trail setters: mother's day on the tomato farm

For Mother's Day this year, I was lucky enough to spend some quality time on my folk's tomato farm with my mom, step-dad, brother, husband and a motley crew of dogs. My mom and step-dad have quite the professional setup this year: a long, cathedral-like greenhouse with raised, cinder block lined beds. I guess there are over 500 tomato plants growing on their site, not to mention the assortment of pepper plants they also have in the works. They'll be carting their homegrown goods to market in the coming months. Above, you'll see a photo of a little yellow flower. In time, this blossom will become a ripe, juicy tomato.

our homestead: farmers market season begins (and I transplanted my tomatoes!)

I worked my first farmer's market of the season today. I've peddled organic produce for the same Skagit Valley farmer for the past six summers. It's always special for me when market season starts- I get to return to my community of creative, industrious and earthy people. I started coming along to market with my mom when I was about ten or eleven years old, and used to help her sell her handmade goatmilk soap. If I was lucky I'd get $5.00 to spend as I ran around the grassy marketplace in my barefeet with my little brother. Such wonderful summer memories of spending time with my mom with a cold Cherry Bomb Special in hand (an amazing fizzy drink one of my favorite vendors used to make). My mom still comes to market, but she's had quite a lot more to sell these past few years, ever since starting the tomato farm. Along with her awesome goatmilk soap, she'll usually bring all sorts of tomatoes, cucumbers and garlic, dried lavender blossoms and jars of honey.

I've met so many interesting characters over the years...I figure someday I might have to write a book about it. There was the iron worker who was nearly seven feet tall (I'm sure he was only six feet, but when I was little he was ginormous). He had a thick, black beard and a big old belly and would show up to market with an assortment of iron garden art: big, metal black flowers, birds, vines, gates and the likes. To set up his wares he'd just toss them right out of the van, *crash* *clang* *clang* on top of each other. Then there's my favorite honey vendor who always comes to market with his portly australian shepherd (who loves pasta and cheeseburgers). This particular honeyman has a huge heart and a hearty cackle to top it off. He's always sharing stories of his younger years with me (like the time he lived in Panama) and sharing business advice. Right now he's learning how to produce his own Queen bees, and he also raises canaries and pigeons. And then there's the farmer I work for. Anyone who's met him knows he's quite the character. He's notorious for showing up late to market, but that's just because he always has the freshest produce (and probably the best). I definitely have to credit my sleuth with cooking vegetables, and my knowledge of weird heirlooms, to working for this guy. He's chalk full of the coolest recipes and really tries to bring something different to market such as several types of fingerling potato varieties, squash blossoms, wild mushrooms, pickle weed, huckleberries, golden raspberries, striped tomatoes, kohlrabi, celery root, purple basil, lemon sorrel, pink and white striped chioga beets, kale flowers, asian pears and so much more.

Anyway, my first market of the season rocked. My farmer brought along his family, so it was like a little reunion. His daughter even made us all vetch crowns (I'm wearing mine in the picture above). All of the customers seemed happy to see us, and excited to have good food in their neighborhood once more. This spring has been so cold that it was certainly a hopeful sight to see produce out on the tables: arugula, spinach, kale, radishes, leeks, spring garlic and onions, chives, cilantro, parsley, potatoes and plant starts.

Speaking of plant starts, I am also happy to announce that I was able to move out all of my tomato starts to my greenhouse today after the market (I'm holding one of my starts in the photo above). I was also able to plant celery, basil and pickling cucumber starts next to the tomatoes as well. I'll be sure to post a more detailed blog about my greenhouse setup in the the coming days. Now, I'm going to sit back and relax and enjoy some homemade rice pudding I was gifted by the Italian pasta vendor. What a good day!

DIY almanac: rhubarb pineapple jam

I'm fortunate to have a well-established "granny" rhubarb patch growing in my garden that returns year after year in spring (see the third picture above). When this stalky, sour vegetable (yes, rhubarb is a vegetable and is related to buckwheat and sorrel) appears, I start dreaming of rhubarb pies, sauces, cobblers and my favorite- jam! I made a strawberry rhubarb pie a week ago and I made pineapple rhubarb jam today. I'll share the recipe for the jam below, but first I want to write about rhubarb a little more because it's a pretty intriguing crop.

Rhubarb originally came from western China and was used for medicinal purposes up to 5000 years ago in the East. The plant made its way into Europe and the Romans named it after the barbarian lands wherein they had discovered it: near the River Rha in Scotland. Then, in the early 1800s, Rhubarb was brought to America. This was about the time that it really began having more of a culinary presence than medicinal. In fact, strawberry rhubarb tarts were popular in 1824.

Nutritionally, rhubarb is high in Vitamins A and C, potassium and fiber, and is said to have antioxidant effects due to its high polyphenol levels and it can apparently lower blood pressure. Some sources try to boast its high calcium content as well (more than milk), but the calcium in rhubarb is actually in the form of calcium oxalate, which counter-intuitively blocks calcium absorption. Though the stalks are safe to eat, oxalic acid is concentrated in the large, heart-shaped leaves of rhubarb and thus these are toxic.

Rhubarb is a very hearty perennial which will return each spring for up to 15 years (perhaps longer if it's well tended). Rhubarb prefers a soil pH in the 6.0-6.8 range with lots of organic matter worked in. Much like asparagus, you can plant either rhubarb seeds or crowns, but you cannot harvest stalks until the second year as rhubarb's first growing season helps it build up the energy needed to return. To keep a rhubarb plant producing stalks (or to encourage bumper crops), one should remove any flowers that form within the leaves (see the second picture above) as this means that energy is being diverted into seed production rather than stalks.

Now onto the jam! My local natural foods co-op had a post-Easter sale on pineapple, so I decided to try making a pineapple rhubarb jam, which came out a golden orange hue (almost like apricot jam) with a delicious, caramely and tart flavor. Here's my recipe and directions for making this delightful spring jam:

Ingredients

4 cups chopped rhubarb

4 cups chopped pineapple

5 cups granulated sugar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

6 ounces liquid pectin

Wash mason jars and lids in hot, soapy water or run through the dishwasher to sanitize. Prepare canning equipment (fill a stockpot with water and bring to a simmer, keep lids in a saucepan over a simmer, etc). Toss the rhubarb, pineapple and sugar into another stock pot and heat over medium, stirring to dissolve the sugar. When the sugar has fully melted, raise the heat to high and continue stirring the mixture for 30 minutes. About 15-20 minutes in, mash the mixture with a potato masher to get the best jam consistency. Keep stirring until you reach a rolling boil (a boil that keeps on going, even while you're stirring), then add the pectin. Boil and stir for 1-2 minutes, then remove your jam from the heat. Pour your jam into the jars, leaving about 1/4 an inch of head room, and wipe the rims with a clean cloth. Drop on your lids and screw on their bands, then carefully place in your other stockpot and raise the heat to high. Boil the jars for 10 minutes, remove, and allow them to rest on the counter. Delight in the little *pings* you'll hear as your jars officially seal and enjoy!

our homestead: surveying growth in a cold spring

Well, the sun decided to show itself today (finally!). What a glorious day it turned out to be- bright blue sky, big puffy mountains of clouds and a gorgeous pink and orange sunset (which I watched down on the riverbank with my dog). We've been having such a frigid spring this year. Last night's temperatures were 39 degrees Fahrenheit by my house and it tried to snow in a few spots, so I was very grateful for some sunshine today.

I spent my time outdoors starting the preparations needed for transplanting my tomatoes into my hoop house. Mainly, I have to finish ripping up the sod along the floor of the hoop house, and then I'll bring in compost and supplement the soil. Then I'll be able to direct transplant my starts into the earth. Luckily my hoop house will protect my starts from the cold (though the chill does slow the growing process).

While out and about in my yard I stopped to weed my potato and pea patch. Hooray! My sugar snap peas (bottom photo) are starting to shoot out of the soil. Not surprising since peas do fairly well in cooler climates. I also checked up on my garlic (which I planted in October), and all three varieties are growing quite well. Next year my garlic patch will become my vegetable patch and my garlic will be replanted in my current vegetable patch (right near the asparagus). I plan to do wider rows for my next garlic planting as well. Anyway, seeing that things are continuing to grow (albeit slowly) makes me hopeful for the growing season. I am chomping at the bit to plant some carrots and onions though!

DIY almanac: asparagus planting video

Here's a little video I made while planting my asparagus crowns. It shares a few basics of the planting procedure.

our homestead: planting asparagus crowns

I was visiting with my mom the other day when she informed me that our local nursery had $1.00 Jersey King and Sweet Purple asparagus crowns for sale. $1.00! Hot boy! That's a deal! The asparagus crowns I'd been dreaming about were retailing at around$7.00 each, thus about 30 minutes after she let me in on this great find I was at the nursery, digging through a tub of soil picking out the best 10 crowns of each variety. Such a steal...I felt like an asparagus vandal.

Asparagus is a ferny spring perennial which will last about 15 years, providing delicious crunchy spears at the very start of the growing season. The only catch- you have to let it establish itself in the first two to three years after planting it before you indulge. So, there's a bit of planning involved when you decide where you want to grow your asparagus. I chose a previously prepped, deep raised bed at the bottom of my hill that receives ample amounts of sunlight every day (asparagus loves sun!). I checked my soil about a month ago, it seemed I had a pH of about 6.5...asparagus prefers a pH range of 6.5-7.5 so before I planted my crowns I sprinkled a few handfuls of wood ashes along my bed in the hopes that it would help maintain a pH ideal for my little crowns. Asparagus crowns are really cool looking- they are essentially a clumpy bulb with several long rooty tendrils. If you hold two up under your nose they'll make an earthy mustache.

To plant the crowns I dug 20 holes, 6 inches deep and about 18 inches apart from one another. I've also heard that folks can dig a long, 6 inch trench, but I wanted to stagger my plants. I spread a few inches of homemade compost in the bottom of each hole and then gently set each crown into place, being sure to spread about all the roots as best I could. I then covered each crown with about 2 inches of soil, and as my asparagus spears emerge from the earth I'll hill soil up around them (much like you hill potatoes). I then mulched around my asparagus. Throughout the next few years I'll try to keep my crowns well-fed and weed free so that they might prosper and become a welcome friend at future springtimes.

 

DIY almanac: upcycled seed starting containers and where to find cool seeds

I nearly have a vegetable garden growing throughout the windowsills of my home: Pink Brandywine and Evergreen Tomatoes, Candy Onions, Merlot Lettuce, Agnes Pickling Cucumbers, African Marigolds, Red Sun and Russian Giant Sunflowers, Mammoth Dill, Long Island Brussel Sprout and more. Soon I'll be hardening off and transplanting my little starts outside, but in the meantime I wanted to write about some of my seed starting methods...mainly in regards to some alternative seed starting containers I've been using and where I find my seeds in the first place.

Anyway, one doesn't need to invest in peat pots or seed trays (though these are certainly handy) to successfully produce baby vegetables- most times there are perfectly functional seed starting trays in your very own household, just waiting to be repurposed. Basically anything that can be filled with a few inches of seed starting mix with good drainage will do. You can use old yogurt and Tupperware containers providing you punch a few holes in the bottom for excess water to escape."Sawed-off" milk cartons work great since their waxy coating helps to retain moisture. Of, if you stop by your local grocery or food co-op you might be able to find tomato, pepper, apple or pear flat boxes which come with a protective plastic or cardboard tray for the produce (with individual grooves for each fruit. These are great because you can easily fill these with starting mix, plant one seed per groove and then easily punch out your start from its container and transplant it, much like a fancier seeding tray. Also, in lieu of peat pots, grab yourself some simple cardboard egg cartons, fill them with your starting mix and plant those seeds (check out my cucumber starts above). When you're ready to transplant you can either push the starts out of the carton or you can simply pull the carton apart (per start) and directly plant the starts into the earth since the cartons will biodegrade quickly. If you directly plant the carton pots, it does help to make sure there's a hole or tear in the bottom of each, to make it easier for your starts' roots to acclimate to the soil.

Now the fun part! Seeds! I get so excited when my first round of seed catalogues show up, right about the time winter is winding down. My favorite seed catalogues come from Johnny's Seed Co, the Territorial Seed Company and Peaceful Valley. Their selection is always astounding, chalk full of heirlooms and organics, and I adore the plant photos and illustrations. Recently I discovered a seed company called the Kitazawa Seed Co (it's funny because they have been around since 1917) that specializes in Asian vegetable varieties. They have all sorts of cool and quirky seeds such as melons, greens, cabbages, gourds, turnips, beans, sesame, eggplant, water peppers, leeks, mibuna, mugwort and the likes. I ordered a few packs of seeds from them including Lunar White and Kyoto Red carrots, a dark-orange winter squash called Uchiki Juri and Harukei Turnips (yum!). I've also had some success searching for seeds at my local Cenex (farm co-op). They usually have a decent assortment of seed potatoes and onion sets. Often I find myself on the hunt for local seed exchanges as well, wherein folks can come and share and collect personal heirloom seeds. I'm considering organizing one myself...