Our Boreal Garden

Spring is here somewhere, we were able to catch a glimpse of her today as the sun shown down upon us off and on throughout the afternoon. On last evenings news our most jovial weatherman happily informed us, it's quite obvious he does not garden, that we are approaching a new record of 129 days below 40°, only seven more days to go...as a gardener I was so not excited. The good news is that not a single snowflake has fallen all week and the weatherman's record will not be broken as today it was easily 50° out, and that gives me hope.

The moose are shedding their winter coats, geese are flying overhead - stopping to sun themselves on the ice covered lake, and the chickens are scratching around looking for bugs under the trees where the ground is bare.


Then there's us, trying to plant things in the snow...foolish humans. This is another of those occasions, that I usually regret, which against my better judgment and in over enthusiastic jubilation I shake a fist at the weather and demand to be able to grow something outside.

In all honesty this is a somewhat tried and true method that I have used for a few years now as I am a very impatient gardener and refuse to be entirely at the mercy of the weather. Much too impatient to wait for all this snow to thaw. So on this first day of spring we proceeded to plant more spinach, cress, mustard, various other greens along with some Russian kale rootstock in the salad green section of our snow covered garden. Under the row covers the soil was totally thawed and was noticeably warm today as we worked it in preparation for seed sowing. If only I could do this to my whole garden, but we do have about fourteen 30 - 60' rows like this which allow me a fairly good start, mostly on salad greens, onions, leeks, and early brassicas.


This winter was particularly hard on our winter greens and many did not pull through, but enough did, and enough is as much as we needed. The spinach in the cold frames is starting to abound with life, but for some reason one of my hardiest greens, corn mache, had to be replanted as only a few managed to survive the cold.


We experienced a few too many freeze and thaw cycles which inevitably breaks down the plants cells and they begin to fail. It also did not help that a few of our row covers collapsed under the weight of snow and even though I was able to fix them the damage to the plants had already been done. Many winter greens can freeze and thaw quite a few times with no problem but if crushed while frozen that's all she wrote.

Hopefully spring will soon emerge in all it's glory and the barren white can become green and full of life again. Soon winter will be long forgotten and other challenges will take it's place, the frigid boreal garden will be replaced with a lush summer garden and we will once again feast on the delicacies thereof.

Root Hairs And Other Ramblings

Some of my kale, and other brassicas have emerged and will soon be forced to shiver in the greenhouse with the recently banished onions, leeks, and collard greens. I am running out of room in the house and need the space for less hearty plants...tomatoes, peppers, eggplants...and more brassicas.

All the plants that can't be directly seeded into the garden are planted in flats or anything I can find to start them in. As soon as they come up I give them a couple days under the above lights and then off to the greenhouse they go and the next batch gets a turn. I can stuff 15 flats at a time under the fluorescents and have around 30 waiting their turn...I hope they don't all germinate at the same time. :)


Please don't make the same mistake I did not so many years ago and confuse the little white root hairs that appear on these newly emerging brassica seedlings as mold, or a soil fungus. The difference can be seen in this picture of my collards, and kale seedlings emerging. Notice the root hairs on the first plants compared to the mold in the last picture.


As far as ability goes, my horticulture skills are average at best and certainly do not achieve "green thumb" status, so I must use any means necessary to achieve my goals. Fortunately, I do excel in one area that is most helpful when it comes to growing ones own food, I am persistent. My secret to a great garden harvest is to plant a lot more than I will ever need so that no matter what Mother Nature throws my way I will surely have enough. One for germination issues, one for the bugs, one for the voles and field mice, one or two for the weather and the rest for my flock and I... Perseverance!

Where's Bob?

I first saw him on a bitter cold December evening, the moonlit sky had just been veiled in a shroud of ominous clouds as I walked along looking down, not really paying attention, trying to get my night vision to actuate. It had rained the night before and in the eerie half light my only concern was not to get my feet wet in the puddles that marked the narrow trail before me. I was forced to duck in order to avoid being whipped in the face by a cedar branch that excessive rain had bowed over the pathway. It was then that the hairs on my neck rose as a foreboding sensation overcame me causing my skin to crawl in nervous apprehension. Upon coming upright I saw a forbidding mass looming over me like a colossal wall of darkness, I was as a small child in comparison to the monstrous behemoth that stood before me...and so went my first encounter with the great beast we call Bob. :)

Like clockwork, every morning just before dawn and every evening as dusk descends upon our small homestead I tend to my anxious flock of chickens. Their place of residence lies in an old barn adjacent to our gardens a couple hundred yards from our house. I bring them food and fresh water in the morning and free them from the confines of their sleeping quarters. Evening brings with it a similar procedure as I safely tuck them in, away from the dangers that lurk undercover of darkness.

It was on just such an occasion a few months ago as I was walking out to feed the chickens and put them up for the night that I met a rather large but obviously young moose whom we now call Bob. I was startled the first time I literally ran into him as he appeared before me in the twilight with a dumb look of "what are you, and should I move" on his face. Lucky for me he was not in rut and had no interest in procuring a new mate, and slowly moved out of the way. I have learned from other encounters with wild animals that it is best to just stand your ground and allow the animal to move as they usually do, and so it was with Bob and every other moose that I have come across.


The trouble with Bob is that he wandered in but did not wander out, not for a few days anyhow... and then he came back. He comes back quite regularly and spends a night or two visiting. I do not mind as long as he stays away from our fruit trees and has so far. The only problem lies in the fact that I never know where Bob is going to show up. I always find him peering down on me from the bushes as I walk by and how many times have I almost tripped over him as he likes to lie down right outside our door or along the trail to the chicken house. It took a lot longer for me to get used to Bob then him to I, but I am finally at that point as he has posed no threat and been a most gracious guest in every aspect except for maybe his nocturnal wandering and sleeping habits. I just have to remember to ask myself upon leaving the house "where's Bob?"


Bob has lost a lot of his shiny dark coat and is not nearly the magnificent looking creature he was when we were first introduced, the winter has taken it's toll on him, but having made it this far I think that he will be just fine as we head into spring. Moose start losing their winter coats in the very early spring and often look a lot worse physically than they actually are...Other than his hair and a small cut under his right leg, that he refuses to let me tend, Bob looks pretty darn healthy. He has a good supply of snow for water and eats cedar and fir leaves as well as buds off of the brush to help see him through the lean months.

Living on the outskirts of the city and surrounded by timber and state forest land on two sides we are fortunate to experience a great deal of wildlife on our property. It is a normal procedure to be careful while opening our house door after dark as upon numerous occasions we have had various critters visit our porch in search of food. Skunks, raccoons, and stray cats most often but there has upon occasion been bear and elk in our yard as well. One of the most common creatures of the wild that we encounter only slightly less often than deer are moose. At least once a month a moose, often a mother and calf or a couple of two year olds hanging out together wander through our property, nibble on the bushes and then move off to places unknown. They often appear in the depths of winter on their never ending quest for food, a search that becomes more difficult every year as suburbia encroaches upon nature.

Something I hope everyone that decides to move into the country remembers is that we share this world with many other creatures and we must learn to work around and in conjunction with each other for the good of all. If only people could grasp this one lesson and learn to live in harmony with nature and each other. The animals are ready, now it's up to us.

The link below is a brief description on the life cycle of Bob, one of my most favorite animals.

http://users.rcn.com/jpebble/moose/lifecycle.html

Upon closer inspection (the making of the videos), I realize that my friend Bob is really a Bertha...hmmm.

Speaking of living with nature, here is a picture of a deer at my in-laws eating out of their squirrel proof but apparently not deer proof bird feeder.

Health By Allium

Last year we planted around 700 onions, by sets and seed, this year we hope to grow at least 1,000. It always amazes us how many we use and how fast we go through this dietary mainstay, there just never seems to be enough. Between onions, leeks, and garlic I will be planting well over 2,000 members of the allium family this year, mostly for this year's winter storage. Mrs. H always gets a bit aggravated when I exhibit stinginess with onions in the summer because I am worried about having enough to get us through until the next spring. This year I have decided to plant what I hope will be an excessive amount in order to avoid becoming an onion Grinch.


Alliums are one of the largest genus of plant species in the world, this family includes such edibles as onions, shallots, ramps, scallions, leeks, garlic and chives and are some of the oldest known remedial plants. We grow all of these, except for the ramps which are a form of wild leek, and I hope to get more into the cultivation of shallots and multiplier onions in the future...maybe this fall.


As a firm believer in the health benefits of natural food that is grown in ones own unpolluted non-toxic soil, as usual, I can't help but mention some of the best properties of alliums besides the obvious culinary aspects of this incredible plant species. Being a good source of vitamins B6 and C, along with various other nutrients such as protein, calcium, sulfur, fluoride, vitamin A and E they have long been used for medicinal purposes. These pungent foods are made up of hundreds of beneficial compounds promoting health through the antioxidants they contain.


Fresh and in varying degrees alliums contain sulfur and enzymes that combine when the their cells are damaged. This particular makeup is thought to be designed as a defense mechanism against pathogens in the soil. When attacked the cloves, or bulbs, immediately excrete pungent sulfuric compounds. This becomes quite obvious, especially in onions and garlic, when they are crushed or cut up. Once the cells are broken acids are released in the form of vapors that give onions their tear-inducing properties along with a distinct flavor and smell. The sulfuric acid causes a burning sensation when it reacts with moisture in the eye and then our bodies form tears to help dilute the acid in order to protect the eyes. The sulfur is known for it's antibacterial and anti-fungal properties, and helps stop allergic reactions and inflammation. The best part is that many researchers believe it is possible that one of these enzymes, "allicin"... highly concentrated in garlic, may be an extremely powerful antioxidant. Makes every onion tear I shed worth the irritability. As man made antibiotics continue to decline in effectiveness it only makes sense that we focus more on mother natures original bacteria fighters.


Alliums also contain strong antioxidant chemicals called flavonoids and phenolics which reportedly have been found to provide strong protection against free radical damage...free radicals are essentially atoms that break down cells in our bodies over time causing aging and disease. The over four thousand flavonoids that can be found in everything from apples to black tea are thought to help defend the body against these free radicals and may help prevent illnesses such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes.


Flavonoids are not only anti-cancer but also are known to be anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-allergenic and anti-inflammatory and so on. The effects of high levels of quercetin, a flavonaoid found in onions, is being investigated as a reducer of blood pressure, and may help in the prevention of cardiovascular disease. What it comes down to is that even though much antioxidant research is unproven or unknown, the evidence in it's favor seems to be overwhelmingly positive.

Even without the advances in health and nutritional research that we have today, people far back in history were well aware that these foods had medicinal value as they consumed them regularly, perhaps daily, in order to protect themselves from not only getting sick but as a way to help in the healing process after illness had occurred. It is said that ancient Egyptians used onions to alleviate literally thousands of different ailments.

I have read many an article that has shown studies using these herbs may be just as effective as certain pharmaceutical drugs...without the side effects of course. Unfortunately these medicinal vegetables are probably considered a little too old fashioned to be prescribed by today's sophisticated medical intellects. But us poor country folk can still obtain the many benefits they may provide, especially as a preventative, by simply growing our own.

For this is every cook’s opinion,
No savoury dish without an onion;
But lest your kissing should be spoiled,
Your onions should be thoroughly boiled.

- Jonathon Swift

I must disagree with the Irish poet Jonathon as I think it would be better to spoil the kiss and eat some of the onions raw as we do daily in our salads and reap the many benefits rather then cook all of the goodness out. Either way I hope to reap a mighty harvest of this most versatile vegetable along with it's brethren... over 300 leeks, 700 garlics planted last fall, as many bunching onions as I can find a spot for and of course a few chives for our winter garden rows.

Flowers Too!

From the desk of Mrs. H... My first job out of high school was a minimum wage seasonal position in a local nursery that specialized in annual flowers. There was one large glass greenhouse and several plastic hoop houses where we would work like mad from March through the 1st of July and then, just like that, the season was over. I found myself a bit disappointed having discovered how much I had really enjoyed the atmosphere, the hustle-bustle, the people, the physical labor, and the outdoors. I liked working at the greenhouse. So much so, that I found myself going back season after season for seven years.

The folks I worked for were ever expanding adding poinsettias for the Christmas season, and cyclamen, cinerarias, lilies, cut mums, and other early spring flowers which, to my advantage, kept me in a job for most of the year. My relationship with the owners matured to a point where they would take an occasional weekend trip and I would get to tend the entire place myself. What a great time I had watering, wandering, and checking on everything, including their dog. The place was mine for two days - both a huge responsibility and an absolute joy at the same time.


It was there that a great love of flowers developed. I especially enjoyed creating endless hanging baskets, baskets where I could pick and choose the flowers to be included, this one or that one? That one or this? Oh, heck, how about all of them? Much was left to the imagination and once planted they were hung for a month or more and allowed to grow into gorgeous creations that quickly sold out.

As life happens, I eventually left for other adventures but I've never forgotten the time spent at the greenhouse and unlike other jobs I have held this one will always stand out as my all time favorite. It is only now, many years later, that I again have an opportunity (the time) to renew my lost love of growing, tending, and just admiring the flowers.


Our yard is very sheltered and shaded by cedar, tamarack, and fir. Huge trees that threaten to fall on our roof with each passing wind and thunderstorm. Trees that have shed their needles into the soil for more years that I have been alive, trees with root systems so tough and close to the surface that an axe and a husband are necessary items if one actually wants to break up the soil enough to get a plant into the ground and still the results are always disappointing. So much so that I gave up on our front yard last year and started sneaking a few things into Mr. H's food garden where there is a little more, not much, but a little more sun.

You have to be creative when working with a quite logical man. "Look, honey, you can actually eat these nasturtiums, and we can make tea from the chamomile. The bee balm will attract bees to help pollinate, and the flax, while beautiful in bloom, can be eaten as seeds in the fall". And so, a few flowers found their place among the more sensible crops that we would actually be able to eat. And...by getting my flower foot in the door, there may be no stopping me now.

Oh, the plans I have and they just got better when we happened upon the sale of All Seeds Half Off the other day. What a great excuse to buy a few extras I've never tried before. Plans include my first post-greenhouse shot at making a bunch of hanging baskets just for myself to enjoy. I also have many large baskets, pots, and hollowed out logs that will soon be cascading with reds, yellows, and hues of blues and purples. Soon may be a bit of an overstatement as the seeds have yet to be started and this mornings' temp was a record setting chilly 2° below, yes, below zero. A girl has gotta hold onto her dream though and I will keep holding on with a gloved hand, as long as it takes!

Chicken Ruminations

My flock of redheads are officially one year old and all 13 hens and 2 roosters have somehow managed to survive a whole twelve months under my dubious care. They have come a long way from little yellow fuzzballs that could barely totter around on unsteady feet to the large red birds they are today, each with their own unique personalities. Not being around chickens since I was a boy the whole procedure has been quite a learning experience. A number of things turned out to be much different than I might have imagined. A few of the things I've learned/observed about chickens:

First, never raise a flock of 15 chickens in your house for two months. While it seemed like a good idea at the time, with the weather being cold and the coop still under construction last March, I would have been better off delaying their arrival until May. Chickens have an uncanny ability to make dust and though they were kept in a separate room and were continuously cleaned up after we have never had so much dust in our house. I must say although we would never keep baby chickens in the house that long again I am glad we did as not only did we bond with the birds but our grandson was able to observe them up close and that in itself was priceless.

I thought for sure they would all be named by now but the naming process never really materialized. There is Penelope, the not so much friendly as food aggressive hen, stubborn little Rosie whom I spent almost a month training to lay in the chicken house and not afield, Big and Little Red the roosters, and then there is the unsung majority. Perhaps it is because they all look so much alike, but more than likely, the daunting task of naming and remembering said names of 15 chickens was just too much for our own little bird brains to manage.


Chickens are not afraid of everything as the term "chicken" suggests. They are really quite brave, or perhaps I should say adaptive. If something (as in noise) or someone (cats, dogs, and small children) does not immediately harm them they eventually chalk it up as a normal thing and go about business as usual. Fortunately, for them, they have not adapted to the many hawks, eagles, and ravens that are constantly flying overhead looking for a meal, but they do differentiate and ignore low flying airplanes and helicopters. Apparently our little garden spot is of great interest to someone as it was circled by helicopters off and on all summer.

The birds are not dumb, they are actually fairly intelligent. Maybe persistent would be a more fitting term as in persistently trying to find new ways into my garden. And ,oh, what a battle to teach 13 free range hens that eggs are to be laid inside the coop and not in the bushes, that took persistence on my part. The trick is to be able to watch the little rapscallions like a hawk and as soon as they try to lay afield lock them into the coop until they use the nest box...that was a two week training seminar most of the flock was forced to attend. It is amazing how quickly they can learn when it suites them and what stubborn creatures they become when it does not.

I read about how well certain breeds of chickens can handle the cold, what a bunch of rubbish that is. Chickens, like people, do not like to be really cold and will get frost bitten if left without enough warmth. It did not take long for me to realize I needed an oil heater in their pen after seeing them huddled in the corner one cold December afternoon. I now make every attempt to keep the temperature from dropping too far below 30°in their sleeping quarters, mostly it remains right around 25-35°when really cold outside.


My biggest concern, next to being able to keep them warm enough, was keeping the chickens locked up for months on end this winter and how they would handle the change from being free range to caged birds...and how would I ever keep their pen cleaned. In both cases I was in for a pleasant surprise as they adapted quickly to confinement, and although allowed daily forays into the snow they mostly choose against it. The cleaning has not been an issue either as they seem to take care of that themselves, any waste is quickly scratched into the dirt floor. The loose dirt under the roost gets turned daily and shoveled out once every couple weeks.



Lets see...what else? We froze dozens of eggs in anticipation of a lull in laying that never really occured. I think feeding them greens and grated root vegetables all winter helped with that. The roosters get along quite well with each other, they even sleep side by side most evenings. One is obviously in charge, but he often looks the other way while his counterpart is flirting with the ladies. The whole molting thing never really took place, or at least it has been on such a small scale as to be barely noticeable...again the chickens feed perhaps.


My only on going concerns are their seemingly progressive ability to fly with ease...a little higher every day. I thought they would be less able to do so as they gained weight but alas it has not been the case. Imagine the fun I will have keeping them out of the garden this summer, my 7' deer fence may not be enough. There is also the issue of our incorrigible roosters not taking kindly to small children and strangers, they really seem to enjoy sneaking up on the grandson or visitors and assaulting them from behind. My poor wife usually ends up caught in the middle and leaves the engagment with a few bruises to boot. The grandson and roosters are now taking advanced behavioral management courses, although progress has been slow on this front, I still have hope that in time a more positive chicken/boy relationship will develop.

I suppose that my next adventure in the fine art of chicken husbandry will have to do with setty hens. Do I really want any more chickens? Probably not. I think, in hindsight, that six hens and no roosters would have been just about right for this small subsistence plot. Hopefully, I will be able to maintain the health and happiness of the flock through another season.

Spring Thyme

Like the proverbial groundhog a few of my favorite herbs are poking their heads up in search of spring. Common garden thyme along with it's flavorful cousin lemon thyme have shown themselves just as we finished using the last of the dried herb to make an anti fungal spray for our seedlings. Normally we use a mixture of chamomile and cinnamon but are trying thyme this year thanks to a tip from Dan and Val over at Grunt And Grungy's Garden.


Thyme is a cherished seasoning for us and is used right along with the still hidden savory in many soup and bean dishes.

The oregano has been unmasked from a vale of snow and is ready to adorn this weeks pizza...if we take heart. We are most fond of using this herb in various tomato sauces as it goes hand in hand with basil in everything from bruschetta to our version of Spanish rice.

Sage is also struggling to reclaim it's days of glory in the garden. Not only is it loved by us but it provides a communal gathering place for countless beneficial insects that hover over the profusion of purplish flowers it sends up every summer.


Lastly, I noticed wild sorrel has managed to arrive unscathed into yet another season. Along with it's more refined brethren, red veined and french sorrel, it not only adds a certain pizazz to our salads but is a potent source of nutrients.


Dried herbs definitely help carry us through the winter, and many people find them to be much more accommodating.

I prefer the quality of freshness over ease any day...well hello savory. Now if I could just find rosemary.

What's That Smell?

Mrs. H claims she can't see that great, sometimes I swear she can't hear, but one thing I have learned is that you can always trust her sense of smell. So...whenever her smell sense is activated it behooves me to stand up and take notice. She has caught the scent of bears in the woods (more than once), epazote at a 100 yards, and has an uncanny ability to perceive danger. Like the time we were camped out at a small mountain lake in a thunderstorm and she smelled smoke just before lightning struck a tree on the other side of the lake and caught it on fire. Fortunately, for us, rain doused the fire before the forest could go up in flames.

The other night, while preparing dinner, Mrs. H asked me if I noticed an unusual smell in the house. I did not - at first anyway. We chose to ignore it for awhile but then decided something was amiss and started to investigate. It didn't take long to figure out we were having our first chimney fire. Our home is heated solely with wood and pellets so careful attention is placed on the potential for fire by keeping both chimneys cleaned and free of creosote and always having fresh batteries in the smoke detector.


It turned out that the odor was coming from the chimney which is fitted with a wood stove insert. I immediately shut the draft. The bricks above the stove were really hot and apparently the creosote inside was having a slow burn, it may have been a roaring fire if we had not been home to shut it down. That night I stayed up until about 2:00 AM waiting for the bricks to cool off and make sure that the buildup in the chimney had burned out.


Normally, I clean the chimney for the wood stove every fall just before we start using it but apparently It needs to be done more than once a year and going forward I will clean it at the end of every January as well. Each spring we cut about 10 cords of wood, mostly dead fir and tamarack, but this year we ended up with an abundance of white pine instead...perhaps the culprit of the excess buildup.

The following day I cleaned out the chimney and the noticed "puffy" creosote, which is a definite sign that we had a fire.



If you are using a wood stove please check out these links as it is around this time of year that enough buildup has accumulated in the chimney to start a fire.

http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infchimneyfire/infchimneyfire.html

http://www.ridgwayfire.org/facts_about_chimney_fires.htm