Outstanding in the Field 2015 tour goes on sale tomorrow!

In case you're interested (and feeling flush) - TICKETS for Outstanding in the Field go on sale tomorrow. There are many Northern CA dates and all of them look amazing - great venues and wonderful chefs - and if you've got some pocket change (tix are over $200 per), this would be an amazing thing in which to participate. And if you do, please tell me all about it, so I can live vicariously through you! Tom already got us tickets for a farm dinner for Mother's Day, at Full Belly Farm, so I can't justify another one (though I'm willing to try, if you've got an excuse for me).

And speaking of farm-to-table, a little bit of it is going on right here at Poppy Corners tonight, with our first broccoli of the season.

I've never had any luck growing broccoli before, this is the first that has ever come to fruition on our property. I can't wait to eat it.

We're not the only ones eating well. I found this lady camped out above the porch light.

She is literally half the size of my palm. This orb weaver is an indication of how warm it's been here - they usually don't show up until summer. (And yes, if it's this warm already, I'm worried about July, God help us.)

Walking in a local public garden today, I found this interesting mushroom:

And yes, it really is a mushroom, not a piece of trash. I checked. Crazy, right?

The chickens have finally found the super-high roost in their run. It's fun to watch them get up there (verrrrry awkward) and then once they are finally perched, they act quite entitled and royal. When I get close to take a picture, they get freaked and start to fly down, so this picture is not the greatest.

Adam and I had an interesting day. As part of his special project to try to change the school lunch program, we visited Mt. Diablo High School, where they have a garden and a cooking program. It was neat, and the leader of the program was incredibly knowledgable, but just like Edible Schoolyard, it is a program separate from lunch. We are having trouble finding any public school that actually cooks a real lunch. Cindy (the program director at MDHS and also chef and owner of Sunrise Bistro) was quite clear that it is not a school problem, but a government problem. Suddenly Adam's project became much bigger than we intended. We are trying to figure out the next step: Talk to our local representative?

The kitchen classroom at MDHS

Part of the one-acre garden at MDHS

The latest cooking project at MDHS

The new hydroponics system at MDHS

We are a bit stumped about where to go from here. Why is it so hard to cook a simple, nutritious lunch for students? Why just heat up pre-made crap? I'm guessing it all leads to money, somehow. Though Adam made and sent out a survey, and 100% of the parents who answered it said they'd be willing to spend more for a better lunch. I guess that's not enough...

Ok, time to get that broccoli cooking. Can't wait to taste it. Hope you're enjoying your own farm-to-table experience tonight!

Salumi with Angelo Garro

Today, another guest post from Tom:

The best presents are the things that you wouldn't buy for yourself, but that you'd love. That's exactly what Elizabeth got me in the form of a salumi class with Angelo Garro, which I had this past weekend.

First, a word about Angelo -- if you've read The Omnivore's Dilemma, then you'll recognize him as the person who took Michael Pollan on his foraging and boar hunting expeditions in the last third of the book. A blacksmith by trade, and a Sicilian by birth, Angelo has started selling products based on his cooking (after having run a pretty successful Kickstarter campaign - nice to have Werner Herzog do your Kickstarter video).

Angelo recently started having classes -- our salumi class was the second one. We were instructed to show up at his place of work, the Renaissance Forge, at 10AM. No end time for the class was given, but it was billed as including a lunch, so I figured I'd be there for a few hours.

Door to the Renaissance Forge

A quick terminology note -- salumi is the generic term for Italian cold cuts; salami (or salame) is a kind of salumi, so is proscuitto, mortadella, coppa, pancetta, lardo, etc. Cured meats, usually pork, definitely yummy.

The class was a small affair -- I was one of just a handful of students. Two had flown up from Southern California for the class, there was a couple who run the Camp 4 Wine Bar in Modesto, and a young guy that chefs for a tech startup (cooking breakfast and lunch for 75 employees five days a week). Angelo had two assistants, Victoria and Beth. We started with some chit-chat, a walk around the forge, a peek into the walk-in cooler where he's got several types of salumi hanging, near where his four barrels of homemade wine are fermenting.

Forge tools

Soon, we started our salumi process -- many many pork shoulders needed to get trimmed, so we all stood around a long table, knifes in hand, trimming away fat, separating muscles, cutting into small chunks for grinding. We wound up with about 37 pounds of trimmed pork.

Many hands make light work

As we're cutting, we also start eating. Beth fried up some foraged greens that had been chopped, mixed with Parmesan, and fried into little bites. We had sliced lardo and other salumi on bread. We tasted some of Angelo's Omnivore Sauce. Beth made some fried battered broccoli and anchovy. Angelo brought out two versions of a new hot sauce he was trying, asking us which we liked better.

Just a few little bites

While the pork rested in the refrigerator (the better for grinding), we cut some back fat to add to the mix, and also uncorked a few bottles of Angelo's 2013 Syrah. Our work done, we then set to grinding.

This industrial grinder made quick work of our pork.

The ground pork was mixed by hand (for a loooong time) with the spice mixture, then he brought out his sausage-stuffing contraption -- a long cylinder with a hand-cranked plunger. We'd previously rinsed out some natural casings, and we each got a turn at both the crank and the extruder end, filling casings, tying them off, pricking the casings to eliminate air pockets, and giving them a bath in a starter culture.

The salumi would sit in a warm, humid spot for about two days to give the starter culture (i.e., mold) a head start, then it's off to the cooler to age for 2-3 months.

Our work complete, it was time for lunch - a fresh pasta with several kinds of seafood, some salad, more syrah, then for dessert some homemade biscotti, figs, some homemade nocino (walnut liqueur), and espresso.  We talked about food, we talked about places to go in Italy, we talked about gardening. At one point Angelo left to take a phone call -- it was Paul Bertolli, of Chez Panisse and Oliveto fame. (Can you tell I was completely star-struck?)

We finally said our goodbyes, goody bags of previously-cured meats, leftover pork bits, and Omnivore Salt in hand, around 6:30 PM.

Best. Class. Ever.

As Elizabeth and I have embarked on our homesteading efforts, we've become attuned to craftsmanship, and of the appeal of home crafted items. Yes, it's harder to make things from scratch, but how great to know what you're eating. How good it is to know the work involved in making things - it makes you appreciate them that much more.

Is the weekend really over?

Man, this weekend went by quickly. 89 degrees on Saturday, then 79 today, and everything is bursting with life. Deciduous trees are leafing out, fruit trees are blooming, the ceonothus looks amazing, seedlings are popping out of the ground. It's spring, yo.

Tom spent Saturday taking a salami-making class with an old master. I'll let him tell you all about it in another blog post; suffice it to say he had a great time, and we had a delicious dinner last night when he came home with his bounty! Today Tom worked again on the drip system. It's still not finished - this is proving to be a very tricky project. But we know it's worth it in the long run.

I spent my weekend in various ways, cleaning the chicken coop, shopping for and planting new perennials, and hauling some extra wood chips from a neighbor's driveway into our yard (because you know when I see a mulch pile, my muscles just take over and start shoveling into the wheelbarrow).

Here's some pictures of interesting things that happened this weekend:

I planted one artichoke. I had trouble finding them at all in my local nurseries; this is the only one I found. Also, I'm not sure they'll do well in our hot climate. This is my test subject.

Ceonothus exploded everywhere. This white variety is very pretty, and the bees love it.

After speaking with an expert at Orchard Nursery, I decided not to plant a lemon tree near our back door. We just don't get enough sun in that location. So I choose a native CA huckleberry instead. Bees love the blooms, and we'll get fruit (similar to blueberries) in the late summer/fall.

The poppies started opening!

Redbuds are blooming everywhere. Bumblebees go crazy for this native tree.

I moved the rain barrel slightly, and found several of these guys living under it. Some sort of salamander. skink. No, I think it's a Salamander. Isn't he cute?

***Update! I got an email back from California Herps, here's what the expert says:

"Hi Elizabeth,

It's a California Slender Salamander. 

http://www.californiaherps.com/salamanders/pages/b.attenuatus.html

They're common in yards all over the area. They like to live under rain barrels and flower pots and other stuff on wet ground until it dries up.

Gary"

At work, we see Dutchman's Pipevine everywhere on our walks with the kids. One had this seedpod hanging and I snatched it. It's the size of a tennis ball. I threw it in my pollinator garden, and we'll see what comes of it. Dutchman's Pipevine is the larval food source for Pipevine Swallowtail Butterflies.

I released the spiders on some daffodils under our oak tree. They promptly made a web and are still hanging out together.

So far, the strawberry wall (made out of a recycled pallet) is doing very well. I gave it some fish emulsion this weekend, and the plants started blooming.

It's been a fun and busy weekend, with very little time for any rest or relaxation. Next weekend promises to be the same. Spring is always our busiest time.

Spring Garden Plan 2015

After months of thinking about it, ordering seeds, ruminating on sun and shade, and changing things around several times, I've finally got a working plan for my spring planting.

First, I downloaded some graph paper and printed it out. Then I drew a very simple outline of the raised beds. Then I had Tom scan my drawing and save it for me, so I won't have to redraw it twice a year. My simple drawing does not include any of the fruit trees, bushes, vines, or canes; nor does it include the herbs in the spiral. It also doesn't show any perennial plantings or large trees. This is just a plan for the raised beds. So I will tell you that I am planning to put artichokes behind the chicken coop. No one walks around back there, and they can grow as large and pokey as they'd like.

So, here's the plan for this spring:

North Garden

South Garden

List of plant varieties

I've decided I have to call the two gardens something, as Tom and I kept saying "the garden near the coop" or "the garden by the shed." And North and South is where they are on our property. If you picture a long rectangle with North at the top (makes sense), our house is just between the North and South gardens. On the East side we have the Top Bar Hive, the asparagus patch, four small Chinese Pistache trees, a Toyon, a Manzanita, a California Buckeye, two blueberry bushes, a small strawberry patch, and a flowering currant (Ribes). On the West side of the property, everything is dominated by a large Brazilian Pepper tree, and there is dappled shade. That's where I planted the Woodland Garden, and also that's the front of our house. To the northwest is our driveway and a strip along it that is shaded by a Valley Oak, but each side of the strip gets shade at different times of the day. The side that gets morning sun has my original worm/compost bin, lemon verbena, spirea, a few old fashioned roses, the six new raspberry canes, some bog salvia and daffodils. The side that gets afternoon sun holds the herb spiral, checkerbloom, lavender, and some other things that I've forgotten the names of!

The South Garden is the one we started last winter. I used to garden on the East side, but the pistache trees got too large, so that's why we decided to sheet mulch the lawn and plant over in the South area. It gets plenty of sun and everything does fine there, but there is one large Chitalpa tree that provides just enough shade that I felt some things could have done even better, like melons. So that was the impetus for the North Garden, where it's all sun all the time. So vegetables who can take a little shade, like peas or potatoes, will go in the South Garden, and things like tomatoes and peppers will go in the North Garden.  There is one area of the South Garden that gets full sun all day, and so that will house the melons after garlic and shallots are harvested. That's also where the strawberry wall is, and the pollinator garden. The six new blueberries are also in the South Garden, in a spot that gets morning sun but afternoon shade, since it seems that's how blueberries like it in my garden.

I should also say that the fruit trees (apple, peach, fig) are on the borders of the North Garden. I'm hoping to add a dwarf lemon to a little area next to the house that gets part shade.

I'm excited to get planting, but first we need to build the raised beds in the North Garden. That's a project for Spring Break, which is (thankfully) coming up. First we have to finish the sprinkler project and the fence project.

We got a sprinkling of rain today, so I seeded more red clover into what is left of our lawn. There are several bare spots, and I won't mind more clover for both the bees and for it's tolerance of dryness.

The rain made the wildflowers on my walks today look wonderful.

Lupine

And a neighbor's ornamental apple tree is looking so gorgeous, I just want to live under it.

Converting Sprinklers to Drip, and other random stuff

This weekend, Tom embarked on what will end up being a multi-weekend job, which is converting our sprinkler system to drip. We had the sprinklers put in our yard ten years ago, and as long as we had a lawn, they were adequate. Now that we've revamped our yard to be mostly food production and natives, sprinklers just aren't doing the job. So much of our water gets lost to evaporation; the wood chips get watered regularly, promoting weed germination and wasting valuable water; and the water spray often is too strong or too weak. Not to mention that the foliage is getting wet, which promotes disease. So, we knew it was time to switch, and were very convicted when it looked like December was going to be our only rainy month this year. I know you're tired of reading it, and I'm sure tired of typing it, but we're in a serious drought here, and any way that we can save water is a bonus. Our water bill is still very cheap; about $100 a month in the summer months and half that in the winter, but honestly at some point they've got to raise the rates just to get people to stop washing their cars and watering their grass. This conversion to drip is costing us about $200, which will pay for itself in water savings.

A side note: Many folks in our area have wells, and they water their lawns from their wells. (We do not have a well.) But I am uneasy about using wells to water monoculture. Isn't this still using a precious resource? So many homes have little signs on their fences proudly stating "well-watered," as though they are worried someone is going to comment on the lushness of their lawn and they need to go on the defensive at the outset. But how is using well water any better than city water? Is it because it just drips down to the water table again? I'm just not sure about this. Please weigh in if you can help me understand. And also, this goes without saying, but WHY WATER GRASS???? We drive pass a city park every morning which is a couple acres of grass, with sprinklers arcing across it nearly every day. Why is the city blatantly using up our precious resources on something that produces nothing? It burns my butt, I tell you. I'm gearing up to write the Mayor a letter.

Anyway, this project is muddy (because existing sprinkler heads need to be dug up and either capped or repurposed), fiddly (because trying to figure out which parts go where is a little bit of a puzzle), and frustrating (because trying to determine which sprinklers are on which station requires turning them on and off and getting wet a bunch). Tom's more than halfway done, and hopefully by next week we'll have a working system. Meanwhile I'm watering everything by hand, which is interesting because I'm having to spend a lot of time getting to know my plants and becoming intuitively connected with their water needs, which is something I haven't been in a long time. So it's not all bad, but it does take too much time. I've also now used up all the water in the rain barrel and it doesn't look like that will be filling up again any time soon. Before next winter, we need to figure out more catchement systems.

A friend of mine was hoping for more current pictures of the vegetable beds, so here's one.

It's hard to get a good picture of everything in one shot. The closest bed has braising greens, beets, and broccoli. The next one up has romaine and spinach. Next one has kale and chard. And the final one has peas. Everything is big and lush and delicious.

Here's one of the shallots, garlic, and strawberry wall.

In the forefront are native flower seedlings

The strawberry wall is doing great, but tends to run very dry. I have to stay on top of it with water. I'll get a closeup next week.

The asparagus aren't doing anything further, yet. The blueberries are blooming, as well as strawberries in the ground. The peach tree is blooming.

The herb spiral is doing just great and I harvest from that every couple of days. The mint is starting to make a break for it, as mint is wont to do, so it just takes an eagle eye from me to prevent it from spreading.

The chickens are growing and happy to eat greens from the garden every day. I've cleaned their house several times already and have a good start on the new compost bins. I dug out some compost from the smaller bin and sprinkled some on the new bin, to get those good microbes working. I also begged some grass cuttings from a neighbor to spread on top of the straw. He also promised to bring me grass every time he mows. (I guess lawn is good for one thing, at least.)

Bees are on order and arrive April 11; I'm constantly adding to the flower garden, as well as pruning everything in sight. I took a trip to an interesting nursery today in San Francisco. It's called Bay Natives and it's on the southern waterfront. I bought a bunch of neat plants: checker bloom, yampah, mallow, phacelia, yarrow, salvia, and a few things I can't remember the name of.

The nursery was next door to a place that rents out goats for weed control. They were cute! We enjoyed feeding them scraps from the nursery.

The spiders are growing, they are yellow with black legs and a black spot on their rumps. Anyone know what these are? I'm going to have to let them go soon, I think. But I'd sure like to know what they are first so I know where in the garden to put them.

Adam is working on a great project; he wants to change the school district's lunch program. To that end, he's been interviewing everyone from the lunch staff at school to the district's CFO. He also went on a tour to The Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley, which is Alice Waters' pet project. I had to work and couldn't go, but my folks took him and it sounded like a great, educational time. Here are a few pictures of their day.

Next, Adam and I are going to visit a chef who changed her school lunch program in the district next to ours. I can't wait! I love this project!

As soon as Tom's done with the drip system, we're going to make a serious start on raising the height of our fences, so deer can't get in. The fence part isn't hard, but we'll have to make three new gates, yikes. After that it'll be time to make the new raised beds for the chicken coop garden, and get planting!