Vermiculture

In my greenhouse, I have a worm composter that I made out of a plastic tub. To make the worm composter, one needs to drill holes in the bottom of the tub and in the lid cover. The holes in the bottom of the tub allow the excess liquid created by the decomposing vegetation to drain out. The excess liquid is known as worm tea.  One needs to place a tray under the tub to catch the liquid and keep the compost worms from crawling out the holes. Since my composter is in the greenhouse, I am not too worried about worm tea leaking out because the excess liquid will drain into the greenhouse soil floor. One can begin your vermiculture mixture with shredded newsprint that is moistened with water. The paper should be damp. The moist paper is simply plant cellulose that is high in carbon content. The compost worms will devour the newsprint into a light fluffy compost. When you add vegetative compost such as vegetable and fruit peelings, the compost will have a high content of potassium and phosphorus.  If there is too high a concentration of green material, the compost may begin to smell of rotting vegetation but with the right mixture of shredded paper , the carbon in the paper will counteract the odour of the vegetation so that there is absolutely no odour.  I have found that by adding a few handfuls of peat moss to the vermiculture mixture, will absorb the worm tea and counteract the smell created by the excess liquid.  I have been experimenting a worm composter tumbler to rotate the compost material.  In a square tub, one has to periodically turn the compost with a garden tool to aerate the material and spread the compost material so the compost worms will digest the composting material. Red wiggler compost worms can be purchased at any fishing store that sells red wiggler worms.  A pound of red wigglers sells for about $25 a pound. I started out with just a couple of dozen red wigglers and let them multiply.  Worm soil sells for about $15 a litre. I use a couple of tablespoons for my potted geraniums . The high phosphorus and potassium content of the compost stimulates flowers to produce blooms.  Nitrogen promotes vegetative green leafy growth.

Greenhouse

I managed to find some nice metal shelving for my greenhouse on which to place my various plants in specific micro-climates. I have placed my cattleya orchids that like high light on the top shelves and the cooler growing cymbidiums next to the window. In the spring , I will start the bedding plants on the middle shelf.  I will be pruning my fig trees down to about 4 feet so they can grow new foliage next year.  I have place water barrels in the greenhouse for humidity, temperature control and water for the plants. I have eight tropical fish tanks in the greenhouse and use the fish water to water the orchids.  I have a couple of worm composters to recycle the leaves and other vegetable matter.  I am also going to experiment in growing plants with different soil mixtures.

Pruning Fruit Trees

October was a nice month of Indian Summer. With November came the first snow fall and currently it is cold. Before the first snows of November came, I pruned my fruit trees. The cherry and apple trees that were 25 feet tall were trimmed down to a height of 10 feet. In the spring, the trees will grow back with new vitality in the new shoots and the apples on the Macintosh tree will be even larger. If one does not prune the fruit trees, the increased foliage means most of the plants nutrients goes into maintaining the old vegetative growth. As the branches grow longer and higher there is a tendency for the branches to snap or cause the main trunk to crack with the excessive weight.  The root system has more energy to produce newer and more vigorous growth because the old growth has been eliminated.

2014 China Tour Next September

Next September, I will be organizing a group of 32 people who wish to partake in a 21 day tour of seven provinces of mainland China. The tour will encompass all four quadrants of China. This will be the third tour that I have organized and my fourth visit to China since 2008. I have added a customized twist to the 2014 tour by building into the tour Optional business tours and hiking tours that will cost extra. The optional business tours include: Visit to a cow farm (Xian);Sichuan International Cooking School (Chengdu); Lenovo computer factory (Shanghai);Heshan Textile Factory (Shanghai); Radio Frequency Identification Chip factory (Shanghai), Real Estate company and on site development (Xiamen). The hiking tours will include: Hiking different locations of the Great wall (Beijing); Hiking in the Yellow Mountain with an overnight stay in the mountains (Shanghai). Since I book directly with the tour operator in China the land package tours and much more luxurious and more reasonably priced that the tours booked from a Canadian travel agency. The tours are all inclusive tours that includes: return airfare, internal air flights, all meals, five star American hotels, all admission fees, local English speaking guides, Tour leader for entire tour, air conditioned coaches and drivers. Not included: passports, visas, vaccinations, travel insurance, medical insurance, tips . To see the detailed itinerary go to the following blogsite: http://alltheteainchinatour.blogspot.ca

Sienlok Park: The Golden Mountain

In Sienlok Park which is west of the Centre Street Bridge and beside the Bow River is the Golden Mountain Monument that tells the story of the Chinese building the railroad in Canada. The monument is made from a 10 ton granite block that was brought from Hoiping China where the majority of the Chinese laborers who built the railroad originated.

Tea Funny Tea Shop

A new tea shop just opened at 1809 Centre Street North. If you follow the Calgary Tower and head due north, cross the Centre Street Bridge before reaching 16th Ave. North you will see Tea Funny between the Bank of Nova Scotia and Tim Horton's.  The tea shop stays open until 2:00 am on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  The unique features of the tea shop is that you place your orders from an IPAD set into the tables. One can use the IPAD's to surf the internet. There is also free WI-FI.  The tea shop has a large selection of hot and cold teas, and assorted slushes.  There are snacks that are made on the premises such as a variety of chicken wings, desserts, dim sum and even fried rice dishes.  The shop is run by Ray and Queenie a husband and wife couple who came from Toronto. The décor of the shop is light and modern with an assortment of music that ranges from Chinese pop rock to Western pop.  There are booths and tables with the implanted IPAD's.  There is plenty of parking available.

Hungarian Partridges

I stepped outside my house to see a flock of Hungarian Partridges walking across the street into my neighbour's yard. At first I thought the birds were sharp-tailed grouse because of their summer coats looked like sharp tails. However, on a closer look, I could see the winter feathers that showed the distinctive red feathers on the wings and the bird's crest.  The Hungarians in my neighbourhood live in the valley by the Elk's golf course a kilometre away. Nose creek flows through the golf course and birds live in the brush on the sides of the valley.  The birds leave their sanctuary in the fall to pick gravel on the streets and to forage for different berries and seeds in the residential neighbourhood.