Wild Blackberries

 

We were lucky enough to discover that we have wild blackberries in the back yard. We let them grow wherever they wanted this year, and it's kind of payed off. When Clay brought in the first handful of berries I didn't think much of it; in the face of birds and such we've never had good luck with getting a share of our fruit. But a few days later it occured to me to check on them, and after filling the first tub I had to go in and get another. This photo is what I brought in the first day, and since I'm very curious about what the total yield will be I've been weighing each batch since. I've found that to balance the time it takes to comb through looking for berries (and amount of wounds from thorns) with the amount of berries received for that time, it's optimal to go out every 2-3 days. This week was been crazy so the last pick was 4 days, and that's definately too long because significantly more berries past their prime and/or fermenting in place.

 

So this is what we've gotten:

Day 1: 24 oz

Day 2: 10 oz

Day 3: 4 oz (apparently not a lot of berries ripen on rainier, overcast days)

Day 4: 10.95 oz

Day 7: 30.4 oz

Day 11: 35.4 oz

 

Total: 114.75 oz, or a little over 7#

 

Considering what that would cost to buy somewhere I feel very lucky indeed.

 

 

foodsheds?

Good Food Nation, 2009 Nov. 10

This MITnews article is an interesting piece for anyone interested in the relationship between where their food comes from, what they eat, and how much they weigh.

"Obesity is widespread due to our national-scale system of food production and distribution, which surrounds children — especially lower-income children — with high-calorie products. “The problem lies not just in a child, but the whole environment around a child,” says Albright. “To end obesity, we need to produce healthier, more accessible, more affordable food.” As Albright notes, 90 percent of American food is processed — according to the United States Department of Agriculture — meaning it has been mixed with ingredients, often acting as preservatives, that can make food fattening."

"Only 1 to 2 percent of all food consumed in the United States today is locally produced." And yet "during World War Two, small “victory gardens” produced more than 40 percent of America’s fruits and vegetables." Quite an interesting pair of statistics.

Really, none of this is a surprise to me. Local produce in CT is priced for people who can afford nannies- local organic is for people with butlers and maids. Personally I'm looking forward to having a garden so that I can affordably grow the things like heirloom tomatoes and more pumpkins than I can shake a stick at. I'm also allergic to grass which means I won't really miss the lawn.

Tomato, Basil, & Mozzarella Salad

Happiness is an heirloom tomato from the farmers market, mozzarrella from Stew Leonard's, basil picked from my own plants, and some basalmic vinegar.
For those who prefer it, some salt and good olive oil would also be nice.

Next year I'm hoping the tomatoes will be from the garden, too.

The Victory Garden

We ran across the Victory Garden on PBS this morning. It's a show that I enjoyed many years ago, and suddenly it's a lot more useful since I'm closer to having my own garden than I was a decade ago. I always watch and say "oh, that's a great idea" or "I want to grow that" so I figured that if I wanted to remember anything I should take notes somewhere.

Today I learned about the "three sisters" method of gardening wherein corn is planted first, then beans are planted at the base of the corn stalk, and then winter squash is planted all around. The corn is the structure for the beans to grow up, the beans are the nitrogen fixer for the corn, and the squash is a living mulch for the whole planting bed. It's really quite elegant.

They discussed the idea of extending the useful life of summer produce without canning or freezing. Slicing thin and then dehydrating makes chips that can be used with dip later, or slightly larger pieces can be used in soup.

They also visited the Herb Lyceum at Gilson's in Groton, MA, and I found out about a bunch of herbs I'd like to have:

shiso, japanese basil (perilla frutescens cv.) zones 8-11
It's unrelated to our basil, but has green or purple leaves that are used in Japan like Europeans use basil. It also has beautiful flowers, but they need to be cut off immediately if you don't want seeds and volunteers everywhere.

Thai/Kaffir lime leaf (citrus hystrix) zones 10-12
When introduced to a little heat the oils on the leaves create the flavour and aroma of fresh lime juice. Apparently the plants are a little difficult to come by.

lemon verbena (aloysia triphilla) zones 8-10
Good in a glass of water, many kinds of confections, or in herb butter. According to Banik's mother it's also quite resilient (read as, hard to kill even when you try).

nasturtium (nasturtium sp.) zones 6-10
This flower grows well in poor locations. It's related to watercress, and the leaves can be substituted for it. The flowers are edible as well.

mexican mint marigold (tagetes lucida) zones 9-11
Looks like a pretty flower, tastes like tarragon.

english lavender (lavandula angustifolia) zones 5-9
Use it to make tea, then mix with cranberry juice and lemonade.

summer savory (satureja hortensis) zones 5-9
This is the common variety that everyone has.

creeping winter savory (satureja montana) zones 4-8
This variety grows easily and like a ground cover. It has lots of tiny white flowers in fall, and you might never guess that it's actually an herb.