The Organic Fruit and Vegetable Gardener's Year

Whether you’re planting on a windowsill or in the backyard, this indispensable volume has the facts, tips, and step-by-step instructions you need to grow organic produce year-round. Respected horticulture writer Graham Clarke guides gardeners—with or without a green thumb—through all the basics, from composting and pesticide-free weed control to watering wisely and encouraging pollination. Melons in the summer, gooseberries in autumn, and endives in the winter: tasty, healthy, and natural food can grow in any garden, and soon!

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Organic Tip

From: The Fruit and Veggie Gardener's Year

You can help tomatoes to ripen by placing fruit onto some paper and then putting it into a drawer. Adding a Banana will enhance the ripening as the ethylene gas present in the banana is a natural ripener.
Suitable companion plants to grow alongside tomatoes include parsley, sage and basil. Flowering French Marigolds and nasturtiums are also thought to be beneficial.

~Krissy Van Criss~

Garden Pictures

As the weather warms up, gardens are springing up along with it! I thought I'd share some pictures from my garden. I hope your gardens are doing equally well!

Peas climbing the trellis.

Cilantro

Lemon Balm.

~Susi Van Criss

Cucumber's Love Radishes

Plant three radishes around each cucumber plant...it is supposed to make the cucumbers give more. Do not pick the Radishes until after the cucumber harvest, then discard radishes, since they will be too big, and will not taste good.

Our family picks the Lemon Cucumbers over the regular, Since they are better growers! (well to us they are :-)

~Krissy Van Criss~

Small garden tip

From: "The Organic Fruit and Veggie Gardener's Year".

More and more people are growing tomatoes in unusual ways, sneaking them into every nook and cranny. They need a warm, sunny and sheltered place. During recent years tomatoes have been bred for trailing - great for growing in hanging baskets for those of us who don't have much space available. [some people have hung them upside down in baskets, I have heard that it is a really good way.] One of the best varieties for this is 'Tumbling Tom Red'. It produces prolific crops of cherry-sized fruits, with delicous flavor.

Upsidedown tomato:

~Krissy Van Criss~

Grazing Cattle

From: "The Backyard Homestead".

Beef cattle can graze on land that won't grow crops. More than 90% of the 810 million acres of cow pasture in the United States is too rough and steep, too dry, too wet, or too high to grow food crops. Raising beef cattle is a good way to use these lands to create food.

~Krissy Van Criss~

(I hope you didn't mind me using your picture Mrs. M!)

15 Herbs That Make Delicous Tea

1. Anise Hyssop

2. Basil

3. Calendua

4. Catnip or Catmint

5. Chamomile

6. Lavender

7. Lemon Balm

8. Lemon Gem and Orange Gem Marigolds

9. Lemon Verbena

10. Mints

11. Monarda (bee balm)

12. Pinapple Sage

13. Rosmary

14. Sage

15. Scented Geraniums

 

From: "The Backyard Homstead".

~Krissy Van Criss~

Springtime Preserving of Stored Crops

From: "The Backyard Homestead".

After some months, the quality of stored crops may begin to deteriorate, particularaly when they are not stored under ideal conditions. As long as they are firm and crisp and have good flavor and color, their nutritive value is close to that of the fresh crops. When they begin to wither, however, their food value decreases.

Rather than letting these crops continue to deteriorate, you may want to preserve them in midwinter or early spring by canning, freezing, or drying. The rush of the Harvest Season is over, plenty of empty canning jars should now be available if you have been eating vegetables canned in the fall, and space in the freezer in opening up.

Now is the time to make and preserve pumpkins, squash, turnips, applesauce, pickled beets, or what have you. Crops that wintered in the garden or in outside storage should also be preserved now. These winter vegetables and fruits will then be usable throughout the spring and summer -- intil the next harvest.

~Krissy Van Criss~

Butter in a Jar

From: "The Backyard Homestead".

The very simple way to make butter at home uses just a canning jar and a marble. Pour 1 pint of well-chilled heavy cream into a clean quart-sized or larger canning jar. Add a glass marble and close the jar. Shake the jar vigorously until the cream begins to thicken, then more gently until suddenly you have a lump of butter in the jar. (Shaking process will take 30 to 40 minutes; you can do it while you listen to music, or pass the jar around while you chat with friends!) Reserve the buttermilk for another purpose. Rinse the butter, kneading gently with a rubber spatula, in several changes of cold water. Knead a pinch of salt, if you like.

~Krissy Van Criss~

Outdoor Seedling Care

• If the Soil is dry on planting day, use a sprinkler on the rows after planting.
• Keep the soil slightly moist until the seedlings come up. Once the seeds germinate, don't let them dry out.
• Watering is usually unnecessary early in the spring, when most garden soils ahve quite a bit of moisture in them.
• After a rain or watering, a clay-type soil may become so hard that young seedlings can't burst through. Here's how to beat the crusty soil: Drag a garden rake carefully over the seedbed with just enough force to break up the crust. The tines should penetrate the soil only about 1/4 in. You may have to water Hard-packed seed beds before loosening the soil.

From: "The Backyard Homestead".

~Krissy Van Criss~

Vegetables Now-A-Days...

~Krissy Van Criss~

Won't They Freeze?

From: "The Backyard Homestead"

Some edibles can survive a bit of frost, but others actually realish it. Spinich, Kale and a few lettuce varietys (Winter Density, North Pole, Rouge D' Hiver, and Arctic King) Have a cold-weather strategy that allows them to servive even subzero temperatures with ease. As colder tempereatures signal the coming of winter, these plants begin to produce compounds (including sucrose) that act as antifreeze; they prevent the formation of ice crystals within plant's cells. By the time really cold weather arrives, spinach, mache, and kale are ready to survive whatever the weather serves up. As an unintended culinary bonus, these "chilled-out" salad greens are sweeter than they were before the frost hit them.

~Krissy Van Criss~

Storing the Harvest

From: "The Backyard Homestead"

When you store your vegetables for winter use, remember that some crops prefer to keep dry, whereas others like it moist. Garlic does best when you keep it cool, but dry. Winter squash and dried beans need warm, dry spots. Store the followinf vegetables in a cool, moist place.

Beets, in damp sand

Brussel Sprouts, on stems, in damp sand

Cabbage, wrapped in newspaper

Carrots, in damp sand

Celeriac, in damp sand

Celery, planted in a bucket of damp soil

Jerusalem Artichokes, in damp sand

Onions, in baskets or braided

Potatoes, in baskets

Rutabagas, in damp sand

Turnips, in damp sand

~Krissy Van Criss~

Freezing Vegetables

From: "The Backyard Homestead"

If you've ever bought fresh green beans from the supermarket in mid-winter and compared them with your frozen grean beans, the merits of freezing should be obvious--there's no comparison in quality. Following are general tips for freezing vegetables:

• Check the seed cataloges and seed packages to be sure you've chosen a variety that freezes well.
• Pick only tender young vegetables ready for table use.
• Wash the vegetables thoroughly by rinsing, repeatedly if necessary. Lift the vegetables out of the water rather than draining the water, which allows the dirt to settle back on them.
• Blanch the vegetables (by quickly steaming or immersing in boiling water) before freezing. This procedure sets the color and stops the action of the enzymnes that will otherwise continue to mature the vegetables.
• Cool vegetables promptly after blanching, to keep them crisp.
• Dry vegetables thoroughly after cooling, to prevent the formation of large ice crystals.
• Pack vegetables into freezer bags or containers, leaving at least an inch of head space if using a rigid container.

~Krissy Van Criss~

Edible Flowers

From: "The Backyard Homestead"

Nasturtiums...You can eat everything on them...

Many Flowers not only are lovely to look at, but they also add delicate texture or taste to foods. Use them as garnishes or to decorate a cake. Some favorites are borage, calendula, chive blossoms, clove pinks, elderflowers, lavender, mints, nasturtium, rose petals, and violets. Larger flowers, such as daylilies and squash blossoms, may be stuffed or fried. For culinary purposes, be sure to us organicaly grown flowers that are free from pesticides.

Echinacea, or Cone Flower...

~Krissy Van Criss~

Braiding Garlic

From: "The Backyard Homestead

Braiding garlic heads is the best way to preserve them, because air can circulate around the hung braid.

The soft-necked variety works best. Start making the braides as soon as you pull the heads from the ground, so the stems are still pliable. Brush off soil rather than rinsing off heads. Be sure to use heads that have their leaves attached.

Beginning the braid...

Finished...

(photo credit: Cousin Victoria)

On a flat surface , start with three fat heads and braid their leaves together. Then add other heads (like french braiding hair). For braids that you plan to give away, or if you care a lot about  the appearance of a braid, put the heads so closely together that the leaves don't show. You can use light wire to  reinforce the braids. When you've done as many heads as you want, braid the last of the leaves and tie off with raffia or twine, forming a loop for hanging. Hang in a well-ventilated area.

~Krissy Van Criss~

Facts About Herbs

From: "The Backyard Homestead"

• Dried herbs are more potent than fresh--1tsp dried equals 1TB fresh.
• 
  
  To store fresh herbs, wrap them in barely damp paper towels, place inside resealable plastic bags, and keep refrigerated.
• 
  
  Add most herbs about 30 Minutes before the end of cooking time; simmer slowly to release flavor and retain volatile oils.
• 
  
  The chopped leaves of fresh herbs may be frozen with water into ice cubes and then stored in labeled, airtight freezer bags. Use to impart an herbal flavor to soups or stews.
• 
  
  Use herbs in moderation. Some may be overpowering if too much is used.

~Krissy Van Criss~

Refreezing Meat...

From: "The Backyard Homestead"

It is safe to refreeze meat that has started to thaw, provided ice crystals remain in it. But under no circumstances should meat be refrozen if an off color or off odor is noticed; destroy it at once without tasting by man or beast! In general, refreezing should be noted on the label and the refrozen meat used first. Meat that has been completely thawed should not be refrozen.

~Krissy Van Criss~