Elisa Bass

In our garden, we are trying a number of new plants.  Especially in the winter season, which is a low-growing season, weeds can crop up in the places where plants are usually planted in the growing seasons.  In the past, we had just covered the area with a tarp or other equivalent, which renders the land essentially useless for that period of time.  Additionally, this method kills off other important organisms living in the soil, such as earthworms, and other microbial life.  This year, we decided to plan a cover crop of builder peas and oats instead.

The purpose of a cover crop is to cover the land in the off-season to prevent soil erosion, weeds, pests, and maintain soil quality.  Some cover crops, such as fava beans, can be used as food too.  When the winter is over and it is time to plant again, the cover crop can be turned over back into the soil, where it decomposes to renourish the soil for the next growing season.  Plants like peas are also good for fixing nitrogen, taking it out of the atmosphere.  Though nitrogen is not a greenhouse gas, fixing it is very important for plant health, as many plants require nitrogen to grow.  Reincorporating it naturally into the soil also means that we do not have to use a synthetic nitrogen fertilizer to reintroduce nitrogen back into the soil, which can run off into the water and create dead zones (https://grist.org/climate-energy/nitrogen-fertilizer-is-bad-stuff-and-not-just-because-it-could-blow-up-your-town/).

Though we will have to wait to see whether the plants we grow there thrive more as a result of the cover crop, the cover crop has thus far crowded out weeds and has been growing well.

My friends and I went to the Brentwood Farmers' Market this past Sunday.  They hold the Farmers' Market every Sunday from 9am to 2pm at 741 S Gretna Green Way.  It is definitely worth the trip to the market if you're free.  There's so much variety and it's a great place even to just walk around and get fresh air.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the number of booths that offered vegan goods.  I can't recall everything that I saw, but some of the vegan offerings included smoothies, candles, chocolate, soap, and non-dairy cheese spreads.  I was able to sample the chocolate and cheese spreads and was quite pleasantly surprised that both products were remarkably similar in taste and texture to their non-vegan counterparts.  I love cream cheese and cheese spreads, so being able to find a vegan alternative that is just as good if not better than the original was a real win!

Additionally, there is an abundance of great produce.  All of the produce comes from local small farmers in the area.  The lesser distance that the produce needs to travel to reach the market means that the produce is both fresher and not subject to the environmentally-impactful storage processes necessary when produce is being shipped from greater distances.  The gas saved from not needing to transport the produce as far is also a plus.  Though more expensive than the produce one might get in a grocery store, the difference in quality is well worth the price.  The best blackberries I’ve ever had came from this farmers’ market.

This is a picture of our tumbler compost bin, which we have had for 10 years.  Kitchen scraps (including any plant-based fruit and vegetable scraps) and plant scraps (including leaves and clippings) are put in the container through the top, which slides open and closed.  When closed, the tumbler is rotated using the handle on the side to mix and ensure the breakdown of the contents inside.

In retrospect, this is not the best way to compost for our yard composition.  We do not have enough brown compostable materials (such as twigs and leaves) on our property such that we get a good temperature rise and ensure the most efficient breakdown of material.  We add paper, such as old newspaper, to try to mitigate this problem, which has helped to some degree.  Eventually, however, the material will break down, however, and this is a better alternative to the kitchen scraps going into the landfill.

We have recently been trying another method called a “compost smoothie”, which involves simply grinding the kitchen scraps in a blender and dumping that into the soil.  Obviously, the blender requires electricity, but the breakdown of the organic material physically is faster and allows it to be used as compost immediately.

My family has a water collection system in our backyard that we have been using for the past 8 years.  We received the barrels for free from the Water district that was aiming to encourage people to collect water.  The collection system can store a maximum of 1000 gallons of water.  We primarily use the water for watering our garden, using a combination of hand watering and gravity-driven drip systems.  Though California is in a drought, two rainstorms usually fills the entire system, providing enough water to water the entire garden through the summer season.

Having water collection barrels is not without its own problems, however. Large containers of standing water such as ours tend to attract water-borne pests, such as mosquitoes, which lay their eggs in water.  To prevent this, we make sure to always cover the collection barrels with a lid when they are not in use or collecting water or have a mesh covering.  The rocks on top of the green barrels are to prevent raccoons from digging out the mesh.  But overall, I would absolutely recommend water collection, if you have the space!

This morning, I convinced my parents to come with me on a walk to the beach instead of driving to the gym to workout like they usually do.  It was nice to get the exercise and fresh air, while saving some gas in the process.  I'm going to try to move more of our workouts out of the gym, especially since it'll be safer anyways!

If anyone is interested in going to some local farmers' markets, there's a great one on Thursdays in Westwood and on Sundays in Brentwood!  I'm also part of an organization that does gleaning on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, where we take unsold produce from the farmers' markets and deliver it to soup kitchens.  Check out Food Forward (https://foodforward.org/) if you're interested in volunteering to glean.