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Early morning Mulberry foraging

This morning, being cold, grey and rainy, seemed a perfect time to trespass on someone’s front yard and harvest some mulberries. The fact that it was raining was beneficial for two reasons – fewer people are likely to stop and ask what I am doing, and the water keeps your hands juice-free.

There are three main types of mulberry trees – Red (native to New England), white and black. Those that you may spot right now (and leaving a mess on your sidewalk) are the red variety. They have a long season. Just now when I was picking, there were many more unripe berries coming in than actual ripe ones to pick.

I managed to get 2 cups worth. For this batch, I will make a fruit syrup to mix with my seltzer. Other possibilities include jams, pies, or eaten fresh on cereals and yogurt. Just be aware that there are often little green stems that come off with the berry. Here’s the general recipe for making syrup:

1 cup fruit

3/4 sugar

1/3 cup water

Combine ingredients and cook down over low heat. Mash fruit to release juices. After cooking down until slightly thick, strain pulp through fine sieve or cheesecloth.

My next task is to start a google map to keep track of the various foraging locations I find. At the moment, I am aware of two red mulberry trees but that’s about it. What else do people forage around here?

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Categories Foraging, Jamming

Kale Chips

18 Jun

Now that we’re starting to get crops coming in, I’m noticing a lot of radishes and kale around.

Although I am not growing kale this season, I have a ton of it in the fridge. So, I decided to try these kale chips that everyone is talking about.

It’s surprisingly easy!

1) Preheat oven at 350

2) Wash kale (dry in salad spinner if desired)

3) Cut kale from stems and into bite-size pieces

4) Toss kale with olive oil and salt (don’t use too much – I made mine a little too oily and salty the first time)

5) Place on baking sheet with parchment paper – make sure they don’t overlap too much. I had to use several trays and make a couple of batches.

6) Bake for 10 – 15 minutes until edges are just a little brown. I found that 10 minutes was sufficient – otherwise they taste burnt.

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Categories Homemaking

Sprouting Class

16 Jun

This evening I attended a class about sprouting techniques for only $25 at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. http://www.ccae.org/

The instructors, who have been sprouting for over 10 years and have an urban homestead in Cambridge, split the class into three sections: jar method, tray method and clay tray method.

They explained that there are 3 different kinds of seeds. The jar method works well for small seeds such as alfalfa, broccoli, clover, and radish but you can also use a jar to sprout lentils, buckwheat, chickpeas or adzuki beans. The tray method is more efficient for microgreens such as pea shoots, wheatgrass, or sunflowers. The clay tray method is reserved for mucilagenous seeds such as flax and chia.

Harvest Market is a good source for specialty jar lids and seeds such as wheatberries, lentils, and buckwheat. I also go to Grow Your Own on Massachusetts Avenue for supplies such as trays and growing medium. A hardware store is also a good spot to get trays.

They will be holding a class on Thursday, June 23rd about preparing sprouts and microgreens for eating. The instructors are both raw-foodies, so their methods do not involved cooking above 108 degrees.

The Center has other food and householding classes – Edible Wild Plants, Winemaking, Basic Sewing, Knife Skills, Cooking with Farmers Market Finds.

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Categories Growing, Sprouting

Compost is shut down

11 Jun

I received the news today that the landlord will be taking out my compost from the backyard. Although this is sad news, it is also a lesson to those who do not tend compost appropriately in an urban setting. Our problem was rodents.

Here are some hints:

Turn compost often – this will speed up the process and the constant human activity will deter pests a little bit

Use a small-hole mesh – I used chicken wire because it is cheaper, but a construction fabric or something with small holes will keep rodents out.

Use (or build) an above ground, rotating composter – these are ideal for urban settings because animals can’t get into them and they rotate making turning easier

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Categories Composting

Growing supplies in Cambridge

9 Jun

I ventured out to a new hydroponics store in North Cambridge called GYO (Grow Your Own). The owner was very helpful and friendly.

I was in the market for trays, coir brick and growing medium for sprouts. I ended up getting two 10×22 trays, a pack of batting for starting seeds, 2 coir bricks and 2 fabric pots for growing on the porch.

I am now a big fan of the fabric pots because they are lightweight, inexpensive, made from recycled fibers and also hold water well.

Coir (or coco fiber) is also a key ingredient for any potted soil mix. A lot of people are used to using peat moss, but it is very unsustainable and can be more expensive. Coir is a cheap and sustainable alternative which is ph neutral, wicks water and adds the aeration that is good for the soil health. I mixed a big batch of soil using old potting mix from last year’s pots, coir, dolomite lime and worm compost.

Another necessary item has become a spray bottle for the sprouts and the more delicate seedlings.

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Categories Growing, Sprouting

Composting in Cambridge

17 Dec

Back in November Keith came to visit and helped me buy the supplies and put in a rudimentary compost heap in the back yard. Unfortunately, the landlord does not allow us to plant anything in this yard, so most of our plant growing activity happens in pots on the two porches in the spring and summer. In Cambridge, the city does not collect compost (a now mandatory service in San Francisco) so we were having to take our compost to Whole Foods which was a messy and awkward situation. Hence, the compost in the backyard. You can see we used chicken wire and two stakes – that’s it. Although, I do need to locate a spade or pitch fork to be able to turn the pile.

Another blessing of being in four-season weather is the fall leaves. Fortunately, the landlord has someone come and rake up the leaves for us – I just made sure to grab the bags before they were put on the curb to go to the landfill. It is important (especially in an urban context) to have a lot of carbon-based material in the compost to mitigate the smells and the heavy nitrogen content of the green scraps. When it comes to composting and vermicomposting – a paper shredder is a great help. In addition to taking care of sensitive personal documents, shredded paper is a great source of carbon and it’s in a small size that will easily break down. Worms love to eat paper. Just be sure, if adding to an outdoor bin like mine that you cover the paper with a heavier material so the paper pieces don’t blow away in the wind.

Right now there are only three of us contributing to the pile. I would like to get the other neighbors in the house to start throwing their waste in – hopefully next year I will have time to go incentivize them. I also need to do research about composting in the winter – for example, do I need to cover the pile? Should I add some manure to activate the pile? Some winter break reading will add to my knowledge.