Pests on the Balcony

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It's been a little while since I posted an update on the Balcony of Eden, so I figured I'd better get my ass in gear in case I lose my ever-widening audience! 
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The past few weeks have not been kind to me. One of the neighbours had pigeons nesting on their roof, and now that the little buggers are all hatched and half-grown, the entire corner of the apartment complex is plagued by these pesky birds. They are warbling all night, crapping on everyone's decks, and in my case, eating my fricking beans like there's no tomorrow!
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Death to all the pigeons that ate my beans!

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When the beans flowered and then began to fruit, I was really excited and thought perhaps I'd bring in 100 or more beans. I was planning on building a root cellar and everything. Then the pigeons came, and within two days ate almost every damn sprouting bean that I had! They left me three beans - yes, only three! Stupid birds didn't even let them grow. I seen the beans come out in one or two days, just tiny little sprouts, and the pigeons came and gobbled them up before they even had a chance to grow. What a disappointment! I went to Wal-Mart and bought one of them fake-owl scarecrows... which seems to work, but it was too late to save the bean crop. What a waste.
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Lettuce completely destroyed by worms.

To further disappoint, the lettuce which I planted a month ago had finally started to really grow... until the one morning I came out and they were just dead. And I mean dead. Full of life the one day, completely dead and flat on the ground the next. I just couldn't figure it out... until the next day when I had a closer look and seen these little worms amongst the leaves. They were pretty gross looking - almost like maggots - but they're not because they move along like inch worms. I looked around online and figure they were some kind of cabbage worm that will later turn into moths. It was incredible, these little buggers. Not only did they kill the lettuce overnight, but over the next three or four days, they ate every last bit of it! I mean, there's nothing left! I wish I would have taken a picture each day, but I had no idea they would simply devour the lettuce like that. Now they're all dead because there's nothing left to eat. Ha ha! Who's the smarty pants now?
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Cucumbers starting to fruit

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As for the rest of the garden, it is coming along fine. I had a pile of cucumbers flower - over twenty - and of the several that fruited there are five or six pretty good sized ones starting to form. I don't know if the smaller ones will continue to grow, as they are obviously now lagging the larger ones.
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Don't need any cucumbers dropping down there, do we?

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You'll notice that the cucumbers are no longer attached to the railing as they were last month. I had to move them because there are some people living on the bottom floor who have little kids and they set their patio up as a playground. As I watched my cucumbers flower and fruit, I started to get worried that as they grew larger... what if one of them fell off the vine and dropped four stories onto some poor kids head? So, I transferred the cucumber plants to some large sticks I had, and later also bought a trellis for them to attach to. It doesn't look as nice as before, but it's better than becoming the guy who killed some kid with a falling cucumber.   
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Raspberries looking healthy again... but now the blueberries are hurting!

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In a strange turn of events, my raspberry plant which I was sure was going to die last month has perked right up with signs of new life. But now my blueberry plant is suffering the death look in almost the exact same fashion as the raspberries were last month. Neither of these two plants produce enough fruit worth mentioning. I hope they both survive and work out better next year. Time will tell, but for this year, they were not worth the money. ($60 between the two of them!)
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Nasturtiums

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The nasturtiums I planted last month have come up nicely, but no flowers yet. I should have planted these all in one pot, or better yet, I should have planted them in with the tomato plants, since they are companion plants. Out of the package of 20 seeds which only actually contained 19, seven of them came up. Not a blazing success, but they do fill in quite well as they grow. Still, I shouldn't have used two pots for them.
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Peppers starting to flower

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The peppers have finally flowered and, if you look closely on the right, have just begun to fruit. So far, out of the five pepper plants, four have flowered. These things sure do flower late in the year - the same as last year when they flowered so late I didn't think they would at all - but then, around the end of July or beginning of August, bam! And they were ready to pick by September. This year seems like it will be a repeat.
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Cherry Tomatoes

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The cherry tomatoes are coming along alright, what few of them grew this year. Usually I have oodles of cherry tomatoes, but this year it looks like I'll hardly even get a handful.
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The best damn tomato on earth!

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But my, oh my, look at that one nice, big, juicy tomato, eh?

EH?

Isn't that beautiful?

I plucked that work of art and ate it all by itself, with only a little salt & pepper added. It tasted as good as it looked.

Good job on that one, Mr. Gardener!
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Yum, McDonald's Apologize as New China Food Scandal Brews

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"McDonald's and KFC-parent Yum apologized to customers on Monday after Chinese regulators shut a local meat supplier following a TV report that showed workers picking up meat from a factory floor, as well as mixing meat beyond its expiration date with fresh meat. The firms said they'll stop using the supplier."
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[...]
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"As well as Yum and McDonald's, OSI listed Starbucks Corp, Japan's Saizeriya Co Ltd, Papa John's International Inc, Burger King Worldwide Inc and Doctor's Associates Inc's Subway brand as clients in China, according to a 2012 press release.
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A Starbucks spokesman told Reuters that the firm does not now have any direct business dealings with Husi Food.
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Burger King, Subway, Papa John's and Saizeriya did not immediately respond to requests for comment."
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(Read More Here)
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Ugh! Et tu, Subway?

My favourite fast-food joint first disappointed me by making their frickin' sandwiches upside down - like who the hell puts the meat on top of the veggies and still dares to call themselves "sandwich artists" - and now they're putting decidedly unhealthy meat on their sandwiches too?

That's it!

The Woman is just gonna have to learn to make me sammiches on her own!
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Related Post:
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Yes, There's Wood Pulp in Our Burgers
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"Yes, There's Wood Pulp in Burgers... Here's Why I Think It Matters" - by Michael Krieger

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(Source: Liberty Blitzkrieg Blog)
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On Monday, Quartz published an article by Devin Cohen titled, There is a Secret Ingredient in Your Burgers: Wood Pulp. Given the headline and people’s already present suspicion regarding all of the shady and potentially dangerous ingredients hidden in food items, the article gained a lot of traction. In subsequent days, most journalists and bloggers have focused on the dangers of this additive (unclear) and whether or not it is pervasive throughout the food chain as opposed to just fast food (it appears to be).
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The one angle that has not been explored as much is the overall trend. Let’s go ahead and assume that wood pulp is a safe thing to consume, it certainly seems to have no nutritional value whatsoever. So why are companies inserting it into food items? To mask inflation and earn more profits most likely. This was a major theme I focused on last year in a series of pieces on stealth inflation and food fraud, a couple of which can be read below:
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New Study Shows 59% of “Tuna” Sold in the U.S. Isn’t Tuna
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New Study Shows: Food Fraud Soared 60% Last Year
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The Quartz article notes that:
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There may be more fiber in your food than you realized. Burger King, McDonald’s and other fast food companies list in the ingredients of several of their foods, microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) or “powdered cellulose” as components of their menu items. Or, in plain English, wood pulp.

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The emulsion-stabilizing, cling-improving, anti-caking substance operates under multiple aliases, ranging from powdered cellulose to cellulose powder to methylcellulose to cellulose gum. The entrance of this non-absorbable fiber into fast food ingredients has been stealthy, yet widespread: The compound can now be found in buns, cheeses, sauces, cakes, shakes, rolls, fries, onion rings, smoothies, meats—basically everything.

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The cost effectiveness of this filler has pushed many chains to use progressively less chicken in their “chicken” and cream in their “ice cream.” 

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This is the part that really interests me. When did these companies first introduce this substance into their products and what is the growth trend? My guess is that as food costs have risen, the proportion of non-nutritonal fillers has increased substantially. That said, I’d like to see some data and I haven’t yet.

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My big takeaway here is the same as last year’s when I first started writing about the trend. As the cost of food continues to rise, the cost of not paying attention to what you are eating rises exponentially. Companies will continue to try to mask inflation by shrinking package sizes, and when that is no longer possible, increasingly inserting empty fillers (or worse) into their products.

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(Source: Liberty Blitzkrieg Blog)

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Related Post:
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Yum, McDonald's Apologizes as New China Food Scandal Brews
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Teriyaki Marinade Recipe for Barbecued Pork Tenderloin

Given that it's Canada Day, it must be time for a great BBQ recipe. Here is a very simple marinade that can be used for either pork or beef. It actually originates from a recipe for beef kabobs, but I use it for BBQ pork tenderloin, sliced up and served on a bun, hamburger style. It's a great recipe for easy, self-serve eating for a group of people - it's something different than BBQ steak/hamburger/hot-dogs, and it's delicious!
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Teriyaki Marinade:

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1/4 c orange juice

1/4 c soya sauce

1/4 c oil

1 tsp of garlic powder

1 tsp of ginger powder   .

Put it all into a plastic resealable ziploc bag with your meat (the above recipe is enough for up to 1 kg of meat - adjust accordingly for more or less meat...)  Marinate for a minimum of 1 hour ... longer is better.
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BBQ on med-low heat until the juice runs clear when you cut into them ...  Enjoy! 
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Baked Potato Quick Tip:
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To speed up time for cooking baked potatoes, press a clean aluminum nail through them to facilitate heat transfer during the cooking process. 

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Related Posts:
Man With A Pan Recipe List
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