Sunday, September 19, 2010
Fall spinach, squash, and seeds
This photo reminds me of Bob Marley's song about three little birds beside his doorstep. These beautiful creatures are yellow finches and they've been hanging around my Italian white sunflowers, my Hopi red dye amaranth, and the cosmos flowers. All the flowers are heavy with seed and it is comical to watch the birds hang on to the stems while dangling to eat the seeds. My cats watch from under the picnic table for a chance to grab a non-mindful birdie.
The fall spinach I planted, Galilee and Long Standing Bloomdale, are about 4 inches high and I will likely be able to start picking in a week. The kale are doing really well too. The squash plants are busy trying to finish growing a few more squash. I planted a single pepper squash this year and it has yielded 6 large squash so far. I let one of the yellow zucchine grow 20 inches long in the hopes of saving some great seed for next year. I'll make yellow zucchini bread with what is left over.
Yesterday, I visited the Farmer's Market in Dorchester Ontario with my Dad, to check out what was offered. And what an amazing surprise! Ten pound bags of onions, carrots and beets for $2. For that price, I stocked up. I have a fairly cool basement, with a potato bin for onions, squash and potatoes, of course!
Lastly, I did use my dehydrator last week for my cherry tomatoes. I cut them in half and it took about 12 hours. I rotated the trays so they'd all dry out evenly. Five pounds of cherry toms became a single bag of tomato raisins. I am storing them in the freezer for good measure. I can toss them in soups and stews over the winter. My bottling efforts have yielded 18 quart-sized bottles of stewed tomatoes and herb sauce. I didn't do any salsa yet, as I figured sauce was more important.
This new photo on this blog was taken in my backyard with a zoomed in look at some of my zebra cherry tomatoes and onion bulbs. Thanks for reading!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Time to dry tomatoes, plan and save seed
It's been about ten days since my last blog posting, and I must say, the tomatoes keep coming. I've been saving them up in bowls on the kitchen table until there's enough to make a batch of sauce to bottle down. Now, it's the cherry tomatoes that I'm experiencing an onslaught of. I have 24 plants in total, but 7 of them are cherries. So, I finally went downstairs and found my dehydrator, and I am going to figure out how to use it. I always thought that the energy costs of running this piece of equipment for 24-36 hours wouldn't be worth it. We'll have to see. It's an older K-Tel model with 7 trays. Dried tomatoes do keep and are delicious if re-hydrated. Or, I can store them in olive oil with some other flavours such as, jalapeno, chili, or garlic. I'll share the outcome when the tomatoes become raisins.
I have also begun the process of sizing things up for the spring. I know that many gardeners sometimes just look to finishing off with the growing season and have a break. I am excited to begin the work of moving my rhubarb and to dig a few new spots for the spring. Bulbs go in now, and I am still working on the front lawn redesign. I would really like to cut my grass cutting in half, and to grow herbs, flowers and a few beautiful edible plants like kale and red swiss chard. A mix of sunflowers never hurt either.
The other half of my kitchen table is covered in seeds. I always feel wealthy when I look at containers of all shapes and sizes full of colourful seeds. It is one of my strategies to develop some kind of resiliency against the wobbly corporate world.
I've been reading several books and on-line articles that suggest that the world is much more at risk than we may realize. It's like the top we've been spinning, and now it is starting to slow down, is wobbling and could go right off the table. Now it is one thing if you don't follow or understand the effects of climate change, chemical exposure and bio-accumulation, soil degradation, water pollution, fossil fuel energy depletion, or nuclear waste. It is another, I believe, to not follow the economic realities that have come to pass from all these things occurring simultaneously. Most of us watch, listen to, or read the main stream news. It is here that we citizens are presented with what is going on. Unfortunately, the connections between things are often not made for us, and as we've become a largely intellectually dependent culture, all these events seem to be mere bullet points and not a flow chart.
Most of us are not in politically powerful positions of influence. But, one thing each of us can do...is to learn. Visit your public library. Learn about soil. Learn about your watershed. Learn where your water comes from, and where your waste goes. Watch documentaries. They can be your best investment of time and effort. Watch "Gasland", or "Dirt: The Movie", or "Food, Inc.", or "The Age of Stupid".
Learning can be a buffer against the noise of commercial distractions. Eat together, have a potluck or dinner party once a week. Drink locally made wine. Buy your meat and vegetables from a local farmer. Insulate your home. Take the bus everyday. Fix your appliances. Support your local pawn shop. Take your hazardous waste to the depot. Don't buy exotic pets - visit a shelter to find someone to love. Go for walks.
It's alot sometimes, but it is worth it. I'm happier for it.
I have also begun the process of sizing things up for the spring. I know that many gardeners sometimes just look to finishing off with the growing season and have a break. I am excited to begin the work of moving my rhubarb and to dig a few new spots for the spring. Bulbs go in now, and I am still working on the front lawn redesign. I would really like to cut my grass cutting in half, and to grow herbs, flowers and a few beautiful edible plants like kale and red swiss chard. A mix of sunflowers never hurt either.
The other half of my kitchen table is covered in seeds. I always feel wealthy when I look at containers of all shapes and sizes full of colourful seeds. It is one of my strategies to develop some kind of resiliency against the wobbly corporate world.
I've been reading several books and on-line articles that suggest that the world is much more at risk than we may realize. It's like the top we've been spinning, and now it is starting to slow down, is wobbling and could go right off the table. Now it is one thing if you don't follow or understand the effects of climate change, chemical exposure and bio-accumulation, soil degradation, water pollution, fossil fuel energy depletion, or nuclear waste. It is another, I believe, to not follow the economic realities that have come to pass from all these things occurring simultaneously. Most of us watch, listen to, or read the main stream news. It is here that we citizens are presented with what is going on. Unfortunately, the connections between things are often not made for us, and as we've become a largely intellectually dependent culture, all these events seem to be mere bullet points and not a flow chart.
Most of us are not in politically powerful positions of influence. But, one thing each of us can do...is to learn. Visit your public library. Learn about soil. Learn about your watershed. Learn where your water comes from, and where your waste goes. Watch documentaries. They can be your best investment of time and effort. Watch "Gasland", or "Dirt: The Movie", or "Food, Inc.", or "The Age of Stupid".
Learning can be a buffer against the noise of commercial distractions. Eat together, have a potluck or dinner party once a week. Drink locally made wine. Buy your meat and vegetables from a local farmer. Insulate your home. Take the bus everyday. Fix your appliances. Support your local pawn shop. Take your hazardous waste to the depot. Don't buy exotic pets - visit a shelter to find someone to love. Go for walks.
It's alot sometimes, but it is worth it. I'm happier for it.
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