My Love Affair with Tomatoes

This month’s installment for Stacey Fokas’ Freshalicious:

There, it’s out in the open now…. I love tomatoes!  If I were only allowed one vegetable (okay, technically, it’s a fruit), it would be the glorious tomato.  What’s not to love?

If you are only familiar with the hard, barely ripe red things you buy at the grocery store  – which have often travelled several hundred miles – I don’t blame you for your scepticism.  Even the local greenhouse tomatoes that show up in stores in late winter still lack the substance to satisfy my flavour craving….which is why I refuse to buy tomatoes in the winter months.

But come late July, when my heirloom tomatoes start to ripen up, there is nothing more satisfying that picking a sun-warmed tomato and popping it in your mouth.  Having seeds or juice squirt out are a small consolation to pay for the explosion of flavour.

You’ll notice I said “heirloom” tomatoes.    These are plants whose seeds have been passed down from generation to generation.  The diversity is enormous, with colours ranging from yellow to rose, from pink to striped green, to mottled orange, to dark purple, in addition to all the shades of red.  Size-wise, there are the tiny Hahm’s Gelbe, reaching only 8″ tall, but with a bounty of yellow cherry-type tomatoes, up to the huge Sicilian Saucer, whose vine grows to a height of six to eight feet, and has fruit the size of a small breakfast plate!  I grew some two years ago, and needed two hands to pick them off the vine!

Low-acid, early Taxi

And then there are all the varieties of flavour.  For those who want a low-acid tomato, one of my favourite varieties is Taxi.  Not only is it less acidic, it is one of the earlier-maturing varieties.  Do you like a nice zingy taste?  How about Brandywine, which comes in orange and red?  Juicy tomatoes that drip down your chin?  Hillbilly!  And for a meaty flesh suitable for canning and making tomato paste, my two favourites are Amish Paste and San Marzano.

Yet another difference between these heirloom types and standard hybrid tomatoes are that many of the heirlooms are indeterminate growers.  These will continue growing and setting fruit until they

The tomatoes on the outside rows reached a height of over 6 feet!

are killed off by frost.  Because of this continual growth, they will need support, as sometimes they can grow to over 7 feet high!  There are also bush varieties , known as “determinate”.  These may or may not require a cage or staking, depending on their size.  As the name implies, their growth is determinate, with a finite amount of fruit set.  I grow both types in our gardens.

A renewed interested in vegetable gardening and self-sufficiency (yay!) means that these heirloom tomatoes are making a comeback, too.  At this time of the year, you can find plants for sale at many of your local farmers’ market.  Some garden centres are now offering heirloom varieties, too. These gems have been seeded and transplanted (probably a couple of times), and are ready for planting when all danger of frost has passed.  Be sure to ask about whether the plants have been “hardened off”.  All plants which have been started indoors need to gradually get acclimatized to the harsher light from the sun, the winds and the cold.  They can be set out in a sheltered shady spot for a day or two to help with this process. Try a few plants this summer, and then next February or so, you can start your own plants from seed!  You may even want to save seed from some of the tomatoes you grow this summer.  Starting with this little step, you are well on your way to eating fresh and local.

This year, I am planting 19 varieties of tomatoes, ALL of them heirloom.  Some will be ready in as many as 65 days, while some, like the paste tomatoes, will take up to an extra three weeks. This helps spread out the harvest, too.

And what is my favourite heirloom tomato?  No question, it  is Old German. The colouring is gorgeous, a marbled effect of yellow and rosy-red. The flavour has barely a hint of acid, and there’s just enough juice to dribble down your chin if you eat them like an apple. They fill the palm of my hand, and one thick slice is perfect for a summer tomato sandwich.  Mmmm, I can hardly wait!

My beautiful Old German

A Mother’s Love

This post will be an uncharacteristic departure from mushrooms and field crops and GMO’s…. it has been inspired by a bittersweet tale about our daughter’s horses, which live at the farm, and I have chosen to share it with you all as we celebrate Mother’s Day this weekend.

The last few weeks were filled with anticipation and excitement as we waited for Natalie’s mare, Kiarra, to have her first foal.

New mother, Kiarra, with her newborn, Dori

Natalie was first introduced to Kiarra eleven years ago, on our friends’ horse farm, and from the very beginning, it was love at first sight.  Kiarra eventually came to live at our farm, and grew to be a beautifully tempered, yet fiesty and sometimes bossy, leader of the pack.  She was usually the first of the horses to come over and greet Natalie.  She stood over Natalie many times, as a guardian, whether in the paddock or in the stalls.  It appeared our daughter had a surrogate mother…  And so, when Kiarra became pregnant, we watched her belly grow big and round and looked forward to the big day.

Last Monday, Natalie went down to the barn, to discover that Kiarra had foaled during the night, out in the paddock.  She was the mother of a beautifully fuzzy, charcoal grey filly.  However, it was obvious that there had been traumatic complications during the birthing process for Kiarra, and the vet was called immediately.  He did what he could, but could not promise more than two or three days.  The filly would have a short time to be with her mother.  Despite the grim prognosis, Natalie did everything she could think of, with the support of friends and family.  A former employer loaned her a Thermalaser, to try to increase the blood circulation and help with the healing.  I gave Reiki to both the mare and the filly.  Natalie stood guard the whole time, with a watchful eye and a heartful of prayers.  The first day, mother and foal spent their time together, with turnouts to a lush field, where Kiarra could graze and nurse her foal.  She was a natural, with her maternal instincts kicking in full throttle.  Even during the second morning, when she was in pain and her health was deteriorating, she did not abandon her little filly.

In the end, however, nothing could be done.  The vet was called again for another assessment, and a difficult decision was reached.  Kiarra’s life ended mercifully and quickly, and she was buried under Natalie’s favourite willow tree at the bottom of the field.  With hearts full of grief, our thoughts turned to the little orphaned filly, who needed to be fed.  She resisted being bottle fed, so Natalie and her friend took another course of action.  Within a few hours, a new surrogate mother was brought to the farm.  This mare had a 6 week-old colt, and her owner believed she would accept another young one to nurse.

Nursing two babies at once!

As it turns out, we could not have hoped for a better match.  The mare accepted this little stranger and started looking after her.  When the older colt saw that he had “competition” and tried pushing away the little filly (now named Dori), his mother would nip him gently in the butt as a rebuke, and would make sure that the new foal could nurse properly.  By the second night or so, Natalie was so encouraged by the new bonds forming, that she allowed little Dori to stay overnight in the same stall as her new family, without fear of any harm coming to the little one.  She would not have to sleep alone in her stall.

In less than a week’s time,  we have seen a miraculous story unfold.  Natalie’s mare, who had cared for and “protected” our daughter for so many years, finally became a real mother.  A little foal, loved so dearly by her new mother, was then orphaned abruptly.  Within a short time, she was provided with a new family, that accepted her and now nourishes her.  This new mare loves and cares for her as if she is her own.  She nickers after the filly when she wanders, and keeps the peace in her new family.

Dori learned to stand by the mare’s tale, which swished constantly at the flies

To see such love in the animal world has been humbling and inspiring.  The timing has been very appropriate as we celebrate Mother’s Day this weekend.  We have been shown how strong a mother’s love can be, how vitally important it is, and that it exists in all the creatures that inhabit our world.  I leave you with Natalie’s own farewell to her beloved Kiarra:

“Last night I was forced to make the toughest decision in the world, to part ways on our walk on Earth together. Kiarra was the most charismatic, beautiful, bundle of endless energy I have ever come across in a horse. We joined up when she was just a baby, and I had only 11 short years with my baby. She was my protector, so sensitive, always standing over me in her stall and paddock. As I write this now, her 3 day old filly Dori sleeps at my feet in her stall. Thank you to everyone who wished her well on her hopes to recovery, but it was just too much. Dori now has a new family, a mare and colt, to call her four legged family. All is going well with them. I will never be able to replace Kiarra, but now her filly will be the one I look after, just as Kiarra had done for me. Rest in peace my beautiful girl, not a day will go by that I won’t think of you or visit you.”

Hoping you all celebrate a beautiful Mother’s Day.

“New” family portrait

Update from the Greenhouse

Spring is such a dynamic time of year, that when things start moving and growing, you can see changes daily…  The photo on the left is of some of the garlic I planted last fall.  I scuffled the soil around the plants last weekend, and they all look fabulous.  Inside the greenhouse, I had my work cut out for me….I have mentioned in a previous post that there were alot of “volunteers”, ie. self-seeded plants from last year’s plants.  Well, they are really growing now!  I have to move/remove some of them, and actually transplanted a patch of lettuce that was in a walkway.

Dill, lettuce and green onions, all self-seeded!

More dill and red lettuce

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The peas are coming along nicely, too, although some didn’t germinate.  They were a bit too cold and wet from the mini-flood in the greenhouse a few weeks ago.  Nonetheless, they will be ready before the ones I plant outside soon.

Snow peas (on the right are some oats I’ve planted as green manure/bunny food)

I found it very interesting that although I had been thinking I was late with some of my sowing, I actually have more greens started in the greenhouse than I had realized!  It seems that wherever I had lettuce growing late last summer, ALL the plants went to seed.  And even though it looks a bit untidy, I am grateful for the gift.  Here is another example of some pak choy I had seeded last month, with beautiful Bibb lettuce coming up through it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, I actually did plant some seeds this spring, like these cute little radishes and some delicious spinach…don’t they look yummy?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At one point while I was working this afternoon, I had just finished weeding the row of peas and stood up to stretch out my back, which was starting to get sore.  As I looked around me, at all the incredible little plants, I started smiling, then grinning, and then laughing.  “I have to get my head examined”, I thought to myself.  How can I be so happy and sore at the same time?   Apparently, it’s quite common among gardeners, so don’t be too concerned if it happens to you!

I finished up my afternoon with my first official harvest.  (Official, because I have been nibbling all week!)

We had our very first salad from our garden at dinner.  Included were lots of volunteers (green onions, dill, leaf lettuce, lamb’s quarter), as well as spinach and pak choy that were seeded.  Tender, juicy, sweet, and SO delicious!

Growing a Vegetable Garden 101

(My contribution this month to Stacey Fokas’ Freshalicious website)

Recently, a friend asked me for some advice on starting a garden.  She wanted to grow her own organic food, but had never grown a garden before and needed to know everything.  I discovered how much I had taken for granted, knowing all about growing food, because I had been doing it since my childhood.  Wow, where to start?

The first advice I gave her was to make sure she was starting with good, healthy, fertile soil.  Depending on where you live, you may have sandy soil, heavy clay, or if you’re lucky, some beautiful sandy loam.  Most garden centres will be able to help you identify your soil type and to suggest what soil amendments you may need to make.  Regardless of your soil, a good layer of compost should always be added….every year, in fact.

Next is the selection of where you’re going to plant.  Most vegetables need to have lots of sun to grow, but there are some that will be fine in light shade.   If you don’t have space in your yard, don’t give up!  The solution is container gardening….pots, large boxes, hanging baskets and bags – use your imagination and you’ll be surprised at how much food you can grown in a small amount of space!  Again, just be aware of how much sun/heat or shade your plants will be getting.  Remember that small pots will need much more frequent watering than larger containers.

And then there is the matter of what to plant…  As my friend remarked, going through a seed catalogue or the seed racks at the garden centre was almost overwhelming, there was such a huge selection!

For instant gratification, there is nothing like radishes or lettuce.  They germinate easily and quickly, and will produce something you can eat in about a month. However, keep in mind that soil and air temperature are also factors on when you can plant your seeds or plants.  The list of veggies that can be started now, as soon as the ground is dry enough, includes peas, radishes, spinach, lettuce, green onions, kale, chard, beets and carrots.  I start all of these plants from seeds, rather than purchasing plants.  Once all risk of frost has passed, you can plant the heat-loving veggies, such as peppers, tomatoes and beans.  (If you haven’t already started your tomato or pepper plants, I would suggest you purchase them this year, then consider starting your own next year, around the beginning of March.)

The chart on the left shows optimum soil temperatures and the number of days it takes for the seed to germinate.  Most seed packets will tell you how to plant the seeds, when you can expect them to germinate (ie. sprout), and how many days it will be before you can harvest your vegetables.

You will also have to decide on how big to make your garden.  Some plants can be grown quite close together, such as lettuce, while others (tomatoes, potatoes), will take quite a bit more room.  The chart below helps explain how densely you can plant your garden.

Finally, there is the decision about what varieties of plants/seeds you will be buying…For example, there are hybrid and heirloom types of tomatoes.  Hybrid seeds have been bred to grow consistent produce, with specific traits, such as no seeds, or a thick skin/rind (which makes for better transportation). The downside is, when you use hybrid seeds, you cannot save seeds from this year’s crop and grow them next year.

Open-Pollinated, heirloom seeds, on the other hand, have a much wider diversity, and can be saved and re-planted, year after year.  There are many benefits to this.  Obviously, there is the cost-saving factor, but more importantly, as you grow your own saved seed each year, the plants will adapt to your specific garden environment (climate and soil type), and produce more robust plants each year.

Whatever you decide to grow, and wherever or however you do it, my last suggestion is to get everyone involved.  There is something so satisfying about pulling a carrot out of the ground, knowing that you’ve grown it yourself, and eating it.  Picking peas and munching them in the garden is almost as wonderful as popping a warm cherry tomato in your mouth… The more helpers you have with the planning and planting, the more involved they will be with the weeding and harvesting!

Eating local and organic starts at home! Happy planting and good luck!

Rebel With a Cause

Today was a Day of Action to stop the introduction of genetically modified alfalfa in Canada.   The rallies were coordinated through the NFU (National Farmers’ Union) and CBAN (Canadian Biotechnology Action Network), right across the country.  To give you a summary of what it was all about, this is from CBAN’s website:

“Alfalfa is used to help produce many of the foods we eat! Alfalfa (commonly harvested as hay) is a high-protein feed for animals like dairy cows, beef cattle, sheep, poultry and pigs. It‘s also used to build nutrients and organic matter in the soil, making it particularly important for organic farming. Farmers agree that GM alfalfa is not needed or wanted but farmers are never consulted before GM crops are introduced.

Alfalfa is a perennial plant that is insect pollinated, therefore, if GM alfalfa is commercially released, GM alfalfa will inevitably contaminate non-GM and organic alfalfa. This GM contamination will threaten the livelihoods of family farmers in Ontario and across Canada. The seed industry says they will focus on Eastern Canada but if GM alfalfa is released, it will only be a matter of time before alfalfa across Canada is contaminated, and sensitive export and organic markets are lost.”

As you can see, there is a lot at stake here.  The industry attempted to introduce this alfalfa out west earlier, but farmers and consumers protested so effectively, that they shut it down.  They are now trying to try it out on Eastern Canada, thinking there will be less opposition here.  Unfortunately, if GM alfalfa is approved and used here in Ontario, it will quickly spread across the country, essentially wiping out organic dairy farming, and doing so much more damage to our soil and pollinators.  What’s more, it is completely unnecessary!  The trait they are introducing is  resistance to the chemical RoundUp.  We have yet to talk to a single farmer who thinks we need this, since alfalfa is a perennial crop that is grown for 3 or 4 years, then worked into the soil.  Weeds just are not an issue to warrant spraying with this herbicide.

This is why Ralph and I both felt strongly about taking a couple of hours out of our busy farm day to lend our voices to the protest in our local town of Orangeville.  Although our group of 30 people was not as big as some communities had (250 in Guelph, 100 in Owen Sound, hundreds in Toronto, I’m sure), we had lots of interest from passersby.  We were situated outside our federal MP’s office on the main drag of town.  We heard lots of car horns and cheers, and saw many waves of support.  The local police even stopped traffic as we marched across the street!  A young officer spoke with us afterwards and said even he learned lots about the issue.

A Facebook friend of mine was teasing me about being such a rebel.  As I told her, I feel that as citizens, we are either part of the problem, or part of the solution.  As informed farmers, Ralph and I have a responsibility to share our experiences and information with others.  Understandably, most of us are so preoccupied with holding down our jobs, paying the bills, helping our kids, etc, that we don’t have alot of time to investigate things like GMO’s.  Some things do have to take priority, however, and if it has to do with my livelihood (farming) and my health, I am going to find the time to learn what I need to know. There is lots of great information on the CBAN website.  If you still haven’t seen “Genetic Roulette“, it’s also a great place to start learning about GMO’s.

I suggest everyone evaluate their own priorities.  We must take some responsibility to find out what is going on.  We cannot on our government to ensure our safety.  It was our complacency for the past decade that has gotten us to where we are now.  Time to take a stand…

Having Fun Doing Things Differently

Let’s face it….most of us are creatures of habit.  Whether it is how we like our eggs cooked, how we do our weekly shopping or what books we like to read – we do not often change routines once we get them nicely established.  And that’s a shame…

I have recently decided that it’s okay to throw convention to the wind.  Do something new (like learning to play a ukelele, in my case).  Change up your menu ideas at home (we’ve been experimenting with Thai cuisine).  Try gardening from a new perspective (that’s my recent project!).

Our family garden in 1981. Look at that fluffy soil…and not a weed in sight! There were four of us kids to help with the weeding.

Growing up, we always had huge vegetable gardens.  My father would have a local farmer bring manure each fall, which he would work into the garden.  Then, in the spring, once the soil was dry enough, he would till and till and till, until the soil was fluffy, with no lumps, and not a weed to be found.  Naturally, because this was how I was taught from my young years, this is also how I approached vegetable gardening once I married and could have my own garden.  I remember Ralph rolling his eyes as I asked him to do “just one more pass” with the rototiller, to make a “better” seed bed.  He often told me that his corn and wheat and beans grew just fine in the fields without working the soil that much.  But he is a good man, and did as I asked.

My gardens always yielded good crops, and when the children were growing up, I often had help, weeding and picking.  Now, I do most of the work myself again, and maybe that’s why I have had this epiphany: I am working the soil WAY too much!

There are many reasons to NOT over-cultivate your soil.  One of the main ones is that you are destroying the soil structure.  All those tiny pockets in your soil are holding areas and travelways for air and water.  Turning the top few inches with a pitchfork or hoe is fine, but if you are continually digging up the top 6 or 8 inches of soil, you are wrecking that structure.  As well, you are harming all the beneficial mychorrhizal organisms that form a beneficial relationship with your plants’ roots.  Then there are all the amazing little critters that help fertilize and aerate your soil – spiders, worms, and other insects.

Soil that is “pretty” and smooth may look nice, but it’s not necessarily the best for growing.  One of my favourite reasons for not tilling is that I can reduce my weeding workload.  Every time you till and work the soil, you are bringing up weed seeds to the surface, where they will germinate.  Let’s face it, even the best gardeners have weeds that go to seed on their property!  Mulching with straw can be a real timesaver because it will cut down on the number of weeds that will grow, and it makes it easier to pull them.  If you find straw mulch looks “unsightly” , try to hoe just the top inch of the soil.

Next to my stainless steel spade and fork, my favourite garden tool is my Scuffle Hoe (sometimes called a “stirrup” hoe). With it, I can zip around the whole garden in no time, nipping weeds while they’re still small, and I only work the top layer of shallow.  It calls for a very simple back and forth motion, and I much prefer it to the standard garden hoe that I grew up with.

This year, I’m going to give the rototiller a break.  Once the garden has been cultivated one time,  I am only going to use my pitchfork, when necessary, to turn over soil between crops ( ie. multiple sowings of lettuce or radishes).  I will be using more straw to mulch between rows of beets and beans.  An added benefit to reduced tillage is moisture retention.  Working the soil less means your soil will not dry out as quickly.  Using mulches will help retain that moisture even more.

So are you ready to try something new?  Ready to give up that uber-manicured garden for one that has a different look, but will be easier to maintain, and possibly be a better growing space?  Just think of what you can do with all your extra time!  My hammock may be getting the workout instead of the tiller this summer!

Another Look at Gluten

This post was written for Stacey Fokas’ Freshalicious website:

Many of you have been hearing lots about gluten, gluten “intolerance” and other health issues attributed to gluten.   Indeed, the book “Wheat Belly”, by Dr. William Davis, has almost created a divided camp between those who believe that cutting wheat out of your diet will make you healthier and lose weight, and those who believe it is a re-vamped Atkins Diet.  If you want to research the findings for yourself, I’ve heard it’s a good read.  You can even find an interesting review of it here.

The quiche pastry I bake for the farmers’ market is made with a lower-gluten blend of corn, spelt, and Red Fife flour

I am actually not going to “take sides” on this issue, because I agree with nutritionist and author Julie Daniluk who says, “There are 7 billion diets for 7 billion people”.  That is, there is no one perfect diet that will be good for everyone.

Instead, I would like to focus on the back stories to this topic.  On our farm, we grow wheat every year, as part of our crop rotation plan.  Ralph belongs to the Grain Farmers of Ontario, which is an amalgamation of the former Wheat, Corn, and Soybean Boards.  At a meeting a few years ago, he stood up and asked why the wheat varieties today have higher and higher gluten levels, when the portion of the population which is “gluten intolerant” is also growing.  No one had a good answer.  The truth is, the processors (aka bakeries) want a high gluten wheat because it makes fluffier bread, and ultimately costs them less.

The history of wheat (and other flours) is a fascinating one, and I did a lot of homework to find out “How Wheat Became Toxic“.    You can read for yourself about the evolution of baking, from whole grains, such as rye, to the Wonder Bread that was introduced in 1930.

My first point is that different wheat varieties contain different amounts of gluten.  The varieties have come about through traditional, selective breeding practices.  Some of the old, heritage grains, such as einkorn and spelt have lower gluten levels, but they have hulls that need to be rubbed off, unlike the more modern varieties.   Also,  at the present time, there is NO GMO wheat being grown by farmers.  However, there are many GM varieties being grown in trials, just waiting for approval.

We are currently looking into growing more of the heritage grains, such as  our very own Canadian Red Fife wheat, rather than continuing with the newer varieites.

A second matter that needs to be discussed is the preparation of the flour, and the baking process itself. North American bakeries have refined their bread-making techniques to take as little time as possible.  This is radically different from the sourdough-style preparation once used for all baking.  Soaking and sprouting the grain also helps to break down the gluten, to make the nutrition of the wheat more accessible to our bodies.  Rapid or Quick Rise yeast may cut down on the preparation time for home bakers, but it also means the yeast has less fermentation time to break down the starches (gluten).  As well, how old is your flour?  Did you know that within 24 hours of milling, beneficial oils found in the kernel start to break down?  The fresher your flour, the healthier!

And then there are all the other additives, many of which may be genetically modified.  Soybean oil, lecithin, emulsifiers, corn starch, and glucose are all more than likely GMOs. Read your bread labels, and see for yourself.

My homemade bread is always a hit! I even grind my own grain sometimes!

One last option is that, perhaps, your body’s immune system is not at an optimum level.  Sometimes, a detox program can help eliminate allergies or food sensitivities.

As you can see, the whole gluten conversation can get very complicated.  Having said all that, I know of two people who have removed gluten from their diet (mainly as bread and baked goods), and feel much healthier for it.  One woman had been experiencing severe abdominal cramping,  which is now gone.  The other friend simply feels better and has lost weight.

So what does it all mean?

I suggest that if you are experiencing some health concerns that may be from gluten, look closely at all the factors.  Maybe it is the way the bread is being baked, and a sourdough bread or sprouted grain bread will be a solution.  Perhaps it is other (GM) additives in the baked goods that are being harmful.  If you are thinking about baking for yourself, I highly recommend trying flours from K2 Milling, in Beeton Station.  Mark Hayhoe has pledged to buy local and organic grains and mill them into healthy flours.  He offers everything from Red Fife wheat, to spelt, to sorghum, with multigrain and specialty blends.  In fact, he mills our open-pollinated corn there.  Some of his flours can be found at Harmony Whole Foods in Orangeville, as well as at his storefront.

Dave’s Butcher Shop in Orangeville also carries local flours. These whole wheat and spelt flours are stone-ground and additive- free, milled by the Howick Community Farmers in Gorrie, Ontario.  It is wonderful that we can now source even our flour locally!

Hopefully, this has given you some food for thought.  I am not a nutritionist or a doctor.  This post was written from my own observations and research as a farmer and someone who loves to prepare food.  Before you eliminate wheat from your diet completely, take a closer look and maybe you won’t need to!  I’d love to hear back from you with your comments.