Seed Savers Exchange: A History, and a Movement

We have finally become members of the Seed Savers Exchange. After a few years of debating whether to or not, we decided it is one of the most important non-profits to support and be an active part in. Seed Savers Exchange was started in 1975 by Diane Ott Whealy and her husband Kent Whealy. That first year there were only 29 members and just a small collection of heirloom seeds. Today in 2010 there are over 11,000 Seed Savers members; 704 of which are listed members that offer over 13,000 varieties of vegetables, fruits, flowers and herbs through the Seed Savers yearbook. The difference between a listed member and an unlisted member is simple. Listed members are actively saving seeds and sharing them with other members through the yearbook. All members are able to acquire seeds through the exchange, but listed members have access to a larger selection of heirloom seeds that need extra attention.

It is my goal to be a listed member by next growing season. I have been saving seeds for about five years now and have had decent success. I have about eight tomato varieties, three bean varieties, three types of hard neck garlic, Jerusalem Artichokes, raspberries and a few other potentials that could be shared. I need to decide how much I can actually share without affecting the amount of food I grow for myself and not exhausting my own seed supply. I am excited for the challenge and to be a part of such a great movement.

There are many companies that are hijacking our shared historic garden genetics. They have taken plants that were and still are sacred to entire communities, and have turned them into monsters. Plants that once only needed clean water, rich soil, and love to grow, now need specific pesticides, herbicides, and petrochemical fertilizers. Farmers who have for generations saved their own seeds are now enslaved to these giant agri-businesses to buy new seed each year or face prosecution and lawsuits.

As seed savers, we are taking an active role against these multi-national companies. Seed saving alone will not stop the atrocities committed against our Earth, our gardens, or our farmers, but it is a good first step. We need to keep educating and inspiring people to examine our lives; to know where our food comes from and who grows it. We need to find new and creative ways of boycotting companies like Monsanto and Cargill and to offer alternatives to them, no matter how small they might be. Support small independent farmers, start saving your own heirloom seeds, and boycott Monsanto! Cheers.

From the Garden to the Table: Mandan Bride Corn Bread

Mandan Bride growing in the garden.

A beautiful close-up of Mandan Bride.

It is exciting to write an article in February that is about eating food from the garden. As much as I am craving a fresh tomato or raspberries, this is just as cool. Last summer we grew an heirloom flour corn named Mandan Bride. It was originally grown by the Mandan Indians of North Dakota and performed excellent for us. Our stand of corn was only about 40 square feet or so, and we ended up harvesting about three and a half quarts of cleaned kernels. We processed them all by hand and we were very surprised with the success of the harvest.One difference between flour corn and what most people know as sweet corn is that sweet corn is eaten fresh, and flour corn is allowed to dry right on the plant. Harvesting can be tricky if it is a wet year, but that was not a problem for us last year. Along with the corn, we also interplant beans and usually squash. This is known as the three sisters, a traditional Native American gardening technique that maximizes space. The corn is usually planted in mounds, the beans climb up the corn, and the squash grows between the mounds of corn. We will discuss more of the gardening in future posts. Now onto cornmeal and baking.

Making cornmeal is easy. The only thing that you need to have it go smoothly is some kind of grain mill. There are many different kinds of mills to choose from. What we have is a corona style mill and it worked out great. I usually use this mill for crushing malted barley when I make beer, so it is nice to know it can be used for different grains. We milled up just over a cup of whole kernels, and ran them through twice. We ended up with about a cup and a half of finished cornmeal. Following is the basic recipe we used, but cornbread has many variations to it. Add bacon, jalapenos, fresh corn, shredded cheddar cheese, or what ever else you might think would be tasty in cornbread.

On the left is our grain mill, and on the right is some finished cornmeal.

Coarse Cornmeal 1 cup

Buttermilk or soured milk* 2 cups

Unbleached all purpose flour 1 ¾ cups

Baking powder 1 ½ Tablespoons

Baking soda ¼ teaspoon

Salt 1 teaspoon

Raw sugar ¼ cup

3 large eggs

Honey about ¼ cup

Melted butter 2 Tablespoons

*Soured milk can be made by adding 1 Tablespoon of vinegar to one cup of whole milk, and let it sit for at least five minutes before using.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Soak cornmeal in buttermilk/soured milk over night.

2. Next day combine all dry ingredients.

3. Combine beaten eggs, honey, and cooled melted butter, and then add to cornmeal mixture.

4.Combine all the wet and dry ingredients together.

5.Pour mixture into a heavily greased pan and bake for about 30 minutes. Check the cornbread with a tooth pick, and if it comes out clean it is done.

6.Let it cool for a few minutes, serve with chili and cold beer and you will be a satisfied customer.

On the left is cornmeal soaking in buttermilk. On the right is finished cornbread. Yum!

Compost and Ash in February

A close up of our thawing compost.

Today in St. Paul, MN, it was 37 degrees outside for a high.  In Minnesota in February, that is very warm.  The sun was out, the birds were singing, the snow was melting, and I thought it would be a good day to check on our compost.  For the last two or three months the compost has been frozen through, and has almost filled the entire bin.  Like I said earlier, today and the past few days have warmed up significantly and the compost has thawed itself out.  We stirred it around and it naturally created some more space in the bin.  I didn’t take an internal temperature of the compost, but I am going to guess that it was at least 50 or 60 degrees inside the heart of the compost.  In about another month and a half the compost will really start working and reduce in size by at least half and become ready for the garden.

As the temperatures increase, the compost will reduce by almost half.

  Another winter ritual we have is emptying the ash from the wood burning stove.  All of the ash and charcoal gets added right back to the gardens.  It also adds organic matter and many trace minerals back into the soil.  We get the benefits of slash and burn agriculture without the slashing.  All of these practices adds to the soil’s health.  Organic matter, added water retention, and trace minerals all add up to a healthier more productive garden.

Ash and charcoal will add trace minerals to our gardens.

Free Honey and some Buckets too!

Four gallon, food grade buckets and jerry cans that will be used for backyard maple sugarin'!

It has been a good week for finding some free, useful stuff.   First off, relating to my last post, Backyard Maple Sugarn’, we came across some great food grade buckets that will be used in about a month for collecting maple sap.  One contained sweet and condensed milk, one had Bavarian cream filling, and the last one had organic peanut butter in it.  A little soap and water will take care of any residual odors and flavors.  Also we found two food grade plastic  jerry cans at the local food co-op. They are about three and a half or four gallons and will be great for storing our sap in as we empty out full buckets.  The icing on the cake (or should I say honey), is one of the plastic  jerry cans still had about three-quarters of a quart of organic honey in it.  My morning tea just got a little sweeter.

Nothin' is sweeter than free organic honey!

Back Yard Maple Sugarin’: Part 1

Here is a steel 55 gallon drum that I have been holding onto for about four years. I finally found a use for it.

To give credit where credit is due, the title of this post is basically stolen from Rink Mann’s, Backyard Sugarin’.  I came across this book last summer already having one year of  backyard sugarin’ under my belt.  We had tapped our boulevard maple tree and two old, giant maple trees at my parents’ house.  Off  those three trees we collected at least 20 gallons of sap and cooked that down to about half a gallon of syrup.  We learned a lot of lessons.  First, don’t try and remodel a bathroom yourself and try to make maple syrup at the same time.  Second, don’t use a deep stock  pot and propane gas to cook your syrup.  I wish I had seen Rink Mann’s book prior to ever trying to cook down maple syrup.  For anyone trying this old time craft, I highly recomend reading Back Yard Sugarin‘ first so you don’t make the same mistakes we made the first time we tried cooking down syrup.  The following pictures document the construction of our new syrup evaporator, constructed out of all dumpstered and found materials.  Enjoy!

Here is the same barrel with holes cut out to fit six inch deep hotel pans.

On the left you see the stand for the evaporator. It is constructed out of an old outdoor rocking chair. On the right you can see the hole cut out for the evaporator door. All cuts made on the barrel were made with an electric jigsaw using a blade for thin metal.

Here are two pictures showing the first fire in our new evaporator. The steam is coming from water in the pans. The fire is basically curing the barrel and removing any nasty residue from previous use.

Here is a nice picture that shows the whole set up. You can see the stove pipe and how the whole thing looks from a distance.

Peak Oil and the Industrial Agriculture Complex

 

A sea of genetically engineered corn.

Throughout history people have had to eat, it is just a fact of life. Long ago humans started out as hunter-gathers eating meat, fish, nuts, wild plants and roots. This diet consisted of everything the human body was evolved to eat. Along the highway of history, people became more clever and tried out many new ideas. One of these ideas that has stuck around with us for the last ten thousand years or so is the idea known as agriculture.

Most historians agree that the birth of agriculture was in the fertile crescent valley between the Euphrates and Tigris river in modern day Iraq. There is also a convincing argument in the book 1491 by Charles C. Mann, that advanced agricultural societies also sprang up in North, Central, and South America at relatively the same time. As agriculture spread to new lands, peoples’ lives and diets started to change. No longer were the days of nomadic-seasonal migration, following herds of wild animals; but a sedentary life consisting of raising crops and animal husbandry. This trend has continued through today.

The modern face of agriculture scarcely resembles those early days of farming. Up until very recently, the work on the farm was human and animal powered. The majority of people in those early civilizations had a direct part in the production of food. Eventually animals were implemented for plowing, fertilizing, and harvesting. Constantly evolving and engineering, we have ended up where we are today. Giant machines powered by petroleum can now work thousands of acres. Manure from the animals that were once part of the mixed-use family farm are no longer used as fertilizer; instead corporate farms rely on commercially manufactured fertilizer made from petrochemicals. We now have poisons that we can use on our food to kill the weeds and pests. Instead of sowing seeds that have been saved for generations; we now have genetically modified seeds, manufactured in a lab that will only grow with the aid of a manufactured poison, that have to be purchased every year, and if that seed is saved, you are breaking international patent laws and will be prosecuted appropriately.

Food distribution is another aspect of agriculture that has changed throughout it’s history. In the days of the hunter-gatherers, food was most likely distributed and shared throughout the clans and family lines to ensure group survival. But as life moved towards agriculture; food, especially grains ( wheat, corn, and rice) could be used as wealth, leverage, and power. Starting in the early days of agriculture and continuing through today, the ones who control the food supply, control the people. This is important to note in today’s world. The richest, most powerful countries in the world are the ones who grow the most food/grain and dictate how it is distributed.

Finally, industrial agriculture has done a wonderful job of polluting the planet. Run-off from over fertilizing has created dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere. Use of pesticides and herbicides have poisoned drinking water supplies and have led to many diseases in humans. These same chemicals that have been over applied to crops have also led to the creation of super weeds and pests that have built up a tolerance to these poisons and are no longer affected by their use.

As we enter the age of Peak Oil, farming as we know it today will start to change. Every aspect of industrial agriculture is dependent on abundant supplies of cheap oil. When that supply of oil is no longer cheap or abundant, the ripple effects on industrial agriculture will be felt throughout the whole world. Before we actually see shortages of fuel or inputs, we will see drastic price increases on these necessary components for industrialized food production. This then leads to skyrocketing prices in the grocery store which we have already started to see. Along with increasing prices on farm inputs and the commodity food products, when food grain is diverted away from people, and instead used in the production of bio-fuels, you start to see food riots in third world countries. The system we know as modern agriculture rests on a very delicate balance, and when one piece of the equation starts to become unreliable, the whole system can come toppling down.

For as bleak and serious as this situation is, we do have options on how we move forward and deal with this monster. We have the model of the mixed- use family farm. Small homesteads that use crop rotations of many different grains and vegetables, animals for work, meat, and fertilizer, orchards and other perennial crops, wild crafted food, and the woods, prairies, and wetlands that can be used for hunting, recreation, and relaxation. These farms not only provide food and other goods for the family and workers, but also for the surrounding community. With a network of many small, diversified farms, we keep our soil healthy and our people fed. A more recent development in food distribution is the CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture. This allows people in the city to invest in a farm and share the risk of growing food with the farmer. Specifics differ from CSA to CSA, but the basic idea is that you will receive produce each week throughout the season. Some CSA’s offer meat, cheese, and eggs along with vegetables and fruits, and some also offer winter shares that might include root crops and squash. For those of us who do not live in country or have access to a CSA, we can bring the rural life to the city and suburbs. Urban Homesteading or Urban Farming are terms that are gaining a lot of popularity right now. The Great Recession has changed peoples minds and perspectives about the way we interact with our food and communities. People have started to garden again evidenced through seed sales. Families are starting to keep backyard chicken flocks regardless of what city ordinances might say. Support of local farmers markets is at an all time high. People care about their food and some are starting to get their hands dirty again.

Ten heirloom tomato plants provided for fresh eating and over twenty quarts of sauce.

There are no easy answers or guaranteed solutions to the problems we are challenged with concerning Peak Oil, industrial agriculture, and food security. The system we currently rely on is huge and fragile and it only takes one brick to fall out of the wall to make the whole thing topple. The best we can do is be prepared and learn as many skills as we can to take care of ourselves. Whether we live in the country or in the city, we all have something to contribute and share. Good Luck Everyone!

Apple Tree Acres

 

Here is the tree while it is still alive!

I know by now I should be calling this blog Apple Tree Acres because of all the posts concerning apple trees and all things related to apple trees; apples and rabbits.  Well here is another post concerning apple trees.

Starting to become firewood!

It was a bittersweet day at the Autonomy Acres compound, we took down one of our old apple trees that has been standing for a very long time.  For the past four years I have been trying to rehabilitate a tree that was past it’s prime.  Pruning back branches was not working to make more or better quality apples.  I also think this tree was carrying some type of apple blight or disease, possibly apple rust.  Considering I have four 2-3 year old apple trees elsewhere in my yard, keeping this diseased old one around would affect the younger one’s health.

Nothin' but a Stump!

A good friend came over to help, and we had a good time together.  It is sad to see such a tree go, but it opens up some possibilities as to what we can do with that space.  It allows much more sun to hit our back garden, maybe a permanent greenhouse, or more fruit trees.  We will give it at least one season before we decide for sure on what we do with this new space.

A Nation in Debt

 

This says it all!

During one of my recent Google News searches, I came across this article.   For a long time I have known that America is in debt, but not to the degree that this article illustrates.  There was a time in this country when we provided for ourselves, when we grew our own food, kept our people employed and had a true sense of freedom.  I know our past wasn’t perfect either; the decimation of the Native populations,  the shameful period of slavery, unfair treatment of women, reckless use of our Natural Resources, and the lost opportunity to be the truly great country we could have been. 

When a country is in debt they cannot live up to their full potential.  Their jails are filled to the brim, their natural resources our squandered, unemployment rates rise, depression and drug use spreads like an infection, they pave over their best farm land, and enslave themselves to video games and television. 

These are the symptoms of a nation that is in decline.  A nation in debt cannot provide for itself.  A nation that relies on money from foreign governments to pay the bills and make payroll will not be able to sustain itself.  A nation that cuts down it’s forests will no longer have a home.  A nation that pollutes it’s water with industrial effluent will no longer be able to drink.  A nation that clouds the skies with smog and poison will no longer be able to breathe.  A nation that has built suburban subdivisions on it’s best farm land will no longer be able to feed itself.  A nation that no longer produces its own useful goods and products will have a disgruntled work force.  A nation that relies on war for a sense of purpose and pride will eventually be defeated.  A nation that considers money god, will eventually go broke and fail. 

In the coming years of Peak Oil, some of these wrongs may start to be righted, but it will be a long uphill battle.  We have many wounds to heal and many gardens to plant.  The way we live in our communities will have to change.  The way we think about and grow our food will have to change.  The work we choose to do may actually start to have some meaning again.  We will have to trade our convenience for physical work and activity, but we might find a new enjoyment of life free of the TV’s and computers.  We have along way to go, but I am confident that we can walk this new road and thrive in the post-oil age.  I want to end with one of my favorite songs, “Power and Glory”, written by Phil Oachs back in the hey-day of protest folk music: 

C’mon and take a walk with me through this green and growin’ land, Walk through the meadows and the mountains and the sand, Walk through the valley and the rivers and the plains, Walk through the sun and walk thru the rain 

Here’s a land full of power and glory, Beauty that words cannot recall, Oh her power shall rest on the strength of her freedom, Her glory shall rest on us all 

From Colorado, Kansas and the Carolinas too, Virginia and Alaska, from the old to the new, Texas and Ohio and the California shore, Tell me who could ask for more? 

Yet she’s only as rich as the poorest of the poor, Only as free as a padlocked prison door, Only as strong as our love for this land, Only as tall as we stand 

   

 

Rabbits and Fruit Trees; Part 3

Our HaralRed apple tree. This one is the least damaged of all of our trees.

 I truly hope this is the last post about rabbits and fruit trees for a very long time.  The ongoing struggles between hungry rabbits in my urban orchard are hopefully coming to an end.  Taking advice from Bill, I located some woven wire garden fence that should do the trick in protecting the trees.  I forgot that I still had some of this fencing from a previous garden project hiding in my cluttered garage.  As you can see  in the pictures, all that was done to protect the trees was to create a barrier to block the rabbit’s access to the trees.  In the last day or so I noticed even more damage on the HoneyCrisp and the Rubinette.  Some of the bigger branches were starting to get nibbled on, but luckily the main trunks did not get collared ( when the trunk  has been eaten all the way around).  I think all the trees should survive as long as there is no more damage.  We only have about two more full months of hardcore winter, so hopefully sometime in April the rabbits will find another source of  food other than the yummy fruit trees. 

Here is our HoneyCrisp, the most damaged of all the apple trees.

The Rubinette, a Swiss heirloom apple variety, has held up pretty well against the rabbit attacks.

Aside from a little nibbling on the lower branch tips, the Haralson apple tree should still produce well for us this next season.

Fuel for the Fire

A hatchet, small sledge hammer, and pointed wedge all used for splitting wood.

Splitting fire wood has become a regular winter chore for us here at Autonomy Acres.  Like I said in a previous post, the majority of our home heat comes from our wood burning stove.  My two favorite types of wood to burn and split are oak and maple.  Both types are hard wood that burn long and hot which is great for heating a house.  Elm is another very common species of tree found here in Minnesota.  It is another hard wood that is great fuel for heating your house, but it is very hard to split by hand.

This pile was twice as big at the start of winter.

 Compared to oak and maple which are very straight-grained wood, elm is very knotty with a wavy flow of the grain.  Due to the trees natural traits and disease that affect elms, it is a pretty easy wood to find for free off of peoples curbs at all times of the year.  What I have found that makes splitting elm easier, is waiting until the coldest days of the year.  Something about the extreme cold temps make splitting elm that much easier, the colder the better.  For me this is a great thing.  The cold days, the best ones for splitting wood, are almost always sunny.   Being easily depressed from the long dark nights, getting out to chop wood on a sunny afternoon is a shot of good medicine.  It is also good meditation and exercise, I always feel better after splitting a pile of wood.  We have another few months of having to heat the house, so we will keep splitting wood and thinking warm thoughts of spring.

A freshly chopped pile of Oak and Elm, also my axe and splitting maul.