Wednesday 13 November 2013

Wild Fermented Sodas

This has become a passion.


Inspiration: Sandor Katz, Power of Hope, my house, Metta.

Concept: Making sodas in a traditional method using yeast as the source of carbonation. In this case specifically using wild yeast to make probiotic healthy sodas.

Wednesday 13 March 2013

Sheet Mulched Garden Creation

WORK IN PROGRESS

Inspiration: Jen's garden 2012 (see pictures), permaculture, Food Not Lawns  (the book), wasted urban space, desire to grow more food and help our bees.

Concept: Create a garden out of waste material from a spot that was being wasted.
Jen's example of sheet mulch done right.

My house has a gravel back area meant for car parking. Nobody in my house drives, plus, we have a driveway if we did. This space had a small garden plot we built, but the soil was too sandy. Sandy soil + gravel underneath means very quick drainage, and limited nutrients. High organic matter can retain nutrients and moisture. I want this space to grow things that take less work to grow as well, because it is further from the house, so we'll probably forget to water more often, and just not want to walk as far away. Also a permaculture concept to have less time/energy intensive plants further away from the house. That being said, it will have perennials, pollinator plants, onions?, squashes, and well, really anything else I want. It also will be a spot for me to test growing things that my housemates aren't as interested in growing (quinoa, soybeans?, onions, watermelon?, mushroom-inoculated pathways?).

Jen's sheet mulch garden 2012.

What I know:

  • Many plants grow well in high levels of organic material.
  • Finding a use for waste materials closes our waste stream loop.
  • Gardening space is great to have! More tasty food.
  • During the decomposition process, some of the nutrients will be tied up (not available for plants).
  • A compost heap is hottest in the middle, so the bigger the pile the higher temperatures can be reached (quicker, and effective composting).

Project:

  1. Placed down wet cardboard gathered from my house and neighbours. This marks where the garden will be and prevent a lot of the weeds from creeping into the new garden. 
  2. Beginning in the fall.
  3. Gathered sandy soil, leaves, sheep manure, coffee grounds, and my pee and made a really big pile.
  4. Let it sit over fall/winter.
  5. Lay it out into the garden plot design. After lots of thinking it over and fun with drawing on trace paper, I've chosen a spiral design for the pathway and the plantings. I've used intuition, aesthetically pleasing patterns, fun, purpose, permaculture concepts, and the book Carrots Love Tomatoes to plan it out a bit.
  6. After step 3 in the spring (March 2013).
  7. As it's the first year, and decomposition has not fully settled, what can grow may be limited. I'll test it out. Jen's was a huge success last year though! Thus far my garden is growing tomatoes, potatoes, pole beans, onions, beets, chives, various bee perennials, pumpkins, sunflowers, and dill. Here's pics from the early spring: 

    As the season progressed, all the soil was dense with plant life. I am uncertain if I remembered to take a pic at peak growth. Oops. If I can find one, I'll upload that too.

    Future:
    • Make detailed designs, with sun, multi-functionality etc. in mind.
    • Document it's progress to maybe inspire others to do the same.
    • Place a perimeter of alder wood chips around my plot. This will prevent external creeping weeds from coming in, and, if I inoculate the wood chips, will give me another crop to grow: Garden Giant mushrooms!

      Wednesday 6 March 2013

      Pallet Garden Composter


      WORK IN PROGRESS - now with pictures.

      Inspiration: 3-bin systems, pallet vertical gardens, holistic systems/permaculture,

      Concept: Create a compost system that utilizes the benefits of decomposition to grow plants instead of being wasted garden space.
      Inspirational pallet gardens on victoria dr.

      I've currently built pallet gardens at Science World, home, and I've built numerous compost bins. Now to combine the two concepts. As per usual, I am using as many waste products as possible. Thus far my total cost for this has been about 10 dollars. Might use my sheet mulch garden soil to fill it, we'll see.

      What I know:

      • Plants need nutrients, both macro and micro to grow nutritious food for us.
      • During decomposition, liquid is produced. This liquid is full of micro and macro nutrients, and if not captured will leach away, not utilized.
      • Plants need sun, and so will have a hard time growing on the north facing vertical side of any system.
      • In a forest ecosystem, or any other natural system, decomposition occurs in the same spot as plant growth.
      • With this system, nutrients, liquid, and heat will transfer from the food waste decomposition and help the plants grow to be more nutritious.
      • Update: my friend tried this out in the Yukon after reading this, and added plants and let them establish when the pallets were still on the ground, and then, once established built the composter. This was a great success.


      Project:


      1. Get 3 pallets all the same size. Attach them using screws and whatever else. Have the open side be the northern most side because plants won't be growing on this side.  
      I took some slots off to ensure enough plant growth.
      With the two left ones, I made pockets for the gaps to help secure the soil.
      Sides showing are east and south.
      These are north facing attachments so the this side can slide open
      when you want to access the finished humus.

      I used one L-bracket at each top and bottom of the two joining corners.
      2. Staple a backing on the inside of all 3 pallets using burlap sacks, landscaping fabric, or something else that liquid can penetrate, but soil can not. Secure this with chicken wire, to prevent rodents, and to help hold in soil, especially as the burlap sack decomposes.


      Coffee shops give out free burlap sack. It will rot over time though...

      3. Make a door or slots using cedar or something else, on the other side. Make a lid using plastic, metal or cedar.
      Original plan was cedar, but then I found out that the waste windows in our backyard fit perfectly, and there was a waste plastic sign just down the road. So I used these products instead. Now people will be able to see the compost turning into humus, because the window faces our alley.


      4. Fill the pallets with soil. 

      5. Wood burn a nice sign for neighbours. Wait for them to use it. 




      Here's what it looks like these days. You can see the two layers showing two seasons of neighbours using the bin.
      Still to come:
      1. Plant seeds or starts in between the slots of the pallet. Best are greens and herbs.

      Future:

      • Thinking about making it more pyramid shape, out of new wood, to retain soil better. 
      • Monitor best plants to grow in the system.


      Wild Fermented Composting

      WORK IN PROGRESS

      Inspiration: Bokashi, Wild Life Gardeners, Tomatoville,  Sandor Katz

      Concept: Make a cheap, and beneficial compost system that utilizes my knowledge of composting, decomposition, fermentation, and ecology. Support local microfauna. This method should save hundreds of dollars (depending on quantity you make) compared to buying the finished product from someone.

      So this is something that I will be starting in the next week or so, so it's a work in progress. Here's the concept: in the 1970s someone created a mixture of microorganisms that excel at fermenting food waste to quicken the composting process. This process is called Bokashi, translated as fermented organic waste. I like this process in all ways, except that the initial slurry of microorganisms is a trademark product and there seems to be general assumption that this is the only mixture of organisms that would work.

      What I know:

      • There are more organisms that can efficiently ferment organic matter than we can count.
      • Ecology teaches of the benefits of increased biodiversity, increased complex, and robust ecosystems, and of mutualism.
      • Decomposition occurs by specific organisms using specific enzymes that break things down. Some species are more specific about their enzymes than others.
      • Wild fermentation utilizes a multitude of organisms to 'predigest' organic matter, making it easier for it to be broken down later.
      • Simple probiotics found in common day ferments have been shown do dramatically benefit plant growth when used as a mixture in watering/soil amendment strategies.
      • Soil is composed of minerals/rocks, air, water, and living organisms.
      • Microorganisms are crucial for healthy soil, and help in countless ways.
      Project:
      1. Gather all the different fermenting friends around my house. At this moment, the ones i can easily find are yogurt, sourdough starter, ginger bug (ginger ale starter), fruit drink starters, sauerkraut, kombucha, apple cider vinegar, wild yeasted mead, partially decomposed compost, and humus (finished compost).
        1. These organisms are quite varied because they are mainly wild fermented, but mainly contain lactobacilli, wild yeasts other than simple saccharomyces, actinomycetes, acetic acid bacteria, and maybe some others...
      2. Mix these all together in my small carboy. Mix with water and molasses. Put a air lock on top, and let sit for 1-2 weeks. This allows these populations to increase in size and coexist if they can.
      3. Soak shredded newspaper, or sawdust, in the liquid. This is a substrate for you to use later to ferment your food waste. Let this ferment in an environment without oxygen for 1-2 weeks, ie. a bucket with a lid, or ziplock bags. 
      4. Dehydrate the newspaper or sawdust. This doesn't kill the organisms, but puts them in a dormant stage so you can use the newspaper as an inoculant for months afterwards.

      After this follow regular steps to bokashi.  I might write these out as well. 

      I'm going to update this over time. Adding pictures and amounts.

      Future:

      • The end product of Bokashi still needs to decompose further, but because it's fermented, complex organic compounds are now in simpler forms, ie. easier to digest. So, I'm going to be using the end product as food for my worms because it will be easier for them to eat. Normally they need the help of bacteria and fungi to break a lot of the food down anyway.