Elderberry shrubs

 Well it took me a bit and a lot of batteries, but I finally got some elderberry pictures in case anyone was going to check around.

 They can be used as a shrub in the yard like this young one..

Yes.. those are bowling balls. Slight problem with tractors missing the road entirely and cruising through the yard. It is hard to adjust those headphone/radio do-hickeys and drive at the same time.

 That is planted in full sun, partially on the edge where the water runoff is along the street. When you plant Elderberry in full sun, the berry crop ripens more quickly. This one was done awhile ago and didn't have much to offer. It is trying to bounce back from heavy borer damage.

 A little ways down the street, between the road and the forest is this lovely group..

 The berries

 The leaves

  It is a pretty easy to control shrub, but it does not appreciate the traffic of a lawn mower or the nicks of a weed whacker. It also does not handle many chemicals well.  They can send out suckers, but not obnoxiously.

 In case you are curious about the nutritional value of these little gems..

 When I gather them, I bring clippers and snip off the cluster. They set fruit on that year's new growth, so it does not effect next year's crop. In the spring, they do well with a little well aged compost but overall this shrub can handle a pretty decent range of soil conditions.

 It is considered a honey plant. The bees worked them daily, but they bloom when a lot of other flowers are at full force as well. 

 As always, make sure to positively ID a plant before snacking on it.

 I'll be asking DV for permission to gather a few of those beauties so I can plant the seeds. I have just the spot to put a large group on the north side. That will be on our property bordering DV's place.. and as well an ideal location for hives later. 


 Next up for me is trying to get some chestnuts. The darn squirrels have snapped almost every one up! I managed to get 2.. and hoping to find a few more.

 

Today at the farm.. err.. garden... area-like-type-setting

If you've seen the commercial.. you'll get this..

Oh man... I coulda got a falcon!

    I've pulled the last of the purple tomatillos. Many don't realize that how purple they get depends on sun exposure on the fruit. You can get them to further ripen to a lovely gem colored shade by lining them up on a window sill for a little while.

  Tomatillos are one of those plants where you need several of them for proper pollination. I pulled all of the seeds of course as these had a great flavor and were nicely sour. It is iffy as to my germination rate for a first year here as the pollinators took awhile to work them.

 Elderberry harvest has been weak at best so far. I have a scant few after the chickens found one of the few shrubs, and the wild birds feasted on the others along the woods. The shrubs are getting nailed by some sort of borer, many of them are quickly dying. The few berries I have will be planted.

 Trying to go out to pick the berries is a challenge, as the birds love to follow me. I had to call in a furry reinforcement.

  He's a good dog and I'm lucky that he's so well tempered. 

 This roo here.. a bird of every color.. Ozzy.. not the best mannered. 

  He has a look alike.. Gonzo.. so named because the down near his tail is white and it makes him look like a puppet that has been loved to the point where the stuffing is coming out. He's also a butthead like Ozzy.

 Speaking of which.. the sun is down and I have to race back to the farm. Trying to find some computer time between painting the neighbor's house, replacing the other computer's power supply, juggling 2 bids on our house... you know how it is.. when it rains, it pours.

 I hope all of you are doing well and am wishing you all better times.

wild grapes, zucchini seeds, Chinese mantis

 Wild grapes are in season right now. I wandered out and grabbed up a few pounds.

  They are significantly smaller, tend to ripen at varying stages.. and are sour. Like with many wild fruits, the seeds are significantly larger with less flesh. These are lovely when mixed with other fruit in juices and jams. While munching on them off the vine is fun, the seeds can be daunting, rather like when bits of popcorn get stuck in the back of your throat. The chickens were snaking on them as well, often jumping up like Michael Jordan with incredible "air time" to snag a few treats. 
 There are several species native to North America. With wild genetics, each one is a bit different than it's neighbor. Even if you are not pleased with the grapes these natives provide, the vines do offer more. Grafting is an option. Many are not aware that wild strains of grapes from North America saved many vineyards in Europe. Our wild types are resistant to a disease that was ravaging European cultivars. 
 If you are interested in grafting, this is a helpful link. 
 I was surprised by this massive guardian of the garden.

See her? A Chinese mantid. 4 inches my foot.. she's over 6 from her head to the end of her body.

  A beneficial invasive, imported for bug control over 100 years ago. We have a couple of these wandering about. You can see the Japanese beetle damage to the vines. Minimal damage compared to the vines that were not patrolled by my feathered friends. 

 I've pulled my first zucchini for seed saving this year. You have to let the fruit get fully ripe.. which a ripe zucchini has a hard shell and is yellow.

 This is Ronde de Nice, a small round French heirloom strain. These are great for stuffing. I like a few of these.. and let them hang out until close to Halloween. The seeds benefit from some storage time of the fruit. I'll carve a few out, save the seeds ( and roast the extras).. to be small jack-o-lanterns. 
 These are cucurbita pepo.. and many "summer" squash are as well. That means they will cross with many other garden favorites. I controlled cross pollination by picking the male flowers of the other c. pepo that were soon to bloom. They became dinner. 
 Same drying method as others. Clean off the seeds, dry them well (will snap in half when bent). They can last a decade and better in proper storage and still maintain decent viability.

 Ok.. have to run! Best to you all!

 Things still are hopping around here and there just never seems to be enough time to tackle it all!  I try to get back to the house to catch up whenever I can. A bit of hope is out there as there may be a job opportunity. I'm not holding my breath, but I am crossing my fingers.

 Meanwhile, I've been trying to keep a handle on the tomatoes which means every other day I am making sauce. I'm grateful for every jar as this is one thing I use a LOT.

  The imperfect tomatoes go to the chickens and the rest gets used fresh or into various sauces. This morning I just made a plain stewed tomatoes. I love adding tomatoes to beef barley stew or I use it to smother fish (I lay out a bed of veggies sliced rather thin.. then whatever firm white fish I may have on hand over it.. top it off with crushed stewed tomatoes and bake it.) 

 The Queen Anne tomatoes are rather juicy, thin skinned, seedy.. which lends well to eating fresh, but not too great for sauces. The Goldman's Italian American ( GIA ) are much less seedy, drier, well flavored.. and a bit thicker skinned. Blanching the GIA's was fast as they easily slipped out of their skins and are rather large tomatoes too. 

 I of course could not stop myself..

  I am still awaiting the Jersey Giants. No wonder that strain is "rare" if it is almost September and still the tomatoes are green. A strain I will try again next year should I get seeds from them, and I will make sure to start them well ahead of the rest.

 The hornworms successfully nailed all of my other paste/ sauce type tomatoes. The yellow pears have been in high demand.  They are the perfect snack size and are great to toss into various dishes. I've tossed them in with carrots, potatoes, garlic, onions that were around a roasting chicken (the gravy made from that was fantastic. We brought some to DV and he came to the house the very next day to ask how I made it.)  I'll typically put a dash of olive oil in a pan (although my husband likes the bacon version better.. chop up a few lean slices and crisp up in a pan.. set bacon aside and use the drippings instead of olive oil).. thin sliced onions, sweet peppers (sometimes I'll toss in a chili pepper with the sweet), thin cut carrots, and several handfuls of the yellow pear tomatoes. At the end I'll put in minced garlic and pour this over pasta. The yellow pear tomatoes will soften and break to create a lovely sauce. I can make endless combinations (beans, corn, edamame, mushrooms.. almost anything works!)  The bacon version.. the bits go on top as a garnish usually with chopped chives and parsley.

 I haven't yet jarred up any salsa. That is on the list for next year. We can eat a lot of salsa when it is around.

 I have several good sized squash stashed away. Many winter squash are best eaten after they have had some time to cure. Fresh off the vine many seem bland and water.. their flavor improves as they dry out a bit. They will be wonderful in the middle of winter!

 This is my latest treasure..

      Pink old fashioned hollyhocks courtesy of yet another neighbor. His Grandmother planted this stand of hollyhocks before he was born. That puts it sometime before the 1940's. I have collected up enough of these seeds to plant an entire city block. Hollyhocks are biennial and in some areas will keep reseeding themselves quite happily. After drying.. these seeds will go into the freezer for 2 weeks to remove any potential weevils. 

 The honey bees have been happily visiting these flowers all day long. (Unfortunately.. so have the Japanese beetles.. munching on the foliage.) The seed pods remind me of wheels of cheese. A long sleeved shirt and gloves are helpful if you have to mess with these a bit as they have irritating hairs all along the stems and stalk. His hollyhocks are not staked up (they are planted along the wall of a free standing shed).. so in the crazy wind storms they got knocked over. They are well over 7 feet tall and still putting out blooms. 

 Today we have apple picking to tackle.  I need baskets. Those old apple baskets of woven wood slats would be incredibly helpful right now. Many of our apple trees on the bigger farm have been nailed by a blight. Flowering very well.. heavy fruit set.. and then BLAMO! A few trees didn't blow their load, but most did. (Quite a few fruit trees will probably need to be removed. Sad.. but necessary. Fruit wood is quite lovely for smoking meats..)

 The pears are still going crazy.. but they are a wild sort that nature planted. Small, heavy producing, highly russeted.. they won't be winning any beauty contest. They do however taste very good and are sweet.. even though I sampled them while they were still very unripe. 

 Black walnuts should be along soon. A few have dropped unintentionally, but they are not ready for picking yet. It should be a decent year for them, but in no way great. There are not nearly as many nuts on the trees this year.. but still more than enough to keep me busy. The husks smell lemony.. a good thing as I forgot I had stashed several of them in my backpack.

 It rained most of the day yesterday.. so gardening is not going to happen. In the next day or two I will be keeping my eyes peeled for puffballs. Mushrooms are triggered by both moisture and temperature fluctuations. It is kinda like playing a slot machine.. just with better odds of a pay out. I swear I have been dreaming about these mushrooms..  with wine, caramelized onions & garlic, and steeping in a beef broth.. and a crusty bread to dip into it. That can be made with any mushroom.. like button.. and it still is very good.  



And to my surprise.. I found that Guineas and chickens can cross.  As Roy, the Americauna rooster has displayed his vim and vigor... in the front yard...with what feels like every time a car passes... I am not concerned. Mainly because Roy... likes guinea boys.

 Back to work I go. I hope you all get a moment of more to enjoy summer while it is still here!

Under the cover of darkness...

 We (and by we, I mean my husband) slapped up 1 hand made screen into the window, noticed the sun had set long ago and said "Screw it, the other 3 will go in tomorrow!" We (again him.. but I like to feel involved) packed away the tools, and set out to meet the task on hand...  moving day for the birds.

 Imagine the relay race in the Olympics..  except set out in a farm, in almost complete dark, with 2 "runners" (again him.. I'm too endowed to run and remain conscious, but I am great at living vicariously through his athletic achievements).. a 5'+ tall fence.. oh.. and the "baton" is actually a chicken.     
 Some how when designing the fence to the yard, "someone" coughMomcough put in 2 gates.. on only 1 side of the fence. To move the birds quickly, and without the extra time or potential issues that occur when chickens freak out in the living room when cutting through the house..  we had to do the hand-off over the fence. A tangent but... scotchguarding the couch was the best move my Mom ever made.
 When it is dark out, the birds settle down. They are basically blind in the low light. I was grabbing them from their comfy place, racing to the fence and handing them off to my husband. He ran them to the coop and lined them up on the roosts. Moving 34 birds took a little over an hour. We had the drive and the motivation.. provided by a skunk. 
 Closing the coop, we patted ourselves on the back and headed in to bed. 


 Anyone notice a problem with our setup?


 The next morning a major storm blew in, and we didn't have to worry. SWEET RELIEF! The winds howled and blew.. no chickens sliding across the patio like weather reporters covering a hurricane. About noon it cleared up and we could check on the birds. That's when we noticed the problem.
 While the roosts were measured, and they had enough room to be on them and not touching... we (and by we, I mean my husband) forgot to measure the ass to head overlap. The 2nd stringers were sporting crap caps. 
 We have to adjust that feature.. or add a bird bath to the coop. The birds are avoiding being a 2nd stringer in the meantime.
 Most of the chickens have figured out the coop is home. The guineas (stew pot gang) and their minions... have not. The relay race happens every night and will continue to do so until they get a clue. We (not my husband) realize that this may take up to 6 weeks. 

A labor of love I tell ya.


 Not to be confused with this...

A test of love.. fermenting tomato seeds.

  The picture isn't out of focus.. it is just that the stench is powerful enough to warp the lens. These are tomato seeds that are ready to be cleaned. The aromatic output wafting off this is enough to test any marriage.. or cover that pesky "improperly stored corpse" scent still lingering in the drapes. Container with a lid is a must.

 At this rank stage, the gel coating around the seeds has dissolved. Add water to fill the container near to the top, wait a few seconds, and pour the floating gunk off. Repeat filling and pouring off several more times. The "fleshy bits" tend to float.. as does tomato seeds without an embryo. Viable seeds are typically sinkers, but they need a couple seconds to do so.
 I then finish washing them off using a strainer under the tap (cold water). They get laid out on wax paper or coffee filter to dry. Avoid putting wet seeds on to a paper plate, napkin, glass.. unless you plan on watching them and moving them a couple of times in the next few hours. Otherwise the seeds will cement themselves to the paper or glass. 
 Drying.. I let my seeds dry out for a couple of weeks in an area that has good air flow and is out of direct light. Do NOT use a dehydrator. Heat over 100 degrees and you are starting to cook the seeds. Cooked seeds don't sprout.
 If you dry a larger seed at the same time as tomatoes.. you can test the bigger seeds and get an idea how far along they are. Seeds that are dry enough to be stored will snap when folded in half. If they bend (still pliable) they have too much moisture. If you get the moisture content to 8% or less (breaks in half when folded).. they can be frozen and still hold viability for decades. Otherwise these seeds can be stored in air tight containers, out of light, and in a cool location (constant temperature a big bonus.. want to keep the glass stage of the seed).. they should retain very good viability (80%+) for 10 years and longer.


 The "glass stage" of seeds is essentially when the seed is dried enough that it almost freezes time. It is a stage of dormancy.. with each strain of seed having their own activation triggers (temperature). This is how seed vaults are able to hold on to strains for decades before needing to grow the crop out to refresh their stores.


The sun is setting.. I have to head back to the farm and prepare for the nightly relay race. I am hoping to update you soon on things I have been foraging and collecting. 

I am hunting for a good applesauce recipe to jar up the mini mountain in the kitchen. If you have a good recipe.. please share!!