The fruits and the bees
February and March look like great months for those of you who like raising food in all its forms. First of all, there’s a beekeeping course through the Central Virginia Beekeepers Association, February 5, 12, 19 and 26, from 7-9pm. You pay $25 for lots of apicultural wisdom, plus a chance to win your own bee colony! Call 296-5844.
Then there are three days of fruit-tree-growing info from Vintage Virginia Apples: February 14, 21 and 28. You’ll learn planning, planting, pruning and grafting. Sign up separately for each day ($25 or $85) at vintagevirginiaapples.com.
And mark your calendars for a March 14 mushroom-growing workshop at Sharondale Farm, including what’s called “a bag of spawn” to start your own ’shroom garden. It’s $55; call 296-3301. Then, start planning a homegrown, home-cooked meal: mushroom omelets, accompanied by sliced apples and biscuits topped with honey from your hive.—Erika Howsare
Hunt, gather and heat
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The woods are lovely, dark and deep—and full of fuel for your stove. |
For all you misers donning parkas and double-layering socks to avoid cranking up the thermostat: How about heating that igloo for 20 bucks a year? If you’ve got a wood-burning heater, flatbed truck, and a set of sturdy shoulders, George Washington and Jefferson National Forests sell fuel-wood-gathering permits, good for six cords of wood—anywhere from 12 to 24 loads, depending on your truck’s carrying capacity.
By selling hundreds of permits every year, the National Forests are able to get rid of dead and downed wood to help clear the way for new growth. It’s nice to know your fuel is coming from already-downed trees; plus, as all you woodstove-and-boiler types will agree, it’s one helluva bargain. Going for $20 a pop, the permits give would-be wood-gatherers access to most of the park, excluding those marked for recreation, timber sales, or designated Wilderness areas. Further guidelines are available on the GW National Forest website.—Lucy Zhou
Bundle me up, Spotty
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Dogs aren’t polar bears, y’know! They’ll stay warmer with your worn-out blankets. |
Come frosty February, everyone ought to have a little somethin’-somethin’ to snuggle up with—even if you’re already covered in fur. Animal shelters like the Charlottesville Albemarle SPCA ask for blanket donations during the blustery months to help combat cold paws and winter woes.
Past drives have been wildly successful, with over 630 donations. If you have blankets too worn for human use, consider sending them to your local shelter instead of the landfill. Gently and lovingly used, please, and the snugglier, the better—see caspca.org for the deets and a list of other donatables.—L.Z.
How does Betty recycle?
This month I want to share some personal home strategies for recycling. Without an efficient and easy system in place, you may be tempted to “just toss it.” A better answer is to responsibly reallocate all the stuff we humans accumulate daily and thus close the loop.
Reyclables
I confess it took me over a year to figure out a decent home recycling strategy when I moved to Albemarle (unless you call piling the recyclables like an artist’s depiction of the Eiffel tower a strategy). Now I have six sturdy, space-saving, stackable plastic bins. Fortunately, we have a garage; but you really only need the width of one bin, 24", and a high ceiling. If you are feeling extra Betty-like, you could take your bins to swim meets or any event where recycling isn’t currently offered. We’re human, which means we don’t walk the recyclables out to the bins every time, so we have a large canvas basket on the kitchen counter for a once-a-day trip.
Compost
We made our compost strategy contained and simple with the purchase of a large outdoor compost tumbler. In the kitchen, I hung a Simple Human container on my pantry door. We toss food waste into 3-gallon biodegradable bags, which can then be transported into the tumbler. An oversized glass cookie jar also works. Container strategies abound, but make sure it’s sealable and easily accessible.
Donate or fix it
I dedicate a closet or attic corner to items for donation. Three or four times a year, we do the recycling circuit—giving away clothing, old electronics, and toys. I’m still waiting for Charlottesville to open a cute small-appliance repair shop like my hometown had. Until then, a box in the garage is dedicated to items that need fixing, like shoe soles and belts. Finally, if I don’t know where to take it, I go to betterworldbetty.org’s recycle search tool.—Betty World Betty
Check out Better World Betty’s local green living resource list at betterworldbetty.com and blog at cvillebettyblog.blogspot.com.
Bulb blues
Lately, we’ve been hearing some troubling buzz locally about CFLs, the light bulbs that everyone (including ABODE) has been saying are a greener choice. Word is, they may not actually be so great. One concern is the mercury the bulbs contain, which means they have to be disposed of quite carefully; you can drop off your used CFLs at the McIntire Recycling Center or the Ivy landfill, but do so gently so as not to break them. What’s more, the mercury may also be doing mischief in China, where many bulbs are manufactured; as we know, that country’s reputation for environmental safeguards and, well, regulation in general is itself a bit of a broken bulb.
Another troubling point: Many folks are unhappy with the bulbs’ performance, saying that CFLs do not last nearly as long as they’re supposed to—a big hole in the argument that they’re worth the substantially higher cost compared to incandescents. One tip we picked up on this point: CFLs that aren’t turned on and off frequently will probably perform best. So if you just want to try them out, the basement or a hallway might be a better choice than the bathroom shared by your three teenagers.—Erika Howsare
