lc's Profile
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Author's Posts
May 20, 2009
antique radiator shelf
i saw this photo on a blog and i love the old marble shelf. has anyone seen one of these at a salvage place or antique store? the photo is from berlin, so maybe they weren't used here. i'm curious...
May 1, 2009
reality of city gardening
i just got back the results from testing the soil in our backyard in fort greene. it wasn't good news... we have very high levels of lead. we've been planning a first vegetable garden (so far we've only grown non-edible plants), so rather than planting straight into the ground, we'll need to do raised beds. any recommendations for how to seal off the dirt below the bed? does it need drainage or can we just completely seal it off and not over water? we will also have to be more careful about cleaning off after gardening, not creating dust, etc. anyone else dealt with this in their garden? i suspected we would have lead, but i'm surprised by the high levels. our garden is lush and not full of debris, so i'm curious where the lead came from. old paint run off? underground pipes?
July 25, 2008
extra garden slate?
i need 4-5 large irregular pieces to finish a garden project. please leave a comment if you have some to get rid of!
thanks.
June 28, 2008
Contact for Aziz?
We used Aziz for our repointing in 2005 in Fort Greene. We'd like to use him for another job, but cannot track him down. Does anybody have his information, or know if he's still in business?
March 18, 2008
car break-ins in fort greene
there's a stretch of our block that is boarded up for construction (the Carlton Mews project), where car windows are routinely broken into, sometimes several times a week. we avoid parking there, obviously, but sometimes it's necessary when no other spots are open. i'm wondering if anyone has suggestions for what we can do as a block to fight this problem. hopefully everyone is reporting the break-ins, but even so, i'm not sure what good that will do.
Author's Comments
i just had our backyard tested and the results are very high lead levels. i think it's likely because of coal ash, rather than lead paint.
at my last physical i had my lead levels tested (i was curious because i eat a lot of fish), but it was fine. and i've been gardening in my backyard for 3 years... so that makes me less worried. my understanding is that it doesn't get absorbed through the skin, but it's important to take precautions against ingesting or breathing dust.
we are doing raised beds for veggies this summer, and using garden fabric as a barrier.
Posted by: lc at May 14, 2009 3:13 PM in response to Brooklyn Ground Zero for Lead Soil Problems
i had the soil testing done by the Brooklyn College Environmental Sciences Analytical Center. the prices are great!
http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/pub/departments/esac/
wtbound, our lead levels are 3x your neighbors, unfortunately. 500 ppm is safe to grow most veggies, except lettuces.
thanks everyone for the input!
Posted by: lc at May 4, 2009 7:18 PM in response to reality of city gardening
hi,
thanks for the comments. i appreciate the suggestions, se! i will try adding lots of compost and mulch and retesting in the years to come. that makes sense that lead leaches downward, but i hadn't thought about it. i had our soil tested at the brooklyn college, environmental sciences analytical center, and they break down the lead levels indifferent ranges. there is middle range which they say is safe to plant most vegetables, but not leafy greens. our lead level is well beyond the higher range, in which they suggest no vegetable planting at all. :(
Posted by: lc at May 2, 2009 6:41 AM in response to reality of city gardening
this reminds me, i thought street cleaning was going to be cut down to one day per week in fort greene. i wonder what's happening with that....
Posted by: lc at October 22, 2008 2:01 PM in response to Clinton Hill Goes Both Ways, Too
i agree, the erie basin park is wonderful. i walked my dog there last week and was very impressed.
Posted by: lc at July 9, 2008 11:05 AM in response to Wednesday Links
there has been a big rise in car break-ins on our block in fort greene.
Posted by: lc at April 15, 2008 10:50 AM in response to Double-Digit Increase in Clinton Hill Crime Rate
ps: to continue on my thought above-- i think that would increase the chance of people being able to find stuff for cheap and hunt for treasures...
Posted by: lc at April 7, 2008 11:22 AM in response to Brooklyn Flea: Time Lapse
i had a great time as a vendor! despite the cold being pretty brutal... and i was very happy with how much i sold. although i make & sell new items, i agree that there should be a bit more old, less new stuff. but tote bags is one of the things that i sell-- and i sold out! so many people do like to buy them.
one other suggestion (and this was said already), some of the best fleas in California have sections where people can sell their stuff for one weekend, basically have stoop sales at the flea. i would love to do this with a lot of the vintage clothing that i've been meaning to sell on ebay. it would be great if you could regulate this somehow, so it's not just junk like plastic kids toys though...
Posted by: lc at April 7, 2008 11:18 AM in response to Brooklyn Flea: Time Lapse
they should have used this photo above for the article, instead of the photo of fort greene!
Posted by: lc at March 24, 2008 10:52 AM in response to The Times Cozies Up to Clinton Hill
Responses to Author's Forum Comments
How did you go about testing the soil? I've seen test kits @ home depot for PH and such but not lead. -Would love to check out our soil as we've heard there was quite a bit of "stuff" back there for years.
Posted by: egut at May 3, 2009 4:28 PM in response to reality of city gardening
Lead from gas exhaust was a definite threat for many years. Community gardens near roads were not allowed to grow edibles (or were enjoined from eating them.)
Posted by: Arkady at May 4, 2009 3:28 PM in response to reality of city gardening
Leaded gasoline is hugely responsible for lead in the soil. Here's a pretty good write up about it: http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=932
Posted by: gracias at May 4, 2009 3:44 PM in response to reality of city gardening
Our neighbors just had their soil tested in Windsor Terrace and it came back 500 ppm for lead and cadmium. We have a 2 foot high raised bed with no barrier and are growing everything in there - and some tomatoes/strawberries in pots. Said neighbor has been growing berries and tomatoes in her ground for years, with 5 kids, and all the kids have low lead levels. I am generally a bit neurotic about chemicals and heavy metals with my kids, but I think a raised bed is enough of a precaution - and my kids play in the dirt all the time, we just wash hands after. Happy growing!
Posted by: WTbound at May 4, 2009 5:16 PM in response to reality of city gardening
i had the soil testing done by the Brooklyn College Environmental Sciences Analytical Center. the prices are great!
http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/pub/departments/esac/
wtbound, our lead levels are 3x your neighbors, unfortunately. 500 ppm is safe to grow most veggies, except lettuces.
thanks everyone for the input!
Posted by: lc at May 4, 2009 7:18 PM in response to reality of city gardening
Saw one on the curb last night. Ah, the fragility of life.
Posted by: infinitejester at May 20, 2009 11:19 AM in response to Dead Birds in Clinton Hill
The only good Starling is a dead Starling!
Posted by: mod squad at May 20, 2009 11:25 AM in response to Dead Birds in Clinton Hill
The only good Starling is a dead Starling!
Posted by: mod squad at May 20, 2009 11:25 AM
Clarice.....?
Posted by: christopher at May 20, 2009 12:35 PM in response to Dead Birds in Clinton Hill
Robin ?
Posted by: mod squad at May 20, 2009 2:06 PM in response to Dead Birds in Clinton Hill
"What kind of birds are we talking about here?"
Canaries.
***Bid half off peak comps***
Posted by: Brownstones Half Off at May 20, 2009 2:20 PM in response to Dead Birds in Clinton Hill
every year someone posts this question....
it's a regular occurrence in the spring-- baby birds trying to learn to fly. so sad!
Posted by: lc at May 20, 2009 11:14 AM in response to Dead Birds in Clinton Hill