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Since the garden is still covered in snow, it seems like a good time to admit defeat, and officially call it an end to the 2017 garden. Ian and Serina think back over how the season was, and celebrate some of their wins. After a bunch of years, we have started to narrow in on…
Moldy kombucha is a complaint that I hear about all the time, so I am experimenting to find out ways that can cause issues for your kombucha culture. So I try out 3 different ways to get mold growing, including using a crazy mold culture that I going to say I grew on purpose, lol.…
It’s only November 2, and it is snowing! What is up with this weather. I know we are Canadian, but come on! And as I sit here uploading this, and the day gets later, it is even starting to stick. Serina and Ian can’t believe it, so come and join us as we complain about…
Around here right now, you can’t walk down the sidewalk without tricking over buckets full of horse chestnuts. So I was very excited to learn that you can make a laundry soap out of them exactly like soap nuts. Since I love free, I packed the kids up and we brought home a bucket full…
Gardening is about thinking ahead, and with the freezers full of food for Christmas, I’m starting to think about decorating, lol. Lia and I weed out our nasty weed – Virginia Creeper vine – and transform it into a pretty and useful wreath. And it is so easy, that you could do it too! After…
These pickles smelled too good to just dump into the compost because of a little (okay, a lot) of kham yeast. I should have dealt with these earlier, but life got in the way. So now, for fermentation friday, I try to rinse off the yeast, and hope for a good flavor even after my…
We grow a lot of the same crops, and part of that is so that we can have a year long supple of homegrown. Our freezers are one of the ways that we are able to be self sufficient year round in these crops. Come check out our freezers, and the system that we use…
Today just got a whole lot less productive, because the van won’t start – again. Join Serina as she connects the battery charger to the car (with some help from Ian) and talks about her dreams for a carless future.
Lia wants to make pumpkin pie. So Serina helps her make a couple completely from scratch using ingredients lots of people will have around their home. This recipe is so easy, there isn’t even a recipe. What got used here: 2 large yams 1.5 teaspoons cloves and nutmeg 3 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 cup sugar 1/2…
I talk about clothing swaps for day 7 of #wastereductionweek As well as my final thoughts on the entire week. I love going to clothing swaps because it feels good to know that someone is appreciating getting your stuff, and then you can replace your items for free as well. Being a mom, I have…
For day 6 of #wastereductionweek we are discussing swap share repair with the idea of trading your repairing skills with other people as a way to save money and save things from the landfill. I am super frustrated with how unrepairable most of the items in our lives are. Built in obsolescence makes zero waste…
I am guilty of food waste, even though I know just how much work goes in to creating it. But having a garden teaches me to appreciate food with imperfections. And it also shows me ways to eat in season, and to consider foods I wouldn’t normally buy. Come and join me out in the…
Okay, I grew the most perfect specimen of kham yeast that anyone has ever seen, and have proven myself to be the worst fermenter of all time, lol. If you are wondering what that funky stuff on the top of your ferment is, look no further for a kham yeast comparison, lol. Luckily, it isn’t…
Today I talk about poop, lol. I hear about debates on the merits of using composting toilets, but to me it doesn’t seem too crazy because Kelowna gathers the solids out of our sewage and composts them, to create a mulch product that people love. Talk about upcycling, lol. For day 3 of #wastereductionweek we…
This week we are doing something a little bit different, and talking about the different themes of Canada’s Waste Reduction Week. Sustainable living is important to us, and we believe that part of that, is being aware of the footprint that you have, and being open to making improvements and changes. We are definitely not…
The chard had to come out of the ground, so I processed it up for the freezer. We mainly use swiss chard as a spinach substitute, so I like to freeze it into small blocks just like what you can purchase at the grocery store, to make it easy to defrost and use. Serina also…
Snow in the forecast means that I need to move my kumquat and fig tree into the garage to hibernate over the winter. These trees would not be able to survive the cold weather that we get, but do okay with the insulation of my garage. To slow them down, I only water them occasionally.…
Wondering how to make yogurt? Join Serina for Fermentation Friday, as she shows you her first attempt at making her own yogurt with really simple home tools – which was actually a success! I was a little intimidated by making yogurt because no one wants to mess around with stinky dairy, but this recipe was…
It is getting cold, and I’m losing faith in it warming up again, so the leeks need to get out of the garden and into the freezer before I lose them to bad weather. Join Serina as she pulls the leeks and talks about how she grows them, and the satisfaction that comes from growing…
It is time to plant the garlic. We plant a hardneck variety called Red Russian, that goes into the ground now for a summer harvest. Garlic is especially fun to grow because you get to replant some of your harvest. Every year our garlic gets happier growing in our yard, and we always get a…
Fermented pickles seem like magic to me, but ideally I would like to be able to preserve pickles over the winter in my cold storage, and I’m not quite there yet. Serina shares how her summer pickles are doing for fermentation Friday. Some have gone moldy, but the sauerkraut is still going strong. With improved…
Sunflowers – my favorite weed in the garden. They add so much drama with all their height and colour that we can spot our yard from a block away. But the season is over, and since it was a nice day, I decided to start in on the clean up. Join Serina and the kids…
Ian is home from Alberta for 24 hours, lol. But we sat down and had a quick chat about something that we truly believe in: compromise. It’s common advice to say “never settle” but I think there is more practical value in “prioritizing value”. In the balance of time vs money, Ian and Serina lean…
Welcome to #fermentationfriday Today I am showing you all the ways that I have learned to flavor kombucha during the second fermentation. With some many different possibilities, the flavors are endless. What are your favorite flavors?
MAKE CHANGE… tomorrow? When the goal is to keep moving forward, and to make positive sustainable changes to your life and your community, it can leave you feeling like a failure when you hit a setback. Life can be stressful, and it is important to find ways to deal with that stress. And simple living…
“Look at that cute deer” is words I haven’t said since I started gardening at my current home, where deer will wander into our GATED URBAN backyard! Our local deer are so tame, that I worry about them attacking my small children, because they will stand their ground even against cars, lol. Our main garden…
Gardening is so regional and specific, that trying to follow any one system in the exact same way that a garden guru does it will lead to disappointment. If you don’t find ways to adapt advice to your specific garden, then those “tips and tricks” might be big failures. There is great value in learning…
Join Serina for a quick update on how the garden is doing now that we have officially entered fall. Things are still growing well, but the weather has changed, and there is only a few weeks of strong growth left.
Serina and Lia are picking herbs to stock up for tea in the winter. It won’t be long before the fall frost comes and kills all the tender leaves, so you have to be prepared and harvest while you still can. Lia is clearly due for a nap, and is full of her own ideas,…
Kombucha is all about having a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast, and my yeast is currently not at a healthy balance. To try and get my brew back to the best balance possible, this week I am cleaning my continuous brew kombucha vessel. There is too much yeast, and the yeast that is in…
