FarmTina

FarmTina Prepares For Hurricane Irene

But the sky looks so blue...

This is the view right now looking up at my beanstalk trellis here in Brooklyn, NY. But 24 hours from now, New York City is supposedly going to be in the middle of a massive hurricane. Now listen, dear readers: New York City does not get hurricanes! But then again, we don't get earthquakes or tornadoes either, and both of those have happened here in the last year.

Today Mayor Bloomberg announced a mandatory evacuation for certain areas of Manhattan and Brooklyn because of the impending Hurricane Irene, mostly neighborhoods near the coast. But, you know, Manhattan and Brooklyn are both small islands, so "coast" takes up quite a lot of surface area. I'm not in an evacuation zone (here's the official map), but I'm still expecting high winds and fierce rains.

My poor garden!

Since I didn't create my garden with the thought that it would ever need to withstand a tornado, earthquake, or hurricane, there seems to be little I can do to "prepare" for the storm. I have already...

A Beekeeper in Brooklyn

When I visited Montreal a few weeks ago, I noticed immediately that the city, which is full of gardens and public planted spaces, had a booming bee population. But I was surprised to see that so many people were swatting at the bees as if they were pests. I thought it was common knowledge that a bee only stings when provoked! Swatting at a bee is just as stupid as walking up to a coyote and throwing rocks at it. If the bee is minding his own business, just leave the little dude alone.

Bees play a HUGE role in the agricultural system. Without honeybees to pollinate our plants, our tomato plants and corn stalks and bean vines would not produce any food. That's why the mysterious death of so many bees in the last 4 years is such a scary phenomenon: less bees in the world ultimately means a lot less food.

Up until March of 2010, keeping bees in New York City was actually illegal. Bees were seen as a danger to the community, especially in a city where buildings are so close together that your neighbor's beehive would essentially be your beehive. But after years of dealing with the dwindling bee population, and the support of Michelle Obama installing a beehive at The White House, the laws have changed and beekeeping is now in full swing in NYC!

I met Tim O'Neal, a beekeper who raises bees just a few blocks away from FarmTina in Brooklyn- I like to think that it's his bees who have been pollinating my plants! Tim answered all of my questions about beekeeping in the city, and he even teaches a class on the subject at Brooklyn Brainery. Registration is still open if you'd like to sign up- classes start September 29th.

Tim's partner in crime Philippe and their rooftop apiary

FarmTina: The first question I think everyone wants to know... WHY?! Why beekeeping? And why do it in a place like Brooklyn?

$299 + Pee + Dead Fish = High-End Composting

My NatureMill automatic composting machine (pictured left) was among the gems left behind by the former tenant of my apartment. It is a small electric composter that uses heat and motion to speed up the natural decomposing process of organic materials. I keep it in my kitchen and it magically turns food, paper and plant scraps into fertile soil that I can use in my garden. THIS BLOWS ME AWAY.

So how does it work? What does pee have to do with it? And why does anyone need a $299 machine to do something that already occurs naturally? I suppose those are all reasonable questions. Be prepared to be amazed...

How To Use Poo The Right Way

Manure spreader, 1899 / Image from dok1 on flickr / CC BY 2.0

After eating a nice side salad picked straight from my garden yesterday, I heard about another lettuce recall that I don't have to worry about because I grow my own food and I know how to properly use poo.