Organic Gardening Info from Peaceful Valley

The summer crops are still coming on strong at this time of year, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed with the bounty. Rather than chucking it in the compost, it’s a great time to try your hand at preserving the harvest. Canning, freezing, drying, and fermenting are all ways to make the winter months just a little bit sunnier. Some interesting things I’ve tried this season are drying sungold tomatoes, the little yellow, super-sweet cherry tomatoes. I cut them in half and lay them out on screen drying racks or use a dehydrator. Once they are dry you can store them in airtight containers, or in jars of olive oil for an extra special treat. I’ve also dried pears, figs, apples, apricots, peaches, and tomatoes in the past. The trick is to get the slices the right thickness so that they dry fairly quickly, but still retain some chewiness. You don’t want to dry them too long. We sell a selection of great dehydrators that will help you in your quest for the perfect hiking snack.

Pickling has also been full-0n this summer. I’ve pickled the traditional pickling cucumbers, but also lemon cucumbers, green beans, snow peas, and peppers. It’s fun to try different spices and vinegars and ratios of vinegar and salt. One of my favorite spices to use is turmeric. It adds a beautiful golden hue to the jars.

Canning tomato sauce and whole tomatoes is another great way to use up the prolific tomatoes this time of year. Jams and fruit sauces are also easy canning options as the acid and sugar in fruits make it safer for home canning. My favorite right now is pear ginger sauce. Just cook up the pears with some fresh or powdered ginger, a dash of vanilla, and a cinnamon stick. I don’t even add any sugar the pears are so sweet on their own.

Some books that we carry to help you preserve the harvest include: Preserving Food Without Freezing or Canning, Country Wisdom and Know-How, and How to Store Your Garden Produce.

I’m a 6th generation California organic grower. My Great Great Great Grandfather Addison J. Bump, planted one of the very first orange groves in Calif. in the mid 1800s.

Here’s something I learned from his great granddaughter my great grama Maggie. Don’t throw out the vines that still have tomatoes. Instead hang them on the rafters of the barn (garage) in a place that they won’t freeze and they will keep ripening. They can be eaten, dried, or canned as you have enough for a batch.

I learned about ten years ago that you can also store them in bins or buckets off the vine. Clip the stem leaving the stepal (the little green star at the attachment on the tomato) but not any stem (it will poke holes as the tomatoes ripen) and put them all together in the bucket. Black plastic tree pots work great because of the holes in the bottom that allows some circulation.

Be sure to go through them often and see how they are doing. Pick out and keep the ripening ones toward the top so they don’t get squished. These aren’t good for fresh eating but make great sauce or pickle relish which I will talk about next week.

Grama Maggie had a method to her madness as well as a great green tomato relish recipe. To be continued next week …

I belong to a CSA, which means every week I get a box of the freshest veggies possible… from just down the road. Every year I find myself subconsciously competing with my CSA farmer… and I must admit I always lose. He always has tomatoes and peppers sooner, his lettuce and cabbage heads up better than mine, in short his thumb is just plain greener. And this year I’ve decided to be alright with that, I’ve decided to grow all the other things I like to eat that I never get from my CSA. Now this idea may seem elementary, but to me it’s a revelation.

For those of you who are not hip to CSA membership here’s a quick overview; A farmer near you grows a diverse yet practical variety of veggies, usually on a small amount of acreage (1-5 acres). You join the CSA (community supported agriculture) and pay for a box of veggies a week. It’s kind of a subscription to fresh local food. Usually $15-$40 a week paid in advance or in two or three payments. The idea is that by paying in advance you give the farmers the money they need to get off to a good start. In return you not only get the freshest veggies possible, you also get to”know your grower” which is a rare thing these days. For a more detailed explanation of CSA here is what Wikipedia has to say.

So this year I will grow some unusual greens; Double Purple Orach, Purslane, Miners Lettuce, Italienischer and Regal Spinach. Most of which I have no idea what they will taste like. Even though my CSA has tons of tomatoes, I’m still going to grow my own, mostly sauce tomatoes for canning, you can never have too many tomatoes in my opinion. The same goes for onions and garlic, in my house we eat so much of these it’s a surprise our friends can stand our breath. In addition I plan to grow pickling cucumbers, some specialty squashes like flying saucer and portofino. I also acquired a few giant pumpkin seeds from a winning giant pumpkin (800+ lbs) and I can’t wait to see what comes of that! Herbs are still on the plan this year, dill (for the pickles), cilantro, basil and parsley, and thyme. Shelling peas will be a new addition to my garden and so will the beautiful scarlet runner beans I picked up at a seed swap. Also in the plan this year are berries of the straw, blue and rasp varieties. The blueberries will be the only new item on the menu and even though I just put them in the ground yesterday… my mouth waters already.

My garden plan for this year started out as a supplement to my CSA, giving me the veggies I would not see in my weekly box. It quickly became more about exploring new kinds of vegetables. And while I realize that my garden this year will barely scratch the surface of the vast realm of vegetable variety… I’ve got to start somewhere… and my garden seems like the right place.

What’s in your garden this year?