Gardening and People

[greenstorm]

I just finished reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. I think you'd really like it, _greenwitch_ and cz_unit. Both of you are going through something of that type right now. It's not as hokey and whatever as the title suggests.

I'm also taking my organic master gardener class. The demographic is incredibly diverse. There are lifetime landscapers, hippies, and IT people and accountants and wedding photographers. People are taking it for professional reasons or because they want to grow a bit of food at home. The teacher says, looking a bit worried, "everyone seems to be interested in food gardening. That isn't the focus of this course, though we may be developing one for next semester..."

The course meets a couple or a few times a week, but a huge amount of work is done online. There are no paper handpouts; they're all online. The slideshows that go with her lectures: all online. I am relatively amazed.

So far there is some preaching (a fair bit in the text, none by the teacher, some by one particular voluble student), some things I know, and some things I (!!!!) don't know already (!!!!). This means I get to (!!!!) learn things about gardening (!!!!) and sometimes hang out with gardeners, including the crew of landscaper kids taking the residential landscaper course next door. They're actually all about my age next door, with a wide range in my own course where there are a bunch of people in their 40s and some in their 50s. Some are white people. Some speak english okay, with two people of evident Korean descent and a bunch of random other "asians" (to those that don't live in Vancouver: my city is about 50% Asian). There's one student and everyone else, um, works for a living. Some know things abotu gardening. Some have no idea. One of the Koreans is beautifully spoken.

Fascinating.

It will work better when I finally get my laptop. I'm thinking of going miminalist, with one of the little mini-things like the Asus eees -- anyone got any advice on those?

I don't have time to talk about people, but I am very happy. I <3 Angus, and that's that. My coworker is awesome, my mom is awesome, my family is awesome, and Angus' dad makes me feel like a very shy 3-year-old.

Whew. Off to class.

Comments

[dunfalach.livejournal.com]

I've not read a lot about the eees. The one thing I would say is if you can get a chance to test a demo unit at a store or something, type on it a bit and see how your fingers fit on the keys. My biggest pet peeve on small laptops is keys too small and too close together for my large hands.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_greenwitch_/]

I am currently reading said book, and am not overly impressed - I had hoped for more information on providing food for the table, and stories about actual planning and gardening, rather than being told things I already know about feedlot animals and eating local. I'm also somewhat annoyed, because I already read her whole chapter on cheese making in a recent Mother Earth News, so I paid twice for the same info.

I have your photopied recipes as requested, and a letter to put in the mail to you - may I have your address, and drop it to you so that you can continue with your fermenting ;) ?

I really want to know how your ginger beer is going, and what type of bottles you found to use - I really really want to make my own, but am caught up in the whirl of canning right now and need to wait for some spare time/funds before I start another project. Also have green tomato preserves put aside for you :)

[greenstorm.livejournal.com]

It's more a 'you are not alone' than a how-to. I know you've been spending a lot of your life in the garden/kitchen lately. I wouldn't recommend it as an info book, obviously.

I'm #1 - 5784 Victoria Drive. Um.. postal code, not so sure. This is exciting, I can't remember what I wanted from that. Are you having anymore BBQs anytime soon?

My ginger beer is fantastic, I've been drinking it this week and am swamped with requests for more. Fruit flies got into the bug before I did my second batch (cover carefully!) so that just got bottled yesterday, and there will be many more in the future. I just use old pop bottles, mostly 2L ones, I'm offering 'bring me all your bottles and get some ginger beer in two weeks' so people bring me bottles, I get to feel badass (making my ow ginger beer)and everyone's happy. That way it's super cheap.

My home is a litte slow for fermenting, the ginger beer did two weeks, but the t'ej is taking forever, as did the sauerkraut. Tomatoes go bad almost instantly, though. :/

I'm looking forward to your preserves!

I eed to make more sauerkeraut.

Darn those tomatoes!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_greenwitch_/]

I covet my neighbour's patch - he handed me a few big, ripe, red globes over the back fence yesterday, and I had to walk past my green/slightly coloured and split tomates on my way in with that treasure...

No more BBQs I think, since the weather has become cool - but we are having a game day, starting with a late brunch and heading into the evening with pizza or something, based on the number of people still there. Saturday the 25th is the day - you and anyone else are welcome to come, chat, sit outside, weed my garden (ok - you don't really have to do that), sip tea, eat food, play boardgames, or try your luck at Rock Band. People are welcome to come and go as their schedules allow :)

Also....

[http://users.livejournal.com/_greenwitch_/]

I have a link for you - www.herbmentor.com. I signed up for their newsletter, and they have a lot of information and videos on herbal preparations, including making a variety of fermented fruit 'pop' beverages, which I believe follows the same process as the ginger beer bug.