Giving Tuesday

I'm not sure how I feel about all these 'named' buying days. "Black Friday," "Cyber Monday;" both of these are occasions I can easily opt out of. But today is "Giving Tuesday," and while it seems to me that it's a sad state of affairs if we're not giving the whole year 'round, I'm also glad that the whole country gets this reminder to be generous. So where are you giving today? We give regularly to various local community organizations and schools, but I also support programs that help to restore native plants and open spaces. Today I decided to support a new (to me) organization called The Pollinator Partnership. As a beekeeper and a lover of native pollinators, I am concerned about the growing lack of habitat for insects, as well as the overuse of pesticides and herbicides that are really affecting their populations. This is an organization that does good work, through education, research, and conservation. 

There are so many worthy places to donate your hard-earned money, and we can never contribute to all of them. But I hope you'll pick a cause that's close to your heart and give a little something. Wouldn't it be amazing if donations today exceeded amount spent on Black Friday or Cyber Monday? What a statement that would be.

I'm procrastinating a little this morning, because it's cold outside - it was 35 degrees overnight. But I need to get out there and pull out the tomato vines. They're just taking up space at this point, space that I intend to fill with Brussels Sprouts and Asian Braising Greens. A very close family friend asked me, "What can I plant in my raised beds right now?" which is a question I love, because it means he's inspired to get out there and have a winter garden! It's easy to do in parts of Northern CA, and where he lives (about 10 miles from me), it rarely frosts, so he doesn't have to worry about row covers. And, if he plants the right things, they'll be even tastier in winter. I told him to get started on greens - spinach, kale, arugula, and chard. They can be started from seedlings or seeds, just be prepared for them to take longer to germinate and/or grow.

The lovely thing about the hardier greens like kale is that you can harvest the outer leaves every other day, and the plant will produce new ones. So just a few plants will keep you in fresh produce for many months. You could also plant beets, turnips, and carrots now for an early spring harvest. And planting garlic is super easy - just buy an organic bulb from any store and break it in to cloves, then plant them. Cover with some straw or leaves and leave them all winter. In May or June you'll have a harvest. (This bears repeating - buy an organic clove. Conventional are often sprayed, like potatoes, to keep them from sprouting.)

Ok, enough procrastinating! Time to get out in that chilly sunshine and get some work done. Hope you all have a lovely day!

Weekly Walkthrough: More Winterizing of the Garden, and Our Trip to the Oyster Farm

Happy Thanksgiving! We are grateful for you, our readers. Writing this blog (and now making videos) has been such a fun thing for Tom and I to do. It gives our gardening another level of purpose and helps us feel as though we are connecting with like-minded people. As always, thank you for reading, subscribing, and commenting!

Tonight we had a fabulous meal of homemade ravioli stuffed with handmade ricotta and herbs from our garden; it was sauced with the roasted tomato puree I canned this summer, with some added garlic from our garden. This kind of meal is just as tasty as any from a fancy farm-to-fork restaurant, and we are reminded that while going out to eat is fun (and has the added bonus of no clean up!), anyone can eat deliciously, locally, and sustainably if they are willing to grow some of their own food and learn how to cook it well.

Here's this week's Walkthrough. Come along with us as we drive over the San Francisco Bay and into Marin County, through Land Trust acreage, through ranches and farms, all the way to Tomales Bay. 

#OptOutside

Are you one of those folks who enjoys shopping? How about shopping on Black Friday? I must say, I can't relate. There must be a shopping gene that I didn't get. I hate to shop, and the thought of going to a store on the Friday after Thanksgiving, with all those crowds (personal space, please!) and parking issues... I realize that for some of you, it's exciting. For me, it's like a nightmare.

So I love what REI started last year on Black Friday. They decided to close their stores and online shopping, and pay their employees to go outside for the day. It was so popular that it has become somewhat of a movement, and here in California, the State Parks actually gave away a bunch of free passes for this event this year. I was too late, and didn't get one in time, but that isn't going to stop us from getting outdoors.

We have a tour planned at Hog Island Oyster Farm in Marshall, which is on Tomales Bay in Marin County, north of San Francisco. Here we will tour the farm, learn how oysters are grown, have an oyster shucking lesson, and a tasting. We will probably be doing this in the rain, and though of course no Californian would ever complain about rain, it might be a little uncomfortable. Well, it should be educational and tasty regardless. 

Now, my dad is a champion shucker, having shucked oysters many times a year in our old home in Maryland. I have memories of us going to the Chesapeake Bay docks early on a Saturday morning, and picking up oysters or crabs from the fishermen. Apparently I used to eat oysters as fast as my dad could shuck them. Mom still makes oyster stuffing for Thanksgiving every year and it's easily our favorite item on the menu. (OK, maybe not for Tom or Kate.) 

I, however, have maybe shucked half a dozen oysters in my life, and it's been a long time since I did that. So I'm looking forward to that lesson. But I'm looking forward even more to the tasting! Oysters here are a little different than those from the Chesapeake or Washington State, and of course these particular oysters will be farmed, not wild. I think farmed fish is here to stay; what with climate change, and the way ocean life is being decimated with unusual temperatures, we need to figure out how to sustainably farm fish, replicating how it's done in the wild as closely as possible. This is going to be a challenge, and I'm anxious to hear how this farm is accomplishing this. Climate change is also going to require that we eat less of the fish that is extremely popular, and more of what's available locally. So, our tastebuds are going to have to change.

Anyway, while we're in Tomales Bay (which is quite a drive from here, though a pretty one, through farmland and hills out to towards the Pacific), we'll likely seek some more outdoor time, either at a beach, or hiking. It will depend on how hard it's raining, I suppose. I also am looking into tours at the Point Reyes Cheese Company (because, cheese) and the Heidrdun Meadery, which has bees and gardens, of course, to make honey for their mead. We also have a birthday celebration planned (for Adam and my mother) at a restaurant in Point Reyes Station, called Osteria Stellina, where they serve mostly produce, meat, and fish from the local farms. My brother and his fiancee will be here as well, which is a real treat.

So our plans are set. But perhaps yours aren't? Here are some resources to get you outside on Black (GREEN!) Friday: 

REI has a wonderful interactive map to help you find an outdoor activity on Friday.  HERE'S the link. This works anywhere in the US. 

If you live in CA, there are still some free passes for state parks. Find that HERE. 

I'd love to hear more about what YOU have planned for your Friday, so please share in the comments!

Weekly Walkthrough: Chicken Chores, Hiking, and Thieves Vinegar!

Happy weekend! We're enjoying some much-needed rain and the start of our Thanksgiving vacation. We hope you enjoy this edition of the Weekly Walkthrough.

Lots of good stuff happening in the week ahead - I think I'll take out the tomato and pumpkin plants and put in some more winter crops, try an experimental recipe with green tomatoes, and we'll be visiting an interesting farm, which I hope to tell you all about in next week's walkthrough!

Here's this week's video:

A Light Frost

Yep, when I got in the car this morning to take Kate to school, the thermometer read 37. I'm SO GLAD we put the row covers on last weekend! I did a little more research about why row covers work. Cold hardy vegetables (such as spinach) actually do quite well in lower temperatures, but still need some kind of protection, and here's why: Plants consist mostly of water. As the water in the cells freezes, it expands and bursts, killing the plant. However, if a plant is allowed to get cold slowly, the water in the cells has a chance to move into the center part of the plant, out of the leaves. This means the leaves can freeze with no damage. And some winter vegetables actually get sweeter with a little freeze! So as long as you slow down the cooling process, they should be ok.

Anyway, all my plants look fine; I even have a couple of red tomatoes on the vine. Here's a little look 'round the garden.

Fava Beans

Mullein (Verbascum)

Cherokee Purple Tomatoes

California Honeysuckle

Some kind of Pumpkin

Tithonia

Cilantro

Forget-Me-Not

Swiss Chard

and another kind of Pumpkin

Rose

I'itoi Onions

Cosmos

Snap Peas

Fuchsia Tymafolia

Asparagus

Alpine Strawberry

Basil

Zinnia

Fennel

Olives

Artichoke

I'm so pleased that everything is looking so well.

Now for something truly ugly, but still fascinating. On my daily hikes lately I've been seeing these guys all over the trails - they are Jerusalem Crickets. Not from Jerusalem, they are mainly found in the Western United States, and not really crickets, these guys are often called 'potato bugs' because they like potatoes (although I've never seen them in my potato patch!). They also like to eat organic matter and are mainly found under rocks and dirt. So why are they coming out on to the trail? I cannot figure it out. Any ideas? If I see the Ranger Bruce at the open space one of these days, I'll ask him.

Creepy looking, aren't they? They apparently can bite if mishandled, so I don't pick them up.

I spent a good bit of time sorting through my supply of dried herbs from the summer, and deciding how to package them up.

This was a very fruitful summer project and I plan to do it again every year. It's time consuming, and I'm finding some things dry better than others, but it's a fun experiment.

Speaking of experiments, have you seen our Little Free Library lately?

We have a lot of regular visitors. We get many books for adults, but they tend to stay 'out' longer, while the kids books are on heavy rotation. Every so often I'll take some out and put some different things in. I enjoy seeing what people write in the notebook and I enjoy watching folks visit the box.

Happiness came in a different box today, the mailbox! (That doesn't happen often anymore, does it?) 

A catalog from High Mowing seeds (what Tom calls 'plant porn'), a catalog from my favorite tea company, and a Mother Earth mag. Along with the biscuit cutters I ordered (I've been making more biscuits, trying to perfect my recipe). Guess you know what we're having for dinner tonight.