Harvesting Garlic (Cure, Store, & More)

  

Garlic is the ultimate "sustainable crop". Once you begin growing your own, simply save the best bulbs from your harvest for the next season's crop. If you also preserve your garlic, you can have garlic all year long: scapes, fresh garlic, cured garlic, and finally, dehydrated garlic, without ever having to purchase garlic again--unless you want to try new varieties.

If your garlic was planted in New York in the fall, the lower leaves are likely brown and dying back, indicating it's time to harvest.

Gently pull the bulbs from the ground.

I “cure” three-fourths of our bulbs for a month, spread in a single layer 
on screens indoors out of direct sunlight until the stalks are dry.

Once cured, I set aside enough of the largest and healthiest bulbs to plant in the garden in the fall, and store the rest in the basement to be used in the kitchen over the next six months or so. Then I dehydrate the final bulbs to cook with during the limbo months after the stored garlic is no longer fresh and before next season’s harvest.

How-to Dehydrate Garlic:

                                                          

1.  Divide cloves by cutting a small incision in the outer layer in the indentations between the clove bulges, and peel back.  

                                        

2.  The outer skin peels off fresh garlic with little effort once the ends of the clove are removed.

                                             

        3.  Slice or dice cloves into pieces that are between 1/8” and 1/4” thick.

                                            

4.  Spread pieces on a dehydrating tray.

                          

5.  Dehydrate outdoors on a sunny day so the intense garlic odors remains outdoors.

6.  Dehydrate at 135 degrees for 12-16 hours until the pieces are no longer squishy. 
Store in mason jars.

Garlic has been used for thousands of years to sustain good health; so ensure a plentiful supply throughout the year.

The Perfect Time to Read Seedtime

     Many of us will be sowing seeds this season; patiently watching them plump; anticipating the hint of green; and rejoicing when new life explodes and the casing is cast aside; what a perfect time to reflect on the miracle of the seed. 

  

   Scott Chaskey's new book, Seedtime, guides us through the history of seed saving with words he has chosen as carefully as the seeds he sows. A poet and organic farmer, he explains the importance of seed biodiversity to combat the current threats to our "food freedom" by large corporations, and future crop failure due to climate change.  

    


 Written for farmers, gardeners, or any consumers of food, Chaskey describes worldwide efforts to protect our future seed supplies. He believes the answers to our future food security are stored within millions of diverse seeds. He marvels at seeds' adaptation and survival over time, as well as, the miraculous annual life-giving process.

    

Seedlings, Season Starters

It's not possible to do much gardening outdoors yet, but recycled yogurt containers, a soil blocker, and florescent lights enable me, impatient as I am to get my hands in the dirt, to jump start the season.

Kale and collards seedlings are ready to be planted in the garden next week.

Other seedlings will spend time in the greenhouse to continue growing under protection.

Tomato and pepper seeds, sewn today, will be ready for transplanting after the last frost. 

Winter's snow and ice are still a foot high in some areas; temperatures continue to dip into the teens at night; and there's snow in the forecast. Seedling greenery serves up the first course of spring's delicacies.

Making Sense of Food Labels

What do labels actually tell us about a food's production? 

It's valuable to know the subtle differences between common food labels, especially when some labels significantly influence prices. Labels may be backed by government oversight, signify inclusion in  independent verification programs, or simply represent marketing ploys.  Know what you're purchasing.

USDA Organic certification indicates: "The food...has been produced through methods that integrate cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. Synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering may not be used."
(Try Farm Aid's organic knowledge quiz to tests your knowledge of the term "organic".)

USDA Free-range chickens are provided shelter in a building, room, or area with unlimited access to food, fresh water, and continuous access to the outdoors during their production cycle. The outdoor area may or may not be fenced and/or covered with netting-like material. There is no standard for free range beef, pork, or chicken eggs.

USDA Natural meat, poultry, and egg products must be minimally processed and contain no artificial ingredients. However, the natural label does not include any standards regarding farm practices and only applies to processing of meat and egg products. There are no standards or regulations for the labeling of natural food products if they do not contain meat or eggs.

USDA Cage-free poultry is able to freely roam a building, room, or enclosed area with unlimited access to food and fresh water during their production cycle.

USDA Grass-fed animals receive a majority of their nutrients from grass throughout their life, while organic animals’ pasture diet may be supplemented with grain. The grass-fed label does not limit the use of antibiotics, hormones, or pesticides. (The American Grassfed Association, "Certifies beef, bison, dairy, lamb and goat that is fed only on pasture, in addition to being raised without antibiotics, synthetic hormones, confinement and with standards for high animal welfare.")

Pasture-raised. The USDA has not developed a federal definition for pasture-raised products.

Humane. The USDA does not specifically verify humane treatment of animals. (The American Humane Certified program ensures, "Animals raised for dairy, poultry, beef, veal, goat, swine, turkey and bison products are raised in a humane manner.)

No added hormones indicates the cow was not injected with artificial growth hormones. Federal regulations do not permit hormones or steroids to be used in poultry, pork, or goat.  

Animal Welfare Approved. A division of the Animal Welfare Institute certifies family farms when, "Animals are able to behave naturally and be in a state of physical and psychological well-being".

The Fair Trade label is not regulated by the US government, but when certified by Fair Trade USA, "Workers must receive decent wages, housing, health and safety guidelines, the right to join trade unions and child or forced labor is completely prohibited. Crops must also be grown, produced and processed in a manner that supports social, economic and environmental development."

Non GMO - Plants and animals that are not genetically engineered are verified by the non profit, Non GMO Project. Since the USDA does not require labeling, purchasing organic food or unprocessed conventionally grown food, is currently the best ways to avoid GMO.

Understanding the meaning behind food labels ensures that our purchases reflect our personal values.

Good Clean Food

     If you're interested in learning how to navigate food purchases to avoid GMO, HrBGH, herbicides, and antibiotics--or to understand why you should--Good Clean Food by Samuel Epstein, MD, and Beth Leibson can help. The authors document health risks of foods: milk, meat, fruits, vegetables, and processed food. They encourage consumers to prevent cancer and other diseases by shopping carefully. They explain their concerns, give the history as to why changes in our food system have come about, and offer specific shopping suggestions. Stories about specific organization that offer healthy, sustain-ably produced food are highlighted at the end of each chapter. A nutritional chapter on detoxification includes therapies like vitamin-c drip, chelation, juicing, supplement, mediation, yoga, and acupuncture. The appendix lists companies the Cornucopia Institute, a nonprofit farm policy research group, endorses as ecologically sound producer of healthy food. If you're trying to locate healthy food, and avoid the grocery store minefield, this guide can help.

Chemical Free Wall Paper Removal

Step 1. Remove switch plates and lighting fixtures.  

Pull off the outer layer of paper in large sheets.

   


   
 When it was time to remove the paper in a small bathroom, I dreaded the idea of spending time in the constrained space with a chemical stripper applied on the walls, so I researched alternative, non-toxic options. Although using vinegar rather than a stripping solution, takes some elbow grease, avoiding exposure to chemical fumes for hours while peeling paper, seemed a reasonable trade-off.   

Step 2. Spray the next layer with a warm water and vinegar mix 
(ratio 4:1), and immediately scraped it off with a razor scraper. 

Step 3.  Respray sections that do not scrape easily, and continued scraping.

Step 4.  Remove the last remnants of glue with a rag dipped 
in a bucket of warm water to reveal the original smooth surface.

Step 5.  Touch-up scratched areas with taping compound if necessary, 
and re-paper, or avoid future paper removal, and paint.  
Replace switches and fixtures.

Boiling Maple Syrup on a Converted Oil Drum

     Maple syrup season is soon approaching, so it's time to begin preparing for next month's running sap. I'm hoping to increase the amount of syrup I produce and decrease the amount of wood fuel I use this year. Since maple syrup is local, sustainable, and so delicious, it's quickly become my family's favorite sweetener. The amount of syrup I boiled down last year supplied us through October. Ideally, I'd love to produce enough to make it through the entire year.

     Last season, I burnt all the brush I collected from my property, much of our accumulated kindling, and even some of our fire wood.  This year, I decided to begin preparation early: in the fall, I collected brush from around the property and stacked it near the boiling area.  I also asked a friend in construction to direct scrap lumber my way, instead of disposing it in the construction dumpster. He's religiously dropped off weekly loads of scrap wood that I've cut to length and stacked in my woodshed. The piles are mounting as maple season closes in, so I'm hoping that I can avoid pulling heating wood from our stack, and use only wood that would otherwise be discarded.  

     We've convert a recycled oil drum into an outdoor wood stove with parts ordered from Northern Hydraulics, to burn wood more efficiently than last year's open pit.  

#16160 Barrell Stove Kit & #161609 Stove Damper Flu
from Northern Hydraulics

#172905 Hot Plate for Barrel Set with Lid
 from Northern Hydraulics

     I'm hopeful that the closed fire will allow me to boil down more syrup.  I'm also anticipating that by pulling the ash away from the pot through the stove pipe, less ash will need to be filtered out of the syrup.
     I'm watching the weather predictions; waiting for the days' temperatures to rise above freezing while the nights' temperatures return to below freezing, forcing the sap to flow, so I can try out my new stove.

See previous posts on making maple syrup.