Recycling Beeswax Candles

I really like burning candles, especially in the winter. Due to concerns about inside air quality, I mostly burn beeswax candles, which don't emit the nasty fumes paraffin does.  

Beeswax is expensive, and it should be, it takes bees approximately 2 million flowers to make one pound of honey, and in a typical hive the bees produce only 1 pound of wax per 10 pounds of honey. Therefore, the wax is the product of 20 million flower visits, and it has been estimated that "bees collectively fly 150, 000 miles, roughly six times around the earth, to yield one pound of beeswax." According to Wikipedia the whole globe only produces about 10 000 tons annually.

That is a lot of concentrated energy, and therefore I feel pulled to honour it, and extract all I can out of any wax I have. This is my first attempt at turning old candles into new candles.

I've collected all the candle ends and drippings over the last little while.

 I bought a little stovetop wax melting pot, it was cheap and I adore its long handle, but any pot with a spout would work,  just understand that the wax will never fully come off, and so don't use your favourite sauce pan.

On the stove at a low-med heat, keep adding the wax pieces in as they melt and condense,

I used a chopstick to stir until all the wax was melted.

Then the wax was poured through a cloth to filter out any wicks, dirt and charcoal. At this point I spilled some on my burner, and my brilliant friend suggested that next time I should wrap the whole burner with foil, for easy clean up. A great idea! 

I might also try a looser weave cloth for a faster filter.

After filtering, cleaning out the pot and putting the wax back in the pot (I could have a better system here) I poured the wax into these old tea and spice tins,

I dropped store bought wicks into them, I kept the wicks straight by clipping bobbypins to the bottom.

And let them cool and harden. They cracked, I guess because the wax, which shrinks when it cools, was too hot when I poured it. These candles are not gift quality, but I'm still so happy with them.

Hmmm, a few more candlelight evenings in my future.

Playing with Toadstools

If the branch, off the Tree of Life, known as Fungi, had picked a mascot, definitely that mascot (for us Humans at least) would be Amanita Muscaria (aka Soma or Toadstools)

They grow prolifically around Vancouver, much of the west coast, and in parts of Europe, too. They completely delight people, and when first spotted, someone always exclaims that they didn't think they were real, because they look so, um, plastic. I've even seen this mushroom, growing on the side of a road, stop traffic. 

So, imagine how excited I got, once I heard, that if you pick them while in the pin head form, you can bring them home and watch them grow. Cool. And its true:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

What you see, is the mushroom sporulating, Day 1 and 2 it is unfurling it's cap, Day 3 it breaks it's veil, Day 4 and 5 it releases it's spores and in Day 6 you see it beginning to rot, the spores and it's purpose, gone.  

So does this mean that I will be able to grow Amanita Muscaria with the spores? Its a long shot. This mushroom is a Mycorrhizae, which means it is a type of mushroom that forms a relationship with trees. Even if I did spread the spores, or even better, the mycelium into the roots of some tree, it still might take 20 years before a mushroom blooms. I'm still going to try it, I just may never see the results.

Anyhow, this was a fun project.

As an aside, check out this amazing flush of Amanita's I found on Ontario St.  Vancouver, at the base of a mid age (10yrs?) Rhododendron bush of all things...

Mushroom Season!

 Mushrooms can and do exist in any season, but Autumn is hands down their most prolific season here on the west coast of North America.
Mushrooms can be described as the fruit of Mycelium, as they contain the spores, the means for reproduction. Mycelium is a fine, often stringy network of cells that exist year round in the soil, or other medium. The Mycelium is an essential component to our eco-systems, especially forest eco-systems. It breaks apart hard compounds such as lignin and cellulose, which help cycle the nutrients from dead trees and plants to new trees and plants. In this way,  Fungi becomes part of the cycle from death to regeneration. An essential part, as they digest these compounds much faster than bacteria alone, and the fruit bodies become ideal food for other decomposers, like bacteria and insects, attracting and sustaining these populations as well.

Without Fungi, our forest communities would quickly lose the ability to sustain themselves.

Yesterday at the Lynn Valley Headwaters Park we were treated to an amazing display of mushrooms.  Above is a picture of one of the many creeks we passed, and some of the mushrooms on it banks. I wish I could identify even one of these species, but not yet. I'm only starting to familiarize myself with the genus' of mushrooms, and exact species identification could be years away. An estimated twenty five (some say fifty) percent of mushrooms in North America have yet to be identified, which makes it very exciting, and frustrating to be a mycologist in North America.
These are a few of the species we spotted yesterday. If you can identify any, please let me know.

I think this is of the genus Amanita, a genus containing some of the most deadly poisonous mushrooms around.

Could be the genus Cortinarius but it could also be Thricholoma. A very pretty mushroom anyhow.

These definitely are Polypores, and are very common in the forests, and even on the trees in my neighbourhood. What is their species name?

I like how this one looks. Have no idea what genus?

A type of Hydnum perhaps?

This one reminds me of Reishi, or Gonoderma lucidum. Either way, it is a Polypore.

Maybe Hygrophorus? Mmmmmmm, of all the ones I saw, this one looked the most edible. But obviously I am not even close to being able to positively identify a mushroom to eat.

Hopefully one, day. The path to this skill involves not a book, but a teacher, another mycologist that will hike with you, and help you out. To meet these people, I've joined the Vancouver Mycological Society http://www.vanmyco.com/, first meeting is in one week.

As we were tramping around off the path yesterday, we discovered this collection someone else had left. I think they were also trying to crack the mushroom code.

Carrots, Turnips, and their Tops

 Well, those carrots impulsively planted around my pepper plants in June are ready to harvest. Actually, they can stay in their pots all winter long, fresh and crisper than in the fridge.
They are the biggest and juiciest carrots I've ever grown, and I love that they did so well sharing a pot of dirt with a pepper plant and a pea plant. Wow, I'm so glad I planted them.

What do you do with your carrot tops? Did you know you can eat them? Often at the Farmers Market I hear buyers asking the vendors to take away the greens. I can't help but wonder if many people know that they are not only edible, but also delicious. Why not get two meals out of one plant?
Try carrot greens chopped and added to eggs (like in a Mediterranean frittata, with feta and sun dried tomatoes) or cook them up with a mix of other greens from the market (you could use Beet greens, Turnip greens, Radish greens, Kohlrabi greens or Kale and Chard) add garlic and use them in sauces, on sandwiches or as a nice side.

And speaking of Turnips, I am also so grateful I planted so many after harvesting the garlic. The purple ones are huge now.

Did you know that Turnip tops are equal to Kale, nutritionally. Unlike Kale, they come with a fabulous root to eat too. We mostly enjoy our garden fresh turnip peeled and raw in salads, but they are also fab boiled with a little bit of salt.

Its taken a couple years, but this year I have finally clicked into Winter Gardening. It almost seems more worth it than summer gardening, because of the scarcity of fresh veggies elsewhere. What a treat.

Preserving my Lemon Tree

After killing my Meyer Lemon tree last year, I bought another one. This time from a healthier nursery. Well, it paid off, very quickly my little Lemon tree bloomed, (the flowers smelled amazing.)

 And then little green lemons grew. I was getting nervous, they were still so small and it was August. The warmth and dry growing season would not last long.

 And of course, now it is cold and wet. I think I killed my lemon tree last year by bringing it inside, and essentially shocking it. It dropped all its leaves without even going brown. The little lemons keep getting bigger so I am motivated to try to save it this year.

I am experimenting with keeping the tree wrapped in clear plastic and against the south facing wall of my front balcony, right beside my Bay Laurel. The wall is white and offers the best light and possibility of warmth out in my garden. The plastic should help keep the roots dry, which I've read is even more important for Lemons than being warm. It looks a little ugly, but I'm interested to see if it works.

A Homemade Halloween

Has anyone else noticed how completely bonkers Vancouver is about Halloween? 

I think we can safely say that it appears to be a lot of peoples most beloved holiday. And who can blame them, the spookiness is all-inclusive, all religions are free to participate. And it demands people to be creative, to dress up as someone- or something else and play a part for a night (or week,) a un-expressed need many of us might have. 

There is no obligation to buy anything, and you're encouraged to feast and drink, or just watch scare movies.

Halloween can be homemade and be MORE awesome than store bought.  

Lets keep that going. Yes, all of us have caved to incredibly cheap and cool Halloween decorations (I have a great set of sparkly skeletons) but I want to display them alongside beautiful sticks found in the forest, a mini pumpkin from the Farmers Market and a mini witches broom from a local craftsman.  Nuts and dried poppies from the garden fit right in.

Homegrown garlic braids conjure up thoughts of Vampires and Witches, and maybe lonely cabins in the woods.

And homegrown pumpkins can stay out of the pantry for a few weeks and add to the decor of your home.  And once the holiday has passed, cook them for dinner.

The homemade aspect doesn't get more fun than with the costume. Putting ANY effort into a costume will make your Halloween more fun. Go to thrift stores, raid your closet, ask a friend what they have to spare and brainstorm, brainstorm, brainstorm. I made this little skeleton costume for my girl using black pants and a shirt she already had, and a white dress shirt my husband was going to turn into rags. I sewed it with another mom friend for moral support, and my daughter loves it so much its hard to get her to take it off. To see her perform her skeleton dance for everyone who comes over is reminding me of why this holiday is so great. Hedonism unleashed, for once.

But there is a dark side to this holiday that I do not enjoy, and have a really tough time getting around. Candy.....

So much sugar, so many weird preservatives, and so much garbage. You want your kid to participate in the holiday and make fantastic memories, but you don't want them eating this junk.

This is a picture of my two year old's teeth. She has 7 cavities. We brush her teeth twice a day, and floss daily. She will be put under general anesthetic to get her needed crowns and fillings. We have HUGE reservations around Halloween candy. I am going to be handing out walnuts and gum to the kids who come to my house, and maybe a few apples....

Have you ever looked into the razor blades in apples rumour? I did, a little bit, and it seems like most of the cases were hoaxes, maybe with razor blades put in by the children themselves.  How tragic that this rumour has totally squashed a beautiful, local, seasonal, and waste free alternative to all the garbage we are currently feeding our younger citizens.

And lets not forget Halloweens roots. Samhain begins on the same night, and is the Pagan New Year. The time when the last of the harvest is brought in, and winter begins. There definitely is a little bit of magic alluded to, and a remembrance of all those passed. But mostly, it is a shift, to the inside, to the darker and colder time of the year, when the stakes are a bit higher as nature cycles beyond abundance to death, and ultimately, months later, renewal.

More Space to Grow

While planting garlic this week, I decided to extend two of the garden beds. I wanted to try a method called lasagna gardening, that promises to kill sod without digging. 

This is how it works.

Mark out the space you want to turn into a new bed. I was extending a bed, so I just moved out the boundary. Clear everything off the grass.

Completely cover the grass with cardboard or newspaper. Make sure to remove any tape or staples from the boxes.

Cover the cardboard with compost. 

And cover the compost with mulch, in this case removed squash leaves. I will also be adding leaves as I rake them up.
This method could work anytime of the year, but I think it works best in the fall, when the cardboard has the winter to break down. The grass will be killed and turned into compost too, so hopefully in the spring this will be a very fertile garden bed.