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!

Pickling Time!

Chef Paula and Garden Volunteer Shelley harvest Coriander Seeds produced from Cilantro plants "gone to seed" to use in summer pickling recipes.  A colander works great to separate the seeds from the stems.
                           

Chef Paula's favorite "quick pickling" recipe for the summer harvest:

16 servings, about 1/4 cup each

Active Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 pounds pickling cucumbers, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 2 each sliced 1/4-inch eggplant, Serrano peppers, zucchini
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup slivered onion
• 2 cloves garlic, slivered
• 1 teaspoon dill seed,
• 1 teaspoon mustard seed
• Fresh herb sprigs, dill, rosemary, thyme, or oregano

Preparation

1. Place cucumber, eggplant, zucchini, and pepper slices in a colander set in the sink. Sprinkle with salt; stir to combine. Let stand for 20 minutes. Rinse, drain and transfer to a large heatproof bowl.
2. Meanwhile, combine cider vinegar, white vinegar, brown sugar, onion, garlic, dill and mustard seed in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Pour the hot liquid over the cucumber and vegetable mixture; add herbs stir to combine. Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes to bring to room temperature.
3. Prepare canning jars according to box directions.
4. Ration pickle mixture among jars and seal. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Tips & Notes

• Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 10 days. You can also use any fresh herbs you like to add more flavor to your pickles.

Herbal Bath Salts

The herbs are thriving this spring!  This winter we transplanted the herbs from the raised beds to a designated herb garden to provide more space for their roots and also to put them on a drip irrigation system.  Many herbs are quite adaptable to the native soils here. In fact we have had to restrain the mint and oregano from taking over the entire garden! 

It's been a  bounty of culinary opportunity and also great habitat for all our pollinator friends in the garden.  Bluebirds nested in the bird box this spring to hatch their young.   Praying Mantis are around to help with the aphid control & the Swallowtail Butterflies have been a delight in the flower beds each dawn and dusk!

Rosemary, Tarragon, Chocolate Mint, Lemon Grass, Sage, Sorrel, Cress, Dill, Lemon Balm, Fennel, Pineapple Mint, Oregano, Holy Basil .....

Recent "Great Clips" Retreat Guests harvesting to make Organic Herbal Bath Salts. Taking home a bit of relaxation to remember their vacation to Little St. Simons Island!

      Chef Matthew Raiford mixing the bath salts.

We used 3 herbs: Mint, Lemon Balm, & Rosemary

Some of the guests brought their salts to the beach for a foot massage and then  took a walk through the tides to rinse off!

Herbal Bath Salts Recipe: 

     2 cups Sea Salt

  1 cup Olive Oil

 5 drops each, essential oils of Lavender, Rosemary, and Peppermint

                             1/4 cup chopped fresh Rosemary

                    1/4 cup chopped fresh Mint

                                  1/4 cup chopped fresh Lemon Balm 

 Put salt into a bowl. Add olive oil, mixing well with a spoon.  Add the drops of essential oil and mix thoroughly.  Add fresh herbs and mix until incorporated.  Put ingredients into a jar and then enjoy with a nice warm bath or shower.