Weck canning jars - important step that I missed...

Remember all those cherries that I washed, pitted, and canned way back in June?  All 18 lbs?  I was so proud to use my new Weck jars.

On this cool, crisp morning, I decided to treat myself to a few cherries in yogurt.  So I opened up a jar...but it wasn't sealed.  I reached for another, snapped off the clips, and IT wasn't sealed.   Panicking, I went to Weck's website and read this:

"Jar after cooling down
A vacuum now prevails in the jar. The normal pressure of the surrounding air outside the jar presses the lid down on the jar, thus firmly sealing it. The spring clamps required during the canning process are now unnecessary and should definitely be removed after the jars have cooled down."

So, the clips should "definitely be removed after the jars have cooled down".  

That's interesting.  I left the clips on.  I wonder why they need to be removed?  The website goes on to say:

"Why is it absolutely necessary to remove the spring clamps after the processed jars have cooled down?
After processing, the spring action of the clamps is replaced by the natural force exerted on the vacuum inside the jar from the pressure of the air outside the jar. If you were to leave the spring clamps on the jar, you would not, by trying to lift off the lid, be able to test whether the jar was properly processed and sealed or not. This simple, but extremely important seal-test ( the "lid-lifting" test) cannot be performed when using jars with a thread type, a wire-bail type of closure or any other mechanical sealing devices."

I'm pretty sure that I read their website when I first purchased the jars.  I don't remember seeing any of this information.  Maybe it's been recently added?  Or maybe I just missed it.

Later today, I removed all of the clips and checked the jars.  Fortunately, I only lost 4 jars of cherries and none of the more recently canned beans or apple pie filling. 

 Note to self (and other Weck users!): Remove the clips when jars are cool and check the seals.

Cabbage worm myth - debunked!

Such a pretty little butterfly.  Such a destructive little larvae!  Cabbage worms abound on my brassicas this year, so I just purchased a roll of floating row cover.  But it's too late for the ones that are already being munched on.  What to do?  Search the internet, of course!  Hmmm...here's a possible solution: "Simply sprinkle a mixture of flour and baking soda onto the leaves.  Then, when the cabbage worms eat the baking soda, they die."  Sounds easy, right?  Wrong :(

Well, I actually did the sprinkling thing, but I decided to go one step further.  I put 2 large cabbage worms into the leftover baking soda / flour container to see what would happen.  After 2 1/2 days they are still going strong - happily eating all the baking soda / flour they desire.  (I know they are eating, cause I see the poop.)

 

If anybody has actually had luck with this method, please let me know.  Otherwise, I suggest we save our flour and baking soda for the kitchen!

UPDATE:  I washed off the brassicas today and noticed that the flour/baking soda mixture actually bleached out the leaves in some places.

We have eggs!

Lucy, the Barred Rock, laid her first egg on Monday morning at about 10:30am!  It was perfectly formed and weighed 1.5 ounces - putting it into the "small" category.  Lucy announced her egg-laying success in a "loud and proud" fashion!

She has since laid 4 more eggs.  Wednesday and Saturday were her days off.  Here latest eggs weighed 1.75 ounces (or ~49 grams).  I believe that the pullets are 24 weeks old, but there's a little uncertainty since I bought them at the local feed store.

This is the story that leads up to the egg:

Several weeks ago, I filled up the nest box with some wood shavings and placed three golf balls on top.  The idea is to give the pullets time to peck the golf balls (pseudo eggs) and get bored of that.  Then, hopefully, they won't ever become egg eaters.  Also the golf balls denote the "egg-laying spot" for future use. 

Well, last week, I noticed that someone (I mean some chicken :) was rolling the golf balls out of the nesting box and into the coop each day.  I didn't want anybody to start laying under the roosts in the coop, so, I decided to move the golf balls back into the nesting box.  On Sunday night, I forgot to do this.  But on Monday morning when I checked the nest box, Lucy had rolled the golf balls into their proper spot, like a champ.  Then, she proceeded to add her own version of a golf ball!

The "sophistication" of chickens is questioned in Carmel

Most people at the recent Carmel City Council meeting were in favor of changing the current ordinance and allowing a few hens within city limits.  However, resident James Jungroth is still adamantly against chickens and predicts that "in just a few years, an unruly flock led by an abandoned fighting cock will disrupt the city, flummox animal control, spark fights between neighbors, make Carmel a laughingstock and generate a costly lawsuit after an aggressive rooster mauls a child."  Wow...doomsday, anybody?  Nevermind the fact that at least 3-4 people are attacked by a dog on Carmel Beach every year.  Forget about that...dogs are good.  Chickens are bad.

 

Wake up, Lucy.  You are scary!

Others questioned the "sophistication" of chickens, such as Monta Potter, who said, "I would hope that we are not made fun of.  I think it's important that we continue to promote ourselves as a sophisticated city."  Worry, much?

Marlene Martin, proud chicken owner, who lives outside the city limits says that her chickens are much less trouble that either dogs or cats.  She said, "I'm not sure if I'm sophisticated, or not, but I love chickens.  It actually hurts me to think someone would think they're not sophisticated.  We have sexist, racist, ageist - this is animalist."

The council agreed that a new law should be drafted to allow chickens.  The planning commission will first consider the ordinance and then forward it to the council with recommendations.

I can just hear that crazy, child-mauling rooster pecking at the door.

You can download the full story from the Carmel Pinecone, here.

Central Coast Tomato Taste Tests 2010 - Black Zebra

The next tomato up on the chopping block is Black Zebra.

Seed Catalog Description:

	A natural and stabilized cross between Green Zebra and a black tomato by Jeff Dawson. This is one of the STARS of my whole tomato showcase. A proven success with markets and friends. Our TomatoFest organic tomato seeds produce vigorous, indeterminate, regular-leaf tomato plants that produce 4 oz., 1 1/2", juicy, round tomatoes with purple/mahogany-colored skin with green stripes (like brush strokes) with exceptionally rich, complex, really delightful tomato flavors that contain hints of smoke and sweetness. Its flavor also carries the rich complexity associated with the best of black tomatoes. This this is one of our favorites for looks and taste. A winner! Once tried, you will keep this black tomato a place in your garden.

Production and Earliness: 

Black Zebra hasn't produced many fruit so far...only a couple of handfuls in the last few weeks.  I imagine that it will only produce a few more fruits this year, judging by the amount that has set on the plant.  Not an early variety...mid- to late-season.

Fruit Size, Color, and Shape:

The fruit size is quite small: from 0.5 to 1.5 ounces.  I have a hunch that these tomatoes would be bigger if they had been grown in a hot summer climate.  The color is beautiful!  The picture above doesn't do them justice.  They are striped a deep red and dark green.  The shape is round with some top- and bottom-flattening.

Plant Growth Habit:

The Black Zebra plant has grown to a medium height.  Unfortunately, it's not very vigorous and has been strongly affected by some type of disease.  I only grew one plant this year, so it's possible that a larger sample size might have produced some healthy plants.

Texture:

Good texture.  The skin was a little bit thicker than I like.

Taste:

Delicious!  I tasted Black Zebra, Green Zebra and Paul Robeson together and Black Zebra won for me.  It has a complex punch of flavors.  The citrus flavor of one of parents (Green Zebra) comes through and there's also a nice "black" flavor.  Sweetness is also there to balance the acidity.   Really rich flavor when a bit of salt is added.

Cooking and Serving option:

Perfect for slicing into salads or eating right off the vine! 

Is it a winner?

If I had a garden that was big enough I would definitely grow this plant every year simply because of the outstanding flavor it has.  As it stands, I plan to try it again next year and see if it grows stronger and produces more fruit.  (Oh please let it be so!)

This is why we should always grow zucchini :)

Zucchini foils bear attack for Montana woman

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A Montana woman fended off a bear trying to muscle its way into her home Thursday by pelting the animal with a large piece of zucchini from her garden.

The woman suffered minor scratches and one of her dogs was wounded after tussling with the 200-pound bear.
The attack happened just after midnight, when the woman let her three dogs into the backyard for their nighttime ritual before she headed to bed, Missoula County Sheriff's Lt. Rich Maricelli said. Authorities believe the black bear was just 25 yards away, eating apples from a tree.
The bear fought with one of the dogs, then came after the woman in her doorway. She reached behind her and grabbed the zucchini from her kitchen counter.  She threw the vegetable, which bopped the bear on the top of its head, and the animal fled, Maricelli said.

(This story is courtesy of the Monterey County Herald.)

This might just be the best use of zucchini ever!

I hope this (true!) story made you laugh...I did!

Central Coast Tomato Taste Tests 2010 - Japanese Black Trifele

Well, it's time to (finally!) begin the "Central Coast Tomato Taste Test 2010" series!  It's been a recording-breaking cold summer and the tomatoes are showing the effects of low temperatures.  Less fruit has set on the plants and the tomatoes stay green on the vine for what seems like an eternity.  I have a hunch that the flavors of the tomatoes for this year will be biased towards bland.  So, any variety that tastes good this year will probably be a real winner in a normal year.  

A bright shining star of my tomato garden has been Japanese Black Trifele.

Seed Catalog Description:

Russian origin. In Russia the Trifele varieties of tomatoes (of which there are several colors) are highly prized and command high prices. This short potato leaf plant yields prolific quantities of 6 oz. fruit that looks like a beautiful mahogany-colored Bartlett pear with greenish shoulders. Very tasty flesh with a meaty core that produces luscious fruit all summer long. A work of art sliced out on a plate and a wonderful flavor that possesses an extraordinary rich and complex flavors. The Black Trifele is one of the blackest varieties available and is resistant to cracking.

Production and Earliness: 

This variety is currently the 3rd highest for pounds of fruit produced.  However, when I look at the plants and see all of the large green fruit, I'm very sure that by the end of the season, it will be the heaviest producer.  I didn't grow Lahman Pink this year, which was a heavy producer last year, so I can't compare the two in terms of production.  In terms of earliness, the first fruit was picked on 8/29, which is not bad considering the cool temperatures.  I can classify it as a mid-season variety.

Fruit Size, Color, and Shape:

The fruit size is typically between 2-6 ounces.  The color is a "light black", meaning that it is mostly red with some greenish shoulders sometimes.  The shape would probably be somewhere between a large egg and a pear.  In my garden a lot of the fruit have been "doubles".  I haven't noticed any cracking and very little cat-facing.

Plant Growth Habit:

The seed catalog description says that it is a "short" plant, but mine is not really short.  It's not 9 feet high like some of my plants, but it's definitely taller than a determinant variety.  I'm really glad that I let several early suckers grow because they are producing lots of fruit.

Texture:

Mmmm...it's silky.  Nice thin skin.

Taste:

Quite nice.  I would say it's a mild black flavor.  It's not as complex as, say, Paul Robeson.  But it's sweet with very little acidity.  Salt definitely punches up the flavor.  Without salt, it's a little bland.

Cooking and Serving option:

It's pretty juicy, so probably best used as a slicer.  Might make a nice fresh pasta sauce, but probably not worth it to try to can the sauce.

Is it a winner?

Right now, I'm seeing this variety as a "insurance policy".  That is, insurance against a tomato-less summer.  It is producing (relatively) large, nicely-flavored fruits in abundance.  And for that I am grateful.  I'll definitely grow this variety again next year.

 

My chickens can jump...

White men may not be able to jump, but my chickens can :)




Savannah is jumping up to eat a fushia berry. It's fun to watch the chickens jump around the plant to eat the berries (and sometimes flowers). I've tasted the fushsia berries and they seem pretty bland to me. Not sure what the attraction is for the chickens.

I thought we were novel...

You know, the whole movement of raising chickens in small urban or suburban backyards? Did you think it was a new thing? Well, I did.

Of course, we all know that raising chickens used to be 'standard procedure' on family farms a century ago. Those hard-working farmers raised enough meat birds and eggs for the family and sold the extras. But what about city people? Weren't urban folks the ones who were buying the extra meat and eggs from the farming families? That's what I thought. However, an article from the American Poultry Journal discusses how some city dwellers are choosing to raise their own chickens. And it was published in 1921. Here's the text:

You can click the images above to read the text, if you would like.

^{Ecclesiastes 1:9}

⁹ What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.

These look familiar...

Can legislation solve the egg problem?

Some people think that creating more rules for the factory farms can help reduce (or eliminate?) food-borne illness outbreaks. This recent NPR story supports that premise. Can the FDA really solve the problem? I'm not so sure. I mean, they still think it's fine for BPA to be in contact with (and IN) our food and throughout our environment, even though there is evidence that it is not completely safe.

The FDA seems to always be behind the curve. Only this year did they admit that BPA might be "of concern". Come on, people have been talking about the dangers of BPA for years!

This is not how factory farmers gather their eggs :)
Image credit: woodleywonderworks

So, back to the original question, can the FDA, or any other government agency, prevent food-borne illness? Is this a realistic goal?

The price of eggs: Then and Now

Recently, I've been reading old chicken literature. Specifically the American Poultry Journal. I was reading about Black Langshans (thanks to Clare) when I noticed something. The lady who wrote the article mentions the price that she's getting for her eggs in fall/winter. They were 53 cents per dozen in October, 67 cents in November, and 70 cents in December.

So, I was reading this article without knowing the date that it was written. When I read those prices, I though maybe the article was from the 1960s or 70s? But NO! It was from 1921...that's 90 years ago.

That got me to thinking... If eggs cost $0.70 in 1921, what would that be like in today's dollars? The interwebs came to the rescue. The answer is: $0.70 in 1921 = $8.32 in 2009. Can you imagine?

A friend of mine, who is a poor college student, told me that he buys eggs from Safeway when they go on sale for $2 for one and a half dozen. Unbelievable how cheap eggs are! No wonder the lives of those hens are so terrible!

The American Poultry Journal has some great advertisements. I'll probably be including some of them when I post about chickens. Here is one you might like:
Click to enlarge. People used to actually make money with a small backyard flock.

A stay-clean, efficient, and easy watering device for the chickens

So, who likes cleaning out their old-fashioned, galvanized chicken waterer? Not me. That's a chore that I did not look forward to everyday. Fortunately, I ran across another idea on backyardchickens.com. The basic design is to attach a specially designed water nipple to the bottom of a plastic bucket. This design is similar to what a guinea pig or hamster might drink out of.

I purchased 6 of these nipples from FarmTek.com for $2.05 each.

I bought a 2-gallon white plastic bucket from Home Depot ($3) and drilled 2 holes (3/8 " in diameter) into the bottom of the bucket. Then I screwed the nipples into these holes. Based on reading about someone else's experience, I didn't think I would need a washer and a nut. But I did. The bucket leaked without adding a rubber washer and a metric-sized nut to the inside of the bucket. Home Depot didn't have the washers and nuts, but a nice guy at Napa found them for me in his store. (He also mentioned that his adult son wants to get chickens. I encouraged him on this, of course.)


I was concerned that the chickens might not know how to use the nipple waterer. But it only took them about 30 seconds to figure it out. Smart girls.

This was such as easy project! I'm so glad that I found out about it. It's nice not to have to deal with the mess of the old waterer. And even more importantly, I like knowing that the girls always have clean water to drink.


This is my feeder, which also is working well.

Notice that it's raised off the ground, which seems to prevent spillage...to some degree.

I was wondering when this was going to happen...

Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA and chickens... This story makes me glad (again) that I don't live in Carmel. Tourists think that Carmel is a magical, wonderful place. Regular people who live around here tend to think it's snooty, persnickety, and ridiculous. And I'm one of those regular people.

Anyway, Carmel is also known for being a very "pet-friendly" town. But maybe not. They are currently struggling with chickens. The Carmel Pine Cone is a small paper that I read sometimes just to laugh about what's going on in Carmel. It's usually just the same old arguments between neighbors about who can put in a new window and what type of material the window frame must be made out of, etc. But this week it's about chickens and how they may or may not be dangerous to the fancy-pants lives of some residents. Here's the scoop:

Anna Yateman "asked the city council in April to allow people to keep chickens, pointing out that they lay good eggs and eat pests while their waste makes good compost." She currently has 3 hens and didn't know they were illegal pets. Her neighbor (of course, 50% of the stories in this paper are about petty disputes between neighbors) doesn't want her or anybody else to have chickens. The neighbor, James Jungroth, "told the commission, he didn’t want his $1.5 million home to be anywhere near a chicken farm." He said he only agreed to the purchase after the realtor told him hens were against the law. "Think of 1,000 people each getting two chickens,” he said, speculating the runoff from their coops would create a nuisance or a hazard. And “the cages become larger and larger — they become McMansions for the chickens.” He then went on to complain about other neighbor issues with Yateman, which he said his attorney directed him to do, but commissioner Robin Wilson cut him off, saying that was not the purpose of the commission or the hearing. “I do not want my neighbor to have chickens,” Jungroth reiterated, before sitting down.

Just another reason I'm proud to live in the poor, blue-collar town of Seaside, where chickens can live happily in their "McMansions" :)

What a long, strange, trip it's been

It's been a cold spring and summer. In fact, it's been the coldest July on record and one of the top 3 coldest Junes. But, you don't have to ask the weatherman to find this out. Just look at my garden. I've only picked 3 ripe tomatoes so far. The plants were started from seed in late January and planted out during the first half of April. Four looong months later, on August 3, I picked the first one - a Costoluto Genovese.

This is the first tomato of the year, just a few days before I picked it.

Costoluto Genovese

Japanese Black Trifele

August 3 is a full month later than I got my first ripe tomato last year! (And I even set out my plants about a week earlier this year.) A lot of blossoms aren't setting.

Principe Borghese is good about setting fruit in cold weather. (Way to go! You sweet little Italian heirloom, you!)

On the bright side, the beans are growing well. Especially, the Scarlet Runner beans.

Witness the chicken damage below knee-height :) The girls love their greens.

Plus lots of zucchini (surprise).


And several nice-looking spaghetti squash.


Cucumbers are painfully slow.

I still have some lettuce that's growing pretty well, this is Gentilla (green) and Lollo Rossa (red).

I hate the ugly, chicken-deterrent cages, but at least I'll have lettuce to pick.

Here are the recent additions. Two hardy kiwis: the male is on the left and the female (Ken's Red) is on the right. Also, 2 everbearing red raspberries in the center: Jaclyn (left) and Caroline (right). Jaclyn has buds right now.


I'm proud of myself for actually remembering to put in some flowers:

Bella's true idenity...we think...

Black Langshan!

Many thanks to Clare at Curbstone Valley Farm for doing so much research on behalf of my little Bella. She suspected Black Langshan as the correct breed for Bella, and she was right! As I said before, Bella was labeled "Brahma" at the Hacienda Hay and Feed, where I got her. But she never developed the Brahma patterned feathers. Instead, she's all black. "Bella Negra", my husband calls her.

So, I called the Hacienda to find out where they purchased the chicks from = Privett Hatchery in Arizona. Unfortunately, they do not have an online catalog, so I called them and asked for one to be mailed to me. And voila:


That's my Bella!

The catalog description is:

"Hen weight-approx. 6 lbs. Introduced from China in mid-19th Century. All black bird with greenish sheen. Lays medium to dark brown egg. Can be broody. Not an economical eater. Cold hardy. Docile, calm, and graceful."

Black Langshans are known for their height...they can grow quite tall for a chicken. They are described as being graceful and curious. Bella fits this description quite well. She's not so "crazy" like Lucy and doesn't whine for treats like her, either. At the same time, she's is interested in me and what I'm doing. And she loves her treats. She also has an elegant walk and a lovely shape.

BTW, Privett has a nice brochure with pictures of all of their breeds for sale.


I'm saving it as a reference chart. The only way to get one is to call them and request it. In case you would like your own copy, the number is 800.545.3368.

My reasons for the urban chickens

Well, I've told you lots about the chickens, but very little about why we decided to raise them...and that's important.

First, the MYTH:

I'm raising laying hens to save money.

This is ridiculous. I'll never save money on this project, and I've known it all along. For example, I spent $575 on their house, which is cuter than my own house. I'm buying them special organic laying feed that costs twice as much as what most chickens get. Obviously, I'll never save money this way :)

The REAL reasons:
1) I'm appalled at how factory farms treat their chickens. It's so bad that Californians had to pass a Proposition in support of farmed animals. Now, hens will have a little bit more room in their cages, at least in CA. I don't want to go into the details here, because it just bums me out. (Suffice it to say, that their lives are still very sad and not appropriate for one of God's creatures. I'm not providing links here because you can just google it.)

2) They are really pretty and funny and make great pets.

3) They create eggs.

4) They create high quality organic fertilizer for my vegetable garden.

The hens are easy to take care of; requiring very little time. But I will say this: They poop. A lot. And not in a box. So, if you are one of those people who is really bothered by poop, then you are most likely not reading this blog. But if you are, beware.

In reality, the poop really isn't that big of a deal for me. It only smells for a few minutes. Once it dries, in an hour or so, it doesn't smell. At my house, the poop is a good thing. It will make the flowers and vegetables grow.


Some thoughts for potential chicken owners:
Stefaneer, at Silician Sisters Grow Some Food, recently posted about an irresponsible chicken owner, who wants someone else to take care of her hens (but do not kill them) once they stop laying eggs. This is terrible. Chicken owners need to be responsible. If you buy an animal, you are committed to it.

If you are considering buying some chickens, I encourage you to:
1) Stop, put down the Organic Gardening magazine (or whatever has cute chicken pictures in it).


Yes, I know those unusual breeds of chickens are really pretty. I want one of each of them, too!

2) Read a book or attend a chicken workshop. Or thoroughly scour the interwebs (backyardchicken.org is a good site).
3) I suggest a waiting period before purchasing them. Yes, I'm serious. You really don't want to buy chickens on an "impulse". I waited at least 3 years, but that's unusually long :)
4) Visit some chickens. And ask questions of their owners.
5) Then if you still really want chickens, go for it! They are great.

Is Bella really a Brahma or not?

Curbstone Vally Farm recently posted a very in-depth discussion on the history of the Dark Brahma breed. It's complicated, to say the least.

One of my 2.5 month old pullets (Bella) was labeled as a Brahma when I brought her home. She was black and white when she was little:

Bella (the Brahma?) is the one at the bottom of the photo.

But now, she's completely black with only a dot of white on her wing tips. I love how the shiny black feathers look like iridescent green, blue and purple in the sunlight.

It's hard for me to take a good (representative) picture of Bella, since her feathers are so shiny.

Anyway, the Curbstone post has lots of historical pictures of Dark Brahmas, such as this one:

All of the Dark Brahmas were patterned black and white from what I can tell. But Bella doesn't look like that. Maybe she's not a Brahma? Maybe she's not old enough to show her "mature" pattern? (This is what Clare at Curbstone Valley Farm believes, and she's probably right.) I guess I'll just have to wait and see!

Shades of grey

At the college where I work there is a pond. Canada geese live around the pond year round. There is also a big white goose that lives there. He has big orange feet and an orange beak, in stark contrast to the numerous grey/black Canada geese. I feel sorry for this white goose because there are no other geese like him around. He's big, kind of fat and cannot fly, unlike the Canada geese. I think he is classified as a domestic greylag goose. Greylags are native to Eurasia and were historically raised for meat. According to this website, the greylag males are white with orange beaks and feet.

Anyway, I've noticed that for the last couple of years, the Greylag goose has been like a "good uncle" to a mated pair of Canada geese. He always helps the pair out by babysitting and watching out for the goslings. But this year, after seeing the goslings down by the pond, I think he was up to something more...a motley crew:
This is dad:
And this is mom:

This Cornell website confirms that Greylag geese can mate with Canada geese.

There are 5 goslings. All are different shades of grey:




I think they are quite beautiful.