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.