Let there be life

Hey Guys,

Sorry I have been absent lately... not because of lack of interest but because I have been making life happen on the plants!

I just ate my first Tomato that grew entirely inside (gotta love being the manual Bee). I have approx a dozen so far. I have put a few plants out on the fire escape although they aren't having as much luck as my self groomed Tomatoes. Bring on the paint brush technique.

I also have been having success with the lovely Cayenne peppers as you can see from the photos...

I hope everyone is having just as much success... oh and the last photo is just for fun... a small batch of my ever growing parsley drying.

Cheers

tara

Flowering Herbs? Make pesto

So your herbs might have started to flower (especially the perennials) and you will want to try and pick off the flowers before they bloom. In general, you should try to pinch back your herbs fairly often, to encourage new, bushy growth.
If you're not using enough herbs in your meals to keep up, try making some pesto and freezing it for the winter. You can freeze pesto in ice cube trays (the chunks are so handy to use! Just freeze in the trays and then when frozen, transfer to a plastic freezer bag) or in ziploc bags (even frozen, pesto is pretty easily cut up as the oil prevents it from freezing really hard). Use fresh herbs, and try to use a good quality, extra-virgin olive oil that has ideally been cold pressed.

FRESH BASIL PESTO - makes 1 cup

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 - 3 cups basil leaves
• 1/2 cup pine nuts or other raw nuts or seeds (like walnuts, sunflower seeds, almonds or cashews)
• 2 medium cloves of garlic
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup hot filtered water

Methodology:

• Wash the basil, remove the stems and put it in a food processor with the nuts/seeds, garlic, salt and pepper. Pulse a few times to break up and combine the ingredients
• Add the oil and water, then process until the pesto is a coarse paste

This will store in your fridge for up to a week, or freeze it (most recipes say it will last up to four months, but this week I used up the final servings of last year's batch and it was still delicious).

DILL PESTO (a great dip for fresh veggies) - makes 1 cup

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 chopped parsley
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh dill
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp chopped organic lemon rind, scrubbed
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 tsp lemon juice

Methodology:

• In the food processor or blender, process the garlic and lemon rind until minced. Add the parsley and dill, then process until finely minced, stopping to scrape down the sides of the container periodically.
• With the motor still running, slowly add the oil and blend until a smooth paste is formed. Blend in the lemon juice.
• Store in the fridge, or freeze in either 1/4 cup servings or ice cube trays

GREEN PEPPER PESTO (great on pasta) - makes 1 1/4 cups

Ingredients:

• 2 green peppers, seeded and quartered
• 1 cup fresh basil
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese (sheep variety)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic

Methodology:

• Blanch the green pepper in boiling water or steam for 5 minutes
• Drain, and transfer to the food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients.
• Process until smooth.
• Store in the fridge, or freeze.

Rosemary Pesto (another great one for pasta, or chicken) makes 1/2 cup

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup fresh oregano leaves
• 2 Tbsp fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 Tbsp grated orange rind (only if organic)
• 1 cup chopped scallions or green onions
• 1/4 tsp red-pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar

Methodology:

• Put the garlic, oregano, rosemary and orange rind (if using) in the processor and pulse a few times to mix and break down. Scrape down the sides.
• With the motor running, add the scallions / green onions and pepper flakes, then the oil and vinegar. Scrape down the sides again, and then continue pulsing until the rosemary is well minced and the mixture has formed a paste.
• Store in the fridge or freeze.

If you want to freeze veggies...

... you need to think about blanching.
Blanching is basically taking the produce and boiling it or steaming it BRIEFLY so that the enzymes in the produce that encourage decomposition are inactivated. As soon as the veggies are picked, these enzymes start to break down the vitamins and sugars in the produce. This process isn't halted by freezing, it's just slowed down. So, you can freeze some perfect green beans and open them up a month later only to discover they are pale, mushy and slightly gross.
To stop this deterioration, you need to blanch the produce. It's a simple process: you get some water boiling and either briefly boil or steam SMALL, manageable portions of the veggies for a very short time (each vegetable has a suggested time limit - more on that in a minute). Then you take that batch and transfer it to a bowl or pot of ICY COLD water (which stops the cooking process). Drain the veggies, pat dry and when they're pretty much dry you put them into your freezer bags for freezing.
Blanching definitely improves the taste, texture and smell of frozen products. It also makes frozen veggies last a lot longer in your freezer. They retain their 'just-picked' colour, and more importantly they retain more of their nutritional value. Blanched veggies retain their Vitamin A (lost when frozen without blanching) and also minimizes the loss of the B Vitamins and Vitamin C.
Any vegetable that is cooked or preserved (as opposed to eaten fresh) will lose some of its nutritional value in the cooking. But blanching your veggies before freezing makes sure that you aren't losing any nutrients in the PRESERVATION. So, you might lose some vitamin content when blanching, and perhaps a bit more when cooking them later in the winter (unless they are cooked as part of something else such as frozen corn in chili or beans in soup where the vitamins get absorbed into the cooked meal) but this loss is not much different than the losses experienced in cooking fresh produce. The point is that at least the veggies aren't losing nutrients while sitting in your freezer.
I prefer to steam blanch my vegetables (I only steam veggies for cooking, too, as I feel that they lose less of the nutrients than they do in boiling water). I have a stainless steel steamer that sits in my pots over an inch or two of water. I don't find steam blanching to take any more time than boiling, and I think that the veggies retain better colour when they're steamed.
In either process, you will need some kind of strainer to get the veggies out of the hot water / steam and then transfer them to the ice bath (which is basically a pot of cold water with ice cubes in it, although there are more complicated ways to make one). If you're doing a few batches, you need to check the temperature of the ice bath and add more cold water when the water gets too warm (the point of the ice bath is to halt the cooking process so you want to drop the temperature of the veggies quickly).
You can freeze veggies in plastic container (washed yogurt containers, for example) or in freezer bags. I prefer freezer bags because I can press most of the air out, so I find that I get fewer ice crystals on my produce once they're frozen. Once the contents are thawed and dumped out, I wash the bags in the laundry machine and reuse them, so they're less wasteful than they might otherwise be. Lable the stuff... it's surprising how similar frozen green things can look in the freezer.
When it comes time to use your frozen veggies, remember that since they've been blanched, they are already partially cooked. You will need a lot less time to cook them after they're thawed than you would fresh veggies.

Blanching times for easy-to-freeze vegetables:

• Beans (green and yellow): Steam blanch for 3-4 minutes or boil for 2-3
• Carrots (cut into 1/4" cubes or slices): Steam for 4 minutes or boil for 2
• Carrots (larger chunks): Steam for 5 min or boil for 3
• Corn (whole cobs): Blanch 3 at a time. Steam or boil for 7 - 11 minutes, depending on size
• Corn (kernals): Blanch on the cob, 3 at a time. Steam for 6 minutes or boil for 4. Cool cobs, then cut kernals off the cob.
• Peas (green): Steam for 2 minutes or boil for 1 1/2 minutes.
• Peas (snap or snow): Steam for 3 minutes or boil for 2
• Peppers (hot or sweet): Steam or boil for 2 minutes (although this is one vegetable that doesn't have to be blanched)
• Squash or pumpkin (cut up) Steam or bake until completely cooked
• Tomatoes: can be frozen like fruit

A lot of other vegetables can be frozen, but these are the most common (and suitable) vegetables for freezing.

Plan on freezing your veggies as soon as possible after you buy them (and ideally as soon as possible after they are picked). You will find that, generally speaking, the produce that you buy at a Farmer's Market (or farm gate itself) will be a lot fresher than anything you'd buy in the supermarket. So if you're planning on putting some veggies down, go to the Farmer's Market early, grab whatever you like that looks fresh and tasty, bring it home and freeze it right then (but make sure you leave yourself some for dinner).

Fresh vegetables (with the exception of root vegetables like carrots, parsnips, potatoes, and to some extent beets) are obviously out of season during our long Canadian winters. If you are in the mood to eat beans in January, therefore, you are looking at either buying fresh beans (grown in California or Mexico or Chili or China, under who-knows-what conditions) that are very expensive, or frozen vegetables (which, if you buy them at your supermarket, may have been grown in China or California or New Zealand). Vegetables that are frozen when they are fresh are a VERY healthy choice, especially when compared to veggies that were picked unripe, transported in ripening gas, and left to sit on a display stand for days. By freezing your own (or at least part of) your winter needs in terms of vegetables, you will know where your food came from (and who handled it) and you will be able to have delicious veggies during the dark, cold months. Plus, you'll have the satisfaction of independence and self-reliance.

Not so bad!

Hi again! I'm very happy to report that most of my little crop is salvageable! I just hope we get a chance to cage the little darlings in before anything else happens to them. As I was returning from an outing today, I saw the little Bambi who probably is the culprit. Onward and upward!
Cheers, Momma xoxo

Anti-critter cages

Reading Northern Momma's posting about her future meals being turned into critter food reminded me about Mel Bartholomew's ("Square Foot Gardening") suggestion that we build cages for our plants (in his mind he's thinking about rabbits, squirrels and birds). I thought I'd comment about cages, and offer up a deluxe version to protect against deer.

CAGES
Chicken wire is an easy material to use for the making of cages. It is easily cut (wear gloves, and use either wire cutters or metal cutters) and then formed into a cage (or collar) shape. You can fashion chicken wire into any shape, and by bending it, maintain that shape. The raw edges can be twisted around any other part of the cage so that it remains fastened. You can't get your hand through chicken wire, so you would need to remove it when you want to weed or harvest from your plant. But it's readily available (Home Depot carries it) and so easy (but scratchy) to work with that it's worth the effort once it's around your plant. Just make sure that you make it big enough to be free of the plant... you don't want your plant to grow in through the holes so that you can't lift the cage off. Because chicken wire comes in rolls, you could easily build a cage big enough to encompass both the plant and it's container, if you're container gardening. It would be simple enough to build a cone, collar or box shape - just make sure you add a lid.
If raccoons or deer are your pest, you want to make the cage big enough that neither the deer's nose nor the raccoon's clever hands can reach through to the plant.

You could also use other kinds of fencing ( some have big enough links to allow your hand through, but that might allow a raccoon's paw or more deer nose access), but chicken wire is cheap, easy and reusable. (Chicken wire also makes a serviceable structure to use for compost).

AN IDEA FOR A PLANT COOP
If you're trying to grow a significant crop (container or in beds) I was thinking of a variation on a chicken coop, to keep your predators away. Basic chicken coops are wooden frames (using 2'x4's) that support... you guessed it... chicken wire. The coops are high enough to allow humans to walk into, and big enough to allow the chickens to get some good foraging in.
In thinking about the demise of Northern Momma's future dinner, I wondered about making a plant coop - a sort of see-though building over either containers or garden bed - which would allow the gardener to get into the structure and tend to their crops, but would prevent any critter from getting close enough.
So here is the thought:
Build a wooden frame (as if building a shet) of any easy dimension: 4(w) x 8(l) x 8(h) or 4(w) x 8(l) x 6(h). The basic dimensions would be high enough to allow you to stand up in the coop (or almost stand up), be wide enough to give you plenty of space around your plants (including the ability to kneel if need be) and long enough to enclose all your plants. If you were container gardening, you would run your containers down the centre of the coop, and if you were building it over a garden bed it would enclose the row down the middle.
Once you have the frame built, you would use chicken wire to enclose it. Don't forget to leave a door! The chicken wire isn't overly expensive, and is easy to mold over any frame.
Make sure you have a way to latch your entrance - raccoons are remarkably crafty.
Building this would definitely take an afternoon, and a bit of money. But it would safeguard your plants! And if you thought it was too ugly, you could decorate it with windchimes and whirlygags, or hang baskets from the 'roof'.
You could build the structure in any dimension, so that it could work anywhere on your property.
Keeping the raccoons and deer away from your food might be worth the effort... or it might just be a worthwhile experiement. Just make sure to take a picture and post it here!

Sadly, after a month of watching our peas and beans thrive and blossom, we arrived home last night after a 2-day getaway to find them all eaten! It was something I was expecting but hoping wouldn't happen; the deer and the antelope play and that's just the way it is in North Country. So sorry, Mel!

Love, Momma xoxo

Tornados & Peas

Last week a little tornado touched down about 20 minutes away from our house. The winds that whipped around our place caused chaos on our patio. The tomato plants in the raised beds fared all right (thankfully I had tied them up again earlier in the day) but the peas in the raised bed alongside the deck and the tomatoes in containers got totally beaten up. During the crazy winds (which lasted about a 1/2 hour) those tomatoes were blown over almost horizontally. I checked them out later, and was relieved to find that none of them had broken off. I tied them off to the lattice, hoping to pull them upright again, but only a Bony Best has managed to straighten out. The rest are still bent over horizontally, but now the tips are growing upward so that they are almost "L" shaped. At least none of the flowers were blown off, and the Bony Best even has small tomatoes now. It's amazing how strong and resiliant their stems are!
My peppers aren't doing well at all. I have 2 plants that have flowers, but the rest just seem to be sulking that the weather has been wet and not all that warm. I read that you can encourage fruit by placing a plastic container around the plant - anything big enough to surround the plant but with an open top so that it doesn't overheat or miss out on rain. I've been thinking of trying that with a couple of the plants, to see if that kick starts them into action.

Finally, a note about peas. When I planted my pea plants (24 plants in all) I had visions of overflowing pea pods, waiting to be frozen for winter. Clearly I've never grown peas before. I'm consistantly harvesting a handful of peas (mostly snap or sugar) - almost daily, I guess. And there are lots of flowers still. But what I pull off I either eat right there (so good) or I did freeze about 15 snaps, just to remember one winters night that I once had fresh peas. Otherwise, there is definitely NOT enough for any kind of freezing. Note to self: if you want to freeze peas you need to grow probably 100 plants.
So yesterday I went to "Murphy's Pick Your Own" and bought 18 quarts of pre-picked shelling peas (big surprise it was raining, and so I didn't think I'd enjoy picking my own). I shelled them (while watching Jon & Kate Plus 8 reruns) then blanched and froze them. Out of 18 quarts (which was about $19), I got enough for probably 5 meals for 2 people. Not quite the bonanza that I had hoped for. Granted, I ate a lot as I shelled (and dropped quite a few on the floor as I processed them) but it made me realize I need to grow MUCH MORE next year (see Note to Self, above).
In my effort to stock up for the winter (and thereby be much more self-sufficient, not to mention less reliant on stuff from 'somewhere else') I've been learning about how much produce one needs if future meals are at stake. Our grandmothers and great-grandmothers (and their men, too) would have had to invest a significant amount of time growing food, to ensure that their families didn't starve over winter. They would have had to have a significant amount of land devoted to raising that food, and help in processing it. It really makes me appreciate how hard their lives must have been, in the days before refridgeration and supermarkets.
Since my grandmother (96 yrs) and great-aunt (92 yrs) won't ever read this, I called my grandmother today, to tell her how much I admire the fact that she and her sister still 'put down for winter' each year, and how much respect I've gained for how hard THEIR mom & dad must have worked, raising 8 kids on the farm. She laughed at me (it doesn't occur to her to imagine how easy it is for urban folk to get their food, provided they have money) and then told me how well her garden is already doing this year. I wonder if I'll be out weeding my garden when I'm 96. I should certainly know by then how many plants I'll need to get myself through the winter.