The weekend flew by in a flurry of activity. Friday night I checked out the Eat Real Festival in Oakland. Stefani brought her canned preserves for entry into the contest and to swap. While I enjoyed the entertainment and layout of the festival Friday, in the future they need more than beer and ice cream on opening day.

I missed Saturday’s events, for good reason though. I had much cooking to do for my sister’s birthday and I attended Novella’s chicken demonstration at her farm. Novella slaughtered and her Chef friend Samin, butchered. The butchering was of particular interest to me as on more than one occasion I had broken down my animals in a way that left them looking as Samin described “like a small dog had chewed them.” Samin had wonderful tips on preparations for poultry. A very useful tip for making a stock is to chop the carcass up and roast it. Chopping it up first will increase the surface area for caramelization.

I also learned a few great tips on duck. For example, I asked if there was a trick to plucking ducks. Both Novella and an attendee who raised ducks for years, said “no.” They are simply a pain in the ass to pluck. While this does not help me, it does comfort me to know my technique was not wrong. It is just that diffcult.

I also learned that Muscovy ducks are an excellent urban choice. They are both big and quiet. They do not quack. Silent animals are wonderful animals in the city.

As I left Novella’s Ghost Town Farm, her boyfriend Bill pointed out their future duck hutch. It is a retired BMW painted decoratively and with a “ducks only” sign. They are going to roll it into the lot and coop the ducks in there at night. The car reminded me of Salvador Dali’s Rainy Cadillac.

Saturday’s cooking fury (in 1000°F weather I might add) was for Amanda’s birthday. Poor thing she was so busy working her crazy pastry chef hours, she was unable to celebrate day of. However, in honor of her special day I picked blackberries (thanks Stefani!) and dispatched one of my ducks. Gruesome as it is, Amanda apparently liked the idea that a duck was sacrificed in her name. She said it made her feel “like a queen…or goddess…I like it.”  Queen Amanda loves blackberries. So, coached yet again by duck master Lauren, I made seared duck breasts with a savory blackberry sauce followed by blackberry pie. I may not be a master but I am a very good amateur.

Its like 1000°F outside today (1000 Bay Area degrees = anything over 80°F). I fear using my shovel on my hard sunbaked dirt may spark and set my weedy dry garden ablaze. Today kept me indoors typing on my thesis and only running out in the morning to make sure there was enough moisture available for the fauna and flora back there. Well, that and admiring the new Pardon My Hindi images adorning the chicken coop. One must keep an eye out for PHM images of the Bollywood film queen, Asha Parekh, they tend to creep up in the most unlikely places.

I’ll be heading out in a few to spread more PMH love at the Eat Real Festival that kicks off today in Oakland. More on that later…

This summer has seen a major break through in public recognition of urban farming. Fellow Oakland urban farmer, Novella Carpenter, has spread the word across the nation with her book Farm City. It appears the hubbub does not end there. Others in the beautiful Oakland are making a splash with urban homesteading as the below included Jane Tunk’s article describes. Ms. Tunk has included some excellent resources:

Bay Area Homesteading 101

In celebration of my 35th, I unwrapped the duck prosciutto that has been curing in my office.

I have to admit it was a touch scary looking. All the white in the photo is fuzzy white mold and white speckles of straight meat rot. My mother has spent years training us not to take risks with meat. It could KILL you. I tried using my rational mind to break down what might actually happen. The bacteria that would be most harmful in this case would probably be salmonella. While fatalities do occur, the CDC reports occurrences in the U.S. population as five per million people, not too common. I bolstered my courage by re-reading Grocery Guy’s post on his own experience where he writes:

“Keep in mind that if this project goes wrong YOU WILL KNOW IT. So don’t get freaked if there’s a little mold on the duck breast when you take it down. If it doesn’t smell like a jar full of duck crap, it’s fine. Don’t be a pussy, wipe it off and eat the motherfucker.”

And so I did.

It appeared like normal cured meat but dry not fatty and supple like proper prosciutto. This, I assume, is from using lean duck breasts. The texture is stiff like a salami.

I experienced no ill effects and it was quite tasty. Happy birthday to me.

I recently spoke with a San Francisco resident that wants a veggie garden. Their plot is against the front of their house. They tested their soil for lead, found medium levels and removed nearly twelve inches of soil and retested. They found in the lower layer even higher levels of lead. They wanted to know what their options are for planting (if impatient, scroll to bottom for suggestions).

I did some looking around and found one approach is to use a phosphate spread in the affected soil. The suggestion comes from Microbiologist, Dr. Sam Fogel of Bioremediation Consulting Inc. He was initially quoted in a Boston Globe article on the subject where were he explained that Phosphorus binds with Lead and reduces Lead mobility and its biological availability. I went in search of academic findings to support this idea and did not find an overwhelming amount of research. However, there were a couple interesting articles. One is in Soil Science, “Lead Phosphorus Interactions in Equilibrated Soil Suspensions” by M. T. Aide and D. Huff. However, I found it hard to compare their experimental study with the true conditions of soil in a yard but they did report that “Phosphorus amendments limited the appearance of the exchangeable Lead.”

Another Article from the Journal of Environmental Quality, is “Chemical Immobilization of Lead, Zinc, and Cadmium in Smelter-Contaminated Soils Using Biosolids and Rock Phosphate” (catching title) by N. T. Basta, R. Gradwohl, K. L. Snethen, and J. L. Schroder, reported:

“Rock phosphate was the only treatment that reduced human gastrointestinal available Lead in both gastric and intestinal solutions, 23 and 92%, respectively. Alkaline organic treatments (lime stabilized biosolid, n-viro soil) decreases Cadmium transmission through the food chain pathway, whereas rock phosphate decreases risk from exposure to Lead via the soil ingestion pathway.”

I then contacted Dr. Fogel to follow up on what his own understanding of Phosphorus binding with Lead and the suggested quantity to use per square foot. Dr. Fogel informed me that he did not yet know the exact quantity to use per square foot and that I would have to determine the appropriate amount to use through experimentation (in partnership with my state agricultural school no less). After providing a very simple but decent test methodology he suggested using the highest level phosphorus spread (called Triple Superphosphate) and using a quantity according to agricultural recommendations. He used this method himself and found Lead levels 100 times less in his own garden plot.

I did find a critique of Triple Superphosphate in that phosphate binds to other minerals besides Lead, rendering them unavailable to plants. These other minerals included zinc, iron and manganese, which are needed for plant health. However, this is not an issue in this case as the garden will not be planted directly in the affected soil. If using regular rock phosphate (rather than triple super), you would use a greater quantity.

Quickly, to understand the difference
To make 0-20-0, rock phosphate is treated with sulfuric acid to make calcium phosphate (0-20-0) and calcium sulphate (gypsum).

To make 0-46-0, rock phosphate is treated with phosphoric acid. With this, much higher phosphate content, much higher N-P-K fertilizer formulas can be made. Less needs to be used.

For applying rock phosphate (0-20-0):
Pacific Calcium Inc., which carries organic soil amendments, suggests 500 to 2000 pounds of Montana Natural Rock Phosphate per acre or 10-25 pounds per 1000 square feet, or .01 lb-.025 lb per square foot.

Triple Superphosphate (0-45-0) one manufacturer, Simplot, suggests an application of 4 pounds per 1000 square feet, or .004 lb per square foot.

Returning the point of this blog, which what could help make the lead contaminated plot usable, here is what I suggested.

• - Mix a phosphate spread into a 6 to 8 inch layer of the exposed dirt (I’d use the triple super).
• - Replace the 12 inches of excavated soil with fresh clean soil.
• - Build 3 foot raised beds for planting (which should be filled with an appropriate organic soil)
• - Place either landscape fabric, or cardboard, and thickly mulch the exposed dirt path between the raised beds.
• - If this does not abate their concerns enough, they can also plant fruiting crops such as tomatoes, squash, peas, and corn because (they take up relatively little Lead) and avoid planting root vegetables, potatoes, and leafy vegetables, which take up more. I personally do not feel this last measure is necessary.

There remain some issues with this approach. One is that to determine the decreased level of Lead present, you’d have to continue to test. Another is that if the source of Lead is coming from old layers of paint or old pipes from the abutting house, Lead will continue to seep into the soil. Since little is yet known about the exact quantity and frequency of phosphate treatment required to keep Lead levels under control for planting, it is hard to guarantee effectiveness over extended years. However, I would imagine that for quite some time to come the raised beds would be safe to use (annual testing would help determine this).

It is a long and storied history in humanity that when we despise something so much we are willing to go against our own values to be rid of it. Crimes of Passion are what we call it. If I were cold and severe enough, I would have posted a photo of what a rat did to one of my ducks yesterday. You might join me in my loathing of rats after that (if you don’t already). But I did not have the heart to take a picture. Instead I buried the remains. I am sure it was a rat by the evidence of gnaw marks.

I then asked another urban farmer in Oakland her thoughts on dealing with rats in the garden. Her ideas were similar to my own – traps, guns, dogs (While I still believe a Rat Terrier may be a great advantage, I’m not sure if I want to commit to a dog. Though, in truth I’d LOVE a hairless rat terrier). Whatever I do, the long term effort is removing the animal feed after the animals eat and reducing habitat.

Today, after a busy day, I returned home in the evening to Dipak telling me he heard “noises that weren’t so good” coming from the ducks. I ran outside with a flashlight and heavy metal pipe. I hit around the area and decided to try to peak down the long narrow gap between the duck hutch and the fence. Lo and behold! I saw the fat back and long blackish tale of a brown rat. I switched things around in my hands so I could attempt to jab it with the pipe, silly me. It was gone instantly. Wild with anxiety and disgust, I pulled out the poison and threw chunks of it on the path and down the tunnels that they have created. My routine for the night was then, every couple of hours upon hearing the ducks flip out, I’d grab the torch and pipe, run down the stairs, out the front door and around to the back, check out the ducks and knock things about to deter any rats hiding, then check the poison levels. This finally ended at about 3:00AM.

All the while I had winding though my mind some newly acquired information. Prompted by a reader to identify the species of rat, I discovered to my horror that the Rattus norvegicus in my yard as the capacity for metacognition. A quietly terrified voice whispered “nooooooo” to this news. Apparently, “metacognition helps to perform many cognitive tasks more effectively. Strategies for promoting metacognition include self-questioning, thinking aloud while performing a task, and making graphic representations (e.g. concept maps, flow charts, semantic webs) of one’s thoughts and knowledge.” Oh no. No, no, no.

I love that I live in a parallel universe to my friend Stefani. She just harvested her honey too!

We got twenty-eight pounds of honey this year! Twenty-one point five from only twelve shallow frames and the 6.5lbs from one shallow and one deep. I had great equipment from the Alameda Beekeepers. They rent extractors, buckets, strainers, hot knives and much more (Thank you Stefani for the tip!). I also had excellent assistants, Jimmy and Dipak. Jimmy and I both got a light sting. I was surprised to get one through my fancy bee suit. Like I said, the girls were pretty upset.

There is more but it is deeper in the main hive body and my bees were pretty upset by the time I got down there. I’ve decided to harvest the other deeps with a more experienced beekeeper who might be better able to tell me what the bees are up to. In the mean time, I have been putting my honey to work. Next time you are in SF. go check out Her Majesty’s Secret Beekeeper at 3520 -20th Street in SF.

Cameo Wood, the proprietor is quirky and fun to talk to and she carries all manner of beekeeping supplies. Yay! I no longer have to wait for UPS or schlep to Sebastopol for my last minute supplies.

I am happy to see that my six years of hard science classes, including a year of inorganic chemistry and a year of organic chemistry can be employed practically. A friend asked my if I had bottled my Nocino and I thought- well no not yet. 1) I have the date to bottle on the calendar and no reminders have popped up and 2) last time I shook my bottle, it was still translucent. I mentioned this and got a blank look back.

It has been a month! Obviously something was not right. After an initial moment of panic that I somehow botched the recipe and WASTED my hard to find green walnuts which are now out of season, I realized the darkening affect of young walnut juice is something you are warned about when you handle them with bare hands. First the liquid is clear then through oxidation, it darkens and stains your skin. Ha! Oxidation requires exposure to oxygen, usually through air. I had placed my Nocino in an airtight container, so no air exposure. On returning home, I promptly removed the lid and put a plate on top. After only a couple of days, viola! It is darkening as it should.

I have these salted duck breasts (that I keep talking about) curing in my office and the savory scent keeps making me so hungry. I would never have thought curing meat would smell this amazing. I did have to rewrap a section of one because I wrapped it wrong. When I peaked inside I saw a scary sight of white “rot” speckles on the meat. However, it still smells great. I will definitely be calling upon my inner most moxy to slice this baby and eat it. According to “Grocery Guy” the rot dots are normal…and he survived to tell the tale. Lauren and I used the Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook for their recipe. The steps are:

Cut breasts off duck. Remove excess skin. Rinse and pat dry. Salt well (we used Kosher salt) and rub with thyme.

Place in a dish covered in fridge for two days. Remove and pat dry. Fold in cheesecloth and tie with butcher string (after the fact, I realized one should tie it the way a butcher ties a roast). Hang for 10 days. Then flip over and hang for another 10. Should be ready to eat. Chez Panisse book says keeps for two weeks in fridge at this point but Lauren said they last much longer than two weeks.

I flip it tomorrow and have only ten more days to wait! For now, I wait and get back to the grind. My week of “vacation” is over, though before it ended, I managed to squeeze in the quick but delightful read “My Life in France” the Julia Child autobiography. Man, that women is all about marketing herself. Her story is inspiring for her motivation, determination and courage. It is a fun read and timely as the new movie based on the Julie and Julia Project (well, based on the book based on the project) is out.