Suburban Homestead Store
Archive for the ‘In the Garden’ Category
Suburban Root Cellar
Long before the first icebox was put into use or the first refrigerator was invented families used root cellars to keep their harvest fresh through the cold and bleak winter months. Cellars kept apples, carrots, turnips, potatoes and squash, even salt pork and smoked meats, milk, cream, butter and cheese were kept in the root cellar to stay cool and fresh, ready to sustain the family until spring crops could be harvested.
Root cellars are low-tech natural choices for keeping your harvest fresh for months without depending on ozone-depleting refrigeration, or electricity. Canned fruits and vegetables can also be stored at the optimum temperature in root cellars.
Unfortunately, most root cellars are large walk-in structures dug into the ground or the side of a hill, built with stone and beams and wooden roofs, piled high with dirt. Above ground cellars are covered with thick layers of sod to keep them cool inside. These are hardly conducive to a homestead on a suburban lot.
So, how can the suburban homesteader benefit from centuries of free refrigeration?
Using lidded plastic storage bins is one way (like the picture above). Storage bins come in several sizes measuring two feet to three or four feet in length and most are barely two feet deep, making them easier to reach the bottom than the more commonly used 55-gallon drum. They can be dug into the ground or into a small sloped area. Bins can even be placed in the ground at an angle half way with the excavated dirt used under the front of the bin to bury them up to their lids. Sloping the bins means that water will drain away better. These bins have a curled lip around the edge, allowing for small holes to be drilled all around for a bit of air circulation without letting in any water or mice.
To store root vegetables, first put down a layer of straw in the bottom of the bin, then a layer of vegetable, then more straw and another layer of vegetable, and so on until the bin is full. Ripe, unblemished fruit can be individually wrapped and placed in a padded cardboard box before placing into the bin. When each bin is full, autumn leaves or more straw can be piled on top a foot or so for added insulation. Normal winter conditions in different areas will determine how deep the bins need to be placed and how much they need to be covered. When it’s time to use your stores simply push aside the snow and leaves and lift the lid to get what you need. Be sure to check for softening or spoilage. If this occurs remove the affected fruits or vegetables and use quickly. Remember the old saying – “One bad apple can spoil the whole bushel”.
That’s all there is to it. What could be a simpler, more secure food supply? Even if the electricity goes off, your buried treasure will be safe, able to feed your family, which is more than you can say about gold.
APPROXIMATE STORAGE TIMES:
1 to 2 Weeks: Broccoli, Eggplant
2 to 4 Weeks: Cauliflower
3 to 5 Weeks: Brussel Sprouts
1 to 2 Months: Jerusalem Artichokes, Tomatoes, Chinese Cabbage, Parsnips
2 to 3 Months: Radishes, Rutabagas
3 to 4 Months: Cabbage, Squash
4 to 6 Months: Beets, Carrots, Potatoes, Turnips
5 to 6 Months: Pumpkins
A Pumpkin’s Story
If you’ve read this blog for long you know of my love – nay – lust for fall. The weather, the colors, the food; smoke curling up from chimneys; apples begging to be picked and made into cider or pies or cakes. And, my appreciation for the old fashioned fall holidays – Halloween and Thanksgiving. I love it all.
But one thing you may not know is my (I’m almost embarrassed to say) dismal success at growing pumpkins. Maybe I should say lack of growing pumpkins. Oh, it’s not for lack of trying though. Each spring I carefully plant my seeds in peat pots. Baby Boo, Field, Sugar, Big Max, you name it and we have planted it. I water them faithfully and within a few weeks to a month I gingerly plant them out in the garden where everything seems to, invariably, go wrong.
Last year, sadly enough, the two pumpkins we did harvest were not even planted by us. Birds had dropped seeds near the sheep pen. When they began to grow Brianne would dump water on them while cleaning out water buckets and troughs…not the tips that I read about on the internet or got from growers. When we realized the vines were pumpkins we guarded them as steadfastly as the Secret Service guards the President. As those long sought for orbs grew, we protected them with cages made of chicken wire and wood. Nothing was going to prevent us from picking those two of our favorite crops. But, even with the surprise of volunteer pumpkins, my shame still remains, folks. I love pumpkins, but I can’t grow them.
Until Now!!!
We planted three hills of Cinderella pumpkins in May. And I’m proud to report that ALL three survived and have produced little green globes that will be screaming fall in another month as they turn to a luscious burnt orange color. None of them are overly huge. And, they aren’t really the kind for making into jack-o-lanterns or pies, but they are of respectable size for tabletop decorations or front door displays. When the season is over, we will gut our beloved pumpkins and save the seeds for in hopes of having even more next year.
It’s not the truck load I had envisioned, but it’s something. Our first real homegrown pumpkin. It’s a start, right?
photo credit: beautifulcataya
Fall Garlic
I just love September on our homestead. One foot is still in summer while the other one steps towards fall. It is a time when the garden starts to slow. Even in our temperate winters only a few things can be planted. Garlic is one of them, my favorite cooking herb. It can be planted in October after most other garden chores are finished for the year. All winter long it waits in the ground for spring. Tiny new roots are sent down; some clinging to the frozen soil of colder areas. By early spring it will be poking its head through layers of mulch reaching for the sun. If you’d like to try your hand at growing garlic, now is a good time to order seed garlic.
There are over 300 varieties of garlic grown world wide, divided into two categories – soft neck and hard neck. Everyone has their preferences and lots of people enjoy growing new varieties to find new favorites.
Garlic is native to Central Asia and dates back to 4000 BC. It is part of the lily family. Ancient Egyptians worshiped garlic and would place clay models of the herb in the tombs of deceased family members. Garlic was so highly regarded in ancient times that it was even used as currency. And, lastly, garlic was well known for its aphrodisiac qualities, which have been celebrated through the ages in literature, recipes, and medical journals.
Until the 1940’s however, garlic was unacceptable in most of American society, having been dubbed the “stinking rose”. For centuries garlic has been considered an herbal wonder drug. It was used by monks of the middle ages to treat the cold and common flu.
During WWII garlic poultices were used on wounds as an inexpensive and effective replacement for antibiotics.
Garlic has many medicinal qualities too. When crushed, garlic has been shown to kill 23 types of bacteria, including salmonella and staphylococcus. It has also been shown to lower cholesterol by preventing clotting in the arteries. And, the A, B, and C vitamins in garlic help stimulate the body to fight carcinogens.
For a great “how-to” guide on growing garlic check out this article by Adam Steiner
photo credit: Fluffymuppet
Plan Your Fall Garden Now and Eat Well All Winter Long
Fall and winter vegetable gardening is an old practice, dating back to the beginning of our country. Pilgrims, settlers, and colonists all planted “cool weather crops” that could provide them with fresh produce all winter long.
Today, many growing areas are well suited for 12-month gardening. Take the western part of the country along the Pacific coast. Their mild winter climate is ideal for growing a wide range of root and leaf crops almost year-round. Southern states are equally able to grow a substantial number of vegetables to crown their winter tables. With a little protection and creative gardening methods, even northern state can adorn their table fresh vegetables throughout the winter.
The key to a successful winter garden is knowing the average date of the first killing frost in your region (for example late October in the Pacific Northwest). You then plant your winter crops early enough to let them reach their full maturity before that killing frost. Local garden authorities can give you information about the timing of first frosts and the hardiness of various crops for your area. The planting suggestions in this booklet are based on a late October first freeze. If your killing frosts come earlier or later adjust your planting schedule accordingly.
LATE MATURING CROPS - Approximate maturity 90 days. Plant by mid July for fall harvest, later for spring harvest. Read the rest of the story »
Are GMO’s the Frankenveggies of the Future?
Learn how seed companies are clamoring for patents to seed varieties and strains, and in the process trying to control not only the way food is grown, but who can grow it as well.
Growing Winter Squash
Learn how to plant, grow, harvest and store a variety of winter squash
The lazy days of summer in full swing, and winter is so far off we don’t even want to think about it. But, if butternut, acorn or dumpling squash are on your list of winter staples you have to think about winter and now.
June is prime winter squash planting season and with these helpful tips about planting, harvesting and storing you’ll be enjoying squash all during the long cold winter.
photo credit: SteffanyF!
Three Sisters Gardening
The three sisters are not siblings at all. It refers to the three mainstays of the Native American diet – corn, beans and squash – known as the sustainers of life.
These crops are seen as three beautiful sisters, because they grow in the same mound in a garden. The corn provides a ladder for the bean vine. The squash vines shade the mound and hold moisture in the soil for the corn and beans. The well-being of each crop planted is said to be protected by the other. As legend has it, the three should be planted together, eaten together, and celebrated together. And, as legends go, they vary from tribe to tribe. One such legend goes like this:
The legend of “Three Sisters” originated when a woman of medicine who could no longer bear the fighting among her three daughters asked the Creator to help her find a way to get them to stop. That night she had a dream, and in it each sister was a different seed. In her dream, she planted them in one mound in just the way they would have lived at home and told them that in order to grow and thrive; they would need to be different but dependent upon each other. They needed to see that each was special and each had great things to offer on her own and with the others. The next morning while cooking breakfast, she cooked each daughter an egg, but each was different: one hard-boiled, one scrambled, and one over-easy. She told her daughters of her dream and said to them,
“You are like these eggs. Each is still an egg but with different textures and flavors. Each of you has a special place in the world and in my heart.” The daughters started to cry and hugged each other, because now they would celebrate their differences and love one another more because of them. From that day on, Native people have planted the three crops together—Three Sisters helping and loving each other.
Native Americans planted this way for centuries without the modern vocabulary we use today, like soil nitrogen, vitamins, etc. They often looked for signs that indicated the right soil temperature and weather for planting corn – when the Canada geese return or the dogwood leaves reach the size of a squirrel’s ear it was time to plant.
Early European settlers would certainly never have survived without the gift of the Three Sisters from the Native Americans, the story behind our Thanksgiving celebration. Celebrating the importance of these gifts, not only to the Pilgrims but also to civilizations around the globe that readily adopted these New World crops, adds meaning to modern garden practices
Success with a Three Sisters garden involves careful attention to timing, seed spacing, and varieties. In many areas, if you simply plant all three in the same hole at the same time, the result will be a snarl of vines in which the corn gets overwhelmed!
Corn, squash, and beans: three seeds of change that have forever altered the world. These plants were important in the time of Native Americans and are equally as important now. To plant your own Three Sisters garden follow the directions below. Read the rest of the story »
The Season In Between
And so it’s here, what I call, The Season In Between. That weird and wonderful time in a California spring where the days are warm and sunny, but the evenings are cool enough that they cry out for a roaring fire. This creates highs and lows amongst us gardeners.
Do we plant? Don’t we plant? What could we plant? It’s an anxious time of wanting desperately to be out in the dirt, but knowing the cold could wipe us out in a single night. I pace and watch to see what the readings are on the thermometer outside my kitchen window. We are still into the 40’s at night – too cold for most veggies.
So here I am, with a kitchen full of sprouted vegetables in pony packs and flats and pots, just itching to be out growing in the dirt.
I came home to a relatively warm, and sunlight evening. It was about 52 degrees, the breeze was light, but the sun was out and I was tired of being locked up in four-walls with fluorescent lights. So I fixed a pot of tea, put on a heavy sweater, grabbed a gardening book and went outside to sit in the cool night air.
I have a cushion-lined Adirondack chair set at the far edge of the garden. It gives me a panoramic view of both the vegetable beds and the barn area. The evening was peaceful. Birds twittered and the hens scratched around in their yard. I left the backdoor open so the dogs could pad in and out from the warm fireplace to me.
It’s a weird twilight time of open doors, a fire inside, a cool west breeze, a waltz of chickens, and dogs milling about – all at the same time. With the chickens strutting about and the sheep in their paddock the whole farm seems to be stretching its arms into daylight savings. That deserves a few bird songs.
I hate how far away from October we are, and how long ago fall was. But to know the seeds of summer and a lot of change are getting planted, and that feels good – really good.
Fickle weather be damned.
photo credit: Wanja Krah
Raising Bees for Honey and Money
In the Bible, Israel was called the “Land of Milk and Honey”. There has to be something very significant about that, and I’m convinced it has to be the food value. Just a bit of an aside here: the Israelites did not drink cow’s milk; it was either sheep or goat milk. If I had to give America a label, it might be the “Land of coffee and sugar”.
Think about the nutritional value of honey versus sugar. Just think about it. I am not going to give you any scientific analysis here. We’ve all heard about the harmful effects of consuming too much sugar. I’ve concluded that honey is a food with extremely high nutritional value. Now, does that mean we abandon Starbucks in favor of milk and honey? Probably not, but as a self-sufficient homestead, small business or hobby, raising honeybees, or beekeeping, can be quite rewarding, both nutritionally and possibly even monetarily.
Did you know that Bee Pollen is just about the most perfect food there is? It has all the nutrients to give you what you need to sustain life. So, why not grow your own?
10 Healthful Reasons to Have Honey Around
• Honey is nonirritating to the lining of the digestive tract
• Honey is easily and rapidly assimilated
• Honey quickly furnishes the demand for energy
• Honey enables athletes to recuperate rapidly from exertion
• Honey is, of all sugars, handled best by the kidneys
• Honey has a natural and gentle laxative effect
• Honey has sedative value, quieting the body
• Honey will relieve an annoying cough (when mixed with lemon juice or apple cider vinegar)
• Honey will relieve the pain from a burn and promote healing of the burned area
• Chewing of capped honeycomb has been known to relieve sinus problems including seasonal hay fever
And here is something else to chew on (pun intended). While there is no scientific proof, those in the bee industry are fairly certain that eating honey from your local area may cut down on your seasonal allergies. That’s because the honey has bits of pollen in it that activate your immune system just like the allergy shots you get at the doctor’s office… only this is ALL NATURAL! It’s definitely worth a try, right? A teaspoon or two a day is all you need.
To try your hand at beekeeping or just get more information check out the links below.
http://extension.missouri.edu/explorepdf/agguides/pests/g07600.pdf
http://www.beginner-beekeeping.com/?hop=wask21
http://img4.sunset.com/static/pdf/OneBlock_Bee.pdf
Honey and Lemon Sore Throat Remedy
I am one of those people who are prone to sore throats, especially during our windy seasons. This is the only thing I’ve found that helps soothe the pain.
In a large coffee mug or small tea pot, put in one thick slice of lemon and a heaping tablespoon of organic honey. Pour boiling water over and stir until honey dissolves. Sip while still hot, but not scalding. It may sting at first, but after a few sips your throat will be soothed. Drink often throughout the day (renewing lemon and honey with each batch); bacteria can’t adhere to moist throat tissue.
photo credit: San Diego Shooter
5 Simple Steps to Making Your Own Dirt
Composting is the art of turning organic matter and waste into a rich soil amendment called humus. Backyard composting is easy to learn and is full of benefits for you and the environment. Plus, most needed ingredients are right at your finger tips. Organic matter and wastes that can be composted include fruit and vegetable peelings (kitchen scraps), grass clipping, leaves, and small diameter tree trimmings. Some things you should not include in your backyard compost include meat and dairy products, weeds or weed seeds. These materials can attract vermin and pests, and can spread weeds throughout your yard.
The Five Key Steps…
Compost Bin Size and Volume: Ideally the bin should be between 3’x3’x3’ and 5’x5’x5’. A bin that is too small cannot produce enough heat to cook the ingredients. If the bin is too large, it won’t get enough air in the center of the pile, allowing the pile to breathe. It is also easier to manage two or three medium bins than one large one.
Feed Your Compost: A perfect mix of compost materials consists of ½ brown matter (carbon-based material) like leaves and ½ green matter (nitrogen-based material) like kitchen scraps. Waste material should be mixed by weight, i.e. 5-pounds brown to 5-pounds green.
Let Your Bin Breathe: The organisms that live inside your compost pile need air to survive. Mix or turn the pile three to five times per season using a pitchfork, garden hoe or shovel. Proper aeration can make a big difference. You will know if your bin is not getting enough oxygen because it will begin to smell of ammonia.
Microbes Need H2O: The organisms also need water to survive, but not too much or they will drown. The ideal moisture level of your compost bin should be like a wrung out sponge.
Surface Area: Cutup or shred organic materials before placing them into the bin. This increases the surface area and speeds up decomposition. You can also store your kitchen scraps in the freezer to speed up decomposition, as the materials will break down at the cell level when frozen.
Compost bins can be found through most city waste management programs or can be built out of simple materials like wooden pallets or wire panels. But, no matter what method you use, the important thing is getting these nutrient rich materials back into your soil so it can be healthy and vibrant for growing fruits, vegetable and flowers.
For compost bin ideas and plans check out this University of Wisconsin Extension link
photo credit: nicer than air