are many other great books, websites and blogs about urban homesteading, gardening and self-reliance.