Pomegranate Jelly

OK, I can't grow pomegranates in New Harmony.  But it sure is nice to have family in Moapa Valley, Nevada which is home of the pomegranate festival held the first weekend in November. My mom is wonderful to always bring me a gallon of  fresh pomegranate juice.  It's great to drink fresh and makes a delicious jelly. It's one of our family favorites.

The recipe is out of Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving .  This is great book. It has some really good unique recipes and produce combinations. Each recipe has tips and suggestions for how to use the product after you can it.  Some of my favorite recipes are out of this book.  And I always try new recipes each year.  No reason to eat the same thing year after year. 

 Pomegranate Jelly

3 1/2 cups of pomegranate juice
 1 package powdered pectin

5 cups of granulated sugar

• Whisk juice and powdered pectin in pot.  
• Bring to a boil.  
• Add all the sugar.  Return to boil.  Boil 1 minute.  
• Skim foam off the top of jelly.
• Add to jars.  Wipe rims.  
• Adjust 2 piece lids and process 10 minutes in a boiling water canner. 
•  In New Harmony add 10 minutes to the time for high altitude.

Skim the foam off.

Fill hot jars.  I put mine in dishwasher and leave in there until I'm ready to fill them.  Wipe rims.  Keep lids in scalding but not boiling water.

Growing Pomegranates

Feeding Your Family From the Garden

Last spring, I was giving someone a ride and in the back of my Jeep I had an assortment of plants.  They asked if I needed help planting the garden.  For me, planting is not a one time event.  I'm always planting something because my goal is to always have something to harvest from the garden.

Most people are hobby gardeners and there truly is no more rewarding hobby.  But can gardening really provide food for you family year round?  Is it affordable and possible? This has been my goal the last 21 years in New Harmony.  

The key to being able to feed your family from your garden instead of the grocery store involves four elements:

1.  Being aware of proper planting times and utilizing cool and warm season crops

Seed Planting Schedule

2.   Providing crop protection so you can plant earlier

3. Utilize succession planting

4.  Intensive planting

In my area most gardeners hit the garden centers around Memorial Day and plant the garden in one day. Don't misunderstand nothing is wrong with that, I just have a more extensive vision.


Gardening season never ends in my mind.  Four season gardening and succession planting provides our family with continual harvests.  The greenhouse and preserving the harvest help with the winter months and hunger gap. We raise chickens for eggs, a couple pigs, and milk goats for milk, yogurt, and cheese. While we are not independent of the grocery store, a large part of our diet is home grown.

So while most people plant once. I am always harvesting and planting and weeding except in the winter then I am pouring over seed catalogs and planning out the following year.

If time and interest are concerns then gardening as a hobby in the summer is great but, yes, you absolutely can eat year round from a garden.  It is very rewarding and delicious experience. With the prices in the grocery store on the rise, it is also much more affordable.  The health benefits and safety of your food are also a bonus. Flavor is what will get you hooked and keep you hooked on producing your own food.  Whether home grown veggies, fruits, or meat there is no comparison.

This approach requires more planning and planting.  It starts with your seed order.  You need to have enough seeds of crops you plan on continually harvesting.  Cool season crops can be planted in early spring and then again in late summer with minimal protection and you have fall harvests.  Certain crops like carrots and beets can be seeded every couple weeks until the end of May and then seeded in late summer for fall harvests.  Carrots and beets harvested in fall overwinter in your refrigerator giving you fresh carrots and beets through the winter.  Other good crops to store for winter meals are potatoes, winter squash, rutabagas, kohlrabi, and parsnips.green beans can be planted twice to extend the harvest.  Plant a month apart.  Sweet corn and potatoes can be planted so that you have an early, mid and late harvest.  With a good quality greenhouse you can get greens through winter, and crops like tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash early and extend their harvests into early winter. 

How to Have Continual Harvests

Row Covers

So to those like minded individuals who enjoy the lifestyle of self-reliance and provident living dig in and enjoy the satisfaction and fulfillment that comes from providing as much of your own food as possible. So spend less time in grocery store and more time in the garden.  Get those seed catalogs and a calendar and start planning!

Storing Pumpkins & Winter Squash

 

Winter Squash & Pumpkins

Winter squash which includes pumpkins are an excellent storage crop.  They will keep 2-3 months with very little preparations.  Start by picking and storing mature squash before a frost  

The squash is mature if the skin cannot be pierced by you fingernail or the skin resists being scratched by your fingernails.  Cut the stems 2-4 inches long.  Pumpkins and squash do not store well without stems.  The except to this is the hubbard type squash which should be stored without the stem.

Curing squash

During the curing process, moisture is lost and the skins harden. All squash undergo a natural curing process when stored. Artificial curing is not necessary for mature squash stored in good conditions. 

Nearly mature squash, except acorn squash, do benefit from curing.  Holding squash and pumpkins at a favorable temperature encourages healing of cuts and scratches and forms a corky layer over cuts and the cut end of the stem.

Cure pumpkin and squash at temperatures of 80-85 degrees F at 80-85% humidity.  A small heated cabinet or a corner of the garage with a thermostatically controlled heater and a fan to circulate heat works well.

Acorn squash should not be cured and likes lower temperatures than other squash. They prefer temperatures of 45-55 degrees anything over that and they become stringy and dry.  A green skinned acorn squash should stay green.  There are orange and white skinned varieties.  The white skinned do not store as well and should be eaten first.  



Storing Squash

Squash do not like temperatures below 50 degrees. Ideal temperature for storage is 50-55 degrees F.  They can be stored in a side room, basement, or a pantry that is not too warm.

Pumpkin are treated just like squash but do not store as long.  When storing both squash and pumpkins do not pile them but leave space between and do not store them on a concrete floor.

Keep the pumpkins and squash dry to discourage mold and fungus. Air circulation will help with this.

Do not store near apples or pears which emit ethylene gas which causes yellowing of squash.

Discard any squash that shows signs of decay.

Hard-shelled winter squash storage times

Table Queen (acorn type)                             1-2 months

Butternut                                                            2-3 months

Hubbard types                                              3-6 months

Banana                                                          3-6 months                                                     

Buttercup (turban type)                                 3-6 months

Sweet Meat                                                    4-6 months

Pumpkin

Jack O’Lantern type                                      2-3 months

Pie Pumpkins                                                2-3 months

Occasionally a hard frost means you have many very immature winter squash and pumpkins.  Once they are picked thy will not continue to ripen but can be used for decorating for Halloween and the fall season.

Homemade Bread Recipes, Tips, and Supplies To Store

Winter decided to come the last week .  The cold shorter days are the perfect time to make bread.  

The raised bed garden

Perfect day to stay inside and bake some bread.  Loving my grinder.  I have an electric K Tec grinder but wanted a hand grinder just in case we were in a no power situation.  

  My sweet heart of a husband motorized the Country Living Grain Mill and built a stand for it.  It's on wheels and can be wheeled in the pantry or used in the pantry.
. 

The motor is from an old cement mixer.  Add a few pulleys and you get the 60 revolutions/minute that are recommended.

I love this mill.

Tips for making delicious yeast breads:

• Add the least amount of flour possible for moist whole wheat bread. 
• Instant yeast can be added directly to the recipe without proofing in water.
• Active yeast must be proofed in water before being added to the recipe.  Water that is too hot will kill the yeast.
• Gluten flour is made from high protein hard wheat.  It is important to keep bread moist and elastic to reduce crumbling, and extending the shelf life of bread. Whole wheat flour can also be used.
• If using a mixer with bread hooks, add only enough flour until the dough pulls away from the bowl.
• If mixing by hand add only enough flour so the dough does not stick to your hands.
• Knead 6-8 minutes before shaping into loaves. 10 minutes if kneading by hand.
• Lemon juice acts like a dough enhancer and give bread a light, fine texture. 
• Dough enhancer has a shelf life of around 3 years

Fresh from the oven

Supplies to store to have one loaf of bread per day for one year:

• 300-350 lbs. wheat
• 61 cups gluten flour or whole wheat flour
• 4 gallons of oil I like avocado or olive oil
• 46 lbs honey or sugar
• 8 one pound packages of instant yeast
• 8 lbs of salt
• 4 qts of lemon juice or 4 cans of dough enhancer

This is from the book Emergency Food Storage in a Nutshell and is a good estimation but amounts may vary depending on your recipe.

2 or 3 Loaves (4x8)
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup of honey or 1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbs salt
3 cups warm tap water 
1/4 times cup gluten flour or 1 1/2 Tbs of Vital Wheat Gluten (optional)
1 1/2 Tbs dough enhancer or 1 Tbs lemon juice per 3 cups of flour 
1 1/2 Tbs Saf instant yeast
7-8 cups of flour

4 or 5 loaves depending on pan size
2/3 cups honey or 1 cup of sugar
2/3 cup of oil
2 Tbs salt
6 c warm water
3 Tbs. dough enhancer (optional)
1/2 cup high gluten flour or 3 Tbs Vital Wheat Gluten
3 Tbs instant yeast
14-16 cups flour

Combine the oil, honey, salt, and water in the mixer.  Add 7 cups of flour and mix.  Add 1-2 more cups of flour and the gluten flour, dough enhancer, and yeast.  Mix together. At medium speed add enough of remaining flour just until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.  Knead for 6-8 minutes.  Divide and shape into loaves and put in oiled pans.

Let loaves rise on counter or preheat oven for one minute and turn off and let loaves rise for 35 minutes in a warm oven.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Cool for 10 minutes and remove from pan.

A warm slice of bread with homemade jam is wonderful on a cold winter day

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These recipes can be used with white or whole wheat flour be sure to use high gluten flour and white bread flour if you want to make white bread.  If using whole wheat you can substitute a couple cups of different whole grain flours.

Try some delicious homemade jelly on your bread.  Here's some of my favorites

 Jostaberry Jelly

 Concord Grape Jelly 

Pomegranate Jelly 

Preparing the Homestead for Winter

A snowstorm in Feb 2013

With colors turning and leaves falling in the wind, it's time to prepare the homestead for winter. Before long we will have weather like the picture above.  Preparing now means that you can rest for a season this winter.  Just kidding when do homesteader ever rest!

Preparing the Garden for Winter:

Dig up any potatoes and cure them in preparation for storage.  Curing allows the skins to harden and bruises and small cuts to heal.  This can be done in your garage or under a porch if it is not too cold. Do not wash the potatoes just brush dirt off after curing.

Diggin Potatoes

Harvest any remaining winter squash and pumpkins. If there are nicks or unripe squash or pumpkin they go in the pig pile.  They love any treat from the garden.

Gathering the last pumpkins, squash, and dried corn used for cornmeal.

The pig pile of nicked or under ripe produce.

Squash

Winter squash will keep til spring with very little preparations.  Start by picking and storing mature squash.  The squash is mature if the skin cannot be pierced by you fingernail.  Always leave the stems on.

Curing squash

During the curing process moisture is lost and the skins harden. Acorn squash should not be cured and likes lower temperatures than other squash. They prefer temperatures of 45-55 degrees anything over that and they become stringy and dry.  A green skinned acorn squash should stay green.  There are orange and white skinned varieties.  The white skinned do not store as well and should be eaten first. 

Other winter squash should cure for 10-14 days.  They can be stored on a porch with temperature 55-60 degrees and brought in if a freeze is expected. 

Storing Squash

Squash do not like temperatures below 50 degrees.  They can be stored in a side room, basement, or a pantry that is not too warm.

Pumpkin are treated just like squash but do not store as long.  When storing both squash and pumpkins do not pile them but leave space between and do not store them on a concrete floor.

This is a great rack for storing squash.  It allows for good air circulation and can be put in the coolest room in the house or in a garage.

Pull up all garden plants.  I make two piles.  One goes to the burn pile or dump.  This includes all tomatoes, squash, and any plant that is disease prone.  By the seasons end there may be mildew and blight on these crops and I don't like to put them in the compost pile.  The second pile includes garden plants that are going on the compost pile.  This include corn stalks, not used for decorating, and disease free plants.

The burn pile.

The start of the debris going on the compost pile includes both green and brown material.

Weed one last time.  Any perennials weeds you leave are sending energy down to the roots to get ready for next spring.  Disrupting those plans will make spring weeding easier.

Put a layer of compost on top of your soil.  I don't like leaving bare ground.  

Leave cover crops to winter kill and incorporate into the soil in early spring 

Install any low tunnels on the fall garden boxes.  Be prepared to double lay when a freeze approaches meaning you will lay a row cover directly on the plants under the low tunnel.

Gather and preserve any herbs.

Drain and store  your water systems if necessary.

February 2015 snow storm.  The raised bed gardens.

The Goat Barn

One last cleaning of the stalls is in order before it gets too cold.

After the stalls are clean I lime (purchase agricultural lime at the feed store) the stalls by sprinkling lime on the floor of the stall and lock the goats out for a day.  The lime helps to kill bacteria by lowering pH and if done through the spring and summer kills fly larvae.

After a day or two, I put down pine shavings or straw, and happy goats can return to their comfy stalls in the barn. I prefer straw it seems to last longer.

Some of the 2015 spring kids.

Fresh bedding is always appreciated.

Have the kidding pen prepared and heat light ready for kidding if needed.

The buck barns get a layer of straw for the winter.

The buck barns.

Put electric water buckets in the stalls.  These are one of a homesteader's best investments.  It beats trying to dump out a bucket of frozen solid ice and hauling water for the winter.  It also gives them access to water continuously.

A view of the goat barn.

The Chicken Coop

One last cleaning of the coop and hauling all manure and bedding to the compost pile

Spray the nesting boxes and perches with pyrethrin and neem oil for pest control.  I use the same one I use in the garden.

I like using straw (weed free) in the chicken house it seems to last longer. Weed free means less weed problems with your spring compost.

If you want eggs through the winter have a light inside the coop. 

Heat lamps are not necessary as long as the coop provides shelter.

Have electric water buckets ready to plug in for freezing nights

The Duck Pen

 Provide an area for them to get out of the weather.  Large dog houses work great or a small duck house.  I actually house the chickens and ducks together.

Put an electric water bucket in their pen. 

I let my ducks roam the field garden during winter and early spring.  That allows some grass to grow back in their pen and they are great at hunting out hiding pests.

Don't Forget the Canines and Felines

 Although I no longer have dogs, I do still have cats. Provide a place to get out of the weather. Dog houses with a welping pad that heats when pressure is on is a great idea or a warm spot in the garage.  The water for my dogs and cats is a bucket system.  We have one in the garage that goes out in the morning and the frozen bucket goes back into the garage to thaw.  The cats have a couple cat houses to keep warm.

I am smiling! This IS my happy face!

Belle, the lab, is the best bed warmer.  The cats love her.

Clean Out the Freezer

Make room for the fresh pork of your fall butchered  pigs or beef or lamb.

Landscape Trees

Continue watering your trees as needed until they lose their leaves.

Pines and evergreens should get a good watering up until Thanksgiving or when the ground freezes.  They continue to transpire through the winter and need an occasional watering.  

The Orchard

I'm going to refer you to a previous post on fall orchard care. 

Fall Orchard Care and Disease Prevention 

The two most important things to do are your fall spray when 1/2 leaves drop and a cooper spray at leaf fall.  

The second thing is to paint trunks and lower scaffold branches if snow and sun scald is a problem.  Use an indoor latex paint.  Dilute it with 50/50 with water and you can add a little Neem oil to the mixture.

Berries

I wait for spring to do any pruning

You can spray a horticulture oil at leaf fall if disease or overwintering pests are a concern.  Cooper can also be used to help prevent disease, but only if you are concerned about an disease you have had trouble with.  

General Preparations

Get a load of wood and have it chopped and stacked out of the weather.

Roll up and store hoses that are not in use

Gather any tools you have in the fields or garden and store out of the weather.

Drain and cover swamp coolers

Check the strength of you antifreeze in your vehicles and add winter washer wiper fluid

Wash and get out winter gear:  Carthart overalls, coats, gloves, hats, boots etc.

 Take inventory of your garden and orchard sprays and fertilizers.  Winter is a good time to purchase these.  Organic fertilizers are fine to store and do not good bad. Chemical fertilizers do not store long term.

Get a a supply of hay for the winter.  Don't run low on any feeds in case weather prevents you from traveling to the feed store.  Feed is so important to help your animals stay warm so be sure to always feed regularly and have a few extra bags on hand.

There are things I love about each of the four seasons.  I hope you find beauty even in the winter.