Winter's Not Over Yet

Winter is DEFINITELY not over yet. It's actually been a fairly low-key winter in Southern Ohio, aside from some bone-chilling temperatures - we haven't had tons and tons of snow. So I guess this past weekend and today it's trying to make up for that.

This past Friday/Saturday we were blanketed with a good 4-5 inches. Today we woke up to several inches and are expected to get several more before the day is over - probably a good 6-7 inches when everything is said and done. My husband and I both stayed home from work today - getting snowed-in at work is NOT my idea of a productive (or happy) day.

This weekend I snapped a few pretty pictures of our yard after most of the snow had fallen:


Our neighborhood mockingbird, trying to keep warm:


We were quite excited on Saturday - excited as well as a little frightened. I had gotten up from the couch and was walking through the kitchen when I happened to glance outside into the back yard and saw something huge in the middle of the snow-covered lawn. I did a double take, and then another take for good measure, and then yelled for my husband.


There was a extremely LARGE bird just SITTING there on the ground. After grabbing the camera and getting a zoomed view, we knew it had to be a hawk of some type. Earlier this year my husband had seen a large hawk perched on the roof of our porch - maybe this was the same bird?


After a few minutes of observation and "oh my god"s, we realized why he was just sitting on the ground - he was harboring his latest catch, some small bird that was probably feeding on our freshly-stocked bird feeder. He eventually flew away in a dramatic sweep of wings and feathers, carrying his meal with him.

After researching online, we're fairly certain that the bird was a Cooper's Hawk, but it could also possibly have been a Sharp-Shinned Hawk. Either way, I was feeling guilty for filling our bird feeder and "luring" our poor neighborhood birdies into a death trap. I come from a long line of bird feeders, so I can't just NOT feed the birds. I wonder if there's a way we could get "WARNING, BIG SCARY HAWK TERRITORY" translated into "bird" and put on a sign for our back yard.

In other news, I finally made my purchase from Gardeners Supply that I've been ruminating over for a couple of months:

• 3' x 3' Raised Bed (2 each)
• 1.5' x 3' Raised Bed (1 each)
• Raised pop-up netting for 3' x 3' bed (1 each)
• Germinating Soil Mix
• Organic Tomato Fertilizer
• Organic All-Purpose Fertilizer
  

Whew, it feels good to have it ordered and done with - it's not a small commitment to spend money on stuff like that! Now I just have to hope that all of this snow doesn't delay the delivery - it's scheduled for tomorrow!

Planning for 2010

This morning, even though it was about 25 degrees out, I armed myself with a tape measure and confirmed once and for all that yes indeed, I will have room for the grow beds that I've had my eyes on.

Lengthwise I have as much room as I want. Widthwise I have about 5 feet, and I only need 3 feet - perfect - we'll have room for the beds and then room to walk around them. I've decided that I'm going to spring for two of the 3' x 3' beds as well as one of the 1.5' x 3' bed for my herbs. I'm also going to invest in a netted covering for one of the 3' x 3' beds - the bed that will most likely be targeted by the neighborhood wildlife.

The first 3' x 3' bed will be for "tall" vegetables, namely my tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. The second 3' x 3' bed will be for my "short" vegetables. This second bed will be broken up into an early/cool planting, followed by a later/hot planting. The early planting will include short plants such as radish, beets, carrots, onions, and greens. The later planting will include climbers such as squash, zucchini, melon, and cucumber.

I've used my stunted Excel skills to create a crude visual map for myself (yeah technology!):



In addition to an outdoor map, I've also laid out plans for my indoor seed starting operation. I will be using the same seed starting set-up as last year - it worked so well for me. My 6-cube tray will be filled with herbs, and my 40-cube tray will be filled with everything else. I won't be starting as many seedlings of each variety as I did last year. I ended up having too many plants and not enough space - noone wants to spend the love, time, and energy to nurture a seedling and then not be able to give it a good home.

Lastly, I've got my seed-planting calendar created. My first indoor sowing begins the week of February 22nd. Now I just have to clean up last year's mess in the yard and order my raised beds.

Things are starting to take shape!

Our First CSA

Some exciting news to report this week - my husband and I signed up to join our first ever CSA!

I have been mulling this idea over for at least a year. My hesitation has come from cost, lack of openings, and concerns about a pick-up location being close enough to our house. Well, this week Judy Williams from the Hyde Park Farmer's Market sent out an email detailing which of their vendors participate in a CSA, or Community Support Agriculture, program.

Currently, five Hyde Park Farmer's Market vendors run CSAs: Bergefurd Farm, Farm Beach Bethel, Hazelfield Farm, Mohrs' Animal Acres, and Eaton Farm. Sheer curiosity, some research, and a flurry of emails soon led to a decision - we now own a half share in Eaton Farm's CSA for the 2010 spring/summer/fall growing season.

Eaton Farm is located in Madison, IN. While they do not currently have a website of their own, their page on LocalHarvest describes them as follows:

"The Eaton Farm is a diversified family farm dedicated to preserving its farming heritage. The 55 acre farm near Madison, Indiana has been in Jerry Eaton's family for three generations. Today the farm family consists of Jerry and his wife Elizabeth, their son Silas, and Jerry's parents, Jim and Sudie Eaton. While many small farms have faced severe challenges over the past century, the Eatons feel that providing communities with fresh and local food is one way to keep farming viable. 2009 will be their 3rd year participating in farmer's markets, and the 2nd season for their CSA. The Eatons raise a wide selection of produce, with an emphasis on heirlooms and unique varieties. They also produce high quality pastured meat and eggs from animals raised on their farm."

I emailed Jerry and Elizabeth directly and they were quick to answer my questions. I have bought produce from them the past few seasons at the market and have always been very pleased with the quality and kinds of produce they have to offer. Sticking out in my mind at the moment are their heirloom tomatoes...*drool*. Equally important, they have always been very gracious and kind.

One of the big selling points for us was the fact that we can pick up our share each Sunday at the Hyde Park Farmer's Market itself, which is MAYBE 10 minutes from our house. Most other CSAs that I have investigated haven't been able to offer that type of convenience for us.

A half share with the Eaton Farm consists of eight dry quarts of produce, along with a half dozen fresh eggs every week. Their eggs are described as:

"...high quality pastured eggs from happy hens, fed local feed (antibiotic, hormone, and by-product-free), moved weekly, and protected within electric netting. The laying house is mobile, and the hens spend their days foraging and scratching the grass in the sunshine."

Why would I purchase expensive cage-free organic eggs from the grocery store when I have this wonderful, ethical, local alternative?

With just my husband and I, a half-share should be a decent amount of food. While it's true that vegetarians can really plow through some veggies in a week, I think we'll find that we have plenty of fresh produce. The CSA runs from May through October, give or take a couple weeks depending on growing conditions. Last year we found ourselves at a farmer's market pretty much every weekend in some shape or form, so we would not be stretching ourselves with a weekly CSA share, which will be supplemented by any produce that I am able to grow from our home garden.

I'm excited that I may be introduced to some new produce that I've never cooked with before - either from fear or sheer lack of knowledge. I love it that I've been corresponding directly with the people who will be tending and growing our food. The whole concept of a CSA resonates with me, especially when I'm forced to purchase the faceless, nameless produce in the grocery store during the long winter months. It will encourage us to eat more locally, as well as more seasonally.

Hopefully we'll have an opportunity this spring or summer to take a small day trip and visit the farm so we can see the land where our food is grown. I'm excited and proud that this is one of the many ways that we choose to put our money where our mouths are!

2010 Seeds

Several weeks ago I received perhaps the most beautiful, mouth-watering, enticing catalog I've laid eyes on - Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds really outdid themselves on this one:


This piece of art is a good 12" x 12" large and full of color photographs, personalized descriptions of each variety, and lots of other helpful and interesting goodies for the individual who appreciates the tradition of heirloom gardening.

Based upon the success of last year's heirloom garden, I'm definitely going to be planting mostly heirlooms again this year. So this morning, in an attempt to take my mind off of the 3-4 inches of snow outside, I decided to sit down and start making a list of seeds that I want to order for this year.


What started out as a list turned into an actual order...yes, I know, it's still only January, but I wanted to make sure that none of my seeds sold out. Placing an order a month or two early isn't going to hurt anyone, now is it?

Here's the list of what I ordered:

• Tomatoes: "Mule Team", "Aunt Ruby's German Green", "Carbon", "Riesentraube", and "Sungold Select II"
  
• Beet "Golden Beet"
• Cucumber "Delikatesse"
• Eggplant "Black Beauty"
• Salad Mix "European Mesclun Salad"
• Hot Pepper "Purple Jalapeno"
• Sweet Pepper "Jimmy Nardello Italian Pepper"
• Radish "Saxa 2"
• Winter Squash "Butternut-Waltham"
• Herbs: "Genovese Basil" and "Lemon Bee Balm"
• Flowers: "Nasturtium Empress of India" and "Poppy Mother of Pearl"
  

I plan to supplement this list with quite a few of my more successful seeds from last year.

Now that I have my seeds ordered, I need to start getting serious about what type of planting set-up I'm going to go with this year. Last year I stuck with my collection of pots clustered in the yard. This year, due to deer, squirrels, and birds, I'm thinking of ordering a couple raised beds from Gardener's Supply Company. They also offer coverings for these raised beds, which would hopefully help me keep said animals from stealing my produce.

I'll have to take a tape measure to the yard once it's warmer, but I believe that their 3' x 3' raised bed would fit nicely where my pots sat last year. I might even be able to fit two of them side-by-side, giving me even more growing room. They also offer a 1.5' x 3' bed, which would be nice for herbs right outside of our kitchen side door.

When we originally bought this house, I had visions of tilling up the back yard for a nice, big garden. Tree roots and lack of adequate sunlight have forced me to become more innovative in my planning. I haven't completely made up my mind yet about the raised beds, but it seems like the best bet. I can't keep planting in these pots year after year. I'm also willing to bet my plants will yield more when their roots aren't confined so tightly.

It will give me something to think about during these gray winter months.

Farewell 2009

I figure that things around here would be pretty slow for a while so I might as well get in one last post to bid farewell to 2009.

2009 was a transitional year for the garden. Moving and settling into our new house took a lot of my attention and energy. I had some nice successes, especially for my first year growing from seed. The peppers, eggplant, herbs, tomatoes, carrots, beets, and lettuce all produced, to varying degrees. My mother and aunt both had success with the seedlings I donated for their gardens.

My main concern for next year will be finding a way to keep the deer and squirrels from getting to my veggies before I do. I'm thinking this will require some type of fenced-in enclosure or netting. That will be something to think about in the coming wintery months.

I had a very successful year with canning. I made jam and tomato juice for the first time, as well as put away lots of whole tomatoes that are serving us well. My "canning shelf" in the pantry is a rainbow of color:


I'm sure in several months it will be less colorful as we work our way through the goods. Next year I would like to try canning some different things, like sour cherry jam, salsa, maybe even some tomato basil sauce. I'd also like to try my hand at freezing some pesto, if I can get my basil to get prolific enough.

For Christmas my parents got me a quart canner to supplement my pint canner. I now have the capability to do both pints and quarts. I'm finding that I go through whole tomatoes fast enough that I think I could use quarts and not have any waste.

Lots of good things happened this year, and there are lots of new things to look forward to next year. 2009 has been rough year for many people, and I'm sure a lot of us are glad to see it going.

Here's to hoping that 2010 is good to us all!

Happy Halloween!

The very best holiday of the year...

Autumn Eats

The onset of fall always makes me want to cook cozy, warm, spiced foods. Last weekend saw the advent of "Apple Butter 2.0". The apple butter I made last year was tasty - it's been long gone from the pantry - but I must admit, I can tell that even though I cooked it for a little over an hour, I didn't cook it long enough to get that signature smooth texture. This year I was determined to achieve it, even if it meant hours on the stove.

My husband and I drove the 40 or so minutes east to Milford to check out Rousters Apple House for some locally grown apples. Last year's experience at Iron's Fruit Farm was a tad more fulfilling because we were actually able to pick our own apples. At Rousters the fruit is already picked. Even still, the rustic barn that housed all of their apples was homey and smelled enticingly of warm apple fritters.

They had close to ten different varieties, ranging from tart to sweet. I wanted a good tart-to-sweet ratio for the butter, so I settled on half Jonathan (tart, on the left) and half Honeycrisp (sweet, on the right). I also picked up a small carton of Rouster's Apple Cider for the butter - more flavor than water.


Once I got home, I ended up slowly cooking the butter for a little over TWO hours. Now I understand why some people prefer to do this in the crock pot. However, after much spitting and plopping and bubbling, I achieved my goal - smooth, spiced, comforting apple butter.


In addition to apples, I always get a hankering to cook with squash and sweet potatoes in the fall. One of my favorite soup recipes is Moosewood's Gypsy Soup. Onion, celery, garlic, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, bell pepper, tomatoes, garbanzo beans, spiced with paprika, turmeric, basil, cayenne, bay leaf, and a dash of cinnamon - YUM!


All of my ingredients came from our local farmer's markets, and the tomatoes and tomato juice came from my canning efforts earlier this summer. Using canned homegrown tomatoes makes all the difference in a dish, especially soup. I'd take homemade tomato juice over a storebought stock any day.

I paired the soup with a loaf of my homemade kalamata olive bread, and voila, a perfectly cozy meal for two on a brisk fall evening.