Eating Local, Even When You're Not

Local, that is.  Preserving and canning some of our local produce, as well as supporting a CSA and growing our own food also contribute to our goal to eat this way.  Even the cats get to take advantage of the catnip we produce in our own back yard.  Recently we canned 4 bushels of field peas, varieties like Black Eyed, Conch, Zipper Cream and Purple Hulled Crowders.  We got these peas about an hour after they were harvested, and had them all canned by the end of the day.  It's hard work, made much easier by using our friend's commercial pea sheller. 

In the last few weeks we also traveled to Arizona, North Carolina and Georgia.  We managed to eat locally everywhere we went. Not every meal, but as many as we could, when we could. 





In Arizona, we went to Queen Creek Olive Mill and toured the orchard, garden and olive oil press room.  They grew a lot of veggies and herbs under shade cloth, and featured locally raised produce in their cafe along with the olive oil.  We had some olive oil cupcakes and gelato and brought some of their signature blend and chocolate olive oil back with us.

While in NC, we went berry picking at The Ten Acre Garden.  Actually, Jay, Dwain and Fonda went berry picking. I was sick and took pictures of everyone else picking.  Between us, we picked 4 quarts of raspberries and blackberries.  Jay made a pie with ours, and Fonda and Dwain made freezer jam with theirs.

On this trip, Dwain also brought peaches and tomatoes from his garden in Plant City, and Fonda brought eggs, milk, pork and squash from her farm in Illinois.  With all the canned goods already stored in Dwain's mountain kitchen, we were able to eat 'locally' most of the time we were there.  On Wednesday mornings, there is a small Farmer's Market in Waynesville that we visited.  Unfortunately, we timed it wrong and were not able to get Bush Beans.  We were about a week or two too early for them to be at market.  We did manage to obtain quite a few baked goods that morning. One of the best items was a Squash and Calendula Blossom yeast bread.  It was light and fluffy and just slightly sweet.  We spotted an English Toffee store on our way out of the Farmer's Market, so of course we had to stop there to do a quality control check on the locally-produced candy.  When we got back to Dwain's house, we were able to spread fresh butter that Fonda had just made as well as the fresh jam on that fantastic squash bread.

Our favorite meal on the whole trip was at The Purple Onion in Saluda, NC.  My pilates teacher told me about this little place, so we made a special trip to Saluda to check it out.  I had locally caught mountain trout roasted in corn husks and served with heirloom veggie salsa.  Jay had locally raised organic chicken and roasted heirloom veggies.  We shared a blackberry cobbler that was out of this world.  As a special treat, we also got to listen to 4 locally-grown singer-songwriters that night.

Even on the way home, when we stopped at a roadside stand for peaches, corn, tomatoes and of course, hot boiled peanuts, we partook of what the local farmers had to offer. Spending time in a place like Western NC, where the vibe is definitely more rural and committed to agriculture inspires me to continue to support local farmers, and fuels my desire to move up there and be a part of that life. I think it inspires Jay, too.  He was quite taken with the tractors at the Farm Supply Store....

Sad Day in Squash Land......

I hate quitting.  Giving up.  Surrendering. But if gardening doesn't teach you anything else, it'll teach you that sometimes the little guy wins.  Little guys like Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers, Powdery Mildew and Sooty Mold.  And even some sort of unidentified angular trapezoidal squash bug thing. 

So it's with a heavy heart and a sad sigh that I say a fond farewell to my hydroponic squash plants.  Goodbye zucchini.  You gave me 4 really good squashes before you succumbed to powdery mildew.  Goodbye yellow and white patty pan.  You tried really hard to get going, but the fungus got to you before I could.  Goodbye yellow "One Ball" squash.  I was very excited about your first BIG squash, and sad to see the rest of them wither and die. 

You, "Tromboncino."  I will miss you most of all.  You promised three feet of bright green zucchini-like goodness.  You looked a bit like a marital aid.  You, of all the varieties, looked like you were fighting better than the rest.  I have 5 of your baby squash to try in a meal this weekend to remember you by.  I thought it best to harvest what I could before we took you out of the bin.

I'm sorry we didn't realize you all were fighting for your lives before it was too late.  I've learned that if we are going to plant you again, it'll be during a cooler time, and with more air flow around you.  And we'll start preventative spraying with worm tea from the start, because that's more effective than trying to halt fungus and mildew  once it's already in progress. 

On the bright side, your free-ranging volunteer patty-pan cousin is doing really well (so far).  He's HUGE, and while is has a few leaves showing powdery mildew, and we've lost a few baby squashes to sooty mold, he seems to be bravely and happily holding his own in the yard... never been watered, never been fertilized except for two applications of worm tea.  He's often covered in Lubbers and something has laid eggs on his huge leaves.  He might be dead by the time we get back from Arizona, but for now, he's a real trooper.

Onward.  Today, the squash plants will be replaced with yard-long Chinese Red Noodle Beans and Super Sugar Snap Peas.  We'll keep a close eye on the cucumbers that were in the bins next to the squash, because they can be susceptible to the same things that got the squash.  We managed to get a good number of cukes last year, so maybe our luck will continue this year.

Another day, another humbling garden lesson learned.

Happiness is Hydroponics!

I haven't posted about the hydroponic system in a little over a month, so I thought it was time for an update.  I'll start with before (February) and after (last week) pictures.

We've been enjoying eating and sharing with friends (and dogs next door) our snow peas, beets, onions, kale, tatsoi, rape, lettuce and swiss chard.  The broccoli is starting to do its thing and we have one small head of cauliflower forming.  I'm actually surprised that those are doing as well as they are given the heat.  The brussels sprouts aren't producing yet, although the plants are thriving, and the strawberries, while prolific, proved to be disappointing in taste.  Next year, we'll double the amount of snow peas since those have been our best performers so far.  The yellow ball squash, patty-pan and zucchini are all producing flowers and fruit. If I can keep the grasshoppers off of them, we should have a good harvest of all of those.  I need to clear out the beet box and get the cucumber I've been nursing along in the pot I bought it in a month ago put in their place.  We have plans for a bean bed and a pea bed, as well as a place for okra in mind.  I'm looking forward to getting the beans in, especially, since I've got  red noodle beans and dragon's tongue varieties to grow.  The red noodle bean is about 20" long, and the dragon's tongue is a yellow bean with purple streaks on the pod. 

The heirloom tomato "Mr Stripey" was put in before the other 5 heirloom varieties, and has had quite a head start.  We've got some Florida Sweet Onions resting on the shelf under the grill so they can crisp up their skins.

  

It's been a learning experience, that's for sure.  We keep finding things we'd like to have done differently. For example, we would like to turn the bottom bins perpendicular, and spread them out a bit more so there is more airflow, and so the snow peas don't grab hold of everything with their twisty tendrils.   All in all, though, it's been a lot of fun, and has allowed us to feed ourselves, and share with friends.  A good man once told me that food is love.  He was right.  When food is grown with love, it's even better!