Mid-July in the main garden; the beans are reaching for the sky but the peas (4th try) stopped and made peas at about eighteen inches in height -- same kind as grew six feet in prior years -- so their trellis remains naked. Corn and squash dominate the foreground, with lots of volunteer potatoes, garlic, and nasturtium. Grapes, apples, compost heaps and "chicken moat" glimpsed at upper left.
Risa has been reducing the last of the "craigslist wood" (eleven free truckloads in 2009), the knottiest rounds, by notching with the electric chainsaw before putting in a wedge. Some rounds she has simply sliced through the middle and then assaulted with the maul. This results in some interesting stacking.
The saw is a relic from, apparently, about 1963. A Skilsaw, made in USA. It was given to her as scrap, but it's the gift that keeps on giving. You can't get such a saw made nowadays. You could tape the trigger closed and let it run all day and it will not overheat, apparently.
Finished! The smallwood tucked around the pine is from maples, ashes and willows planted and coppiced on the premises. Nothing, maybe, gives a sense of perspective like firewooding a tree you planted yourself. Sad and joyful all mixed together.
The dehydrators are kept going constantly at this time of year. Foliage that would otherwise go to waste -- side leaves and bolted heads of lettuce, chard, kale, choi, spinach, broccoli, collards, cabbage, and turnip greens -- even radish tops -- along with your choice of herbs -- don't forget the dandelions -- are crisped by the sun and hand crumbled, with the stems picked out and tossed. A bushel of greens will make a quart of veggie crumble, good in breads, soups, green drinks, main dishes, side dishes, and salads. You could live on potatoes and veggie crumble if you had to, using any colcannon recipe -- we prefer fresh kale, but ... y'know ... think survival foods ...
Ah, thanks for the reminder that I need to dig out the hanging solar dehydrator I got and have never tried. I have no leaves to dry - the garden is not going that abundantly yet - but I could try drying some onion and some cherry tomatoes.
ReplyDeleteCherry tomatoes ... soon ... soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this discussion about dehydrated greens Risa. I think I'll go to market tomorrow and get some and start dehydrating some for myself.
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You could ask other gardeners who have greens for the parts of some such things as kale that they might not otherwise use -- if they don't have chickens especially -- and use those as well.
ReplyDeleteMany folks think nothing of buying onions and garlic at a CSA, cutting off the green leaves and tossing them; beg for those too as they are fine in veggie crumble. Sprinkled over something like ramen they come into their own.
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