Wheat Crop Update

This wheat growing experiment is sure interesting. Some of the wheat germinated right away, and some patches were pretty bare. I re-seeded those bare patches, and in some cases the seeds germinated but in some they did not. I can't figure out why: It wasn't species-specific and it wasn't soil-specific and it wasn't what-crop-grew-there-before-specific. So who knows? The bottom line is that some beds are very full and others are not. In all cases, though, the wheat is now tillering. 

A 'tiller' is nothing more than a stem in grasses, and refers to all stems after the initial cotyledon shoot (remember, grass is a monocot, and has only one cotyledon leaf or shoot). Tillers have the ability to be seed-bearing, so it makes sense that you want good tillering. If the wheat is planted close together, it will grow more in height before tillering, but if the wheat has plenty of room, it'll tiller early and get wider rather than taller. It's a fine line between a thick stand and a too-thick stand. If you google 'tillering in wheat' you'll get a bunch of academic articles about how much tillering you should have, how to convert that into bushels-per-acre, etc. However, since this is not a crop we intend to sell (and there's not enough of it anyway), I'm not going to try to mold the wheat to my specifications. Rather, I'm just going to watch and see what it does. And it's interesting to watch, that's for sure. I caught the cat in one of the beds eating the tops of the wheat one day; who knows who else is snacking on it. 

I'm growing crimson clover in with it, and in with everything in fact, to try to get some nitrogen into the soil (*see final note below) and also provide coverage (living mulch) and biomass. The birds ate a LOT of the clover seed I put down, but there's still some coming up in nearly every bed.

Speaking of birds, it became apparent that the sparrows were eating all our salad greens - kale and chard especially. They'd sit on the edge of these pots and tear the leaves off from the edges. I finally had to put some netting over them to keep them out - they were really destroying our crop of winter greens.

I had never seen the birds do that before. I've seen goldfinches eat sunflower leaves, but that's the only time I've seen birds (other than chickens) eat greens. Guess they need salad, too.

I decided to minimize my losses in the beds where the wheat germinated badly, and put all the brassicas in the ground. They were really at the limits of their gallon pots, and I was having to feed them fish emulsion every week to keep them going, and the squirrels had gotten to them (especially the cauliflower) and eaten the tender centers. So I went ahead and put them all out in the beds, where the wheat was sparse. This makes me feel so much better. Keeping them in pots was an interesting experiment, but they are not heading the way they should, and I think that's due to the fact that the pots were too small.

cabbage and leeks. the cabbage is really looking nice.

Brussels sprouts in the back, cauliflower (probably hopeless at this point) in with the still-flowering Thai basil. You can see I've been lining the paths with burlap bags from the coffee roastery - I intend to cover these bags with leaves from ours and my neighbors trees, to prevent weeds from coming up between the beds.

Broccoli, looking pretty leggy

However some other things are doing just fine in pots. Beets, carrots, and greens - all looking well. I discovered some fat green caterpillars on my carrots the other day, and removed them all (seven in total) and gave them to the chickens. I forgot to take a picture. They were not swallowtail caterpillars - if they were, I probably would have relocated them to the fennel. They were green throughout and I can't figure out what they were. Any ideas? 

The shallots, garlic, and peas are all doing wonderfully, and I just ate my first peas this morning while out weeding. Delish. Spring peas are good but autumn peas are just as tasty! 

braising greens

A final note about the wheat: I'm growing heirloom varieties, so yield should be about 30 pounds per 1000 sq feet. If I get 30 pounds, I'll be absolutely delighted. I expect more like 10. I planted three different kinds - Red Fife, Emmer, and Sonora White. The Sonora is a soft wheat and the others are hard wheats. Hard wheats generally have more protein (good for bread making) and soft wheats less protein (better for pastas and cakes). 

A final note about clover: As you most likely know, plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) will take nitrogen out of the air and fix it into nodules at its roots. In order to have that happen, there needs to be plenty of air down in the roots (lots of organic matter will provide good aggregation, NOT tilling), as that's where the nitrogen from the air comes from. The nodules are formed by a bacteria and the plant develops the nodules to protect the nitrogen-rich bacteria and keep it for its own use. When the plant produces fruit, it uses that nitrogen up. So if you want the plants to provide nitrogen for your soil, do not allow these plants to set fruit. For instance, you plant beans or peas, you eat the fruit of them, you've eaten the nitrogen that the roots collected, and that's fine! But if you cut them down before the plant fruits, that nitrogen, in nodules on the roots, will break down in the soil and enter the microbial cycle, being eaten and then pooped out etc, and will be available to the next crop you put in there. It's also helpful to put the green material that you cut down (the shoots and leaves) of the legume on top of the soil, to break down and provide nitrogen that way too.

If you grow peas next to broccoli, say, can the legume roots share nitrogen with the broccoli plant? Not really. The nitrogen is bound up in the plant until it is cut down. At that point, the nitrogen becomes available to anything else left nearby. Also, if there is a fungal association formed between the broccoli and pea roots, it's possible the nitrogen would be shared that way, but it's unlikely. So! You're only providing nitrogen to the environment AFTER the plant is cut down. Not during. During, the nitrogen is only available to the legume, for the most part. And if you let the plant form fruit, the nitrogen has been mostly used up (though putting green matter down in your beds will always allow for some nitrogen to get back in the soil; not mixing it in, mind, but just laying on top to decompose). 

I'd love to know what autumn/fall veg and fruits you all are growing, and how they are doing, regardless of climate. Please feel free to share in the comments!

Readying the Hive for Winter

It's important to open the hive and get a good last look before winter settles in. There might be a sunny warm afternoon in December or January to check on the bees before spring, but since that cannot be counted on, we chose this past weekend to really get in there and have a long session and clean everything up.

Our hive checks have been cursory at best in the last six to eight months, and those were mainly for keeping on top of varroa mite infestations. We noticed, early on in spring, that the bees had really built up a lot of comb around the bars and at the bottom of each curve of comb, attaching each bar to the floor of the hive. We weren't sure why they did this, but what it meant for us was that every time we tried to remove a bar to inspect it, the bar would tear, and we'd have a mess of comb and honey to clean up. This led to a lot more honey harvesting than we expected to do this year (it turned out to be fine because the bees had plenty). Still, bees get pissed off when you break their comb, and with good reason. What with my new allergy to stings (which brings with it a certain, well, gingerness) and Tom learning to take point on our hive inspections, plus a very large amount of bees this year (even after the swarm!), this meant that we just weren't as thorough as we should have been. 

So, in preparation for a good long inspection, Tom made a tool, kind of like a long bar with a 90 degree angle at the bottom, like the letter 'L.' In theory, this tool would allow us to detach the comb from underneath each bar without putting our clumsy, large hands deep down into the hive. We knew that we were going to be in there for a long time, and removing almost every comb, so we got the smoker going real good. November really is the ideal time for a leisurely look, because the bee population is down quite a bit from the summer highs; the drones have all been thrown out, and the queen has altered her laying pattern to fit the diminished daylight so there is less brood. In fact, she might be laying her last eggs of the season and won't start again until after the solstice. And we chose a nice sunny afternoon for it, which meant that a lot of the bees were out foraging, and we wouldn't disrupt the temperature of the hive too much. (Though I'm sure the bees would say differently, if they could.)

The bottom line is that everything looked good. There is plenty of honey for the bees for winter; we removed three full bars and three more that were half-full. We did this because it is important to reduce the physical size of the hive during the cold months. Less bees means less body heat. I've honestly been thinking that we probably should have removed even more, but I also want to err on the side of leaving the bees with plenty of food. The experts say 30 lbs and I'd estimate the bees have at least twice that. So they'll be well-fed this winter, and they can even get out and forage in the garden if the weather is sunny and above 50 degrees. (They are super busy right now, in fact, bringing in lots of nectar and a very pale, yellow pollen.)

Not everything was rosy. We did notice some problems. I saw one small hive beetle.

image credit: Wikipedia

These guys can be a terrible menace to a weak hive. Our hive is strong, so it appears that the beetles haven't gained the upper hand, but the beetles are hard for the bees to attack and remove and their shells resist stings. One plus is that they must go back into the dirt to pupate, so I've ordered some beneficial nematodes to apply in the earth around the hive - those nematodes will feed on the larvae of the hive beetle. I bought these from Arbico Organics. I've never seen small hive beetles here before, and I'm hoping that this method will eradicate them before they become a nuisance.

Another thing we found was some evidence of wax moths. Nothing big, nothing terrible, but some of the webby stuff that is the sign that they've been there. 

image credit: Wikipedia

A strong hive can fight these off too, and it looks like our bees have defended themselves well, but we cleaned up anything we found relating to wax moths and got rid of it. They are primarily a warm-weather problem, so I don't anticipate them overtaking the hive during winter.

I also added a prophylactic treatment for varroa mite, as I had seen a little bit of bee larvae on the landing board a few days ago (the bees often remove larvae that is compromised). There is no drone larvae at the moment, which is good, as that usually harbors the most varroa; but I want to eradicate any possibility as the hive goes into winter, so that they are still strong when it is cold. I don't want nosema, which is a fungal pathogen that causes dysentery in bees, which often appears when colonies are weakened. They don't need that when it's cold and wet.  I used Apiguard, which is thymol, which is made of the herb thyme. It's an organic treatment which kills mites on bees but not the bees. 

One thing that has NOT been a problem this year is ants. I've never seen any on or in the hive, so my diatomaceous earth around the hive legs has been effective.

Both Tom and I feel good about this hive cleanup and preparation for winter; the funky comb has been bothering us for months, and it feels great to have it dealt with. Tom has become really good at hive inspections - this is one of those things that you can only learn by doing, I think. 

And a good side benefit of it is that we have lots of honey to give away as teacher gifts this year, which is great.

One last interesting thing regarding bees - my friend in Orange County sent me this picture from her garage. I guess this was recently revealed when they were doing work. I advised her to call her local beekeeping association, which she did - and it turns out, most of the feral hives found in Southern CA are Africanized, or aggressive. So beekeepers don't want to keep them (understandably) and these colonies are often destroyed. As was this one. Very sad! It also makes me think that the aggressive bees will slowly be moving north and we'll have to deal with them more often here. I think, in many ways, aggressive bees probably survive better - studies seem to show they have less pest pressure - and that could be an answer for the total bee population going forward, but it would be very hard to manage aggressive bees in an urban situation! I'm sure we'll be hearing more about this as they become more common.

November Planting List

Brrr. Cold this morning, and we had our first soaking rain on Friday night, so autumn and colder weather is definitely here in Northern CA. What does this mean for you, my fellow zone 9b-ers? It means that there is precious little that can go in the ground now; hopefully you've got all your broccolis and garlics in your beds already. However, there are a few hardy things that can be seeded:

Things grow more slowly in cold weather, so nothing is going to go gangbusters at this point. But, if you have a cold frame, or some hoops and row covers in place, you can really push the season hard. We opted to leave off row covers this year and see how our winter wheat does. It should overwinter just fine, providing us with a spring harvest. We shall see.

baby Lacinato Kale

Everything else is in containers, and can be moved to protected areas if frost arrives. Some plants, like kale and spinach, actually improve their flavor with a little frost.

I've been working very hard on cleaning up the garden for winter, dividing bulbs and dahlias, and severely pruning woody perennials. I've never divided either our dahlias or our Douglas iris; both need to be done soonish. As winter progresses, I'll also divide things like asters and gaillardia, which I've not done before either. I'm trying to be better about things like this. Lavenders can be pruned down to their original small rounded bush size; salvias (depending on the type) and spireas also can be pruned hard. 

I made persimmon jelly; it's a beautiful color, but boy does it taste weird. I used Hachiya persimmons, since that's what we were given, but they are astringent, whereas the Fuyus are sweeter. Hachiyas are sweet too, it's just that they also have that strange astringency. You know how marmalade is both sweet and bitter? This jam is both sweet and astringent. I'm just not sure what I think about it. I probably won't make it again. 

I"m also trying my hand at Hoshigaki, or dried whole persimmons. I think it's going to be too humid to dry these properly, but we'll see. At the end of this coming week, I'll start massaging them every other day to bring the sugar to the surface, and then after a month they should be ready. I'll keep you posted.

the first peas

I'm looking for new projects that can be accomplished in late afternoon, after it starts to get dark, but before dinner prep. This time of year is difficult for me because I like working outdoors until the light goes. And with the light going earlier, I'll have to be indoors. So I'm taking suggestions. I need a new hobby!

Happy November, everyone - enjoy this quiet time before the holidays are upon us.

Halloween Surprises

Happy Halloween to all. It's a bright, clear day in Walnut Creek, and will be a chilly but gorgeous night for the kiddos out trick or treating. We expect our usual horde of trick or treaters tonight; Mom's bringing over a beef stew cooked in a pumpkin, I'm baking fresh bread, one of our kids has rehearsal, the other is possibly either having friends over or going to a friends house - so my main entertainment will be eating good food and looking at the little guys who come to the front door.

Meanwhile, there's been all sorts of interesting things and surprises happening around here. One is the above persimmons - a neighbor had an excess from her trees, so we promptly picked up a bin-full. We wanted to make jam, but it seems that it's not totally safe to water-bath can this particular fruit (acidity is questionable), so there is a dearth of recipes, even if we just want to freeze it after making it. We found one from a middle-eastern woman that seemed promising, but used cornstarch to thicken, and the end result was terrible. That was sad, after Tom put in all the work of making jam. I'm going to try again with some pectin, though persimmons are naturally high in pectin, so maybe I'll skip that addition. We also wanted to make Hoshigaki, but I haven't gotten around to that yet. 

In the garden, I've been struggling with getting the wheat to germinate. In some areas, it's doing incredibly well:

... while in others, it's extremely spotty.

I think it has a lot to do with temperature and water. This is winter wheat, so it needs cooler temps, and last week we were in the 90's for days on end. Plus, drip irrigation can be tricky with germination, so sometimes the seeds rely on me to get them damp, and sometimes I forget or lose track of what I've done and when. So I'm hoping, now that we've cooled down, and the winter rains are on the way (fingers crossed), we'll start to see a thicker stand of wheat. 

"Stand of Wheat." Gosh, if that doesn't sound all Pa Ingalls. Next I might hit you with "the wheat is now tillering," and that will be a secret thrill for me, probably not for you.

Leeks, garlic, shallots, peas, spinach, kale, lettuce, chard, beets, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts: All doing well. Had my first crop of greens today in a frittata for lunch. And just saw my first pea on the vine, though that deer that crashed through ate the tops off most of them. That's ok, they're recovering.

We've also had some fun surprises at the water feature too. A couple of days ago, I was sitting near the bee hive, watching the activity there, when I noticed a new-to-me bird land for a drink. After some research, I determined it was a Hermit Thrush.

image credit: Isabel Cutler

It's an extraordinarily adorable little bird. 

Then, this morning, as I was out brushing egg sacs off the kale (cabbage butterflies; controlling their caterpillars is keeping me busy this year), I heard an interesting new bird call - sharp and short. I quietly skulked around to the water feature and there, in the tree above, was a Northern Flicker (red-shafted western). 

image credit: cdbtx

This bird was not exactly adorable - it was BIG and LOUD and striking!!! Wow! 

Some research tells me that these birds are both common here, though the Hermit Thrush only in winter: We've never seen them in our yard, so having them here now is very exciting! Both eat insects and also some berries.

I did have one surprise this past weekend which was not so great. I opened up the smaller compost bin (the one I call the worm bin because I add worms every couple of years - it's not big enough to get hot enough to break stuff down) to dig out the worm castings to sprinkle on the wheat beds. As I began, a couple of rats leapt out and streaked into the neighbors yard. I thought that was pretty gross, but continued my chore. When I was near the back I uncovered a baby rat nest with three newborns in it. I don't like rats, and I've put out those snapping traps to kill them when their numbers are too great, but it was another thing altogether to disrupt a nest and put babies in danger. I know it doesn't make sense, but I closed up the compost bin and went into the garden and sobbed my heart out. Ugh. 

So, not all surprises are good. I went ahead with my fall cleanup and made a HUGE pile of branches to continue my effort to attract snakes. We need something to take care of the rat population around here and I certainly don't want it to be me, no thank you, I don't want to kill babies of any kind. I guess it's that old adage that if it's out of sight, it's out of mind. 

Anyway. I don't want to leave you with an image of rats, even if it is Halloween, and I don't want you to think I'm an evil baby-rat-killer either. So, the bread just came out of the oven and I'll bribe you with images of that, instead. 

Hope you have a fun holiday!

Homemade Cider Vinegar

Tom here today...

Two years ago for Christmas I got Elizabeth a vinegar crock, and we've successfully made a couple of different batches of vinegar using it -- both red wine and white wine vinegar.

We've also attempted to make apple cider vinegar using apple cores and peels, with absolutely no success – the process we used involved submerging the peels and cores in a manner similar to fermenting pickles, and all we wound up with was some moldy liquid.

Then, about a month or two ago, Elizabeth read Acid Trip: Travels in the World of Vinegar, by Michael Harlan Turkell, and it gave us insight into what's really going on with the creation of vinegar. Armed with this insight and a little more internet research, I set out to try making apple cider vinegar.

Vinegar is sometimes referred to as a twice-fermented liquid. First, a sugary liquid is fermented with yeast to produce alcohol. Next, the alcohol is consumed by acetobacter (acetic acid-forming bacteria) to form vinegar. This was the fatal flaw in our earlier apple cider vinegar attempt – you've got to start with an alcoholic beverage.

Fortunately, I have some experience fermenting sugary liquids into alcohol. I got a gallon of unpasteurized, no-additive apple cider from the store, added some yeast, popped on an airlock, and started it fermenting. I used some dry wine making yeast from the homebrew store, and did a little bit of measurement using a hydrometer, which measures the specific gravity, or sugar content of the cider. Measuring the change in the specific gravity tells you how much sugar has been converted to alcohol.

Science!

After about a week the yeast had done the trick – the gravity had fallen from about 1.052 to just over 1.0, so the alcohol percentage was right around 6.8% abv, perfect for making vinegar. Now it was time to introduce the acetobacter and think about the next process. I put some of the cider into the vinegar crock, along with some unpasteurized cider vinegar, and that's happily sitting on top of the fridge – in about 3-6 months we'll give that a try and see how it goes.

I was also inspired by this vinegar-making series by Nordic Food Lab, in which they explored the science of making vinegars. They noted that the acetobacter fermentation is different than lactic acid fermentation (the one for pickles and sauerkraut). Lactic acid fermentation is an anaerobic process, where you want to keep oxygen out – this is why you use a weight and make sure the food you're fermenting is completely submerged. In contrast, acetobacter fermentation is aerobic – so not only do you need air, you can speed up the process by introducing a supply of air. Commercial operations have a variety of different ways of introducing air. We're not a commercial operation, but we did have the fish tank pump that Elizabeth got for last spring's compost tea. After a thorough cleaning and some new hose lines, I used that.

The fish tank pump worked like a charm. Again, I added some unpasteurized cider vinegar to introduce the acetobacter. The cider foamed up quite a bit during the process, and I set it outside in the garage so that we didn't have to hear the hum. I put a little cheesecloth around the top of the jug to keep the fruit flies out, and let it sit out there for about a week. 

As you can see, the vinegar is fairly opaque, a result of the opaque cider I started with. In a side-by-side comparison with cider vinegar from the store, it's not quite as sweet – likely a result of the initial alcohol fermentation. Next time, I might try stopping that fermentation before the specific gravity gets all the way down, so that there's some residual sugar. The other next thing to try is to make vinegar out of other alcoholic liquids. In addition to wine vinegar, starting with beer would make malt vinegar.

One final note – we'll use this vinegar for salads and cooking, but not for canning. While the vinegar is quite tart, and it seems comparable to the tartness we've got from store vinegar, we don't have the equipment to test the acidity, and so there's no way to be sure it's got the 5% acidity needs to ensure safe canning.