The Lazy Composter

I really have to be more on top of pests in my garden. I have three tomato plants growing in my garden right now: Stupice, Early Girl, and, to the best of my recollection, Aunt Ruby’s.  Right now the plants are as large as I ever remember growing them in San Francisco. The middle plant is taller than I am.  Early on in the life of the Stupice plant, I had noticed that the leaves were sort of sooty and drawn, and the plant didn’t look that happy.  continue reading »

Nothing makes me happier than a farm by the sea.  I have always felt that the food tastes better if grown near the ocean, that some of the coastal magic comes through the plants.

Yesterday, I visited Green Gulch Farm, which is part of the San Francisco Zen Center.  I was there for a yoga retreat, and had to walk down to the farm from the yurt where we had our retreat.  continue reading »

Earlier, I had posted about a [intlink id=”65″ type=”post”]compost experiment[/intlink], starting a new compost pile in my unused planting box.  Yesterday, Dave and I finally got around to preparing the box.  I had covered it with a tarp for a week or so, to make it easier to pull out some of the pernicious weeds in the box. continue reading »

I just watched this film for the second time in one month. I wanted to share it with my family. It’s made a huge impact on me, and I keep coming back to it, trying to see what I can do in my own small way.

It’s the story of a family living in Manhattan who try to live without carbon impact for a year. When I first met them, on the screen, I instantly fell in love with Michelle, a self-avowed consumer who is addicted to shopping and reality shows. continue reading »

It’s a sunny Sunday morning, and I went out into the garden early to make sure everything was getting enough water.  I had just read Backyard Composting, and was reminded again of the idea of how some people move their compost pile frequently, and then plant where the pile has been.  (similar to the permaculture “chicken tractor”) This approach may solve a big problem in my garden.  continue reading »

It’s really close to the solstice, and I’m experiencing a familiar feeling — too many possibilities.  This is a time for me when work slows down and I try to focus on personal projects, as well as exploring new technologies and just learning.

When I go out into the garden, there’s so much to do, everywhere I look something needs attention.  Instead of getting overwhelmed, I need to learn how to feel content with just doing a little bit at a time, instead of doing it all perfectly. continue reading »

I am lucky enough to live in the city AND have a big backyard.  Every day I give thanks for my yard, the fact that I have so much greenery in the heart of the city.  Even though everything is perfect, it’s still hard to get those food and paper scraps out in a way that they can be maximized by my compost pile.

I have learned that what works for me is a series of containers for each step of the composting process.  continue reading »