There are many ways in which mycelium fungus can help save the universe: cleaning polluted soil, making insecticides, treating smallpox and even flu. Entrepreneurial mycologist Paul Stamets seeks to rescue the study of mushrooms from forest gourmets and psychedelic warlords. The focus of Stamets' research is the Northwest's native fungal genome, mycelium, but along the way … [Read more...]
Composting offsets carbon footprints
The nebulous greenhouse gas (GHG) issue comes to the fore every now and then. Who doesn’t get uneasy about the effects of global warming and the impact it can have on our lives? Most people tend to dismiss the warnings, but luckily there are some who take it more seriously once they understand the extent of the threat. We all have a carbon footprint. Some companies, due to … [Read more...]
Eco Funerals, Part 1: Nourishing life after death
Death and funerals, topics we generally prefer not to think about, are an inevitable reality for us all. And an important question to ask ourselves is: Would I want to turn a loved one or myself into pollution when they or I pass on? Of course not! But this is exactly what we do. Instead of our decaying bodies nourishing future life, we let them pollute our ecosystems and … [Read more...]
Global worming against global warming?
A supermarket started an earthworm farm at their packing stores in Kraaifontein to dispose of their organic waste in a responsible way. The vermicast (also called worm castings, worm humus, worm manure or worm faeces) was used in their office gardens. But when they wanted to expand their buildings, something had to make way and the worms were chosen. They decided to stick to … [Read more...]
Nifty new bokashi bin
A really cool product I discovered for organic waste is the Bokashi Kitchen Waste Microbial Bin, which I am now using in my kitchen. At last a nifty container, which nukes all possible smells and gets the breakdown process starting right in my kitchen. As far as I know it's the first container of its kind; something I've been waiting for. This is basically a bucket with … [Read more...]
Time to start a compost heap
Nature sets the perfect example: she recycles all her waste. Every atom from dead plants or animals is recycled into nutrients, which feed new living things. It makes no sense to recycle your domestic waste and still send the most nutritious part, your organic waste, to landfill. Especially not if you understand that this is the stuff that creates the toxic leachate juices, … [Read more...]
Stoep Harvest part 3: Making compost
This month on Stoep Harvest, we look at composting, an essential part of enriching the soil. We focus on two different ways of going about it. As promised, we also describe the 'chicken tractor' an ingenious contraption that does all the hard work in preparing your garden! If you are already a compost fundi, come back next month for summer planting tips. Composting is the … [Read more...]
