Wednesday, July 17, 2013

NYC Composts - and so can you!

Check out this story in Crain's New York Business by Miriam Souccar (and edited by me!) about New Yorkers who compost their food waste, even when family and friends say its gross. These folks are ahead of the curve. Soon enough, the whole city will be expected to compost. I personally can't wait!

Every time she so much as peels a carrot, Denise Oliveira takes the waste and stores it in a bag in her freezer instead of throwing it in the garbage. Her freezer is often so full of scraps that there is no room for actual food, but that's the only way Ms. Oliveira can compost without smelling up her small Manhattan apartment.
Once a week, she lugs the bags to a composting bin at the Union Square Greenmarket. Ms. Oliveira, who learned about composting from her mother in Brazil, started doing it a year ago in observance of Lent. Her brother thinks it's gross, and her friends think she's weird. Even Ms. Oliveira admits that composting in New York City is not for the squeamish. "Sometimes you get to the green market and the bin is already piled up so high that you are placing your scraps on this overflowing mountain," said Ms. Oliveira, a freelance writer.
"It is absolutely disgusting."
 Ms. Oliveira is one of a small but growing number of New Yorkers who are finding ways to compost, even with the considerable handicaps of tiny living spaces...Read more at Crain's New York
Composting catches on in NY


Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Season's slow start

Between knee surgery this winter and the rainy spring our gardening season has gotten off to a slow start. We were late to plant our tomato seedlings and did not get them into their pots till mid-June. And now they are taking their sweet time growing. They're still tiny, and have yet to flower. By July they should be twice as big.
We're having better luck with lettuce which likes chilly wet weather.
Our tomato plants are so puny.

At least our basil is growing strong. In fact, we just made our first batch of pesto. (I was lucky to catch a little sun for these photos.)


I've already harvested two cucumbers. I hope this flowering plant bears more fruit!


Our flowers are doing the best of all. The hydrangea is the biggest and fullest its ever been. I love the pink blooms. But veggies are the main event for us. I hope the season isn't a total wash out!