Serena's Travels

How to Garden with roast chicken containers

2008-09-04T14:06:00.000-07:00

I’ve been benefitting greatly from the basil grown by this reuse technique.

Ever get a bit lazy and get a roasted chicken from your local grocer? Even at Farmer Joe’s, my Oakland choice family market, the roasted chicken packaging is extraneous and far from eco-friendly. But taking a second look at those black-bottomed, clear-topped plastic packaging, I realised they resembled the seedling start containers I had been buying all along! But no more…

Clean out the chicken scraps (making chicken broth from them is preferable), and poke a few holes in the black bottom. Fill with soil and plant delicate seeds like tomatoes, basil or dill (broccoli and squash are just right for starting this time of year too), and sprinkle with water, then fit the clear lid a-top and let it grow! The moisture will be kept in (water every couple days with a squirt bottle to evenly distribute) and the land fill will be spared the big chicken containers, which add up! These are the perfect mini-greenhouses, and the chicken ain’t too bad either!

Spectator-tacular

2008-09-04T14:01:00.000-07:00

Oakland’s Piedmont Avenue is sprinkled with restaurants of all types: Caribbean, French, Californian, Japanese… I get hungry even when I am just walking Dutsi up to the cemetary on the hill and back. Sometimes I like going on gut and eating out solo, and often the best companion is a good book. Last stroll I had a dream about Croatia, the real Mediterranean paradise, and found myself surrounded by new and used travel guides, written from every angle, on the walls of Spectator Books. I read about Slovenia and Albania in addition to my reverie of Croatia, and took a few guides for the road, to sit at Dopo and make believe I am there, and also realize Oakland’s not all too different, at least climate-wise. Next trip to Spectator I found 5 VHS of my favorite James Bond flicks, then I found on-sale calendars, perfect to take on my life’s whens and wheres. For a glimpse at times gone by, dig around the rare book collection, also searchable online, and you’ll found the tale you were dreaming of. Spectator is the best place for finding reasonably-priced guidebooks, or a new dining partner for your next Piedmont escapade.

Details: Spectator Books, 4163 Piedmont Ave, Oakland, 510.653.7300

Open: Mon-Thurs 10a-9p, F-Sat 10a-10p, Sun 11a-8p, They buy your used books 11a-5p everyday.

Dirt under my nails, again

2008-04-09T13:43:00.000-07:00

Carrots, Strawberries, Purple Pole Beans, and Summer Squash -- Oh My!
The GrassRoutes Garden has benefited from lots of compost, love and morning watering this year! Send your garden pictures for a slide show of home gardens I'm putting together.