You Grow Girl

September 21, 2006

3 Comments

YGG Warm Winter Wear Drive

What: Knit or crochet up beautiful, warm woolies for charity. Mittens, arm warmers, hats, and scarves are all fantastic. A YGG forum member suggests keyhole scarves as anything that wraps around the neck can be uncomfortable and even unsafe for women coming from violent experiences.

New items made by you only please.

To Support: Redwood Women’s Shelter, a terrific shelter located in Toronto, Canada that supports battered women and their families. They run primarily on support from the community.

When: Please mail your items by Dec 1. Email me at gaylaatyougrowgirldotcom for details.

UPDATE: I just spoke with a contact at the shelter and she provided a Wish List:

Long Scarves – So I was wrong (above). Winters have been cold here in Toronto and they have need of warm scarves that can wrap around twice for bundling up.
Women’s Mittens – They recieve plenty of mittens for children but need larger mittens for adult women.
Baby Blankets – For bundling babies inside strollers.
Larger Items – If you were planning to make a couple of scarves, make one large item instead. She said they have need for shawls and ponchos.

I want to add that she was very enthusiastic and appreciative. They support a lot of women and children so the need is great.

CobraHead Precision Weeder and Cultivator

Cobrahead

I am a strong believer that gardening does not, and should not, require a lot of “stuff”. Container gardeners especially can get along with their hands, or a fork, spoon, and kitchen shears if need be. However, the right tool can make you feel like you’re ready to kick some ass even when the only ass you’re about to kick is a small pot of basil on your window-ledge.

That said, about three years ago I wrote a glowing review of the Cobrahead Precision Weeder & Cultivator. It’s sharp blade, and versatility (useful for weeding, digging, planting, cultivating and more) made this a tool I could get behind. Years later and I am still using the same Cobrahead. It’s seen it’s day ripping through all kinds of soil conditions and looks pretty much like it did on that first test run way back when — albeit underneath the dirt and despite a complete and utter lack of care or maintenance on my part. I just wipe it off with my glove, throw it in my tool bag, and done.

Inventor Noel Valdes has just come out with an upgraded Cobrahead model and I was sent a fresh new tool to try out. The accompanying promotion material boasts of a new handle made of 100% recycled material, a heat-treated steel blade with a heavier zinc coating making it more bend, break, and rust-resistant. Despite all that I didn’t notice a difference during a test run in which I tried both my old and new tool in the same conditions at my community garden. To be honest as a user I didn’t think it needed upgrading since my old model is still kicking loads of compacted soil ass. The new improvement I did notice is the new blue handle that is easier to locate in the garden although I think a hot pink handle would be even easier to locate in the grass.

Cobrahead

CONTEST Headsup: I’ve got one, new Cobrahead as a prize give-away. Sign up for the mailing list. On September 29, 2006, I’ll be sending out entry details through the list only.

* You Grow Girl is not being sponsored or paid to promote this product. I just like it.

‘Chinese Five Colour’ Hot Peppers

'Chinese Five Color' Hot Pepper

At a Toronto area You Grow Girl meet up last week we discussed our gardening successes and disappointments of the last year. Beth, a rooftop container gardener mentioned that she was most disappointed by her container-grown ‘Chinese Five Colour’ (or color for the Americans) Hot Pepper plant, stating that the plant was boring and the peppers bland, and tasteless. I was surprised since my experience with this variety has placed it onto my list of current favourites and a plant that I will definitely grow again if not promote to other gardeners, especially container gardeners. This is one of those discussions that reminds me how varied our gardening experiences can be, even with the same varieties and seemingly similar growing conditions. I sometimes forget in my enthusiasm when reviewing a plant that my outcome isn’t universal. I am reminded that what works for me might not work for someone else, and vice-versa.

And knowing this I still feel an irrational obligation to defend the plant like I’m defending my taste for souvenir picture trays or cheesy poutine. “You don’t know!”

And so, I give you:

In Defense of ‘Chinese Five Colour’ Hot Peppers

I grew this plant as an experimental comparison to last year’s favourite, “New Mex Twilight’ hot pepper. The plants are very similar in that they are both produce gorgeous green foliage with purple stems and veins, with small hot peppers that start out light purple and evolve into a rainbow ending in bright red when fully mature. In comparison, the plants were very similar but the ‘Chinese Five Colour’ produces larger fruit. The larger fruit stood out sharply in contrast to the leaves. It was really stunning!

'Chinese Five Color' Hot Peppers

I will say it again: gorgeous green foliage with purple stems and veins that produced an abundance of rainbow-coloured fruit.
My peppers are indeed HOT!
One plant produced enough fruit to braid an attractive string of drying peppers. Everyone I know will be in hot peppers for eternity.
Grew easily into a large plant in a medium-sized container.
Colette of Urban Harvest (whom I purchased the plant from) informed me that this variety is rare while ‘New Mex Twilight’ is not. I am a sucker for a good back story and admit to being completely duped by the term “rare.”

'Chinese Five Color' Hot Pepper

With Kitty aka “Voltron: Defender of the Universe” who comes running whenever the camera is out. Leave a comment

September 18, 2006

6 Comments

Passionfruit

Miniature Passionfruit

My passionflower vine grew a passionfruit! This may seem like small hat (or other small things) to those of you living in the warm, Southern regions of the world, but it’s a BIG deal to a Northern gardener like me. I have grown passionflower vine many times in the past. In fact I grew one plant for many years, cutting it back and bringing it inside every winter until I grew tired of tripping over it in the hallway and let it succumb to the cold outdoors one fall. That vine grew large and abundant with flowers every summer but it NEVER once even toyed with the idea of making fruit.

I first discovered the tiny passionfruit back in July and watched it eagerly for about a month hoping against hope that it would grow into a brag-worthy fruit. Today, on my daily plant inspection I noticed that the tiny fruit — a fruit that has not grown a millimeter since July — has changed colour from dark green to light green. I cut it open to find that it is mostly hollow inside with six, small but mature seeds. I ate two of the seeds. They are completely tasteless.

But so what. I successfully nurtured a tiny, tasteless, passionfruit. My garden kicks boatloads of ass-kicking ass!

Passionflower

Passionflower. Grown in a container I garbage picked in one of Toronto’s “finer” neighbourhoods. Leave a comment

September 17, 2006

2 Comments

Danny Seo’s Simply Green Giving

Guest post by Renee Garner

Harper Collins touts him as “the eco-conscious, creative wonder kid,” but just what makes Danny Seo an environmental stylist? First and foremost, Danny is actually a grown man, nearly 30, with an activist spirit he has nurtured since his preteen years.When Seo was 12, he formed a group still active today, Earth 2000. Mere coincidence he was born on Earth Day?

He has written 3 books, hosts a radio show and will debut a TV program on Lime TV in November. Almost everything Seo does is called “Simply Green,” a reflection of his style and sensibility. Seo is on the list of 40 Under 40 to watch by Crain’s New York Business, as well as recognized as one of People Magazines 50 Most Beautiful People. Seo is a spokesman for Call2Recycle. And for the stylist part? Seo greens up celebrities everywhere, proving green can be glamorous and not all granola.

Seo’s latest book, Simply Green Giving, is devoted entirely to gifts: making, buying, wrapping and beyond. This book consists of short blurbs, ideas, simply beautiful photography, and intermittent resource suggestions. There is also a resource guide in the back for crafty newbies who are still learning their ways around a thrift store. Seo diplomatically approaches environmentalism, and conveys his message in an non-intimidating manner. The pictures do an incredible job of bringing seemingly implausible ideas to life. The idea of using VCR tapes as ribbon is festive and adorable. Another suggestion of packing a gift in a cigar box is classy and fun. His philosophy and pared down aesthetic make Simply Green Giving seem more like reading a magazine than an eco-guide to living.

Although Seo is more often along the right track of reducing waste and reusing what most others would call waste, some of Seo’s Giving ideas are clumsy at best. Wrapping a gift in tickets straight off the roll seems wasteful, and reusing cardboard boxes seems obvious. Making a spa/hygeine kit seems like a great idea, but giving Crest whitening strips doesn’t seem to be a great gift (I think that’s getting a little too personal) nor does it seem to be very eco-conscious. While the perfume strip bow is precious, I shudder thinking someone might replicate the idea. If you consider using that particular idea, first do a little detective work to find out if the recipient is fragrance sensitive. You just might give someone a bamboo bathrobe and a 2 day-long migraine.

The book is perfect for hoarders and pack rats, since it gives a creative jump start for using all the things kept under the guise of “needing it one day.” Seo’s philosophy is a comforting sign: environmentalism can be mainstream. With the clean and minimal lifestyle he represents, one question remains, “Where does he hide all that junk?”