What's Going On In The Garden This Week?

This week has been all about radishes and impending cold weather.

We have had 2 light frosts in the past week here in the Pittsburgh area, but these were the first of the year.  In our garden, I am getting the 2 beds I plan to overwinter covered with hoops.  I used 10' lengths of 1/2" electrical conduit bent on a hoop-bender to cover the 4' beds.  The hoop bender is sold by Johnny's Selected Seeds, and is also available locally for members to check out from Grow Pittsburgh's Garden Resource Center.  This "quick hoop" method is Eliot Coleman's chosen low tunnel recipe.  He uses lightweight row cover and then a layer of plastic over that when real winter descends.  I have had luck just using a single layer of the thickest grade row cover available.  Other hoop materials could be used as available.  At Garden Dreams we use gas pipe stuck onto 14" rebar stakes.

Misato Rose Radish & Danvers Carrots (alternate rows)

I experimented with planting rows of radishes alternating with carrots, intending to pull the radishes as the carrots needed the space.  This is kind of working.  I am really loving the radish variety, Misato Rose, available from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.  It is a beautiful, large watermelon radish that grows great in the fall and bulbed up very easily.  However, the greens are much larger than say, a Cherry Belle or French Breakfast radish.  These huge greens shaded the carrots a bit more than planned, and since they are slower to mature than other radishes, they are hanging around in the ground longer.  I harvested maybe 1/6 of them yesterday, the largest bulbs, and thinned the carrots. This batch of radishes is destined for fermentation....this time in a 5 gallon bucket.

Misato Rose Radish and Chocolate Habaneros

I found any washing and trimming I can do in the garden saves mess and time in the kitchen later.  Some day I'll have a tricked-out garden wash station dream sink, but for now a hose and buckets works.  Trimming off the greens stems and giving them straight to the chickens saves me that task later.

3 piles: radishes, greens, and greens stems for chickens

These radish greens are huge!  Might as well cook 'em up.

The greens on these radishes are very large! Think turnips.

Here are my beds, half way to being winterized.  This 1/2" electrical conduit is pushed 14" into the ground and seems very sturdy.  

2 beds that will be overwintered with hoops in place

Fermented Garlic Radishes Recipe

Fermented Radishes

The fermented radishes I made came out very well so I wanted to share the recipe.  It is very simple.

Scrub enough radishes to fill a 10 L crock or several quart jars.  Nestle 2 cloves of garlic per jar or 7 cloves in the crock.  Fill with radishes.  Pour a salt brine over under 1" above radishes.  (Brine = 4c filtered water and 3 T pure pickle salt).  Weigh down radishes.  If in a jar, use a plastic baggie and fill with brine once you stuff it in jar mouth (leave room for this).  The crock has its own ceramic weights to use.  Let fizzle for a week....then refrigerate, or move somewhere very cool.  These are great garlicky snacks, and a plus is that the salt brine draws out the color of the radishes to make a pretty pink display in the jar.  

Sliced Misato Rose Watermelon Radish

Misato Rose Watermelon Radish

Harsch Fermenting Crock

Treating Butternut Squash Right To Maximize Storage Life

Butternut Squash harvest

I love growing butternut squash.  I get a kick out of their sprawling vines, productivity, and ability to provide delicious starch all winter for us as a storage crop.  Butternuts have been so reliably productive, it has been hard to try any other winter squash varieties, but I plan to branch out into the amazing world of winter squash colors and textures and try a few new varieties next year.  In my short squash growing career, I have read many variations on the perfect time to harvest, and the best way to cure butternut squash.  I'll share with you those variations and way I have chosen.

Harvesting:

Many an extension site recommends to harvest when the squash stem has turned from green to brown and the skin is hard enough to resist your fingernail if you try to puncture it.  Fair enough.  However, Butternut take a long time to mature, usually around 100 days, and since I got mine in a little late, they were at the "almost mature but could have used a few more warm weeks" stage in late October.  The extension sites recommend to definitely harvest before a hard frost as cold damage decreases storage length.  Where it got a little murky was that cold damage could occur in the 40s as well.  So....if a long period of nights in the 40s and rain were upon us, is it best to harvest or leave them in the field to hopefully mature fully?  With a mix of completely mature and almost mature squash, I went with harvesting them.  One more tip on testing maturity....green stripes near the stem disappear when the squash is fully mature.

Curing:

It was obvious from the literature that ideal curing happens outside in the field during 10 days of warm sunny weather.  Not the case here during harvest, so I took them inside to cure in the warm basement near the furnace.  Humidity is good during this period.  Another point of contention was to wash the squash and bleach them, or to leave them unwashed.  I wasn't thrilled with dipping my squash in a 10% bleach solution so I went with option 3: gently wash the soil off with water, then a dip in straight vinegar.  In the past, any spoilage that has happened to my squash started near the stems, so I paid particular attention to getting the stems clean.  After drying on towels, 10 days of curing on cardboard cushioned the squash from bruising.

Storage:

Butternuts can store for many months, if storage conditions are perfect.  In fact they taste best after several weeks of storage.  Storing them in a dry, warm location will cause them to dry out and become woody.  So, it was clear ideal temp was 50 - 55 degrees F, with no chance of dipping below 40 degrees F.  The best place I have for that kind of storage is our spare room with the door closed and the radiator turned off.  We have an unheated porch where I am trying to store onions and garlic in an old dishwasher for insulation....but that definitely gets colder than 50 degrees once it really starts getting cold.  Shelves with padding make the squash nice and comfy.  Old fabric or cardboard work well to line the shelves, with space between each squash.  I plan to check regularly for any squash that is going south and eat promptly if found!

Fermentation Station

I have a little area of our counter I call my fermentation station.  In addition to dehydrating, I appreciate lacto fermentation for how quick and easy it is to process and preserve the harvest.  Salt + water + vegetables.  That's it!  Right now at the station I have some sauerkraut, habanero hot sauce, and salad turnips.  They are all bubbling and smelling good.  Full disclosure...ferments can sometimes smell Quite Funky, but still taste delicious!

Turnips, habanero hot sauce, and kraut.

For the turnips I used a brine of 4 c filtered water: 3 T pickling salt (pure salt/no additives).  For the hot sauce, the habaneros got chopped in the food processor with some garlic then sprinkled with salt (2 lb peppers to 2 T salt) and then packed in the jar with a splash of kraut brine to give it a jump start.  The kraut was made with cabbage sliced thinly on a mandolin and then layered in a bowl with sprinklings of salt.  I then knead, squeeze the cabbage and then let it sit for about 15 minutes.  By then it has released juice from the salt and I pack it in the jar with some juniper berries and caraway, punching it down as I add each 4" layer or so.  Then, on top of the ferments, I put a plastic baggie, which I fill with brine.  That serves as a weight to keep all the vegetable matter under the brine and out of contact with the air, which is what causes funkies to grow.  They all then get covered with a towel to keep off the dust.  Sometimes scum will form on top of your brine.  It is not a problem, just remove with a wooden spoon.

Fermentation time is flexible and varies with temperature.  The kraut has been going for a month and I'll let it go a bit longer.  The radishes have only been going a few days and they are already pickling up pretty nicely.  When the hot sauce seems done, I'll strain and press out the seeds and pulp and bottle it.  All our fermented pickles and sauces go in a fridge in the basement, but a cold room would work for storage as well.

Fermenting crock and radishes

The other way I like to ferment is with this harsch fermenting crock.  It has ceramic weights included to take the place of the baggies of brine, and an airlock built in.  The "moat" that the lid sits in gets filled with water.  Small holes allow carbon dioxide to escape, so sometimes you hear your crock burp and gurgle.

Misato Rose radish

I harvested a few of the Misato Rose watermelon radish to put in the pickled radishes.  They are so beautiful and varied, and the flesh is very fine compared to other radishes.  I really enjoyed cutting them, since it was always a surprise what would be inside.

Misato Rose fall radish

Renovating the Chicken Run

What happens when you let a flock of hens scritchety-scratch on a hillside for a few months?  Bare soil, dead grass, and the promise of erosion.  I knew this would happen without rotating the hens between two areas so the first patch of grass could recover and, it has!  So, the fun is now in how to renovate and reinvent.  The grass is gone so the possibilities are endless.  More permanent terracing would be ideal eventually, but for now...

1) "Compost Terrace" composed of dead sunflower stalks, log rounds, organic material, and 2' chicken wire and T posts to hold it all in.

2) A re-seed with winter rye.  Not the chickens favorite forage, but it will hold the soil in place.  It is coming up now under the straw.

3) A planting of comfrey spread out across the hill.  Beware where you plant comfrey....it will never be removed from that place again!  I think it can have this hillside, as the chickens like to eat it, it is a nutrient-rich food plant, and it's roots can hold the hill in place.

4) A wooden retaining wall made from extra rough cut lumber we had on hand to keep organic matter/soil from washing out.  Our plan is to fill these paths up with woodchips we can get for free.

So, that is the plan, from eyesore to chicken plant playground.  We shall see...my guess is they can move back into this area next year in late spring/early summer.

Looking rough!  Defaced hillside.

Seeded with winter rye and planted with comfrey.  A cherry tree and Alternate Leaf Dogwood will hopefully eventually shade the chickens here.  

Wooden retaining wall around perimeter...steps still to come.

Building the retaining wall

Whats Happening in The Garden This Week?

It is a beautiful Sunday here with an expected high of 68 degrees.  A hard frost has not hit us here in the Pittsburgh area yet, giving me extra time to get the garden ready for the cold and cover my beds with hoops and row cover for season extension.  

The leaves are beginning to change on the trees behind our house, and the cold nights leave a chill in the air for morning activities.  Mulch is the word of the day.  Organic material coming out of the beds from summer crops either goes to the chickens or gets laid directly on the soil as mulch and then covered with straw for a tidier appearance.  In my commute to work or the store, I am on the lookout for leaves and brush that has been put out to the curb.   I am ready to pick them up - leaves for chicken bedding and brush to add to our pile for when we borrow our friend's chipper.  Wood chips will go to mulch perennial areas and to some paths.  

I have also sowed some winter rye on the empty beds that have been cleared as a winter cover crop, and finally made some rodent guards to keep the apple trees safe from those that would want to gnaw their bark.  

Sheet mulch beds from this spring with their fall crops

Misato Rose Fall Radish coming along nicely and Danvers carrots.  These will go under cover.

Red Russian kale, arugula, various asian greens, and lettuces destined to be covered for winter,

Butternut Squash Patch.  Yield is 40 squash from 4 plants.

Asparagus bed with kale, herbs, and volunteer amaranth.

Straw mulch and 1/4" hardware cloth rodent guard to protect the young apple trees' bark from gnawing teeth,

Automatic Chicken Doors and Predatory Chickens

Yesterday Jason and I worked on installing an automatic chicken door that will close at night and open in the morning to let the chickens in and out.  It runs on a 6v lantern battery (about $4) and has a light sensor that tells it when to open or close.  There are many versions on the market, or you can make your own if you are handy with electronics. We chose a galvanized metal version from AdorStore.com, a small business that makes and ships the doors from Texas.

We figure this door will be worth the investment when the electric poultry netting gets retired for the winter, the girls will be safely shut up in the coop every night whether we are here to put them in or not.  Installation was fairly easy and instructions were included.  We chose to cut a piece of scrap plywood we had on hand to mount the door on.

Automatic chicken door

Enticing wary chickens to try out the "new door"

Jason finishes the door from inside the coop

The chicken door mounted to painted plywood

Our Silver Laced Wyandotte caught a vole while we were working on the door.  I told her I much preferred this to the snake the chickens caught and ate recently.  We also moved a "chicken work crew" under the pitch pine tree we have.  Jason discovered that an insect called Red Headed Sawfly is wreaking havoc on the pine.  The catepiller stage of this insect is going to town on the pine needles.  We put the chickens under the tree and shook some branches, and they cleaned up the caterpillars as they fell.  Maybe some repeat visits from the work crew will put a dent in the caterpillars population.  Otherwise, I fear this tree may be in trouble.  

Huntress.  This Silver Laced Wyandotte has caught herself a vole to snack on.

Our Pitch Pine tree has a pest!

Delaware hen snacking on Red Headed Sawfly catepillers

Putting the hens to work beneath the pine tree

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Fall Pictures

There was a chill in the air today and is a chance of our first frost tonight.  I spent the evening bringing in a few tender potted plants, making a windbreak around my beehives and putting plastic over the open front of the chicken coop.  Now to hunker down into fall.  I love the changing of the seasons.

Fall Honey

Winterized Coop

Goldenrod at Frick Park

I transplanted this aster last fall.  It likes this spot as it has never grown this big.

Delicata Harvest

Jason (left), pumpkins (center), Ida (right)

Sauerkraut that my niece Emma helped make in August is now ready. 

One Flock Explores New Territory, Another Loses Its Feathers

Our home flock of chickens has killed the grass in their run.  I knew this would happen unless I alternated them between runs so the grass could recover.  And, it has not recovered.  Too late, I have given them a new area to roam.  But luckily... I do have a plan.  The new chicken paddock will eventually be more garden beds, so they can kill the grass there to their hearts' content...it would actually be helpful.  I plan to fence out areas of their old run so I can help them recover with reseeding of ryegrass and some comfrey plantings, and other undecided things.  In the meantime, they have their new paddock to scratch in and they love it.

Also pictured is the hens eating their weekly worm preventative.  I mix it with yogurt and they just adore it.  The mix of herbs supposedly keeps their insides inhospitable to worms, and so far, I have not had a problem with them.  

The news with the flock of Garden Dreams' hens is they are molting, so egg production has fallen off.   The shorter days of fall can signal to the hens..."Hey, it's time to loose all your feathers and renew them with new ones so you better stop laying eggs so you will have the nutrient reserves to do it!"  So, they look a little scruffy right now.  I am glad they are molting now, as a few of them molted in the dead of winter last year and I was worried about their little naked necks in the cold.  

That's all I can report from the world of cluckers. 

New Chicken Paddock

Chickens in their new paddock

Weekly Herbal Worm Preventative

Enjoying their herbs

The Garden Dreams flock is molting

Garden Dream Black Australorp hen molting