MAY Blueberry Care

BLUEBERRY CARE

PRUNED, FERTILIZED, MULCHED AND FORTIFIED AGAINST BIRDS!!!

1)FERTILIZATION #2   

It's now time for the second round of fertilization.  This food will help the BERRIES to grow nicely.  Fertilize with Amonium Sulphate : (NH4)2 SO4  Sprinkle around the perimeter of the roots, not the top.  This is the area just beyond the spreading branches.  Use 1 cup for large bushes and about 3/4 cups for medium bushes.  Use less for newer, smaller bushes.

2)PLUCK OFF THE BLOSSOMS if this is the first season of planting.   

I know, it's tough after excitingly watching the flowers bloom out  BUT you should pull off all the flowers, or snip off the little blueberries that have formed if you missed the flower stage.  It will be worthwhile in the long run because this helps to establish a strong root system....I feel your pain!

3)BIRD NETTING 

Be sure to secure the bottom 
because this is where the ROBINS enter!

This is the time to begin thinking about protecting your ripening berries from the birds, unless you are using your bushes to attract birds to your property.  The easiest method is to toss bird or deer netting over your bushes.  My  family tired of lifting, untangling the netting so they created an enclosure last year.  We put it up this weekend...and I'm trying to secure the bottom better after many birds still managed to get inside!
Story Time- As we completed the netted enclosure this past weekend, several birds immediately tried to enter the "fortress".  The next day as the plastic bottom sheets were being placed there was a pair of blue colored birds taking "tag team" turns  at being flying missiles at the netting hoping to break and penetrate the "fortress".   I wish I had my video camera handy!
 I guess I should be flattered that the birds must agree that my blueberries are supreme treasures!  :-)

***My friend still has netting for sale (3 cents/square foot).  It's 16 feet long which is lots longer than you can buy in a store and a square will protect a medium- large bush completely to the ground.

4)MULCHING  

There is still time to mulch your plants.  Mulching helps to keep the moisture in.  LOTS of moisture = bigger, plumper berries! Don't use leaves or egg shells or other high PH mulch since blueberries like acidic soil around 4.09-5.0. (This range is more acidic than other fruit plants.)
 I use tree chips, pine needles and other acid organic matter.
 
5)RELAX, dream about your wonderful harvest and all the yummy ways to enjoy your berries.
Your next care update should be in about a month...

Anne
PS  You can e-mail me if you have any questions about your blueberry plant care.

Foraging and learning to "live off the land"...

Dr. John Kallas is a botanical expert & author on foraging.

It's been over 5 months since my last post!  My past year has been busy opening and then closing my new business, ForeveRemembered.  Quite a learning experience.

Blueberry care...Pruning should be done by mid-Jan through Feb. but don't despair if you did not have time.  You can still prune your bushes...but it will be more painful for you to clip off the budding flowers..(For more info caring for your bushes, type "blueberry care" or "blueberry" in the "Search This Blog" feature on the upper right area.

Foraging and harvesting native North West "weeds" for food and medicinal purposes has been an interest.  This was piqued as I followed the national & local health care system trends, debates and now laws.  I believe that people need to learn what native plants are available for health use.  With food prices soaring 30%, I also think it's prudent to learn about roadside and backyard edibles.

Enter...John Kallas, Ph.D. of  Wild Food Adventures. 

Dr. Kallas is based in Portland and his new workshop list is out. I attended his Sea Vegetable of the Pacific Coast workshop. What I appreciated MOST about Dr. Kallas is his broad knowledge and humility.  He will NOT share any information that is questionably unsafe, which is why he does not teach the medicinal properties of plants.  He will honestly tell you if he does NOT know the answer rather than guessing and creating one.

The  new 2013 schedule is now available.

 APRIL includes several lectures, seminars and "hands on" workshops in Seattle.

Wild Food Adventure Events in Seattle  ----

Check Wild Food Adventures workshops for details. Most workshops are between $25-50.
 Families with children are welcomed.

   

Seattle - Wild Foods Presentation	April 18	Seattle
Wild Foods in Wilderness Survival	April 20	Seattle
Wild Foods of the Pacific Northwest	April 20	Woodinville, WA
Wild Foods of the Pacific Northwest	April 21	Woodinville, WA
Wild Foods of Native Americans	April 21	Seattle

 

Happy foraging!
Anne

Falling with Pumpkins!

I recently returned from a Vista Missions outreach in Mazatlan.  More than 700 used donated eyeglasses were fitted and distributed to the local people.

The sunny days of my departure are now crisp and rainy.  A few blueberries still cling to the bushes. In my absence the deer have  adopted our yard as their new play ground!  Fall's splendor has peaked but a handful of trees still boast their amazing dress of reds, golds, yellow and orange.

Fall's Splendor

PUMPKINS!  PUMPKINS! PUMPKINS.......... and more PUMPKINS!

Sugar Pumpkins are Best for pies.

Various squashes and pumpkins

What a dilemma...should I bake pumpkins for pies, dump cakes, muffins, pancakes, scones, soup, egg nog???  or just enjoy it plain?  Hmmm....maybe I should do a recipe a day!


Search my archives for past recipes, photos and videos!

Anne

Blueberries are ripe!

My blueberries are getting ripe and are ready for sale!!!  

With the birdnetting keeping MOST of the robins out, I actually have enough berries to sell this year!  So if you want 5# or less of the freshest hand-picked, pesticide  free berries in Renton, WA email or call me.  

When they are gone, they are gone!

My early blueberries.

The "little" tasty blueberries should be ripe in 1-2 weeks depending on the weather.

2012 Prices - $3 per pound.  Tax free because it's produce.
These are hand picked by me. Yes, my hands are clean when I pick your berries!
 I am not a U-Pick because I don't have that many bushes and can't afford to waste knocked off berries.  This also allows me to pick you the ripest berries from the clumps.

Here is a fun photo of the 2 deer who think our "wild wilderness area" in the back corner is their own private refuge!!!!  It's ok since they aren't eating my blueberry plants this year!!!

Taken with my cell phone while I was picking berries.  They are above the blue tarp in front of the 2 maple tree trunks.

Birds love Blueberries

Life with engineers can be nasty for birds. 

Thank you to all you engineers for protecting those little berries from nasty birds.

Anti-Bird netting....

Blueberry Care

It looks and feels like Spring is finally here!

Yesterday my dear hubby asked me if it was time to "do" the blueberry plants... I answered..."Thank you!  I'll go out and look at the bushes!" I had completely  forgotten about blueberry care since mulching and pruning the area 2 months ago....

If you need the specifics look for April 4, 2011 blog.  
Use the "Search this Blog feature" or "archives 2011" on the right side of the blog. 

I think Spring took me by surprise this year....We had all that late March snow, I had my knee surgery and recuperation and then the Southern California trip...that tripped off my asthma.
Suddenly, the daffodils, tulips, flowering currents with the hummingbirds and DANDYLIONS are all out!!!  My rhubarb is huge!!!   When did all of that growing happen????

On Saturday I went to Fred Meyers  fuschia days.  I thought that I would check it out...it was wild!  I went half an hour before they opened and learned the ropes from the old timers.   We had to buy our plants, get in line to put potting soil in our pots ( I brought my own planters) then tell the FM employee how I wanted the pots to  be planted.  I was out in an hour but the lines were long when  I left. I ended up with 10 pots for $30...not bad!  If my plants survive, I may do this again....

Back to the blueberry care...  YES!  When I went out to check out the bushes the buds were just at the stage for mummy berry prevention.  I also did the first of 3 fertilizations.  This winter I put my fireplace ashes around the berries so they should be acid happy for awhile. I look forward to good crops for the next  couple of years. 

Time to go out in the sunny orchard!  Enjoy your Springtime gardening!
Anne

Happy 2012!
Hope you had a great Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year.
I realized that I've not written since October so here is "catch-up"...

I have enjoyed time with my college kiddos being home.  It was good being together.

I'd like to share a video of the Man Ham.  My daughter and I voted that the guys make our Christmas dinner...and it was certainly a man meal...Man Ham, potato salad...  The Man Ham was delicious!

Also want to let you know that the deadline to order native NW plants through King Conservative District 21st Annual Native Bare Root Plant Sale is coming up.  January 27th is the pre-order deadline for the MARCH 2-3 pick up in Renton.

Picking up my Evergreen Huckleberry starts Spring 2011.

Photo memories...Since parts of Seattle had snow today and we didn't... I decided to post a  2011 snow winter photo of our blueberries.

Lastly, I'm in the process of launching a new floral business in February.  Stay tuned for more information on that!

May your 2012 be a year of growth, peace, patience and joy!
Anne
photo disclaimer: Ok, it snowed today, Sunday, lots...so this is what our plants really look like now!  gotta go and build a mini snowman...oops, I guess the snowman is copyrighted...hmmm, maybe a mini frozen water vapor man.

Pumpkin Dumpster Cake

Now that you know how to cook pumpkins from my previous post here is a favorite pumpkin recipe. Sort of a modified "Dump Cake".  Thanks Brenda for introducing me to this easy, yummy dessert!  Enjoy!  Anne

Pumpkin Dumpster  (Brenda)

1  large can pumpkin, or 4 cups fresh

1  13 oz. can evaporated milk, or 1 cup vanilla ice cream

3 eggs

1 c sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp salt

In a large bowl, mix above ingredients together - mix well.  Pour into 9 x 13 cake pan.

1 box yellow cake mix - sprinkle on top of pumpkin mixture in pan.

3/4 c to 1 c walnuts -  sprinkle on top of cake mix

1 stick butter or margarine - melt and drizzle over entire pan 

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes if margarine is used.  Bake an extra 20 to 30 minutes if butter is used.  Cake should be golden brown.   Using a toothpick, when inserting it in the middle of the cake, it should be clean when done.  If there is any really moist batter sticking to the toothpick then let the cake cook abit more.

If this is too sweet, the sugar may be cut in half!

 

Acres of Pumpkins!...pumpkin pie, pumpkin bars, pumpkin bread...

Tis the season of pumpkins and squashes.  One of the easiest, best tasting, moistest pumpkin pies is made from fresh cooked pumkins.  Cooked pumpkin and the pumpkin pie mix both freeze wonderfully.  Prices are great and I've seen many stands with Sugar Pumpkins which are smaller and the best pumpkins to cook for baking.

This first video shows you how to cook a raw pumpkin and the second one shows you how easy it is to make a pumpkin pie using the cooked pumpkin "meat".  

 

 Pumpkin seeds are easily cooked by 

1) boiling the raw seeds in salty water for about 15 minutes followed by baking them at 250 degree until brown and crispy...about 40 minutes depending upon your oven.

2)spreading the raw seeds on a cooky sheet, adding oil and salt to the seeds then baking them like above.

3) frying seeds in a skillet or microwaving them .  

These can be seen at this link: "How to cook pumpkin seeds"

TIPS: Always spread seeds in a single layer when baking them.

Use sugar pumpkin seeds (smaller) if you want to eat the whole seed, otherwise you'll need to peel the shell away to eat the green seed inside the husk.

Edible Squash Blossoms!

 

This 7 minute video shows you how to cook squash blossoms. 

I used zuchinni blossoms bought at Carpinitos.  The funny thing is that I actually saw squash blossoms for sale in Waialua Hawaii at a Farmer's Market! 

My friend Brenda introduced me to this "melt in your mouth" delicacy several years ago!  Then the cashier at Carpinitos introduced me to stuffed blossoms!  Thanks, Brenda!

The basic steps for both recipes are:

     Preparing the blossoms by either 1)soaking the cut flowers in salt water.  This crisps the blossoms which is best for the flour coated ones  OR

2) Snipping off part of the stem and putting the bouquet of blossoms in a tall mug of water.  I usually cover the flowers with the plastic bag they came in, then refrigerate the flowers.  This is best for stuffing the flowers as the petals are softer and more wilted.

     Preparing the blossoms for frying

1) flavor some flour with salt, pepper and your favorite seasonings.  Mix it all up in a  bag.  Toss a couple of blossoms into the bag and coat each flower with the mixture.  Continue to coat all of the flowers.

2) Stuff the center of the flowers with mozerella cheese OR your favorite stuffing.  Twist the blossom tips to seal it shut.  Continue with all the flowers.

3) At this point, the blossoms may be frozen and deep fat fried later.  I froze mine on a cooky sheet then transferred them to a freezer ziploc bag.

     Cooking the blossoms, best to eat the prepared blossoms when hot!

1) Basically deep fat fry the flour coated blossoms until cooked.  They cook quickly because they are so thin.  Drain the oil from the cooked blossoms and place on absorbent napkins.

2) Coat the stuffed blossoms with tempera batter, your favorite fried batter or flour, scrambled egg then bread crumbs or panko.  Deep fat fry in a healthy hot oil for about 2 minutes on each side.  It's done when it's golden brown.  Drain the oil from the cooked blossoms and place on absorbent napkins. SO delicious warm!

Artichokes stuffed

 

This is the best artichoke recipe ever!!!  Simple ingredients and delicious.  

A Carpinitos customer gave me this recipe since I bought artichokes off their clearance table.


1. Prepare the artichoke by cutting the top, tips and bottom.  Scoop out the thistle center (the Choke).  I'm using a grapefruit spoon, knife and fingers.
2.Mix together the stuffing*. (cheese, bread crumbs & cooked meat such as sausage, beef**...)
3.Stuff the center of the artichoke and between the leaves.
4.Cook the artichoke on a rack in boiling water for about 40 minutes or until the center is soft.
 
     *you can substitute your favorite stuffing.
     **You want just enough bread crumbs to hold the cheese in place and not very much cooked meat but just enough for flavor.  I used sausage.

Blueberries are RIPE! Artichokes and Squash Blossoms...

The blueberries are finally ripe!  

If you requested any berries... please contact me asap as some bushes need to be picked this week.  Yeah for sun!

Carpinino Corn arrived Aug. 31st!  Yum!

I LOVE Carpinitos!  

Their corn is finally in but prices are higher (10/$5) this year.  All that rain, I guess.  It's so much fun shopping there because people are so friendly and eager to share their recipes.  It was at Carpinitos that I learned to cook and enjoy brussel sprouts!  This week I have been buying squash blossoms and frying them up.  Yesterday, a staff shared with me how to stuff them with cheese then batter fry them. Fried them up last night.  They were SO good!

  Also, customer's husband told me about stuffing artichokes as we were checking out the clearance rack.  He found his wife who gave me the instructions.  I made them last night and they were absolutely delicious! 

Stuffed Artichoke with bread crumbs, cheese and meat.

Delicious!!!

Next week, I'm going to try to make a video about cooking the squash blossoms and stuffed artichokes...stay tuned!  Sign up as an e-mail follower on the left side if you want a timely update when I post it.

Blueberry picking news.

Hi!  Everyone seems to be wondering WHEN my blueberries will be ripe...as you can see on the main photo, the berries are barely ripening this year with all the cold wet weather!!!  WE need more hot sunny days.

So, as far as my bushes go, the ripening is very slow with most of the berries still green... I don't think that my berries will be ripe for several more weeks. You can e-mail me if you are interested in berries later in the summer.

BUT, the good new is that Megraws Blueberry U-Pick in Kent is opening this Wednesday.  His prices, direction and information can be found on his website http://sites.google.com/site/bmegraw/.

There are also other blueberry U-Picks that should be opening soon, if not open now.  Mcgraws is my favorite.

Below is a favorite FRESH blueberry pie recipe than can be used for any fresh berries.  Enjoy!

Anne

Fresh Fruit Pie --(strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, peach, ....)

Cooked Pie Crust - Any type will do, regular, graham, cookie crust

2 heaping Tablespoons cornstarch

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

Combine cornstarch, water and sugar completely then bring to a boil and heat until clear (milky but not cloudy) and it thickens.  Remove from heat.  Add:

1  3oz package Jell-O   (lemon is the basic but could use other flavors depending on the fruit)

Cool slightly.  Mix with 6 cups or less fruit or berries, enought to fill the pie crust.

Pour fruit mixture into the cooked pie crust. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Serve with whipped cream.

Fun FORAGING Free Food!

Lincoln City, Oregon

I attended an amazing Wild Food Adventures workshop late July.  

Sea Vegetables of the Pacific Coast by John Kallas, PhD.  

The setting was Lincoln City, Oregon.  

  Exposed rocks are normally many feet under water!

Sub-low tide was at 8am but I awoke early and hit the beach at 5:30am!    The beach was deserted.

Starfish and sea anemones were everywhere!

It was wonderful, exhilarating and fun to explore the tide pools, see the HUGE mussles & barnacles, to watch the seagulls eat crustaceans, the starfish eat mussels and smell the clean ocean air.    

Mussels were almost as big as my shoes!  Large mussels are as tender as little ones.  We could gather 75 but all I could carry in my 5 gallon bucket was 15!  They were SO huge and heavy.... I later cooked them on the BBQ.

At 8am John Kallas led our group to a northern more remote area. He had us taste,evaluate & gather many edible seaweeds. We found nori and kombu.  John showed us a poisonous seaweed which contained traces of Sulfuric Acid. Seaweed poisonous? What an eyeopener.   

John Kallas, wearing the brown hat, talks to us during our lunch break.

  I had bought a shellfish permit, tough gloves and a 5 gallon bucket so I was able to gather mussels.  At home I rinsed and dried the gathered seaweed to preserve it for future use.

Dried seaweed with ebi.

Dried seaweed.

I was quite impressed with John's teaching style and expertize in edible wild plants.  I plan to attend more of his plant foraging workshops.

Check out his website and book for more information.

It's hard to starve in the NW if you know what edibles may be gathered off the land. 
Anne


Below is a video of my early morning low tide experience!
Anne at Lincoln City, OR low tide

Lauri Puzzles... the BEST!

,

My M.Ed specializes in Gifted and Talented preschoolers.  That being the case, I was always on the look out for outstanding educational toys that were fun, stimulated learning, practical & developmentally age appropriate when my children were young...being cost effective was a plus!

I'd like to share one of my favorite puzzle companies...LAURIE PUZZLES!!!!   Along with the puzzles, their other ed products are great for supporting your child's development!

The sewing cards are wonderful!

I absolutely LOVE Lauri puzzles.   These kid friendly puzzles are wonderful.  The best part is that lost pieces are replaceable making these puzzles a great buy that will last through all your children and their friends!!!   Go to the Lauri website and click and drag the Customer Care menu on the top for Replacement Parts.

This was my #1 favorite!

Laurie was acquired by Patch Products in 2008 however, free replacement puzzle pieces may be obtained by calling Patch at 1-800-524-4263.
Be sure to have your puzzle title and piece description ready.

 I'm not going to write why these puzzles are great (very age appropriate, durable, sanitizable, multi-skilled..) because if I get started this blog will be incredibly long!  E-mail me if you  want the whole "in and out", very detailed educational and mom perspective.
Anne
PS
Did you know that the material used is the same thing that flip flops are made of.  That's why the pieces are so durable and washable!