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Garlic (Photo: Cathy Edmundson)
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Seed Library Updates
We have a couple of exciting events coming up toward the end of this month. The dates/times are to be determined, so please check out our Facebook page for more details.
- Garlic giveaway. Our planting season isn’t over yet! Did you know that mid-October is the perfect time to plant garlic in Wisconsin? And we have some great news! This will be the third year that planning team members Pat and Bruce Webster have donated garlic to our seed library members. They have been growing garlic for about 10 years and they're donating 70 heads of their two favorite varieties: Asian Tempest and Wisconsin White. We will distribute the garlic and planting instructions on a first-come, first-served basis. (Date/Location TBD)
- Pollinator seed giveaway. We will be distributing seeds for pollinator-friendly plants and winter sowing instructions (yes, you can sow the seeds this winter!) at all Door County Library branches on September 28 and 29. Additionally, the Climate Change Coalition of Door County will be offering free tree seedlings!
We’re on Instagram!
Follow us on Instagram as we share pictures and stories throughout the growing season. We’re looking for gardens to profile, so share your pictures with @door_county_seed_library and you may be featured next.
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~~VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY~~
Jeff M, one of the members of our planning team, has proposed that we consider adding tree seeds to our collection, and we think this is a great idea! Because it takes so long for trees to mature, planting trees is a forward-thinking action and vision of hope for our future. The book, Drawdown, ranks afforestation #15 in the list of top solutions to reverse global warming. In addition to being a great carbon sink, trees provide welcome shade, habitat for wildlife, and increase property values.
Over the past 4 years, Jeff has planted about 500 trees and 150 shrubs for wildlife on his property, many of which he started from seed!
We are looking for volunteers to join our Tree Seed Selection Committee. The purpose of this committee is to research and identify tree varieties that would be easiest to grow and inexpensive/easy for us to distribute. It will be a fun research project! If you are interested in joining the committee or finding out more about this research project, please send an email to us at info@DoorCountySeedLibrary.org. |
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September Garden Calendar: Putting up your Harvest
September is a month of abundance, as old plantings give their final harvests and fall crops offer their first. During this time there’s much to balance and abundance can quickly turn to overabundance. It’s time to get creative with freezing, canning, or dehydrating your fruits and veggies so that you can enjoy them when the weather turns cold. The USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning is a great resource for all things canning and freezing and is a good place to get started. IMPT: It is important that you not use any canning recipes that were published prior to 1988. There’s a science behind home canning recommendations and it’s important to follow the most recent guidelines for food safety.
Why Preserve Food? by Renee Borkovetz
When it comes to gardening, food preservation is a natural next step in the process for many people. The ultimate reason why people preserve their food varies, but can include:
- excess of fruits and vegetables
- not wanting food to go to waste
- meal preparation for quick weeknight meals
- preferring to eat more whole, local foods and less processed, store-bought ones
- saving money
- food supply during the non-growing seasons
Or maybe a combination of all the above. What I love about food preservation, and why I do it, is also because I love cooking, knowing where my food comes from, saving money, and the traditions passed on by my family – parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. Because I spend a lot of time cooking, I naturally start preserving food, because it is a logical next step in the process; instead of putting leftovers in the fridge, I can make a larger batch and freeze or can the remainder.
There are many means and methods of preserving foods including: canning, freezing, drying, and root cellaring. Food can be preserved in its natural state, think onions in the cellar or canned carrots in water with a little salt, or as a meal, such as spaghetti sauce. My preferred methods are canning and root cellaring.
We are constantly learning and practicing new methods, tips, and recipes every year, continually building on the successes and failures of past seasons. Some things I’ve come to realize over the years are:
Food preservation is very customizable: We know what we like to eat, therefore, we’ll plant our garden to our preferences while squeezing in a new plant or two to try something new. We know what food we have in excess or what we ran short of during the winter, so we’ll either plant more or less of that crop next season.
Food preservation does not need to be intimidating or overwhelming: we’ve had seasons where all our tomatoes ripen at the same time and need to be cooked and canned immediately. But, with a little planning and preparation, it doesn’t have to be this way. We can succession plant our garden to offset the amount of harvestable produce at the same time. We’ll spread the cooking and canning process out over a couple days instead of in one fell swoop. We’ll do smaller batches. We’ll adjust our recipes depending on the amount of produce available.
I highly recommend preserving food in some way, shape, or form. You can learn something new, try a new recipe, prepare freezer meals for busy weeknights, buy in bulk and preserve the excess – the possibilities are endless. We all have to eat, so why not be in control of what you eat and reap the benefits of preparing and preserving your food.
Happy harvesting, cooking, and eating!
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Community Connections: Lora Jorgensen
By Renee McAllister
Lora Jorgensen’s garden is located in Forestville just outside of Sturgeon Bay. In the past eighteen years, she has renovated buildings and created a totally new vegetable garden. Some flower gardens were there when she bought the house, but more have been added with the help of the Door County Seed Library. Lora became a member of the Seed Library in its first year, 2019, and enjoys receiving free seeds.
Lora realized quickly how important having a seed library was when COVID started. It was especially difficult for people to acquire seeds from stores and seed catalog companies. With the Door County Seed Library there were no shortages. “With the knowledge and support of my Seed Library family, I’ve built my own stock of seeds that will support my family and friends for many years!”
Of all her gardens, her vegetable garden is the largest and is her pride and joy. Her garden planning starts in winter, taking into account what works best in early spring, late spring, early summer and fall. Seeing her Facebook posts and pictures shows how much care she has for its progress. “My plans are based on crop rotation and optimizing growing space.”
The garden has 14 varieties of heirloom tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, squash, cucumbers, and mini melons. Oh and by the way, “I am still harvesting green beans.” Her garden planning also has some untried varieties too, like her luffa vines this year. “I’m looking forward to seeing how they come along.”
New are trellises to optimize space for vines like pole beans, melons, squash, and cucumbers. “I’ve found that the plants get better air flow and the trellises help prevent powdery mildew.” Using trellises also helps with monitoring vine borers and other insects. They also give visual interest and help with harvesting.
Lora loves that her garden is completely chemical free and organic. “I bed the space between rows with partially decomposed straw. It helps to reduce weeds, hold moisture in the ground (less watering), and keep the soil biome healthy. In spring the straw is tilled in, which helps amend the soil, as we have a heavy clay base in the Southern Door area. I still have some weeds, but they are far easier to pull out, including the root, because the soil is loose and retains moisture so well.” At home her favorite things to make from the garden are salsa fresca, bruschetta, and baked stuffed zucchini.
However not all weeds are removed. She explains, “I allow several ‘weeds’ to grow in reasonable quantities as long as they are not compromising or competing with my garden plants. I also use these weeds, such as purslane (edible), plantain (medicinal), lambs ear (edible) and dandelion leaves (edible and medicinal). Many of these weeds don’t compete for soil nutrients utilized by my garden plants. They maintain a healthy soil biome and deposit other vital nutrients needed. I believe that you can gauge the health of your soil by the ‘weeds’ that grow in it.”
“I have gifted a lot of my surplus produce this year, as I have not had time to do much processing, which has been a very rewarding experience. Knowing that my family and friends are enjoying heirloom variety/organic/chemical free produce makes me happy!”
She has harvested 75 lbs. of ripe tomatoes, which are waiting to be sauced. “I typically have sauce batches as they ripen and then freeze the sauce in ice cream pails. At the end of the season, I thaw all of the sauce and make huge batches of spaghetti sauce and salsa to can.”
For years she has been saving seeds not only from her vegetable garden but also from her herbs and flowers. “Last year was the first time I had tried ‘fermenting’ tomato seeds to increase storage longevity. I had a 95-100% germination rate this spring with those seeds.”
Through the Door County program she has gained knowledge. “I have benefited from local gardeners and regional gardening groups, which is very helpful. However, being that Door County Seed Library is in the immediate area, they have a more in-depth understanding of the micro climate, soil conditions, and struggles in my area.” She has fun sharing her garden knowledge and experience with folks who are just getting into gardening. “A new gardener is born every day!"
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A young gardener helps Lora harvest her heirloom tomatoes
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Seed Saving Tip: Tomatoes
By Penne Wilson
Do you have great tomatoes this year? Then why not save some tomato seeds?
Before you start, remember these general seed-saving tips:
- Always select seeds from healthy, disease-free plants.
- Select and save seeds from your best plants. You get to define what “best” means -- it can be the biggest, tastiest, most colorful, earliest ripening, etc.
- Select tomatoes when they are in their prime - not overripe or underripe.
- To maintain genetic diversity, save seeds from multiple tomatoes and, if possible, from multiple plants of the same variety.
While it’s not absolutely necessary, most sources recommend that you ferment the seeds. Fermentation helps to dissolve the jell that surrounds the seeds, which contains anti-germination compounds, and reduces some seed-borne diseases. If you will be sharing your seeds with other people (and we hope you will!), it is considered good etiquette to ferment your seeds. The process is fairly simple. Check out this video for instructions on how to ferment tomato seeds.
Before you select which seeds to save, consider your seed saving goals:
If you want to keep a tomato variety pure, it is recommended that you save seeds from at least 5 different plants in order to help preserve the genetic diversity. Also, it’s important to prevent varieties from cross-pollinating. While there are varying recommendations for isolation distances between tomato varieties, here are some typical guidelines:
If your tomato varieties were planted closer than that, there’s a greater chance that they may cross-pollinate, but you can still save the seeds! Just make sure that you note that the seeds may be cross-pollinated and be aware that you may see some variation in the variety when you grow out your seeds next year.
If you want to increase biodiversity/create locally-adapted seeds, then don’t worry if your varieties cross-pollinate. As a matter of fact, you actually want to encourage cross-pollination! Even though tomatoes typically don’t cross-pollinate because of their closed flower structure, there’s a chance that they will, and that chance increases when different varieties are planted close together. When you grow out seeds from plants that were cross-pollinated, you will not have “pure” seeds. Instead, there will be differences from plant to plant, but this diversity increases the chance that at least some of the plants will thrive each year under varying weather conditions. Allowing plants to cross-pollinate is a great way to increase biodiversity and genetic variation, which is crucial to a healthy environment. Plus, it’s a quick way to develop varieties that are adapted to our local growing conditions. Just make sure that you note on your label that the seeds may be cross-pollinated so that people know what to expect next year.
We encourage you to share your seeds with your friends and neighbors – and with us if you have extras! To donate seeds to the seed library, fill out a Seed Donation Form and drop off your seeds at the Sturgeon Bay Library seed cabinet. Thank you for supporting local seeds!
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Recipe of the Month: Apple Pie Bars
By Deb Moore
I love apple pie bars, apple pie cake with butterscotch sauce, apple slab cake, apple pie...pretty much any apple dessert! Good thing, since we own an apple orchard. We’ve started eating a bit healthier, and I found this recipe in Forks Over Knives (Fall 2020), a magazine that features whole food recipes. I was a bit unsure of the recipe, but it really was delicious; even better with a scoop of salted caramel ice cream (everything in moderation…) The crust is not a sweet crust but the nutty, crunchy taste and texture was good! Feel free, though, to substitute with your own favorite if you think this might not be your thing--I highly recommend the filling, however. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
6 medium apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
½ cup apple cider or juice
¼ cup pure maple syrup
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. cornstarch or arrowroot powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 cups regular rolled oats
½ cup white whole wheat flour
3 Tbsp. flaxseed meal
3 Tbsp. butter (Or, tahini for a slightly nuttier taste)
¼ tsp. sea salt
¼ cup unsweetened, unflavored plant milk, such as almond, soy, cashew, or rice
2 Tbsp. chopped walnuts
1 recipe Cider Caramel Sauce* (Optional: again, feel free to substitute with your favorite caramel recipe. It’s not a salted caramel sauce (my favorite), but it’s not bad!)
Preheat oven to 375. Line a 9-inch pan with parchment paper or use a silicone baking pan.
For filling, combine apples and cider in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat; cover and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add syrup, lemon juice, cornstarch, and cinnamon Cook and stir over medium until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat.
In a food processor, combine 1½ cups oats and next four ingredients, through the sea salt; pulse until mixed. With processor running, add milk until mixture starts to cling together and is slightly moistened. Transfer ½ cup of the mixture to a small bowl. For crust, press remaining mixture into bottom of prepared pan. For topping, add the remaining ½ cup oats and the walnuts to mixture in bowl and toss; spoon apple filling over the crust and sprinkle with the topping.
Bake 40 minutes or until bubbly around the edges. Cool at least 30 minutes; cut into bars and serve with Cider Caramel Sauce and a scoop of ice cream.
Cider Caramel Sauce:
Place 6 pitted Medjool dates in a small bowl; add boiling water to cover and let stand 15 minutes. Drain well. In a small food processor combine dates, 4½ tsp. lemon juice, and 1½ tsp. ground cinnamon. Process until smooth. Gradually add ¾ cup apple cider until sauce is pourable; you may need to use a little more cider to loosen.
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Book Review: Preserving Summer's Bounty by the staff of the Rodale Food Center and Susan McClure, Editor
By Renee Borkovetz
Preserve your foods to enjoy them even after the growing season has come to an end. This book contains information on a variety of home-storage techniques including freezing, canning, preserving, and drying. With lots of recipes and easy-to-follow instructions, the book will help you to preserve your harvest of fruits and vegetables. Even if you do not intend to do much food preservation, there are still more than enough tips and tricks for harvesting, food preparation, and cooking to make this an invaluable resource for anyone with a garden or those who cook with fresh foods on a regular basis.
This book is available at through InfoSoup with your Door County Library card.
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Kanchan Dawn Hunter of Spiral Gardens in Berkeley, CA
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Featured Grower: Kanchan Dawn Hunter
By Mikayla Kifer
Meet Kanchan Dawn Hunter of Spiral Gardens in Berkeley, CA. Spiral Gardens includes a community farm, produce stand, and education center. As the founder and co-director of Spiral Gardens, Kanchan works to educate children and adults about seed saving and food production while providing community members with the opportunity to grow and enjoy fresh, organic foods from the community farm. Unlike other community gardens where members grow their own food on their own plot, the Spiral Gardens community farm is a collective project where volunteers share one large plot and work together to tend and reap harvests. Spiral Gardens also offers a produce stand where fresh food is sold at cost, which makes it more accessible to local residents.
Since founding Spiral Gardens in the late 90s, Kanchan has worked to generate an understanding in everyone she meets that it is possible to have a loving and living relationship with the Earth that nourishes us all. She is particularly passionate about creating transparency and accessibility of food and farming to people that are most often kept from it. Spiral Gardens actualizes Kanchan’s mission as it “strives to model and enable a healthy alternative to our current food economy.” In doing so it also ensures that residents have equal access to local soil and growing their food together in it as a way to deepen our connection to the planet, ourselves, and each other.
To learn more about Kanchan and her work, visit the Spiral Gardens website or follow Kanchan on Instagram.
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~~The Door County Seed Library planning team
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