Miss me?

Its been too long, I know, seems like I was away for a while this time last year too, but with all the politics in the news I thought I'd share two items that have made Michelle Obama my favorite first lady of all time



And coming soon to a Kitchen Stadium near you...the secret ingredient is...Local!

Ideally I'd love to have one of these awesome cloches from breadtopia, keeps the loaf moist during the initial baking without having to use a pan full of water in the oven. Or in my case forgetting that it is a really dumb idea to let a glass pyrex pan heat up in the oven and then pouring water in it as I am about to throw the loaf on the stone. No I don't have pictures, you'll have to use your imaginations.

So minus the pyrex pan how do I keep my loaf humid for the first 30 minutes of baking?
with this.


Its not a perfect solution, but the price is right. Just grab an appropriate diameter pot and throw it over the top. (It gets hot so use mitts when removing)

The results? Better than the tray of water I my opinion.


I've also found that the method I use (whereby I make about 4 pounds of dough, and save it in the fridge until I need to use a pound to make a loaf) keeps the dough too cold to adequately rise in the 45 minutes time suggested in the article I pulled it from. 2 hours in a warm spot gets much better results.

And for those of us stricken with late blight this year there is hope. There are currently 3 tomato varieties listed as resistant, one of which "legend" is open pollinated. Buy now, there may be a run on these seeds come spring.

Future challenges

It would seem that the coming climate change will make the dismally wet summers I've notice the last couple years even more pervasive. And while I seem to have gotten a handle on insect issues recently, other forces have taken note and decided to fill the misery void. Namely fungus.

With wetness comes fungal infection, most noteably, the mildew twins (powdery and downy). I also noticed some scab previously on the leaves of my apple tree. Thus I have the following considerations when proceeding with next year's plan.

Physical: The current height of my raised beds is about 6 inches. This puts the garden foliage only minimally higher than the surrounding environment. In an effort to lower the relative humidity I will raise the bed surface another 6 inches. Hopefully this will have a tangible effect on the micro climate of the soil.
Second, any vining plant will be grown vertically. Rampant overlapping foliage proved a haven for fungal infection.

Plant selection: Despite its success at bringing squash pests to a minimal level, nasturtium grows rampantly and contributes to the overfoliated conditions above. In the future I may switch to a dwarf variety or reduce its use.
Best efforts will be made to find open pollinated cultivars with desired resistances. I have noticed that the waltham butternut variety of squash did not succumb to PM despite living in contact with infected delicata squash. Purely anectdotal of course but worth noting.

Human intervention: Despite my desire to create a homeostatic balance and let nature take care of the problem, it may become necessary to spray. I will only explore the use of compounds which can be easily and safely produced at home in keeping with my ethos of limited dependence on external system inputs. I tried a milk spray this year with only limited success, and next year will attempt to more closely follow the proceedures outlined in the study. Humans created the climate crisis and its side effects, so I guess I needn't worry too much that a little human intervention may be required. Attra has a publication about the use of compost tea as a possible deterent of late blight in potatoes. Given the close relation between potatoes and tomatoes I don't see a reason why the resistance might not be effective there as well.

If anyone wants to share their fungal woes please feel free.

Too much mint

Mint is great, I put a few seedlings in a 5" pot 3 years ago, stuck the pot in the ground, and then proceeded to ignore it ever since, save for the trip to grab a sprig here and there.

As many of the seed packets will attest to mint from see is not "true" I.E. it wont have the same flavor as the parent. So what I did this fall was to carefully select a leaf from each sprig, if I liked it, the plant was safe, if it was less than spectacular, I pulled the stalk and its rootball up. Hopefully next year I will have a more consistent flavored patch of mint. I also trimmed it back heavily, and spent the afternoon wondering what the heck I am going to do with all this mint.

Well some of it is going to get dried for tea of course but thats a lot of tea, and I usually prefer to blend it rather than go straight mint.

So, I made mint jalapeno jelly. Considering I hadn't made any kind of jam all year I really didn't feel rusty. I did however omit the food coloring, so the jelly looks a bit yellow, but I scraped some out of the bowl when I was done and it is certainly powerful...Its an odd experience. I've only ever had mass produced mint jelly so this was definitely stronger than what I was used to. At first all you taste is the sugar, but after its been in your mouth for a second the mint hits you...and then the heat.

It would be pretty awesome on crackers with some cream cheese. Its usually recommended to be served with lamb but...not gonna happen, so if anyone has any vegetarian ideas for it (other than crackers or toast) fire away.

Homegrown: a movie review

Today I went down to the wescott community center for a screening of Homegrown, the documentary on the Dervaes family. Expecting just a movie I was pleasantly surprised.

First off, I think my shyness is really becoming a detriment. I can't really say I had no idea there were so many in the area interested in home food production and sustainability. I had a hunch, I just did not have the courage to go looking. Today they found me. More specifically a representative wearing one of the path to freedom "revolution solution" shirts found me, and now I'm on "the list." Ok enough about me, on with the movie.

If you have spent as much time on the path to freedom site as I have, there will not be much in here that will surprise you, no new secrets of farming. It was more than anything else a story about the people, not the farm itself. I give them a lot of credit, I wouldn't want cameras in my home for that long. It humanizes and shows a glimpse of the real challenges they have faced. Without being exploitative it expressed the trials and tribulations that come with the lifestyle they have chosen. It offers a warning for those who might leap without looking, but not to the detriment of its ability to inspire. And that it does in bushels.

If it hasn't come to a theater or community center near you, get together with some people and get a showing near you.

Well deserved nickname

NY has one of the more famous state nicknames out there, and this weekend we were reminded why. We hopped in the car and drove to Beak and Skiff in Lafayette to pick some apples. 22.5 lbs to be exact. about 15-18lbs of Cortlands for pies, apple crisp, baked apples (my fav) and maybe some sauce. 5 lbs or so of Honeycrisp, my new favorite eating apple. I'm a little disappointed now that I bought the 4 on 1 grafted tree. First of all, in terms of shape, this thing is kind of odd for an apple tree, the way the grafts are placed means I have to train it to an open vase shape instead of a central leader, second, I really wish I could just have those two particular varieties. As it develops I might try to get my hands on a cortland tree and graft a honeycrisp whip to it for pollenation/ fresh apples. Who knows, maybe I'll end up loving the variety from the tree I have.

Its pretty amazing to see the massive rows of productive trees being grown on a family owned operation. And while they are not currently organic, neither are they blind to the reality of where things are headed. I got to see their test organic "orchard" growing under high tunnels this year.

Fantastic Apple Fritters too.

By the way, if anyone has a favorite apple recipe, post it here, I'm game for just about anything (vegetarian).

disturbing trends

One can only pour gasoline on a fire for so long until a random spark sets the whole pile ablaze.

Create a threat and people prepare

Add tension, make incendiary comments, orchestrate an us vs. them mindset

eventually someone does the unthinkable.

self fulfilling prophesy. God help us all, I pray its the end rather than the beginning.

Random seeds and introversion

Yesterday I came home from work to find about 10 neatly piled sunflower seeds on our front steps. Since they were not chewed all to heck I figure they were not deposited by a squirrel but a fellow gardening neighbor who noticed that absence of sunflowers from our property this year.

I figure its probably one of four other gardeners in the neighborhood, but most likely one of two since I did not see sunflowers anywhere on the other two's yard. Yes, I secretly check out what my neighbors are growing. Not that I sneak in late at night, I just slow down and stare as I pass by. Now I know I could just walk up and talk to them, but if you are wondering why then you clearly don't understand the concept of extreme shyness. I need to get a feel for someone before I just go chitchat, and perhaps someone in a very obtuse or rather ingenious way is doing the same with me. Well, game on, I will plant them.

Well whoever you are...thank you.

This gives me an idea, why not leave a few seeds for some of my favorites in the suspects mailboxes.

I hereby declare today "Give a seed to a stranger day."