Sow Bugs, Earwigs, and Chilean Mesquite!

First the bugs:  

 As a few of you probably know, I recently bought a little place in Lucerne, (Lake County) California.  (Seems there are two Lucerne’s in California.)  Developing a balanced garden ecosystem takes time, and I am definitely not there yet.  In the battle between plants and bugs, in many cases the bugs have been winning.  Sow bugs and earwigs, both beneficial creatures when their populations are in balance, have been turning the leaves of many plants into an ugly imitation of lace.  

I have read and tried a number of organic and non-toxic tactics.  I finally have a success!  I made a "trap" using one tablespoon of molasses and 2/3 cup of water--which I poured into a shallow deli take out container. (The liquid was about 3/4 inch from the top.) I nestled it into the mulch around a plant that has been getting hit hard and added a couple of handfuls of mulch around the edges to provide very easy access. This morning there were probably at least 100 drowned bugs in there!  More molasses traps will be appearing in my yard soon.

Chilean Mesquite:

Creating a garden ecosystem is an effort that takes time and experimentation.  Lake County California has a semi arid climate; worse lately with drought and the solar maximum that is slowly building.  The town of Lucerne also has one of the highest water rates in the country.  Bills for two people households that do no outside watering average around $150.00 (every other month).   Even up in Hoopa, (where most of the posts in this blog originated) and before the solar maximum, I found that most garden plants benefited from filtered shade for at least part of the day.  With this in mind I have been doing some research on trees that would possibly be adapted to the climate here and that would fix nitrogen, carbon, and provide food.  Mesquite crossed my mind as a good candidate.  When a friend of mine reminded me of their thorns, I did a search on thornless mesquite and began reading about Chilean Mesquite.  

I found and ordered seeds on E-bay, and then researched how to germinate them.  The seeds arrived still in sections of their pods. (They are not easy to remove.)  I put about six of the pod sections in a heat proof dish, and then poured boiling water over them. (That was the best plan, according to what I had read on-line.)  The next day, after soaking for nearly 24 hours, I was able to work the meat off the seed capsules, cut through the capsules, and squeeze the seed out.  (It still wasn’t easy.)  

Then, carefully grasping each small seed, I scarified one edge (and my fingernails as well) by rubbing them against a piece of coarse sandpaper.  I was very careful not to damage the pointed end of the seed, where the root would emerge.  The seeds were then placed on a folded paper towel, inside a ziplock bag, and some of their soak liquid was used to moisten the paper towel thoroughly.  I read that they liked to be hot—so I placed the baggy on a warm shelf out on the sun porch, and then brought it into the house over night.  This morning, less than 24 hours later, the first seed is clearly germinating and the rest are swelling and look viable!  At least some of those little seeds will hopefully one day be big trees!  And that is part of what I live for . . .

Happy Gardening!

Purslane

Omega 3 has been in the news a lot lately. You may have read about how it helps our health in many ways. Omega 3 is reported to improve brain function; reduce the incidence of inflammation, migraines, and heart attacks; lower blood pressure; and improve immune function.  That is a tall order for a single nutrient; but the reports all seem to have the research to back up their claims. While salmon and other cold water fish are the main dietary source of Omega 3; you can also grow your own right out in the garden.

Purslane is a rich source of Omega 3.  This is great news for those who don’t like fish and don’t want to take supplements. This easy to grow vegetable is also high in potassium and vitamin A and it has less than 30 calories a cup! This tasty and nutritious little plant has been used for food and health nearly all over the world since ancient times.

While many writers indicate that purslane first originated in northern Africa, the middle-east, or Asia; archeological evidence indicates purslane was also used for food right here in the United States as early as 3500 BC. Purslane has been used as a green vegetable and for its soothing properties everywhere it is found. This annual succulent produces tender tasty leaves, especially when it is young. These leaves range in size from about a nickel in the wild varieties up to a quarter in the domesticated types. They can be washed and tossed into salads, mixed vegetable dishes, soups, and casseroles. They have a pleasant tangy taste, reminiscent of French sorrel.  Some people like them enough to steam up a batch and serve it as a side dish.

The domesticated purslanes can also be used in stir fries and tempuras. Purslane dipped in batter and deep fried is a real treat. (Of course, deep frying pretty much negates the health benefits; but once in a while it can’t be too bad.) The larger leaved varieties are also easier to use for salads and cooking. Tiny little leaves and veggies are still the rage, but I honestly prefer something a little easier to work with. Bigger is sometimes better.

‘Tall Green’ or ‘Giant Purslane’ sport leaves up to two inches long, while ‘Golden’ has slightly smaller leaves at an inch and a half. Those pale greens and chartreuses are back in style. If you follow the trends, Golden Purslane will fit right in. Its leaves are even tangier than the darker green varieties, so there are more reasons to grow it than color alone. Whichever type of purslane you decide to grow, they are all fast and easy.

Purslane thrives in hot weather. It can be started any time from late spring, through the summer, and into the beginning of fall. Purslane’s tiny seeds take from ten to twenty days to germinate. Unlike many seeds, which we tuck into the soil, these guys need to be exposed to light. The easiest way to make sure they have what they need is to start them in six packs. Use moist, screened potting soil or seed starting medium. The fine texture is helpful because the tiny seeds are more likely to stay on the soil surface than they would be with courser medium. Sprinkle a few tiny seeds in each six pack cell, and place in a plastic bag in dappled shade until you have small seedlings. Check them every day, and if the soil starts to dry out, take the six pack out of the bag and place it in a shallow dish of water. The soil should easily soak the water up through the six pack drainage holes. This bottom watering will help keep the seeds in place on the soils surface. After draining for a few hours, don’t forget to tuck them back in their bag.

Once your plants are a half an inch or so high, you can remove them from the plastic bag. As soon as they reach two or three inches it is time to plant them out in the garden. They don’t need any extraordinary care. Water them frequently for the first week or two after you plant them out.  Once they are established they will happily stand some neglect.

You can begin picking leaves within a few weeks of planting them in the garden. Just pinch off as many as you want to use. Your plants will continue producing tender leaves for about fifty days, during which time the cultivated varieties will grow from 12 – 24 inches high. Pinch out any of the tiny flowers and seed pods that begin to form to prolong leaf production. Once the plants are bound and determined to flower you will need to decide if you want to pull them or let them set seed. Purslane can self sow; each plant is capable of producing thousands of seeds. It can become a weed under certain circumstances.

No-till, intensive, and well mulched gardens are unlikely to be infested with unwanted purslane. In fact, this year I have no purslane volunteers even though I have had it in my garden for many years. Between the mulch and the shade of other plants the seeds didn’t have the light they needed to grow. For the first time ever, I had to purchase some seeds and start them myself. If you till your garden and maintain exposed soil, purslane will happily colonize your walkways and any open space in your rows. Tilling can bring long dormant seeds to the surface, exposing the seeds to the light they need to grow.   

As a weed, purslane is really not that bad. There is no danger of it crowding out our native plants. It dies off with the first good frost, it prefers disturbed soil, and the seeds can’t take the shade of other plants. It can be weedy in the garden, but it is seldom seen where the soil has not been disturbed. Purslane is easy to pull or hoe, makes great compost, chickens and other livestock like it, and heck, we all ready know it’s nutritious and tasty. 

If you garden like I do, you will either need to purchase new seed each year, or save your own.  The seed capsules have pointed green covers over them that turn straw colored as the seed ripens. Once the seed has ripened the covers easily flick off and the seed can be shaken on to a paper plate or pie pan. Allow the seed to cure in the open air (in doors, away from dew and summer showers) for a few weeks before storing in a zip lock bag or other small container. The seed is tiny so take precautions against it being spilled. If it falls in the carpet you will never find it.  

Purslane starts are sometimes offered for sale through local nurseries and farmers markets. Seeds maybe available at well stocked seed counters, but you are more likely to find them through specialty seed catalogs. If you can’t find the varieties you want to try locally or in your favorite catalog, High Mowing Organic Seeds offers the ‘Tall Green’ and ‘Golden’ varieties: http://www.HighMowingSeeds.com  (802) 472-6174.






Published by The Hoopa People Newspaper 7/07.  Copyright Harvest McCampbell, all rights reserved.


Sources: 
Omega 3: http://2bnthewild.com/plants/H186.htm
Archeological evidence: http://ourworld.cs.com/Aoyuelac/Renee/Paper.pdf
Nutritional information:  http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/cgi-bin/list_nut_edit.pl
Photo Credit: Harvest McCampbell 7/07

June in the Garden!

Please forgive me for being so late with this . . .

Last Chance for Summer Starts:

Better hurry, if you haven’t got your summer garden in. While it is too late for seeds of many summer favorites, you can still tuck in plants of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, summer squash and melons. Pumpkins and winter squash can be planted from starts or even seeds if you do it this week. The longer you wait to get your starts in, the larger the plants you ought to seek out.  This week, any healthy well established plants ought to work out fine. By the middle of the month or later, look for plants in four inch pots. A little extra TLC may be called for, unless you have been working on your soil. Dig in some compost or water with the dilute organic fertilizer of your choice. Keep your plants well mulched and a careful eye on soil moisture, until they get established. These dreary sometimes drizzly days can be deceiving. There is a lot less moisture in the soil than you might think. However, you don’t want to over-water, especially while it is cool and cloudy. That can encourage root rot and blight. Check the soil for moisture and water accordingly, and you will be sure to pick the best tasting produce you can imagine, should the sun take pity on us and burn off these clouds.

Seeds to plant this month:

While it is too late to plant many summer veggies from seed, bush bean seeds can go in right now. There are varieties that make tender snap and string beans, while others are most commonly grown for dry beans. When shopping your favorite seed rack or catalog, be sure to check out all the marvelous colors for snap, string, and shell beans. What we once called “green beans” can be grown in every shade of yellow, purple, and, of course, green. Shell beans are even more varied-- black turtle beans, red Cherokee wax, yellow Indian Woman, and the variegated Jacobs Cattle and Anasazi--among a host of choices.  If you aren’t happy with the local choices or those in your favorite catalog, you can shop for bush beans on-line see: www.seedsofchange.com  & www.bountifulgardens.org. 

Don’t Forget to Pick Your Produce!

Early spring planted greens, peas, and roots are in their prime right now. Take a basket out in the garden and pick yourself the fixings for a nice green salad or a simple stir fry. Radishes should be picked soon after they plump up, when they are tender, sweet, and crisp. If they are left in the ground too long, they may get hot and woody. If you have a radish bumper crop, besides salads, they can be added to soups and stir fries; cooking mellows their flavors. Radish greens, if they are not too prickly, also make good eating. The young tender leaves can be added to salad. The more mature, but not yet tough leaves, can be added to soups and my favorite – an old fashioned mess of greens.

Pick peas frequently to ensure the plants keep producing. Shell peas should be picked as soon as the pods are plump. Sugar peas are best picked just as soon as the  peas barely start to develop; snap peas are best a little in between. Once any of your peas produce mature seed, it will quit making pods, having accomplished its life mission. However, if you plants are happy and kept picked, they will continue producing until the weather finally decides to warm.

If you are growing lettuce, be aware that it tends to bet bitter when it starts to bolt. When you notice your plants getting taller instead of fuller, it is time to cut it back near the ground, and remove the leaves; unless you want to experiment with saving seed.  If the leaves taste a bit on the bitter side, here is an easy fix. Put them in a large bowl, and slowly fill with cold water.  Place the bowl in the fridge and let sit for a few hours. You may need to pour out the water and replace it a few times before your lettuce loses its bitterness.  But this really works, so give it a try.

Fresh Produce in the Kitchen

Fresh barely braised vegetables make a tasty side dish. Start by collecting a basket of veggies from your garden. Here are some suggestions of things you could include, but your recipe will be based on what you have available. Try to choose veggies in a variety of colors, especially if you are cooking for guests. Check for roots to pull--carrots, parsnips, beets, turnips, or rutebegas, for instance. Next check your peas and fava beans. Whole young pods or green shelled peas or favas work equally well.  Next, if you have any early peppers or squash, grab a couple.  (I have just started picking squash, but my peppers are a long way off.)  Or perhaps you have broccoli or cauliflower ready to eat. Last but not least, pick some greens, if you have them. Beet tops or tender radish leaves will work great, and leaves from cabbage or broccoli are tasty too.  

Carefully wash your leaves, pods, broccoli, or cauliflower, and scrub up your roots. While warming a bit of olive oil on medium, begin slicing your veggies into bite sized pieces. Keep the pieces a little on the large size, for the most visual pizzaz. Keep an eye on your olive oil, and as soon as it is warm, gently add the veggies, a few at a time. Your roots may take the longest to cook, so start with them, then the pods, peas, or favas.  Next add the broccoli and cauliflower, followed by peppers and squash, and last add the chopped greens. Allow each addition a minute or two of cooking time, before adding the next ingredient. Stir between each addition, and after you add the greens, add ½ cup of water or broth and turn heat to low. Your veggies will only need another five minutes, max.  You can stir them every minute or so, to check for wilting and tenderness.  As soon as the greens are wilted, it’s ready to serve.

To make this simple dish a full meal, you can add tofu, boneless chicken, or savory sausage and cook thoroughly, before you start adding your veggies. Serve with pasta, rice, or a whole grain pilaf, a bit of bread or salad, and garden fresh strawberries for desert.  Yumm!

Small Buildings, Small Gardens - Creating Gardens around Structures:

If you are thinking of updating or expanding your landscaping, do yourself a favor and check out this book. I learned more about landscape philosophy and design from Small Buildings, Small Gardens than I did from college horticulture classes and the UC Davis Master Gardener’s Program. The ideas presented here are easy to understand, make sense, and are applicable to all we do in our yards and gardens, whether or not we have small buildings. If you are thinking of adding any small buildings, arbors, trellises, or other garden structures--you will find tons of tips on placement and design. These tips could make the difference between ho-hum and spectacular. Author, Gordon Hayward, trains your eye--through easy to understand text and the inclusion of pictures that are worth a thousand words. The very best designs are not the result of spending more money; but rather the result of developing a careful level of observation. Small Buildings, Small Gardens - Creating Gardens around Structures, by Gordon Hayward, published by Gibbs Smith, 2007, ISBN 978-1-58685-705-9

That’s all for now folks, but I’ll meet you right here the first week of July with great ideas for getting the most out of your garden. 

Published in the Two Rivers Tribune . . .

Copyright 2008, Harvest McCampbell.  Please contact me for permission to reprint.