For low power fun, is anyone up for living Sundays without electricity, except for keeping the fridge and freezer going? Although we are particularly blessed with hydro power in this province and probably won’t see grid failures like other parts of the world, I think it would be a fun exercise to collectively make us more mindful about our dependence on the grid and more prepared if there are any problems. Plus it will force us out of our normal routines and create opportunities to connect in new ways.

Leave some comments if you want to build on this.

Attention urban agriculture enthusiasts! http://vancouverurbanagriculture.ca has several workshops listed that may be of interest. There are 2 evening workshops on winter gardening (Monday Sept. 17 & Wednesday Sept. 19) followed by a soils workshop on Saturday Sept 22nd.

For details: http://vancouverurbanagriculture.ca/eventsandresources.html

As the fall crops are close to ripening in our community gardens, my wife and I have started learning about canning. I stumbled into an interesting short article by the BC Ministry of Health called: Home Canning - How to Avoid Botulism. This is old news for anyone who has canned before but for any other newbies out there, it’s a MUST read. Botulism is a deadly bacterium that thrives in a moist, low-acid, oxygen free environment. It is not killed by regular boiling. Low acid food such as vegetables, meat and seafood must be canned at higher temperatures than can be reached in a pot of boiling water. The only solution is pressure canner, which brings the minimum temperature up to 116ºC (240ºF), which is sufficient to destroy botulism spores.

Pressure canners can be purchased in the lower mainland from the manufacturer Wells Can. Map to Wells Can.