Making Turkey Stock

Once you remove all the meat from your Thanksgiving turkey (this is easier when while the turkey is still warm), put the bones on to simmer right away to make stock to use in soups and sauces for the rest of the holidays and after. It may help keep you and your family from getting the winter colds and flu that always come around.

Homemade stock offers three nutritional benefits that are in readily digestible form:

1. Minerals calcium, magnesium, silicon, sulphur and phosporous and critical trace minerals.

2. Gelatin which is good for many tissues of the body -- cartilage, bones, joints, skin, digestive tract, and muscles including the heart. Gelatin also boosts immunity. The majority of our immune system is located in our gut, and gelatin soothes and heals the intestinal mucosa.

3. Glucosamine and chondroitin sulphates, good for joint maintenance.

Making turkey stock is very easy. Put the carcass in a large pot (1-2 gallons) and cover with water. Add 1/4 cup of vinegar (this will help to release minerals from the bones and cartilage). Bring to a boil over medium to high heat. Reduce to medium to low heat and simmer for 24-48 hours. Skim off any foam that forms on the surface while simmering. After 24-48 hours, allow the stock to cool and strain out the bones. You'll have a gallon or two of yummy stock.

Easy, healthful, and tasty.

Time to Plant Garlic, Onions, and ... Strawberries

In our Southern California garden, this week (the first week in November) is the time to plant garlic, onions, and strawberries for best results in the spring and summer. (See what else to plant in November.)

These three garden favorites may not seem to go together, but when it comes to planting time, they are a perfect match. We're not talking about companion planting--the idea that some plants do better when planted near certain other plants (Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening by Louise Riotte is the book to read if you want to know all about it.). We're talking about timing.

Research and testing at the University of California Agricultural Extension show that "strawberries planted between November 1 and 10 get winter chill at the precise moment in their growing schedule to trigger fruit production rather than foliage" (Pat Welsh's Southern California Gardening: A Month-by-Month Guide, pg. 285).

It doesn't pay to order strawberries from catalogs. Strawberries are a regional crop. Just a few miles north of here, different varieties of strawberries flourish that would languish here and vice versa. Plant runners from your own strawberry patch or purchase plants (bare root if possible) that are adapted to your area.  We're planting "Sequoia" this week. The varieties available in local nurseries will be successful in your area.

This is the perfect time to plant onion seeds because onions are sensitive to day length and to temperature--in a word, they are photothermoperiodic. (Your sesquipedalian for today. Unless of course you are hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobic!)

Each variety of onion is stimulated to begin bulb growth and slow top growth when the hours of daylight reach a certain length--a number which varies greatly, depending on the variety. Long-day onions do well in northern latitudes, while short-day onions, do well in the south. According to long-time onion grower Dixondale Farms "The short-day varieties start the bulbing process when daylight length reaches 10-12 hours. They take approximately 110 days to mature in the south and just 75 days in the north. The earlier you plant them, the larger they get, but they won't get very big in the northern states."

We're planting "Yellow Granex" onion seeds this week. Other short-day varieties that do well here in Southern California: "Grano," "Crystal Wax," "Red Creole," and any of the "Texas" varieties. (Check out Burpee's Short-Day Onion Collection .) There are also intermediate day-length onions that if planted here in February will make bulbs in the summer. (Try "San Felipe.")

We're planting lettuce, too!

We're also planting garlic now. Plant individual cloves about 4 inches apart and 2 inches deep with the points upward in soil rich with humus. You can purchase globes of garlic at the nursery or in the produce section of the supermarket.

November in the Garden

Plant garlic, shallots, cabbages, kale, onions, peas, fava beans, broccoli, carrots, turnips, beets, spinach and other cool-weather greens.

Plant strawberries!

Make successive plantings of fast growing greens: cilantro, lettuce, and chervil.

Pull up tomato plants, roots and all, leave the green fruit. Hang whole vines in a protected place and pick fruits as they ripen.   

Harvest Brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, carrots, turnips, collards, and kale after frost sweetens their flavor.

Watch out for frost! Cover crops with floating row covers to protect them if the weatherman says the overnight lows will be in the low 40's or colder. If a freeze is predicted soak the ground before you put the covers on.

October in the Garden

As the weather begins to cool here in Southern California, it's time to plant fall and early spring crops.

Sow seeds:

• fava beans
• beets
• celery
• chard
• chives
• garlic
• kale
• kohlrabi
• leeks
• lettuce 
• romaine
• bibb
• buttercrunch 
• onions
• green
• long-day 
• parsley
• peas
• radishes
• spinach
• shallots

Transplant:

• artichokes
• asparagus
• broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• cabbage
• cauliflower
• strawberries

Harvest:

• horseradish
• Macadamia nuts  (those fallen to the ground)
• Squash

Spaghetti Squash

Have you heard about spaghetti squash? We are growing some this year for the first time. One of the reasons we hadn't grown it before is that we tend to resist things offered as "substitutes" for other things. Spaghetti squash, as the name suggests has been promoted as a substitute for pasta. It is not a substitute. It is an alternative. For this reason, according to one seed company website, the name "spaghetti squash" is confusing or misleading, so this squash has been renamed to "vegetable spaghetti." We're pretty sure this is not an improvement. "Spaghetti" (the presumably confusing part) is still in the name, and now we can't tell what kind of "vegetable" it is from the name. Seems more confusing now than before.

However, spaghetti squash is tasty, buttery sweet, though it doesn't overpower with squashiness the sauce or whatever it is you are serving over it. We've had ours under a tomato meat sauce (as for spaghetti) and under chili. It is also good plain, topped with butter and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Spaghetti squash is easy to cook: bake, boil, slow-cook, or microwave, your choice. However, spaghetti squash can be difficult to cut. Cutting one of these raw requires a sharp knife and some strength along with agility (keep your fingers out of the way!). Fortunately, it can be cooked whole.

Cutting first: The advantages to cutting the squash in half (lengthwise) before cooking are that it cooks faster, and you can save the seeds to plant or you can roast them (all squash seeds can be roasted and eaten like pumpkin seeds). The disadvantage to cutting the squash before cooking is the effort in cutting through the thick rind and scraping out the seeds and pulp. Bake in the oven rind side up at 375 F for a half our or so, or in the microwave for 6 to 8 minutes (let stand for a few minutes after), or boil for 20 minutes or so. Put it in the slow-cooker with a cup of water or so for 2-3 hours on high, 6-8 hours on low. Regardless of method, you'll know when it's done when it yields easily to a fork. Separate the strands with a fork.

Leaving it whole: The advantage here is that it is easier. Just pierce the rind with a sharp knife in a couple of places and its ready to cook. If you don't pierce it, you may have a squash bomb on your hands when the steam builds up inside. This is especially the case when using the microwave (we don't own one). It does however take longer to cook and you'll need to be careful not to get burned as you cut the squash and scrape out the seeds and pulp. Bake at 375 F for about an hour. Microwave for 10 to 12 minutes and let stand for at least 5 minutes afterward to allow the steam inside to finish cooking it. Boil for a half an hour or so. Put it in the slow-cooker with a cup of water or so for 2-3 hours on high, 6-8 hours on low. Again, regardless of method, you'll know when it's done when it yields easily to a fork. Allow to cool slightly and cut it open lengthwise and scrape out the seeds and pulp. You might want to use an oven mitt or two. Separate the strands with a fork.

Some have suggested that when the whole-baked squash is hot, cutting it around the middle rather than lengthwise may facilitate scraping out the seeds and separating the strands. We haven't tried this, and we don't plan to. It seems to us that reaching down into a very hot, enclosed area is more conducive to burns than working along side a hot, open area. Also, the halves are more stable on the counter when cut lengthwise.

Spaghetti squash will keep for up to six months if stored between 50 to 60 degrees. Buy them in season when they are least expensive, or if you have lots of space, grow your own. Choose squash without any breaks or other blemishes in the skin. Put them in the coolest (temperature wise) room in your house. If you don't have a place in your home that stays between 50 and 60 degrees through the winter, don't worry, the squash will keep at room temperature for several weeks.

Harvest Time! -- Now what do we do with all this?

It's harvest time, and everything seems to be ready to pick at once! Peaches, tomatoes, peppers, corn, berries, figs, herbs, greens and more. The farmers' markets are brimming with all kinds of ripe fruits and veggies--an prices may come down a little. Now's the time to look for deals.

Here in our Southern California garden, we don't have to worry about putting up part of the harvest to get us through the winter (we grow things all winter long), but we do have a surplus from time to time and have to make a choice as to how we will preserve or store the bounty. We can't eat it all before it begins to spoil.

One preferred choice is to give away at least some of our "extras" storing up treasure in heaven, and enjoyment and good will in our neighbors and friends.

Another choice is to sell or trade our excess. Selling is in effect storing the food in the form of money to be traded for food in the future. We could also trade with friends and neighbors who have surplus in areas we do not--the community concept. The advantage here is that we can get some of the other things we need or want by trading our extras.

A third choice is to preserve the bounty by canning, freezing, pickling, or drying. (More choices to make!)

Canning, or more accurately, "jarring," is a lot of work and extra heat in the house--something quite undesirable in the late summer heat. Canning, because of the cooking required, removes nutrients, taste, and texture from the food. Compare the taste of grocery store canned peas or green beans or asparagus compared to their freshly prepared counterparts. Well, there is no comparison. One advantage of canning however, is that no further energy is required for storage, unlike freezer-stored foods.

Freezing requires almost as much heat and work as canning. To preserve texture and taste most foods destined for the deep freeze need to be heated and then blanched in cold or ice water before being flash frozen (in single layers on trays), and then packed for the long freeze. Advantages include usually better flavor and texture than canned produce and a little less time an heat in the kitchen for preparation. The big disadvantages: limited space in the freezer and the energy to run it.

Pickling produces yummy and nutritious results, but requires a fridge or root-cellar-type-arrangement for long-term storage. In our part of the world, root cellars are pretty rare. If kept reasonably cool, sauerkraut, for example, will keep for many months, even years (ask Captain Cook's crew), but taste and texture will suffer. Nobody wants to bite into a soggy tasteless dill pickle, which is what you'll have if you leave your pickle jar on the counter. Eventually pickles will begin to breakdown. Cold or at least cooler temperatures are required for long-term (over winter) storage.

That leaves drying or dehydrating, and there are at least three ways to go here. (Still more choices to make!). The keys to food drying are good air circulation and high enough temperatures to dry the food quickly. Any of the following methods will work, but some are more convenient to use, or faster or can be used indoors or outdoors.

You could heat up the house some more and oven-dry your harvest, placing thin slices or small pieces of your extras on cookie sheets or other trays in an oven set on a very low setting. So that moisture can escape the food and the oven, the door should be left slightly open--more heat in the already very warm house. Our oven's lowest setting is 200 degrees F, much higher than is needed.

Another choice is solar drying. Whether you use window screens as trays and covers for your produce or a more elaborate setup, avoid putting your dehydrator any place where air pollution or anything else in the air could taint your produce. One major drawback to a solar dryer is that it will not work indoors. If a summer storm comes over, you'll be scrambling to move or cover your dryer setup and therefore putting the drying on hold.

Our favorite way is to use an electric dehydrator. We have used three different styles and can say confidently that not all dehydrators are created equal.

Years ago we had a dehydrator that was powered by a single light bulb. It did its job, but the heat was constant (not adjustable) and not very even throughout. There were three or four small racks for the food, which we had to rotate so that everything would dry evenly.

We then graduated to an American Harvest Food Dehydrator made by Nesco. This dehydrator heats the food evenly and has good air flow. The heating element (adjustable) and fan (also adjustable in earlier models) are in the base. The round, stacking trays fit together to make channels through which the air flows. The only drawback we see in this dehydrator is that the distance between the trays is not adjustable.

Our favorite dehydrator is the Excalibur. The drying trays slide into its cabinet, allowing for more space between trays if necessary. Removing all trays allows the dehydrator to be used as a yogurt maker. For our family it is handy to make yogurt in half-gallon jars which our nine-tray model will accommodate. The five-tray model will hold quart jars. We have also used our dehydrator as a proofing box for bread and pizza dough.

How we use our dehydrators most often (in order of frequency):

1. Making yogurt (about once a week)
2. Drying herbs.
3. Making Crispy Nuts.
4. Drying fruits and veggies from the garden or farmers' market.
5. Drying homemade pasta.

Our tastiest use of our dehydrators: beef jerky!

Making Your Own Cultured Foods

If you've been thinking about making your own yogurt, sourdough, kefir, or other cultured food, now might be a good time to start. Cultures for Health is offering 15% off on their starter cultures and kits this (Labor Day) weekend. We are using these cultures to make yogurt and are having good success.

A Good Reason to Buy Local or Grow Your Own Food

Oily Food

"Americans put almost as much fossil fuel into our refrigerators as our cars. We’re consuming about 400 gallons of oil a year per citizen— about 17 percent of our nation’s energy use— for agriculture, a close second to our vehicular use. Tractors, combines, harvesters, irrigation, sprayers, tillers, balers, and other equipment all use petroleum. Even bigger gas guzzlers on the farm are not the machines, but so-called inputs. Synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides use oil and natural gas as their starting materials, and in their manufacturing. More than a quarter of all farming energy goes into synthetic fertilizers. But getting the crop from seed to harvest takes only one-fifth of the total oil used for our food. The lion’s share is consumed during the trip from the farm to your plate. Each food item in a typical U.S. meal has traveled an average of 1,500 miles. In addition to direct transport, other fuel-thirsty steps include processing (drying, milling, cutting, sorting, baking), packaging, warehousing, and refrigeration. Energy calories consumed by production, packaging, and shipping far outweigh the energy calories we receive from the food. A quick way to improve food-related fuel economy would be to buy a quart of motor oil and drink it. More palatable options are available. If every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country’s oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week. That’s not gallons, but barrels. Small changes in buying habits can make big differences. Becoming a less energy-dependent nation may just need to start with a good breakfast." 

-- STEVEN L. HOPP

From Kingsolver, Barbara; Kingsolver, Camille; Hopp, Steven L. (2009-10-13). Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (Kindle Locations 137-144). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

Our Top 10 Tips for Storing Seeds

Remember, if you want to save your own seeds, you’ll need to plant open-pollinated varieties. Hybrid varieties will not come back true.

1. If you're saving and storing your own seed, storing seed properly begins with gathering and drying them. We dry seeds on newsprint or plain paperplates or papertowels. Spread your collected seeds on the newsprint and let them dry for a week or so. Write the name of the variety on the newsprint. Once the seeds are dry, we store them in paper envelopes labeled and dated. If we're keeping a garden journal (highly recommended) we record the name and date and any other pertinent information.
   
2. Keep seeds cool and dry. Humidity and warmth shorten a seed’s shelf life.
   
3. We keep seed packets in plastic food storage jars or Mason jars with tight-fitting lids.
   
4. We store seeds in the fridge. If we've had your seed storage jar outside, or out of the fridge for a while, we put the jar back in the fridge without the lid for an hour or so to let the moisture of the outside air dry out. 
   
5. Do not let your seeds freeze. Keep your seed-storage containers well away from the freezer section of your refrigerator.
   
6. Powdered milk will help keep the seeds dry. Wrap 2 heaping tablespoons of powdered milk in 3 or 4 layers of facial tissue, then put the milk packet inside the storage container with the seed packets. Or add a packet of silica gel. Replace every 6 months.
   
7. We store each year’s seeds together and date them. Because most seeds last about 3 years (though some only last a year), we'll know which seeds might be past its prime when planting season comes. We'll allow for this by planting extra or pre-sprouting.
   
8. When we’re ready to plant, we remove seed containers from the fridge and keep them closed until the seeds warm to room temperature. This helps prevent the moisture in the air condensing on the seeds, causing them to clump together, or worse break dormancy and sprout.
   
   
9. We pre-sprout our seeds, especially if they have been in storage more than a year. Preparation for this can be accomplished at storage time: If we dry our seeds on paper towels, the seeds will stick to the towels. We simply roll up the paper towels with the seeds in place. When we are ready to plant, we simply moisten the paper towel and place it in a platic bag or glass jar with a tight lid. If kept in a warm place the seeds will sprout in a day or two. Unroll the towel and tear or cut off pieces with sprouts attached and plant. You'll be able to seed which seeds are viable--they will have sprouted.
    
10. Even if you’re organized, and careful about labeling and storing your seeds, some seeds just will not germinate the following year. Stored sweet corn, in particular, has s low germination rate, and other seeds will only remain viable for a year or two (onions, for example).

September in the Garden

Plant seeds (peas, carrots, beets, lettuce, cucurbits, herbs) and fall transplants (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale).

Begin to plant lilies and Spring-blooming bulbs--daffodils and tulips.

Feed fuchsias, ferns, tropicals, roses.

Clean up faded flowers. Start cleanup for perennials.

Continue to harvest Valencia oranges.
   
Prune poinsettias for holiday bloom.
   
Plant okra. It’s your last chance of the season.


Add soil amendments (bone meal, blood meal, compost).

Home Grown Breakfast

Eggs, cheese, potatoes, tomatoes, basil, and milk. All home grown. Yummy and very satisfying.

If we can do it, so can you. We encourage you to “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” --Theodore Roosevelt

With just a little patch of ground (or a couple of containers) you can grow tomatoes, greens for salads, herbs, and strawberries for example.

With a little more space, you could have a couple of chickens--they'll eat your kitchen waste and give you eggs in return. Scraps of food to scrambled eggs--a rags to riches kind of thing. They'll also give you manure to compost an put on your vegetable patch.

We agree with Julia Child who said, "You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces – just good food from fresh ingredients." And it doesn't get much fresher than picking or gathering your food a few minutes before it goes onto your plate.

Time to Plant Seeds Indoors and Out

It's time to plant seeds for your fall garden. Actually, any of the summer or fall crops can be planted now in our Southern California garden.

Today we're seeding kale, cabbage, broccoli,  and cauliflower indoors. And seeding okra, squash, carrots, beets, chard, collards, rutabagas, onions, cucumbers, nasturtiums, and some herbs. Lettuce is a good fall crop to start directly in the garden now.


Here is a mix we are planting:


 Lettuce, Looseleaf Blend--five favorites in one pack. 
By the way, Burpee has weekend special: a flat shipping rate of 4.95 on any order. Use promo code FLT222 in cart; expires midnight 8/12/13.

Any of the summer heat-lovers (cukes, squash, peppers, tomatoes, etc.) can be planted now as either direct seed (early varieties) or transplants. Seeds that typically take a long time to germinate in the spring come up faster now in the summer heat. Many of the cole vegetables (cabbage, broccoli, etc.) taste better after a light frost--so the plan is to start them now in the warmth, let them mature in the cool of the fall and be ready for harvest just after the first frost.

Feta Cheese

We have just started another a batch of feta cheese.

Feta is a traditional Greek cheese. It is a brined, crumbly, curd cheese, commonly produced in blocks, and has a slightly grainy texture. After it has aged (two weeks to a month, if we're patient) in its brine, we usually crumble it onto salads or into scrambled eggs. Sometimes we put it on pizza, or in/on other dishes. Others use it as a table cheese, in pastries, and in baking--spanakopita ("spinach pie") and tyropita ("cheese pie").

The first record of what is probably feta cheese, is from the Byzantine Empire. It was called "fresh" or "recent" cheese (prósphatos), and was described as brined and was associated with Crete. (Andrew Dalby, Siren feasts: A history of food and gastronomy in Greece, Routledge, 1996)

The current name "feta" comes from the Italian word fetta ("slice"), which was introduced into the Greek language in the 1600's.

Whatever it is called in other places, the Greeks claim feta as their own. They also lay claim to being the first cheese makers. Polyphemus,  son of Poseidon and one of the Cyclopes, is said to be the first cheese-maker. Homer describes Polyphemus' bowls and baskets full of cheeses in the Odyssey.

Traditionally, feta is made from sheep's or goat's milk or a mixture of the two. Today it is also commercially made with cow's milk. We, of course, use goat's milk. Here is a link to the basic recipe most like the one we use:


http://fiascofarm.com/dairy/feta.html

We also make ricotta from the whey. This will go into the lasagna planned for dinner next week.


As soon as we set up our cheese cave, we'll try making some Colby or other aged cheeses. What's a cheese cave, you ask? And how do you make one? There is no digging or spelunking involved! We'll have a description and some pictures when we get the cave going.

Abby's Orange-Kefir Smoothie

(A-O-K Smoothie)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups orange juice
• 2 cups of kefir (substitute or mix and match yogurt, fil mjölk, piima, viili, or your favorite milk culture)
• 1 tsp. vanilla (or more to taste)
• 1 egg
• about 5 ice cubes
• 1/4 cup honey (to taste; more or less depending on the tartness of your oranges)

Directions

Pretty simple: put all ingredients except honey into the blender and blend until smooth (hence "smoothie")--a few seconds will do. Taste. Add some honey. Blend again. Taste. Add more honey if desired. Blend again. Pour into glasses and serve.

Raising Children on a Mini-Farm

One of the reasons we began to expand our garden into a mini-farm is that we wanted our children, the older of whom were getting into their preteen years, to have meaningful chores.

In so many families, the young people are not given very much if any real responsibility. Before WWII there weren’t any teenagers. The word "teenager," first appeared in the third edition of Webster's (1961); it was not in the second (1934); there it is noted only as an adjective "teenage." That is not to say that there were no young people in their teens, there were plenty. But the term “teenager” had not yet been generally applied to our youth. There were youths--young men and women and they were treated as such--they were given responsibilities and expected to act in a responsible manner. They went from childhood to young adulthood.

"Teenager" came to apply to youth as their responsibilities, and our expectations for them and their behavior declined for various reasons (child labor laws, availability of the automobile, etc.), and they had to wait out their teen years to be given real responsibilities in life.

On a farm, young people have real responsibilities. If, for example, you are given the chore of milking the family cow or goats, then you must do your job, or the family may go without milk, butter, and cheese. This neglect of responsibility can have a real, immediate affect on the entire family. On the positive side, if you are the one given the chore of milking, and you do a good job, you bring milk, butter, and cheese to the table for your family to enjoy--a very satisfying accomplishment.

The young people in our family have been given various chores that carry real responsibility. Each one has been given a row or two in the garden to tend. Each one in rotation has fed, watered, and milked the goats; each has fed and watered the chickens and collected eggs. So each has had the pleasure of bringing food to the table for himself and the rest of us.

When these kinds of chores are done well, a sense of accomplishment and pride of ownership come into play, changing one’s outlook. Some of our kids say they don’t care for green beans all that much, “but they do taste better when you grow them yourself.” Yes they do. Life is better when each day means something because one has done something productive and meaningful.

Do you want to produce a teenager? If you do, give your young person an allowance for menial, meaningless, or make-work chores, or worse, give him or her allowance to pay for the chores that an adult member of your household does as a matter of obligation to the household (housework, laundry, yardwork), or worst, give him or her an allowance without any chores required.

We don't give an allowance to our children at all--we don't want to make teenagers, we want to raise up productive, responsible young men and women. We have given our youths meaningful responsibilities around the house and farm. We have also made opportunities for them to earn money--some have grown crops for cash, some have bid on jobs on the farm, some have farmed-out their skills and energy to family and friends who needed help around the house or yard. Some are looking for their first product or service to begin a business of their own. 

When given responsibility and given plenty of room to grow, learn, make mistakes (as youth will do) and to be responsible, children never have to become Teenagers at all.

Further reading or listening:

• Dr. Michael Platt, Myth of the Teenager -- http://www.home-school.com/Articles/myth-of-the-teenager.php
• Joel Salatin, Getting Your Hands Dirty: Teaching Your Children To Love Work; CD http://www.dcs1225.com/recommends/kidslovework.html

August in the Garden

In southern California the main garden chores for August are watering, harvesting, and pest control.

In the first part of the month, any summer vegetable can be planted. Especially those that love the heat: Okra, cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, watermelons, squash and really any crop that will finish before the days get too short in the fall. We'll be direct seeding Okra, squash, limas, dill, basil, and cukes; setting out transplants of the others.


Near the middle of the month, we will be starting our fall crops from seeds for transplant in September and October: broccoli, cabbage, kale, and cauliflower.

Give your roses a light pruning.

Feed fushias, ferns, tropicals, roses.

Do not fertilize deciduous fruit trees.

Prune berries.

We also prune our deciduous fruit trees after the last peaches come off the trees. This mostly is to control the size of the trees. We will prune again in January.

Gather and dry herbs.

Apply compost and mulch to retain moisture in the soil.

Shade plants that may need afternoon protection from the hot sun.

August is a good time to solarize empty beds to kill weed seeds and disease pathogens: Water the soil thoroughly, then seal it with clear plastic for 6 to 8 weeks.

Edibles for Shade

Do you have a shady spot in your yard needing some plants? Want to plant edibles rather than ornamentals? Here is a list of possibilities.

EDIBLES FOR SHADE

Arugula

Chard

Cutting celery

Hops

Kale

Lettuce

Nasturtium

Parsley

Peas

Rhubarb

Endive

Mints

Sorrel

Ginger

Fiddleheads of Pako Ferns, High Climbing Ferns, Swamp Ferns

Spinach

Beets

Akebia a.k.a. Chocolate Vine (fruit)

Scallions

Mushrooms

Train Your Plants To Grow Deep Roots for Water

(and let your plants train you how to water)

When plant roots grow deeply into the soil, the plant needs less irrigation during hot weather, and any other sort of weather, for that matter. Whether the plant is lettuce with shallower roots or tomato with deep roots, the roots will be deeper in the soil and have less need for water during hotter days--an inch or two for a lettuce may mean the difference between you having to water everyday in August, or every other day. You can do the math here; training the plant to send its roots deeper it going to save you time in the long run.

No, you don't have to call a plant whisperer. You can train the plant to reach down for water as you train yourself how to water your plants. You have to do some testing. No, not pen and paper exams, or a CAT scan, just some simple digging and observing.

To test how deeply your irrigation water is going, water your garden for your usual length of time. Then, push a trowel or shovel into the soil. Push the soil to one side or lift it out. Look at both the depth of the roots (you'll have to be close enough to the plant to see some of the roots, but not so close so that you damage the plant) and the water line in the soil. If the water line (the darkened, moist soil) is not past the longest visible plant roots, water some more and then test another spot. Repeat until the water line falls below the root zone.

Keep track of the total time you watered. That's how long you'll have to water each time to get your plants' roots deep down into the soil. Hint: Turn down the volume of the water and let it just trickle down, if the water begins to run off before you reach your total tested time.

Don't water again until two-thirds of the root zone is again dry. (This means you'll have to use the shovel again to inspect the soil near several plants to see how quickly the soil is drying out.)

Now, you've trained your plants to force their roots deeper into the soil, and they've trained you to know just how long and how often to water.

How We Grow Tomatoes

Introduction

It seems that everybody grows tomatoes, or at least most gardeners do. It is the most popular vegetable grown (...it's actually a fruit...), and there is no wondering why--there is absolutely no comparison between the pink-orange, cardboard-textured, flavorless, plasmic blobs sold in many produce sections as tomatoes and the vine-ripened-to-perfection, just-picked, home-grown, real-life tomatoes!

There is nothing like a vine-ripened tomato for taste or texture, or for satisfaction of having grown something wonderfully made by our Creator.

And besides, tomatoes are one of the easiest plants to grow. They are at home in the garden, in containers, and even in the hydroponic greenhouse.

 Read More >>

Sore Throat Relief

Some of us had sore throats a couple of months ago. We didn't have much of anything in the medicine cabinet for relieving sore throat, so we went to the Internet to see what home remedies are out there. This is the one that seemed most likely to work, and it did--the pain was gone, quickly, almost instantly!

Sore Throat Remedy

Ingredients

    3-4 garlic cloves minced finely
    1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
    1 tbsp raw honey

Instructions

Mix it all together and give 1 tsp every hour until throat is better. Make more as needed.

Why does it work? 

The Cayenne pepper contains Capsicum, the compound in peppers that make the heat.  While Capsicum can cause pain (as in that salsa that was oh so "hot"), it can also alleviate pain. The sweetness of the honey does tone down the heat just a bit.  If you're not a spicy heat lover, you could substitute cinnamon, which is probably a good idea when giving this to younger children (especially those under two) anyway.

The Garlic has antibacterial and antiviral qualities.  It’s best to use it in crushed form (for you garlic and culinary purists, this is one of those times it's okay to use a garlic press) to release the allinase enzyme which makes it’s antimicrobial allicin.

The Honey, while making the cayenne palatable, also offers antimicrobial benefits.  Also, honey has long been used to ease coughs and sore throats by coating the throat. 


If the sore throat doesn’t go away in 24 hours or so, and/or is accompanied by a fever, take it to the doctor--it may be strep.

Gardening Principles

We grow only useful things. We grow food in preference to lawn. The average suburban home has around 2500 sq feet of lawn. We have about that much "lawn" in the back yard that now serves as "pasture" for our poultry flock. The front lawn, however, has been turned into raised beds for veggies. There are also avocado and citrus trees out front. We are planning some planter boxes and trellises out there for even more plantings. We have some ornamental and foundation perennials here and there, but for the most part everything we plant has more than aesthetic value.

Homegrown food tastes better because homegrown food is fresher, and in season, which delivers better taste. (Read about tomato harvesting--commercial vs. homegrown.) Homegrown food is also healthier because we can pick, eat, and/or preserve foods when they have their highest nutritional value, that is, when they are ripe and just picked. Homegrown food is safer for our family because they are handled less than supermarket food and have not been exposed to any contaminants--no chemical pesticides, herbicides, growth- or ripening-enhancers, or preservatives. We pick what we need on a given day and bring it in to be prepared. No E. coli.

Where we garden matters. In our Mediterranean climate, most seed packet and catalog info doesn't apply. For us, it's not so much a question of what to grow, but rather what to grow next. With proper planning and crop rotation, we can garden literally year-round. A garden paradise, right? Well, mostly. The increased growing brings increased demand on the soil. Nutrients are constantly used up, and so need constant replacement.We have relied on Pat Welsh's Southern California Gardening: Month by Month to guide us on what to grow and when and how.

We are continually building our soil. We are constantly making and adding compost to our soil. We also mulch heavily. We avoid tilling the soil so that the soil food web will remain in tact. "I am starting to believe you about this compost thing," said one of our Kids Garden Club moms a few years ago. She had tried gardening with and without  mulch and compost and was learning that compost and mulch make a huge difference in weeding and crop yields.

We water deeply and less frequently rather than shallowly and often. Seedlings and transplants need to be watered just about everyday. The soil around them should never dry out. However, once they are established, they can be "trained" to send roots farther down into the soil for nutrients and water. We accomplish this by watering deeply once or twice per week, depending on the summer heat. Our plants develop deeper root systems and are less susceptible to wilting in the heat and are pulling up nutrients from deep down that would otherwise be unavailable.

We try to work smarter, not harder. Sometimes work makes more work. Tilling your soil every year or every time you plant a new crop makes more work. For one thing, weed seeds that were buried deep in the soil are brought to the surface and sprout. Now you have weeds to pull. A better plan would be to mulch your garden beds regularly, and when you are ready to plant, pull back the mulch and put in your seeds or plants. Little chance for weed seeds to get the sunlight they need to sprout. The soil microbes will be happier and healthier this way, too. When they're happy, your plants will be happier--they'll have fewer pests and other problems. In other words, work with nature instead of against it: you won't have to work so much.

We try to pay attention to our plants and keep notes. We have notebooks in which we have kept notes and diagrams of some of the gardens we have tended. Detailed notes help you to plan future gardens. These days, more and more of our garden notes are on computer spreadsheets. What ever your method, keep good notes on which varieties you plant, what pests or problems the variety has, how much harvest and how soon, and also how the harvest tastes. Some varieties may not do well in your climate, or you may prefer one variety over another for greater harvest or better taste.

We try to keep in mind that failure is part of the process. "Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently." --Henry Ford

July in the Garden

    Set out fall tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants late this month.
    Sow Halloween pumpkins.
    Clean up the garden, then mulch the bare soil to conserve moisture.
    Tend the compost pile so it will be ready to work into the soil in preparation for fall planting.
    Add 2 to 3 inches of mulch to retain water.
    Keep roses well watered to promote bloom into late fall.
    Early in the month, cover fruit trees with nets to protect fruit from birds.
    Protect peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, and lettuce from sun scald by providing partial shade.
    Start seeds of collards, okra, eggplant, southern peas, and heat-resistant tomatoes.
    When working outdoors in heat, take frequent breaks and drink plenty of water.

Good Food from Fresh Ingredients

We agree with Julia Child, who said, "You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces – just good food from fresh ingredients."  Tonight we enjoyed the kind of supper we strive for, one made with fresh ingredients from our mini-farm. The main dish was duck from our flock with a side dish of green beans picked this afternoon from the garden, and for dessert, peach sherbet made with peaches picked this evening and this morning's milk from our herd.

The ducks were our Khaki Campbells. We chose this variety of ducks

Khaki Campbells

because they are prolific egg-layers, not a meat breed. However, some of us cannot eat the eggs. So we are now culling our flock of these. Though they don't have a lot of meat on them, they are very tasty. Today, we slow-cooked two older ducks, expecting them to be a little tough as older birds tend to be. We were pleasantly surprised! Tender and tasty. One drawback to using the slow-cooker is that the skin is not browned and crispy, unless of course it is browned in the oven first or to finish or both. We skipped this part. Yummy anyway. We'll let the drippings cool and skim off the fat to use for future cooking.

Purple, green and yellow pole beans

The green beans didn't start green. We grow a pole variety that produces purple pods. This makes them easier to pick--they contrast with the green leaves of the vines. When cooked, the beans turn a dark green--letting the cook know that they are heated through. So these beans show you where to find them and show you when they're done! Easy.

Our latest oberhaslis, Ilsa and Inga

The milk is from our oberhasli goats. These Swiss goats are compact, quiet, and good milkers--perfect for our situation.

The peaches for our sherbet are from one of our three peach trees. We grow three different varieties that ripen at three different times, extending the harvest. We also planted all three trees in a space less than four feet square. In this small space the trees compete with each other for water and nutrients, slowing the growth of the trees. This helps us to keep the trees pruned and trimmed to a manageable size. We prune them after the harvest to control upward growth, and then in the winter to encourage the most fruit possible. Read more here at Dave Wilson Nursery.

 Peach Sherbet Recipe

Peach sherbet in the ice cream maker

4 cups ripe peaches, chunked (you can leave the skin on)
1 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup honey (more to taste)
pinch of sea salt
juice from two lemons

Put everything into the blender. Blend until smooth. Chill in the fridge for an hour or two.

Once mixture is chilled, freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions.

We served ours right away and it was perfect. You could spoon it into a container and let it firm up in the freezer for a couple of hours.

This is the electric ice cream maker we use. We like the old-fashioned crank-style better, but this one does pretty well and isn't as much to clean up. We're not too keen on some of the recipes that come with it, however. The internet has plenty of yummy recipes--just about any combination of ingredients you can think of is out there.

More Muscovies and Fewer Campbells

Today our mama Muscovy brought out fifteen ducklings from the nest! And they are very cute. As we posted earlier, Muscovies make great mini-homestead livestock. They are quiet (they don't quack), good foragers (they eat grass, weeds, and bugs), and provide plenty of eggs and meat.

One day old Muscovies.

Watchful Mama Duck

Following Mama

We also have Khaki Campbell ducks. These are great layers, but they do have some drawbacks for us. First and foremost, we can't eat the eggs--they are yummy, but they upset the tummy. They are also noisy--constantly quacking. We have had two hatches of them this spring, eleven in each hatch. We'll be harvesting all the adult Campbells in the next week or so, and will grow out the ducklings for harvest in a few months. Although they are much smaller than the Muscovies, and therefore, don't give us as much meat per bird, we do like the taste. It is worth the extra effort of preparing and extra bird for each meal.

Mama Campbell and her ducklings

Harvesting Tomatoes

Depending on which variety you are growing, you can expect to begin harvesting your tomatoes 55 to 100 days from the day you set them out in the garden. The small cherry tomatoes tend to ripen the fastest while the big slicing tomatoes take longer typically. (Check the seed packet for the number of days to harvest, and for what color your tomatoes will be when ripe.)

Commercial (supermarket) tomato harvesting goes something like this:

Pole-grown (indeterminate-type), fresh-market tomatoes are harvested when fruit is not quite pink in color (a long way from ripe). Bush-grown (determinate-type) tomatoes are harvested when about 15 percent of the fruit is red, that means that 85 percent of the fruit is still far from ripe. The tomatoes are then sorted and packed into cartons. The cartons of fruit are typically placed in temperature-controlled storage for up to 10 days and are subjected to an ethylene treatment (to "ripen" them) prior to going to market.

Harvesting in the garden goes something like this:

It's a Saturday in June and you're making a sandwich for lunch and need a slice of tomato. You go out to your garden and pick the reddest slicing tomato out there.

Later, you're making a dinner salad and need some cherry tomatoes and some yellow pear tomatoes and some purple Cherokee tomatoes to go with what was left of the slicing tomato you used at lunch (provided there was any left after you ate a slice or two with a sprinkle of salt). You go out to your garden and you pick handfuls of the ripest, yummiest cherries, yellow pears, and purple Cherokees out there (you pick a few extra to eat on the way back to the house).

Pick your tomatoes when they are red (or whatever color they are supposed to be) and firm. Those you don't eat fresh off the vine can be stored in a cool place (optimally 60°F) -- that is, not in the refrigerator and not in a plastic bag.

If, on that rare occasion in the winter, frost threatens and there are a dozen or so still-green tomatoes on the vine, go ahead and pick them, wrap them loosely in newspaper or a brown paper bag (not plastic!) and store them in a cool, dark, dry place. Better: fry them up at once! Fried green tomatoes take the sting out of having to pull up your tomato plants.

Storing Fruits and Veggies So They'll Keep

This post is also available at The Swanson Family Web Site: dcs1225.com

The average American household throws out almost 500 pounds of spoiled produce every year. That's a huge waste considering that the produce-gone-bad is about one-seventh of the food the average family buys.

That's a lot of brown-black bananas, wilted spinach, and mushy peaches! If we could keep these items fresher a little longer, we might not have to throw out so much.

Chemistry is part of the answer. No, not more preservatives--we have way too many of those in our food supply already. If we learn some important aspects of the natural chemistry of the produce we keep, and make storage arrangements accordingly, we'll have more time to be able to use more of what we store.

Our Anna Apples

Like all other living things, fruits and vegetables breathe. Respiration continues long after harvest. Some produce gives off ethylene gas, a ripening agent, while others are sensitive to it. Those sensitive to it will "over-ripen" quickly in its presence. If you put ethylene producing apples in a drawer with ethylene-sensitive kale, the kale will yellow and wilt almost overnight. One thing we can do to help keeping everyone happy in the fridge is to keep the two groups away from each other--the ethylene-makers on one side and the ethylene-sensitives on the other.

Temperature also has an effect on the longevity of produce as well. Typically, the warmer the air, the faster the decay. Respiration is slower the lower the temperature. But slowing respiration too much is not a good thing. If you keep your produce in an air-tight bag, it will suffocate and spoil all the faster. 

Also, just as some produce is ethylene-sensitive, some is cold-sensitive--refrigeration will ruin them. Potatoes, onions, winter squash, and garlic, for example will last much longer in cool (not cold), dark, dry conditions.

KEEP THESE ETHYLENE PRODUCERS COOL

Apples
Apricots
Blueberries
Cantaloupe
Grapes
Green onions
Honeydew
Mushrooms

 

KEEP THESE ETHYLENE PRODUCERS OUT OF THE COLD

Avocados
Bananas, unripe
Nectarines
Peaches
Pears
Plums
Tomatoes

KEEP THESE FRUITS AND VEGGIES AWAY FROM ALL ETHYLENE PRODUCERS

Asparagus
Bananas, ripe
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Chard

Cauliflower
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Kale
Kiwi fruit
Lettuce
Leafy Greens

Parsley
Peas
Potatoes
Spinach
Squash
Sweet potatoes
Watermelon


Sources: http://www.nysipm.cornell.edu/organic_guide/stored_fruit_veg.pdf

June in the Garden

Replenish mulches around plants; it reduces weeds, conserves moisture, and prevents disease.

Work compost into beds, then plant fall crops of peppers and eggplant.

Direct-seed collards and tomatoes for fall harvest.

Continue to plant vegetables and herbs -- cantaloupes, corn, cucumbers, okra, peanuts, southern peas, summer squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and bush beans. Also plant basil, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary and thyme and other heat-lovers. Continue planting sweet corn in small blocks, every 2 weeks for continuous harvest through fall.

Thin fruit on trees early in the month, after June drop; mulch root area with a thin layer of compost, topped with 3 inches of organic mulch.
    
Look for slow-moving bugs in the cool of the morning; hand-pick them, then dust below the plants with diatomaceous earth (be sure to use a dust mask so you don't inhale the dust).

Water plants in the morning so they don't become susceptible to fungus and insect infestation.

Stop watering onions and garlic grown for bulbs when leaves being to turn yellow. Dig bulbs when tops have fallen over and place in a shady, well ventilated area to cure.

Wash fruit trees periodically with a forceful spray of water to remove dust, honeydew and pests like aphids, whiteflies and spider mites.

Kill pests and disease in vacant beds by covering moist soil with clear plastic for several weeks.

Harvest your summer vegetables as soon as they are ready. Don't let them rot and drop to the ground. This can bring insects and disease. See our harvest guide.

Prune back perennial herbs like rosemary. Continue to harvest as herbs mature.

Continue to feed avocado and citrus trees. Check for pests and diseases. Irrigate as needed to maintain adequate soil moisture.  Watch for chlorosis (yellowing of the leaves between the veins, a sign of iron deficiency). Feed with a good iron supplement such as Ironite.   

Fertilize Plumeria with a low nitrogen fertilizer. Plant new or re-pot plants to replace old soil with a fresh mix.

When is Sweet Corn Ready to Pick?

How do you tell when your sweet corn is ready to harvest?  When will it have the best flavor and texture? It doesn't matter what variety of sweet corn it is, whether yellow, white, or bi-color, the test for ripeness is the same.

First, the ear of corn will fill out on the stalk. Once the ears begin to fill out, the silk at the top of the ear will begin to dry and turn brown. When you see this browning begin, peel back the husk to see if there are plump kernels inside. Press open a plump kernel with your thumbnail. If the fluid is clear, it is not time to harvest this ear. Put the husk back in place and secure it in place with twine or a rubber band if necessary. If the fluid is milky, it is time to pick. If the liquid is white and thick, the ear is over ripe.

Before you pick any ears, however, go put a pot of water on the stove and while it's coming to a boil go out and harvest your ears of corn, shuck them, and cut off the stems and any bad tips. Bring them into the kitchen, rinse them if you need to, and put them in the pot as soon as it comes to a boil. Just when the water comes back to a boil, pull out those sweet ears and enjoy the best corn you'll ever taste!


My grandfather used to say that you wait a few days after the silks turn brown to start checking for ripeness. Don't wait more that three or four days, though, because you want the corn in the pot at peak ripeness. That is, before the too much of the sugar in the kernels turns to starch.(milky vs. white liquid).



It helps also to know the variety of corn, the date you planted it and the days to harvest from that planting, so you know when to start watching the corn more closely for signs of ripeness.

If you plant an open pollinated variety, and you happen to let an early, nice looking ear of corn go past ripeness, let it continue to ripen and then dry on the stalk until about a month after your your corn harvest is done. After the husks turn brown, remove them from the plant and put them in a cool dry place, out of direct sun light. Once they are completely dry you can store them in a cool dry place until next year for seed.

New to Real Food?

10 Tips for Real Food Newbies

 If you’re just starting out, just learning and baby-stepping away from packaged and boxed foods into a diet based on wholesome, natural traditional foods, those first few weeks (months? years?) can feel daunting at best, and completely impossible at worst. It’s hard, especially if you were raised on Lean Cuisine, Pop Tarts and Crystal Light. Never mind the conflicting information in the media. . .
Read more at
NourishedKitchen .com

Making Your Own Cultured & Fermented Foods

Save Money Making Your Own Cultured & Fermented Foods

Times are tough and we are all looking for ways to shrink our grocery budget while still providing our family with delicious real food. It is possible to feed your family nutrient dense cultured foods on a budget! The secret is to make your own.

Making your own cultured and fermented foods at home is easy, quick, and can save you 30% to 97% over the grocery store.   More at Cultures for Health

Muscovies

One of our Muscovy ducks recently hatched a brood of eleven ducklings!

Muscovies are excellent livestock for backyard homesteading, mini-farming purposes.

While they are often referred to as a duck, they aren’t related to the Mallard like the other domestic duck breeds. They have some characteristics of ducks, but are also similar to geese. They don't take to deep water like ducks, though they enjoy having plenty of water to wash in. Like other waterfowl they need water deep enough to submerge their nostrils and eyes to keep them clean. Like ducks, they like to mix their food with water--what a mess in the brooder pens. Muscovies are South American birds that like to roost in trees at night, and have fairly sharp claws that enable them to do so. They're not strong flyers, but they have no trouble clearing our five- and six-foot fences, if we don't remove the flight feathers from one wing.

One thing is for certain, Muscovies are much quieter than either our ducks or our geese. In fact they make no sound except for a rare, short "peep" and a warning "hiss." This is a good animal to have in a close neighborhood. Muscovy drakes weigh up to about 15 pounds and ducks weigh about half of that. They come in a variety of colors, and in our experience color of the offspring is not dependent on the color of the parents.

Muscovies are grazers like geese and a large part of their diet at our place comes from good forage--weeds in the margins of the yard and in the lawn, and the lawn itself. We haven't mowed our back lawn since March of last year, just before our water fowl arrived. They keep it mowed. Their droppings dissolve right into the lawn with a good rain, a decent run of the sprinklers, or a blast from the hose. Lawn mowed, fertilized and watered--just like that. Like ducks, they’ll happily clean up food wasted by other animals and they love live worms, slugs, earwigs, flies and mosquitoes. Our little ducklings have been hunting flies since the day they hatched.

Our Muscovies and other water birds take cover at night under our dwarf citrus trees (the branches hang fairly close to the ground). Other simple housing (a portable pen, a shed) offers protection from predators.

Muscovies are said to set clutches of between 8 and 20 eggs, three or four times per year. Ours are on track for those numbers. We have a drake and two ducks. One duck has started a clutch of eggs, but none hatched (35 days is the incubation period). We have an incubator we have used for chickens and our Campbell ducks and are planning to use it for our geese (although right now our goose, Buttercup, is sitting on a clutch of about 20).  If a hen, duck, or goose hatches its own brood, she'll provide warmth for the hatchlings. We don't have to provide a brooder. The offspring are more likely to hatch and brood their own if they had been brooded by their mother. So we resist using the incubator unless it becomes obvious after a few tries that the mama will not sit on her eggs long enough for them to hatch.

Anecdotal evidence indicates that Muscovies are usually better mothers than other ducks and that it’s best to keep the drakes separate from the ducklings. They may sometimes unintentionally trample ducklings. Our drake, Socks, however is a great dad. He will stand watch as mama duck and the ducklings eat. When they have eaten, he will take his turn. We do keep our ducklings and mama in a pen at night to keep them safe from predators.

We supplement our ducklings with a chick starter After a few weeks, the ducklings can be switched to a chicken grower feed, although ours will have access to all the tender grass and weeds they want. At about 4 months they'll be ready to harvest, especially if we supplement with a grower feed.

Muscovies have less fat than Mallard-type ducks. The breast on a Muscovy is large and almost fat-free. We think it tastes very much like beef. In fact, cooked properly and served with a little horseradish sauce, it is reminiscent of prime rib. The darker meat of the Muscovy tastes more like chicken. (Doesn't everything taste more or less like chicken?)