Musings from the 718 (Mostly Fish Poop Related)

I went to New York last week and good lord is it hot over there. Living in the Bay Area, I had almost forgotten what it means to have real seasons. While I was off drinking and sweating my balls off in Brooklyn, I had to designate someone to look after my beloved garden. DudeLife was the obvious choice - he lives in my house and has been listening to me jabber on about caring for the plants for months now. My instructions were pretty simple. Water every other day in the evenings, twice a week for the citrus trees. Weed if you feel like it. Harvest anything you want that is ready and try not to kill anything. I will update soon on the state of our garden (hint: happy!), but travel has pointed my mind in a couple of different directions, so enjoy this pretty hibiscus flower that opened this morning and I will ramble my way to fish poop.

Whilst melting in the 718, I had the opportunity to check out a few community gardens and see what my pals are growing in their shoebox apartments. Everyone and their mom is growing big leaf basil, probably because of its preference for the hot and humid. Tropical trees and vines are super happy too. Right around the corner from Mr. Bluntz's apartment there is a sweet little community garden with corn and tomatoes and peas, and an ornamental garden and a chicken coop a few blocks further. Not exactly something I would have expected in that part of Bed-Stuy but really exciting to see.

The Bartender is apparently about to go balls to the wall with aquaponics, which is a method of growing without soil, that uses fish poop for nutrients and a whole lot less energy than conventional farming. No wasted water, no weeds, no bad microbes in the soil.

All of the Bartender's talk about raising tilapia got me thinking about the Kijani Grows site I pass by twice a day during my commute in Oakland. They have a nice big plot of land that always appears to be in the middle of a massive overhaul, but never seems to get anywhere. I've been trying to find a good community project to get involved in, so I'm thinking about getting in touch with them. They hold classes on aquaponics monthly and are currently working on a number of programs in my community. I know they don't grow in the soil there due to lead contamination, but there are organizations working on nullifying the lead with fish bones. All of this is exciting stuff, and I think I'm going to find a way to get involved.