Green Tenant

Truthshifting

2011-09-21T12:30:00.001-04:00

I do apologize for not having posted in a very long time. Quite frankly, work has been busy and I haven't had time for many projects, much less photographing them and writing them up. Must get back to that. In the meantime, here in Ontario we're having a provincial election. Just as in the U.S., elections mean attack ads. Ours used to be tamer, but they're really getting unpleasant.

Planting done, watching bees

2011-06-05T13:26:00.000-04:00

Because I rent the main floor of a Victorian semi in Toronto, I'm lucky enough to be a renter with a garden. Today, I finished the spring planting with the melons, hot peppers and flowers including marigolds, gazanias, mums, lantanas and foxgloves. Now I intend to sit back, have a beer and watch the bees at work. The foxgloves went in on the edge of a wild back corner, and will grow in that

Spring carrots

2011-05-27T11:00:00.002-04:00

I thought I'd hit the jackpot. When the snow melted, the tops of carrot plants poked out through the soil. The last crop from last year that had been too small to pick in the fall had come up! A grand new strategy! Plant in autumn, eat in spring! Sadly, no. I chose some plants that were readying to bolt this week. The roots were generally small and those that weren't had pale, somewhat spongy

Keeping the Bees

2011-05-25T11:00:00.002-04:00

When I first moved into the Green Tenancy with its tangle of a backyard, I had a notion of keeping bees. It was one shared by an upstairs neighbour who daydreamed of apiary. Sadly, it was a dream we could not fulfill because doing so would put us in contravention of the Ontario Bees Act. But not being allowed to keep honeybees doesn't mean you can't enjoy bees or the pleasures of amateur

Making a compost screen

2011-05-23T15:27:00.005-04:00

This spring is the beginning of my fourth summer in the Green Tenancy, and a couple weeks ago I determined that it is finally time to empty the first of my composters. After removing the sturdy black plastic outer structure and a bit of non-composted straw from the top, I quickly realized the compost would need screening.You see, different materials take different amounts of time to compost.

Two smart things: dehumidifier and timer

2011-05-09T11:08:00.005-04:00

Like a lot of renters, I have a basement space. And that means a choice between dampness and poor air quality or running a dehumidifier and eating the electricity costs.This week, I did two smart things: I cleaned the dehumidifier and bought a timer.Before going further, in the interests of clarity I should state that I rent the ground floor and basement of a Victorian semi. The basement in

Pansies who love chicken wire

2011-04-04T15:32:00.006-04:00

My son and I were cleaning up the yard on Saturday and he found a piece of old chicken wire. It was a cast-off scrap from a cage I'd built last year to protect our strawberries. Since it wasn't very big, I told him to bin it.Then, on Sunday, I realized that was a mistake and retrieved it. Turns out this piece of chicken wire may be the solution to one of my biggest problems: squirrels in my

Lifelong renters, lifelong environmentalists?

2011-02-25T14:41:00.005-05:00

Lifelong Renter David Hayes shares his typewriter collection in his Toronto Co-OpI was just reading David Hayes' latest Lifelong Renter column in the Toronto Star. It struck me as particularly interesting because I recently received an email from a reader whose company is promoting 10 reasons why it's better to buy a home than to rent.Like most people, I often pine for a little piece of land and

It's curtains for me!

2011-02-24T10:50:00.004-05:00

Inside and outside temperatures in August.Left: behind heavy curtains. Right: without curtainsI've been wanting thick, insulated curtains for my bedroom ever since I moved into my apartment. The bedroom has big sliding doors that open onto the garden, which is a lovely feature in an apartment. But sliding doors are also big glass areas, and poorly insulated. Even the best new windows perform

Errors from the Great White North

2010-12-08T09:49:00.004-05:00

Rush hour in Toronto's financial district - no sign of global warmingI would like to begin by apologizing to residents of the United States for some of my own country's cultural exports. We're very happy you've given Celine Dion a home. And we're really sorry about Howie Mandel. Not sure what happened there.But sometimes we send out good things, too. The late, great Leslie Nielsen, for

Arrival Cities and green tenants

2010-09-24T10:52:00.004-04:00

Last month, I finally read Arrival City: the final migration and our next world. It's a book I've been eagerly awaiting since it was first announced a few years ago. In it, Doug Saunders travels the slums of the world to discover what works and what doesn't, as the developing world's largely rural population rapidly urbanizes.In the interests of full disclosure, I should state up front that Doug

Installing a ceiling fan

2010-09-03T08:11:00.019-04:00

Yes, it's September, which means the summer heat is almost over. But it ain't over yet. Where I live it's still hot and humid. The utility companies are offering an incentive ($75 in Toronto) to get people signed up for Peaksaver, a device that "cycles down" central air conditioning during peak electricity demand periods (in other words, the hottest days). The Ontario Power Authority says it'll

Great Toronto urban agriculture walking tour

2010-07-07T20:45:00.010-04:00

Once again, I had the pleasure of organizing a walking tour for delegates at the MagNet conference in Toronto. Last year we had a great time exploring brownfields and brown beers on the Lower Don River walking tour. This year it was time for an urban agriculture walking tour!Why urban agriculture?Well, there is the fact that it's a hot, trendy topic. That is, it's about as hip as gardening ever

Digging, weeding and getting ready

2010-04-25T18:11:00.004-04:00

Environment Canada forecast a warmer and drier spring than usual for most of Canada. As a result, I'm planning to plant out most things fairly early this year. I will probably do so around the time of our average last frost: May 9.WorkThere haven't been many posts on Green Tenant of late. It's been a very busy spring, with a lot of writing and editing. You might enjoy a couple pieces I did for

Locavore: is local agriculture feasible?

2010-04-04T10:52:00.006-04:00

Right off the bat, I have to say that I approached Sarah Elton's new book, Locavore: from farmers' fields to rooftop gardens--how Canadians are changing the way we eat, with some reservations.I know Elton and frequently enjoy her writing and CBC Radio broadcasts about food. But I have an uncomfortable relationship with the local food movement. There's a lot to admire about the locavores—their

Concrobium: an unexpected way to deal with plant mold

2010-03-06T09:03:00.006-05:00

I hate to be a shill for any product. But every now and then one comes along that does something unexpected. This winter, it was Concrobium.Concrobium is an anti-mold treatment made from food grade vegetable dyes. It's non-toxic, which makes it a rarity in the realm of mold treatments. I first encountered it when writing a review for Green Living some years ago.It does a decent job in the

Sunday at the Thunderdome of Seeds

2010-02-22T12:11:00.004-05:00

There's snow in the forecast for today, but all the same, it is time to start thinking about gardening. Yes, it's time to order seeds and even to begin planting some indoors.With that in mind, we headed so the oddly named "Seedy Saturday on a Sunday," hosted by the Toronto Community Garden Network. It's a wonderful show of seeds and food from smaller producers and community gardens. Probably a

A good day to dry clothes

2010-02-07T13:51:00.010-05:00

It was -5 C outside yesterday, but a strong sun made it a perfect day for drying laundry.The thermostat in my apartment was set at 18, but in the midday sun by the patio doors, it was above 37 C. That made for quick drying on my new rack, and I got through three loads of laundry.What makes a good drying rack?My old drying rack was not a good one. It was made of thick wooden dowels, with the bars

Winterizing your windows

2010-01-25T12:47:00.008-05:00

Last week, I went over to help winterize a friend's apartment. We started by sealing some drafts under the sink and installing a new threshold on the front door. Then came the windows.In any home, windows are a major heat loser. Paul Fisette did a really good job of explaining windows and heat loss in an article on the Fine Homebuilding website, so I'll let you enjoy his piece rather than writing

Winterizing for Tenants

2010-01-22T14:39:00.025-05:00

Every sensible homeowner has a checklist of things to do before winter comes. But for tenants, winterizing doesn't always get done. Some tasks they can't do, either because the landlord won't allow it, or because they don't have access to, for example, the basement. In other cases, they don't pay for heat and so winterizing isn't an economic priority.A friend rents two floors of an older house in

Gardening, canning, how the season ended

2010-01-09T12:45:00.006-05:00

My first year with a full garden was 2009. Before that I'd had a single bed (mostly spinach) at my flat in London, and started with one good bed (tomatoes, salad greens) at the Green Tenancy here in Toronto. This year I expanded it to four beds totalling about 400 square feet.A lot of things worked well. I gave a preliminary report here, and since then have, obviously, finished the final

Folding bike for urban apartment-dwellers

2009-12-10T10:58:00.007-05:00

For green-minded apartment dwellers, it’s hard to beat a bike for transportation in the city. That is, until the inevitable storage problem arises. Let’s face it; our beloved bikes are a chore to store.That’s especially true if you’ve paid up for a decent ride and are left without a place to keep it dry and secure. Rare is the urban apartment, or workplace, that provides tenants or employees with

Freezing purple beans

2009-09-03T13:18:00.004-04:00

Last year, when we cut down the tree in the backyard, I noted that the garden would have to produce some food to offset the small amount of carbon that the weedy tree would have sequestered.Today, the garden is producing. There are many pounds of carrots in the ground, there's more chard than I can eat, the beet greens are turning into triffids.One of the most spectacular plants is the Royal

Things to consider before going car-free

2009-09-02T13:24:00.003-04:00

Last year, I decided to sell my car and begin a shiny, new, car-free lifestyle. It's mostly been a good decision. But along the way I've learned a few things, and there are certain factors to consider before sending your clunker to the scrap heap.1. How will I get to work?I work from home, so this is a no-brainer. But can you bike or walk to work? How far is it from your apartment to public

The 15-minute grey-water barrel updated

2009-08-31T09:10:00.010-04:00

At the beginning of summer, I converted an old trash can into a grey-water barrel in just 15 minutes. It was a project intended to conserve water by re-using bathwater on the garden. The initial project was only a partial success, thanks to a design flaw. But it didn't take much to fix the barrel. Here's what I did.Removed the silicone sealant that had failed.Bought two nuts for 1/2-inch threaded

David Suzuki digs this balcony garden

2009-08-26T16:31:00.005-04:00

The David Suzuki Foundation recently ran a contest called "David Suzuki Digs My Garden." One of the things I like about the contest is that it recognizes not every gardener's situation is equal. The contest has categories for big and small gardens, vegetable and ornamental gardens, new gardeners and cold-climate gardens.On the BalconyIn particular, I like the Small Gardens category, because it

Clean Breaks is one to miss

2009-08-21T15:47:00.003-04:00

I love books. It's probably why I work as an editor. As a result, I'm trying to imagine the conversation that led the Rough Guides editors to commission Clean Breaks: 500 new ways to see the world.My guess is that they wanted to fill a gap in their list, knew that All Things Green are selling, and knew a couple good travel writers who could lend their names to the project.The result is a mammoth,

Nothing fresher than veg from the backyard

2009-08-12T14:08:00.008-04:00

Without any doubt, the garden has been a success this year. Devoted readers will recall that I spent the winter developing elaborate companion planting maps and rationalizing the removal of a tree from the backyard.I've learned a lot this year. There's a lot I learned during research and planning for the garden, but the greatest lessons have come from this season. Some things worked really well,

Tiny home or apartment?

2009-07-30T07:23:00.014-04:00

I wrote a story about the tiny homes movement in today's Globe & Mail. It was a fun story to work on. The people involved in the movement are interesting, and Sasha McIntyre was absolutely delightful to meet. I'm also generally in favour of finding creative ways to live comfortably while using fewer resources.But, much as I like many of the tiny house designs, there are problems with this

A $250, low-carbon vacation

2009-07-17T15:21:00.007-04:00

There's nothing like a bit of time away, and last weekend's trip was a wonderful one. As an added bonus, it had a minimal environmental impact. Also, it combined some of my favourite things: camping, dancing and eating.We headed to Richmond, Quebec, for the Ooh la la festival, a weekend of music, contra dancing and quebecois folk dancing. If you like twirling about on the dance floor and are not

How to survive the LCBO strike

2009-06-23T16:36:00.004-04:00

What a summer it's shaping up to be! First there's the garbage strike (click here for tips on how to survive). Now LCBO workers are poised to go on strike. We could have, as Toronto writer Carl Wilson phrased it, "the stink without the drink."For those of you unfamiliar with Ontario's arcane liquor distributions rules, the LCBO has a near monopoly. Because it has almost exclusive rights to sell

Today's lunch: from field to table in less than five minutes

2009-06-22T16:54:00.004-04:00

Finally, summer weather has come to Toronto. With warmth also comes an abundance of salad greens. I've taken to stepping outside to pick my lunch most days. Really, there's nothing that can compare with a freshly picked salad.Today's delight was mostly made up of butter crunch lettuce leaves and beet greens, with a few leaves of oak leaf lettuce, a bit of giant red mustard green, a few leaves of

Garbage strike survival ideas from a six-year-old

2009-06-16T21:36:00.006-04:00

Like most parents, I'm frequently surprised by my kid. He's six years old and, well, to be perfectly honest, he often has better ideas than I do.When we got home from school tonight, there was a message from a radio station that had read my post, 10 ways to survive a garbage strike. This meant that I had to start by explaining what a strike is. Thankfully, he's a smart kid. Probably also helped

10 steps to organizing a great walking tour

2009-06-08T08:31:00.004-04:00

Walking tours are a great way to learn about the local environment while having fun and meeting your neighbours. In the last year, I've organized two successful ones along the lower Don River in Toronto, and am looking forward to more in the year ahead.Organizing your own walking tour is fun and rewarding. It's also fairly easy to do. Here are some tips to help you organize one that will be a

Lower Don River walking tour

2009-06-07T15:47:00.012-04:00

We're finally into a spell of nice weather, and that means it's time to get out and explore the city. What better way to do it than on foot?To get to know the local environment, I like to organize occasional walking tours. Last weekend's tour, organized with fellow SEJ member Saul Chernos, was in Toronto's Don Valley. The Don is often described as Canada's most urbanized and polluted river. It's

First salad of spring

2009-06-06T10:41:00.005-04:00

I'm lucky. I live in a wealthy society, in a modern era in which I can get fresh greens all year long. These include nice, tasty mixed salad greens in the middle of February.That said, they pale in comparison to last week's salad of fresh greens. It was the first salad of the year from my garden, and it was wonderful. The greens were full of flavour, especially the peppery arugula (which is known

10 ways to survive a garbage strike

2009-05-27T14:06:00.004-04:00

There's a serious chance that my city, Toronto, will have a major garbage strike this summer. The last one was in 2002. It was a long, smelly one in the middle of a hot summer. Windsor is in the midst of a very long one.Garbage strikes are more than an inconvenience, they're a health hazard. But they're also a good time to take stock of what we're throwing out and look for ways to clean up our

Small wind turbines for the city

2009-05-23T18:36:00.002-04:00

Photo courtesy of Wind SimplicityBefore you say it, I know, wind turbines aren't something tenants can put up. But today, The Globe & Mail ran a story of mine about a new generation of small wind turbines that are much better suited to urban applications. And since the first comment to appear asked about links, I figured that Green Tenant could provide them.To read the story, please click on this

A light goes on

2009-05-22T11:40:00.004-04:00

Toronto Hydro is giving away free compact fluorescent lightbulbs this weekend and next. The first 350 people to show up at a participating Canadian Tire or Home Depot will get one. According to the flyer, they're "specialty" CFLs, rather than the usual garden variety.This is good. Many fixtures don't take standard CFLs, and these "specialty" bulbs are designed for chandeliers, vanities and other

Changing my mind and planting out

2009-05-10T17:39:00.005-04:00

In contrast to yesterday's torrential downpours, Toronto enjoyed a beautiful spring day today. Since yesterday (May 9) was the average last frost day here inspired me to look at my planting calendar. It suggested that this was the weekend to plant seeds for sunflowers, nasturtiums, carrots and onions and that I should already have transplanted my lettuces and broccoli...on April 4!Since frost

The long-running toilet

2009-05-08T12:13:00.012-04:00

Ever since I moved into my new apartment, the upstairs toilet has had a habit of running. I'm tired of reminding visitors to "jiggle the handle," so today I got off my duff and did something about it. After dropping my son off at school, I rode his scooter over to the hardware store (needed a new nut for the wheel and... well... it was fun, too).The problem with my toilet is a common one. The old

Windfall

2009-05-05T12:06:00.004-04:00

Those of you who have been reading for a while will know that I recently got into woodworking. This is partly because money's tight, partly because I like working with my hands. But working with wood can be problematic for people who care about the environment. Sure, it's nice to look at and feels good, and it's not made from petroleum or harsh chemicals. But a lot of it comes from big clearcuts.

Seedlings, chickens, bees and the city

2009-04-29T08:45:00.006-04:00

My little plot of veg hardly qualifies as urban agriculture. If all goes well, it will make a dint in my grocery bills, though. But as May approaches and my seedlings, as you can see, are beginning to sprout nicely, my thoughts are turning more and more to what we can do with our limited urban greenspace.First, an update on my garden. Few of the early season seeds planted directly have sprouted

A grey-water barrel in 15 minutes!

2009-04-21T21:28:00.010-04:00

Last year, the City of Toronto sent every residential building a new garbage bin as part of a program to limit the amount of trash going to landfill. A side-effect of this program is that there are now thousands of obsolete garbage bins that we can't use. Well, we can't use them as garbage bins.I spent 15 minutes and turned mine into a grey-water barrel. I'll show you how to do it. (Please also

Quick Fixes

2009-04-17T09:11:00.004-04:00

I've written before that every household needs a good, fairly comprehensive repair manual. There are a couple reasons for this. First, a lot of basic maintenance and repairs are simple and really not worth the hassle of calling a landlord about. After all, not everyone's landlord is helpful. Or competent. Plenty of tenants have complained about the shoddy patch-up jobs or scary wiring work of

Spring gardening and a peat alternative

2009-04-10T17:24:00.002-04:00

First off, I apologize. I like to start each post with a nice photo. But I've been busy in the garden today, and am just sitting down with a coffee out on the back porch. And really, the yard is mostly dirt right now. Nicely raked dirt, but still, dirt.Last year I prepared my first beds with peat moss and sheep manure. I expect they'll do very well. But I was uncomfortable buying so much peat.

How (and why) to fix a toaster

2009-04-06T16:48:00.007-04:00

A few months ago, a friend's coffee grinder broke. Coffee grinders, like toasters and other small appliances, are often cheapter to throw away and replace than to repair. But think about the waste.If you just don't like your small appliance anymore, or are replacing it because you need a new function (like a timer or auto shutoff on a coffee maker), then there are plenty of places to take working

Planning and sowing

2009-03-21T16:01:00.005-04:00

Earlier in the winter we had a nice sunny day. It inspired me to order seeds for the garden. There are so many seed companies out there, and lots that offer heirloom varieties and organic seed. In the end, I chose to go with Brother Nature out on Vancouver Island. Not exactly local, but really, seeds aren't particularly bulky and shipping them isn't a huge carbon expense.Brother Nature provides

Giving up carbon for lent

2009-02-26T10:27:00.003-05:00

I was talking to Jenni Boles, who writes the My Web of Life blog, yesterday and she mentioned that she's planning to give up carbon for Lent. What an interesting idea. Today, her blog begins with suggestions to reduce carbon emissions from transportation.My first question was "How do you go carbon-free that quickly?" Anyone who's tried to make these massive lifestyle changes knows that to do them

What really does go in the Blue Bin?

2009-02-18T16:19:00.005-05:00

Last autumn, the City of Toronto announced it was expanding its "Blue Bin" recycling program to add styrofoam takeaway containers and plastic bags. I was pleased by this announcement, as it suggests there may be demand for the products and it will divert a significant amount of waste from landfills.But these are fairly difficult materials to include in the program, so the instructions in

Reusing lumber

2009-02-17T20:54:00.003-05:00

Recently, I decided to try my hand at woodworking. You see, I need furniture and I'm a writer. Anyone in publishing knows that means buying new furniture is out of the question.As it happens, I'm fairly handy, like building things and noticed a table that looked good in an issue of Canadian Home Workshop. And it was labeled as a "beginner" project. Perfect. It went well, and I now have two very

Green paper supply not meeting demand

2009-02-04T18:31:00.005-05:00

According to a report produced by conservation group Markets Initiative, Canadian magazines are clamouring for eco-friendly paper, but the mills simply aren't meeting that demand.To supply what magazine, book and newspaper publishers want, mills would have to produce an additional 550,000 metric tons of "eco-paper." The group estimates that supplying that paper would result in contracts worth

Riding to the bestseller list

2009-02-03T16:40:00.003-05:00

I'm always happy to see an innovative approach to marketing that makes sense and is good for the environment. David Leach, an author and writing professor at the University of Victoria, is taking just such an approach.Leach knows that books that sell do so because the author's out there working hard to make it sell. Successful authors do radio shows, readings, school visits, all sorts of things.

Urban agriculture for the landless

2009-01-30T21:07:00.005-05:00

Over the last couple years, I've been reading more and more stories about people making use of otherwise ignored space in cities. Some are guerilla gardeners, sneaking about in the dark of night and making the grey city more colourful. Others are discovering rooftop gardening. And some are knocking on doors and asking their neighbours if they could plant some veggies in that backyard they never

Water on the brain

2009-01-24T17:08:00.005-05:00

Detail from a mural at Bridgepoint Health,on the edge of the Don River, Canada's most polluted river.Photo by Craig SaundersI've been thinking about water lately. Every time I shower, or pull the plug on my son's bath, I think about all the water going down the drain. In a week, hundreds of gallons of fairly clean greywater flows from my house into the city's wastewater system. It doesn't need

Green amidst the white

2008-12-22T11:17:00.004-05:00

Readers might have noticed an absence of tips on having a "Green Christmas" on this blog. That was partly an oversight (I got busy and the holiday sort of snuck up on me) and partly deliberate. There are a lot of sites out there offering advice on minimizing the harm from your celebrations, and really, the best thing to do is to consume less of the cheap plastic trinketry we ship by the container

Green Gorilla

2008-12-18T09:36:00.012-05:00

Mountaintop removal mining from a Southwings flight.Photo © Jim MotavalliCanadian journalist Peter Fairley started my day the right way by sending over a link to his latest blog post. Coal mining and electrical generation aren't exclusively tenant issues, but they are reasons why we make the changes to our homes and lifestyles that we do.The video he blogged is an amusing piece of propaganda.

Shopping locally, sourcing globally

2008-12-16T14:26:00.004-05:00

I'm now a couple weeks into my car-free life. I'm walking more and, not surprisingly, buying more from neighbourhood stores. This is no great hardship. I live in a city. I live in a Chinatown. There's lots of fresh produce. Granted, a loaf of whole grain bread might necessitate a hike to a grocery store (there are three within a kilometre of my house, though). On the other hand, I can also get

Car Free: Week One

2008-12-08T14:24:00.003-05:00

Here it is, a week into my new, car-free life. What difference has it made?I still got my son to school on time every day. We walked for nine of the ten trips last week. Each trip is 1.8 km. Because I work from a home office, this means that I did the walk 18 times for a total of 32.4 km. I feel healthier for it, and look forward to continuing. And yes, I do own good winter boots and a warm

Car free

2008-12-01T16:07:00.003-05:00

This is a big step. I've gone car-free.That's not to say I'll never drive again, or that a car won't be my occasional choice in terms of transportation mode. But I no longer own a car, and no longer have easy access to one. I won't be able to drive to my son's school if I'm feeling lazy, or drive to the grocery store (neither of these places is far enough from home to warrant driving).To be clear

Vertical gardening

2008-11-21T14:34:00.004-05:00

Gardening is frequently a problem for apartment-dwellers. They're often limited to a few pots on a balcony. And indoors, where space is often at a premium, devoted gardeners often end up with a clutter of pots near the windows or the door to the balcony.One solution is to get a plant stand. There are lots of them. I used to have a simple, collapsible one from Lee Valley. Really, any sort of shelf

A film I really like

2008-11-20T11:57:00.004-05:00

I knew the basement window was drafty. I just didn't realize how drafty it was.It's an older aluminum casement window, of the type with two single panes of glass on either side with an air space in between. And both sides can open, making them easier to clean. But the frame around one of the outer panes is coming apart. To get through the winter, I applied a generous bead of clear exterior

A nod to Salmon Poetry

2008-11-18T11:48:00.004-05:00

I'm very happy. Today's mail brought my copy of Todd Swift's new poetry collection, Seaway. I've been looking forward to it for months, and can't wait to curl up with it this evening.But what made me really happy was the discovery that its publisher, Salmon Poetry, sent it in re-used packaging. The padded envelope started its journey in Paris, France, likely carrying the manuscript of a hopeful

More trash talk

2008-11-13T11:34:00.003-05:00

First of all, I must commend the City of Toronto for its quick response. I left a message with one of the project communicators for the new garbage program, and she called me back within an hour. When I'm not calling from a major newspaper, that's a pretty fast response.She explained the program and pricing very well and cleared up some of the concerns I raised in yesterday's post. But I'm still

How Toronto's new garbage plan discriminates against renters

2008-11-12T14:29:00.003-05:00

On November 1, 2008, a new garbage collection system came into force in Toronto. It’s part of a noble plan to reduce the amount of material going to landfill. Unfortunately, its implementation has been clumsy, and the program is highly discriminatory toward people who rent apartments in small buildings. The city is sending out new garbage bins to

How long is a tap root?

2008-11-03T15:31:00.003-05:00

Most people hate weeding. Me, I kind of like it. Sure, it's repetitive and you spend a lot of time hunched over. But it's also meditative work, and can add a lot of good stuff to your compost (assuming your composter is hot enough to kill off weed seeds).As I was turning soil to make new beds this autumn, I pulled up many huge weeds. I got to know which plants have shallow roots, deep roots,

Tiling a bathroom with Fyodor Dostoevsky

2008-10-27T10:12:00.004-04:00

I don't write novels. Dostoevsky didn't write home repair manuals. There are good reasons for both. Neither of us felt compelled to state our reasons. Thankfully, Mark Crick has pretty much taken care of it for both of us.This morning's Independent includes excerpts from Crick's latest book, Sartre's Sink. It's a DIY manual written in the voice of characters from famous novels. I highly recommend

Final harvest

2008-10-21T10:26:00.004-04:00

It's nearing the end of October, already past Thanksgiving. The weather forecast is for a low of -2C tonight. To me, that signals time to harvest the last of my crop.This morning, I picked the last eight large tomatoes and enough cherry tomatoes to fill a large collander. I'm hoping the smaller tomatoes will ripen and be tasty enough to eat, or at least to cook with. The larger ones have been

New beds are ready

2008-10-17T21:26:00.003-04:00

I'm enjoying a quiet night in tonight. Why? Because I'm tired. Today, I finished preparing three new planting beds for the spring.This has been no small task. It began late in the summer, my neighbours (David and Alison) and I decided a weedy tree needed to come down. Alison and her dad took down the top, then she and I spent a sweaty day getting the stump out.This summer, I had great success

Installing a programmable thermostat

2008-10-16T09:38:00.006-04:00

My apartment has an antiquarian furnace, and I'm doing what I can to squeeze energy savings from it this winter. Earlier this month I replaced the furnace filter. My latest project was to install a programmable thermostat.It's a simple way to eke out energy savings, particularly in northern climates. The idea is that you'll set the program to lower the temperature when you're asleep in your cozy

Furnace Filters

2008-10-06T16:39:00.011-04:00

Replacing a furnace filter is, in most cases, very easy and very rewarding. It will improve the furnace's energy efficiency and improve indoor air quality.I say "in most cases" because, well, some jobs are easier than others. Most furnaces have filters that come mounted in a handy cardboard frame. Here's an example of one, in case you haven't seen them before. Manufacturers suggest changing

Fresh tomatoes!

2008-09-29T12:09:00.003-04:00

I know that many tenants either don't have land for gardening or have limited ability to add gardens to their yards. If you can negotiate a lease that gives you responsibility for landscaping, go for it. Most landlords will probably be happy if they don't have to worry about mowing the lawn or shoveling snow. And, let's face it, a vegetable garden looks better than weeds.When I moved in, there

Pressed for savings

2008-09-27T16:35:00.003-04:00

I like coffee. It's one of my vices. But there are a lot of problems with coffee, too. To try and minimize my contributions to the woes created by coffee production, I drink fair trade, organically grown coffee whenever possible.But energy and waste are other concerns. Coffee grounds and filters are easily dealt with. They can go into my composter, or to a municipal composting program such as

Autumn checklist

2008-09-10T10:48:00.002-04:00

Winter is coming, and in Canada that means there's lots to do. I've got a long list of indoor projects to keep me busy in coming months, but some need to be done before the first frost. For now, I'll put aside my gardening projects (though they will be the focus this weekend). What do I need to do in order to keep my apartment cozy and my gas bills low this winter?1. Replace the furnace

Drying off

2008-09-01T16:25:00.005-04:00

I was very happy that my new apartment came equipped with a washer and dryer. Really, social a person as I am, lugging clothes to a laundromat is not my idea of a fun way to spend a Saturday night.So far, however, the dryer has only been turned on twice. And the plan is to avoid using it at all. Why? First, because it's unnecessary. A simple drying rack usually will do the trick. Might get a

Goodbye, tree

2008-08-31T17:03:00.006-04:00

Now I know that preparing the main garden bed is going to be hell. So many roots!When I moved in, the backyard had a large tree, which meant there was almost nowhere with full sun. Not bad for sitting under, but not good for gardening. This created a dilemma: is the shade and carbon sequestration more important than fresh veg?Our tree was, as a retired arborist described it, a weed tree. In about

Essential bookshelf title

2008-08-25T12:26:00.003-04:00

Homeowners have to tackle every repair by themselves (or hire someone to do it). One of the joys of being a tenant is that not ever repair is your responsibility. A leaky roof or crumbing wall is the landlord's to fix. But a lot of repairs can be done easily, and it can sometimes be more convenient or less stressful to just take care of them.More importantly, a lot of repairs and maintenance

Fix the Drips

2008-08-17T15:18:00.020-04:00

Water conservation is a bigger deal than most people realize. Municipal water systems use a huge amount of energy. Enough, in fact, that they can be a city's leading source of greenhouse gas emissions (from the electricity used to run the pumps, treat the water, etc.). With aging infrastructure that can result in a water system leaking away a tenth of its water or more.Dripping faucets can be

Carbon-Free Homes

2008-08-15T10:18:00.004-04:00

Photo courtesy Stephen HrenStephen and Rebekah Hren live the environmentalist's dream: Their home is carbon-free. Well, pretty much. The North Carolina couple fixed up an old house with a goal of getting it off fossil fuels. It's an interesting project, and one I wrote an article about for today's Globe and Mail. They wrote their experiences up in The Carbon-Free Home, a new book from Chelsea

On Holiday

2008-08-13T11:55:00.002-04:00

I know it's bad form to launch a blog and then go on holiday, but it's what I've done, all the same. After all, getting out of the city and into forests and fields is a healthy part of life, and a good way to remember some of the reasons why we try to live as non-invasively as possible.Green Tenant will return next week with some handy tips on water conservation.

Gardening books for apartment dwellers

2008-08-07T10:13:00.005-04:00

I've added a list of books that will be useful to renters. Today, you will find two new additions to the Green Tenant's Bookshelf. Both are gardening books.The first is Food not Lawns. It's an urban gardening how-to guide and guerrilla gardener's manifesto. While it's not the best introductory gardening book, it offers suggestions that are really useful to apartment dwellers. In particular, it

A garden!

2008-08-06T20:56:00.010-04:00

On June 1, I moved into my new apartment in Toronto. It's the lower two floors of a house. Thankfully, a couple of friends live in the upper apartment, making this place feel a lot more like home.Needless to say, my project list is huge. But one of the first tasks was to plant a garden. Yes, the house comes with a yard, which means a place to grow flowers and, more importantly, veg! Soon, my son

Introduction to Green Tenant

2008-08-06T14:34:00.003-04:00

I like gardening. I like the environment. And I like taking on renovation and home improvement projects. But, as someone who rents his living space, I find that books and magazines generally don't suit my needs. They're written for homeowners. After all, those are the people with big disposable incomes, who are ready to splash out on stone countertops and expensive bulbs, aren't they?This blog is