Shelf Life

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Dave @ HappyAcres

One thing for sure, I’m all about eating good and saving money at the same time. While the headlines scream almost daily about rising food prices, our food budget at HA has been going down every year since we combined our households back in 2007. At the same time, we have been steadily improving the quality of the food we eat. How do we do that?

One way we save is by growing a lot of our own vegetables and fruit. That saves us quite a bit of money, though it’s hard to put an exact price on the true value of what we grow. While we do have farmer’s markets that offer a variety of locally grown goodness, nothing beats homegrown for freshness and flavor!

4 grain cereal

Another way we save money is buying in bulk. We have a local natural foods store and a co-op that sell a variety of grains, beans and baking ingredients in bulk. One of our new favorites is this 4 grain cereal that is a mix of rolled oats, wheat, barley and rye. It makes a great hot cereal, plus it can sub for rolled oats in our homemade granola and granola bars.

bag of rice

Another thing we do is buy in quantity. This week I bought a 15 pound bag of white basmati rice. Now, we try and eat as many whole grains as we can, but we haven’t banned things like white rice entirely. And we do like the delicate flavor of the white basmati. It’s certainly not local, but then there aren’t going to be any local sources for any kind of rice for us here in the Midwest U.S.

We do keep a good supply of brown rice on hand, but it has a much shorter shelf life due to the oils present in the germ and bran layers. We try and use up brown rice within six months of purchase. On the other hand, white rice keeps for a very long time. When stored in a cool area in an oxygen-free sealed container in can keep for up to 30 years.

This rice won’t be around that long, probably more like 3-4 years. But by buying it now we have locked in 2011 prices, and we have added to our supply of on hand food items. I’m not necessarily worried about TEOTWAWKI, but earthquakes and storms are common in our area, and it pays to be prepared.

4 grain cereal with cinnamon and apples

I cooked up some of the 4 grain cereal for breakfast this morning, adding some dried apples, cinnamon and a splash of maple syrup. It didn’t last long at all – maybe five minutes!

We won’t be totally immune from rising food prices, for sure, but our strategies should help to minimize sticker shock when we go shopping for food items.

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February in the Greenhouse

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Dave @ HappyAcres

After last week’s tour of the cold frames, I thought I would give an update on how things are growing in the greenhouse. I like to document what’s going on periodically for my own records, and it’s also nice to share with those that might be interested. The greenhouse was my retirement present to myself, and I have to say it’s one of the better investments I have made.

shelf with seedlings in flats (click on any photo to enlarge)

Though it’s still pretty early in the season, I have quite a few flats of seedlings hanging out in the greenhouse right now. The shelves on the west side are full of young plants of lettuce, endive, beet greens, chard, kohlrabi, onions and various Asian greens.

shelves with planters

One thing I tried this winter was growing more greens in planters. In winters past, much of the bench and shelf space was not being used, so I decided the planters would be a good way to utilize that space. The experiment worked, and we have had a nice supply of greens all winter long, for very little cost or effort. The planters nicely supplement what is grown in the two greenhouse raised beds.

planter with mesclun mix

Some of the planters have lettuce and mesclun mixes that have been harvested in the cut and come again fashion with scissors.

planter with Sea of Red and Lingua di Canarino lettuces

Other planters have individual lettuce plants that are harvested when they are big enough to eat. Some of them go one leaf at a time, while other times I harvest the whole plant.

planters with arugula and lettuce mixes

I have one planter with scallions that were thickly sown last fall, and used as needed. And there are two planters of arugula that have supplied us with plenty of leaves for salads and pizzas.

greenhouse bed in February

The beds on either side of the greenhouse are kept busy year round. In the winter months they are mostly filled with hardy greens. When plants are harvested, I replant with something else to keep the beds working. About twice a year I work in some compost and all-purpose organic fertilizer. And I water the plants periodically with a fish emulsion and seaweed mix. I spread Sluggo around the beds to keep the slugs under control.

Red Choi, lettuces and Mei Qing pac choi

Right now the beds have a mix of old and new plants. The pac chois were planted back in November, and we’ve eaten some and left the rest to grow for later.

Mei Qing pac choi

Like most of the plants in the greenhouse, the little Mei Qing pac chois have been frozen and thawed repeatedly, but you would never know it to look at them. They are full sized now at about 8″ tall. I predict these will be starring in a stir fry soon!

Space spinach

I also have spinach in the greenhouse beds, several different plantings in fact. The Space spinach was direct seeded back in October and November. I sowed some Gigante Inverno in December.

Space spinach in planter

I took some of the thinnings from the Space spinach and planted them in a windowbox planter. I haven’t grown spinach in a container before, and I want to see how it will do. So far it seems to be doing well.

bed on west side of greenhouse

The photo above is an overhead shot of the bed on the west side of the greenhouse. That bed is approximately 3 feet by 7 feet, and is the larger of the two beds. From left to right we have tatsoi, spinach, various lettuces, mizuna and Swiss chard.

Rouge d'Hiver, Salad Bowl, and De Morges Braun lettuces

The lettuces in this bed are planted very close together. I will harvest some of them at the baby size to make room for the others to grow. I try and not let any growing space go to waste.

Survivor and Krausa parsleys

I’ve also got some parsley growing in the corner of this bed. It has supplied us with leaves throughout the winter. As a biennial, it will start blooming before long though, and it is time to start fresh plants for this year.

sprouts from Mojito mint

Last but not least in the greenhouse are some container herbs that have been overwintering there. I have several rosemary plants, and also some mints. The mints died back last year, but now are starting to come out with new sprouts. They will have a big jump on the ones outside that are still dormant.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed the tour. We’ll do another one in a couple of months, and things should look a lot different then as I move into more warm season plantings. One thing’s for sure – there’s always something going on in the greenhouse!

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Cold Frames

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Dave @ HappyAcres

I made another cold frame yesterday, using the same design I’ve used for the last several ones I’ve made. They are 4 feet by 4 feet square, about 8 inches tall in front and tapering to 12-1/2 inches in back.

This size is perfect to fit the beds around my greenhouse, which are about 3-1/2 feet wide. And the height is tall enough for what I usually grow in those beds, things like lettuce, spinach, Asian greens, radicchio, endive, and kohlrabi. It’s also tall enough to protect early plantings of broccoli and cabbage.

What follows is not intended to be a step by step tutorial on how to build these cold frames, but I’ll try and give enough details so that anyone with basic carpentry skills could adapt them to fit their own needs.

cold frame base (click on any photo to enlarge)

The base is made of 2″ thick untreated dimensional lumber. I’ve made cold frames from exterior plywood in the past, but I find the lumber is easier to work with. Plus, if I get the pieces in 8 foot lengths it works out well for the 4×4 foot overall dimensions of the cold frame. The front piece is a 2×8, and the back is a 2×12. The side pieces are 2×12’s cut using a circular saw to slope from 7″ at one end to about 11″ on the other end.

2×3 corner blocks

The corners are reinforced with a short block of 2×3 lumber. The side pieces are screwed into the blocks with #8 exterior 2-1/2″ screws. I drill pilot holes for all the screws used for the sides. Then I use my cordless drill to screw them in.

2×2 lumber on base

Once the base is assembled, I add a strip of 2×2 lumber to the bottom of the base lumber pieces. That keeps the side pieces from sitting directly on the ground, which means the 2×2 pieces should be the first thing to rot. It is easy to replace the 2×2’s, and it is cheaper than replacing the larger lumber. It also adds about 1-1/2″ to the height of the cold frame. The 2×2 strips are screwed to the base using the same exterior screws used before.

top for cold frame

The top is constructed of 2×3 untreated dimensional lumber. I lay out the pieces on a flat area, using a simple butt joint. Then I use angled and flat corner braces to join the pieces together. I don’t use any additional nails or screws in the top pieces.

closeup of corner braces used on top

The top construction is quite adequate for my lightweight covering materials, which are usually polyester row cover material or plastic poly sheeting. Another design would be needed for plexiglass or glass covered tops.

hinge detail

I use two 3-1/2″ or 4″ hinges to secure the top on the base. No need to mortise the hinges – this isn’t fine cabinetry work. The screws that come with all the hardware are adequate for my needs.

handle for sides of cold frame

I like to add a couple of handles to the sides. That makes it easier to move the rather heavy cold frame around.

row of cold frames along side of greenhouse

Here’s a photo of the new cold frame in place next to the two older ones. I bought enough materials to make one more frame, which should be all I need for the time being.

another shot of cold frames

The last step is to add the cover material. In this case I’m going to use Agribon row cover material, stapled to the top.

If you’re not using cold frames, you might want to give them a try. They are a great way to to extend your growing season. They’re easy to construct, and fairly inexpensive to make. The materials for this one cost about $35 per cold frame, and I put it together in a little over two hours.

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Going Bananas

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Dave @ HappyAcres

I’m happy as a monkey after bringing home a sackful of bananas yesterday from the soup kitchen. Volunteers pick up aging produce from local groceries twice a week and put it on tables outside the kitchen door for any and all to take home with them. Even though volunteers are encouraged to share in the bounty, I usually leave stuff for those who really need it.

But I can’t stand to see things go to waste. So when a whole banana box full of bananas was left at the end of the day, I pointed them out to the other volunteers. Some of us had one for a snack (me included). Despite the peels being quite dark, the bananas inside are still quite firm and not overripe. I guess they looked bad, or maybe no one was really that hungry for bananas.

bananas rescued from a trip to the dumpster

Since I still couldn’t get any takers to rescue them, I filled up a sack and took quite a few home with me. I’ll let them sit out for a few days (or more), until they are really soft and overripe. Then I will use them to bake several batches of Whole Wheat Banana Muffins, and take them back in to the kitchen to share with the other volunteers and our guests.

ripe, but not overripe

If there’s any bananas left, we will freeze them and use them later for smoothies and such. Until then, the kitchen smells heavenly – if you like bananas!

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February Garden

Posted on February 14, 2011 by Dave @ HappyAcres

We continue to get a nice amount of fresh food to eat from our garden in February. Last week we had enough lettuce, spinach and arugula to have a couple of nice salads for lunch. Those greens all came from the greenhouse and cold frames.

And I picked about a pound of kale from the main garden. It has held up amazingly well this year, and is even starting to put on some new growth. I made kale chips with some of it, put a few leaves in a green smoothie, and braised the rest as a side dish last night. The variety here is mostly the curly Starbor.

crispy kale chips (click on any photo to enlarge)

Here’s an update on how the greens in the cold frames are doing. Cold frame #1 has lettuce, mizuna and spinach planted in it.

cold frame #1

The Sea of Red, Ruby and Radichetta lettuces are doing pretty well. With mild weather forecast this coming week, and lengthening days, they should start growing again very soon.

Ruby lettuce

Sea of Red lettuce

The Winter Density lettuce is hanging on, but not as healthy looking as the other lettuces. You’d think with “winter” in its name it would be doing a little better! It’s alive though, and it may very well start growing and surprise me.

Winter Density lettuce

Cold frame #2 has more lettuce and spinach plus komatsuna, arugula and tatsoi.

cold frame #2

The komatsuna and tatsoi are looking great. They are seemingly unfazed by all the cold weather. I will be growing them every winter. The mizuna plants aren’t faring as well, which is my own fault. Those transplants were a little small when I planted them last December. Next time I need to plant them a bit earlier. The mizuna in the greenhouse is doing fine though. The Spotted Trout lettuce (aka Forellenschluss) looks pretty good too. I believe it has earned a place in the winter garden as well. So has the arugula.

Spotted Trout lettuce

Of course the spinach doesn’t mind the cold at all. I’ve been harvesting enough of it for salads, but it won’t be long before it takes off and there’s enough for cooking.

Gigante Inverno and Regiment spinach

For next winter, I have some more winter hardy varieties of lettuce and greens that I plan on growing. For the experiment this winter I pretty much used the varieties I had available. So far I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how things have performed. Now I hope to take what I have learned and tweak it and have even more things available to eat for the next winter season.

Another thing I want to do is build more cold frames. In fact, I am planning on getting the materials this week and hopefully I can get at least one built. That will give us even more protected growing space for our cold weather gardening.

That’s a little peek at what’s happening in our gardens in February. I hope you enjoyed the tour, and remember, Spring is right around the corner!

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