Still Time to Grow Your Own Salad

Shorter, cooler days are on the horizon, and gardens are looking tired. As you pull plants and free up garden space, consider planting salad and braising greens.

If you haven’t had a garden or are an apartment dweller, another option is growing in containers. For personal guidance, Extension Agent Paige Patterson is offering a hands-on fall vegetable gardening class, Monday August 31^st from 5:30-7:00. Call Paige at 828-264-3061 to register. Attendees will make a fall lettuce planter that they can reuse from season to season.

If you can’t make the class, just fill a planter with a general purpose potting mix and follow seed planting instructions. The plants will need 6 to 8 hours of sun per day. After 3 weeks, your vegetables may benefit from a topping of nitrogen containing fertilizer.

Planting kale, lettuce, mustard greens or radish seeds now will provide you with fresh produce before our expected frost date of October 10th. Other cold tolerant plants, such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, collards, and spinach should be planted as seedlings, as they take longer to mature. Some seedlings are available at area farmers’ markets.
To continue a garden past the frost date, row cover fabric is a simple way to extend the growing season. You can build a structure for the row cover out of plastic pipes. Row covers enhance plant growth by raising day temperatures around the plants and insulating plants at night by trapping heat around them.

Your soil needs to be prepared for planting by tilling or spading to a depth of at least 6 inches.    The pH of the soil should be 6.0 to 6.7, and if you have successfully grown other vegetables, it may be at that level. Fall is a good time to take a soil test, then apply some slow release amendments as needed for spring crops. Soil test boxes are available at NC Cooperative Extension, and the test is free until November.

Fortunately, tomatoes are coming in strong right now. Sally Thiel of Zydeco Moon Farm specializes in heirloom tomatoes and shares this recipe:

Tomato Pie

1 egg

2 pounds ripe tomatoes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup plain bread crumbs

4 tablespoons mayonnaise

4 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

2 tablespoons chiffonade fresh basil

1/2 cup blue cheese

1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Make or buy a pie crust.  Roll out the pie crust on a lightly floured surface to fit a deep 9 or 10-inch pie pan. Place the pastry in the pie pan and crimp edges decoratively. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes, then line with aluminum foil. Fill with pie weights and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until lightly golden around the edges. Remove foil and pie weights, and return to the oven for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack to cool. Crack the egg in a small bowl, reserving yolk for the filling, separately. Lightly beat the egg white with a fork, then brush the surface of pie crust with a light coating of egg white and allow to cool.

Slice the tomatoes, discarding the stem and root ends, into 1/4-inch slices and lightly season with the salt and pepper.

Sprinkle about 1/3 of the bread crumbs in the bottom of the pie crust. In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise with the reserved egg yolk and stir until smooth. Place a layer of tomatoes in the bottom of the piecrust over the breadcrumbs, using about half of the tomatoes. Drizzle with half of the mayonnaise mixture, half of the thyme and basil, half of the blue cheese and half of the mozzarella cheeses. Top with half of the remaining breadcrumbs then top with the remaining tomato slices, blue cheese, mozzarella, mayonnaise mixture, and remaining thyme and basil. Top with the remaining bread crumbs and drizzle with the olive oil.  Cover with the Parmesan cheese. Place in the oven and bake until bubbly hot and golden brown, about 1 hour.

Join a CSA for ultra-fresh, locally grown food

by Margie Mansure, Extension Agent/Registered Dietitian

Looking forward to spring and the growing season, I am about to send my payment to join a Community Supported Agriculture program, or CSA. Most of the time, joining requires making a deposit now and full payment before receiving any product. But in general, farmers are some of the hardest working, most honest people I’ve ever come across. Paying at the beginning of growing season enables them to purchase seed and start production without having to take out a loan. Then for 20 weeks, I’ll get a share of just harvested, seasonal produce, and the challenge of cooking and consuming all of it. I look forward to that challenge, but most growers help out by providing recipes along with the abundance.

Shopping at a farmers’ market is often a social time and a great way to get to know who grows your food. Some CSA programs deliver at the market, but also offer another delivery option. If you find shopping on Saturday morning inconvenient, joining a CSA may be a better way to get your nutrition through ultra-fresh, locally grown food.

   

Creeksong Farm

Lasts for 20 weeks, beginning in early June. Tuesday pickups will begin June 2rd, 2015 and end October 13^th at the Agricultural Conference Center loading dock or at the farm in Creston. Another option for pick up is at the Watauga farmers’ market on Saturdays. 

Pay a 50% deposit as soon as possible to reserve a space, with the total cost due by May 1^st.

Full shares cost $500.00 and receive $25.00 worth of food each week.

Half shares cost $300.00 and receive $15.00 worth of food each week.

Vegetarian shares are available. On weeks when beef and/or eggs are included, vegetarian shares will get more produce to make up the difference in cost. Participants are allowed a one week vacation credit for produce at the farmers’ market.

Jeff and Betty Thomas, creeksongfarm@gmail.com, (336)385-6302 http://www.creeksongfarm.com

High Country CSA

This multi-farm CSA will deliverer weekly at a central location in Boone from June 3^rd through October 14^th. Total payment is due by June 1^st. A regular sized share is $500 and great for families of three or more. A small sized share is $350 and great for a single adult or a couple. If you are eligible for EBT, WIC, or free and reduced lunch, you may qualify for the cost share program. By joining the cost share program, a regular share is $200 and may even be paid for with EBT benefits every week ($10 per week). A small sized share is $100 and costs $5 per week with EBT. For more information, contact Elliott, highcountrycsa@gmail.com, http://highcountrycsa.org

Lively Up Farm

Delivery will be at the Watauga County farmers’ market, with another option being considered, starting mid to late May and lasting for 20 weeks. Every share will contain at least 4 to 5 varieties of vegetables. Full shares cost $500 and receive $25 of vegetables weekly. A $300 share is also available, with $15 of vegetables weekly.

Matt Cooper, seeinglifenow@yahoo.com, 828-773-5893

North Fork Farm

Participants receive a monthly delivery of different cuts of beef, pork and chicken from 4:30 – 5 pm at the Agricultural Conference Center in Boone beginning April 13^th through August 10^th.  Half share members receive a 7 to 10 lb. box monthly at a cost of $350 for the contract period, working well for single persons, couples or small family. Full share members receive 17 to 20 lb. box monthly at a cost of $600, working well for families of 3 or more.

Jimmy or Shelia Greene, northforkfarm@skybest.com, 828-297-5755.  http://northforkfarmbeef.com/csa/

Springhouse farm

Certified organic farm offering a half share, approximately $15 worth of vegetables each week for $300. A full share provides approximately $25 worth of vegetables each week for $500.
You may choose to pick up at the Watauga County farmers’ market or on Tuesdays at the farm in Vilas between 12 and 6. Email: amy@springhousefarm.net, http://www.springhousefarm.net/

Wild Pilgrim Homestead

The CSA box includes a great variety. No up front payment is required, and you can place orders weekly as you need them. The CSA is year round, delivering Thursdays at Boone Visitors Center from 4:30 until 5:25. $25 per week. Maintain a Facebook page. Bonnie or Jason Lewis, (828) 455-7808, wildpilgrimfarmstead@gmail.com

Disclaimer: there may be CSAs that I have not heard about. I don't intentionally leave anyone off! 

Preserve Your Hunting Bounty

While most of us are scurrying about tending to holiday-induced deadlines, some are more concerned about having a successful deer hunting season, which ends on January 1^st in Watauga. Last weekend, Extension livestock agent Eddy Labus and I offered a deer butchery and processing workshop. I was amazed at how much effort it takes to cut edible muscles off of a carcass.

Fortunately, either home butchering or using a local processor yields a good amount of edible protein, averaging 48% from a field dressed carcass. Not only does the meat have a rich flavor, nutritionally, deer meat is lower in fat and higher in iron than even the leanest cuts of beef.

The easiest way to preserve meat is to freeze it. Use a good packaging that prevents air contact, such as freezer wrap, aluminum foil, or butcher wrap. If you choose freezer bags, it’s important to make as air-tight as possible. Vacuum sealers work well. Keep a thermometer in your freezer to make sure it is below zero degrees.

Canning venison is much more time consuming than freezing, but has the advantage of keeping safe in case of a power outage. Meat must be canned in a pressure canner, which makes it really tender. For more information, visit the national center for home food preservation at http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_05/strips_cubes_chunks.html

Meat jerky is convenient to take along backpacking, hiking, climbing, or hunting. Here is an easy recipe that also works well for beef. Boiling the meat in marinade heats the meat to a temperature that kills any dangerous microorganisms.

Deer or beef jerky

Place the meat you plan to cut in the freezer until slightly frozen, to make it easier to cut into thin strips. With a very sharp knife, slice across the grain, 1/8 to ¼ inch thick, 1 to 1 ½ inches wide and 4 to 10 inches long. Marinate in the refrigerator at least one hour, but preferably overnight. This recipe will marinate 1 ½ to 2 pounds of meat:

¼ cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

¼ teaspoon each black pepper and garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon liquid smoke

When ready to begin drying, make more of the marinade to cook the meat in. This recipe makes 2 cups of marinade.

1 ½ cups soy sauce

6 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 ½ teaspoon each black pepper and garlic powder

3 teaspoons onion powder

6 teaspoons liquid smoke

Bring to a rolling boil. Add strips and reheat to full boil. Boil for one minute. Remove the pan from the heat and place strips on drying rack. Make sure there is plenty of air flow by not letting strips touch each other.

Using a dehydrator, set at 155 degrees. Check after 2 hours and if not dry, turn. May take up to 4 hours to dry. Properly dried jerky is chewy and leathery. To see if it’s dry enough, let cool, then bend the jerky. It should crack, but not break when bent. Store in the refrigerator for a longer life, up to six months. Will keep up to two months at room temperature.