Jam: Mixed Berry

First up, the disclaimer: I am not a professional food safety expert. I am not an authoritative person on Government-approved safety standards for food safety. By following this recipe, you assume all risk and responsibility.

Ok, that out of the way, on to the jam making... 

Making jam is pretty simple. I typically make a couple dozen half-pints of jam per year. It's mostly all the same procedure, as outlined in the de-facto standard, Ball Blue Book. Crushed fruit, sugar, maybe some acid and pectin, heated up, put in jars and processed. You can use most any fruit. I find that I use about 4 cups of crushed/chopped fruit to 3 cups of sugar. Also, I use the jars of powdered, low-sugar pectin. It allows the flavor of the fruit to come through much better when you use less sugar. Anyway, on to the recipe...

Makes 7 half-pints.

Ingredients

4 c. Strawberries 

2 c. Sweet cherries

1 c. Blackberries

1 c. Blueberries

Lemon juice

4 tb. Ball RealFruit Low or No-Sugar powdered pectin

3 c. Granulated sugar

Fill your canner kettle (or other large pot) with hot water and bring that to boil, covered. When the jam is done, this water should be at a rolling boil. I also typically fill the tea kettle with cold water and bring that to a boil as well. 

I typically can in wide-mouthed pint jars. In this case, I had some oddball 24-ounce regular-lid jars. I had 3 of those, a pint jar, and a half-pint jar ready, with lids and rings. Always have more jars, of different sizes ready and waiting. The jars and rings should be cleaned, but don't need to be boiled. The lids should always be new.

Remove the stems of the strawberries. Put them in a 4-cup container and crush them with a potato masher. Note: You can crush them in anything, but you will need to measure 4-5 cups of crushed fruit. They should crush down to about 2 cups of slurry. A little more or a little less doesn't matter. Stem and pit the cherries. Chop or crush them into the strawberry mash. Add blueberries and blackberries and crush them as well. I ended up with about 5.5 cups of crushed fruit slurry.  

Transfer the mash to a large pot. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice and 4 tablespoons of pectin. Bring it to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often, but not continuously. Once bubbling, add the sugar, one cup at a time, stirring it in thoroughly. Turn the burner to high and stir frequently to prevent sticking. Once the mix is boiling so hard that you can't stir it down, start a 1-minute timer. You WILL get splattered with boiling sugar/fruit mix. At the end of the minute, remove the pan from the heat. 

Using a wide funnel or a steady hand, transfer the jam to your prepared jars. Leave 1/4" of head space. Wipe any jam from the top of the jar witb a damp paper towel. Place the lid and ring on the jar and screw it down finger tight. You want it closed but not wrenched down. Oh, and you will find the now-hot jars difficult to hold. If you have a canning rack, place the jars in it. If not, you should put an old, clean kitchen towel or hand cloth in the bottom of your canner. Place the canner rack into the boiling water. If using a towel, place the jars in one at a time. Process pints and half-pints for 10 minutes. I did my 24-oz. jars for 13 minutes. Remove the jars from the water and place them on a heat-proof surface away from drafts where they will be undisturbed for 12-24 hours. When fully cooled, be sure to label the jars with their contents and the date. If any jars don't seal, place them in the refrigerator.

Gardening: Drying oregano

I demonstrate how I sun-dry my Southern New England grown oregano. The process takes 3-5 days from cutting to finished product. This should be all the oregano I need for the next year. There are many other ways, but you can't argue with simpicity plus success.

Beer Brewing: Brewing vs. Gardening

I decided to try my hand at small grain growing. And what better grain to grow than barley? It was somewhat of a last minute decision, so I ended up with some subideal conditions and limited choices. Ideally, I should have prepped the bed last Fall and ordered a nice, top-quality malting barley.

Instead, I ended up with a hasty bed prep and the only 2-row barley (Conlon) that I could find in small quantity with short notice. That said, it is coming along nicely. The coverage was a little thin, despite my heavy broadcast seeding. We had moderately heavy rain and unusual some cold at germination time. I didn't reseed some of the really thin areas because I kept waiting for more to germinate. Still, I think it came out pretty nice.

Random Thoughts: Food Shortages

In this day and age, it seems shocking and unacceptable at the thought of food shortages in our fully industrialized western world. However, it has happened in Rhode Island (one of highest population density States). The stated reason is weather. However, the diversity of crop shortages suggest something more dire.

It is my belief that the issue is primarily one of logistics combined with centralization of production. It is my opinion that is is an inherently bad thing to have broccoli and tomatoes produced in the same place at the same time. They are two very different crops with very different requirements.

For a small family farm, that approach is about diversification, just like investments. You don't put all your money in high-risk stocks, so you shouldn't put all your efforts into one crop. However, that approach is antithetical to the centralized monoculture production found on large farms.

If it's unusually hot or dry or cold or wet, you get shortages and delays. If all the region produces is a single crop, there is a minor annoyance. If the region produces all your food, well...

This problem is compounded with the logistics of production and distribution. Farmers (large farm coops or multi-national food companies) decide what to grow based on the price of each crop. If broccoli is high priced, a farm grows lots of broccoli. However, every farmer does the same thing. The result is an over-production of broccoli and an under-production of tomatoes.

Meanwhile, when it comes to market, everyone has broccoli and everyone wants tomatoes. This happens much more with commodities, however, all crops are slowly migrating towards this model and I fear the end result will be less than great.

What does this long ramble mean? Wel, aside from being unable to buy broccoli for the last month, it means I need to try to produce a lot more food in my small garden this coming season. I will need to spend more time weeding and watering because I, quite literally, can't afford to sacrifice one bit of production. It also means I need to be a lot more focused when buying seeds. Anyone know what will be a shortage next Fall/Winter?

Too much thyme

I have posted before about not having enough time. Generally speaking, I'm sure no one has enough. For the first time, I can say I have too much thyme.

Gardening: The Real New Years Day

To the average citizen, the New Year begins with a turn of the calendar, a glass of champagne, fireworks or a kiss. To a gardener (well, this gardener, anyway), it begins at the start of the growing season. For me, today was that day.

I got some trays of starter soil ready, pulled out my bags of disorganized seeds from previous years, added this years seeds, and pulled out all the things I needed to start. In this case, I need to start onions, leeks, parsely, butterfly weed* and yarrow.

I have been getting better and better with onions each year. I usually do medium to large yellow storage onions. This year, I decided to expand my planting to grow red onions and leeks. Last year, I had great results with my relatively small planting (100ish plants) of Pontiac onions. They were a medium-large onion, uniform in size, that lasted from Aug. to Nov. before we used them up. There were only a handful of small ones despite weeding neglect and none went soft or started to turn black.

I decided to try to have a repeat performance with Pontiac. In addition, I selected Red Bull (a red storage onion) and King Richard leeks. I got one packet each with 250 seed per packet. They have a 75-85% germination rate and I usually get a third of them are too runty to plant. That means I should get 133 red, 133 yellow, and 133 leeks. If I had more space, I would probably plant 5-10 times as many yellow, and twice as many red. But, I work with what I have.

Planting is simple. I filled an open flat 2/3 full of seed starter mix. I made straight rows, 1/2" deep, 1" apart. I wasn't too particular with where the rows start or end with the onions. I made sure to only do complete rows of leeks. I marked them, and covered the flat with plastic. I ended up with 7 rows of onions (finished with some leftover seed from 2 years ago) and 2 full rows of leeks.

Tomorrow, I'll get the parsely, yarrow, and butterfly weed seeds in the dirt. Next week, I might start some spinach, lettuce and peas to put in a cold frame. I usually start both of those too late, so I'd like to get a jump on them this year. 

* - Butterfly weed (aka Pleurisy root or Orange milkweed) is a pipe dream for me. Every year, I try to grow it. Every year, it fails to germinate, dies at transplant, or, in my most successful year, doesn't flower and dies in the Winter. Still, I have hope.

Garden: Fall Planting

This year, like every year, I have been planning to put in bulbs. Last year, I followed through on my plan. This year, I am doing the same. Last year, I planted something like 240ish bulbs, of varying kinds. The end result was well worth the cost and effort. If anything, I wished I planted more. So, this year, I'm going to do just that. I have purchased another 320 bulbs, which I will be planting over the next week or two.

I also picked up some tiny chrysanthemums for $.49 each. They probably won't come back next year, but if they do, it's far cheaper than paying $10 for mums which won't come back. I also theoretically have some garlic that I ordered which will need to be planted. After I write this, though, I'm going to go send an e-mail because it is supposed to ship in Sept., which is flying by. I had a bunch of perennial seeds which I was also planning on planting, but I don't know if I can get the bulbs in and seed beds prepared before it's too late. Theoretically, I should have planted them back in late August. Right now is about the latest I could expect them to survive. I suppose I could always save them to plant in Spring.

Finally, I planted some carrots, broccoli, kale, collards, lettuce and spinach. All are quite a bit behind where I would like them to be, except the carrots. We'll see how they turn out.

Summer Fun

This is a mixed bag post. I did a little of everything today and just wanted to share. I inspected the bees today. It was my first inspection in two weeks. I had hope that I would be able to harvest some honey, but it was not to be. I'm guessing the bees are short on young wax-producing bees due to the supersedure of the queen. It also looks like they could use another box shortly, but I'm going to wait until there are new bees emerging. The new queen has been laying for a couple weeks, so that should be any day now.

After the hive inspection, I went to the beach with the family. I had a fun time. Both kids were enjoying the water thoroughly which is a special treat. Usually, one is being difficult and the other one wants to walk away and not listen. Occasionally, they mix it up and change roles. Today, however, both kids seemed more interested in just having fun. After a lunch of cold fried food and soggy pizza, we headed home for nap time.

I really needed to get my fall veggies planted. In order to do that, I need to clear out the spring veggie patch of the old plants plus all the giant weeds. Seriously, I almost have a hay crop growing in my raised beds. The nice thing about this is it makes weeding easy. You just grab everything and pull. I managed to get the purple peacock broccoli-kale bed ripped out. I'm thinking I'm going to try a fall crop of carrots with a row cover so that I can pick into December. I need to get some collard greens and broccoli in the ground too, so I have a bunch more work to do but given that I was soaked in sweat in a matter of seconds, I decided to leave that for tomorrow. My fall garden plans include carrots, broccoli, collards, spinach, lettuces, and peas, plus some beets for the chickens. I might throw in some turnips and swiss chard, if I have any seeds left from the spring.

Later, we're going to have a cookout with family friends. Tomorrow, we're going out on the water. After that, I will probably get my gardening tasks done. If I have any spare time, I might try to get my new hive boxes assembled and painted. I have so much stuff going on this weekend and all of it is fun!

Making Jam with the Fam

Today, we made raspberry jam. OK, technically, there were some blackberries and a few blueberries thrown in for filler. The blackberries made a nice addition of tartness. This should replenish our stock of raspberry jam. We still have about two dozen jars of jam, jelly, and preserves from last year, not to mention pickles, pizza sauce and applesauce. This year, we should get a boatload of tomatoes. In fact, we might even have enough to supply our year's worth of tomatoes if they start ripening soon. Now all I need to do is find something to do with cucumbers other than making pickles. Anyway, enjoy the photos.

Today's berries

Kids impatiently waiting to help make jam

Waiting with temptation

Mommy stirring jam; Kid trying to sneak some sugar

"I swear, I didn't eat any"

The end result; 5 jars of jam for about half an hour and a few cents for pectin and li

No time

This isn't a typical "Poor me. I have no free time..." post. For what it's worth, I don't generally have any free time, but what parent does have any? Lately, though, I have had even less time. My wife is entrenched in a do-or-die situation trying to finish her Masters Degree. We've had a couple rounds of illness run through the family. Being in semi-single-father mode is pretty much sucking up all my free daylight hours.

Still, I've managed to get a lot done in a little time. I've got one 20'x5' garden bed full of onions and cole crops. As of today, I've got half of another 20'x5' bed full. Today, I planted broccoli. Seedlings are coming along nicely. I think I've figured out how to do this. The only thing I have trouble with is that my plants are a little small. I think the cold nighttime temperatures have stunted them a bit. That said, the plants I have planted have fantastic root systems, so I must have done something right.

I think next year, I will get a big bag of Pro-mix, as I think it would be cheaper than the smaller bags of seed starter. I suppose I could always make my own starter mix, but I don't think that would be any cheaper if I have to buy perlite and peat. I would also have to sterilize it in the oven, which I hear stinks pretty badly. I've noticed a distinct difference in the seedlings started in the Jiffy starter mix versus the Miracle Grow mix. The Miracle grow is far superior.

Next on the list of things to plant is collard greens and probably some perennials. I've got some nice looking lupines ready to plant in the next week or two, plus some Black-eyed Susans as well. In the next couple weeks, I expect that I will start squash/melon seeds and then I'll have the direct seeded things to plant. That will also be the time when I have to plant my main season veggies that I started from seed, so I expect to get much busier right when I get a little more free time.

On the "other stuff" front, my new time consumer project is about to get a lot more time consuming. I am getting bees delivered in a couple weeks. Initially, I was really disappointed that I wouldn't have the bees until after a bunch of flowers bloom. Now that I'm in the thick of it, I realize it was quite fortunate that I didn't get them delivered now. Otherwise, I would have bees without a home to put them in and no time to give them a home either. Getting them the first week of May will actually work out perfectly. I will have them in time for the brambles blooming, plus I will probably get the tail end of the fruit tree bloom period. Ideally, it would be nice to have them build up a good hive before those bloom periods, but I'll take what I can get.

April Showers

If April Showers bring May flowers, what do Mayflowers bring? 

...

Pilgrims.

That's an old joke that I remember from my childhood. I posted it here because I'm wondering what April snows bring. According to forecasts, we were supposed to get no more than 1/4" of snow, but we got the whole inch and maybe a little more. The weather has been totally uncooperative lately. We have had temperatures 5 degrees below normal. I have flats of seeds sprouted which I would like to leave out in their cold frames all night, but they wouldn't survive a below freezing night. Fortunately, it looks like we have turned a corner in that aspect.

I'm going well in my yard and garden goals so far. I've had much better results this year with my seed starting, but I've had a few setbacks as well. I'm not sure why, but my basil hasn't come up yet. I've never had trouble getting basil to sprout. Usually, I forget to water it at a critical time and it dies, but I've been much better with that this year. I've got a flat of tomatoes which are up nicely. I've also got eggplant, broccoli, kale, spinach, onions, a bunch of flowers and some herbs. I have a bunch more stuff to start and a bunch more stuff to direct seed, so baring an unexpected nuclear winter, I should have a productive garden this year.

Other than that, my hard work last fall planting almost 300 bulbs is paying off. I have stuff coming up everywhere. I still don't have one of those "garden tour" yards yet. Actually, I probably will never have one of those yards. I plant things where I have a space, near other things, in an environment which I think is right. As such, My garden areas get bigger, but look very piecemeal. If I had the money and time, I would construct the perfect yard which would be a combination of colors and smells and textures and whatnot. Given that I have a job and kids and a house and everything else, I'll stick with my approach.

Gardening: What To Plant?

I have been thinking about next spring and gardening already. Most years I have so much going on that I don't think about it until January and then get an itchy trigger finger to start planting with cheap poor quality but expensive seeds. I'm rewarded with poor germination, slow, leggy growth and usually fungus or insect damage before they reach the outside air.

I have had pretty good luck with perennials and want to expand my flower gardens significantly so I know I want some of those. The only problem is I really want all of those. I'm not so much of a landscaper as I am a plant collector. My gardens typically end up with one or two of everything. Plants are too expensive so I get one, plant it and plan to divide it in a few years. So far, I haven't had to do much dividing, so that doesn't work out that well. There are a few favorites of mine which I don't have. Chief among them is oriental poppy. I don't know why, but I can't seem to get them to germinate. So I have a few plants to start, but I really want some unusual plants. Also, I need to find some more things that work in my front yard. That ideal poses a significant challenge because very little grows well in the deep shade of the North side of a house.

Moving on to the vegetables, I have had disappointing tomatoes since I move into this house. The first few years, blame fell mostly on the soil. I made new gardens directly in the ground which even had a hard time growing grass. The tomatoes were totally flavorless and few. I made a raised bed on top of one of the gardens and got decent flavor and production one year, but every year after that the weather has been highly uncooperative. We started getting a blight or two which are manageable unless you have cold, rainy years like we did last year. This year was almost a total loss. We had several problems but the biggest issue was that the fruit never ripened. It only started turning red when it started rotting on the vine.

Finally, I have been looking into forage for the chickens. I want at least 3 seasons of forage which I can plant, successively after the chickens decimate an area. I plan to double their run and then divide it with bird netting so I can replant.That way, they will always have an area of dirt to scratch and bathe in and an area of fresh foliage to eat. Looking at my options, it seems that I have taking on a somewhat challenging effort. There are mixes that I could get, but most are constructed for grazing animals. Right now, I'm leaning towards making my own mix, but that adds a whole lot more guess work into the equation. The area gets partial sun and is a moderate slope. Right now, I'm leaning towards a mix of clover, peas, mustard, and turnips. I might mix in some carrots and salad greens and possibly some mangel (which is apparently, a beet). I figure the partial sun will only be an issue for production of fruit, which isn't an issue if I plan to let the chickens decimate them in their vegetative growth stage.

So, what does all this come down to? Right now, I'm planning on installing the third raised bed to grow tomatoes. I'm hoping that will take care of the disease problems for at least one year. I'm thinking about solarizing one or both of the other beds to try to kill off some bad stuff. Finally, I'm going to have to put together a list of seeds to order from someplace that sells high quality seeds. Maybe I'll think about doing that in January.

Gardening: Yard and Garden Plans

I started by making a list of all the things I want to do, categorized so that I could follow some sort of plan. Because of my longstanding interest in yard/garden stuff, I picked that category first. I realized something. This could be a really long list. For instance, I hope one day, in the middle-distant future to purchase a second home/piece of rural land of some sorts. That could count as a yard/garden plan in my mind. What about when I get to the travel plans. Should I say I want to wander Brazil collecting mineral specimens on the same list when I say I want to cut down a maple tree?

Of course, I could. This is my blog. I can do whatever I feel like and you can't stop me. Unless, of course, you're the good people at Google who provide the blogger service; Or a hard core hacker who wants to steal all my secrets buried deep within my generic blog site; Or the government. Those guys can stop you from doing just about anything though judicial legislating, executive orders and incontestable, but overreaching laws.

Back on topic... This is the list of yard and garden stuff I want/need to do in the semi-near term. I know I won't get it done in what's left of this outdoor season. I also know I won't even get it done next year. That said, if you don't have a plan, how can you ever hope to achieve your goals and complete those plans?

So, here is my list of yard and garden plans. I didn't include things that happen every year, like planting and lawn mowing. I plant every year. If I finished the list in 1 year, I would add it, but I don't want to uncross something from the list because I need to do it again.

• Install a third raised bed
• Improve fertility/organic matter to the yard/gardens
• Expand flower garden.
• Remove maple tree
• Add drip irrigation
• Expand shade garden
• Plant more spring flowering bulbs
• Make low hoops to cover raised beds for winter production
• Start vegetable/annual plants from seed
• Eliminate front yard lawn weeds
• Even out front yard
• Grade soil on the West (high) side of the house to aid rainwater removal
• Install foundation drain
• Add front walk/path
• Add front fence
• Encourage neighbor to replace fence
• Repair stone wall
• Fill driveway holes and seal

Some of the things on the list might need some elaboration for an unfamiliar reader. For instance, the fence between me and my neighbor is not so much a fence, as pieces of rotting down wood which was once probably a really nice fence. Another example, I do try to start vegetables every year from seed. I have tried every year. One year, I even doubled my electric bill trying to provide enough light to get decent plants, to no avail. Something always goes wrong. Usually, that something is me forgetting to water them on a critical day. So, really, the plan should say "Get better at..." instead of what it does say. I wouldn't even have that one on the list, except that plant variety and quality is decreasing and price is increasing in my area. I'll be damned if I am going to pay $4 for 1 week old basil seedlings. If you happen to care about my progress, here is a link to the bare list which I will update, as things are accomplished.

Gardening: CSA (aka, farm share)

This isn't really a gardening post, but I really didn't want to make another category. I just wanted to say how pleased I am with the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) at Simmons Farm. If you have the cash and the opportunity to enroll in one of these programs, I highly recommend it. This is especially true if you love fresh vegetables and don't have the time and/or the ability to grow your own.

If you are unfamiliar with how they work, it's pretty simple. You pay a farm a certain amount before the season begins. The farmers plant vegetables, knowing that they are already sold. You show up on a certain day at a certain time and pick up the farm fresh, locally grown produce, take it home and eat it. The only potential downside is a bad year for the farm means less vegetables for you. This year, for instance, we got no broccoli because the 3000 plants they planted didn't produce. This week, we only got small heads of lettuce because the goats got into the lettuce patch and destroyed it.

All said, we have certainly been getting our money's worth. I plan to do it again next year, and I know Erin's parents are probably going to do it too. We will just have to make sure we sign up early because they cut it off this year, so we want to make sure we get in.

Gardening: Late Winter/Early Spring Task List

The snow is finally melting and the robins can be seen searching for worms and other tasty morsels. It is now time to return to the task of outdoor gardening. What gardener can resist the tempting allure of that first warm day? Here is a list of tasks that must be done before the frenzy of the planting season begins.

Lawn and Garden Power Tool Tune-Up: Time to get those lawn mowers, chainsaws, and weed trimmers tuned up and ready for use. If you didn’t do it last fall, drain the gas and put in fresh stuff. Add a fuel stabilizer to your last can of gas that you buy to avoid this step in the future. Clean the mower top and bottom to remove all the build up dirt and grass that you should have been removing after each mowing. Sharpen or replace the blade on the mower and the chain on the chainsaw. Replace the sparkplugs at the interval specified in the manual. Never read the manual and now its lost? Just replace the plug anyway because it's easy and only costs a couple bucks. Make sure your weed trimmer has enough string to get you well into the season and replace it if necessary.

Don’t Forget Those Lawn and Garden Hand Tools Too: Scrape all that built-up caked-on dirt from your shovels, forks, and hoes. Get them nice and clean to assess them for replacement. Sharpen the shovels and trowels with a metal file. Just remember, you don’t need to slice tomatoes so you want it “blunt” sharp not razor sharp. Your trimmers and shears, on the other hand, should be quite sharp every time you cut. This is especially important when cutting out those diseased branches and stems. The cleaner the cut, the faster the tree will heal. After you have them clean and sharp, use some WD-40 or 3-in-1 oil on the joints. You can also coat the blades with a very light coating to inhibit rust. If you want a non-toxic solution, wipe them down with a very thin coating of mineral oil.

Roam the yard: Pick up all those twigs and branches that fell during those winter storms and get out those rakes to clean up the leaves that you didn’t get to in the fall. If you don’t have a compose pile, consider installing one in a secluded corner of the yard. Its a great way to avoid filling those paper sacks of yard waste and those extra trips to the dump. Take some time to appreciate all the crocus, daffodils and tulips popping up around the yard. If you don’t have any, remember to plant some this fall. Take a look at all the trees and shrubs to see which ones are in desperate need of pruning. Look for signs of winter injury or disease. Any plants that are severely diseased as well as trees that are damaged to the point that they pose a safety risk should be removed. Others should be pruned to remove dead, diseased or crossing branches, and then pruned to thin and shape the tree into an attractive healthy form.

Inspect the Hardscape: While you are roaming the yard, take stock of the condition of the hardscape features. Did the winter wind and snow blow down a section of fence? Is a fence post rotten? Does your shed need repair or replacement? Are those field stones in your walkway heaved up out of the ground causing a tripping hazard? Do you need to install any new garden beds? Make a list of all the work that will need to be done so you can prioritize them.

Think spring: Make a visit to your local seed supplier to see if there are any plants you want to start from seed. I find that this is also a good way to get ideas for what established plants I want to buy come April/May. By this time of year, most places even have their summer-flowering bulbs and tubers out.

Get dirty: As the month moves on and the soil starts to thaw you can start to transplant or divide. With most things still dormant, you can transplant them without having to worry about babying them. Once the night temperatures are at or above freezing consistently, you can plant snow peas, snap peas, cabbage, kale, broccoli, radishes and any other cold season crops. Garden beds, trees, and shrubs can have a 1/4 to 1/2 inch top-dressing of compost. One word of caution though, don’t put any manure products on fruit/vegetable beds. This can contaminate your food with e-coli.

Now that winter is finally ending, get out there and soak up the warm spring sun. Breath some of that fresh cool air. Get excited about the long days spent getting covered with dirt that are in the very near future.