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(Asheboro, North Carolina)
Sharing tips and how-to information on growing and preparing delicious and nutritious food.
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When I was a child, Thanksgiving on the farm was a special time. Mom got up very early to chop onions and celery for the traditional dressing that was stuffed inside the large turkey which she always baked for Thanksgiving. It had to be put in the oven early as she let it bake long and slow until lunchtime. Then there was dough to make for the yeast rolls. There must be enough time for the dough to rise twice before baking the rolls. After breakfast relatives would come. The ladies would help Mom in the kitchen, the men would go hunting with my Dad and we children would play and anticipate the coming feast. After lunch the ladies cleaned up the dishes, the men could hunt more and we children could play more. Do you have a special Thanksgiving memory, tradition or recipe? If so, I invite you to share it with us in the comments section. This recipe for Sweet Potato Casserole is one of my family's favorites. 3 cups mashed, cooked sweet potatoes 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup melted butter 2 eggs, well beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/3 cup milk Mix these ingredients and spoon into a 2 quart casserole. Topping: 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 2 1/2 tablespoons melted butter 1/4 cup plain flour 1/2 cup chopped pecans Combine and sprinkle on potato mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 25 minutes. For a variety of instructions on roasting a turkey visit Food Network.
Posted by Judy
@ 04:08 PM EST
  
As this gardening season is winding down we need to turn our thoughts
to next year's garden. Knowledge and good planning are the foundation
of a successful garden. Choosing vegetable varieties is a very
important factor in determining the success of your garden. Your hard
work and good intentions will not be justly rewarded if you plant the
wrong vegetable in the wrong place at the wrong time for the wrong
reasons. Here are some things to consider when choosing vegetable
varieties. Flavor:
When choosing a vegetable variety flavor is one of my primary
concerns. Flavor depends on variety selection and growing methods.
Our customers were willing to pay more for our produce because of
superior flavor, texture and keeping qualities. We were often told our
products were the best they had purchased.
Nutritional Content:
We are often told that more color in the diet equals more nutrition.
Eat the rainbow some have said. For this reason I choose to grow
yellow and multicolored corn instead of white, blue and yellow potatoes
instead of white, and orange and blue sweet potatoes rather than just
the orange varieties. As for tomatoes, the main variety I grow for
home use is called Health Kick. It contains more lycopene than other
varieties. You get the idea. When reading seed catalogs be alert to
statements made concerning nutritional content.
Productivity:
Some varieties are much more prolific than others. Generally speaking
hybrid varieties tend to produce more than heirlooms. You should also
consider how a specific variety may grow in your environmental
conditions - length of growing season, soil texture, temperature
extremes and amount of rainfall. Pest and Disease Resistance:
Many varieties have been bred for resistance to certain types of
diseases. For instance Big Beef Tomato has the following letters
beside the name in the seed catalog, VFFNTASt, meaning it is resistant
to Verticillium Wilt, Fusarium Wilt: races 1 and 2, Nematodes, Tobacco
Mosaic Virus, Alternaria, and Stemphylium. I try to choose the most
disease resistant varieties that have other qualities that I am looking
for. Also some varieties resist pest better than others. One example
is Neck Pumpkins. Most pumpkins have a hollow stem at ground level
that vine borers like to enter which kills the plant. The Neck Pumpkin
has a solid stem that resists vine borers. Space Requirements:
If your space is limited you can find seed for vegetables with compact
growth. You may also consider growing pole beans and cucumbers on a
trellis. You can also find varieties that grow well in containers. Drought, Heat and Cold Tolerance: By reading seed catalogs carefully you can find the varieties best suited for your climate. Length of Time to Harvest:
Gardeners in northern areas have a shorter growing season than those in
the southern regions. Consider the length of time until harvest when
choosing your vegetable varieties.
I would encourage you, if at all possible, to grow your own
transplants. By doing so you have much more choice in what varieties
you plant in your garden. Study the seed catalogs, they are a wealth
of information, then choose what works best for you in your situation.
From choosing the seed to harvesting, gardening is not a one size fits
all application. There are a variety of ways to grow a successful
garden. I suggest that you learn tips and techniques from a number of
experienced gardeners, then choose the techniques that work best in
your situation. The winter months would be a good time to read some of
the great gardening books that are available. In his book, Four Season Harvest, Eliot Coleman teaches how we can grow food year round. Rodale's Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening is a valuable resource for beginners as well as skilled gardeners. Eileen M. Logan's book, How to Grow Organic Vegetables in Containers, can be very useful for those of you who have limited space. I encourage you to read, learn, plant, grow and enjoy!
Posted by Judy
@ 03:10 PM EDT
  
Does this look like a Halloween Pumpkin?
I must say, it does not. So what is the point? The Halloween pumpkin
and the pie pumpkin have a lot to say about our modern society.
October, time to bring all those pumpkins in from the garden or field.
Jack-o-lantern pumpkins are everywhere but where are the pie pumpkins?
If you search you can scarcely find one. Why do farmers grow so many
Halloween pumpkins? Simple answer - because that is what their
customers want to buy. Herein lies my concern. The Halloween pumpkin
is associated with fun and entertainment, whereas the pie pumpkin is
associated with nourishing food for the body. The point is, I fear
that we as a society are leaning more toward fun and entertainment at
the expense of things of substance and greater value. I'm not
suggesting that we throw out the jack-o-lantern but that we have some
balance.
Pumpkins were a staple in the diet of the native American Indian. They
were grown with corn and beans and called the three sisters. The corn
provided a support for the beans to climb, the beans were able to fix
nitrogen in the soil, and the pumpkin leaves helped shade out unwanted
weeds. By teaching the early colonist to grow the three sisters, the
Indians helped them survive in the new world. Pumpkins are a
storehouse of nutrition - Vitamin A, Beta Carotene, Potassium and
more. You
can add these nutrients to your Halloween treats and children will love
helping you do it. Check out the following recipes. It's fun! Pumpkin Pie Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Pumpkin Muffins with Chocolate Glaze Pumpkin Pie Pinwheel Cookies Iced Pumpkin Cookies Spiced Pumpkin Cookies Pumpkin Fudge
Posted by Judy
@ 07:42 AM EDT
I have begun harvesting broccoli and finished digging all the sweet potatoes. Mice nibbled on a few of them but left plenty for us. They will keep all winter in a cool area in our house (55 - 60 degrees). Never store sweet potatoes in the refrigerator as temperatures below 50 degrees can cause cold injury and rotting. Savoy cabbage and collards are still growing very well. The rest of the peppers and neck pumpkins need to be gathered soon. The greenhouse tomatoes are pollinating very well without my help even though we have had a lot of cloudy days. No serious pest problems so far. The yellow sticky cards have caught a variety of insects. I've seen a few white flies and a few aphids. We expect ripe tomatoes in the first or second week of November.
After quite a bit of searching I finally found some Chandler Strawberry plants. They should arrive the middle of next week. A little later than I usually plant but it should be all right. Remember its time to clean up the garden, take soil test (see your local extension office), apply lime if needed and plant cover crops.
Posted by Judy
@ 04:20 PM EDT
Make your own Pear Marmalade. It's fun and it is delicious! 3 quarts organic pears (ground)Juice of 3 organic lemons and zest
6 cups sugar
1 cup crushed pineapple
Juice of 3 organic Valencia oranges and zest
Mix all ingredients together. Boil until clear. Put in hot sterilized jars and seal.
Try it on your homemade bread.
Posted by Judy
@ 08:07 PM EDT
  
Fall is a great time to get those fresh green vegetables that we are
told are so good for us. They are said to provide an abundance of
nutrition and even prevent some diseases. It seems easy for us to
neglect the green foods to our own detriment. My fall garden consists
of Chinese Cabbage, three varieties of collards, broccoli and Savoy
Cabbage. The soil for the fall garden was mulched with hay. I
fertilized with liquid fish, bone meal, sulfate of potash, epsom salts
and borax. Pests have included a few worms, harlequin bugs,
grasshoppers and crickets. Until recently I have hand picked worms and
harlequin bugs. The plants are getting so large it is more difficult
to find the worms so yesterday I sprayed with Bacillus Thurningiensis, brand name Dipel, to control the worms.
Chinese Cabbage was the first vegetable ready for harvest. It is
tender crisp with a texture I compare to a cross between lettuce and
cabbage. Each fall I like to use the Chinese Cabbage to make a few
quarts of Kimchi, Korean Sauerkraut, which keeps for weeks in the
refrigerator. Being preserved by lacto-fermentation, it provides good
bacteria needed in our intestinal tracts to aid good health. In her
book, Nourishing Traditions,
Sally Fallon explains the health benefits of lacto-fermentation and
provides many easy to follow recipes, including the one I use for
Kimchi. Broccoli is almost ready
for harvest. After the main heads are cut, smaller shoots will grow to
extend the harvest. Because frost adds a sweeter flavor to collards, I
will wait until after frost to harvest them. Cabbage and collard
harvest should last at least through January.
Posted by Judy
@ 07:29 PM EDT
 
Sweet Potatoes - Delicious - Nutritious - Keep well in storage - Very versatile As we all know we need to limit our sugar intake. That being said, if you want something sweet now and then, this is a great recipe. Made with organic whole wheat flour, organic sweet potatoes, organic milk, extra virgin olive oil and free range eggs it packs a lot of nutrition. With or without frosting, it is a winner. Cake Ingredients: 1/2 cup organic milk 2 1/4 cups organic whole wheat flour
2 cups sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon baking powder 3 free range eggs, separated 1 teaspoon cinnamon 3 cups grated and peeled organic sweet potatoes 1 teaspoon nutmeg 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon salt Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large mixing bowl with electric mixer blend the olive oil and sugar until well blended. Separate eggs. Add egg yolks, vanilla and milk to oil mixture. Blend well and set aside. Sift 1/4 cup of the flour over grated sweet potatoes. Toss to coat all sweet potatoes well. In a separate bowl combine the remaining 2 cups of flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Add this to the oil mixture and mix well. Fold in coated sweet potatoes. Beat egg whites stiff and fold into the cake batter. Pour batter into a 10-inch tube cake pan that has been coated with oil and flour. Bake cake 55 minutes or until done. Frosting Ingredients: 1 cup organic milk , 3 tblsp. organic whole wheat flour 1 cup powdered sugar, 1cup organic butter or Smart Balance, 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 cup coconut, 1/2 cup pecans Place milk and flour in a sauce pan and use a whisk to blend well. Cook over medium heat until it thickens stirring constantly. Remove from heat and allow to cool thoroughly. Place sugar, butter or Smart Balance and vanilla extract in mixing bowl and mix well with electric mixer. Add flour mixture and mix well. Stir in coconut and pecans.
Posted by Judy
@ 11:52 AM EDT
 The summer home garden is winding down and the fall garden is growing well. In the past week, from our home garden, I have gathered corn, green beans, lima beans, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and peppers. The October beans will be ready to pick soon followed by pumpkins, collards, cabbage and broccoli. The collards are sweeter after they have had some frost. I have picked a few worms off the fall plants and the greenhouse tomato plants. If the numbers increase I will spray the plants with Bacillus Thurningiensis (Bt., brand name Dipel). The last plantings of tomatoes and corn had a lot of disease and pest problems that are a normal part of late summer, but still produced enough to be worth while. Over all the garden produced beautifully this year except for the eggplant which finally succumbed to the flea beetles.
Now it is time to do the ground work for a successful garden next year. Clean up the garden, plant the cover crops, add the fall leaves and lime if needed (this can be determined by a soil test, see your local extension office).
The greenhouse tomato plants that where planted in August are beginning to bloom and should produce ripe tomatoes from November through January. In the photo on the right the tomatoes are being hand pollinated. In the outdoor garden tomatoes are pollinated by wind, bees and insects. To insure better pollination in the greenhouse we hand pollinate or release bumble bees in the greenhouse. The humid days and damp nights of August and September create an ideal environment for powdery mildew to grow on greenhouse tomato plants, however this year it has not yet become a problem. I have also placed a few cucumber plants in the greenhouse which should provide us with cukes into December, thought I would make more Bread and Butter Pickles. Though not everyone wants to grow a large crop of greenhouse tomatoes, a small greenhouse makes a great addition to the home garden. It increases the length of the harvest and enables you to grow your own vegetable plants.
Posted by Judy
@ 08:51 PM EDT
  
Remember we are in USDA Hardiness Zone 7 I love fresh strawberries from my organic garden in the spring. September is time to start preparing
for these delicious berries. First I till the area where I want my
strawberry bed. The photo on the left above shows the area and the
raised bed I have partially built. I pull two lines down the length of
the area spaced three feet apart to mark the area for my raised bed. I
shovel soil from outside this area onto the bed area to create my
raised bed. When the bed has been built I place two drip water lines
on top of the bed about nine inches apart. In the photo on the right above
black plastic has been pulled across the bed and is being secured by
shoveling soil onto the edges. Chandler Strawberries have been planted
in the bed in the lower photo above. The first two weeks in October
is the ideal time to plant Chandler Strawberries in this area. They do
well when planted in the fall but not so with all strawberries. The
raised bed and black plastic help warm the soil early in the spring
which hastens plant growth. 
Winter cover crops can be planted in October or the first of November.
I usually plant Rye and sometimes Vetch and Austrian Winter Peas.
Cover crops protect the soil and prevent erosion. When turned under
in the spring they add organic matter to the soil.
Garlic can be planted in November or December.
I have found that this advice concerning garlic works well for me -
plant on the shortest day of the year and harvest on the longest day of
the year. Garlic does well in a mulched bed as it does not compete
with weeds very well.
Posted by Judy
@ 07:03 PM EDT
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