Edibles

Strawberries ripe for tonight's dinner salad.

In 2022 bare roots of Albion, Chandler, Seascape and Sequoia were planted along the west fence.  Those purchased from Harmony Farm Supply and Nursery did the worst, some withering and dying before they fully leafed out. When I attempted to get a refund, it was refused since I did not bring the dead plants. Well, I now avoid shopping at what use to be my "go to place". 

At the North most destination along the brick abutting the shed two bare root Boyne (Rubus idaeus) Summer bearing raspberry were planted. Red raspberries are one of my very favorite berries to pick and eat immediately. Eventually the two bushes will produce enough to make jam.  

Then on the North side of the shed two bare root Rubus (subgenus Rubus Watson) ‘Black Satin’ Thornless were planted. They are thriving with many baby blackberries noticeable on the bushes now.

Since I and the hummingbirds love the bright red flowers of the Scarlett runner beans, seeds from last years' crop were dried. A few weeks ago the stunningly beautiful seeds were planted. The first leaves now adorn the plant. Unfortunately some BEing is munching on the leaves. Oh well, "they have to eat too" is my mantra.

Pink Pearl apple tree had many flowers which then developed into many teeny, tiny apples. Since the tree is young, all but a few apples were left on the tree to grow to their normal size. This is the apple I use to pink applesauce since the flesh is marbled pink in color . . . hence the name.

Cascadia peas are twining their way up the wire support. With this particular variety of peas the pods can be harvested OR they can be left to develop peas inside. The pods are great in salads or sautéed. I can hardly wait to begin picking peas! Many of the peas rarely see the inside of the house as I love to shell and eat them immediately after picking.

The raised bed was planted a few days ago with the lettuce. The seeds were started on April 09 in a Todd planter. This particular seed package contains seeds from every lettuce Wild Garden Seed grows. The diversity is stunningly beautiful to behold: there is head lettuce as well as red, green and oak lettuce, loose leaf lettuce. So when I scatter the seeds onto the Todd planter I am never sure what exactly will sprout. I love this kind of surprise! 

'Wild Garden Lettuce Mix' 
purchased from Wild Garden Seed.

 

Friday Three Sisters (beans, corn, melon instead of squash) were planted in three circles. When the sun is shining, this particular spot in the backyard receives full sun most all day. The Three Sisters thrive on the warmth of the sun. Radish seeds, to deter insects, were also scattered about. About an inch of soil mixed with chicken manure covered the seeds. Soil amendments was generously applied as well. Once the task was completed, remay was secured to prevent the pesky squirrels from digging in the moist soil.

Rhubarb

Rhubarb is a must have plant for Midwest girl. Luckily this plant resided in the backyard when we purchased this house some two years ago. I cook three or four stalks with just enough organic maple sugar to sweeten. This warm sauce I then pour over my organic blue corn meal pancake for a delicious breakfast!

The edible garden created here on Page Street is providing much food for both the human and canine who lives here. As I tweak the garden so it is "more perfect" (the albatross for a One on the Enneagram), I thoroughly enjoy the process and

Sprouting

I moved Between Earth and Sky created by Dwight
 from the back yard where
she kept getting knocked over by the rowdy Shasta.
Her arm was broken off . . . again . . . reglued . . . again.
So now she has a safer home in the front yard.

Many, many, many weeks ago I planted fava beans seeds in the four circles where I plant the Three Sisters beans, corn & squash)

and in both raised beds. 

West most raised bed

East most raised bed

Everyday I have been checking . . . nada green sprouts. And then the rain came with 4.0" falling in 24 hours. You can see from the above pictures that there are now sprouts.

I was advised by a friend and now local neighbor as well that fava beans need moisture to germinate. Well, the abundance of rain of late is just what the fava bean seeds needed to poke their little green heads through their casings and soil.

Once the fava beans mature and are picked, the stocks make for the very best additive to the soil for raising deliciously tasting food. As I did at MuRefuge I will top both raised beds with these stocks. It seems that I recall in one growing season the stocks decomposed. I plan to plant tomatoes through the stocks in the West bed as well as lettuce, carrots, peas in the East most bed.

The rain continues to fall. So far this week over 7.1" has collected in the rain gauge positioned near my front walkway. Every morning I go out early to see what the gauge has collected then dump out the rain. All of Northern California is in need of the rain continuing at the present rate through January, February and into March. This entire area is anywhere from 30% to 50% behind in the "normal" rainfall. So, although it makes for messy walking when Shasta and I go out for our morning walk, I tell her "it is worth it" so our garden reaps benefits from the rains.

May your weather wherever you are be not too intolerable . . . or deadly as in some parts of the Eastern United States. And as we are all more house bound may we

Almost the Height of Summer

The Summer Solstice, the height of Summer, is quickly approaching, although it seems Spring has just arrived at MuRefuge. Here the temperatures have been subnormal for this time of the year. There has been very little sunshine until the past few days.

Point Reyes Meadowfoam surrounding our
MuRefuge sculpture, which Dwight made some while ago,
located between our driveway and front entryway.
"Mu" means "all or nothing" in Japanese.
A perfect name for our 3/4 acre here in West Sonoma County.

Point Reyes Meadowfoam up close and personal.
The seeds were gathered by and purchased from
Larner Seeds in Bolinas, California.

There has not been the usual several weeks of record breaking heat to finish off the Cascadia pea plant which prefers coolish weather. This variety I grow for both the pods and peas as well as the "shoots" for salads. This variety does produce longer in warmer weather than most AND is extremely tasty as peas and pods.

Cascadia peas producing the superior flavor pods, shelled peas and shoots.

Pea pod,s pea shoots, French Breakfast radishes, green onions, chervil salad
with kefir milk, olive oil and chives dressing. A delish! light evening meal.

THREE SISTER UPDATE

For a girl raised in Iowa, the land of corn growing, I found out I am ignorant when it comes to knowing about corn. My knowledge seemed to be totally limited to "field corn" which when I was growing up was not tainted with GMOs or hybridized to be "sweet". Corn was just corn. Well, in my discovery learning I found out that corn, Zea mays, of Three Sisters, is categorized into

• Sweet corn, 
• Flour corn with kernels relatively soft for grinding into a fine flour for baking, 
• Dent corn with kernels that have a floury center surrounded by flinty edges which is traditionally used for hominy and masa for making tortillas and tamales, 
• Flint corn which is high protein and contains a hard and translucent kernel for grinding into polenta and meal rather than flour, 
• Popcorn which of course we all know how to use.

In both Robin Wall Kimmerer's book Braiding Sweetgrass and Carol Deppe's The Resilient Gardener information about planting Three Sisters was gleaned. The microclimate and the gardening space, as well as my gardening knowledge, was reason for adaptation in planting corn, beans and squash here at MuRefuge. AND this new to me project, I readily admit, certainly does push my One (Enneagram type) button of perfection, not Divine perfection but rather the human, individual idea of perfection. The realization that Three Sisters plannings historically thrived and failed is a comforting thought; soothing my fear of not doing this perfectly.

Hopi Blue Flour corn growing in the warmest location here at MuRefuge.

Anasazi corn growing in one of the longer basalt block veggie beds.
Note in the back right of the corn a lemon cucumber has been planted.

This past week Fortex French fillet beans, soaked overnight in comfrey tea, were planted around the corn which has been slow to grow with the cool weather here at MuRefuge. Once the beans are up and growing to twine about the corn stalks, both Summer and Winter squash seeds will be planted. The big question is whether the weather will be favorable to all these plants companionably growing together.

RECENT SIGHTINGS

In the last couple of weeks a Red shouldered Hawk has been visiting regularly, swooping through the trees in search of food.  A few days ago Dwight saw the hawk plunge to the ground, capture a gopher, and fly off to enjoy a meal.  Usually it has been sitting up in the Oregon Oaks behind our house looking down around the bird feeder for the small birds that are its favorite food.  As the hawk arrived the birds quickly disappear and all is quiet until the hawk flies elsewhere to hunt again.

The Red shouldered Hawk waiting patiently for lunch.

Last season there was a plethora of baby deer, both twins and single babies. One of those sets of twins are boys with antlers visible with almost daily growth. This season in the megadrought only one pair birthed several months ago and just a few weeks ago a single baby deer. The wildlife seem to be attuned to the change in rainfall since it affects their food supply.

Baby turkeys in abundance in most years past are also in short supply this year. Three moms bring their brood down to forage beneath the bird feeders. There are only six total this season. And how Shasta loves to chase them to see them fligh up into the trees, bushes and atop the house. We have pretty much trained her not to do that to the ducks who call MuRefuge home, too.

As each of us express our gratitude to Mother Earth may we