Greens and Roots for the people September 14, 2011

Yes, I brought this weather back from California with me.  No thanks needed, I know everyone is in appreciation.  And now for some rain…

My favorite garden season is upon us.  Everything is planted now for the fall, winter and early spring crops.  Greens and roots for the people.  I love thinning little sprouts and eating them like an herbivore as I move down the rows.   We have kale, collards, chard, spinach, Asian greens, carrots, radishes and beets started and are still enjoying squash and a straggle of  watermelons, cukes, peppers, tomatoes and eggplant.  It is taking about 12 gallons of water every other day to get the crops going right now.  We still have rain catchment but, it is dwindling.

Tatsoi, Kale and Collards with hoops and remay to protect from hungry caterpillars and grasshoppers~

This week, the shade cloth came off the greenhouse and we boxed up the cured garlic.  Ok, some it was a bit over cured.  Lots of it already doing the hard part of peeling itself.  So, I finished the job and peeled about 20 lbs worth.  Some of it got pickled and some chopped, covered in olive oil and frozen.  We shall certainly enjoy the forced convenience of it throughout the year.  Garlic is planted the fall before the harvest in these parts and goes through the winter with a heavy layer of mulch.

The early beginnings for this bountiful harvest~

A mix of varieties in the box - 'Elephant' in bowl~

Still waiting to harvest winter squash and sweet potatoes,  both crops look pretty good.  In remembrance of last years extraordinary damage to the plants in mid September, I have been spraying  a mix of garlic and eucalyptus EO on the crops every morning, watering at nite and covering with remay to deter the grasshoppers-   So far so good.

Walking sticks.  They surprise me constantly- on the laundry line, the door handle, the watering can, chairs and the other day, there were a number of them waiting on our shoes.  Appropriately named.

Not as bad as monkey on his shoulder~

The Elderberries are beginning to ripen.  It excites me to think of sipping a winter tonic of Elderberry wine.  It is quite medicinal in flavor and power. Note from ‘A Modern Herbal’-

Elderberry Wine has a curative power of established repute as a remedy, taken hot, at night, for promoting perspiration in the early stages of severe catarrh, accompanied by shivering, sore throat, etc. Like Elderflower Tea, it is one of the best preventives known against the advance of influenza.

John Evelyn, writing in praise of the Elder, says:‘If the medicinal properties of its leaves, bark and berries were fully known, I cannot tell what our countryman could ail for which he might not fetch a remedy from every hedge, either for sickness, or wounds.’‘The buds boiled in water gruel have effected wonders in a fever, the spring buds are excellently wholesome in pattages; and small ale in which Elder flowers have been infused is esteemed by many so salubrious that this is to be had in most of the eatinghouses about our town.’

Elderflower umbel~

Drooping with berries~

A few days ago, we picked up a couple of bushels of the first crop of Jonathans in this area.  They are a tart, juicy apple that is perfect for wine.  As of about an hour ago, we have 5 gallons of juice waiting for some sugar and yeast action to get it on. 

It’s happening…

Under this harvest moon~