urban Gardener: November 2009

If you are wondering

Considering That Less Than 6 % of the food we consume is grown on Vancouver Island means that we are neither “food secure” nor “food sustainable”. Alarmingly, that number has steadily declined in past years and leaves our island communities vulnerable to food shortages, if there is ever an interruption in the food delivery system. This column is designed to encourage people who have never gardened to begin their first steps in growing a few herbs and vegetables in small spaces. As our understanding of food production deepens it will hopefully lead to a social and environmental awareness of the need to support local food producers and to purchase what we eat close to home.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

WILL COUNCIL CHICKEN OUT?

Will Council Chicken Out on a bylaw to raise backyard hens? A recent report says that we can expect a omnibus rezoning amendment for Quinsam Heights to be prepared which will include a section herding horses, sheep, goats and chickens into one bylaw.
Already the cluck, cluck, clucking has begun about how much space a horse requires as compared to the space needed to raise a few chickens. The report states that councilors are willing to agree on one point…that chickens are smaller than horses! Good thinking.

If the urban chicken issue is lumped in with other farm animals it will get fowled up in the hot debate that is sure to follow. We need to separate the question of a chicken bylaw and bring it forward on it’s own merit for the City of Campbell River rather than entangling it with the Quinsam Heights zoning. If Victoria, Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Esquimalt, Oak Bay, Ladysmith and New York City have urban chicken bylaws do we need to squawk over a few hens. Ask Esquimalt about their bylaw. The spokesperson says they haven’t received a single complaint since it was approved 18 years ago.

There Is A Need for city councils everywhere to get involved in the support of community food sources. According to a researcher there is a flock of chicken and fresh food activists across this country, standing up for the right to keep egg-laying hens in their backyards. A current green Party report states that 85 per cent of Vancouver Island’s food was produced locally 25 years ago, now it’s down to only 10 per cent. We all remember what happened last winter when a snow storm cut off fresh food delivery to the Island. Within three days the grocery shelves were emptying fast. This is the best example of what is meant by food security. If we can grow some of our food locally and raise chickens for their eggs and meat then we are taking small steps towards food sustainability…we become part of the solution.

Chickens provide healthy, pesticide-free eggs. They consume kitchen waste, produce great compost for the garden, make great pets. Times have changed and we have to think about being environmentally smarter and being sustainable. Raising chickens fits that goal. We activists are buck-buck-bucking for change.

Foraging For Mushrooms trek, sponsored by the Museum, attracted my interest and I was fortunate to tag along as the course was fully booked. The local mushroom expert Sequoia Letosky led us along a Beaverlodge Land trail and from there we veered off into the bush. The first fungus along the route turned out to be the deadly Amanita. With our leader instilling the fear of God into us, we neophytes peered timidly at every sighting after that warning. Despite anxieties it turned out to be a great learning experience and I particularly was excited about discovering the Lobster mushroom. These fungi are an intense orange in colour and can be found around or under rotting logs. One needs to get down on hands and knees and scratch around as they are not obvious at first, being generally covered over with soft moss. The lobsters do not have the traditional shape, more like shrivelled potatoes. I filled up my small basket and left for home in a state of great anticipation. I washed them thoroughly, cut away the black spots and grilled them lightly in butter and bacon fat with a sprinkling of pepper. Served on a toasted slice of whole wheat sourdough bread my meal turned out to be akin to a religious experience! I can hardly wait to go back to same area. This time I’ll take a compass as it is very easy to get disoriented, especially when one is crawling around on one’s hands and knees.
For comments msostler@telus.net

Did you know?

… if you google Campbell River on your computer the arrow that pops up shows the entrance to town is located at 14th Ave. Now picture a first time visitor to Campbell River heading north on the Inland Island Hwy., then turning right at 14th and driving past the Eagles Hall. Then the route takes them along an industrial strip leading to the Maple St. left turn bend. No wonder the hapless driver ends up in Campbellton asking for directions! The recently formed Campbellton First committee has identified its initial outdoor task is to clear garbage, groom sidewalks and improve landscapes. A Campbellton First Clean-up is being held on Saturday, March 31. The energetic new committee welcomes volunteers from all points of town to join in the effort. Watch The Mirror for further information on the clean up.

… it is probably the furthest thing from your mind in the middle to this hot spell but it’s now time to prepare the soil for your winter garden. If you want to eat fresh, organic, local food all year round for the price of a few seed packets then check out West Coast Seeds Winter Gardening Guide. So far the booklets are available at Campbell River Garden Centre. It advises, for example, sowing arugula from June to the end of August for harvest in fall and through winter into spring. Carrot seeds can go in the ground the first two weeks of August for winter harvests. Other winter vegetables include beets, Brussels sprouuts, kale, lettuce, parsnips, spinach, Swiss chard and turnips. When choosing seeds for winter gardening check the package as it should indicate whether it is a hardy, winter variety. You might have to experiment the first year but that’s part of the fun in learning about your garden’s potential.

… garlic, chives, cilantro, fennel leaf, parsley, sorrel, bay leaf, chervil, rosemary, sage, thyme and winter savoury are available year-round. Harvest them fresh or dry them out in a warm room and grind them up in with a mortar and pestle or processor. They make much appreciated gifts for friends and of course for use in your own kitchen.

… it is possible to raise worms in a small container or tote box on your back deck. My experiment is turning out well and all I did was fill the tub full of soil, spade in a handful of red wiggler worms given to me by a friend, and enough water to keep the soil lightly moist. Feeding the soil with finely chopped left over vegetable peelings, the worms receive a steady supply of food which they convert into nutrient-rich castings. Two or three pounds of green kitchen refuse including tea bags and coffee grinds a week is all that’s needed to keep them happy. To create the perfect environment I really need to find a tote with air holes and a spigot to drain off excess water. The compost they create is considered “black gold” as the castings are far more beneficial to plants than any man-made fertilizer, according to a website called WormWatcher.

… there is always something new to learn when setting up a food garden and my friend Lance Klassen recently revealed an amazingly easy method of seed-starting for transfer into pots. Lay your various seeds on a damp tea towel. Sprinkle the seeds loosely and cover with a second damp towel. Leave them on the kitchen counter or somewhere indoors. For the next three days make sure the towels stay damp. By the fourth day the seeds should have sprouted. At that point you can very gently transfer each seed that has produced a strong root into small containers full of potting soil. I tried this successfully with 12 different seeds and five days later I now have trays of happy seedlings arrayed on the window sills and peeping out of their pots. This method sure beats sprinkling the soil with seeds and then having to thin out the weaklings once they have struggled up through the earth.

... that those tough little veggies like arugula, chard and kale which survived the winter can be tenderized successfully by placing them in the freezer for 30-40 min. and then quickly steamed or stir fried. It is a year since this column was first published. Those of you looking for guidance on how to start a veggie garden in small spaces just Google Campbell River Urban Gardener and my blog will pop up to display all the archived columns.

... that I have a cooking technique for turning sprouts into a culinary triumph. Prepare to be amazed! You may be able to convince your entire family to munch a few sprouts after trying out this idea. Heat up your frying pan and melt a large dollop of butter in the pan. Add half a teaspoon of brown sugar. Cut the sprouts in half, lengthwise. Arrange them face down in the pan and cover with a pyrex see-through lid if possible. Don't add water. Cook them at medium heat for about five minutes. You'll know they are ready if the sprouts turn intensely bright green and can be pierced with a fork. Remove immediately and serve with a smile. The U.S. President said publicly that he hates sprouts. I think I will send this recipe to Michelle. It may change the course of history.

... that fresh cilantro can be frozen in the same way that you have learned to freeze parsley. Place in a plastic bag, unwashed, and snip or slice off whatever you need and then return it to the freezer. It keeps its intense flavour despite being frozen and sure beats finding a half decayed bag of your favourite kitchen herb decomposing at the back of the veggie container.

... that stinging nettles make fabulous fertilizer juice? Well, that’s so, according to a local friend who told me to cut down the huge stinging nettle growing at the back of the property and chop it up into small pieces. Then I am to place the pieces in a bucket and cover with water. After about six weeks, according to my advisor, it will turn into a dark green slurry. Then it’s time to strain it and place in a lidded container. I can then add a few tablespoonsful to a watering can and it makes an outstanding liquid fertilizer.

... that there is a technique for harvesting veggies called Cut & Come Again so that the plants can continually reproduce. In fact there are two systems. Either take a pair of scissors and clip off the top of the plants...like giving the plants a hair cut...or the other choice is to clip only the outer largest leaves from the plants. Whichever way you choose is provides you with an endless supply, especially with spidly plants like chives, mizumi, arugula and lettuce. It takes a leap of faith to shave off alll those leaves but it works. The next crop will bounce up in a couple of weeks. Basil needs a different approach. Pick from the top of the plant down to the next set of leaves. That's where the growth is renewed.

... that you can keep a pot of fragrant basil on your kitchen window sill and, even if you continuously clip leaf clusters from the top of the branches, the plant will produce new leaves within a week. I’ve been doing this for ages and it still amazes me. I can purchase a sturdy looking little basil plant for $3 at the grocery store, even in the dead of winter, and it will keep producing for months on end. Eventually the plant will exhaust itself and need to be replaced. But, in the mean time there is a supply of one of the most favored herbs. In the summer it thrives when planted out doors in a very hot spot, tucked in under the spreading leaves of a large tomato plant. Try a thickly sliced home grown beefsteak tomato, sprinkled with shredded basil leaves and a teaspoon of organic olive oil. It’s a humbling experience. One should only consume such an offering on bended knees…with your head bowed.

... food grown on Vancouver Island has steadily declined and is currently less than 6%!! So when you sow a few seeds and start your very own food garden you are taking the first steps in making us and our children “Food Secure” in our beautiful island home. You will hear more and more about the issues of food sustainability. It means eating close to home and supporting farm markets and local producers in the mid-North Island.

... that you can enjoy your home grown parsley all year round by filling a small plastic bag full of fresh green leaves and storing them in the freezer. When you need a sprinkling of parsley to top up an omelet or a fresh salad, grab your kitchen scissors and slice off some frozen parsley.You'll be surprised to discover that it still retains that lovely pungent smell of fresh cut parsley.

urban Gardener

Urban Gardener

If you are wondering

RELATED LINKS

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

WILL COUNCIL CHICKEN OUT?

Past columns

Did you know?