Back yard foraging

Nowadays when we think of food, we think about going to the grocery store and buying something in a package or plastic bag. We don't think about what might be growing in our own backyard (that we didn't intentionally plant) as something to eat

The grocery store will remain the primary source of food for my family and me, but I can also look outside my door and see healthy things to eat even in my not terribly large city yard.  Harvesting enables me to deal with several plants that are invasive or that I don't particularly want in my flower garden. I don't have to just send them to the county yard waste site. I can eat them. These plants can also harvested before many of the other things that I intentionally plant are ready to harvest.  These edibles are often super nutritious and  I don't accumulate any clamshell packaging.  

Many people know that dandelions are edible and they were originally brought to the United States for food purposes. 

I have been sautéing greens from dandelions, hostas, wild violets and lamb quarters with olive oil, salt and lemon. Dandelions have a strong flavor and aren't actually my favorite. I don't eat dandelion greens raw, but I will make salads with the lambs quarter, which is milder and softer.  Wood sorrel also makes for a lemony addition to salad, but turns goopy when cooked. 

Edible flowers such as violets, nasturtium and marigolds make good garnishes for cakes and salads.  Last year I boiled several bunches of lilacs in a sugar syrup to make my own lilac soda (add carbonated water from a soda stream).

If you are going to forage in the back yard, you will need to ensure the area you are harvesting is not contaminated.  You also must correctly identify plants you did not cultivate so you do not poison yourself  The internet is handy and I particularly like this article for Minnesota edible weeds.  Otherwise put your weeds and garden plants that grow a little too robustly to good use. 

Making reuse "normal"

In a previous post, I shared a story in which my child tried to nudge me away from some free items on the curb I was eyeing because he knew I was violating social norms. Even with  my willingness to go against the grain, I know that my projects only make a small dent in materials that could be reused. In making my garden apron, I reused two whole pairs of jeans. True shifts toward sustainability are going to require much bigger shifts in societal thinking and behavior. 

To explore how to enable these shifts, I spoke with Emily Barker about the role of government in promoting more sustainable behavior. Emily is a solid waste specialist with the City of Saint Louis Park in Minnesota.   

Emily said that she came from a family of "fixers" and that influenced her. We also talked about how mending and reusing items had been a necessity in the past. Emily remarked that it has only taken two generations for us to lose the skills that allowed us to repair things. 

Emily described the complexities of promoting reuse. "People can get frustrated about being told what to do," she said.  We can't implement a reuse plan like sending a recycling truck down the street. It's hard to message." 

To address these complexities, she began organizing city-wide swaps in 2017.  "It's about making reuse culturally normal. There are people willing to go to a swap over a thrift store.  There seems to a lower barrier."  

She added that clothing swaps keep things cycling and also show people how much clothing there is out there. The swaps Emily has organized have grown in attendance over the years.  The next swap that Emily is organizing is on May 20 and is a gardening swap. 

These swaps also promote neighborhood connections. Emily recounted a story about an older city resident who was downsizing  and who arrived at a gardening swap with an array of tools, eager to give them so someone who could use them.  A young couple who had just purchased a house and did not have money to purchase new items were able to fully equip themselves with what they needed. Emily talked about how satisfying it was to witness a connection like that. 

I have been thinking a lot about the incentives in our society that keep us consuming and I was curious to know more about the incentives for government to promote consumption.  I asked Emily point blank about how reducing consumption affects a government entity that is reliant on tax revenue. She pointed out there are ways to promote economic activity without promoting the needless consumption of resources. St. Louis Park has compiled a directory and she was surprised by how many repair and reuse businesses she was able to find in a town of 50,000.

Emily also acknowledged that reuse could be difficult for people. You might have to wait to get something. For those who don't find reuse practical for their lives, she recommended really thinking about what you need and buying high quality items that will last. 

Emily also provided some hope for the future by sharing a story about her six-year-old.  The child had received a gift with a number of items that were wrapped and commented how wasteful it was.  "If kids can learn, then it will only be time," she said. 

Umbrella Upcycle

As I mentioned in my post about sourcing fabric, there is so much material to work with.  And it is all around. 

I had a broken umbrella. Don't we all? 

I tried fixing it, but a couple of the metal pieces were broken. While I sew, I don't weld. I liked this umbrella quite a bit and it had actually lasted a long time. The fabric was pretty and it seemed like it was the same type of fabric used for shoe bags we have purchased  I thought I could use the broken umbrella to make shoe bags. Then the pandemic hit and we didn't have anywhere to go so I put the umbrella aside. 

About a year later a friend of mine posted on Facebook asking if people used shoe bags and whether they had recommendations. I said, I can make you a couple!  I made two and then I put out a call on Facebook for people's broken umbrellas and I made some more. 

Here is a description of what I did. 

First locate broken umbrellas. If you put out a call to your friends and you don't live in the desert, you will probably get more than you need. If you have multiple umbrellas you can coordinate colors. Using a seam ripper, detach the umbrella from the metal frame. Then use a pair of scissors to cut the fabric from the center piece.  

The fabric you take off the umbrella frame will be, well umbrella shaped, so if you are going to make it into something else like a shoe bag, then you will need to use a seam ripper to take apart the sections. The umbrellas I have deconstructed have had between 8 and 10 sections and they have all been pretty easy to pull apart. 

Take two of the triangle sections and lay them on top of each other The narrow points of the triangles will need to be on opposite ends.  It probably won't matter which is the right side and which is the wrong one. From there sew a seam. I have used both French seams and a serger for these shoe bags. You will find that your seams are likely curved a little which you can trim by hand or while you serge.

Open up your seam and cut your now larger piece into a rectangle. I made a pattern that was about 12X16 and I didn't worry too much about lining up the pattern with the grain. Repeat with another two sections of umbrella to make another rectangle. If you are using an umbrella with narrower sections, you may need to layout multiple triangles in alternating directions and cut your rectangles from bigger pieces.  

To make a drawstring bag, make a 1/4 inch fold at the top and along the very top, fold over another inch and top stich down. That will be the channel for your string. 

Take your two rectangles and pin or clip. If you are making a French seam, you will start wrong sides together, then start stitching under the string channel and go around the rectangle to the bottom of the other side of the channel.  If you are going to serge or finish the seam with a zig zag, then you can put it right sides together sew then turn inside out. 

Cut two cords that are a few more inches than needed to go around the bag start with one of the open ends and using a safety pin, feed the cord through the channels on both pieces of fabric. Tie the two ends together. Start the other cord on the opposite end and do the same.

And there you have a shoe bag!  Here is another example using fabric from two different umbrellas. 

Home repairs

I have a sewing project that is languishing. I made a set of curtains for our office closet and I plan to make matching curtains for the office windows, but I can't make myself take the next step, which is to cut the fabric. 

However, I have been keeping up with my sustainability kick by taking on small repair projects around the house.  Shortly after I started visibly mending, I also became motivated to repair other things. Clear Gorilla Tape became one of my best friends on this quest. However, the tape did not work for everything.  Somehow I came across a product called Sugru on the internet. I then saw a package at my local Target store, which I picked up and looked at, but didn't purchase.  Then finally I decided it was time to try it out on these repairs that were piling up.  By that time, the local Target no longer carried it and I had to order it from Amazon and it arrived two days later, with too much packaging. 

On the day I received the Sugru, I took out a few things that needed repair. This included a broken tea strainer and a set of swim goggles that I now use when chopping onions. In addition, I had a sugar bowl that had no place to conveniently stow the sugar spoon. I also had a set of headphones that were in two pieces suspended by a wire. 

Sugru is a moldable silicone glue. The box I purchased had several packets of various colors.  Once you open a packet, the instructions say you have 30 minutes to mold the Sugru (I found I actually had more).  Then you have to let it cure for 12 to 24 hours.

 

The first I thing I did was to create a little holder for the sugar spoon. That worked out just as envisioned and now I have a place for the sugar spoon. 

Then I worked on the tea strainer. I left it on the counter to cure and my spouse moved it, which meant it ended up  back in two pieces again. I opened a second packet to redo the strainer. After it cured, I realized it was still not stable enough so I added more.  I haven't really put it to the test, but it looks like it will work for a while. 

I also was able to serviceably fix the headphones. I am going to add a little more Sugru to this project, but they are in much better shape than they were before I did the repair.

The goggle rims had a little tear on them. I wasn't able to get the Sugru to mold as I wanted on there, but since I am not using them in water it is ok.  

In addition to these items, I also repaired a broken umbrella. I also started to repair a cracked plastic chair. I will need to open another packet to finish that.  While my blog is generally not about buying more stuff, I did find Sugru to be useful to extending the life of several things.