Column

Q. What is the value of adding coffee grounds to my garden? Can they be spread directly around plants, or should they be composted first? I’m planning on using them around my Azaleas and other shade plants, but I don’t want to overdo it.  

A. Coffee grounds are widely available, and their primary benefit around plants is as an organic acidifier. An acidifier makes or keeps a soil acid by reducing the pH. The pH measures the acidity or alkalinity of the soil.

The pH scale runs from one to fourteen, with seven being neutral, six and below acid, while eight and above is alkaline. Typically, our clay soil is around neutral, which’s 7.0 or slightly alkaline. It varies depending on the water. Shade-loving plants, along with Blueberries, benefit from soil with a pH between 6 to 6.5. Coffee grounds can be liberty spread and under the canopy of plants or added to a compost pile. When applying them directly to the soil surface, they are lightly cultivated into the soil. The mixing of the soil particle prevents the grounds from forming a moisture barrier or crust Along with the other material, the grounds break down to form a rich, organic soil amendment or mulch. Unfortunately, there are no tables available to indicate how much you need to apply to adjust the pH, so they’re best used to maintain the current level. Soil Sulfur or Aluminum Sulfate is the recommended acidifier if you need to make a significant change. Simple pH kits are available at your favorite garden center to test your soil. 

NOTE: One word of warning, though: coffee grounds can be harmful to pets, usually dogs, when ingested in large quality. Caffeine is a problem. It’s hard to say what would be a large enough dose be to cause poisoning as the caffeine level varies in the different coffees. It would be wise to avoid laying large quantities of coffee grounds directly around plants. Instead, bury them in your compost pile. You can also check with your Vet for his or her thoughts

Q. I recently dug up three dead bushes and noticed the soil had a lot of white stuff mixed in with it. Is it safe to plant in that area again? 

A. It is common for a white fungus to develop in our clay soils that are generously amended with organic matter. The white stuff has a stringy texture that can be matted, or it looks like it is weaving its way through the soil particles. There is no need to be concerned, although it is a bit of a surprise when you first noticed it. It’s Mother Nature at work, breaking down or composting the chunky pieces of organic matter in the soil. It takes some time to break the particles down, depending on the size. You shouldn’t be concerned. New plants are planted without any reservations or ill effects from the fungus. 

Q. Our backyard lawn is quite course in feeling and appearance. It is a 90% Tall Fescue Blend/10% Bluegrass. It is irritating the kids’ skin when they play around on it. Is there any treatment or process we can do to soften the lawn at all? 

A. The simple answer is, “no.” Tall Fescue is a broad blade or coarse grass and stiff, while the Bluegrass is narrower and softer. The width of all grasses is a varietal characteristic, and there isn’t anything one can do to change it. With a 90/10 blend, you really don’t see much Bluegrass. Bluegrass is added to the mix so that the sod provider can harvest it sooner. I’m assuming this was a sodded lawn. Fescue is a clumping grass, while Bluegrass has rhizomes so it can spread out. The Bluegrass knits the sod together so it doesn’t fall apart when harvested. Typically, it takes five to nine months before the grass is old enough to be harvested. This varies depending on the mix of grass varieties.

Once in a while you watch a movie that you just can’t stop thinking about.  If you are a movie reviewer, you eventually have to write about it.

This story takes place in early 1940’s Berlin.  For most people everything feels swell. Young Bruno is living in a perfect world, flying through the neighborhood streets with his friends, arms outstretched pretending to soar high up in the sky. 

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is the story of the nine-year-old son of a Nazi Commander.   Bruno (Asa Butterfield) arrives home to find his home in a stir.  The servants are busy cleaning glasses and polishing tables for the party to celebrate his father’s new post, an important new post.  They are moving to the countryside and Bruno has to leave his home and friends behind. Very soon Bruno and his sister Gretel are swept away from the home and city they love and set down in a place with gates, walls, and no friends.

Bruno is a curious and, yes, bored young boy.  His 14- year-old sister, Gretel (Amber Beatty) is pre-occupied by a young soldier so he finds ways to explore even though told to not go to the back of the property after seeing a farm from his window. His adventures take him to a strange camp and he meets eight year old Shmuel (Jack Scanlon) who lives on the other side of a barbwire fence.  From their clandestine visits an odd kind of friendship grows, the son of a Nazi Commandant and a young Jewish prisoner.

The novel and screenplay were beautifully written and adapted by John Boyne.  John is an acclaimed Youth fiction writer and this story is told from the perspective of a young German boy.  The Holocaust through the eyes of a child.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas has an amazing cast from Bruno’s parents played by David Thewles and Vera Farmiga to the Jewish house servant brilliantly played by David Hayman.

We are living in interesting times. Between politics and Covid, it often feels like there is a barbwire fence separating us.  We need to make a decision to not let that fence define us as a country. America is better than that!  When Bruno and Shmuel met, they didn’t see a privileged boy or a boy with a shaved head and stripped pajamas, they saw friends, plain and simple. 

May we always remember the atrocities that were perpetrated by a people, some with evil in their hearts and some with just blinders on their eyes.  We have a valuable moral imperative to love one another in spite of our differences. 

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is just the reminder we all need.  I encourage  you to watch this beautifully written, poignant masterpiece of humanity reaching out for friendship in a lonely world.

As always, I invite your comments and your perspective—mine isn’t the only one that counts!  Carolyn@carolynhastings.com

Bitcoin (and other “cryptocurrencies”) have captured the world’s attention like few investment assets in history:  It has become one of the greatest manias of all time. What is it?  Is it for you?  Those, and other important questions may have been on your mind.  I hope to help answer them in this month’s Investor’s Edge. 

For starters, what is a cryptocurrency? When you simply break it down into crypto + currency, you get hidden money. This is more often referred to as a private, decentralized digital currency. For discussion’s sake, I will default to Bitcoin when referring to crypto since it was the first created and is by far the biggest. There are now over 1,600 crypto’s. Consider “crypto” as more of a digital asset class than a currency. I prefer to consider Bitcoin as a speculative investment (digital asset class) than a currency like the dollar, euro, pound, etc. even though it is now used as such. Bitcoin is becoming increasingly popular for international payments. The prospect of a fast, secure, low cost and genuinely international payments system is encouraging businesses and individuals around the world to seriously consider cryptocurrency settlement.  You can now pay your AT&T phone bill with Bitpay using Bitcoin. Or buy a Whopper at Burger King in Venezuela.  For a few weeks earlier this year you could have bought a Tesla with Bitcoin – but no more. American Express advises business customers that a disadvantage of Bitcoin is that it is not yet widely accepted in many countries, and in some countries its use is illegal. Payment processors such as Bitpay, Paypal and Square let you make payments to merchants who accept it, but those merchants usually immediately convert the crypto received into dollars or the fiat currency where the merchant is domiciled. They don’t want the risk of Bitcoin’s value dropping dramatically. Whether viewed as a digital currency or asset class, crypto “coins” are created (“mined”) and ownership is recorded and stored in a ledger existing in a form of a computerized database using strong cryptography to secure transaction records. This technology is known as a blockchain.

As an asset class, like stocks and bonds, Bitcoin and other crypto’s are the newest investment class in the investment universe.  The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) determined Bitcoin a “virtual currency” commodity in 2015.  It is here, in the investment realm, where I place Bitcoin. As a commodity, the digital asset class has experienced phenomenal price appreciation and inordinate volatility. One attribute of Bitcoin that makes it a unique commodity is its’ supply. The number of Bitcoins is finite; there are 21 million coins. There are about 19 million Bitcoins in circulation. Bitcoin was created in 2009 and valued at less than half a penny.  It peaked this April at over $63,000. As I write this today, Bitcoin is bouncing off a low near $31,000. This is near where it was at last year-end.  It opened 2020 at about $7,000. As I mentioned, it is volatile. Is it for you? Yes. No. Maybe? Only you can know. As an investment strategist, portfolio manager and wealth advisor, I can just remind you to be true to you as an investor. Know the parameters and constraints unique to you that govern how you invest – or speculate. Indeed, Bitcoin is a speculation.

When I hear about the crypto “miners,” I think of the “Niners” that speculated for gold, using picks and shovels mining for nuggets. Similar to the gold rush, Bitcoin speculation gives you a few ways to get involved, should you choose to. You could take the more conservative approach, selling the supplies (“picks and shovels”), or be a miner, or directly buy existing Bitcoin.  Your risk/reward ratio differs with each. Here, for your information, are examples of securities you might consider with those approaches to Bitcoin in mind. Coinbase Global, Inc. (COIN) is essentially the Bitcoin exchange. The publicly traded security is the platform where crypto traders can buy and sell crypto assets. Think of it like the “house” or casino for gamblers.  A miner is Riot Blockchain, Inc. (RIOT). This listed security is the largest Bitcoin mining company in North America. Then, as mentioned, you could buy Bitcoin directly either from Coinbase or buying shares of the Bitcoin “tracker” issued by Grayscale Bitcoin (GBTC). GBTC is a listed security like COIN and RIOT. Their shares trade on the stock exchange and are highly liquid.  Lastly, and perhaps the most passive way to gain investment exposure to Bitcoin is through a mutual fund or ETF that holds it. The ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) is one.  It recently held about 8% of its assets in Bitcoin related securities.  

Still asking yourself if Bitcoin is for you? Here’s a prudent consideration for most investors.  Old fashioned asset class diversification. As noted above, Bitcoin’s price has increased incredibly since 2009. A relatively small amount of Bitcoin held in a traditional stock portfolio would have added great value. For example, a study showing various asset class returns over the trailing twelve months ending January 2021 shows the S&P 500 stock index gained 17.25%. Bitcoin soared 248.52% during that time. An investment portfolio that was diversified with just a 5% allocation to the Bitcoin asset class over the period jumped 22.19%. That’s almost 30% more than all stock portfolio. 

Diversification has always been considered a wise investment style. Now we have another asset class to choose from. 

What pairs better with summer than an icy cold glass of rosé wine? As the temperatures rise so does the demand for rosé wine, now a firm favorite from sea to shining sea.  Summer is the perfect time to let down your hair, slip on your bikini, and pop open the rosé.

But why rosé? Why not? Rosé is the ultimate summer wine. It’s pink in color and beautiful to the eye, floral and perfumed to the nose, and fruity but dry on the palate. Rosé’s refreshing acidity is bracing and cleanses the mouth between bites of food. Rosé is made from red wine grapes and takes its color from the skins. Depending on which variety of grapes is used and how long the grape skins are left in contact with the juice, the resulting wine can range from a pale, onionskin color to a deep, almost red hue. The finished color has nothing to do with the quality or intensity of the wine.

Rosés can range from light to full- bodied, fruity and tangy to crisp and bone-dry, zippy and light to lush and smooth. Rosé is meant to be enjoyed young. Buy it and drink it, don’t save it for a rainy day or stick it indefinitely in your cellar. A still rosé wine should be no more than 3 years old. Sparkling rosé Champagne is the only exception to the rule, and has the ability to age in a temperature-controlled cellar.

The United States showed up late to the rosé party. In fact, the USA was a little tardy to the wine party altogether. Unlike Europe, which has a history of wine consumption going back thousands of years, America was never much of a wine drinking nation until halfway through the 20^th century. More Americans preferred cocktails to wine, and wine took a decided backseat to hard alcohol.

The US population started drinking sparkling pink wine back in the 1940’s with sweet wines like Mateus and Lancers, but these were not “serious” wines. They were created specifically for the sugar-loving American market, rather like Coca-cola for the older crowd. Dry wines were not favored and wine pairing with food was unheard of at the time.

Sutter Home’s White Zinfandel blasted onto the scene in 1975 after a fortuitous winemaking error. The fermentation of red zinfandel grapes got “stuck”, leaving the alcohol levels low in the resulting wine, while the residual sugar levels flew sky high. The producers almost threw out the “bad” batch, but in the end, they decided to bottle it and throw it onto the market, just for fun. Imagine their surprise when everyone went crazy for this festive pink wine! Americans loved it! Sutter Home’s sugary White Zinfandel went on to define rosé for most Americans.

The grand success of White Zinfandel made most Americans assume that all pink wines were candy sweet and rather one-dimensional. Rosé as a class of wines became gauche and more discerning wine sippers avoided it. Americans eventually went on to greater wine sophistication and learned the joys of dry rosé. Today the United States is the greatest wine-consuming nation in the world. Sutter Home’s White Zinfandel is still very popular, but at last, fine, dry rosé wines have taken their rightful place in the hearts of Americans.

Rosé pairs effortlessly with just about everything but truly shines when matched with classic picnic foods such as cheese and charcuterie, sandwiches and quiche. Casual bistro food is a perfect fit with rosé. It’s a wonderful accompaniment to savory fried calamari, briny oysters, crispy French fries, and juicy hamburgers. While we think of rosé as a summer wine, served lightly chilled at the shore, it can easily be enjoyed throughout the year with heavier seasonal fare like stuffed turkey and roasted salmon.

Most restaurants now offer several different rosé wines on their wine lists. Some historic French rosés to seek out include Domaine Ott and Bandol from sunny Provence, and beautiful Tavel, from the Southern Rhone Valley. An all-time favorite produced right here in California is Bonny Doon’s Vin Gris from the Santa Cruz mountains.  

So, what are you waiting for? Break out the pink! Cheers!