Moving Day

Update your RSS feeds or however you kept track of me in the past. I've moved.

http://existentialfarmer.dyndns.org

I may eventually pony up for a domain name, but for now, there it is.

Not sure how much of the original content here will get moved. I think the general plan is to move the essentials and let the rest lie in state here.

Drop by and let me know you are still around, I will add your site to the blogroll so long as its relevant to the subject.

Slowly picking up steam

Q:What do you call an IT professional with a really shoddy weblog?

A: Kory

Previously at least.

I have laid out the framework for a new and improved site that makes use of more capable web tools. Hopefully the end will be a site that contains some good static content (descriptions of finished projects, plant databases, etc.) along with dynamic stuff that I can easily update (hopefully from my phone) as the need arises (the regular blog stuff).

In other news, I just finished most of my seed/tree orders (including but not limited to some russian comfrey plants and a sambucus nigra black elder.)

Existential Crisis

I'm not going to wonder myself in circles as to why I stopped a fairly persistent streak blogging. That being said, maybe its spring fever, maybe I was just incensed about the things going on vis a vis the Dervaes trademark scandal.

Maybe its all the crap happening in wisconsin...
Maybe I'm in a better place...or at least have a better plan...

In any event, I was most successful in my efforts when I had a blog to keep me accountable for my progress.

So I guess this means I need to continue blogging if I want to resume the forward momentum I once had.

I think I may need to move the blog to a new layout to accommodate what I am really going after, but for the time being, I'll post here.

Sorry for the extended absence.
Kory
"Urban Homesteader" <-no TM necessary

Slacking off.

Its been a while, too long in fact. I have about 5 drafts of things that have sparked my interest, but nothing was ever cogent enough to deserve posting. I did however come across this item in the news. It would seem the GMO version of rice that got some minor press coverage here is back in the news. They want to label it organic. Now bear in mind as I said this particular case is not the more insidous form of GMO but a sort of GMO lite, but its genetic code has been tampered with.

Now here's my take on the situation. All GMO's should be labeled as such, and if we can't get transgenic GMO's banned entirely, then they need to be clearly labeled, including animals that are raised on transgenic feed. Then let people assemble their priorities like we do for local/conventional, local/organic, nonlocal/organic, and so on. Transgenics in my opinion deserve no place in agriculture because of their tendency to pollute other crops, and the fact that they are geared towards making the ecological and economic trap of conventional fertilizers and pesticides more lucrative. It takes the bad situation of conventional ag and makes it worse.

I am not indifferent to starvation but several things need to be made abundantly clear to the growers that these seeds are marketed too. First is that the person selling you the miracle seed is not always as altruistic as they seem. Second, it may not be that much better than what your already have.

I will of course be watching this one closely. Information is power and if we lose the right to know whats in our food, then we are relying on the benevolence of the least deserving to sustain us.

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."

Preservation efforts

This spring I experimented with a variety of black eyed pea that was purported to grow to maturity in northern regions. It goes by the name fagiolino dolico di veneto. I originally got it from Underwood Gardens. Unfortunately I probably did not give them a proper start indoors, and the newly emergent seedlings got by and large decimated by pests. Fortunately a survivng shoot here and there managed to produce a few pods which despite no more than 3 or 4 leaves per plant, managed to mature with ample time to dry on the plant before frost. I ended up with about 20 seeds (peas) which is about the amount that came in the packet.

This variety is apparently only available in the US from the aforementioned supplier, and they appear to be out of stock. Hopefully they are planting a bigger seedcrop this year. Lesson learned. Next year I will start all but a few indoors (perhaps even grow one in the shelter of the sunroom) to increase the chances of survival. Based upon yeild I may offer to trade or give away the seed from subsequent years. Not necessarily on a commercial level, but I think given its potential use to us short season growers, it should be more widespread. Hopefully Underwood Seed will have enough to give this one a comeback, it would be a shame to see more genetic lines disapear.

Blitz

Been busy lately, no shock there, but I have some catch up to do here, so I'll update as my memory allows.

First the tomatoes...oh the tomatoes. Here's a taste of one evenings take.



not sure what my final poundage was for the year as I still have a few out there, racing the weather to ripen. But there was enough to can about 4 quarts of the most delicious garlicy sauce courtesy of my brother from another mother's recipe. Next year there will be twice as many vines.

The last corner of the potato patch got dug up. Thar be monsters!
granted 1 lbs 1.25 oz may be pedestrian by onestraw's standards...but its a record for me. no final tally yet.

Even more significant. I have achieved a benchmark. I have made a succession plan work. Previously I was just shy a few weeks time to have a good crop of beans after potatoes. I am fairly confident I can repeat the results now. We've had a cool gray wet summer, so even with that taken into account, I can fit the two crops in the same spot and avoid the frost. Yeah! This year, the first major harvest day for the green beans planted after potatoes came in at a touch over a pound. This is enough to have a couple good meals at home and give away the rest before they go bad. Not enough to can though (nor do I have a pressure canner). Thankfully...I only planted about a third of what I could have, so next year we should have enough for fresh and putting aside. Here is about one half the take on saturday morning.



Speaking of beans, the vermont craberry shelling beans were sufficiently dry to pick and shell. It was so much fun that my wife insisted on finishing shelling the rest. Pretty productive, I got a good cup and a quarter of shelled dried beans from about a 10 foot row. Next year I'll buy more seed, since I'll likely use up all these beans in cooking, though I could technically save it.



And lastly, the sunflowers did not happen this year. I think my seed saving methods may be at fault. I only saved one head a year, so I'm betting the lack of diversity lead to an inbreeding depression. Spindly little things that couldn't stand on their own. Here's the real surprise. My wife remarked that she missed seeing them around the house. The same wife who in prior years remarked that their presence was a bit hippyish. I just smirked, she insisted that I not read to much into it...yeah right.

Bliss

Yesterday I tasted a cherokee purple for the first time. This was the most delicious tomato I have ever eaten. Hands down, end of story.

I picked just under five pounds yesterday of Amish paste, Cherokee, and Brandywine bringing my total tomato harvest a touch under six pounds. I havent weighed the spuds I dug two days ago but I figure its just south of 10 pounds. And the blackberries are slowing up now. 5 and a half cups now and probably another one or two on the canes still. Based on the number of new canes this year I expect almost double the yeild next year (3 large bearing canes to go away this fall, 7 mixed size new canes).

I started seed for the fall about two weeks ago but so far very little has sprouted. Might be the heat. I'll be trying something novel with parsnips. As I understand it, the Japanese grow them in wooden boxes to make for easier harvest. ( guess they are somewhat brittle) I got a wooden ammunition crate from my friend in the marines that would be perfect for this. Pictures to follow.

Winos

I was at a birthday party yesterday for a friend of mine (who will be teaching me how to make mead as soon as I can get my hands on another 5lbs of local honey).

He opened a bottle of rhubarb wine that had finished. I know what you are thinking...rhubarb? Ok, pour me just a small glass. YES, rhubarb. another glass please.

Rhubarb, its not just for pie.

Wow

Jim Cramer, whose prior contribution to society was serving as fodder for the Daily Show appears to think trouble is ahead for Monsanto. Well duh. Anyone in the Justice Dept with half a brain and a shred of ethics is probably eyeballing that beast for antitrust...at least.

I harvested my first tomato yesterday a nice ripe 14 oz brandywine. Cut it up and ate it straight up. Its been almost a year since I have had a real tomato. The pale mealy crap in the stores doesn't even come close. I've got another couple brandywines getting close and a cherokee purple that I think is probably ready too. I cut away all the foliage infected with early blight and so far the last few days have not shown further infection. I can only hope...



The vermont cranberry beans are doing great! Look at those gorgeous pods. My green beans have started flowering now too.

Something old, something new

First the old, as in old friends. I recently got back in touch with an old college room mate who as fate might have it, has also taken up organic gardening. Coincidence? Something in the wind? I'm glad he's into it, but I can't count him as one of my five, so the score is still at 3/5.

Now the new. The first of the tomatoes are almost ripe. Brandywines. No sign of ripening from the Cherokees or Amish paste, though there are several nice plump specimens of each. I hope they ripen soon, I've spotted early blight...not good. Not good at all. This pattern of horrifically damp summers is not just depressing, it could be a definite problem if it continues long term.

Things I've noticed

Some good, some bad.

First the bad news. Something has infected the apple tree. Is it scab? It resembles scab. Are there any organic treatments for scab?



Thankfully it appears on just a few leaves, though the bottom side of the leaf has developed a wart like growth. Should I just remove the few affected leaves?


Second find: Mushrooms! Not sure what kind, and I'm not about to taste and find out, but I'll be sure to take more pics as they emerge and perhaps get a positive ID on it. I own mycellium running and Growing gourmet and medicinal mushrooms by Stamets and you'd think I would have thought to seed all this much we have with spawn and grow some shrooms in the front yard...you'd think that. Sometimes nature has to remind you of the possibilities you should have thought of.

That is a leek in the background...doing quite nicely.


Third find: The first ripe blackberry! Sorry no pics. It went straight into my drooling maw.

seek and ye shall find

The afforementioned garden/farm in northeast chicago. 1038-ish W ainslie st. Go to the larger map and then zoom to the green arrow. For some reason Google map felt the need to make the "A" marker Uptown Chicago.


View Larger Map

Oh the places I will grow.

I was away last week, very away...chicago to be precise. My church youth group was shy one male chaperone for a service trip, and yours truly had extra vacation time to use up. A really great trip all around. Our base of operations was a parish/school in the northeast side. Heavy population of immigrants and the mentally ill. Very sobering, but it was very productive and I felt like we really contributed. There was a community garden just around the corner that was about a quarter acre. And this was not some allotment "everybody grows whatever" This was a small scale farm.

Unfortunately I do not have pictures, but I was really impressed with their setup.

When I returned I found some pretty impressive sided tomatoes, a pepper plant in full bloom, kiwi vines getting out of control, our daughter had started to transplant the greenbeans where the potatoes used to be, the bee balm in full bloom, and wormwood that...is easily 6 feet in any given direction and in flower. I also found something totally unexpected.



Thats right, the blueberry bushes I transplanted this year produced 3 fruit. The two tiny ones are from a "chandler" bush, and the big (not yet ripe) one is from a variety called "herbert." Last year you may recall I had a scant few blackberries, and this year I am swimming in them (though not yet ripe). Hopefully the blueberries will prove just as eager next year.