Hi everybody. Most of this blog will be on gardening because Mike has spent much of his time repairing our cars and preparing for the next renovation steps. Sometimes we need some down time to refocus and renew the energy level.
I will start with our latest harvest
Our really warm / dry summer has led to a smaller harvest of everything including the squashes. We will probably be able to eat them all this year. The end result is good, I have no complaints. I try to cook the smaller sizes first and later, I open a bigger ones. With those, I can make different meals such as stew, soup and cake/pie and the rest goes in the freezer for later use. Just need a bit of planning but it always turn out to be a delight.
On the other hand, we got plenty of big quince which I was able to pick directly from our tree. Quince are known to be full of worms once fallen on the ground....
This year I made 4 pots of quince jelly, a full plate of "carne de membrillo" (famous Spanish fruit paste), and 8 pots of jam (cooking on the stove at the time of the photo). Quince can also be eaten as a vegetable, fried in a pan, added to a stew or a tajine. This year I decided to freeze the rest of the harvest for the winter stews. In order to freeze quince, they need to be partly boiled first. I just cleaned the fruit well, left the peel and cut in 4 pieces (removing the core). Boiling about 10 minutes, cooling on a plate and bag for the freezer. So easy and, so yummy!
The Luffa zucchini's still have to dry.
The fruit have reached their mature size and skin has to get brown and crusty as they dry. The weather is quite nice at the moment reaching up to 25-30 degrees during the day. Nights are cooler, dropping around 10-15.
I hung the fruit on top of tiles to increase the warmth they get during the day, helping them to dry fully before the weather turns.
A story to be continued ....
Gardens in autumn
Autumn means harvesting what needs to be taken away, for example the summer plants like tomatoes, zucchini's, squashes, cucumbers etc.
I cut the plants just above ground level leaving the rooting system in the ground to continue to feed life in the soil. I spread the plants on the bed and I cover everything with a cloth. This will allow water to reach the soil but it will stop the light, helping decomposition of the plant rests, feeding at the same time the soil.
For another bed, I needed to air out the compacted/dry soil before the rainy season (we are still awaiting rain ...). Using a gardening fork, I just lift the soil (not turning it, not disturbing it). This helps it breath. Now, we deeply need some rain..... We are not allowed to water plants because of the constant dryness. We can water after 20:00 but I never think about it.
I am covering the "aired" soil with a layer of dark compost and after some rain I will cover it all with straw. By December, I should be able to cover it with a plastic sheet to allow the composting process to continue during the winter. The darkness of the plastic sheet will also help reduce the germination of unwanted plants, help keep the soil warm and moist, to promote a clean sowing bed for next spring.
Amaranth
Amaranth is a beautiful fully edible plant which I have every year in the garden. In the summer we eat the leaves just like spinach. The stem can also be eaten but I have not tried it yet.
I have harvested the long red flower are also called "fox tail". At the moment, they are hanging in the house to dry. Once dry, the tiny black seeds can be collected. Seeds can be cooked just like quinoa or millet but it can also be grounded to make flour. To be honest, this is a lot of work for just a bit of food. I definitely prefer eating the plant as a whole ;) There is always so much to do...
Sprouting wheat grain for the chickens
In June Mike meet with a farmer from the next village. He harvest his wheat and once this is done, he sells directly at the farm. Mike came home one day with a 800 kilograms ( a trailer full) of grain and we directly bagged it to store in our insulated container.
Every other day, I take a full can of grain and soak it overnight. The next day, I strain it and I lay it in a plastic pan. I put the pan in a plastic bag, leaving the front open to allow evaporation (preventing molding) and I leave it 2 days to sprout. I then feed it to the chickens. Sprouting makes grain more digestible, increases the protein availability as well as the vitamins and minerals. This is perfect complement for our chicken feed!
Harvesting and keeping seeds
For each plant family, the steps involved to collect seeds are different.
For example: you can dry some seeds directly like we do for the pumpkin family.
For other plants, like the tomatoes, before drying the seeds you need to deactivate the layer surrounding the seeds which inhibits germination. This important layer prevents the seeds from germinating while they are still in the tomato (humid environment).
For peppers, it is important to keep only viable seeds. To know if seeds are viable, we place them in a bowl of water. All seeds that sink are good. Well, here none have sunken...... good that I did not keep those seeds for next year right ;)
We are entering November with high temperatures and no rain in sight.... I am not doing much work in the garden for now, leaving nature at peace. I did the last inspection of the bee hives this week. They were doing really good and they have enough food for the coming months. I am keeping my fingers crossed, hoping for a perfect start in the spring.
The chickens are also preparing themselves for the winter with their annual molt. I need to keep an eye on them, making sure they eat properly. Their protein needs increase by about 20% during this important period. I leave them running around in the garden so they can find more insects to eat. The sprouted wheat is at this time of the year a good supplement. The hens will have brand new feathers to keep them dry and warm this winter.
Time flies when you are having fun ;)
keeping in touch x
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