Greenstuff

Something to Ponder... where is the "away" when we throw stuff away? (thanks to the Canadian Organic Growers Magazine for that).

Another cool thing I found in the Spring 2011 edition was usc-canada.org/storyoffood. This is a snazzy 6 minute video all about, you guessed it, food!

Great link! The Ontario Ministry of Food and Rural Affairs has a web-based resource on urban agriculture - Urban Agriculture Business Information Bundle.  This a one-stop resource for city dwellers or municipal policy makers looking for information on urban agriculture.  Topics covered include: growing fruits, vegetables and herbs, organic production, sales, raising livestock, finding space, composting, soil quality, dealing with wildlife, plus relevant legislation and regulations.

Did you know our Kraft Paper and 1 lb Valve coffee bags are recyclable, compostable, and biodegradable? All you need to do is just rip off the tin tie and it is green bin ready. We  source them from TekPak Solution, a Canadian manufacturer right here in Ontario that's working hard to find green solutions to retailers packaging needs. You can learn more about the science behind the manufacturing process that goes in to making the paper bagsa reality at: www.alternativegrounds.com/images/Bio-recyclable%20Paper.pdf. For biodegration timelines, film degradation charts and product certification, go to www.tekpaksolutions.com/tech_info.html

Yes indeed folks, all our take-out ware is compostable - even the coffee lids and the straws! Did you realize you get a discount when you bring your own re-usable food containers? Did you know the cafe carries a nifty selection of travel mugs, sandwhich boxes, water bottles and thermos'es?

Interesting Developments

Here's something cool! Kieran, a cycling afficionado and fairtrade & vegan advocate from Vancouver, sent us word about his amazing bike adventure: A journey from Canada to South America on two wheels fueled by a vegan-only diet with the purpose to connect with the small fairtrade producers responsible for all the good and just stuff we consume here in the north. So far he has visited our compañeros at Maya Vinic in Chiapas, and COPROCAEL in Honduras! Kieran is currently in Colombia and has been keeping a blog that includes pics and videos. For more, visit Kieran's Bike Ride blog at www.fairtradebikeride.org

There is a new free web service called LOKEVORE to support GTA local and organic farmers and their customers. Producers can list available produce and consumers can search and send orders directly to the farmer. Kudos to the sites creator Neil Brandt, a member of Canadian Organic Growers. Visit www.lokevore.ca

We loved Foodstock! On October 16th, we joined thousands (the jury is still out but some say there were at most 28,000!) up in Honeywood for a truly inspiring gathering in support support of the movement to Stop The Mega Quarry (check out the pic of Kevin with farmer Greg Mountain from Whole Circle Farm in Acton). If approved, the proposed 2,300 acre mega quarry in Melancthon Township, north of Shelburne will be the second largest limestone quarry in North America and would see the destruction of prime agricultural land and the extraction of aggregate from below the water table.  To join the campaing and for more info visit www.nomegaquarry.ca.

Speaking of the Canadian Organic Growers, it was through their newsletter that we got word of a very important campaign. The COG recently joined 59 other farming associations, seed companies and farmers in a legal action against Monsanto to "challenge the chemical giant’s patents on transgenic (genetically modified) seed. In a law suit filed Tuesday, the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT), a Manhattan-based public interest law association, asks the court to consider whether Monsanto has the right to sue farmers for patent infringement if Monsanto's genetically modified seed lands on their farm. Dan Ravicher, PUBPAT’s Executive Director, said 'It seems quite perverse that an organic farmer whose land is contaminated by transgenic seed could be accused of patent infringement, but Monsanto has made such accusations before and is notorious for having sued hundreds of farmers for patent infringement, so we had to act to protect the interests of our clients. One of the goals of the suit is to demonstrate that the biotechnology patents issued to Monsanto, the manufacturer of DDT, Agent Orange, PCBs and a host of other toxins, are not in the public interest.'" This is huge!! The full legal complaint is available at: www.pubpat.org/assets/files/seed/OSGATA-v-Monsanto-Complaint.pdf. And the COG's press release can be read in its entirety at www.cog.ca/news/33/15/Farmers-take-on-Monsanto/

At Seedy Sunday I picked up this great bird feeder log which came nicely stuffed with a peanut butter mix. No surprise that it disappeared quickly. What was interesting was that I re-filled the feeder with a commercial "suet|" mix I had bought the previous year and kept in the freezer. Not a bite, not a nibble, not even the slightest indication of interest. Nada! We made up a batch ourselves - scraped out the commercial stuff and re-filled with the home-made. Again, we got cleaned out. Made us wonder: what is in that commercial stuff that no creature will even touch it??

Also at Seedy Sunday, this year I picked up some info on Sharing Backyards! What a great concept - connecting folks with space to garden (but maybe not time, ability or interest) with folks lacking space but harbouring time and talent for the garden. Visit www.sharingbackyardstoronto.ca for further info.

Love to cycle? I recently came across a site that I thought was pretty brilliant, www.biketrain.ca. It was started by cyclists and essentially is a deal with VIA rail that offers return tickets from Toronto to Niagara to access hundreds of kilometers of bike paths. What a way to spend a day!

Did you know you can recycle various computer parts, fax machines, and gadgets through "Inorganic Market"? Oh yes you can! Check it out at: www.InorganicMarket.com

Time to retire your tires? You can surely recycle them! Find out where at www.catraonline.ca

And here's one more recycling site for you to explore: www.dowhatyoucan.ca. A very handy reference for depots for a variety of items/substances - nothing in the city centre though. All depots tend to be on the "edges" of the city, and a serious slog if you don't have a car or a bike with a trailer.

And thumbs up to the Coffee Shed (one of our customers and an affiliate of Lemon & AllSpice), for taking on the creation and maintenance of an active Vermicompost program with the assistance of Cathy Crawlers Composters. Their red wiggler worms were introduced in the fall to a bin full of delicious organic waste such as fruit and vegatable peels, tea bags, sawdust, waste paper towels, eggshells, coffee grounds and much much more. The CBC covered their story recently, you can view the segment here. To learn more about the Shed at Surrey Place and this "green" initiative visit: www.commongroundco-op.on.ca. You can also learn more about composting and worms in general by visiting www.cathyscomposters.com. Speaking of worms, there is a good article about worms and the role they play in the garden in the latest issue of "Canadian Organic Grower". 

Take-out Containers

Alternative grounds uses a variety of compostable and biodegradable products for take out. We have listed some sources below. Trying to do our best by and for the plantet shouldn't be a contest! Life is about learning and you know, our mom's were right when they said 2 heads are better than 1! Share what you know! Cultivate listening! www.coresales.ca www.bhumiproducts.com www.greensupplyhouse.com

And you can always bring your own container for take-out food and receive either a free coffee or 10% off your food order.

Composting

Like everyone else we compost our kitchen waste, compostable containers, and the chaff from roasting coffee. Did you know that:  Coffee grounds are great for heating up your compost pile. Increasing the temperature of the pile helps in breaking down food-stuffs and keeps rodents at bay. If you would like coffee grounds, bring a container with a lid to the cafe labelled with your name and phone number. Containers need to be picked up promptly as we can not store them

Coffee chaff is also excellent for your compost. It helps in aerating the pile. This is especially useful during the winter months if you don't have a cache of leaves on hand. To arrange for a bag of chaff, call us at the roastery, 416-534-6335.

Burlap and Jute Coffee Sacs

There are numerous uses for these bags! Here are just a few:

- Mulch for new garden beds: split them open or simply lie them in layers on the area you want to cover. Generally you do this the year prior to starting up the garden bed. Pictured  above is a bed we made a few years ago. This fall my sister and I have embarked on a bigger project up at our cottage! Having hauled sod and been sore in the creation of one garden bed, this time we are simply layering bags directly over the grass for a new bed. My back is grateful!

I am also using the burlap bags to keep my garlic bulbs company over the winter. I will remove them in March/April

- Similarily, when creating a new garden path with stones or brick, put a layer of bags down as a weed barrier before covering with pea gravel

- Use them as plant protectors over the winter

- As garbage bags for garden waste: Let your garbage pick-up folk know these bags are biodegradable (Note: I have had spotty success with this one - sometimes they are picked up, sometimes not)

- Creative rug hookers have used the jute bags as backing for creating their own designs

- And creative sewers have used the bags to make: shopping bags, vests, curtains, halloween customes, pillows (many thanks to Diane Pinto, www.kayapoproject.org, for sharing pics of her amazing coffee bag pillows, pictured above)

- Split bags can be used to carry logs into the fireplace

- One more use for the burlap bags: I was in our community garden the other night with my neighbour Richard. We were on "stake and support" detail. Richard pulled out a bunch of garden ties he had made from old clothes (talk about a handy guy!) and it got me thinking about cutting up the burlap bags for the same use.

Paper and Valve Coffee Bags

Great News!!! On top of being able to compost and bio-recycle our NEW coffee paper and valve bags, but you can also re-use your paper bag and get ten cents off each time you purchase your coffee at the cafe. You are also welcome to bring your own container - just make sure you weigh the container first before scooping your beans!

As for the black foil valve bags - which we are still facing out, while not recyclable, they are definitely re-usable! Here are just a few ideas:

- when traveling, these are great for holding wet stuff: facecloths, toothbrush, towels and bathing suits (depending on the size of course!)

- as lunch bags, the valves are ideal for stuff that needs to be kept fresh and to avoid messy leaks

- For starting your seedlings (1/2 lb or 1lb)

- storing food in the fridge - use paper clips to fold and close.

- Wipe them clean with a wet cloth and then dry them with a paper towel, and use them as envelopes when mailing or wrapping goodies!

And here's another great idea for those who like to re-use their paper bags (submitted by former AG beaner Leslie Magtanong):

"I LOVE to re-use the paper bags when I go to fill up on dried foods at the bulk food store. These bags are great because they don't rip, can be used over and over again, and have a built-in bag closer! I imagine one could do the same with the valve bags, but make sure to bring along some twist ties (which are also re-usable)."

Other Green and Interesting Stuff!!

Our brochures are printed on recycled paper by Warrens Waterless Press. They are great! Check them out at www.warrenswaterless.com

And for those of you interested in converting your diesel engine to vegie oil, there is an interesting web site www.plantdrive.com to check out.

======

“If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees; if in terms of 100 years, teach the people." Confusius