Canning Sunshine

I got a call from my sister saying a family friend had an abundance of juice oranges on her tree, and would I like some? YOU BETCHA! I figured I’d go over and get a bag or two, have some fresh-squeezed OJ for my family, and just enjoy this aspect of living in Southern California in the late winter months.

It was a gorgeous day; sun shining, just enough warmth in the air to allow me to take off my light jacket and work on my farmers tan. Whispy cumulous clouds gave the vivid blue sky a bit of character and provided a lovely backdrop when I looked up through the tree’s branches to reach for fruit hanging from higher limbs. The succulent scent of orange blossoms perfumed the air around me, and I felt a rare, peaceful joy in the simplistic pleasure of harvesting such a citrusy abundance.

After filling the first bag for my hostess, I got to work. I picked and picked and picked. She was happy to have me take as many as I wanted as she couldn’t use them and would rather have someone enjoy the oranges than pick them off the ground after they’d gone rotten. Soon I’d filled a wheelbarrow full and I didn’t even have a fraction of the fruit off the tree.

After a bit over an hour and a half of work, she called me in for lunch. Our friend is an amazing cook and made me one of the best sandwiches I’d ever eaten. Her elderly mother was visiting and made some delicious sweet pickles we enjoyed with our homey meal. It was so comforting to be in the company of these ladies, women my mom’s and grandmother’s ages, as my own mother is recovering from a serious health crisis and I’ve not had anyone ‘take care’ of me like that for months.

These talented home cooks nurtured a place in my heart that day I’d been overlooking for a long while. They made me remember the days I’d spent with my maternal grandma making strawberry jam, the days my mom and I peeled apples for hours to put up dozens of pints of applesauce, the afternoons my paternal grandmother sat me down and whipped up the MOST amazing BLTs in the world while we conversed about everything and nothing. I remembered the link in my mind and heart between good, homemade food, great company, and casual but meaningful conversation.

Loading up my truck later on, I realized I’d gone a bit overboard even though I’d only picked about 2/3 of the tree–I had 14 grocery bags of fresh oranges! What was I to do with this blessing?

After looking online, I happened upon Yellowrock Country Girl’s post about canning orange juice.  I went to my sister’s house and employed the peeling and juicing talents of my newly recruited canning assistants (my family). The result was 19qts. of orange juice and 6 jars of the tastiest marmalade I’ve ever had. I grated and dehydrated a bunch of the zest to use in sweet breads and other recipes later on, then composted a few bags of the peels.

It began, in earnest, my quest for simpler pleasures, for creating homegrown goodness, and a desire to pass along these everyday joys to my own children. Maybe someday they, too, will reflect on the time we spend together, creating something delicious, when they are in need of a comforting memory.

Follow me on Bloglovin’

<a href=”http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/11971833/?claim=5d3uv6detsh”>Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Confessions of a Dirt-phobic Gardener

     

I’ll raise my hand and admit it–I hate getting my hands dirty. Always have. I barely enjoyed playing in the sandbox and was never, EVER, a mud patty kid.

So, gardening was out of the question. I avoided it like the plague, and got a gag-look on my face when people extolled the virtues of getting their hands into dirt and getting in touch with nature.

Gross.

It seems to be an inherited trait. When my daughter was just a year old, she was running across the lawn and tripped. As she fell, she raised her hands and landed on her stomach so she didn’t have to put her hands on the grass and dirt.
Yep, I got an eye-roll from my family for that one.

So, you can imagine that, while the health aspects of growing my own food were appealing, the whole dirt-and-bugs thing kept me away for a long time.

Before this year, we’d played at gardening. We had containers, planted some seeds, hoped they might produce something, but never got serious about the practice of learning to grow food effectively in our climate. I just wasn’t ready to ‘dig in’, so to speak.

This is the first year we’ve researched techniques, asked questions of our organic gardening friends in the area, found out which vegetables are more ‘drought friendly’ to grow in our zone, and started seedlings.

As I see them pop out of the ground, I finally get it–it’s fun to nurture these new, living things! Kind of like being a plant ‘mom’! You feed them, give them nutrients they need via the best soil, make sure they get the right amount of sun and cover them at night if it gets too cold outside. As they grow, you’re happy to see them sprout leaves and are excited when they get to go off to school. I MEAN…when they get big enough to transplant into the garden with the other ‘big boy’ garden plants. You try and keep the bullying to a minimum by pulling the weeds and keeping the bad bugs away, guide them and train them up the ‘right path’ which is, of course, the bean trellis or tomato cage. Then you hope all your worry and work bears fruit and they become healthy, productive adult plants that add happiness and vitality to your family’s life.

     

Nothing like waxing poetic about beans and beets, but hey…I’m a new mom again: only this time to Arti Choke,
Tom Ato, and hopefully my ‘Sugar Baby’, Wat Ermelon. When I go outside each day to see how they’re doing, how they’re growing, a little dirt on my hands isn’t such a big deal after all.

(Ok, admission #2–I bought about 20 pairs of cute gardening gloves.)

Short link:
http://wp.me/p4pigc-x

Find me on my new Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/todaysyesterdayblog

Hugelkultur

   

When we decided to do a full on garden this year, we began researching: what plants would grow well in our area, what was most drought tolerant as California is experiencing record-low rain levels, how to compost, etc. As we were getting ready to map out our plot of soil in the backyard, I happened upon an issue of Urban Farm Magazine that described the hugelkultur.

Reading further online, I discovered all the advantages of this form of garden bed, two being the need for less water and fertilizer–PERFECT for us, as we wished to embark on an organic path, and live in a semi-desert climate.

I showed hot-husband the article and the next day he grabbed a shovel and started digging. A few hours later, our backyard was home to a 14’x3’x3′  trench. On his next day off, we gathered rotting logs, felled limbs, and twigs from around the property we live on. Soon, we had the trench filled and added layers of leaves and dirt. We got a load of horse manure on the advice of a friend who is an organic gardener in our area. After topping that layer with dirt, we now have a mound about 2′ in the middle.

  

We planted strawberry starts (roots) from Home Depot’s garden department, and red onion starts in between as the onion is supposed to repel some pests. After about five weeks, we have some baby strawberry plants coming up, and the onions are REALLY taking off–about 6-9″ high at this point.

 
I’ve got tomatoes, artichokes, and watermelon started and will be planting on this bed, as well, and will post more about that at another time. Meanwhile, my I’m enjoying the view from my back window–my first garden with actual GREEN coming out of it!

What kind of beds are you planting–or planning to plant–this year, and have you tried any alternative growing methods with success? I’d love to hear from you!

Learning Curves

On my journey toward rediscovering the ‘old’ ways, one of my first steps was learning how to preserve food in jars–canning, something I did years ago with my mom. As a kid, I spent days with her making applesauce, pickles, relish, canning fruits and vegetables and jams from our own garden produce.

So last summer we bought some Balls, a water bath canner, and set out to make garden pasta sauce and pack sweet, juicy plums away for the winter months.

I think they turned out beautifully, and I’m happy to say my family are fans of our labors!