Looking for an all natural fertilizer?

By Andrew

If you’ve been reading our earlier articles, you will probably already know that I’ve been working on a balcony garden in order to get myself a little closer to the food production process.  To date, I have been successful in growing chives, basil, oregano, potatoes, tomatoes, asparagus, peppers, and onions.  Unfortunately I’ve only been able to eat the first four items on this list due to the time it takes for food to grow in particularly nutrient poor soils.  The soil in flower pots are relatively nutrient poor for the reason that they rarely have active bacterial soil cultures and access to decaying organic material.  An easy answer to this would be to use some conventional fertilizer or compost.  But, if you’re like me you’ll want to try to avoid using chemicals and you lack the space for a composter.  Don’t fret, a slightly unconventional answer to this has been highlighted in Scientific American by using urine.  Now before you get all grossed out, please note that urine is completely sterile.  Read on to find out more…

Staycation: Sibbald Point Provincial Park

By Andrew

       The idea began as most far-flung adventures did and often tend to; in the company of friends over a few drinks.  It was a Saturday evening, five or six of us gathered around the television watching Top Gear’s Vietnam special.  The intrepid hosts of the program were undertaking a journey on second hand motorbikes and mopeds from the south to the north of the country.  About half way through the episode a conversation among us unfolded regarding travel and adventure.  Being springtime at the university, most of us were left wonting of this particular aspect of our lives as midterms were well underway.  It was at this moment that the harebrained scheme was hatched.  My friend Jack and I had set in our minds that we were going to bike from Toronto to Lake Simcoe, more specifically to Sibbald Point Provincial Park.

Wash Away the Energy

By Noah

A huge drain on heating and electric costs that plagues the average North American household is a pair of “necessary” suckers that bleed energy off the grid.  Week after week people load their dirty clothes into the laundry machine, push a few buttons, and then disappear.  After a not-so-quick change-over to the dryer and a magical laundry fairy, we get soft, fluffy, clean clothes that smell like “Ocean Spray” or “Evergreen Forest”.  What we seem to forget however is not just the amount of energy consumed to produce these apparently beautiful smells, but also how ugly the amount of money that energy costs us, smells.

Get More Out of Life with Less

By Andrew

As a recent graduate, I’ve essentially spent the last few years living out of a suitcase.  Granted I did have a home base in which to store my larger possessions, my whole life could pretty much fit into the back of a car.  It was only after I moved out of my parents place that I realized, quite frankly, I had a lot of useless junk.  In the relatively short period of time that I'd spent living in my parents’ home after graduation I had somehow acquired another vanload of personal effects.  Sure, I could still survive for about a week with what I could fit into my backpack, but the pool that I had available to draw upon seemed to keep growing.

    

Alternative Transport

By Andrew


Most of us don’t have the benefit to live within an acceptable walking distance from our place of employment.  This being the case, we are generally left with the options of driving or taking public transportation.  I’m not saying that these are bad options, but they certainly aren’t the best if you’re interested in reducing your environmental impact or improving your fitness and mental wellbeing.  The main alternative option that is probably flashing in your mind is riding a bike, something that I have recently begun to do for my commute to work now that the weather is getting warmer.  As I transitioned to biking, I noticed something wonderful.

Food Cycles

Guest post by Emily

This past summer my roommates and I took advantage of the large balcony off of my room in a house on Lansdowne Ave. and decided to experiment with a pretty significant potted garden. I put a hold on a copy of Gayla Trail’s You Grow, Girl at the library and patiently waited a long time for it to come in  (Gayla Trail, resident gardening blogger extraordinaire is,

DIY - Unlimited Onions

By Andrew

A flavourful meal is something that we can all appreciate.  I personally like to add some savor to my dinners by adding some onions, especially caramelized ones!  So you can imagine my surprise when I stumbled across an article explaining how I can get an almost limitless supply of onions… for free!  Remember folks, spring is on the way.  The steps to do this below are so

A Sense of Nostalgia

By Andrew

A sense of nostalgia is a rare thing found with the products that we find flooding our homes today. It has become the norm to buy something knowing that it will break and simply replace it with an identical, or improved version. This is a simple choice within today’s marketplace because consumer goods are frequently made cheaply at a low price. An attractive alternative to paying sometimes double the amount for something that is well made for the same task.