The BUFCO Bulletin

Autumn Edition

October 2019

In this Issue...

Autumn is a bittersweet time of year. The days are getting noticeably shorter yet garden-weary plant-lovers can now look forward to a winter rest. But before that can happen, Arlene shows us there is still much to be done In Your Garden.

As you prepare to put your gardens to bed, we suggest attending the Planet in Focus Film Festival which seems evermore relevant in the wake of the Climate March that saw millions of people gathering in cities and towns around the globe. With the same focus, Marc thought it apropos to focus this month’s tips on some simple resource saving ideas. Finally, Debbie shows us how to continue growing (and eating!) fresh greens through the winter.

Colourful potatoes were ready in time for Thanksgiving!

In Your Garden
Top 10 End of Season Tasks

The time has come to harvest and preserve the last of your bounty, bring your tender perennials indoors, set up your hoop tunnels or cold frames, plant your garlic, clean your tools and accessories and finally feed and cover your soil.

Here are ten end of season tasks that could be on your checklist:

The leprechauns can keep their fancy four leaf clovers. Our three-leaf clover cover crop magically secures nutrients in soil.

Wrap heat lovers and preserve the harvest (tomatoes, peppers etc)
Collect, dry, pack and save seeds
Protect your cold hardies
(lettuce and other greens)
Bring tender perennials inside (rosemary, bay)
Preliminary garden plan for spring to determine where to plant garlic this fall
Harvest compost from your composter
Feed your beds with organic compost
Seed a cover crop?
(Winter Rye, Leaf mulch/straw)
Plant garlic
Empty hoses, watering accessories, and irrigation systems for the winter freeze

Marc's Tips in the Middle #1

One impatient day, I needed boiled water, STAT! So instead of waiting for a pot of water on our electric stove top (lid on, of course),

I decided to boil the water in the electric kettle. Because the heat element of a kettle is contained, with little heat escaping into the air, the water boils significantly faster and more efficiently. Now, water gets boiled in the kettle every time, and then transferred to the pot. Only a highly efficient (and expensive) induction stove would be offer more energy savings. Remember, boil only the amount of water you need.

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Planet in Focus Film Festival

October brings with it more than beautiful colours and Dentist’s Day (a.k.a. Halloween). Starting on Tuesday the 15th, the 2019 Planet in Focus Film Festival offers a full slate of beautiful, inspiring, and sometimes necessarily frightening films all focusing on the health of our environment, the health of our cultures and societies, and the health of our very own bodies, minds, and souls.


Dark Eden Opening Gala, October 15		The Game Changers Closing Night, October 20

The Opening Gala on October 15, features Dark Eden, is a full-length documentary that paints a haunting and atmospheric portrait of the oil-sands town of Fort McMurry, its people, and the industrial landscape that sprawls through the heart of the boreal forest.

Greenpeace activist Melina Laboucan-Massimo will be celebrated as this year’s Canadian Eco-Hero, to be honoured at the opening night Gala. Melina is Lubicon Cree from Northern Alberta. She has worked on social, environmental and climate justice issues for the past 15 years.

Closing night, Sunday October 20th, celebrates Oscar winning filmmaker Louie Psihoyos, this year’s International Eco-Hero. Louie is the Executive Director of the Oceanic Preservation Society (OPS), and is recognized as one of the top stills photographers in the world. His latest film, The Game Changers, is a brilliantly constructed and remarkably persuasive documentary, this time examining how we fuel our bodies.

Once again, BUFCO is proud to be a Planet in Focus sponsor. Please join us for one of the over 35 films and events taking place this year at venues throughout downtown Toronto. Click here for more information and to pre-purchase tickets.

Marc's Tips in the Middle #2

Our oven broke. Well, the temperature control panel did, which sadly can’t be replaced, so we could only cook at 350 degrees, no more, no less. Instead of replacing the entire appliance,

we used our credit card points to purchase a countertop toaster oven. Now, instead of heating up 5+ cubic feet of oven space, we can broil, bake, re-heat, convection oven – literally everything our old oven did – in a space that’s only one half of a cubic foot. It’ll even cook a small chicken and has surprisingly accurate pre-sets as well. Even at full price, I have no doubt this energy saver will pay for itself within a year or two.

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Grow Your Own Microgreens

For those of you who want fresh greens all through the winter, consider growing your own micro greens indoors on a windowsill or under lights. Microgreens are densely seeded edible plants that are harvested and consumed before they are mature. Microgreens are a nutritional powerhouse, holding up to 40 times more vitamins and nutrition than their mature counterparts.

Personally, I love how a sprinkle of microgreens can instantly transform my go-to meal of nuked frozen vegetables (don't judge me!) from slimy mush... to "Salad Nirvana: harmony of texture and flavour", from lazy gardener's winter meal... to a posh affair worthy of being---as Pinterest calls it-- a "salad bowl". It's no wonder that microgreens are often used in exquisite wraps and as garnishes on dishes at high-end restaurants.

As fancy as they look, microgreens are not intimidating to grow at all. The barrier to entry in terms of material cost, time commitment, and learning curve are practically non-existent. Furthermore, since they are grown indoors, they can be enjoyed all year round. Pretty, tasty, nutritious, easy, and zone-6-winter-friendly? Count me in!

Marc's Tips in the Middle #3

Cottagers and others with septic systems know this one.

“When it’s yellow, let it mellow”. We don’t often think about the number of times we flush our toilets in a day. Consider this: Let’s look at a family of four, each member peeing between six and 10 times per day. Let’s average that to eight, multiplied by 1.28 gallons per flush for most toilets. Times four people. That’s 41 gallons of water. EVERY DAY! Just for pee. So, if you can, and you’re not having VIPs visit that day, let it mellow, Man! Let it mellow.