Apples

Photo by Jack Kelly Clark

My last post was about consuming local foods as a matter of taste. In this one, I just want to mention a little bit more information about apples. Apple crops need a certain amount of chilling time, something more readily available in our northern states. However, there are some apple varieties that do well locally. There were even a few vendors at the farmers market selling apples last month.

For your own backyard, there are varieties available from local nurseries that do well. My father has a granny smith apple that has great apples, tart at first but actually sweet if left on the tree long enough.

In the supermarket, apples are available year-round. Apples from Washington are available past their picking time, because they are kept in storage facilities that enable them to retain their flavor.

I've had fuji apples from New Zealand that are actually quite good. Possibly they have found a way to breed this variety so it can retain flavor over many miles. Apples I've tasted from Chile have so far been rather disappointing.

Supermarkets have to keep a steady supply of apples, so they work with vendors to ensure this. If apples are available from two places at the same time, the supermarket most likely chooses the one with the lowest price.

Regional Food Systems

Recently I attended a meeting at the Great Valley Center (http://www.greatvalley.org/) about regional food systems. We discussed local food and how it moves through the system, and also the quality of food available in the Central Valley for purchase. We also discussed the definition of local, something that most people agreed was the area of California.

The best place to find locally grown produce is The Modesto Farmers Market, which takes place behind the Stanislaus County library. The 2007 season is May5-Dec5. It's a great place and has delicious produce.

Life is busy, and it's difficult to make healthy food choices. This is why I do try to buy locally grown produce when possible. My main motivation is taste. I grew up eating fruits and veggies from my grandfather's farm. If you've grown your own carrots, then you know what a REAL carrot should taste like. You aren't fooled by the dry, wilty substitutes found in most markets that have been trucked many miles.

I can't say this is a study I've conducted, or verified research, but from my own tiniest point of view in the food web, the fresher the food, the better the taste. Therefore, it makes the most sense to buy locally grown food. But how do you know what is local or the most local if you can't visit a farmers market?

Here's a familiar story: a man goes to the supermarket today and buys some peaches. He has no way of knowing the local season for them is long past. He gets home, eagerly bites into the fruit, but finds it is dry, mealy and inedible. Disgusted, he throws it in the trash can and vows never to shop at that market again. Or that he doesn't like peaches.

I imagine this scenario happens frequently, with the sad consequence of less people consuming fresh fruits and vegetables.

A truly tasty peach is picked at the height of its ripeness (June-August in our area). One bite causes a large amount of juice to dribble down your chin. A peach grown south of the border may be in season there, but it's from a variety chosen for it's durability.

And here's the sad part: local farmers are tearing out peach orchards because there is no longer a market for them. They can't sell their peaches fresh or canned. This all has to do with economics, availability, the world market, changes in consumer desires and the price of land in California. It's a sad cycle, but I think it's one we can slow down somewhat.

If you're interested in fresh produce, start by learning a little bit more about the seasons (check out the link below), then, ask your grocer for local produce. Chances are, they may be able to find something you are looking for, and other people will be interested in, too.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/ck_cg_produce_guide/

When you shop, think about geography. An apple from Washington will taste fresher than one from NZ or Chile. And I think that's something worthing paying a few extra cents (or dollars) per pound.

Alliums in Your Garden

Onion photo byEvett Kilmartin

Alliums are a genus of plants that have provided flavorful seasoning in food for thousands of years. Onions and garlic were two of the most important crops consumed in ancient Egypt.

Edible Alliums
The following are the Latin names of edible alliums, and show how they are separated into different species:
A. cepa: onion
A. ascalonicum: shallot
A. sativum: garlic
A. ampeloprasum: leek, elephant garlic

The reason I call these plants "edible alliums" is because there are also inedible alliums, which make attractive flowers and are sold as bulbs in nurseries and garden centers. Chives are also alliums, but are not mentioned in this post. For more information on chives and other herbs, go to http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/filelibrary/2193/41502.pdf

Onions
Onions can be white, red or yellow and come in many sizes. Their flavors are categorized as sweet, mild or pungent.

Garlic
Garlic is composed of about 10 bulbs contained in a papery skin. It has a unique, pungent aroma that separates it from other alliums.

Scallions & Green Onions
Botanical references define scallions as any young crop of onion, shallot or leek. For most purposes, the terms scallion and green onion can be used interchangeably.

Shallots
Shallots are composed of cloves encased in a papery skin. Shallots have a sweeter, milder flavor than onions and are usually coppery in color, although they can be gray or pink.

Leeks
Leeks have a mild, onion taste and are popular for use in soup. Surprisingly, elephant garlic is also a leek. It shares the same shape as ordinary garlic, but not its pungent taste. Elephant garlic has a softer flavor and its cloves can be roasted and spread like butter.

To read the rest of this publication, click on the link below and choose "Alliums in Your Garden"
http://cestanislaus.ucdavis.edu/Gardening/Gardening_Articles.htm

Happy Gardening!

Carnivorous Plants

The Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco is currently running it's carnivorous plant show called "Chomp." The event started in May, and will end November 4th. The plants are on loan from California Carnivores in Sebastopol.

The main plants on display are flytraps, pitchers, sundews and bladderworts. Over 600 types of carnivorous plants have been discovered in existence, although many are now extinct.

Carnivorous plants live on almost every continent (except Antarctica) and in every state in the U.S. Most are rare, and poaching (stealing plants from the wild) is common. Housing developments, the loss of peat bogs (sold as peat moss in stores), acid rain and global warming contribute to the loss of plants. Sadly, only 3-5% remain in the wild.

Q. Why do carnivorous plants capture flies and other insects (and sometime lizards, frogs and small monkeys)?

A. The places that carnivorous plants live are usually low in soil and water nutrients. Over time these plants developed features (leaves) that capture insects to add in their diet.

Types of plants and their trapping methods:
1. The Venus Flytrap: when small trigger hairs on the leaves are touched twice within about 30 seconds, a trap will close within one second. Then, the trap tightens and finally seals.

2. The Pitcher Plant: has small pitchers (actually leaves) that are inviting to insects. Once an insect crawls into the pitcher, it is difficult to crawl back out. Tiny hairs all point downward to the bottom of the plant, which is often filled with digestive juices.

3. The Sundews: these plants have a sticky substance on tentacles attached to their leaves. The "dew" is a mixture of nectar, adhesive compounds and digestive juices. Insects literally stick to them like flypaper.

4. Bladderworts: a curious plant whose interesting behaviour was discovered in 1876 by a woman scientist named Mary Treat. The trap is set by the action of pumping water out of the bladder, resulting in lower water pressure inside. An insect that bumps against the "door" of the bladder triggers the bladder and sucks the insect in within 1/30th of a second! The "door" then shuts behind them, sealing them in forever, BWAH HA HA! (couldn't help that) Scientists are still not exactly sure if the insect is attracted to the plant or just wanders by.

The site below mentions places where you can visit these plants that are complete with boardwalks for viewing. Venus flytraps are indigenous to North and South Carolina. They have been introduced to other states though, and can be found growing in other states.

Growing carnivorous plants isn't easy. I have never tried, but after viewing the exhibit am enthusiastic about purchasing some. It's important to buy plants from reputable nurseries who do not collect specimens from the wild. This link will list several places worldwide that carry specimens checked by a reputable source. http://www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq6280.html

Here is the start of that website for easier navigation: http://www.sarracenia.com/faq.html

above photos by Holly Guenther

Autumn Leaves

Fall is most certainly in the air. Well, at least this week it is! In our area sometimes it's difficult to determine when the coming season will "stick" so to speak. Often the seasons waffle back and forth trying to decide when to get into full swing. Some years we even skip seasons all together, going straight from summer into winter or some such combination.

This year I have a feeling we will be seeing plenty of trees with fall color. Liquidambars, chinese pistache, maples, ginkgo, hackberry, and others should bring many colors into full view.

So why do fall colors happen? The answer has to do with the pigments found in leaves. During most of the year, the pigment (chlorophyll) that gives leaves their green color is dominant. The main way plants make food is through the process of photosynthesis, during which chlorophyll contained in special cells (chloroplasts) teamed with sunlight helps to synthesize food.

The ideal time for the formation of food and chlorophyll is during warm, sunny days. As temperatures begin to drop, food-making wanes and chlorophyll is not replaced. The green color disappears.

Leaves also contain other pigments in their chloroplasts such as carotenoids, anthocyanins and tannins. These pigments are less dominant, and are masked by the green chlorophyll throughout most of the year. Once the chlorophyll breaks down, these other pigments begin to show.

Carotenoids are responsible for yellow to golden colors, anthocyanins for reds, purples and pinks, and the tannins for brown colors. Often a mixture of these pigments also produces color.

photo by Holly Guenther

Drip Irrigation

Although I learned about drip systems in school, I had never installed one until last weekend. I went to a local hardware store and was asked by an elderly gentleman (probably in his mid-70's) if he could help me. When I mentioned drip systems he said "Drip is my middle name." He then escorted me to the back of the store where a myriad of fittings and tubing were stacked.

Mike took a look at me and said with a smile "Let's play." He was a wealth of information and humor, and even had a drip hose set up with all kinds of fittings on it. He showed me how each fitting sprayed or dripped. I drew my yard and he told me how many t-joints and elbows I'd need. I went home feeling confident that I had all the supplies and information for the project.

The installation only took an hour or so. I laid out the tubing as I went around the yard and added t-joints. The parts all fit together simply by using firm pressure to connect them inside each other. Drip fittings were added by using a tool that punched holes in the tubing and helped insert them. I used mostly 2 gallon/hr emitters for the small 1 gallon shrubs I planted. As my plants grow, I'll add more 2 gallon/hr emitters or switch to a 4 gallon/hr emitter.

After finishing the installation, I checked each emitter to be sure it was putting out water. The only problem was a leaky faucet that was easily fixed with the use of an 'o' ring. At this point I haven't decided if I will use a timer or not, but am told battery timers are excellent for drip systems.

My boss (Ed Perry) says the important part of using drip irrigation is to realize that it's a dynamic system. Weather, animals and other events in the landscape cause things to shift or become plugged. Remember to visit your emitters on a regular basis to ensure they are functioning (every week or 2). Otherwise, a dead plant will be the only signal that something is wrong with the system.

For those new to drip, visit a small hardware store or nursery and find someone willing to explain how it works and what you'll need. Then install your landscape and tell me how it goes!
http://anniepoppyseed-gardening.blogspot.com/

California Natives

I recently had the chance to hear Ellen Zagory from of the UC Davis Arboretum speak about natives. I took several classes at Cal Poly on the identification and use of California natives, but haven't had the chance to plant them in a landscape. This talk inspired me to plant some natives in my yard.

I called local nurseries and asked for about the availability of some standard CA native plants like ceanothus, toyon, deer grass (Muhlenbergia*) and California fuschia. The nurserypeople told me they did not carry toyon or CA fuschia as a rule. They could be special ordered though. One nursery carried both ceanothus and deer grass.

The reason standard nurseries and garden centers do not carry CA natives is because of watering. Standard nursery plants come in small, black containers that need frequent watering. Natives are a bit pickier and need less. Most times they are overwatered and die too frequently, which is why nurseries do not carry them.

I visited the nursery that had both deer grass and ceanothus. I'm planting this garden at my mother's house, and she wasn't crazy about the bushy habit of the ceanothus. Sadly, my vision of a California native garden was dissolved into a more dryland climate type of garden. It suits the purpose of my wish for a water-wise garden, but not my desire to plant a bunch of CA natives and see how they grow.

Unfortunately, garden space at my house is limited, so now there is no room for a toyon even if it could be ordered. I am hoping, however, to fit in a few things loved by birds and butterflies in our area such as showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa), Buckwheat (Erigonum spp), and hopefully I'll be able to order a few California fuschia (Zauschenaria spp).

Here's a link to a good website on water-wise plants that mentions some California natives.
http://www.stopwaste.org/home/index.asp?page=629

*http://www.pechanga-nsn.gov/uploadedcontent/page/427/deer%20grass.jpg

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