talkin' trash

Gone are the days of "just trash it" and "throw it away." As my Culture and Ecology professor Dr. Boyer pointed out to an eager group of aspiring environmentalists some 10 years ago: There is no such thing as away. To which we all passionately nodded and agreed, but perhaps did not fully implement back then into our capricious college lifestyles.

There is an ugly, endless list of data corroborating Dr. Boyer's astute warning. to name a few:

Landfills are surprise! filling UP
Most landfills leak toxins into ground water
Nobody wants a landfill in their backyard (do you?)
Sending our trash into outer space is ridiculous and irresponsible.

In the face of this dilemma, there is some absurd percentage of landfill waste that could have otherwise been diverted. aha! this is where i focus attention on my dinky little farm in Nicaragua, where i am trying to follow the sage advice i received a decade ago.

Before we send our trash "away," it has several possible diversions:

Yummy raw tidbits like fruit and vegetable peelings are gobbled up by Mama Canela y hijos.

mmm, so much tastier covered with dirt!

Other organic waste, including coffee grounds, tea bags, and banana leaves are buried in here, our newly fashioned our worm bin!

Simple concrete bins with an aluminum lid house a prosperous community of both African and Californian worms.The roof/lid keeps the temperature cool and I water daily to maintain appropriate moisture. Note the drainage faucets for collecting compost tea!
We are counting on these slimy decomposers to transform our "garbage" into rich, fertile soil.

The trusty old Compost Bin receives primarily citrus peelings, known to be too strong for worms; avocado pits and large seeds; and egg shells, known to harbor potentially harmful bacteria (and even though they would probably eat them, it seems too gross to feed them to the chickens).

Lastly,,,,, o.k. yes, we are still consuming products packaged in plastic bags, wrappers, bottles, etc. So we make use of the municipal garbage service. Sadly, most folks living out of town burn their trash--yes, even the plastic-- in weekly toxic fires that are completely legal here. I did visit the local dump, and it makes me wonder which is the healthier option.

vulture paradise

Thank you Dr. Boyer! Majoring in anthropology wasn't such a "waste," after all ;)

Catharsis

Correction from last post: farming so far has been trial by error. Yes, error, ok? i'm being honest here. Deep breath,,,here's to learning from one's mistakes.
The blossom end rot was a bummer for many of my tomates y ayote; there was an unfortunate pest attack on the potatoes (though i did manage to salvage a couple tiny taters and they were GOOD); i've already gone on about the cacao (see Feb 28); i already went on about the wind? And another sad story is the tale of compost. Before any seed sprouted or blossom bloomed, when the farm was nothing more than a lemon forest, I faithfully hauled our household compost to a designated spot, layered appropriately (greens + browns), and encouraged Mother Nature to do her thing. Some people send out pics of their kids, some their pets, even a shot of a well-manicured flower garden might pass without raising eyebrows. I, however, shared with my nearest and dearest an intimate photo of my very own rotting pile of discarded organic waste mixed with yard clippings, seen here:

Looks great, eh? Gracias, but la problema presented itself in the form of this adorable, starving, and to top it all off pregnant, farm dog, who was delighted by the loads of yummy-smelling edible treats I generously dumped for her each week.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

The owner of Niña, who is actually the mandador of our farm, has more important mouths to feed than poor hungry Niña's and those of her then developing 4 puppies (who subsequently all died, surely of malnutrition). Entonces,,,, compost hasn't happened. seriously, what would you do?

Bitching and Moaning Part 2: Live and Learn
Tomato Season Round 1 is winding down, thankfully, because the tomatoes were not good. (Like i said, honest). In this case, I feel comfortable blaming the tomato variety, as this same square-ish flavorless mealy fruit is the only type to be found in the markets here. Boiled down and carefully seasoned they yield a decent sauce, but i would never ever choose to eat one in my ensalada. Upon researching, we discovered that the tomato variety we so despise is a hybrid known as UC 82, probably cultivated for its ability to ship long distances and maintain a vibrant red. How did this tasteless excuse for a tomato infiltrate the Nicaraguan vegetable market?
I prefer to showcase them here in my toaster oven, broiling handsomely, where they maintain some shred of culinary integrity, rather than naked and so glaringly inadequate.

Anyway,,,lessons learned. Not all tomatoes are created equal. And,the UC 82 is a determinate variety of tomato, in which all the fruit comes in and ripens at once. I am now armed with several different seed varieties, including an indeterminate heirloom seed that touts superb FLAVOR with no mention of the tomato's shape--hallelujah!
Tearing out the tomatoes' withered brown stems today was cathartic, bidding adios to my first crop as a Nica farmer and heaping the leftover nutrients into the compost pile--one down, many to go.