Trash fish and Bycatch

I just finished reading with great interest an article in Edible Dallas about trash fish and bycatch.  http://www.ediblecommunities.com/dallasfortworth/fall-2011/edible-enterprises.htm

I, too, fish and eat many species that most folk don't take seriously. I love bluegill and most fish in the bream family.  As you will learn in the article, commercially speaking for us in the US,  trash fish and by catch are those un-targeted, commercially unviable species that are thrown back, dead or alive, mainly dead or injured.  Wasted.

Consider this,  our beloved Chesapeake blue crab was once a trash species beaten out of nets of bay fishermen.  Wasted.  On menus during the late 1800's and early 1900's a crab cake was often cheaper than a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich.

Mmmmmmm!?

Common Yellowthroat

We had a common Yellowthroat warbler visiting our garden yesterday.  The bird was hanging out amongst that corn, beans and pumpkin vine at the fence near the front door.  How cool is that!?

The lettuce and mustard I planted a little while ago are doing well, especially if you like your greens a little larger than micro, but not full gown.  I have to get some more rows established next week.  I really want to get some spinach going.  We are making plans for over-wintering onions and garlic again as well as plans for our cover crops.

I was weeding my beloved morning glories again in the pollinator garden today.  In fact, I can still smell the rosemary on my hands.  Its cool, the rosemary is in bloom right now and the pollinators love it!  What is more amazing are the plentiful and tasty strawberries still coming in.  Yum.  Stop by and eat a few.

What a fantastic opening!

After two days of letting kindergartners and 1st graders acclimate (they are also making up days they'll miss this winter when 2nd-5th all go to Arlington Echo),  the entire school was welcomed back today.  Students and families had the opportunity to meet the entire staff and see an overview of the academic year outlined by the teachers.

It is always exciting to see how the kids have grown over the summer and their excitement in anticipation of a new school year.  Of course, all of the students are excited to see old friends and to make new friends.

Congratulations to a great start everyone.  What an exciting year it will be!

Need a solution.

I need your help.  We have a beautiful PE space that needs a durable surface.  When we bought our school our PE space was a grass field, and that is being generous.  We have applied mounds of mulch, which due to play and gravity and water are becoming a maintenance nightmare.

Folks and companies online are poo-pooing rubber mulch. A lawn is out of the question.  Astro-turf is so yesterday.  I am starting to think a base of Coir Geo Blanket and some kind of covering may work, and we are going to go to DC to look at Marvin Gaye Park at their Surface America product.

Any who, if you have a bright idea for covering a 47x47 foot space that sees upwards of 600 little feet or more a day then write Kate Primm, the Principal, at www.kate.primm@thegsb.org - less raking and more playing would be great!

Can't wait to hear!

Hungry?

You get home from work and your starving - what to eat?  I am a big fan of the Edible Communities magazines! www.ediblecommunities.com.  There used to be an Edible Chesapeake and I used to pick it up at Whole Foods out Falls Road, but it has been defunct for a while now.  A few falls ago I found myself at Monticello for a gardening/farming/heritage seed thing and found Edible Blue Ridge and learned there was a whole community of Edible magazines that highlights local foods and food issues!

They are quarterly publications and are wonderful periodicals - especially if you love food and locavore and sustainable practices and cutting edge gastro stuff.

I am currently reading Edible Allegheny and they highlight 5 burgers from local restaurants that could oh-so-be-made-at-home.  They all also have recipe sections that highlight regional, seasonal recipes for what is coming in from the fields.

Go explore, go try a recipe from wherever.  Mangia, Mangia!

Rain!

When things get backed up it lets you appreciate the power of water.   Water can move house sized boulders.  Just sayin'!  Remember the State Fair discount passes have a rain date.  Ride your boulder to the fair!

Plants are happy.

Zinnias shedding seeds

We have been at school today putting finishing (well as finishing as they ever can be) touches on things. The zinnias are starting to say goodbye and as sad as that is, for many reasons, the lemonade is the seeds they are producing and dropping.  That of course means seeds for zinnia next year.  Students will be harvesting things that go to seed from the start of next week and into early spring.

The hawk was busy today at school.  We could here him(?), but never saw him.  I wonder how he impacts us attracting birds.  I know for now the pigeon (squab?) keep him fed.

We look forward to seeing everyone this coming week.  Remember to use the State Fair discount passes we sent out yesterday.

See you at school or at the fair!

Gold Finch

At least one pair of goldfinch are enjoying our smaller sunflowers.  Now, I say at least one pair because we've seen a pair out front and a pair out back in the courtyard.  So far nobody has seen 4 birds in one place or 2 pairs of birds in two places.

How cool, goldfinch feeding at GSB!?

We want to do much more of that.  Planting plants that attract and hold all kinds of fauna.  Right now we are getting so many different kinds of butterflies.  Outside of a swallowtail or monarch, I'm lost, and there are so many right now.  Come on Baltimore Checkerspots...  Then there are bees and flies (yes flies) and moths and beetles.  If you like bugs come to GSB and if you do, take all the Harlequin bugs you want...

Did I tell you how good the sweet corn is? Shhhh - our little secret.  My fingers are still burning from processing jalapeños and mexibells!

It was Jalapeño

So the pepper that I wasn't sure about is jalapeño.  I don't remember buying it and in fact think it was mislabeled, but I'm not complaining, just explaining.  A little heat this winter will be oh-so-yummy.

I put up peppers and corn tonight for the winter.  I blanch the corn, then two ears to a baggie.  The peppers, I just cut them up and fill up a baggie. Yum.

I was so remiss last year in putting up stuff and so sorely missed it come late February.  Not this year.

If ya love it now start freezing away.

Real Food Farm

The Farming movement is so important and there are so many cool things happening in Farming and Urban Farming and Real Food Farm (RFF) in Baltimore City is one of them.  If you don't know them look them up.  Of course, for us, they are an important one because they are so, so close to our school.  We've partnered with them in a bunch of different ways over the past few years; from field trips to mini-stops for their veggie truck.

They are a great group of people who believe in the work that they are doing.  RFF, as any non-profit, can use the support and synergy of those around them.  Anyone living close to any Urban Farm should buy, or volunteer, or give in any way they can.  There is so much happening at RFF and so much more that will be happening there.  So visit them, buy from them, volunteer for them - do something with RFF!

And in fairness to all the great Urban Farms out there - pick one or more and do right by (buy?) them.

Bon Appetite!

Harvesting!

Had the chance to do some harvesting.  I picked eggplant, white cucumber, Mexibell peppers, and another sweet pepper that isn't bell and I can't find my notes or Id tag for it...  I also picked an ear of sweet corn.

The peppers are picking up in production and I believe we will get more cukes and maybe a squash.  The pumpkin, however, is still dropping fruit.  I can't find a single edamame now.  The plants are still there, just no beans.  Can't find evidence of picking humans or pilfering rodents - a mystery.  My edamame at home is full!

I'm thankful for the rain tonight, good for the fall crops - too late for summer.  Bummer.

Thanks to all the folks who came to school on Saturday and rocked it out!  So much work was accomplished both inside and out!!!  Sorry Cat, haven't found your pruners yet.  They must be keeping my hammer company.  I'll keep looking.

A Baltimore farming moment

So, we were just sitting at Chameleon Cafe's outside area having a small libation after a full day of preparation for our volunteer day at GSB while waiting to pick up our food from Touloulou's.  We start talking to the only other fella sitting outside who also looks like he just stopped farming for the day.

Turns out he is part of the Cherry Hill Farming group.  We spent a bunch of time talking drought and harlequin bugs and other bugs and the challenges of kids in the garden and what is working and what is not.

It was great and one of those great B-more moments.  Because why would you ever want to b-less?

MORNING GLORIES

are currently the bane of my pollinator/native garden's existence!  Don't like them!

More white cucumbers and Farming woes...

On the way out of our board meeting last night our board president was lamenting her families gardening woes.  Withering, unproductive plants.  Much like many of ours.  Much like many farmer's crops in the mid-Atlantic and beyond.

A tough farming year.  We have had some success.  The mexibell peppers, the white cucumber, edamame, strawberries and crazy-as-it-seems-now sunflowers.  And busts like tomatoes, sweet peppers, snap beans, and squash.

In my unofficial polling of gardeners, it seems that folks who started planting in mid to late April have had the best production.  I don't know why that is.  More rain? Better roots? Better nutrients, earlier? Mmmmmmm?

So, as the start of the school year approaches and the start of the fall planting season is upon us, we will see if we can eat better this fall and winter...

Fresh Edamame

We just finished eating freshly harvested edamame.  As you may know from reading this blog we are growing edamame on the Farm this year.  Today we harvested a small amount and boiled it in salty water for six minutes.  We drained the water, lightly salted the edamame - and then ate.

Yum, yum, yum.  It was so good and salty sweet and perfectly al dente.

YUM!

Cooper's Hawk

The hawk was a Cooper's hawk.  I got a great look at its silhouette and when I looked it up in a bird book the long tail gave it away.

We are looking to attract more birds to our property and neighborhood at GSB.  I have a great book called "Bird-by-Bird Gardening" by Sally Roth.  It should be a great resource.

Big white cucumber and Pretty white sunflowers

Maybe a bit freaky, but the white really is cool.  There is going to be harvesting of eggplant and the white cucumber this week.  Strawberries are still producing, but they have slowed a bit and gotten smaller.  They are so sweet, yum.

Remember the movie with Tom Hanks where he is a kid in an adults body and he is at the cocktail party and eats the mini corn like corn on the cob?  Well I broke a small corn stalk today and peeled back the little developing ear.  It was just like the mini ones.  Way cool.  It tasted kind of bland.

The fall crops are coming up, well we have germination anyway.  Lettuce, mustard, and spinach.  We will see how they come in, then thin.  I am going to do succession planting for these for sure.

I am so blown away about the sunflowers.  They are doing so well and are so gorgeous.  I really thought they were going to be under performers or had been sparrow micro salad.  I love surprises.

Anyone know a little rain dance?  Remember a little one, not a big one!  ;)

So we live in a city... Hawks

We were leaving the house earlier tonight to buy the school and teacher's a mifi setup. You know, roaming Internet so you can work anywhere and as remotely online, anytime you want kind of fun gadget.

And birds were scattering.  Right at eye level, a small hawk (Cooper's or Sharp Shinned - we are not sure yet) came buzzing through, hot!  It tried to land on a neighbor's car, then turned and chased a sparrow even harder.  Boy were they flying hard!

Man they went at it.  Real Snoopy dogfighting the Red Baron kind of stuff.  The sparrow won that round.  So, cool.

Dry

We could use more rain.  Nice, consistent rain.  Not make-it-all-up-and-wash-all-the-topsoil-away rain.  Nice, steady, a-little-at-a-time-rain rain.

Please!?

Virginia Farmer's Markets

I had the chance to see two different Farmer's Markets in Virginia this week-end.  One was in Mineral and one was in Louisa.  I didn't need anything, but all of the produce looked so good!  I'll be down again next week-end and am planning on supporting some local Farmers.

I didn't find out until it was too late, but there was a county agriculture fair in Louisa this week-end.  SO bummed I missed it.  Locals say it is small, but truly an agriculture fair with a fantastic livestock auction.  Drat.  Maybe next year.

Speaking of finds I would like to make down here.  Turns out there was a 7 pound gold nugget found in a small creek that feeds Lake Anna in the early 1900's.  That nugget now resides in the Smithsonian. I should be so lucky!