new! JosieGladysGardens is Expanding into Pages!

New! JosieGladysGardens is Expanding into Pages! Okay, so it's just one page besides the home page so far. :) Check out the PAGES link below. This is where photos of the garden's harvest are served up. Coming (eventually) will be a recipes page. Of course, you can also get recipes at www.SandraReaves.com under Food Preservation.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Well! What a Surprise! Dehydrated Veggies in My Recipes

This year, I started doing a lot more dehydrating because, well, I kept running out of canning jars and didn't have the budget to go get more. At first, I would run get freezer bags, but the freezer filled up quickly. I even gave away a cooler full of frozen green beans to a church and refilled that space in the freezer before I could blink. We had run out of room for jars anyway, too. It's been an exceptionally good year in the garden. Dehydrating saves a lot of storage space and the food lasts longer than any other method of preserving. So, I have dried everything I could: green beans, tomatoes, tomato purée, carrots, eggplants, okra, sweet peppers, bell peppers, Malabar spinach, onion, mustard greens, winter squash.

And then I got the idea to sneak some leafy greens into my picky-eater husband's food by using them in place of parsley. He didn't notice, so I went a little further and eventually let him in on the secret. That opened the door to use even more veggies as flakes and finely ground powder. I've been using a lot of ground mustard greens, green beans, and eggplant. I especially like using the eggplant; its flavor smooths out sharp flavors and gives brothy soups a nice semi-creamy look. Tonight, I made up a meatloaf and some tasty turkey Swedish meatballs adding the Malabar Spinach and eggplant.

In late summer, the green beans got ahead of me and would bean out so that I'd wind up with a lot of shellies and not many snaps. I'd throw out a lot of pods that were somewhat tender, but not enough to keep the pods to serve. It made me really frustrated and I got to wondering about using those pods for a powder. And so I dried a big batch and it works just fine. They dry quicker than the snapped beans, too. It was the best of both worlds: I got the shell outs and the protein from the still tender pods, as well.

The only things I've decided not to repeat is drying puréed tomatoes and winter squash. The puréed tomolatoes didn't rehydrate to a smooth consistency. Tomato powder is versatile and if I need a purée or sauce, I'll just preserve it that way. And I disliked the flavor of dehydrated winter squash. I'll stick with canning winter squash.

Overall, I'm happy with dehydrating and surprised at how the veggies are getting used.
This all kind of makes me want to say, "Well, la dee da!"

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Gleaning the Summer Garden

October 30th gleaning yielded bell peppers, sweet banana peppers, small eggplants, green beans, butterbeans, tomatoes, okra, and field peas. Even as the summer garden ends, it still gives enough to make meals. This is why I'm always reluctant to put the garden to bed. We've had light frosts and it won't be long before a hard freeze comes along to make the butterbean vines wither and blacken. There are many flowers and green pods out there at present. I fight with the sunset to pick during the week and the very chilly mornings on the weekends. The winter vegetables are growing vigorously. The blue-stemmed collards that survived summer's harlequin bug infestation truly are resplendent. So, there will be some fresh produce this winter. And every last bit of what the summer garden strives to yield will be tucked into a jar, a drawer, a freezer shelf for those dark and cold winter nights to become steamy meals that bring back the warmth of such a happy season.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Peach Water

Preserving food in my kitchen is either frenetic or contemplative. There seems to be no in between. It's not that food preservation itself is frenetic. I get in a tizzy trying to get things going all at once because there is more harvest than time to handle it. But that's a good problem, isn't it? Sometimes, things do go to waste, though, and I'm spending a good bit of time thinking about how to prevent that next year. And then again, the brief, peaceful periods when one step takes longer gives my mind pause. The feeling is a lot like when I pull weeds. The combination of repetitive action and focusing on the detail of a task always frees my mind. Often, in the kitchen anyway, a particular question echoes, "How much more can I get out of this food?" How can I waste less or turn it into more quantity? This summer, I asked that question and had an absolute epiphany.

I was scalding peaches to skin them for making jam. The blushed skins and sweet peach flesh made the boiling water smell heavenly and look like a sunrise. So, instead of draining the peaches into a colander, I lifted them out of the water. It seemed like a kind of crazy idea was being born and I wasn't sure whether I should try it. So I kept eyeing the water while I skinned the peaches. Finally done, I decided it couldn't hurt to try to do something with that peachy water. So I strained it - I really can't remember with what, but imagine it might have been muslin - to catch the fuzz. Then I tried a bit and found it was really tasty! So I poured up the hot liquid in a couple of quart jars and put them in the fridge.

Over the summer, one jar was thoroughly enjoyed. The other was pushed a bit to the back and forgotten until a few days ago. A quick sniff and some careful visual scrutiny indicated the peach water was still good. Well, after all, it was boiled and poured into a clean jar. I decided to add sugar to make a peach-ade. It made such a pretty, tasty drink that I decided to go public with this extreme food preservation idea, and told a group of Master Gardeners how Peach Water is made. There were some giggles, but the jar was passed around and I'm sure that lovely peach perfume convinced at least a few folks to consider making their own. Next peach season, I will make a bigger batch of peach jam and peach water. And this time, I'll process the jars of Peach Water, too.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Power to the Veggie People!!

Adam Guerrero gets to keep his front yard vegetable garden, though he is required to "trim" the vegetable plants. I have never heard of doing such, so have NO IDEA what means. A mental image of hedge clippers wielded against rangy tomatoes shaping them into geometric shapes leaps to mind. Maybe a clipped and snipped mustard maze? I think someone's trying to save face and still do some bullying at the same time. Nonetheless, the outcome is pretty good, as the City of Memphis has agreed to find vacant land that can be used for a community garden. Great idea!! But please be encouraged (by me, at least) to plant your food crops wherever you have sunshine!! The Obamas (and the Roosevelts) planted their garden at the White House. That's some pretty fancy property, so my humble front flower should certainly be a suitable location for Red Giant mustard and Kaleidoscope carrots. Veggie Power!!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

In support of growing food wherever you can...

Below is a letter I emailed Judge Larry Potter in Tennessee who ruled that Memphis resident, Adam Guerrero, must flatten his vegetable garden. Follow this link for details: http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/seeds-of-discontent/Content?oid=3052172
I am writing to support not only Adam Guerrero's right to grow vegetables and other edible plants in his front and/or back yards, but to encourage everyone to plant edibles wherever they have the sunshine to do so.  Our country needs examples of how individuals can provide their own food (economic) security and fresh, unprocessed produce.  Considering the state of our economy, this should be a priority.  In fact, our prime example of the importance of a home garden is the kitchen garden recently revived at The White House.  If it was good enough for FDR and is good enough for Mr. Obama, it should be good enough for the rest of us.  Please reconsider and rule that lawns and azaleas are not the only acceptable plantings for a front yard.
(Re-posted to FB page Josie Gladys Gardens)

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Running Out of Room

Well, it's kind of a good problem, but nonetheless, the growing seedlings in the basement nursery need more room!  It's still too chilly to put my baby plants out and they really need to be pricked and separated and given their own pots.  For next year, I want to convert shelves in the basement into nursery shelves with lighting over each one.  Of course, this leads to yet another experiment; to see what would grow as actual produce down there!  Even just getting fresh lettuces would be a bonus.

The seedlings I'm most concerned about right now are the Old Time Blue Stem Collards that were seeded too heavily.  I separated them yesterday afternoon and they surely are spindly and tender.  I'm hoping they bounce back.  And I always wonder about how deep to transplant such seedlings.  I think they are supposed to be buried up to the seed leaves, as the stem will develop roots along its length.  But if I'm wrong, I've just killed about 100 seedlings.  This is where I'd make that Charlie Brown face if I could where his mouth is a zigzag.  The next several days will be nail-biting days of looking at the collards several times a day.

This year, I've decided to start more things inside, rather than direct sow them.  I prefer getting a jump on the season and will worry about my aching back later.  Speaking of which, I've gone into training to get in shape for all the digging, bending, raking, and tilling.  I'm doing stretches, lunges, and planks (extremely hard to do!) in hopes of avoiding the need for so many analgesics this season.  :)  So anyway, the next seeds to sow inside are summer squashes, corn, and beans.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Here Come the Seed Orders!

Joy! Joy! Joy!  The first of my seed orders just came in the mail today!  This one is from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.  I love them for the $3.00 shipping, fast service, dedication to open-pollinated varieties, that the packets always have many more seeds than they guarantee, and that gorgeous catalog.  I am not sure why I keep starting so many tomato varieties - more about that in another blog. 

On a quest for the largest harvest possible, I ordered Six-Week Purple Hull Cowpeas and Alabama Black Butterbeans.  As I am one to give just about anything a try, I'm toying with the idea of starting both of these, along with Christmas Pole and King of the Garden butterbeans, indoors to get a jump on the season.  Last year, soil temps were cold and legume seeds rotted in the ground because the weather just wouldn't warm up. Typically, cowpeas take at least 60 - 85 days to mature to harvest.  I think it would be great to get at least 4 crops of the Six-Week peas out of the garden.  With succession sowing, I think it can be done.

One reason the lagniappe from Baker Creek is appreciated is that some of these seeds will be shared with others to help them get their gardens started.  It's part of the Seed Bank program at Josie Gladys Gardens to bring greater food security to more homes.  Looks like there are 2 community gardens that will receive seed from Josie Gladys Gardens this year.  Since the seed offered are open-pollinated, the recipients will be able to save their own seed for next year, and that means less strain on people's budgets.

The next order that should arrive (maybe tomorrow) will be from Seed Savers Exchange.  It includes a stuffing tomato called Striped Cavern, Blue Jade sweet corn that is a container candidate, Lazy Housewife bean, and Golden Midget watermelon (for early harvest and a color-change when ripe).

Mostly, the focus in variety selection is for maximum production whether due to prolific fruiting or shorter days to harvest.  On my website - http://www.sandrareaves.com/ - I have a growing list of vegetables that are ready in about 60 days.  Next, I'll shoot for a list of vegetables you can harvest in 45 days.  Just imagine what that would do to fill pantries! 

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Start Seeds Now!

Time to start seeds for 2 types of vegetables:  ones that love cool weather like the cole family and ones that love hot weather like the solanaceae family. 

Cole crops need to be started indoors now so they will be big enough to grow to maturity before the weather gets too hot for them.  Included in this group are cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli, and kohlrabi.  Other cool weather veggies you can start indoors include onions, leeks, parsnips, and carrots.  For all of these, sow the seeds closely and divide the plants when it's time to set them out in the garden.

Solanaceae plants are tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants.  They need the really warm weather of summer for the fruit to ripen and the plants need a long time to get mature enough to produce fruit.  Counting the days to harvest for these plants starts from the time you transplant them into the garden, rather than when you sow the seed.  This means you need to back up about 8 weeks on the calendar from your planting date to figure out the latest date to sow the seed.  If you sow the seed closely, go ahead and plan to divide the plants so you can put each in its own pot to get nice and big before you transplant into the garden.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Free Vegetable Seeds

JosieGladysGardens is giving free vegetable seeds to encourage home gardening. There is no charge and there are no strings attached. The seeds will more than likely be open-pollinated varieties, which means that you can save seed for the next season for your own garden and maybe to share.

Go to www.SandraReaves.com/SeedBank.aspx to get the specifics. Then go to www.SandraReaves.com/ContactUs.aspx to make your request. Seed requests will be filled in order of request.