Backyard Roots

Hey folks, there's a new urban farm book out called Backyard Roots, by Lori Eanes.  We had the privilege to be featured in her book as one of the thirty-five small farms and homesteads all along the west coast up to Vancouver.  We can't wait for our copy to arrive in the mail.  Lori is an amazing photographer so you can expect this to a be a stunning photographic essay.  One more good book out there you don't want to miss!

Wildcrafting Nettles

Yesterday I escaped with a friend for a much needed excursion to our favorite spot to pick stinging nettles.  A nice gentle hike meandering along the creek was healing and long overdue.  The nettles were not very high but flourishing and plentiful with their leaves unfolding in the sunshine.  The thing I love most about nettles is how they sing.  If you are present, you can feel their vibration as you sit with them, they sing all around you.  Before we began filling our bags we hiked further down the trail to the ocean...what a magnificent day!

When we harvest nettles we try to take only the leafy tops, especially this early in the season.  The plants will continue to grow and if we like, we can go back every few weeks for more throughout the spring. For better or worse, my hands have become so tough from all the farm chores, the nettles barely stung me.  The plants at this time of year are particularly potent as the energy is concentrated in the newly emerging leaves.  Nettles has a variety of uses you can read more about here.  

Once back home the nettles were rinsed and dried in the dehydrator for later use as tea.  I did have plans to add some fresh nettles to my sauerkraut today.  So after clipping all the leaves from the stems and giving them a good wash, I used the mortar and pestle to smash the leaves just enough so they would release their juice and not sting while I mixed the kraut by hand.  

My experiments resulted in two different versions...purple cabbage kraut with fresh nettles and some organic nettle leaf powder for an extra kick...

...and sea kraut with green cabbage, fresh nettle, grated ginger, kombu, and dulse flakes.  I still have a big bag left which may end up as either an invigorating green pesto or a nice stimulating nettle, red clover glycerite.  Spring is almost here, it's all about cleansing, blood building, nourishing, and rejuvenating.  Out with the old and in with the new!

February On The Farm

"There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind."

-C.S. Lewis

Now that we are past all the hustle bustle of the 6 day permaculture intensive, it has been pretty quiet around here.  There are still a few greens growing in the garden.  The garlic is up in different stages and varieties.

We are enjoying the sweetness of snap peas straight from the pod.  (They rarely make it into the house.)  

Long beds made on contour flow across the hillside.  Some are mulched with straw, some with sheep wool.  The seedlings in the mini-green house are not quit ready for transplanting and the nights are still a bit too cold.  We are itching to get busy in the garden, but for a few more weeks the beds sleep, waiting to be planted.  

Giant colorful mustards draw attention with their spicy purple leaves perfect for salads and stirfrys.

Everywhere the favas are beginning to flower.  The green leaves have a mild, delicious flavor reminiscent of pea shoots.  

The broccoli has been showing itself in almost every meal from breakfast eggs to dinner quiche.  It seems the hens have decided to lay again so more eggs for us!

We have some new residents who are still nameless to date.  Two breeding does that came from a friend, one New Zealand and one Californian.  I am on the lookout for a nice big boy for these gorditas.  

Maydaisy and Hazel have been taking weekend field trips around the neighborhood to grub on the neighbors overgrown backyards.  Everyone definitely gets a kick out of seeing them walk down the street on their leashes.  What, you never saw a pet goat before?  Hmmm.  

Deep Litter Method

Located on a south facing hillside in full sun, the ground in our chicken run was hard, compacted clay.  Periodically we had put a bale of straw or two into the run at the top to add mulch and to give the chickens some entertainment.  We would watch as the chickens and ducks had a field day scratching all the hay around but after a few days the straw would be at the bottom of the run while the soil was still hard and dry.  Our goal was to create a healthier environment for our poultry where juicy insects multiply and micro-organisms thrive in the moist soil.   Enter the deep litter method with a twist.

We tried adding wood chips, which worked better but still made their way to the bottom, just a little more slowly.  It was time to add some retaining walls and get more creative with the mulching.  So we hammered in stakes around some long pieces of scrap wood all over the run.  Here comes the creative part...we used a huge amount of wool we had been given to mulch the whole run.  Wool is denser and does not move around as easily as other mulches.  It also holds a tremendous amount of moisture so the goal was to have this stationary material be the first layer of our deep litter and hold in most of the water, bringing the soil back to life.

poultry run in the summer before deep litter method, soil is dry and compacted

The funny part of all this is that while pulling the wool out of the bags the chickens went crazy running to and fro as if there was a wild furry beast emerging from the bags.  It took them days to get used to walking over the wool.

Our next step was to add a thick layer of straw, then lots and lots of wood chips over the top. Every few days when we clean out the small water troughs, we dump the old water around the fruit trees and into the mulch.  

scratching away surface mulch reveals dark moist soil underneath

As the months go by we have been adding whatever we have on hand to the run, more old straw, goat stall bedding, cow patties, branchy bamboo tops, leafy debris.  We are hoping that we can build a truly deep litter for the poultry area.  And now that we have received a significant amount of rain the moisture has soaked into the ground leaving the soil dark and spongy, resulting in a happier, healthier poultry flock.

A few more additions have been put in the run, a grapefruit tree, two granny smith apples, a fig, and two melon berry trees.  Let's hope these trees benefit from all the composting action going on around them.  Now if we can only stop the goats from sneaking in and nibbling the trees down to stubs! 

Three Saucey Beverages

papaya pineapple agua fresca

We've been busy in the kitchen lately.  I thought I would share some recipes for our favorite DIY beverage specialties.   These are the recipes that we make religiously and they are way better than anything you can buy in the store!

Jamaican Sorrel
If you have never had this tropical drink you are in for a treat.  The hibiscus flowers and lemon are high in vitamin C while the ginger is a blood purifier and creates heat in the body making this a great beverage to consume when you are feeling a little low.  Not to mention the deep red color is stunning.  Sorrel is a staple in our house all year long.  

Ingredients:  fresh organic ginger root- lots, dried hibiscus flowers, juice of fresh lemons, cinnamon sticks, filtered water, sweetener of choice

fresh hibiscus flowers

The first rule of making sorrel is- use as much ginger as you like!  We use a very generous amount!  Now bring a large pot of water to a boil. Wash ginger root removing any dirt and cutting off any thick pieces of skin.  Either grate ginger by hand or cut into pieces and blend in blender with more water.  Add to pot of boiling water.  Add about six cinnamon sticks-you can also use powder.  (Sometimes I throw in a few pieces of astragalus root too.)  Add more water until pot is 3/4 full.  Cover and allow to simmer on low for several hours.  Remove pot from heat, uncover and add 2-4 handfuls of hibiscus flowers, stirring well and allowing to steep for at least an hour or as long as overnight.  Gently reheat without bringing to a boil, sweeten to taste, add fresh squeezed lemon juice to taste and stir well.  Strain and pour into bottles which you can store in the refrigerator.   

Agua Fresca
This is the easiest and most versatile of beverages to make as long as you have a good blender.

Ingredients:  any ripe fruit (the juicier the better), filtered water, sweetener of choice

Simply  wash and peel your fruit then blend with water and sweetener until you have a thin uniform liquid.  You can either strain and bottle or drink with the pulp.  Some nice combinations...papaya/pineapple, papaya/orange, cucumber/lime/mint, watermelon/ginger, the possibilities are endless.  Agua fresca is usually thought to be a cooling summer drink but we enjoy it year round.  

Kombucha
Ingredients:  organic black or green tea, organic sugar, kombucha scoby, large crock or gallon glass jar with wide mouth

Kombucha is easy to make and there are a variety of recipes online.  Click here for a basic recipe.  Experiment and have fun!  Some favorite kombucha additions; elderberries, fresh squeezed juice, hibiscus flowers, or rose hips. 

kombucha with mother forming on surface

*last two photos courtesy of http://www.welike2cook.com, and http://nycpink.blogspot.com

Notes From A Six Day Permaculture Adventure

Almost always, the creative dedicated 

minority has made the world better.

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

building hot compost pile

turning steaming hot compost after 5 days

surveying

using laser level to find contour

staking beds on contour

building no-till garden bed

We had an fantastic turnout for the intensive with international permaculture consultant, designer and teacher, Rhamis Kent.  Our six days together were filled with knowledge, friendship, community, sharing, authenticity, healing, empowerment, hope, faith, nourishment and oh yeah...we can't forget the amazing masseuse. Students traveled from Berkeley, Oakland, SF, Humboldt  Alabama, and as far as away as Japan.  The class was packed with useful, exciting, and intellectually stimulating information, not to mention everyone went home pretty well fed too.  One of the hands-on activities we participated in was building and turning a huge hot compost pile in our chicken area that reached a temperature of 165 degrees after about 5 days.  We learned about earth works and how to identify a keyline.  We practiced how to survey the land on contour using a laser level, water level and line level.  We proceeded to stake and rope off the area on contour then build a no-till permaculture garden bed with on site materials.  Equally as valuable as all the inspiring information and knowledge shared, a new community was born that we hope will be the beginnings of an East Bay Permablitz group.  One thing is for sure, we all left the group yesterday pumped up and ready to get busy transforming not only the little pieces of earth we inhabit, but also the minds and hearts of those we are blessed to connect with.  Kudos!

Traditions

As the year is coming to a close we take time to continue some seasonal family traditions.  Outside, collecting and foraging for items to decorate our mantel; pliable grapevines for wreaths, smooth shinny buckeyes, maple leaves, acorns and evergreens.  Inside we gather with friends for our annual gingerbread people fiesta.  The children look forward to making dough, shaping cutouts and slathering on a myriad of dried fruit, nuts, candy and icing for finishing touches.  (This year the addition of the gingerbread ninja was a hit!)  These are some of the sweet little things we cherish. And as the years go by and the children become teenagers there is something so special and wholesome to just being together to bake, laugh, eat, play games and maintain connections with the people we love. 
We are praying for everyone, many blessings in 2013.  
Happy New Year from the Soul Flower Farm crew!