Stonyfield Greener Cow Project

Photo is licensed under a Creative Commons license by kevinzim

Most of us are aware cows produce methane (a greenhouse gas) and we know that methane contributes to global warming. But did you know the common assumption being the cows produce all that methane gas from farts and cow pies is actually false?

While Stonyfield was doing extensive studies to see how reduce their carbon footprint, they discovered the cows were the leading source, rather than the manufacturing plant processes. It was only later that they learned of an approach from their French partner that reduces the methane output… and by good fortune, also increases the nutritional content of the milk.

The approach turned out to be changing the feed for the cows. 95% of the methane from cows comes from burping (enteric emissions), and burping is significantly reduced either by putting cows on pasture, or by changing the feed to include more omega-3s from things like flax, alfalfa and grasses. These feeds are easily broken down by the cow’s rumen (the first chamber of the 4 chambers in a cow’s stomach). The rumen serves as the primary site for microbial fermentation of ingested feed. A cow’s stomach is not designed to digest the corn fed to them in feedlots, and so it produces a lot of gas trying to digest the corn.

Stonyfield began their Greener Cow pilot program in late 2008, with 15 Vermont Organic Valley farms that supply the milk for Stonyfield’s yogurt. The feed change has resulted in the milk’s increase of omega-3s and a decrease in saturated fats, along with a reduction of methane produced by the cows. The enteric emissions (burping) have been decreased by as much as 18%, with an average of 12%. “If every US dairy were to adopt this approach, in less than one year, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions we could reduce would be the equivalent of taking more than 500,000 cars off the road, “ said Nancy Hirshberg, Stonyfield V.P. of Natural Resources and the director of the Stonyfield Greener Cow Project.

The omega-3s in the milk increased by nearly 1/3 (29%) and lowered the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 (that balance regulates key human physiological functions). According to research, human diet today contains too much omega-6 and too little omega-3 (both are essential fatty acids).

“Only plants can synthesize omega-6 and omega-3. By eating animals that have consumed plants high in omega-3, humans get this important nutrient. Over the past 50 years, though, our diets have changed and we now consume more omega-6 rich foods such as corn oil, palm oil and soybean oil. We also changed what livestock eat by increasing the amount of corn and soy in their feed, and decreasing grass, which is high in omega-3. The result is that eggs, meat and dairy have less omega-3. Thus, the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio in our diets--which used to be about 1or 2 to 1--is now out of balance with about 20 times more omega-6 than omega-3,” said Artemis P. Simopoulos, M.D., international authority on essential fatty acids and former chair of the Nutrition Coordinating Committee at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Studies have shown that by improving the balance of omega-6 to omega-3, we decrease our chances of cardiovascular disease, obesity and many other health complications. The Greener Cow Project will benefit the cows, the planet and our bodies... which sounds like a great plan to me.

There is a nice video about this here: The Greener Cow Project.

10º Brix Cantaluope, 17º Brix Peas

A major goal in my growing my own vegetables is increasing the Brix, which is a measurement of the nutrient-density. Brix is also something you can taste! For example, a cantaloupe I just purchased smelled fairly decent in the store. With high hopes for a tasty melon, I actually bought it and brought it home, despite past experiences with store-bought melons. I peeled and chunked up a bowl of the melon, pulled out a fork to taste a bite, and… yuck. Wet Nothing. No Taste.

So I got out my pocket refractometer and squeezed a drop of juice on the lens. It measured 10ºBx. The Brix chart is divided into values for Poor, Average (grocery-store), Good, Excellent, and Disease/Insect-free (for the plant). The numbers for cantaloupe are 8= Poor, 12= Average, 14= Good, 16= Excellent and Disease-Free. So, my store-bought cantaloupe measured between Poor and Average. No wonder it tasted like Nothing!

By contrast, I measured my home-grown peas just now. They measured 17ºBx!! The spread for peas on the Brix scale is 8, 10, 12, and 14. They taste just as wonderful as they measure, AND the plants are disease/insect-free.

So what’s the difference? Soil. Plain and simple. Well, perhaps not quite so simple. Conventional agricultural wisdom lists a whole slew of numbers of what the soil needs to grow stuff. Dr. Carey Reams, Professor Albrecht and others have differing opinions, with results borne out in taste tests, nutrition analysis, crop yields, and visible evidence like pests, disease and weeds.

One of the several elements needed in soil to produce high Brix is calcium, but there’s a trick to it. My soil tests indicated a high level of calcium, yet the Brix on most of my vegetables last year was marginal. All the soil calcium in the world does absolutely no good unless it can be broken down into a form the plants can use (available calcium). Soil microbes do the bulk of this work, but they need something to work with other than just the locked-up calcium in my soil, although they will convert that too, over time.

To get higher Brix this year, I have started applying soft rock phosphate (SRP, a colloidal phosphate, and a natural source of calcium and phosphate in a form plants can use). Most rock phosphates are hard rock phosphates, and will simply not do the job. I found a nearby organic supplier who carries Cal-Phos (SRP) in 40 pound bags and I apply it in each planting hole. There are other SRP sources, but that's what's available close to me.

(The local market farmer who supplies my free-range eggs buys thousands of pounds of Cal-Phos from the same supplier, for his fields. He is able to grow high Brix grass for his dairy cows and poultry, and he reports his family’s milk has very high Brix.)

There’s more to high Brix than just available calcium, of course. I will be adding to the basic information about improving soil and Brix over the next few months. Stay tuned!

Download a Brix Chart

Clever Idea

I was driving down the road today and saw this sign on a chain link fence. I really thought it was a rather clever idea, even though polystyrene is made using hydro-flourochemical "blowing agents" and when designated for food containers and drinking cups, is not recyclable.

Stolen Photo

Yes, I stole this photo from a cool blog by 4 young designers, The Crew. The post is titled, "A little 'green' irony"... I thought it was a terrific post and I loved the comments!

It doesn't get much better than this...

Happy Independence Day!!

American Independence

History was not my best subject in school, although like most, I did learn some of the key elements of American History. I learned we fought to insure some very basic rights… "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness", some stuff about the Boston Tea Party, and stories of Washington crossing the Delaware.

Lately, while feeling like our rights are being eroded by tiny bits and pieces, I’ve gone back to reading some history, but this time about the politics, the “why’s”, (without having to memorize the dates!). I had not re-read the Declaration of Independence in many years, but I just did. It IS a bit difficult to read due to the formality of the language of the time, and even harder to read with the intention to really understand what the Signers were saying when they wrote it, but it is important to read it.

I live in a society where the 4th of July usually means an extra day off from work, celebrated by cookouts and fireworks. And although I love cookouts and fireworks, perhaps we should take more than just a moment on this day of celebration to really understand and remember “why”.

Our Independence Day is celebrated on July 4 because that is the day when the Continental Congress adopted the final draft of the Declaration of Independence, even though the declaration was not a result of a practical policy decision to separate from Britain. It was a response--an angry response--to British oppression of North American colonists.

Top 10 Civil Liberties Violations That Helped Cause the American Revolution
1) Taxation Without Representation
2) No Free Trade (could not purchase non-British goods)
3) Unlimited Search and Seizure (without a warrant)
4) Destruction of Colonial Government
5) Oppression of Political Protesters
6) Immunity for Corrupt and Abusive British Officers
7) Direct Control of the Criminal Justice System
8) Guilty by Parliament - (no guarantee of trial by jury)
9) Forced Quartering of Soldiers
10) Closure of the Boston Port

This About.com site has short explanations of those complaints listed above (the list came from there, too). They are really quite interesting. For example, #10, the closing of the Boston port, was the result of what became known as the Boston Tea Party, after the colonists dumped 342 crates of tea overboard in protest of high tariffs and the British monopoly on imported goods. The British Parliament passed a law to close the port until the colonies managed to gather up enough money to pay for the tea. To this day, the debt has not been paid.

Water Wars: How much we take for granted

Photo Courtesy of Bev Walker

The news lately about a crack in the strict water laws in the western United States has me thinking about water inequities and assumptions. I take water for granted for the most part, other than my ongoing concerns about having good, potable water.

Occasionally, I may have to water my garden more than I’d prefer, but I know there is enough water available. I ‘know’ there are friends who are lucky to have even an inch of rain in several months… but somehow I just cannot wrap my mind around how that really IS. HOW can they possibly garden and grow food?

It is illegal in some western states like Utah and Colorado to collect rainwater falling on your roof, with fines of $500 a day. The fallen rain belongs to downstream water rights. "All the water was spoken for here [Colorado Springs] in the Arkansas Basin 100 years ago or more," said Kevin Lusk, water supply engineer for Colorado Springs Utilities. "If the water falls as rain, that's water that was going to get to the stream system, and somebody already has dibs on it, and if somebody intercepts that, it's the same as stealing."

Colorado has just passed a couple of laws that give a glimmer of hope to folks living in many of the western states. While the changes in the Colorado laws are minor, it could be the beginning of a revolution in water wars. One new water law (SB80) in Colorado allows only the residents on private wells with a recorded well permit to collect precipitation from rooftop areas of up to 3,000 square feet IF they apply and get a collection permit. (I couldn't find any information about the costs involved.) Most of those folks with wells live on the plains where rainwater tends to evaporate, rather than flow into the streams anyway. If you are on a public water supply, rainwater harvesting is still illegal.

The other new Colorado law, HB1129, directs the state to approve 10 pilot projects, new housing or mixed-use developments designed to include rainwater collection. Officials will study the projects through 2020 to see how viable it is to use rain for household irrigation and what impact it has on stream flows.

Water suppliers only agreed to support the bill because developers and residents in the projects must pay for replacement water for every drop collected in the first two years of study. (That means they have to measure and pay for the amount of rainfall collected.) Residents can then ask a water court to lower the augmentation requirement.

Out of curiosity, I looked at some U.S. annual rainfall averages. The average annual rainfall in my county is currently over 41”, and that’s with 3-4 of the most recent years having well below average annual rainfall. The map above shows the rainfall average by color code, dark green is highest, dark red is the lowest.

I’m thankful I live where I do, and I certainly will be more cognizant of the water I have been taking for granted!

Food, Inc., the movie

Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

If you eat, you should see this film… even though it is said to be slightly disturbing. We need to be aware of some truths about our food system… truths big agribusiness doesn’t want us to know, and some laws they hope to enact to keep us from knowing. Somehow I think it is appropriate to post this just before we Americans celebrate our Independence on July 4th.

The film closely follows books like “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “In Defense of Food” by Michael Pollan, and “Fast Food Nation” by Eric Schlosser — to the point that its own voice becomes somewhat muted. But as Mr. Kenner [the director] explained when interviewed in New York last week, he made it for people who will never read the books.

Featuring interviews with such experts as the authors of the books above, and with forward-thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield's Gary Hirshberg and Polyface Farms’ Joel Salatin, “Food, Inc.” reveals surprising, and often shocking, truths about the safety of what we eat, the often horrifying way it is produced, and the corporate powers that actually control our food supply.

As “Food, Inc.” demonstrates, the corporate control of our food has given us a new strain of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that cause illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually; widespread obesity, particularly among children; and an epidemic level of diabetes and heart disease among adults. The film also describes the abusive persecutions and prosecution of farmers around the country by Monsanto as it attempts to push its genetically engineered crops.

There has been lots of press about this movie, and I certainly intend to see it. I doubt it will ever play in my small burg, but the DVD will be available at some point. Meanwhile, here’s the trailer…
Edit: Sorry, the trailer code doesn't seem to work. Try Here

Pasta with fresh broccoli

Everyone knows broccoli is good for you… and because I also happen to love broccoli, I planted some this year in my garden. I actually had a few plants last year but they fared poorly and produced no broccoli.

I planted only a few this year and I am grateful they have grown and produced some broccoli I can eat! I’m still working to improve my soil and experimenting to see what grows well. I'm not as pleased overall as I hoped by the broccoli I'm growing now, and I'm thinking I will try some broccoli raab next time.

Today I harvested a couple of heads including the one pictured above, and tonight for supper I’m having a pasta dish with sautéed broccoli florets. (Sorry, the photo of the pasta dish isn’t mine… my camera battery is busy charging.)

Garlic Pasta & Broccoli by Rex Roof

It’s a quick and easy dish… I like a small flat pasta like fettuccine for this kind of dish. Just cook up some pasta al dente, toss it with some olive oil and add broccoli florets sautéed in olive oil and garlic. Sprinkle generously with some freshly ground black pepper, and if you like, shave some fresh Parmesan over it. Yum!

NC inspectors raid farmer's markets

Photo at a New Hampshire Farmer's Market by acanatta

Last weekend the NC state food inspectors removed numerous items for sale at the North Asheville Tailgate Market, telling several vendors they were out of compliance with state regulations. There were no fines this time, but the state can fine repeat offenders up to $2,000. The state inspectors who came to the Asheville market made vendors remove home canned items like pickles, and said the products and their recipes needed to be registered through the state — at $50 a recipe. (BTW, Pickles are preserved in vinegar, which will not support the growth of bacteria, mold or virus germs.)

The inspectors from the N.C. Food and Drug Protection Division, part of the Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, responded to a complaint about canned goods that had not been prepared at an approved facility, according to Andrea Ashby, spokeswoman for the Department of Agriculture.

While small market farmers are running scared that increasing food safety regulations will impose harsh constraints against them and perhaps put them out of business, huge companies like Nestle's Danville, VA facility reportedly had refused federal inspections for 5 years before the current recall for E. coli O157:H7 tainted cookie dough.

Why is it that inspectors can come down hard on the little guy, while huge businesses can thumb their noses at inspections? The Wall Street Journal reported on June 29 that inspection reports covering the past 5 years show that officials at Nestlé’s Danville, Va facility, "refused to allow a Food and Drug Administration inspector to review consumer complaints or inspect its program designed to prevent food contamination."

You probably saw on the news last night that the FDA has now verified e coli in the Nestle's cookie dough. Also yesterday, the Colorado company JBS Swift Beef increased their "voluntary" recall of contaminated beef by an additional 380,000 pounds.

The particular strain of e coli that causes severe food poisoning in humans is fecal contamination, whether animal of human origin. I did an internet search and could not find a single report of an e coli or salmonella outbreak from meat or produce from a local farmer’s market. Surely there must have been some individual cases (even if from meat left in the car too long before getting it home), but certainly no “outbreak” was reported.

So why the close scrutiny on farmer's markets? Why are huge companies allowed to "self-regulate" only to end up with so many voluntary recalls? I'd guess that the cost of recalls over the last few years has been a bare fraction of the gross revenue of these companies, one they so can easily absorb that they are willing to take risks.

I read somewhere the Smithfield plant in Virginia processes 35,000 hogs a day. That's over 8 million pounds PER DAY. I don't know what the daily poundage is from the Colorado beef plant mentioned above, but I'd bet their 380,000 pounds in recall are far less than a day's production.

On the other hand, farmer's market vendors mostly sell out of love of doing it, of having and providing fresh items, and the hope making a few bucks. Have you ever heard of a farmer's market seller getting rich from the market? I have thought about selling my jams, jellies and pickles at the farmer’s market; if I were still living in NC, just the recipe fees alone would be over $3,000 for the various kinds I make.

Drinking Water

Photo is a Creative Commons License, Some Rights Reserved, by Jenny Downing

From some of my earlier posts, you must know I am passionate about water: cool, clean water. Water pure as Nature intended it. Water that quenches thirst as no other liquid can. Water that not so fouled by our contamination of the environment that it requires adding a toxin to make it drinkable. You can live a long time without food, but only a few days even in optimal conditions without water.

When my sister and I started searching for a small home/stead to purchase, potable water was high on the list of priorities. This house was not advertised as having a spring, or even a spring house; instead they listed as a big selling feature that it had town water! In fact before "town water" was mandated here 15 years ago, this house and an adjacent house used our spring as the sole source of water for drinking, bathing, laundry, and maybe washing the goats.

I have lived where the water was so sulfuric-smelling you could not possibly get it past your nose to drink; I have lived where hurricanes made the water undrinkable for weeks on end; I have lived where my water pipes froze for the winter and I had to haul water for personal use, and break the ice on the trickle of a creek for the horses to drink. Never, never again, given the choice!

Much of my younger adult life I lived where the treated city water seemed passable, at least for what I knew back then. So, I wasn't too upset that this house was no longer using the spring for water. I would buy water for drinking and cooking, only using the town water for washing dishes, showering and laundry until I could figure out how to easily hook up the spring water again. There was no way I wanted to drink the town water anyway... the chlorine smell is as strong as my old sulfur water.

Chlorine is a toxic chemical. Duh. Why else would it kill bacteria in a water supply? Thanks to widespread use of toxic chemicals and airborne pollutants, most water needs some form of treatment to be safe and healthy to drink, even water from some deep wells and springs, depending on the source of the water.

Now that I finally have the spring pump working, I'm planning to use the spring as my source for drinking/cooking water, but not without some filtering for safety and peace of mind. I had the spring water tested for bacteria, but could not afford the costly heavy metals tests (the water does contain some harmless bacteria, much like our intestines do). After considerable research on the Berkey filters mentioned in my post about Emergency Water, along with research into several other systems, I have decided for cost and quality to buy a Berkey stainless steel water filtration system.

With a Berkey system I can have good, filtered water for about 3¢ a gallon, and it works by gravity feed so it doesn’t need electricity or water pressure. (They offer a fluoride filter as well, but it isn’t necessary unless you have a fluoride problem.) I haven’t fully decided between the “Big Berkey” and the “Royal Berkey”; the price difference is just $25 and both have free shipping plus a bonus item. My choice of which bonus item is a no-brainer: the shower filter! (See my post on Red Eye Showers)

In case you are wondering, I do not work for Berkey, nor do I sell their products.

Kitchen Mixer BeaterBlade

While I’m posting pictures, here’s one of my new BeaterBlade for my KitchenAid stand mixer. I LOVE this thing! It has a flexible rubber strip on the edges which conform to the bowl, so I don’t have to continually stop the mixer and scrape down the insides of the bowl with a spatula. It is one of the 3 best kitchen gadgets I have bought in several years!

This BeaterBlade is made in the USA and is great for mixing cakes, cookies, frostings, quick breads, compound butters, meatloaf, pie fillings, mashed potatoes, and other tasty foods. (Not so good for whipping anything like light cream, though; thin stuff splashes all over the kitchen. Ask me how I know!) Various sizes are available to fit most KitchenAid, Cuisinart, Viking and DeLonghi stand mixers.

It is available from Amazon.

Gooseberry Fool

As promised, I made the Gooseberry Fool today although there were only a small amount of gooseberries this first year growing them in my garden. I only had a very few of the tart green gooseberries so I added them to the sweeter red ones. The resulting Fool was a delightful blend of sweet/tart!


Rinse, drain and 'Top and Tail' the berries. Place them in a pan with a pat of butter; cook over low heat 5 minutes or so, until the berries are soft.


Mash the berries with the back of a spoon (I used a flat stainless steel masher) and add some honey or sugar to taste. Set aside to cool thoroughly.


Whip the cream until firm (I added a bit of sugar), and fold into the cooled berries.

Chill thoroughly before serving.

Gooseberry Fool Recipe 1 pound gooseberries 1 oz. butter Honey or sugar to taste ½ pt. whipping cream Top and tail the berries, rinse and drain, and place in a pan with the butter. Cook the berries over low heat about 5 minutes or so, just to soften the berries. Mash the softened berries with the back of a wooden spoon. Season with sweetener to taste. Whip the cream until firm and fold it into the berries. Chill well before serving.

Why Grow Comfrey?

My grandfather, who was a county agriculture extension agent, always grew lots of comfrey although I was too young to know why. Now I’m finally learning!

Comfrey fell out of favor along with backyard gardens after WWII, and my mother’s generation lost the knowledge of why so many backyard gardeners grew comfrey for anything other than medicinal uses. Even growing comfrey for home herbal preparations fell out of favor with the rapid increase in pharamaceutical preparations at the corner drug store.

So why should a gardener grow comfrey? Free fertilizer, for one thing!! This is because comfrey roots dig deep, deep down in the soil and bring up many needed nutrients other plant roots cannot reach. These nutrients are stored in the fast-growing comfrey leaves, and are extremely valuable for any gardener for plant nutrition and herbal preparations.

One nutrient found in quantity in comfrey is potassium, which is an essential nutrient needed by all plants to make their fruit or flowers. In fact, comfrey leaves have over twice the potassium of cow/horse manure! Some potassium-hungry plants are root crops like potatoes and beets, heavy production plants like tomatoes and grains, and fruit bushes. Roses are also a heavy potassium user. Potassium makes it possible for the plant to use nitrogen, and to increase the protein production.

The comfrey I grow traces to the Quaker comfrey (also called Russian, or blue comfrey) [S. asperum Lepechin (S. asperrimum Donn)], a natural hybrid of S. officinale L. and S. asperum Lepechin, introduced into Canada in 1954. The majority of comfrey grown in the United States can be traced to this introduction.

I put a layer of comfrey leaves in the trench when planting potatoes. Let the leaves wilt a day or two, put them in the trench, and cover with soil. Then add the seed potatoes as normal. I also make a thick mulch of chopped comfrey leaves to place around my tomato and pepper plants after they have set fruit, where it breaks down slowly to release nutrients.
One cautionary note: do not use the raw comfrey flowering stalks or root parts as mulch or in a trench… they will root, and comfrey roots grow deep. Any tiny piece of root left in the ground will make another comfrey plant!

I don’t have the time (or the inclination) to make comfrey compounds like a gardener’s hand cream or an all-purpose cream for healing scrapes, bruises, and bug bites, but comfrey is great for all of those. Here’s an article by Bev Walker about how to do it. I have written a more detailed look at potassium here, as part of my series on plant nutrition. (See sidebar for published articles.) Here’s a link for making liquid comfrey fertilizers and tea.

Grow some comfrey… it’s very useful, and has pretty flowers to boot!

It's Time to Harvest Garlic!

My garlic has been yellowing and falling over for the last few days, much sooner than last year, so clearly it was time to dig them. Of the 5 varieties I planted, I knew one would have small, poor quality bulbs because I discovered too late that end of the bed (which was new last fall just before planting) doesn't drain worth a hoot.

I planted 1 hardneck, 3 softnecks, and 1 Creole variety. Although I have not counted the bulbs, I'd estimate close to 200 from my garlic bed. I'm still experimenting to find the best garlic to grow in my area, and I try several new varieties every year. I've grown several good ones so far, but no clear winner yet.

Here's some info about this year's varieties I grew:

Hardnecks According to many garlic lovers, hardnecks have the only ‘real’ garlic flavor although I am a garlic lover and I heartily disagree. Hardnecks are distinguished by the stiff “neck” or stalk in the center of the growing plant and they tend to have fewer but more uniform cloves around the stalk. There are three distinct groups of hardnecks: Rocambole, Purple Stripe, and Porcelain.

Purple Striped (hardneck) garlic is aptly named for the stripes which all have to some degree. The differences in Purple Stripes in taste are from mild to pungent, and in time to maturity.

The hardneck I grew is Siberian, a Marbled Purple Stripe variety. Prized for its high content of allicin. This helps boost the immune system and improve circulation. Extra large, easy to peel cloves. With mild delightful flavor, not overpowering, 5-7 giant cloves/bulb, heritage, thrives in cold climates, stores 5 months. (I have not dug this variety yet, ran out of daylight last evening.)

Softnecks Artichoke garlics (sativums or softnecks) are the most commonly grown commercial garlic because they are easier to grow and produce larger bulbs than most other garlics. They store well and this is what you probably buy at the grocer's. I grew Red Toch, Susanville and Shantung Purple.

Red Toch: An import from the Republic of Georgia, near the town of Tochliavri. Red Toch has large bulbs with a pinkish tint. Harvests early in season - stores 6-7 months. Semi-rich but very mellow. Grows very well in warm winter areas. It is not quite as mild as Chet's and not quite as strong as Inchelium Red. Red Toch averages 12 - 20 cloves per bulb, medium heat.

Susanville: (above) is a favorite softneck for braiding (although I don't braid them); the beautiful purple skin adds nice color to a braid. A true garlic flavor that is more flavorful then hot. This softneck can handle cold winters. 12 - 15 large cloves. Early to mid harvest. Stores 7 - 8 months. [Medium heat]

Shantung Purple: This Turban Artichoke garlic variety originates from China, but my seed stock came from Washington (USDA certified organic). A great garlic for varied climates, it can handle hot dry climates as well as cold northern climates. Shantang Purple packs some serious heat, especially when eaten raw. 6 - 8 cloves per bulb.

The Creole Garlics
With a name like Creole, one would naturally assume these garlics originated in Louisiana, but they really were cultivated in Spain and initially spread by the Conquistadors. Creole garlics were first classified as silverskins although they don't resemble other silverskins in any way. Botanists assured us, however, that they were genetically silverskins… but it turns out not to be so. They are in a class all their own, and gaining popularity with Creole (and other) cooks.

Creoles are among the rarest and most expensive of all garlics, and a little difficult to find.

These garlics are superb for eating fresh, with an initial sweetness that builds in heat. They typically have 8-12 red to purple cloves per head beneath a white skin, and are tolerant of adverse growing (weather) conditions especially in hot climates. Not all garlic cultivars are well suited to growing in mild winter and warm to hot spring climates but the Creole group do very well in warmer climates. Creoles are also longer storing garlics than most.

This year I grew Keeper: Longest storage quality of all the hardnecks and is in the Creole group. It has dark purple stripes, wonderful hot flavor, plump 5-9 cloves/bulb, mid-harvest, stores 6-7 months.

Curing Garlic
After digging, remove as much dirt from the roots as possible, but do not wash. Put them in dry warm shade with lots of ventilation, but do not bunch them. Hanging them in a shed is ideal... tie a few stalks together, depending on size, and hang from the rafters. An ideal temperature for curing is around 70º-75ºF. They need plenty of room around the bulbs so they do not mold. After about 2-3 weeks they should have developed a dry papery skin.


Storing Garlic
To store the best bulbs for cooking, cut off all but about 1/4" of the roots, and cut the tops well above the bulb (1"-2" so the papery skin stays intact. This skin keeps the garlic from drying out too fast. A light brushing should remove just the dirty outer skin, but if you are in doubt about damaging the bulbs, skip this step. A little dirt doesn't hurt the garlic in storage. I mark the variety on a mesh bag, and hang them in my root cellar. If you don't have the luxury of a root cellar, choose a cool, dark space that isn't too dry.

To store any bulbs (including damaged bulbs) for fall planting, I leave all of the root intact. I don't make any attempt to clean the bulbs, either. I also mark the variety and hang in a mesh bag in my root cellar until time to plant.

Tasting
After this garlic has sufficiently cured I will make several recipes to test the taste of each one. I'll post the recipes and taste results when I do, probably not until fall.

Thanks to Hood River Garlic for the specific descriptions of my garlic, which I ordered from them last fall.

Just Some Ducky Fun: The Peabody Ducks

I first heard of the Peabody Ducks about 25 years ago when I visited Memphis on business. Unfortunately my schedule did not permit a visit to the Peabody Hotel to see the famous Duck Walk, which has been a Memphis attraction for more than 75 years.

Twice a day, at 11 AM and 5 PM, the lobby becomes crowded with guests waiting to see the ducks. Promptly on schedule, the uniformed Duckmaster brings the 5 ducks from their $100,000 penthouse down to the lobby in the hotel’s glass elevator. The ducks then march to a Sousa tune along the carpeted walkway and up the steps to the large marble fountain in the center of the lobby where they immediately plunge in for a swim.



The ducks are mallards, one drake (male) and four hens. Every three months the ducks are replaced by a new set and the older ones are returned to the Memphis farm where they were raised.

The ducks are never named (since the original 3), and duck is never on the menu in the hotel’s French restaurant.

In 1986 a Peabody Hotel opened in Orlando, Florida, where the Duck March tradition continues.

June Flowers

I do have a few flowers blooming in June even though most of my time has been spent on the vegetables and fruit gardens. The bed above is a lasagna bed, created on top of the grass by layering cardboard and newspapers covered by mulch and occasionally a layer of dirt and/or compost. After 2 years, it is becoming decent soil. Below is the walkway to the front door. My trusty dragon (on the railing) guards the way.

Inspiration from a Woman and her Car

This is an unusual love story involving an 89-year-old woman, Rachel, and her beloved Chariot. The two have been together for decades and traveled more than 540,000 miles across this nation's highways and side streets, including a recent 3,000 mile trip to Rachel's 70th high school class reunion.

Rachel is 89, and Chariot is a 1964 Mercury Caliente; together they have logged 540,000 miles Rachel has no fear of traveling alone; she is licensed to carry a .38 S&W with whom she took gun safety classes.

Gooseberries!

This is only the second year for my gooseberries and they are still quite small. However, both plants have a few fruit. This one is Ribes 'Hinnonmaki Red' and although there are too few to make jam or a chutney this year, I think there are enough to make a Gooseberry Fool. (I’ll post the recipe and photos later when I make it.)

Gooseberries basically fall into 2 categories: dessert gooseberries, and cooking gooseberries. Cooking gooseberries are usually shiny-green and quite tart, enough so they make your mouth pucker when eaten raw. Cooking gooseberries with a little honey or sugar releases their delicious, complex flavors.

Dessert gooseberries are usually colored from red to yellow, appearing almost transparent, and sweet enough to eat raw. I did find the skins on my red ones to be rather thick and chewy but the taste is wonderful! (I suspect cooking a bit will make the skins tender.)

Any gooseberries to be cooked should have the stem and blossom end removed; scissors work just fine. (The Brits call this “top and tail”.) Put the berries in a little water and add some honey or sugar to taste. Gently simmer the berries for a few minutes until soft, adjusting sweetness. Now you can use the berries for any pie or other dessert recipe. (Note: For jam, cook the fruit and sugar according to your jam recipe but don’t forget to “top and tail” the berries first.)

How to Withdraw from the NAIS Database

Image by "Fir0002/Flagstaffotos", GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2

The National Animal Identification System (NAIS) is a massive new government monitoring system that calls for registering and tracking every farm animal in the U.S., even if you have just a single cow or chicken.

At this point, NAIS is still voluntary, but many people have already been put in the database without their permission.

Here's a quick Step By Step Guide to making sure your private information isn't already stored in this Big Brother database:
http://www.libertyark.net/opt_out.html