Wild Garlic, Wild Leek or Ramp

To view the latest from Ridge Berry Farm visit our new blog and site!

With Spring well under way, it is time to start foraging once again. The young dandelion leaves are out and so are the nettles, but there is one plant we were looking for: Wild Garlic.

Wild Garlic in its natural habitat.

Sometimes called Wild Leek or Ramps (or even Ramsons, Buckrams, Wood Garlic or Bear Leek), this Garlic is not at all similar to the store bought version. It doesn't even look like an onion. The leaves of the Wild Garlic are broad and rather beautiful. They almost look like they would make an excellent ground cover for a flower bed. The stems are reddish and extend to a small white bulb.  It is only when you pull a leaf from its stem that you get a sense of what this plant is about. You get an immediate scent of garlic.

Freshly picked and cleaned Wild Garlic

Both the leaves and the bulbs are eatable. The leaves have a touch of sweetness; they are a bit peppery and have a mild garlic taste. They make an excellent addition to salads or can easily replace lettuce in a sandwich. We've even had it in soup and as a pizza topping.

The bulbs are reminiscent of garlic. Perhaps milder with a greater touch of pepper hotness. They can be used wherever you would use garlic, but I think they are great just raw. Although we have not tried this yet, they probably make an excellent pesto.

All in all this is just a wonderful plant and a versatile food. In the end, we had to try to preserve some in the hope of storing a taste of Spring for this year's Winter months. To do this we used a simple brine (2 parts vinegar, one part salt) which we boiled and added some pickling spices.

Pickled Wild Garlic

With the success of the Wild Garlic find under our belts, we decided to search for more.

When we first arrived at the farm last summer, we were surprised to find in abundance a plant that looked like chive. These were growing pretty much everywhere even between our rows of berries. When we picked it, it had a distinctive onion and garlic smell.

This year they are back (in greater numbers than ever) and were easy to find as the greens twisted into "pig tails".  We discovered that these were in fact Garlic Scapes. They are the green shoots of hard neck Garlic varieties (we'll have to dig later in the season to find the bulbs).

We had never tried them but apparently they are starting to become a well known delicacy, sometimes found in farmers' markets.

Garlic Scapes

We decided to give them a try as well. To do this, we ended up foraging for another spring time delicacy: the Fiddleheads. Last year, we had noticed the large Ostrich Ferns growing in damp soil on the edges of our forest, mostly in the shade of some of the larger trees. The Fiddlehead is the unfurling young shoot of this fern.

A great combo: Garliic Scapes and Fiddleheads

Armed with Fiddleheads and Garlic Scapes, we prepared a great spring time dinner: a simple omelette. It was our first great taste of things to come.

Thrilled with the flavour of the Garlic Scape in this omelette (better than Spring onions), I thought it might be wise to preserve some as well. There are at least two simple ways to do this. The first is to chop them and seal them in freezer bags. The second is canning.

We did both. For the canning effort we just cut our scapes to snuggly fit one of our large mason jars. We used our brine solution and in this case added some dried herbs (oregano and rosemary).

Pickled Garlic Scapes

We'll now have to report next Winter on our attempts to can a bit of Spring.

Of course this week was also dedicated to planting. We received our second shipment of stock: 240 Black Currants and 120 Red Currants from British Columbia.

Another shipment: 360  "Ribes" (currants) to plant

The Red Currants are a Dutch variety called Rovada. The Black Currants are an entirely new variety. We picked this one not for its size, its yield, or easiness to harvest, but simply for taste.

Both Red and Black Currants are wonderful berries for jellies. In the case of Black Currants, it is also fantastic for making wines (including Melomels or fruit Meads), something we're clearly dying to try.

So Tristan and I were back to planting rows all week. We were rather proud of ourselves when we finished the lot. Until of course, we realized we now have hundreds of raspberry plants being shipped next week. The back breaking work will continue...

The first half of our rows are completed

On the vegetable gardening front, things are growing so fast we've succumbed to our Springtime excitement and decided to transplant more of our seedlings. We are now past the average last frost, so we know we are taking a risk. However, the 14-day forecast looks good so we'll be keeping our fingers crossed.

While working on transplanting, we have also decided to trial a variety of trellising concepts (for cucumbers, beans, peas and tomatoes).

A collection of trellises ready for experimenting

In fact, we were spurred to do this because of the rapid development of our wax beans (an endangered French heirloom variety called "Beurre de Rocquencourt"). The beans were already escaping their "incubation" containers and needed transplanting into larger pots.

Transplanted heirloom beans waiting for their chance to climb

It was also a real pleasure to see the trees we had pruned start to bloom. We were so uncertain of our efforts (particularly with a Weeping Cherry tree which was badly damaged by Wisteria vines).

Our Apple blossoms are coming

We might just have saved this Weeping Cherry

I will leave you this week with pictures from around the house and barn. Somehow the Springtime blooms are adding quite a bit of cheerfulness to our rather dreary construction site.

 

Transplanting Rhubarb

To view the latest from Ridge Berry Farm visit our new blog and site!

Our week started with Rhubarb. In the back of the house partially sitting under a deck, the Rhubarb was already showing signs of life. Our variety is called Strawberry Rhubarb; it has a mild taste with bright red stems. We used it last year to make some preserves and they were the first jars to disappear from our pantry this winter. We simply loved it.

The problem is that the back of the house has become a construction site and the deck is planned for removal later this summer. In order to save these plants, we decided to transplant them to a safer place and perhaps propagate them.

Digging up Strawberry Rhubarb from under our deck

Spring is apparently the season to do this. We dug up our roots as best we could. They were very deep and the plants were difficult to access.

These Rhubarbs had a very extensive and deep root system

Once removed from the soil, it was rather easy to see where the roots could be split in order to generate more plants. In the end, we transformed an eight foot row of Rhubarb into four rows planted in a raised bed behind our barn.

Our new Rhubarb patch

We were reluctant to put them in direct sun; Christine and I always thought Rhubarb needed shade. Our neighbor (the original source for these plants) put our minds at ease. Her Rhubarb is in direct sun and thriving. Hopefully our new Rhubarb patch will do the same.

From Rhubarb, the entire week ended up being dedicated to planting.

We were actually surprised when we took delivery of our first production root stock: Red Gooseberries; a Japanese variety called Hinnonmaki. 160 small plants arrived and we were far from prepared.

Hinnonmaki Red Gooseberry stock

We ended up quickly setting up our rows and posts. Using our trusted Polyamide cable, we ensured the plants were arranged in a straight line. This is where we realize that tilling by "eye" on some rather hilly terrain results in some rather crooked rows.

Nevertheless, Tristan and I planted our stock. As for the Chestnut trees last week, we decided to plant the Gooseberries with a mix of soil, peat moss and bone meal.

Planting our Gooseberries

The trick now was watering (and this is a concern for all our planting). Although we were told the farm had no irrigation, it is clear that at one time it did. The ground is crisscrossed by miles of tubing. Regrettably the configuration was never recorded and in many segments the system is utterly damaged.

The result is that we have no system of irrigation currently installed. Our temporary solution: a sprayer. This small unit is powered by the John Deere battery and happens to be sufficient for our current task.

Our current watering solution

Planting did not stop with the Gooseberries. With our inside growing space restricted, we felt we really had to start planting some of our vegetable seedlings.

We are currently about 1 week before the average last frost and this can be a risky thing. However, we do know that certain things can be safely done. This includes our Rutabaga (yes those cuttings from out store bought root have taken really well); the Artichokes (grown as an annual they need to feel as if they have gone through a winter) and probably our cabbages (Cauliflower, Broccoli and Brussel Sprouts). Hopefully things will work out; the fourteen day weather outlook is promising.

Planting the "remnants" of our store-bought Rutabagas

Planting did not end there. Now that our drained land is clear, we felt we had to recondition the soil. To do this, we need to fix some Nitrogen back into it. Usually recommended are things like clover or fall rye. Given what we intend to do there, we decided to use an all purpose mixed ground cover which includes clover and rye grass. We did this manually and I am sure it will require a few passes.

Seeding our newly drained land

We even had the chance to start "chitting" our potatoes this week. Perhaps late (we're still getting our heads around the timing for all this planting), this basically entails the pre-sprouting of the seed potatoes or cuttings  in order to get better yields.  Doing this basically requires placing the prominent "eyes" up and for small seed potatoes, the base of the potato (the one originally attached to the rooting system) down. Once the "eyes" begin to sprout, it will be time to plant.

"Chitting" Potatoes

This week was also time to return to our mead experiment. Since 4 weeks have gone by, I thought it may be the right time to test for alcohol content and taste.

Getting ready for a pleasant experience or a nasty surprise

The first honey mead provided a hydrometer reading of about 1.034 suggesting an alcohol content now of roughly 6%. The taste was actually pleasant, although still quite sweet. Since we were using a buckwheat honey, the taste is very much that of buckwheat. With a slight effervescence, it felt like we were drinking a sweet beer.

The brew is bright orange (almost like orange juice) and it is opaque because of yeast particulates. A thick residue was left in the bottom of our fermenter.

We decided to take our brew and transfer it to two 1 gallon jugs for a secondary fermentation. We'll now try it again in about another four weeks.

Our mead ready for secondary fermentation

We also managed to try the Acerglyn (Mead with Maple syrup). The hydrometer reading was just about identical and the colour of the brew was more on the amber side.

The sweetness of the Acerglyn was similar to the Mead, perhaps a bit less. It also had some light effervescence. The buckwheat taste of the honey was not as overpowering but the Maple flavour is barely perceptable. Perhaps with aging and more fermentation this will change.

As for the conventional Mead, we also set this up for a secondary fermentation for trial in another 4 weeks.

Our first batch of Acerglyn

On the Birch syrup front, we processed our last batch. I combined all of the syrup to make a final boil. It turns out this syrup is very sensitive to heat; you cannot boil it as you would Maple. In fact the process requires a lot of precaution; the syrup will rapidly burn even as it touches the edges of a hot pot. Slow simmering is the solution.

The final result was  just over 2  liters of dark syrup. As for the Maple, we also found that crystallization occurs in the process. Unlike "Maple Sand" however,  these crystals seem to dissolve in your mouth. I'm not sure if we created a sugar crystal (it is not very sweet) or some mineral crystal (as for the Maple), or a combination. In any case, now that it is bottled, the syrup will need decanting.

Although we do not have a proper kitchen yet, we did try to marinate some beef ribs for a barbecue and the results were actually very good. It is really hard to believe that a colourless and almost tasteless sap could generate such a dark and aromatic syrup. We'll definitely do it again next year.

Our Birch syrup

Finally, home renovations continue. This week some major work was undertaken to provide outside access to our newly combined cellars. To do this, we decided to actually re-open a doorway original to the house. The difficulty in doing this is the fact that this doorway is well below ground level and into the original foundations. So here goes another addition to our messy construction site!

The old doorway is once again exposed

Planting Chestnut Trees

To view the latest from Ridge Berry Farm visit our new blog and site!

With Spring well underway, it was time this week to begin some serious planting.

Our first effort is Chestnut. In North America, the Chestnut tree was virtually wiped out by a fungal disease. However new hybrids have been created from Chinese Chestnut trees that are blight resistant.

When buying the farm, having a few Chestnut trees was a "must" for the family. We love Chestnuts, and not just roasted, but in baked goods, as part of a vegetable side dish, or even candied ("marron glace"). It is a very versatile food (in Corsica - where we have relatives - they make Chestnut flour, Chestnut pasta and even Chestnut beer). In fact our entire Christmas dinner is based on it: Chestnut cake, Goose with Chestnut stuffing, Roasted Root Vegetables with Chestnuts and braised Brussel Sprouts with Chestnuts! Most years, we are often been disappointed with the quality of the imported Chestnuts available at our local grocery store (often dry, attacked by worms, and to add insult to injury, expensive).

Needless to say, Chestnuts were a necessity. So this week, Tristan and I picked up 10 trees from a local (Niagara-on-the-Lake) nursery specializing in nut trees: Grimo.

Chinese Chestnut Hybrid

The problem with these trees is that they do require quite a bit a space (40 feet between trees) and need to cross-pollinate. As a result, we decided to set aside an odd shaped piece of land (somewhat triangular) just for this purpose. We had cleared it last year and it turns out to fit 10 trees quite well. This land slopes to the creek crossing the farm and is wet in some places, but we hope the trees will draw much of this dampness. Before clearing, it was already over run by bush and rather large trees including a couple of Black Walnuts.

The first step was to lay out the spacing and the location of the trees. We did this with a measuring wheel and some metal posts. This gave us a sense of the miniature Chestnut "forest" we were about to create.

Laying out the location of our new trees

Using a shovel and our trusted Stihl auger, we proceeded to dig our planting holes.

We combined the soil we dug up with peat moss and bone meal prior to refilling the holes with our tree roots. Given the fact that we face some rather strong southerlies from Lake Erie, we decided to tie the trunks of these small trees to metal posts installed on their south facing side (to ensure they do not lean with the winds).

Pounding a support post for our new Chestnut trees

We did this under rather difficult (grey, wet and very windy conditions) and we ended the week with a rather brutal frost. However, the trees look to be in good shape and we can hardly wait to see them grow (I have to admit, there is something very fulfilling about planting a tree). We were told that Chestnut do produce rather fast and that our trees may fruit within a year! It's hard to believe, but it would be great to see our own Chestnuts for Chistmas 2014.

Elsewhere on the farm, we felt like we were starting from where we had begun: it was time to prune the raspberries. I say this because when we committed to buy the farm, I had asked the farmer at the time to use Tristan and teach him a few things before we took possession. Tristan's first task at the farm was the pruning of the raspberries last Spring and here we were at it again.

Back where we started, pruning Raspberries

Having weeded the raspberries last fall, the job proved to be extremely easy to accomplish. We were done within a day (last year it had taken days to go through the process).

We also took this time to prune back the blackberries. We had weeded them and had cut them back last fall, but we were still unsure of the pruning. We decided to be somewhat aggressive since these stalks had reached incredible heights.

We also took the time to finally "seal" our drainage tile. Even though we have had some wet weather, the land is decidedly drier and easier to work. Tristan is now finishing off the surface by leveling it using a tractor-pulled blade (he calls it "zamboning"). Once this is done we hope to seed it to fix some Nitrogen back into the soil.

Tristan's "Zamboni" work

Meanwhile our budding vegetable garden is starting to overtake our handling capacity. I think I may have been overzealous when we started our miniature nursery. All our plants have had to be re-potted; we are really scrounging for containers; and, we are running out of space. Since we are not ready for planting yet (the last frost is still not upon us), we have had to take the plants outdoors in the day time and store them in a heated portion of the barn at night.

The "mini nursery" is overflowing

Keen as ever though, we decided to begin to use the space available on our lighted shelving for new seeds. We've planted more!  This time we've added new varieties of heirloom. non-GMO vegetables to the long list already in production. The way we look at it, if we over produce, we'll be more than happy to sell these in our new country market....and of course we can still develop our canning skills.

Our next batch of seedlings is on its way

This means we also had to start preparing the raised beds. Last year we only used three; we were late in being able to plant anything. This year we expect to use another six, plus some space next to our Beaver pond.

The raised beds were all constructed last year, so it was now just a matter of adding some fertilizer (sheep manure) and a bit more top soil.

Preparing the raised beds

On the renovation front, a lot of our attention has shifted to the barn. With the Tea Room and Country Market set to open in June, a lot of work has been done to re-equip our restaurant kitchen, furnish the store and finish the barn exterior.

The exterior of the barn is almost completed

The new store is coming together

Finally, we continue to process Birch syrup. I will end with one word of caution: do not leave a teenager in charge of supervising evaporation. The end result can be disastrous (I never thought you could actually melt a pot!).

There goes a great 40 liter pot

It's Time to Try Birch Syrup

To view the latest from Ridge Berry Farm visit our new blog and site!

Having processed some 10 litres of Maple syrup, it was time this week to begin our next food experiment: Birch syrup.

Our last 4 litre batch of Maple syrup

I had never heard of this until our neighbor Roger brought it to our attention. It turns out that Birch sap can be processed into syrup pretty much in the same way as Maple. Although not a common experience in our part of America, Birch has been tapped in Russia and the Northwest for a while.


The first major difference between Birch and Maple is that Birch syrup requires about 100 litres of sap for every litre of syrup; this is vastly different than the 40 to 1 ratio of Maple. As a result, Birch syrup takes a lot more energy and labour to produce.

The other interesting difference is that Maple syrup is primarily sucrose. Birch on the other hand is fructose and glucose.

While Maple trees are tapped once they have a trunk diameter of 12 inches, Birch are tapped as early as 9 inches given the shorter lifespan of the tree. In our case, we had enough old Birch on the property to redeploy our Maple syrup equipment and tap some rather spectacular trees.

Tristan had his eyes on this gorgeous Birch from day one

With its massive trunk, it has already proven to be our best producer

With our first batch of sap, we managed to process a small amount of Birch syrup in the same way we did our Maple. We could already sense the difference between the two just by the aroma of the boiling sap. The processing of Birch releases a distinctive aroma which to me was similar to malt and molasses.

The end product is a very dark syrup with a reddish tinge.

Our first batch of Birch syrup

As for the taste experience: do not try this expecting anything like Maple syrup. Birch would just not be right for your pancakes. Birch syrup is more aromatic and perhaps more complex. It has a distinctive woody flavour combining molasses and caramel with a tangy finish. In the end, this would be ideal for cooking such as glazing salmon or pork.

The bottom line is that this is a great "foodie" experience and we'll definitely keep tapping Birch over the next couple of weeks. I hope to report on some recipe trials later this year (once our home kitchen renovation is completed).

On the home renovation front, this week has been dedicated primarily to concrete.

The barn foundation on the south side was in bad shape so this had to be fixed. We poured a concrete base and will now be rebuilding the old stone walls.

Rebuilding the barn foundation

The basement (last week's "can of worms") was a pleasant surprise. It will make an incredible wine cellar. The floor was poured and we now will be using the concrete reinforcement to provide "shelving" for wine barrels.

The "wine cellar" is finally coming together

Our mini nursery continues to show progress, we have had to transplant a large portion of our plants....problem is we're now running out of space. It is now time to seriously consider getting a greenhouse if we're to do this on a larger scale next year.

I should note that the Coir pellets worked well in the development of some roots, however certain plants had some difficulty in developing a good root structure. In the future, we will be looking to use something more sustainable and effectively make our own pellets.

Transplanting from Coir pellets into growing mix

On the farming front, we've had a few days (before the rains) to begin "sealing" our drainage tile and we've started to till the rows we had marked last fall for our new berry root stock.

Finally covering up some of our drainage trench

Tilling made easy with our BCS

I leave you this week with another interesting find. Thanks to my dentist (Dr. Louis Albanese at the Fonthill Dental Clinic), who happens to be quite knowledgeable about the town history, Christine and I found the grave site of Josiah Ward, the man who built our home. As soon as we discovered the site, an old Quaker cemetery, we decided to pay our respects.

The grave of Josiah Ward at the old Quaker cemetery (corner of Welland Rd. & Effingham)