Apple Annie's Orchards

(My blog has turned into a journal for myself so I can remember the fun things I have tried with food.  Hope you enjoy it also and get ideas for your family.)

Today is Labor Day, Sept. 2011, and we had a wonderful cool and crisp day as a family.

We drove to Apple Annie's Orchard in Willcox, AZ.  Just a little over an hour to get there.  It felt closer than we expected.  The air was cool and moist.  Such a blessing to be out of the 100s.

X was in charge of picking the apples up high with the picker on a pole.  I picked the apples down low.  Kevin pulled the wagon and M rode in the wagon pointing out all the "nanas".  (bananas)  A true family effort.

We got a wagon and 5 gallon bucket and walked to the orchard.  We picked 36 pounds of apples (about 7 gallons).  Then we drove 4 miles to their produce farm and picked eggplant, jalapenos, corn, and tomatoes.

The boys loved running up and down the rows.  I highly recommend Apple Annie's Orchard to any family that wants to pick fresh produce.

Two weeks later:
We have since been enjoying the all the produce, especially making juice from the apples. (We bought a Brevillle Juicer from the movie Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead.  Such a wonderful addition to the kitchen.) It is a bit fizzy and tastes so much better than apple juice from the store.  It is unbelievable how good fresh tastes.

WEEDS AREN'T ALL BAD

I recently went to a workshop and learned about the weeds of the west.  With organic gardening you have to be comfortable with weeds and learn how to pull them or use them to benefit your garden.
(1) Amaranth grows tall and looks like a large leafy green plant.  People plant this in their gardens.  The kind that grows wild is best harvested before the seeds appear on the plant.  You can eat it after the seeds are there but it tastes more bitter.  The leaves are good in stir fry, just add a little honey.  The seeds are not edible on the wild version of amaranth.  The seeds are edible on the garden variety.  I have no clue how to tell the difference between the plants.

(2) Purslane.  They are yummy in eggs.  Mexicans know how to cook these up but I have no clue what dishes they put them in.  Normally you see them in small quantities as ground cover.  However, I have some wild purslane that loves my yard, is as large as a bush, and is climbing up the trellis.  Crazy!  There are 2 varieties that I know of.  Both varieties are growing in my yard. The variety with the thin leaves is what you will find in farmer markets and sold for $11 a grocery bag.  I'm told it tastes better than the wide leaf variety although I've never done a taste test to determine which I like better.

(3) Puncture vine.  Hate this stuff.  It makes little goatheads that HURT when stepped on barefoot.  (We rarely wear shoes around here.  They are way overrated. ;-)

(4) I found it humorous that in the book Weeds of the West, cactus was considered a weed.  Really?  I guess since it grows wild.  Anyways, I've learned how to harvest nopales (pads) and prickly pear tunas (fruit) this year.  Next May I hope to harvest cholla buds.



Here's what I've been up to in my yard:
(a) Re-dug one of my two in ground gardens in the front yard.  Secured a pathway with pavers, mixed mulch, compost, worm castings, and sifted AZ clay dirt together and am now ready to plant.  I hope to do a square food garden with this plot since I've never done square foot gardening before.

(b) Here is what is growing:  okra, 2 sunflowers, squash, 3 basil plants, lots of purslane, and beans.

(c)I've been sifting AZ dirt like crazy these days.  I borrowed a sifter and have to return it tomorrow.  I love the feel of AZ dirt, so moist (only after it rains), cool, and smooth.  It feels therapeutic.

What I need to do:
(a) Now that the temps are below 100, I need to find a lemon tree and grapes to plant so we can use our new greywater system.

(b) I need to keep amending my garden beds in the front yard and plant, plant, plant.  I need to add Fish emulsions, EM and Diatomaceous Earth to the beds for best crop production.

Thanks for reading!  

Making Prickly Pear Nectar

I bought a new book at the Farmer's Market.  The Prickly Pear Cookbook by Carol Niethammer.  I absolutely love this book.  It describes in depth the nutritional traits of the cactus, how to harvest and process the cactus.  This book also contains a variety of recipes using the cactus in beverages, main dishes, dessert, and everything in between. I don't want to break copyright law or anything so I'm going to tell you what I did to 200 prickly pear that I picked.

How I Harvest Prickly Pear
I keep tongs and plastic bags in my car.  When my kids nap or when I come across a really good cactus while driving around town, I stop and pick the tunas (fruit) off with my tongs.  Each tuna has long sharp thorns and glochids, small patch of fuzzy thorns that was so small you can barely see them.  But you can definitely feel them.  Always having tweezers available is a must.

Upon arriving home, I either freeze the tunas in a 2 gallon zip loc bag or I begin to process them.

How I Process Prickly Pear
I put 30 tunas in a strainer and run water over them turning them with my tongs.  I then put them in boiling water for a few minutes.  Take them out of the boiling water with tongs and put them in my Vitamix.  Blend on high for 30 seconds or so.  Pour into strainer with a cheese cloth.  Mix the juice substance to help the juice flow through the colander.  I put the seeds and pulp in the compost or outside so the birds can enjoy it.  Put the juice in large mason jars and store in refrigerator or freezer depending on how quickly you will use it.

Now the juice/nectar is ready to make lemonade, jelly or syrup.
The sky is the limit with what you can do with the juice.  I'll let you know when I decide what to do with it.  For me, 200 prickly pear fruit made 5 quarts of juice.

Update on What I've Been Doing

Here is what I've been up to:
(1) A few weeks back I filled the 6 garden beds in my front yard with compost.  I planted the seeds, the monsoons came to water them, and seedlings sprouted.  Oh it was so exciting until all the seedlings turned yellow.  Why?  I accidentally bought mulch not compost.  Nothing will grow in mulch.  Mulch is to keep the moisture in and should be applied on top of compost.  So I now have the big job of fixing my problem.  This will involve sifting out the wood chips in the mulch, sifting AZ dirt and adding it to the sifted mulch.  Adding manure and compost to that and mixing it all up.  Then I will be ready to plant again.  UGH.  Sometimes I learn the hard way.

(2) My washing machine has been converted to a grey water system.  The holes are dug for the lemon tree and grape vines.  I've been monitoring how the holes fill with water when we do laundry.  Seems like we still have too much grey water which means I will dig another trench and add a fig tree also.  I am shopping around for the grape vines, lemon tree, and fig tree so I buy the best variety for this climate.

(3)  I have picked (I'm guessing) close to 1000 prickly pear fruit (tunas).  I am making juice from all of them to freeze.  In the future I will make jam, syrup, etc. from the juice.  I also picked prickly pear pads (nopales) to sell at the Farmer's Market.  They usually sell very well.  I don't understand why because anyone can go in their yard and pick them for free. I've been harvesting them from friends' yards or the alleys.  I also have 2 bags of mesquite pods.  I hope to gather many more before milling season begins.  Since I am focusing on gathering wild mesquite and prickly pear this year, I think I will add one more wild food each year to my list of what I gather.

I bought a book at the Santa Cruz River Market called The Prickly Pear Cookbook by a local author.  There are 40 some recipes from drinks to main dishes to desserts with using the cactus.  I had no idea is was so nutritional and mostly full of water.  Such a treasure to find.  The nopales are used to manage blood sugar issues such as diabetes.  The juice of the tunas can be used as dyes in clothing.  Anyways, I'm fascinated by nature.

I'd love to hear from you about what gardening related activities you have been up to lately.

Marana Heritage Farm

Today was the last of 3 Saturdays that I have spent at the Marana Heritage Farm.  I have completed the necessary workshops to apply for the Community Cultivators Program at the Marana Farm.  This program is an 18 month program where participants are given a quarter of an acre to farm and sell the veggies at the Farmer's Market.  Due to time restraints and distance of travel, I will not be involved in this program at this time.

The Marana Farm has full time staff involved in composting, vermiculture (worm composting), teen farming program, volunteer coordinator, and Monday Evening Farmer's Market.  It is a very active place.  I learned more than I expected.  Here is what I remember off the top of my head:
(1) G&M have good gardening supplies
(2)ARBICO has excellent organic products to improve your soil and deter pests
(3) Fish emulsion is good for soil and nitrogen levels
(4)D.E. is good to put on plants to hurt bad bugs by cutting their bodies with the little shards of rock.
(4) The sea shell type things I find in my soil is actually larvae to the tomato horn worm.  I HATE that caterpillar.  Destroys my tomatoes every year.  But not anymore now that I know what it is.
(5) Some purslane is better to eat than others but I can't tell the difference at this point.  All tastes good to me.
(6)Burmuda grass is evil unless you want to feed it to livestock, then it is a cheap source of food.
(7) You can eat most weeds.  Purslane, prickly pear, amaranth, mustard weed.  I didn't think prickly pears were a weed either, but they are according to the book Weeds of the West.  Awesome book, btw.
(8) Vermiculture (worm composting) is the way to go when gardening on a small scale.  Keep moist or they die.
(9) Making your soil is the most important thing when growing food.  The better your soil is, the better your veggies will be.
(10) EM from ARBICO is lots of good bacteria that eat the bad stuff.  Put this in your soil for best results.

I'm exhausted from being in the sun today.   My thoughts are random but at least I got it on paper for now.  And sadly, no pictures.  Perhaps some day I will be a better blogger but for now, this will do.

In the Middle of Prickly Pear and Mesquite Season

This past week I've had fun driving around my neighborhood while my kids nap in the car and finding mesquite trees and prickly pear cactus growing in parks and alleys to pick from.  I have a grocery bag of mesquite pods and picked 290 prickly pear fruits.  And I'm only getting started.

The largest patch of prickly pears is at my friend's house and behind a donut shop in the neighborhood.  They are deep purple and when you pull the fruit off the plant, it bleeds deep red. If it is still green at the bottom they are not quite ready to pick.  I just put the prickly pear fruit (tunas) in my freezer in 2 gallon zip locks.  80 tunas to a zip lock.  I've heard it is easier to get the "pokey things" (phrase from my 3 year old) off when they are frozen.  I plan on rolling the fruit on screen to take the spines off, washing them, boiling them, blending them in my Vitamix, draining the juice using a strainer and cheese cloth, and finally freezing the juice in ice cube trays.  I plan on taking the pulp back to the cactus to allow birds and other critters to eat it and complete the cycle.  I also won't pick all the fruit from the cactus because I want to leave some for the wild animals that rely on it to survive, mostly birds.  I'll write a post as to what happens once I try this.  Anyone know great tasting recipes using prickly pear fruit juice?

I have now located a good number of mesquite trees growing in the alleys near my house.  There are also many in a park near my place.  I totally hit the jackpot with finding lots of trees in one place.I have picked enough to fill a grocery bag.  My plan is to pick 5 buckets full (5 gallons) so once milled, will equal 1 gallon of flour.  The millings begin at various places around town come September.  I ground 1 1/2 cups already in my Vitamix and made pancakes.  The whole family loved them.    So far, most mesquite pods are still green which means they aren't quite ready to pick.  Once they are completely brown and fall into your hand when you touch them, they are ready to pick.  You should be able to break them in half easily.  I've heard they can be washed in water, dried on trays outside or in a dehydrator/solar oven, and then put in a sealed container until milling into flour.  Tiny bugs lay eggs in the pods when they are green.  Once the bugs hatch they make little holes in the pods to escape.  Make sure you leave your harvested pods outside so that the bugs can hatch and escape unless you like bugs inside.  If you don't like the idea of bugs coming out of your pods, you can bake the pods, causing the bugs to die inside the pods.  I view the little bugs as extra protein.

If you buy unbleached wheat flour from the store, there are little bugs in that too, all ground up.  Thanks to Amy from Desert Harvesters for teaching me all this great information.

http://www.desertharvesters.org/

Stay tuned....

Turning Washer into Grey Water System

Disclaimer as I revive my blog: This blog is my adventure with living off the land.  All things local, natural, and creative.  It will be about my journey.  Posts will be quick as I don't have much time.  There will be errors in my typing but I am allowing myself to be comfortable with that so I can get my thoughts down.  I'll write this little blog for myself and if someone reads it and gets inspired.  Great!  If not, at least I have my journey written down for my boys to read some day.  And so I can look back and say, "WOW!  I did that!"  (since my memory is terrible)

Blog post about Greywater:
Tomorrow the Tucson Community Food Bank comes out and talks to me about installing a grey water system.  I have been wanting to use the grey water from my washing machine for watering a garden or tree for many years.  But step by step, slow and steady, and now is the time.  I don't know anything about the mechanics of it.  I attended a workshop about it and have seen diagrams so I am excited to physically see how it will be done.  Tomorrow is just signing paperwork, not the actual work.

One big thing about grey water is the detergent you use.  We use Charlie's Soap.  We bought it 2 years ago and still have about 1/2 the 5 gallon bucket to use.  It only requires 1 Tablespoon of soap per load.  Clothes always come out fresh.  It is for high efficiency washers and is biodegradable.  I have a front load high efficiency washer.  However, Charlie's Soap contains salt.  Salt is a big no-no with grey water.  Trees and gardens do not like salt being poured on them.  So, we will have to figure out what to do with our detergent.

Harvesting Mesquite for the First Time

I went to the Santa Cruz River Farmer's Market last Thursday to enjoy some Peruvian music and the new location of the market.  (Congress St. just west of I-10 on the left (south)  I brought a small baggie of mesquite I had picked from mesquite trees in town and one prickly pear fruit from my friend's front yard.  Desert Harvesters was there giving demos about how to harvest and use mesquite and prickly pear pads and fruit.  In Spanish, the pads are called nopales and the fruit, tuna.  Anyways, the tuna I had was almost ripe but not quite.  I opened it to taste.  Mmm.   But lots of seeds to spit out.

My mesquite were ready to turn into flour.  So this morning my family enjoyed mesquite pancakes topped with Tucson raw honey made from mesquite and desert wildflowers.  I bought the honey from the Tucson Honey Company at the market.  I turned the mesquite pods into flour in my Vitamix using the dry container.  I then sifted the flour to make it extra fine.  If harvesting large quantities of mesquite I recommend using the hammermill that the Desert Harvesters own.  It will be available to use in September.

http://www.desertharvesters.org/

I bought a book that Desert Harvesters wrote called Eat Mesquite!  It has great information about how to harvest desert food, focusing on mesquite, along with recipes.  I highly recommend it.  Since I had great success and my family LOVES the pancakes, I hope to harvest gallons of mesquite pods so we can have enough for all year.  You know it is ready to pick when the pods are brown and come off easily when pulled.  If they are still green, they are not ready.  Never pick pods that are on the ground.  An animal may have peed on them.  Also, don't pick pods with black dots as that is toxic mold.  Pods with little holes in them are good.  It just means a bug hatched and escaped.  No harm there. The harvesting season lasts until September.
Happy Mesquite Harvesting!