Alice

Not that anybody is keeping track...but I haven't blogged in a while. Not that there has been a lack of fodder...to say the least, the past few weeks have been a whirlwind tour of Leeds England. Spring has come on with a vengeance, intermittent sunshine mixed with rain and warm nighttime temperatures have made this (in my opinion) the best spring in a few years. Things are growing. To further complicate things, SUFCo. has been transitioning into a new headquarters (more about this later)...so we haven't had much time to breath (or play leisure sports). Interesting things have been happening. It seems that everywhere you go, someone is ready to talk about local foods and/or baseball. A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to meet Alice Waters at a farmer's market.

I am not sure if I should attempt to explain the importance of Alice in the local food movement. Briefly, she started a restaurant serving fresh, local foods in California Chez Pannise back in the day, way before it was cool. In my opinion, she is certainly one of the most influential food activists in the universe. There is even a great PBS documentary "Alice Waters and Her Delicious Revolution. I picked up a copy of her new book Edible Schoolyard which chronicles the advent of a gardening/cooking program she helped develop at a school in Berkeley. Which is very timely as we are currently trying to work out the details to help set up gardening spaces and curriculum at a few schools around Seattle. Anyways, the point is that she is really cool, and even though she wasn't signing body parts, she did sign my book and seemed like a genuine person.

Kefir

Kefir is a cultured dairy product similar to yogurt, but made with different strains of bacteria. It is more of a liquid substance than yogurt, but has a similar taste. This may not be an essential part of urban farming, but for those with too little time/space for livestock like chickens or goats, this makes a great alternative pet.

It takes about as much time to care for as your goldfish or chia head. The hardest part is getting the kefir grains to begin with. I would recommend one of the following: order it online, or go down to the nearest tea shop and locate someone who is reading tarot cards. Preferably someone wearing a purple scarf and several large medallions (they should know where to get some...)

These are the materials you will need:

• Kefir grains

• Milk

• 2 glass jars with lids (I use 1/2 gallon jars but 1 quart works well too; one to ferment the kefir in and one to store the finished kefir in)

• A spatula

• A colander (not metal, legend has it that contact with metal will kill your grains)

• A bowl (preferably one with a spout that pours well).

The steps:

Set the colander into the bowl, open your jar of kefir and pour it into the colander. Use the spatula to push all of the liquid through the colander and into the bowl. Your kefir grains are what is left in the colander once the liquid pours off. Some people say to rinse the grains at this point, but I don't...the last time I tried that, my grains perished...

Pour the kefir liquid into the second glass jar to be stored in the refrigerator or consumed immediately...enjoy your kefir any way that seems appropriate. I would recommend mixing it with your favorite fruit, putting on a very good Boston album ("More Than a Feeling") and reading my blog...

Clean the fermenting jar well and put your kefir grains back in the newly cleaned jar. 

If your culture is healthy and is growing too large for your needs, this is a good time to separate out some grains and give them to Steve...

Pour milk into the jar with your kefir grains (and Steve's). You can use whatever milk you like. I would recommend organic, whole, unpasteurized, grass-fed, shade-grown, sustainable, fair-trade, dolphin-safe milk from your local farmer's market...

Put the lids on your jars, put your kefir jar next to Steve's and remember: it is more than a feeling. It is very likely that you will start dreaming, but with any luck you won't have to see your Marianne walking away...

Put your kefir away in a cupboard for one or two days (depending on how fermented you like it), the longer it sits, the more fermented. The whey will start to separate and it may take on a "yeasty" taste. The timing will depend on the quantity of grains that you have in proportion to the quantity of milk you are using...if your kefir goes too long and seems undrinkable, use it for baking or dispose of it and make a new batch. Even if you forget about it for a week or two, the grains should still be alright if poured into a new bath of milk. If you are going out of town for a few weeks, store the grains in milk in the refrigerator. This will allow them to hibernate until you return.

Repeat

Prune Your Fruit

I am not sure if there is a name for slacking on your blog...the last few weeks have been pretty interesting and may necessitate a few blogs to elucidate.

Last Saturday we went to a workshop put on by the Western Washington Fruit Research Foundation (WWFRF). It was held at the Washington State research center in Mount Vernon. You could call it a virtual Who's Who of western Washington fruit tree nerds. We attended talks on soil fertility, grafting, pruning and thinning; followed by demonstrations in the WWFRF orchard. I will do my best to sum up a little of the information I absorbed, but here are a few resources that will really tell you what is what:

Video: Easy Steps to Fruit Tree Pruning, by Gary Moulton
Book: The Pruning Book, by Lee Reich
Book: The Backyard Orchardist, by Stella Otto

We were fortunate enough this past weekend to hear a lecture by Gary Moulton about fruit tree pruning and thinning. Most important to remember: it is important to remember to prune...Also, make sure that you have clean, sharp tools. You will likely need a sharp pair of loppers, a sharp pruning saw and a sharp pair of hand pruners, and a ladder.
There are a few basic shapes that fruit trees are generally pruned into: Central Leader, Modified Central Leader, Open Center and Espalier.

Central Leader: has one main branch going straight up the 
middle and other branches radiating out in different
directions around the trunk, called scaffold branches. (see diagram: North Carolina State University)

Modified Central Leader: let the tree start out as a central leader and then either tie down the central leader to turn it into a scaffold branch or head it back. (see diagram: www.urbanharvest.org)

Open Center: cuts out the central leader and develops four or five main scaffold branches headed out in different directions. (see diagram:www.ext.vt.edu)

Espalier: can be trained in very complex patterns, but generally is pruned so there are only branches going in two directions (as if flat against a fence). (see photo: www.ynurserynews.com)

You can choose to train your trees into any of these shapes...the most important thing to remember is to make thinning cuts instead of heading cuts.

Thinning cuts: remove entire branches all the way back to the trunk or main scaffold. Remove branches that are growing in the same direction (competing with each other) or crossing each other. You will open up the remaining branches to air flow and sunlight.

Heading cuts: this is when you cut a branch back part way (cut off the head), it will cause branches to "bush out" at the ends, reducing airflow and sun penetration.

If this seems like a strange time of year to be so focused on fruit (since most won't be ready until the end of summer), you are a fool!
Have you have ever noticed that your fruit tree produces a heavy crop one year and then a very light crop the next year? Most likely it is because you did not sacrifice a yearling goat under the last harvest moon.
Alternatively, it is possible that you have not been pruning your trees properly. If you would like to improve your tree health and balance your yearly fruit production, would strongly recommend eliminating this blog from your memory, doing some real research on your tree varieties and getting out there and starting to prune...and then there is fruit thinning...

Mystery Turnips

First of all I would like to say thanks to everyone who was exposed to the great White House Farmer frenzy last week. Although my name ended up in 14th place, somehow we collected over 700 votes in the span of three days. That is pretty amazing. I am still looking into other strategies to pursue the position (maybe on craigslist?...)

Secondly, and more to the point, I ate the worlds largest turnip this week (please see attached photo)

You see, a few months ago, I was in Latin America doing some "research" on tropical agriculture. In mid-November I was visiting a great sustainable ag. education farm called La Flor de Paraiso in the central highlands of Costa Rica. At the farm, I met travelers from all over the world, and I met a guy from Oregon named Jim.

Evidentally a friend of Jim's had been looking for the seeds of an old heirloom turnip grown back in the days of their grandparents. No seed company or seed saving organization had the seeds in question. Then they found an old jar of the seeds in just sitting on a windowsill in grandmothers house! As fate would have it: the seeds were still viable; some of the seeds were passed on to Jim; Jim promptly grew the turnips; and Jim let them go to seed while he travelled to Costa Rica. I can admit a little skepticism when Jim told me in his plain-speaking manner:

"These are the biggest turnips you've ever seen."

In fact I hadn't seen that many turnips for comparison, but I gave Jim my mailing address, hoping one day to get my hands on some of these rare seeds. Not two months later I recieved a mysterious package in the mail, originating in Oregon and weighing approximately 400 lbs. (hyperbole) Inside I found a package of seeds and the biggest turnip I've ever seen.

After posing for some glamour shots with the turnip, I proceeded to slice off 5-10 lb. pieces to give away as Groundhog's Day gifts to my closest friends. The remainder was cubed, roasted and integrated into my Winter Root Crop Consumption Program (WRCCP). It turned out to be very good eating.

As you can imagine, we are greatly looking forward to sowing, growing and collecting these turnip seeds (scientific name unknown) and hopefully disemminating some next spring on Pennslyvania Avenue... Thanks Jim!

Tree Fruits

Tree Fruits, Berries and...actually just fruit trees

Well, I guess it is February 23. Right about the time to start planting fruit trees, brambles, and other fruiting whathaveyous. So...what can we grow here in Seattle? I will use this as an opportunity to put in a plug for one of my favorite businesses, Raintree Nursery. Raintree specializes in fruiting plants and has a great catalog and website that can be crucial resources if you are planning to do some edible landscaping. You literally won't believe all of the crazy s*#@ they grow.
For the time being, I am going to try to decide what the most common fruiting plants that produce well here in Seattle:
In no particular order, we have Apples, Plums, Pears, Cherries, Raspberries, Blueberries, Strawberries.
As you will notice, there are a lot of fruiting trees on the list. No matter where you live, there are certain varieties of each that will produce well, and other varieties that won't.
Here is a short list that I lifted from Washington State University (which has a lot of agricultural programs):

Basic Home Orchard Variety List:

Apple - Gravenstein, Akane, Chehalis, Liberty, Jonagold
Pear - Clapp Favorite, Bartlett, Orcas, Comice
Plum/Prune - Methley, Beauty, Shiro, Early Italian, Seneca
Cherry - Van, Angela, Hardy Giant, Emperor Francis
Peach - Early Redhaven, Harken, Frost
Apricot - Not generally successful; try Puget Gold
Nectarine - Not generally successful; try Juneglo

As you will also notice, it is not recommended to try apricots and nectarines (unless you have some sins that need atonement). Also, peaches often seem more trouble than they are worth, especially since there are so many grown just over the mountains...

Here is another thing to consider when picking trees for your yard: plant dwarf or semi-dwarf varieites. Standard size fruit trees are great to look at, but very difficult to maintain and harvest.
So...just in case you are interested, here is a brief primer on rootstocks: what they are and why it matters...(you might want to stop reading at this point)

Why do you need a rootstock in the first place, what is grafting and why velcro shoes are worth the investment?

To get a fruit tree that bears a particular variety of fruit (Gravenstein apples for example), the plant must be propagated vegetatively. This usually means that a piece of a Gravenstein apple tree (for example a branch) is cut off and "grafted" onto another tree or rootstock. (it is absolutely necessary to call the branch a "scion" or it won't work).
Grafting can take many forms but usually involves taping the scion and the rootstock together until they grow into a single plant (kind of like when your shoelace breaks and you tie it back together). This is a very precise technique and I would highly recommend reading up on it a bit and/or going to a workshop if you intend to try it at home.

The Grafter's Handbook, by Robert J. Garner is considered the book to read and I am pretty sure that it made it onto Oprah's reading list last month.
Western Washington Fruit Research Foundation is putting on a workshop this March.
If you want to know how to tie your shoelace together, try a square knot.

Anyways, after the scion attaches to the rootstock, it will grow into a tree that produces Gravenstein apples. The rootstock does not effect the variety of fruit but it does determine the size of the tree (and other things such as disease resistance).
If the seeds of a Gravenstein apple are sown, each seed will grow into a tree with a new variety of apple (but not Gravenstein apples). Some of these new varieties may be very good, but most will become the "I am not going to eat this apple" type of apple.
Since certain trees produce fruits that taste better than others, people have developed grafting in order to propagate these fruits in perpetuity. Otherwise there would have only been one Gravenstein apple tree and when it died this type of apple would cease to exist.

To make things much more interesting, horticulturalists have been developing different types of rootstocks for these trees. Some will make the tree "semi-dwarfing" and some will be "true dwarfs", etc. Here is a link to descriptions of different rootstocks and their characteristics.
Bay Laurel Nursery

Generally speaking, it is good to grow smaller trees in your landscape so that you can reach the fruit when it is ready to eat...
I guess I will try to say something about berries next time.

Varmints

It's Groundhogs day!

Lets talk about varmints. First, this is a typical conversation during the course of a garden consultation:
New Client: “We have a lot of raccoons (and/or rats) in our neighborhood…are they going to eat everything?”
Me: “Of course!”
New Client: “How dreadful!”
Me: “Life is merely a series of tragic episodes, each more devastating than the last!”

Based on our experience, every neighborhood in this city (and presumably other cities?) is full of raccoons, rats, opossums, moles, voles, crows and countless other vermin in such numbers that we are probably better off not thinking about it. The good news is that, generally, most of these varmints have little interest in your vegetable crops. (Your chickens are another story altogether: chickens will eat your vegetable crops and varmints will certainly eat your chickens).

There are of course many, many exceptions to this…one notable case would be that of the lowly vole. Should you worry solely about voles, or voles and moles? Remember this, Voles eat Vegetables (esp. the roots of your favorite crops) and Moles eat Moths (or at least the larvae of moths). If that is a poor pneumonic device it is only because I just made it up. I am sorry. Moles may make mounds in your lawn, but generally won’t go after your crops; whereas voles are straight-up varmints. Maybe this is better: Voles are Varmints and Moles are Marmots (even moles aren’t actually marmots).

Anyways, if voles become a problem, as far as I know, the best strategy is peanut butter baited mousetraps...The other most common varmint we see is the rabbit. If you have seen rabbits hanging out at the end of your street after school, it is best to organize a neighborhood watch with the other parents on the street. Alternatively, you can put up a short (2-3’) fence around the perimeter of your garden before planting. Rabbits should be considered ruthless, and at the very least, not merciful. You might also have deer. In most of the urbanized greater Seattle region, deer don’t pose much of a threat, but if you know that deer are in your area, you probably have little choice but to build a fence (a high fence).

Other varmints can become troublesome from time to time, especially in the late winter (the lean months for varmints of all kinds). For example, rats seem to have an affinity for Peas, which are planted early and therefore a likely target for a hungry beast. Come to think of it, there are endless cases of animal attacks on unsuspecting vegetable plants. Just last summer I heard one report of a rouge raccoon attacking a Zucchini plant! The creature did not have the common decency to eat the fruit, but instead shredded the plant down to a ragged nub! There was also a report of a Mountain Beaver cruising out of the nearby woods to wreak havoc in an otherwise civilized garden...Not to mention the crows in Wedgewood that will pull newly transplanted Brassicas out of the ground and let them wither away in the summer heat! Always keep in mind that your neighbor’s cat will inevitably mistake your newly cultivated garden beds for…well, you know…

As you can see, there is much anecdotal evidence of varmints in the vegetable patch, but it has been our experience that most city gardeners will have limited trouble with these small and medium sized animals. If you feel the need to worry about something, worry about insect pests and plant diseases (which we can discuss later).

There is certainly no shortage of bizarre happenings in the garden at night (crop circles, drum circles, etc.), but for the most part the free-roaming animals of the city are not going to destroy your vegetable garden...at least that is what my blog says...