Hounds In The Kitchen » Gardening

What to do with a Baby Opossum

Rachel — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 20:26:14 +0000

This morning, our neighbor Jan was looking quizzically between her garage and compost bin. We stepped out to hear her terrier Molly squeaking.

The source of the tension? A baby opossum was hiding out behind the compost bin.

Fortunately, Alex’s Extermination Service came to the rescue. He used a stick and a few yells to chase the babe out from behind the bin. Then, he grabbed the possum by the tail near its body. Their partially prehensile tails do not allow opossums to attack when held at the base of their tail.

Lil and Devie were very interested. We told Lil some of the interesting factoids about opossums, the mammal evolution seems to have left behind. For instance, did you know that opossums are marsupials, meaning their young complete gestation in a marsupium pouch on the mother? They have a strong immune system rendering them resistant to rattlesnake, cottonmouth, and pit viper venom.

We debated how cute the little possum was. Lil wants no one to say they are ugly.

We also debated what to do with her. We didn’t want her around our house, as possums root through trash, eat vegetables from the garden, and can be dangerous as adults. It’s not easy to kill a pest in city limits, and Lil was attached anyways, so offing it wasn’t an option.

We decided to pack her in a plastic tote and drove to a ravine a mile away. We let it go, hoping she’ll be young enough not to return.

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What to do with a Baby Opossum is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen
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Summer in Full Swing!

Rachel — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 19:33:52 +0000

Summer is running away with my sanity, I think.

I still haven’t recovered from waking every day at dawn on the canoe trip, so I’m lacking sleep. There are so many events, activities, plans, and parties that I can barely keep up with myself. In fact, I’m writing this post on OSU campus in a short break from my volunteer role as an orientation coordinator for the 4-H International Program.

Next week looks to be a little calmer so I hope to post more camping reflections, recipes, and a garden update. For now, here’s a list of homesteading related newsbytes:

Columbus Food Adventures launches tonight! I’m so proud of fellow blogger Bethia Woolf for creating this food tour business to showcase Columbus’ great food scene. When life slows down (when will that ever be??) I can’t wait to join one of the tours.
My Clint Eastwood plum tomatos are coming in like crazy. Fortunately my palate isn’t tired of them yet so I’m eating them fresh, sliced, and as toppings for anything I can think of.
We’ve also recently harvested several perisian pickling cucumbers, a zucchini, lots of herbs, kale, broccoli, and carrots. This is a great time of year to be a gardener!!
I haven’t tasted any of the other tomato varieties yet because a certain four birds keep pecking at them before they ripen.
We’re building some chicken wire fences around tomato beds this weekend. Can you say UGLY?
I’m taking a beekeeping class from the Franklin Park Conservatory starting the first week of August. Our plan is to gather supplies and confidence this winter and add a hive of bees to the backyard in early spring.
Next Tuesday is kid’s day at the Pearl Alley Market. I’ll be there with Lil and maybe some friends to check out the summer vegs and the special kids events: juggler, balloon art, COSI, and more!
Speaking of markets, I’m going to the 15th and High Market as soon as I finish this list. I’m excited!
Alex’s birthday is on Monday. His present from me is something that will be useful to both of us in the kitchen and I really can’t wait for him to open it.
I’m making a blueberry pie for his birthday dinner on Saturday. I’ve never made a blueberry pie before. Pie crust I have down; suggestions for a great filling recipe are welcome!
Lil videorecorded and narrated another chicken video. It’s long but very cute (once you get past her kicking at them!) if you want to check out the backyard birds on youtube.
If you have even more time, here’s the Flickr set of my best 300 pictures from the Canada canoe trip.
Local Matters has two Food Educator job openings listed here and here. I volunteered with their Food is Elementary program and the curriculum is exceptional. If you want to make a difference in the health and lives of children, I encourage you to apply.
I’m hosting lots of events in August. Learn to can, join me at the Goodale Park Music series, check out The Hill’s Market Kids Day August 21, and send your child to Kids Cook Dinner or Food Art camp with me!

I feel better getting all that out there and now I’m off the market. Have a great one!

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Summer in Full Swing! is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen
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Goodbye Hounds and Kitchen, Hello Canadian Wilderness!

Rachel — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 13:26:12 +0000

We’re off on our adventure to Canada. The car is full of food, gear, and toys. Guest posts are scheduled and ready to keep you entertained for the week. Tune in Sunday for our 19 person paddling meal plan.

We ate our ‘last meal’ tonight, a frittata of backyard chicken eggs with homegrown tomatoes, green beans, garlic, shallots, and herbs. On the side were our very first new potatoes of the year. (They really shouldn’t be harvested yet but I was watering the other garden the other day and couldn’t resist seeing how the tubers were progressing.) I savored every fresh delicious bite, knowing that plenty of fast food and dehydrated meals are in my future.

I was reflecting that this trip will be the first time in years that I will be truly electronic free. Because of owning the online store and writing this blog, every vacation I’ve taken since Lil’s birth has included at least some phone and Internet communication, i.e. ‘work’. Between Sunday and Friday, no work will be done by me at least. (Someone, ahem Alex, is bringing several communication devises…)

In the absence of the computer and smartphone, I expect to enjoy:

writing with a pen and paper

wildlife

clouds and stars, uncut by wires and airplanes

fully present family

silence

May you also experience peace this week. I look forward to sharing pictures and stories upon my return.

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Goodbye Hounds and Kitchen, Hello Canadian Wilderness! is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen
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Head High on the Fourth of July!

Rachel — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 12:12:15 +0000

We visited the other garden last Tuesday. Look what we found:

Corn!!

Corn that hides Lil the corn princess!

Ears of corn with tassels!

Corn with whispy leaves taller than me!

Baby squash lacing through the corn and…

…heart shaped sweet potato leaves winding their way through the squash!

Our community garden plot is growing according to plan; mostly it takes care of itself. Here’s hoping the rest of the summer proceeds with fairly normal weather so that we might harvest great gobs of corn, squash, and potatoes to put up for the winter.

I love America, a place where there’s still room to sow seeds of change, where one can nurture gardens and hopes. Happy Independence Day!

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Head High on the Fourth of July! is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen
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Summer Sunflowers

Rachel — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 16:12:36 +0000

I have intentionally planted sunflowers twice. Both times, they were eaten by squirrels. Those that are volunteers from birdseed droppings, however, thrive in my garden.

This year, they started as broad two leaved seedlings under the bird feeders. As we removed the deck and situated new beds, I moved some seedlings to more appropriate places. I tucked them between beds along the fence line and bordering the air conditioner.

Months later they finally bloomed this weekend.

Pollen gathering insects love sunflowers. I can almost always find a bee or two on ours. Later in the season, birds enjoy the sunflower seeds. I enjoy watching the wildlife, hiding the air conditioner, and the contrast of bright yellow petals to the overwhelming green of the garden.

Welcome summer sunflowers!

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Summer Sunflowers is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen
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Harvesting Dragon Tongue Bush Beans

Rachel — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:57:39 +0000

We’re harvesting beans, baskets of beautiful yellow and purple striped beans.

unassuming row of dragon tongue bush beans

These heirloom dragon tongue beans are a bush bean, meaning they do not need to be trellised. They grow down towards the soil hiding under wide umbrella leaves.

The beans can be cooked fresh. Sadly they lose their beautiful coloration, cooking to a light yellow color. They have a buttery taste with a crisp texture, making them delicious steamed or added to stir fries.

The pods can also be left to dry on the vine. When the seedpods are shriveled, pick them and allow them to dry further on a cookie cooling rack. Remove the pod and dry the speckled beans further on a rack on top of the fridge or in another dry place. Store in an airtight container when they are completely dry. Beans can be kept dry this way for up to a year or made into the best beans and rice ever.

Are you growing beans this year? What’s your favorite variety to grow or eat?

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Harvesting Dragon Tongue Bush Beans is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen
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Which Flowers to Pick from the Vegetable Garden

Rachel — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:46:22 +0000

Most annual vegetables send out flowers. It’s their way of ensuring their own reproduction.

The home gardener must manage flowers, tending the ones that will develop into fruits we want and removing those that distract the plant from its functions.

Leave the flowers on these plants, as they develop into vegetables:

tomato

cucumber

pepper

eggplant

peas

beans

squash, including zucchini, acorn, and pumpkin (a special case, as the blossoms are edible but if you eat them all, no squash will grow)

flowers on kale must be removed

Remove the flowers on these plants, as their desirable leaves will bitter if flowers are allowed to bloom:

greens including spinach, kale, mustard, bok choi,broccoli raab, and lettuces

radish

herbs including basil, cilantro, thyme, and mint

Harvest from these plants before they go to flower:

broccoli

cauliflower

brussel sprouts

These flower stems are edible in addition to their root. If you do not remove these, the plant may use energy producing flowers at the expense of making root bulbs:

garlic (picked as curlicue scapes shown above)

onion

The delicate potato flowers may be picked or left on the plant. Marie Antoinette is said to have enjoyed these beauties in her hair. They may pull a slight bit of water and energy from growing tubers, but I enjoy leaving their blooms in the garden.

Of course, you may grow these flowers as edibles:

sunflowers

nasturtium

violet

These lists are by no means exhaustive. Which flowering vegetables have I forgotten? Which do you have questions about?

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Which Flowers to Pick from the Vegetable Garden is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen
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Flooding – bad for the gardener, worse for the farmer

Rachel — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 12:54:07 +0000

Weather has not been nice for vegetable growers this year. First, the temperatures rose so quickly in early spring that many greens bolted and bittered far before their time. Now tens of inches of rain are flooding fields. The lack of sunlight leaves fruits unripened and rotting. Those of us who don’t use pesticides are inundated with weeds.

I have remarked more than once recently that I am glad I’m not a farmer. I feel anxious about my own harvest but I know I can always buy what I need if my vegetables don’t turn out. Farmers do not have such a luxury: when their crops fail, their whole livelihood suffers.

The Wayward Seed farmers faced reality yesterday and suspended vegetable CSA shares for at least one week. In an email to shareholders, Jaime Moore wrote “Quality and service are of the utmost importance to us, and we will work tirelessly until we are able to once again resume delivery of vegetables to our members. We would rather suspend shares in the short term than give you anything that does not meet our standards of cleanliness and quality.” Jaime invited CSA participants to own their share and help weed the fields.

Though I only purchase a fruit share from Wayward Seed, I want to see their fields thrive. I will be volunteering my time this Thursday morning. I plan to be at the farm in London at 10 am. If you can spare some time, please join me!

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Flooding – bad for the gardener, worse for the farmer is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen
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Raising Children with Chickens

Rachel — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 19:19:53 +0000

There is no doubt that the true chicken keeper of our family is four and a half year old Lillian.

She named the chickens and feeds them scraps. She takes them on bike rides and returns them to the coop after free ranging in the yard.

Lil recently petitioned to be in charge of collecting eggs. This is no small feat; Lil climbs headfirst into the coop and reaches into the nesting area. She pulls out eggs one at a time and gently carries them into the house.

Sometimes the chickens have had enough child’s play. Recently Lil came crying to me with a blemish on her eye lid. I asked what happened. “I was holding Sussy by the wings and pinching her comb.” I don’t have a lot of sympathy for her injury but hopefully Lil learned something about treating animals gently.

Here are Lil’s thoughts about the chickens in her own words:

We have come to learn that a flock of laying hens is a delight for most children, including Lil. Keeping livestock teaches responsibility and biology with a healthy dose of fun.

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Raising Children with Chickens is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen
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Baby Vegetables

Rachel — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 01:51:43 +0000

Many of our plants have set flowers and baby vegetables are beginning to appear!

This is an exciting time to be a gardener. All the work starting the seeds, prepping the soil, planting the seedlings, and weeding are starting to pay off.

There is anxiety too. I am struggling to keep something (a squirrel I think?) from eating the flowers off the zucchini plant. I have seen it send out flowers many times but none stay around long enough to go to fruit.

My peas are a lost cause this year, it seems. Despite being covered in bird netting, sparrows have mowed down the leaves such that they never climbed their beautiful trellis. Only the peas in Lil’s garden have set out a few pods.

What’s going on in your garden?

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Baby Vegetables is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen
We love to hear from you! Please add your comments or send Rachel an email.