October 20: Garlic Anniversaries

8 of the rows of planted garlic

October 20 is a very special day to us. It's our wedding anniversary. Yet it also marks the height of garlic planting time. And if the garlic is not in the ground on time; we'll be sorry in the spring. So...as with the few days before and after our wedding, garlic must get in the ground. Now, when the garlic cloth comes out of storage, we know it's time to celebrate our anniversary. The first year we grew it like this was the year we were married and extra time had to be spent cutting each hole in the cloth. Now, three years later, we reuse the same cloth after having cleaned it of  weed seeds. We do this all summer using various methods including letting the chickens loose on it.  Each strip of heavy fabric weed barrier has two rows of holes, made by cutting a "T" shape. It is secured by garden stakes as well as soil to hold it down in the heaviest winds. Our biggest and best garlic heads are separated and one clove is planted by hand in each hole. They will stay in the ground all winter until they are harvested when 2/3 of each stalk are brown; this year it was early July for us.

It's truly fall: pumpkins and corn on the cob

Vince and Pieter "lost" in the corn maze

When we think of the idyllic "fall on the farm," we think of pumpkins, hayrides, and corn on the cob. We have two of those- corn and pumpkins, but for the hayride, we ventured to Bob's Corn to get lost in the corn maze (when Vince was leading) and experience other such novelties as can be found on a farm where the farmer (Bob) has an exorbitant amount of energy for entertaining and the business is agritourism.

Pieter in our cart of Caruso Farm Pumpkins

While agritourism isn't in the plans for our own little farm, we did grow pumpkins and sweet corn.  Our corn turned out wonderfully, although the season was a little slowed by the wet spring, as experienced by farmers in all parts of the state.  Finally, at the end of October, we have sweet, tender ears of corn that we can be proud of. This year we only grew giant pumpkins as opposed to smaller sugar pumpkins that we grew last year. Now we know- there is a demand for both- and we will grow both to sell next year.  Visit our soon-to-be sister in law's blog if you ended up with a giant pumpkin and want to do something with the "meat" after you carve you jack-o-lantern. Yes, pumpkin is so much better fresh than out of a can! In fact, I didn't even know pumpkin came in a can (or cake in a box, for that matter) until college.  But I digress: Molly's blog is full of yummy pumpkin recipes. Click here or go to our RECIPES page for the individual recipes.  Here is the tip for successful baking with fresh pumpkin: 1 3/4C pumpkin = one 15oz can of pumpkin. It took a while to figure out that formula- especially when nearly all pumpkin recipes call for canned pumpkin.

Turn out the lights...the market's over (and it's getting dark, anyway)

Mom and Dad washing lettuce

 "They say that all good things must end...turn out the lights...the party's over" Not sure why this Willie Nelson song was going through my head as I thought about what to write about the end of the market season. But we'll go with it. Yes, this is Anna writing.

With the month of October comes an end to the market season and shorter days. We will say that we weren't really sad to sleep in a little longer on that first Saturday of October rather than hitting the alarm at 5am, slipping on headlamps and boots and heading out to the garden to harvest and pack for the market. We did have our help well trained, though. Just as the light came up they (Mom and Dad) arrived to pick, wash and carry under the backdrop of a beautiful sunrise. (That's the romantic farm-life part of market days.)

We also had relatives from Holland come to help for a few weekends too.  Well, I won't be so conceited as to say they came to Washington just to help us, but once here, help they did. Walter and Jaap showed up bright and early without complaint, and Danielle and Nel supported us at the market- and we figured out a few Dutch translations for vegetables along the way. Now- on to fall garden cleanup!

Jaap harvesting squash blossoms

Walter cutting dill

Our New "G"

Vince has a new girlfriend- his Allis Chalmers G.  I'm not even sure Allis Chalmers was a female, but in order to keep herself in competition, Anna had to take her out for a test ride. We are very excited about this new find (as you can see in the picture above). It all started with a visit to the antique tractor show, where we saw her for the first time.  The neighbor down the road was actually selling her, so a few weeks later, we paid him a visit and soon after, Vince and his new tractor were bumping home down the road.  We can now see what we are cultivating right underneath us without looking backwards all the time to see if we missed the spinach. The idea is that the G will take over some of the hand hoeing work between rows. It can also do many other things, I just don't know exactly what they are, but they way I hear it, they're pretty neat.

"Okay, so I have to ask...what is a ground cherry?"

Our big basket of ground cherries drew a lot of attention at the markets last week and we have our answer to the question, "Okay, so I have to ask... what is a ground cherry?" down pat. Our first response: "Well, taste one. Find a nice yellow one and pop it out of the husk." That first taste always elicits a most wonderful facial expression- one of surprise and pleasant satisfaction. Then comes the study of the taste and texture they just experienced, followed by an explanation of what the taste reminds them of. And the crowd gathers to see the excitement...

Danielle collects ripe ground cherries by lifting the vine and gathering the ones that have fallen.

Here is our official answer: Yes, we grown them right here in Snohomish. Ground Cherries are closely related to tomatillos (although they taste much sweeter) and the flower Chinese Lanterns. The ground cherry is a sprawling plant that produces a small golden fruits encased in a papery husks.They grow on a low growing vine and the fruit falls off of the vine when they are ripe. They are then harvested by collecting them off of the ground. When let to sit out in the husk, they ripen further for a few weeks and gain an even sweeter flavor. They are popular to use in salads, jams and preserves, raw as a snack and in salsa. We also heard ideas for sorbets, pies, and a chance to impress dinner guests with a unique food.

What to do with a Hungarian Hot Wax Pepper

As promised at the Farmer's Market, here is the recipe displayed with our Hungarian Hot Wax Peppers.  It was passed on to our brother from a family friend, and the tradition continues!

1. Wash and cut out the insides of the peppers.  (the more seeds that are left with the peppers the hotter they will be.)  Slice to make uniform rings.

2. Soak peppers in the following solution for 12-24 hours:

1 quart vinegar
3 quarts water
1 cup salt

3. Pack tightly into jars and add garlic if desired.  Pour in corn oil until jars are full and peppers are completely covered. It is very important that corn oil is used and no other oil!

4. Store in refrigerator and use on sandwiches, in salads, or any recipe calling for hot peppers.

How Sweet It Is: Honey!!

Anna and Dave are all smiles, expecting the best as they open the hives to look for honey.

This is what the honey looks like before it is extracted.

Calming down the bees. 

Blackberry Honey! The first batches of honey were made at the start of August. It has been such an interesting process to observe and learn.  For more information on what Dave and Anna are doing, visit their website: www.colonialhoneyfarm.webs.com.