Doug's Magic Dirt FormulaHow I Got 60 Butternut Squash From 1 Seed!

I got 60 butternut squash from ONE seed!

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My Husband, the Amazing Farmer
Our friends always laugh when they see the size and yield of the vegetables from our garden. It's simply unbelievable how much our garden produces from a single seed. This year the winning vegetable was our butternut squash. One seed yielded a plant that produced 60 butternut squash, each weighing between 2 and 4 pounds - about 200 pounds of squash in all. A few even weighed as much as 5 pounds! I used a year-old seed from a packet of Johnny's JWS 6823 PMR Organic Squash Seed.  Their website says the average yield for this seed is 4 to 5 squash per plant. I can't wait to write to them to tell them that we got 60!

I believe the secret is Doug's magic dirt formula. Since everyone always asks us, "what's in your soil", I thought I'd write this blog post. It's kind of tough to create a recipe for this since he "adds a little of this and a little of that" and deals in huge quantities, but I think this will come close.

Doug's Magic Dirt Formula

Requirements:
Wheel barrel 
Shovel

Ingredients
1 cubic foot of native soil from your yard
1 cubic foot bag of organic compost
2 pounds earthworm castings
1 cup Biochar
1 1/2 tablespoons glacial rock dust
1 tablespoon mycorrhizae

Directions
#1 - Dig up a cubic foot of soil from your yard and place it in a wheel barrel.

#2 - Add a cubic foot of organic compost to the wheel barrel and mix well.

Compost is decayed organic material such as leaves, grass, etc. which greatly enriches your soil. You can buy it or create a compost pile from your vegetable scraps.

#3 - Add earthworm castings.

This is basically worm poop and is used as a fertilizer in organic farming.

#4 - Add Biochar.

Biochar is burnt, carbonized biomass which is used as an amendment for soil to help retain water and nutrients.

.
#5 - Add glacial rock dust.

Contains a wide variety of trace minerals that replenishes the soil. Glacial rock dust is a natural product produced from glacial action taking place over thousands of years.

#6 - Mix it all together in the wheel barrel and then add to the planting area. 

#7 -Sprinkle mycorrhizae in the hole where you place your seeds or cuttings.

Mycorrhizae are fungi that form a symbiotic relationship with your plants' roots. They allow your plants to increase their ability to absorb water and nutrients from the soil. The plant provides food in the form of carbohydrates to the fungi. A match made in heaven!

Well, that's it. Sounds like a bit of trouble but the results are worth it! You will not need to fertilize your plants - this will do it all. You can double, triple, quadruple or cut this recipe in half. 

Warning: this recipe may result is lots of cooking, canning, freezing, dehydrating, and searching for friends and neighbors to take your vegetables!

When To Pick PearsSome Favorite Pear Recipes

Is it time to pick pears?

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When are Pears Ripe to Pick?
For years we've had a small espalier pear tree. It's more for decoration but it yields a dozen or so pears each year. And each year, by the time I pick them, they are too mushy to eat. 

Like many people I assumed this fruit ripens on the vine so I'd go up and squeeze the pears and see if they have ripened. Since they were always hard as a rock I let them go a bit longer.

Well it turns out that pears don't ripen on the vine which makes it a bit more tricky to know when you should pick them. But here's what to do.

Put the pear in the palm of your hand and pull it towards you until it's completely horizontal. If the pear comes off the branch easily, it's ready to pick. If it holds on the to branch, it's not ready.

Holding it horizontally, give it a little tug.
A mature pear will come off easily.

So now you have a bunch of hard pears - what to do next? If you have a lot of them, put them in the fruit bin in your refrigerator. They will store for months (at least that has been my experience and the experience of my friend Ray who has way more pears than I do.) When you want a few ripe pears, take them out and let them sit for a week or less at room temperature. 

Some say that you can tell a pear is ripe when the neck softens. But I think the best way is to smell it. When it smells like a ripe pear, it's ready to eat.

Here are some of my favorite pear recipes:

Strawberry and Pear Crisp with Nutty Hemp Seed Topping



Black Bean and Pear Taco Sliders



Pomegranate, Pear and Orange Salad



Raw Vegan Pear and Apple Crisp with Raisins



Organic Apple and Pear Bundt Cake with White Whole Wheat Flour

How To Grow Pole Beans 7 Feet High A Better Use For Tomato Cages!

A simple way to grow pole beans.

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Pole Beans 
One of the most enjoyable things about growing beans is to see how tall and how fast they grow. But let's face it, we are all tempted to grow bush beans, especially if we don't have anything for beans to climb on. Here's a really easy way to grow pole beans in a very small space with something you probably already have!

A Better Use for Tomato Cages
Tomato cages are probably the worse design in history. As the tomato plant grows, you are constantly trying to figure out how to stuff the thick stems through the narrow bottom circular ring. There are much better ways to grow and stake tomatoes, such as a square cage made of hog wire. 

As an engineer, I look for ways to use failed contraptions and since I have a pile of useless tomato cages, I thought, "why not build a tower for my beans and other climbing vegetables?" (I am also using this technique to grow cucumbers.) Here's what I did. I asked my husband Doug to demonstrate.

#1 - Place a tomato cage upside down on the growing site.
The picture shows the regular size tomato cages but for my beans, in the pictures below, I use large tomato cages. They will create a 7-foot tower. 

#2 - Insert a second tomato cage right side up into the bottom cage.

#3 - Align the cages so that they are perfectly straight.

#4 - Stake the cages in place with one or two pieces of rebar or other types of stakes.
Beans are pretty top heavy so use 2 stakes.

 #5 - Plant a bean seed at each vertical bar.
As they grow, train them to grow up the bars.

#6 - When the plant grows laterals, tie some twine from the bottom wrung to the top to provide additional vertical bars for the beans to grab.

#7 - Watch them grow!
In a very short time, my Romano beans grew 7 feet tall! And now they are cascading over the top and will make their way back down.

You might even see a hummingbird using it to take a little rest!

Several weeks later!

My Favorite Beans
My favorite beans are the Italian Romano Beans. They are quite prolific and very easy to grow. Here's what they will look like at harvest.

Last year's harvest of Romano beans.

Here are some recipes for Romano Beans:

Romano Green Bean and Garbanzo Bean Salad.

Julienne Cut French Style Green Beans.

How To Can Thick-Crushed Tomatoes From Your Garden Or Farmer's Market

How to can your garden tomatoes.

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Time to Can Tomatoes
I have a beautiful crop of tomatoes this year. It's so big that it would take every jar in my house to can them, so I'm going to cook them down until they are very thick.

I use every type of tomato in my garden to get a nice combination of acidity and flavor. This year, I was lucky enough to find New Zealand paste tomato plants at our farmer's market to add to the mix. They grew well, they have very few seeds, and they are enormous! I will definitely save seeds from this one for next year.

A 12-ounce New Zealand paste tomato

New Zealand paste tomatoes on the vine

How to Can Thick-Crushed Tomatoes

Requirements
A large Water Bath Canning pot.
A 5 1/2 quart non-reactive Dutch Oven
Pint canning jars with lids and bands
Lemon juice (1 tablespoon per pint of tomato sauce)

It's hard to say how many jars you'll need per pound of tomatoes because it will vary on the water content of the tomatoes and how thick you want the sauce to be .

Yesterday, I made 4 pints of thick, crushed tomatoes from 15 pounds of tomatoes. Here's what I did:

Wash and core tomatoes.
Cut an X on their bottoms.

Boil for 1 minute or until skins start to curl.

Peel off the skins.

Cut the tomato horizontally.

Squeeze out the seeds and juice into a bowl.
You will strain and save the juice for soup later.

Place the tomatoes in a large, non-reactive pot.
Do not use an aluminum pot or cast iron.
I prefer my enameled Le Creuset Dutch oven.
Crush them with your hands until they are broken up.

Simmer, uncovered, on medium low heat until it thickens. This could take several hours. Add salt if desired. 

While the sauce is simmering and reducing, wash your pint jars very well.  Place the lids and caps in a pot of boiling water. 

Bring a large water bath canning pot to a boil. Keep the pint jars in the hot canning pot until they are needed. This is not just for sterilization, but to prevent breakage later if there is a temperature differential.

Cook down to the desired consistency.
You are now ready to can.

Carefully remove the jars from the hot bath and drain.Place a towel or magazine under them (do not place on a cold counter).
Put 1 tablespoon of lemon or lime juice in every pint jar.

Fill to within a quarter inch of the top.

Wipe the rims clean.
Put on the boiled lid and cap.
Screw firm but not too tight.

Place in boiling water for 35 minutes.
Water should cover jars by 2 inches.
Remove carefully using a jar lifter and place on a towel.

Let the jars cool on a towel.
Label with the date and store in a dark, cool, cabinet.

What about that Juice?

Remember that big bowl of juice and seeds you have from the initial squeezing of the tomatoes? My 15 pounds of tomatoes yielded 4 pints of tomato sauce but there was also 3 pints of juice I didn't want to waste. So I strained out the seeds, and saved it. 

Strain seeds and save the juice.

Use in soups, cook with veggies (it's great for zucchini), or drink it. Refrigerate or freeze for later.

And don't forget to save your favorite seeds for next year. Once you have fermented and dried them, store them in the refrigerator.

Julienne Cut French-Style Green Beans Are Easy To Make With Flat Romano Green Beans

French-style green beans with tomatoes, garlic and basil.

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Romano Green Beans
I love these flat green beans - they are one of my favorites to cook and grow. This year I ordered Johnny's seeds - Northeaster OG Pole beans, online. I don't think it's too late for you to plant them. In fact, I will start a second crop in a week so that I'll have more beans in the fall. 

These pole beans are growing up my hog wire fence

My daily harvest with 10 plants started from seed

French-Styled Green Beans
I love the look and texture of julienne cut, French-styled green beans but they are very difficult to make. It's so hard to julienne a round green bean that most people avoid making French-styled green beans. But when you start with a flat bean, it's a LOT easier.

Today's recipe uses Romano green beans, tomatoes, fresh basil, and garlic - all from my garden! Hopefully you have some of these in your garden or available at your local farmer's market. 

This recipe is very low in calories (less than 60 calories) and a great dish to make if you are watching your weight. 

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French-Style Green Beans with Tomatoes and Basil
Vegan, Gluten and Dairy Free
[makes 4 to 6 servings]

Requirements
Medium saucepan for blanching and 10-inch frypan with cover.

Ingredients
12 ounces flat, Romano green beans
1 large or 2 small tomatoes (~9 ounces)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

Directions
Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil. 

Clean the green beans and trim the tops. If they are very long (8 inches or more), cut in half and place them on a cutting board.

Cut the long beans in half

Thinly slice the beans vertically, being very careful not to cut yourself and set aside.

Cut the stem top off the tomatoes and place in boiling water until the skin starts to loosen, about 60 seconds. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon and let cool to the touch. Do not pour out the boiling water - you will be using it to blanch the beans. Keep the heat on the water. 

Peel the skin off of the tomatoes and dice, retaining all the juices. Set aside.

Place the julienned beans in the boiling water and blanch for 3 minutes. Drain the beans.

Heat the oil in the frypan on medium-low heat and cook the garlic until fragrant, about a minute or less. 

Add the blanched beans to the pan and toss in the oil and garlic. 

Add the diced tomatoes with their juices, the fresh basil, salt and pepper. Cover and cook a few minutes until the beans and tomatoes are the desired texture.

Cover and cook until beans and
tomatoes reach the desired texture. 

Serve as a side dish as is or over a grain. Doug and I ate the entire recipe over rice for lunch with a sprinkle of Go Veggie Vegan Parmesan Grated Topping.

Nutrition
Per serving (4): 58 calories, 3 g total fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 57 mg omega-3 and 352 mg omega-6 fatty acids, 2 g protein, 7 g carbohydrates, 3 g dietary fiber, and 296 mg sodium.

Per serving (6): 39 calories, 2 g total fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 38 mg omega-3 and 235 mg omega-6 fatty acids, 1 g protein, 4 g carbohydrates, 2 g dietary fiber, and 197 mg sodium.