A garden's evolution

Our gardens provide such a wonderful opportunity to witness close up the transformation all of life  undergoes with the changing of the seasons.   From the new plant life sprouting up as the soils warm, to the insect world expanding rapidly before our eyes and new polinators and benificials arriving to do their part of gardencaretaking, to the sweet cries of the eastern blue birds nesting in the garden bird box.


Here at LSSI our garden tenders are preparing for change this spring as well.  Amy, our gardener since 2009, will be handing off her trowel soon and focusing her energies in the pursuit of tending young minds and planting seeds of possibilty as a teacher.  With deep gratitude Amy has put together a short history in pictures of the gardens evolution.  It has been a wonderful adventure indeed!



LSSI Garden History on Vimeo.



Luckily another local gardener joined our team at LSSI recently, Aaron Bell of Jekyll Island, GA.  
Aaron will take over the garden tending and enhance our "seed to table" program by spliting his time between the growing the garden and assisting the Chefs in the kitchen.   Watch for Aarons passion and creativity to bloom in the Little St. Simons Island garden and dining room!!

Garden Citrus Marmalade with Olive Oil Cake

Just when we need that extra boost of Vitamin C the winter's harvest of citrus ripens providing us with a wide array of both sweet and tart citrus for eating, juicing, and preservation.  Citrus was first introduced into the continental U.S. by early Spanish explorers at St. Augustine, FL in 1565.

Here on Little St. Simons Island we are enjoying the first significant harvest from our citrus grove planted 2 years ago (trees are now 3-5 years) in the USDA Organic Garden.

Calamondine Citrus

Citrus is grown by "grafting" (joining) a favored selected variety to the rootstock of a citrus known for it's hardiness and adaptability.  For our region Trifoliate Orange (Poncirus Trifoliata) is the rootstock to ask for at the nursery.  The first few years of a newly planted citrus need frost protection.  If a tree freezes below the graft it will grow back as the (usually inedible) rootstock.

At LSSI we have planted some of the most cold tolerant varieties that are common favorites for the home garden as well.  For a sweet peeling fruit we have grapefruit, oranges and tangerines.  The Satsuma Tangerine (mandarin) is one of the best for our region with it's easy to peel skin and sweet fruit.  It is also know to be very prolific.  A favorite variety is Owari.

Tart citrus are great for marmalade, jellies, and sorbets and are a great substitute for limes and lemons in the kitchen.  Calamondine (above) is hardy into the low 20's and Kumquats can handle temperatures as low as 15 degrees. A kumquat with more sweetness is the Meiwa.  Chef Paula reminds us to always use/eat the peel of these thin skinned fruits since it's in the peel where the sweetness is stored.

Meyer Lemon and Calamondine Fruit

Fresh limes are a lovely addition to the home garden but that typically been known for cold sensitivity.  A new lime-kumquat hybrid is showing great promise for our region and is next on the planting list for LSSI.

For detailed guidance on citrus planting and maintenance refer to this helpful UGA publication: http://www.caes.uga.edu/publications/pubDetail.cfm?pk_id=7787

Chef Paula has been getting very creative with the citrus harvest this year.  Try this incredible citrus marmalade over some olive oil cake for your next special gathering.

Garden Citrus Marmalade

1 lb. calamondines, roughly chopped         4 cups Sugar

1 lb Kumquats, roughly chopped                3 Meyer lemons Juiced

1 packet liquid pectin

In a large, non reactive pot, bring oranges, sugar, and lemon juice to a boil.  Let it cook for about 10 minutes to give the peels time to soften.  After they have softened a bit add the pectin packet and let the mixture cook for another 10 minutes, stirring frequently.  When the marmalade coats the back of the stirring spoon smoothly, it's done.

If you want to can your marmalade, pour it into hot, sterilized jars.  Wipe rims of the jars off with the edge of a dish towel dipped in boiling water.  Apply new lids and screw on bands (you can always reuse canning jars and and the screw on bands, but you never want to reuse the lids).  Lower the filled jars into a hot water bath and process for 10 minutes.  Soon after you remove them from the water bath, the jars should let you know that they've sealed by letting out a pinging noise.  If you miss the signal tap on the top of the jar, if the lid gives at all, the jar did not seal.  Best to stash those in the fridge and enjoy now.

Olive Oil Cake with Citrus Marmalade



Olive Oil Cake

 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour               2 tsp. lemon zest

 2 tsp baking powder                          1/4 cups whole milk

 1/2 tsp salt                                       3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

 1 cup sugar                                       3 large eggs

  2 tsp orange zest                              2/3 cups sliced almonds,

                                                                 toasted and chopped

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly oil an 8 inch diameter cake pan then coat with cornmeal and remove excess cornmeal.  Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl to blend.  Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, eggs, and zests in a large bowl until pale and fluffy.  Beat in the milk.  Gradually beat in the oil.  Add the flour mixture and stir just until blended.  Stir in the almonds.  Transfer the batter to the prepared pan.  Place cake pan on the baking sheet to collect any possible spills.   Bake until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 35 minutes.  Transfer to a rack and cool for 15 minutes.  Remove cake and place on a serving platter, top side up.  Dust with powdered sugar.

The Gardener's Classroom

With winters arrival, gardeners and farmers everywhere are taking advantage of this quiet time of the year to retreat inside for the life long learning, reflection, and inspiration that comes with the humbling efforts of putting seed to soil.

The gift of darkness brings with it time to sink deep into gardening books and resources, time to lavish in the beauty and potential with the arrival of 2013 seed catalogs, and much needed opportunities to gather the community together for learning and celebration at one of the many farming and gardening conferences happening around the county this winter.

This blog entry comes with an invitation to it's readers to write in and share sources of knowledge and inspiration you are growing with to be added to the resource pages of this blog.

Here begins my list of reading and explorations to properly set my roots for the season ahead:

Books

The Seed Underground; A growing Revolution to Save Food by the inspirational writer and local farmer Janisse Ray.

A Georgia Food Forest by Permiculturist Cynthia Dill.  An incredible perennial crops and permiculture gardening guide for Southeast GA, and beyond. 

Teaming with Microbes By Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis.  The Organic Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web.  An excellent resource for understanding that delicate system of life beneath our feet on which all life stands. 

The Soul of the Soil by Grace Gershuny and Joe Smillie.  A soil building guide for master gardeners and farmers.

Citrus Fruit for Southern and Coastal Georgia.  A UGA publication.  Winter and early spring are a great time to get new citrus trees planted for years and years of Vitamin C!

Regional Conferences to put on your calendar for 2013

The South Georgia Growing Local & Sustainable Conference
Reidsville, Georgia
January 26, 2013
http://southgeorgialocalfoodnetwork.ning.com/

Georgia Organics Annual Conference
Atlanta, GA
Feb. 22-23, 2013
http://georgiaorganics.org/conference/

Southern Sawg Annual Farming Conference
Little Rock, Arkansas
Jan. 23-26, 2013
http://www.ssawg.org/january-2013-conference/

North Carolina State University, Department of Bio & Ag Engineering, Annual Vermiculture Conference.
For all the Wormers out there sitting at the edge of their seats like I am for more knowledge on the Vermicomposting this is one to watch for next fall!  I was thrilled for the opportunity to attend the Nov. 2012 conference in Chapel Hill, NC with all the leading industry professionals, university researchers, and vermicomposters from around the world.  Professor Sherman's website is a great resource to explore for vermicomposting technology.
http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/workshops/worm_conference/

Great Seed Catalogs

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds   www.rareseeds.com
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange    www.SouthernExposure.com
Johnny's Selected Seeds    www.Johnnyseeds.com
The Potato Garden   www.potatogarden.com

"A garden is a grand teacher.  It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust." Gertrude Jekyll.

May Inspiration Bloom

Garden Pepper Chow Chow

   Root -Knot Nematode Resistant Organic Bell Peppers

Considering the Extreme challenges we have with the Plant Parasitic Root Knot Nematodes we are thrilled to report great success with our first planting of the RKN resistant varieties of  Certified Organic Bell Peppers: Carolina Wonder and Charleston Belle.

The first of organic seed with RKN resistance to be released comes from the company Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.  Check out SESE  for an abundance of great information on heritage seeds and diverse crop varieties for southern gardens.  Their catalog alone is a masterpiece and will no doubt have you dreaming of your grandmother's garden.

Chili Peppers and Sweet Marconi Peppers

Another sweet pepper we loved this year is the Sweet Marconi.  An Italian Heirloom with tapered fruit that is known to grow up to 10 inches long.  This is a tall, very prolific plant that is great for containers or raised beds. 

Chef Paula has been making a lot of great chow-chow this summer with the LSSI garden peppers.

         Sweet and Hot Pepper Relish:

30 Red & Green Bell Peppers and Jalapenos Peppers to taste

3 cups White Vinegar

3 cups Sugar

1 1/2 Tsp. Salt

7 Yellow Onions

Chop Peppers and Onions in food processor or run through a grinder.  Put vinegar, sugar, and salt into an 8 quart or larger pot; heat to boiling and stir in peppers and onion.  When mixture boils, reduce heat and simmer (stirring often) for 30 minutes.  Pour mix into hot sterile jars.  Fix with hot sterile lids and tighten rings.  Makes 5-8 pints.

Vermicomposting on Little St. Simons Island

         It is said that Charles Darwin began and commenced his career with the study of the Earthworm:

 "It may be doubted whether there are many other animals

which have played so important a part in the history of the world

as have these lowly organized creatures"

"Red Wiggler" Worm (Eisenia Fetida)

With the arrival of Fall, the vermicomposting worms on LSSI have gotten very busy turning our food waste (about 150lbs a week)

into a much needed organic fertilizer for the garden.

These Red Wigglers prefer temperatures in the 70's and 80's.  As a sign of cooler days ahead, we are beginning to see the presence of the band seen on the worm above. It's called the clitellum and it is the indication that the worm has reached reproductive age .

Each mating worm will release a cocoon with 8 to 11 eggs,

The hatchlings will in turn become reproductive themselves in 60 to 90 days.  

These vermicomposting worms "process" food scraps into fertilizer in about 2 months time.   That's about 200 pounds of castings, every 2 months, from each of the wooden bins pictured below!

And what that means for us is whole lot of worm castings for our organic garden!!

 

These worm castings ---known as BLACK GOLD by farmers and gardeners--- provide plant nutrients, micro nutrients, and growth compounds for healthy plant development and inoculate the soil with beneficial bacteria and fungi. 



Our vermicompost "castings" and the native soil

Increasing microbial activity in the soil benefits the garden by increasing organic matter, preserving soil moisture, and storing nutrient in the soil. This improves the plant’s resistance to disease and pests as well.

We use our vermicompost castings in the garden in several ways;   added directly into the garden beds, in our seedling trays for plant propagation, by making "compost tea".  Small quatities of castings are of exponential value when made into a liquid fertilizer and used as a foliar spray or soil drench.  This 1 lb. bag will affectively cover 1 acre of garden, yard, or farm.

Vermicomposting on LSSI has made growing an organic vegetable garden at the beach possible.

Think what it could do elsewhere!  

Vermicomposting is a simple composting method appropriate and useful for urban dwellers, farmers, schools and other institutions alike looking for a sustainable resource management tool.  

For more information on Vermicomposting refer to the book  "Worms Eat My Garbage" by Mary Appelhof and come visit the USDA Certified Organic Garden on Little St. Simons Island.

Horned Melon!?!?

This unusual fruit has found a place in the Organic Garden on Little St. Simons Island. Cucumis Metuliferus, a member of the cucurbitaceae family, known as African Horned Melon, Jelly Melon, Blowfish Fruit, or Kiwano, is native to Southern and Central Africa. 

Having a cucumber flavor with hints of melon, lime, and banana it has proven to be a late summer harvest perfect for sorbet.  The fruit is considered a good source of protein and Vitamins C, A, Iron, and Potassium.  

Plus it can withstand the monstrous squash bugs in the garden right now--check out those spines! 

  

These prolific vines provide fruit here from July until the first frost --perhaps December. 



Our Chefs will soon begin to harvest the fruit of the prickly pear cactus, growing wild on Little St. Simons Island, to combine with the Kiwano Sorbet.  Served in its frozen spiky shell it makes for an intriguingly delicious desert and for great conversation!

 

Commercially these fruit are now grown in New Zealand and California.  If you can find them at your local grocer try Chef Paula's Kiwano Sorbet

Kiwano Sorbet Recipe

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Ingredients

·         10 Kiwano (African Horn Melon)

·         1 teaspoon lime zest

·         1/2 cup apple juice

·         1 tablespoon agave nectar

·         Pinch of sea salt

Method

1 To prepare the Kiwano, cut them in half from top to bottom scoop out the jelly and seeds (keep the rind) and put into a blender or food processor and purée until smooth and soupy. Now strain through a fine mesh.

2 Now add the lime zest, agave nectar and sea salt and stir until incorporated.

3 Place mixture in refrigerator for one hour to chill. Also place Kiwano rinds in the freezer. After an hour taste sorbet mixture and adjust sweetness accordingly with agave nectar.

4 Process in an ice cream machine via the manufacturer's instructions. The sorbet will have a soft texture right out of the ice cream machine. Now remove rinds from freezer and scoop sorbet into rinds. Place back into the freezer for at least an hour.

Garnish with a sprig of Holy Basil.

Root Knot Nematodes to be banished from the island!!!

Southern Root Knot Nematodes are plant parasitic, microscopic roundworms in the soil, which feed on the root systems of plants, increasing disease potential and starving plants of water and nutrients.
As the summer temperatures rise so do the populations of Root Knot Nematodes making mid summer growing near impossible. 

 So we are taking advantage of the heat and using the sun to "solarize" the soils.

Keeping the soil covered with plastic for 6-8 weeks to trap the radiant heat is a safe and effective treatment for managing some biological and fungal soil diseases like verticillium wilt, as well as "cooking" soil pest organisms like the root knot nematodes.

Upon removal of the plastic we will inoculate the beds with our compost to replenish the population of beneficial bacteria and fungi.  Then we will plant a late season crop of tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and beans.

How do you recognize these microscopic pests?

The galls are easily seen on the root system of a plant as rotting and swollen "bumps" (remember that legume plants have similar looking nitrogen fixing nodules that are a normal part of their root system.) 
Inspect trouble plants when you pull them up for these bumps on their roots.  If you find evidence of nematode damage do not compost that plant material and be careful not to "spread" the problem by sanitizing tools between plot/bed maintenance.
         
Plant Resistant Varieties:

There are newly available organic, non-gmo, seeds becoming available for summer crops with resistance to RKN.  This summer we planted Carolina Wonder Bell Peppers, Tropic VFN Tomatoes (both from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange), and a sweet potato slip called Nemagold. 
So far all looks (and tastes) good!