our homestead: mysterious discovery

While weeding around my garlic patch this morning, pulling up big clumps of chickweed to give to the Muscovys, I accidentally pulled this up! A morel mushroom! My first thought was, "No way! This has to be a frozen morel I tossed in the compost by mistake!", but sure enough, after digging around under the chickweed I found its little stump in the ground. I have a few theories as to why this mushroom is in my garlic patch. 1) I used some cardboard to mulch this area while I was expanding my planting bed, so perhaps one box was from a case of morel mushrooms and some spores or mushroom fragments remained, or 2) There's something present in this soil that's conducive to morel growth, whether it be all of the straw and alfalfa I've worked into my bed or rotting wood hidden below. Last summer I did try to cultivate a morel patch under one of my old apple trees by starting a small log on fire at its base and then scattering morel bits all around the log and into the soil, working ashes deep below. I've read that morels love growing on the root networks of hardwood trees, especially old apple trees, and that they often show up after there's been a forest fire. So peculiar. I didn't eat this mushroom, as it could be a false morel. But I'm pretty sure it was edible! I buried it under my apple tree. In any case, this must mean that it's starting to be morel season, so if anyone is a good picker, I'd get on out there and look.

our homestead: Brussel sprouts and Banjo

I was so busy with the last of the growing season and other adventures and projects that I haven't had the time to post a blog in a quite while. Finally things are starting to settle out a little more for me as we head further into the chilly part of autumn (we had our first frost a few days ago...brrr). Some quick updates: I finished the 2011 farmers market season on October 2nd with a subaru full of produce to deliver to the co-op (literally...full..you should have seen me driving down the road), my husband and I hopped on a plane on October 4th and spent two weeks on the Garden Isle of Kauai in celebration of our 1 year wedding anniversary (mmm lots of fresh tropical produce at the farmers market there!), I returned the 18th and had a festive rest of the month including running around the Bob's Corn corn maze, pressing my own hot cider from the wild orchard across the road, baking pumpkin whoopie pies using my own homegrown pumpkins and hosting a Sleepy Hollow themed Halloween party. My husband and I even planted our second crop of garlic using our own garlic seed (e.g. the wedding garlic).

As far as other announcements, we just added a new member to our family. His name is Banjo and we've been calling him an "Arlington Shepherd" as he came from Arlington, WA. We believe he is has an assortment of dog breeds in him including rottweiler, corgi and labrador. It took us three days to name him. My husband wanted to name him Hendo, I wanted to name him Huckleberry...and we settled on Banjo. It fits him. He's a mischievous little fellow who likes to howl and take super-man jumps from the couch. Currently he's afraid of walking downstairs but can scamper up them in a jiffy. Our other dog, Oswald, has been having a blast since we brought home a new brother for him.

Anyway, as far as the state of my garden is concerned, I'm still enjoying kohlrabi, spinach, sunchokes and kale from out back...as well as tomatoes in the greenhouse! I'm sure the tomatoes won't last long with these frosty mornings we've started having. I harvested all of my pumpkins and have been baking all sorts of cookies and breads and I made a batch of pumpkin chili the other night for supper. Today, I went to investigate my brussel sprouts and it appears they are in full swing. I'll have to plant more next year to sell perhaps! I harvested enough for dinner tonight. I'll be making baked macaroni with brussel sprouts and broccoli from Five Acre Farm. Good comfort food for a chilly autumn evening.

DIY almanac: saving tomato seeds for later planting

My husband and I have been harvesting tomatoes left and right and have been enjoying tomato inspired meals everyday- tortilla soup with big chunks of tomato, open-faced grilled cheese sandwiches with green tomato slices, little slider burgers stuffed with shredded purple carrot and onions with giant slabs of brandywine tomatoes and beet greens, classic basil and mozzerella caprese salads, scrambled tomatoes and farm fresh eggs...I might have to make tomatoes stuffed and baked with bacon, chopped onions and bread crumbs tonight. Oh baby!

Anyway, if they don't just get tossed into the cook pot, I've been trying to save as many of my tomato seeds as possible from the really nice tomatoes I harvest (any big, colorful "perfect-looking" tomatoes or tomatoes with cool features). That way, next February, I can start tomatoes from my own homegrown seeds. Saving these seeds should produce hardier plants next year and the year after since the parent plants had to acclimate to Western Washington weather conditions. My original seed packets came from California, so I'll be creating my own Washington genetic version, which should increase my yield for years to come.

This is really a big part of heirloom creation. For example, I've been saving seeds from my really, really big pink brandywine tomatoes. Next year, when I grow these plants, most of their offspring should exhibit this size, and I'll select, again for the biggest brandywines for seed storage, perpetuating this giant trait. I haven't researched tomato cross-pollination too much this year, though my tomato plants did get a little mixed up in the greenhouse, so I do have a few tomatoes that look as though they are mixed between pink brandywine and evegreen. I'll probably save some of their seeds, though since they are more of a hybrid, I'm not sure what I'll get next year with them, but that adds to the fun and the mystery. One of my goals is to create a few of my own heirlooms to pass on to the next generations of my family.

There are a few different routes one can go down in regards to the tomato seed saving process. The biggest concern for tomato seed saving is removing the enzyme that coats the outside of the seeds (the goo around the seeds). This enzyme actually prevents the seeds from germinating within the fruit, and traditionally the enzyme is removed via fermentation. The seedy goop of a tomato is scooped out and dropped in a glass and then filled with water. Usually plastic wrap is placed over the glass and the glass sits in a warm place for a few days, until the goop rotts off of the seeds. Then, when mold starts to appear, the seeds are rinsed through a fine mesh sieve and then laid out to dry.

I usually follow some of these steps, though I'm a little too impatient to wait a few days and allow something to rott on my window. My method involves most of the same steps. I'll take the goop out of my tomato and then rinse the seeds as much as I can using a fine mesh sieve, then I'll let the seeds sit in a glass of water for 24 hours. The seeds that sink are the most viable seeds, whereas the floaters are immature seeds, so I'll skim off the floaters after my 24 hour period. Then, I'll pour the seeds into my sieve once more and rinse and scrub them with a little baking soda or natural dish soap and a small brush. Usually I can buff away the remaining enzyme. I'll then set my seeds out on a piece of brown paper and let them air dry. When they're ready, they'll go into small, labeled glass jars and will be hidden away in a cool, dark cabinet for starting next winter.

our homestead: my first heirloom tomato harvest

This has been a rough year for tomatoes. It's been cold and wet; two factors that contribute to sluggishly slow growth and blight. Despite the weather, I was somehow blessed with baskets full of heirloom tomatoes, right from our little-greenhouse-that-could. These are the same tomatoes that I started from seed on my windowsills last winter, grown in dismal February light and then transplanted out into a frigid spring. I've been picking all sorts of tomatoes, including: yellow pear, black prince, sweet 100 cherries, evergreen (the middle photo) and pink brandywine (the bottom photo). Last night my husband and I enjoyed baked macaroni with bacon and heirloom tomatoes and today calls for BLT's with big slabs of tomato and smashed avocado. I've got a bunch of large, old mason jars, gifted to me from my Oma, running through the dishwasher at this very moment, as I plan on getting my can-on before work. Today I'll be canning stewed tomatoes (using our own homegrown celery, onions and garlic) and salsa. In the winter months we'll be able to roast chicken and potatoes with a jar of our stewed tomatoes, or snack on chips and tangy salsa. We are so lucky to have this bounty!

DIY almanac: what to plant in the garden in July

July is a very busy and very rewarding month for vegetable gardening. This year we've had a long, cold spring but I'm hoping that summer is here at last. According to the forecast we're supposed to have 10 straight days of sunshine, so I've been working hard outside to take full advantage of the light, doing more intensive-weeding, feeding my already established plants and sowing lots of seeds (mainly beans and winter squash) in preparation for growth. It's funny because every time we have a sunny day I swear my Hop vines grow half a foot! Along with the work I've been enjoying lots of homegrown peas, potatoes, cucumbers, kale, turnips, early onions and more at my dinner table.

Anyway, a big part of planning for July planting is considering when the next major killing frost will be and how this compares to the length of time it will take for vegetables to mature (usually noted on seed packets in days unless you've memorized the planting rhythms). Last year, the earliest frost we had was in late October...I remember this because I made the mistake of leaving some of my harvested sugar pie pumpkins out on the porch. The frost hit them and they became mushy. Sad story. At least this was after I had had the chance to make a few batches of pumpkin chili, a pie, bread and "pumpkins stuffed with everything good" (a recipe I heard on NPR), so I did get to enjoy most of them.

Another planting consideration to make is to anticipate what kind of weather we'll have from July through October. Most vegetables can be planted and grown now, but some might not do as well with the raising temperatures. Potatoes, for instance, prefer a long, cold start and are usually best planted around the end of March. I've heard of folks having some success planting them late, but I suspect that yields won't be as much as they could be. However, one should consider that we've had a funky spring, so maybe planting potatoes now could be like a game of catch-up. Peas are another crop that are usually planted in early spring. I have heard of people planting a second crop for fall. Yields, again, might not be as good as the prior crop, but if anything, you're building up the nitrogen in your planting space and controlling weed growth, so the peas are acting like a green manure. Pea vines are also delicious sauteed in a hot pan. If lettuces, spinach, and arugula get too hot, they'll bolt (go to seed), but it's good to throw them in the garden anyway. I usually try to put them on the shadier side of my garden, or plant them as living "row covers" between plants like squash and corn.

In early July you'll want to plant the following:

-beans! get them in now

-corn (it's a little later to plant corn, but we have had a weird spring and some local farmers have had to replant their corn too)

-winter squash (pumpkins, delicata, acorn, spaghetti...I'm holding sugar pie pumpkin seeds in the photo above)

-second-crops of summer squash (like zucchini, patty pan, crookneck, etc)

-salad greens, chard

-root crops like beets, carrots and parsnips

In mid July you'll want to plant the following:

-cabbage family members like kohlrabi, cauliflower, broccoli and kale for overwintering (a touch of frost makes them taste extra sweet)

-arugula, spinach