In today's Press-Register, Finch writes about pruning persimmons for better yields, and to keep the fruit within reach.
Slow Food USA entry on the American Persimmon
Check the National Center for Home Food Preservation for advice on freezing and drying persimmons.
Do you grow or eat persimmons? How do you like to use them?
From the Slow Food Blog, a brief article on kitchen gardens, and a link to Kitchen Gardeners International, which I'll add to the External Links.
According to USDA statistics, today we buy more than 99 percent of the food we eat, and the percentage of home-grown food continues to decline. And yet backyard gardens and community plots can play a vital role in food production, as they did during the Second World War. At its height the Victory Garden movement produced nearly 40% of the produce consumed in this country. A reinvigorated garden movement could dramatically improve the way we grow and consume food.
In today's Press-Register, Finch writes about pruning peaches and plums for better yields. He also writes
The University of Massachusetts Fruit Program offers a good video primer on pruning peaches. Check it out at www.umass.edu/fruitadvisor/video/peachpruning/index.html
Michael Pollan's latest book, In Defense of Food, and it's accompanying mantra "Eat Food. Not too Much. Mostly Plants" is all over the media these days, thanks to the success of his previous book The Omnivore's Dilemma.
NPR has a succinct overview of the book's principles, along with an excerpt from the book and an extended interview.
This story from the San Francisco Chronicle is also illuminating. My favorite quotes are
"Our government is doing very little about obesity," he said. "How did it get so controversial to say, 'Eat less,' to say, 'Eat fruits and vegetables'?"
He goes on: Rachel Carson, whose book, "The Silent Spring," launched the modern environmental movement, "didn't write the Clean Air Act. She started a conversation and then politicians take over. And that's how it's supposed to work. The question here (on farm policy reform) is: Where are the politicians?"
Incidentally, Pollan's next planned projects are not about food.
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Our containerized Meyer Lemon, inside for the winter, is in bloom, and the sweet fragrance of citrus blossoms fills our bedroom.
Last year we had two lemons from the tree, though it had probably about 50 flowers. Our young daughter wouldn't leave the tree alone and kept plucking off the blooms, and later, the young fruits. We were lucky to get two.
I've read that Meyers are sweeter than grocery-variety lemons (which are usually 'Eureka'), but I thought the lemon flavor was more pronounced, and quite good. Maybe the freshness was the difference. I suppose I might have harvested them before they were completely ripe.
I've been feeding the tree with compost tea, but I don't really know if that's adequate for its needs. Any advice on organic fertilizers for citrus, and how often to apply it?
I was pleased to see a story on the locavore movement in today's Press-Register.
As I found at the Deep South Fruit & Vegetable Growers conference, there is interest in locally-produced food, but not enough producers to meet the demand. In the article, Jim Todd of the local extension office says that farmers with small plots are being encouraged to venture into the CSA market. I hope they're successful! A friend of mine is one of the lucky ones with a share at Bee Natural Farms. I called last fall and got on the waiting list, but was told as confirmed in the story that the wait can indeed be a long one.
I added Locavore Nation to the External Links. It's the Splendid Table's blog that came out of their Sustainability Survey, and follows the efforts of 15 people around the country to eat locally for a year. The closest participant is in Ashland, MS, about 300 miles from Mobile.
The Splendid Table, a wonderful public radio show about food preparation, appreciation, and culture hosted by Lynne Rossetto Kasper, airs on Sundays at 11am on Mississippi Public Radio WMAH, 90.3 out of Biloxi.
Though I'm hedging my bets on the last frost, the warm weather we've enjoyed lately has gotten the trees blooming and the perennials sending up shoots. My potatoes will be in the ground this week, as will my other usual spring vegetables: peas, lettuce, chard, and for the first time, arugula. My broccoli, lettuce, and chard lasted over the winter, though the peas suffered from frost.
What edibles are you planting right now? What winter crops are you still harvesting?
In today's Garden section of the Press-Register, Bill Finch gives the scoop on his favorite all-purpose soil amendment: leaves. My only addition is that if you have, as we do, plentiful oak leaves which are slow to break down, it helps to mulch them with the mower.
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