Getting Ready for Spring!

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Winter may not even be here, but this week we were already thinking of next Spring. Just as we did last year, we decided to use the remainder of this Autumn to prepare ourselves for next year's new plants. We're already receiving nursery catalogs and are salivating at the thought of planting new fruits and vegetables.

So we started this week by sorting the various T posts we salvaged from our newly cleared land. The posts that were too oxidized or warped we sent to recycling, the others we pounded into new rows.

Sorting our old posts

The rows to be planted next Spring are part of a hill that was originally farmed for corn. These we tilled in anticipation of planting new berries for 2014. Likely upcoming crops for this space include more raspberries (Golden and Black), more currants (Red and Black), Strawberries and Blueberries.

Tilling new rows with our trusted BCS

Since the trees are shedding their leaves, it was also time to take advantage of the massive amount of compost generated by the European Copper Beech that is in front of the house. It turns out that Paw Paws like a soil covered with dead leaves (as they would find it in the old Carolinian forest). So we decided to move the leaves from under the Beech tree to our newly planted Paw Paw patch. Regrettably the winds did not collaborate.

Relocating leaves to the Paw Paw patch

Although windy, temperatures did reach double digits so it was a real pleasure to also start our pruning activities. The first item on our list was the Concord grape vines. This year, we were determined to prune them correctly and after educating ourselves a bit on the process, we were much more aggressive this time around.

Pruning Concord Grapes

We also decided to complete more work on the Biodome. With a Spring mentality enhanced by some of the milder weather experienced this week, we actually decided to seed a tray in anticipation of making our Aquaponics system fully functional before winter. We started a variety of plants including lettuce, spinach, wax beans, cucumbers, peppers and a variety of herbs.

The Biodome's first seedlings

We also decided to set up our own pump assembly for the hydroponic beds. We did this using 2 simple elements from Canadian Tire: a marine bilge pump (they run from 12 volt batteries) and a 40 Watt solar panel (on sale half price this week!).

600 GPH Bilge Pump

40 Watt Solar Panel

The result is a sustainable flow of water from bed to bed at a maximum rate of 600 Gallons per hour. We only had to provide overflow protection on the first bed using a simple pipe assembly.

Overflow protection on first hydroponic bed

Sustainable water flow on all prototype beds

Now we need fish....something to be addressed this coming week. However, to introduce fish into our large tank we need to verify two key parameters: pH (the acidity of the water) and temperature. We've decided to use a simple thermometer and a dye to get a handle on these. It seems we have a rather alkaline water (pH hovering around 8) and a rather cold tank (temperature of 15 to 20 degrees C). Our key concern is whether we will be able to winter the Tilapia we are planning to get for this installation.

Monitoring pH in our main tank

I'll end this week with Pumpkins!

Our Pumpkin cellar

Since Halloween is over, we've noticed many people just throwing away their pumpkin "decorations". This is a shame since Pumpkins are very good food and a great source of Vitamin A. So I thought I would share one of our Pumpkin recipes that has always been a hit in the family this time of year: Pumpkin Chowder.

Note: Our recipes are just guidelines and proportions can be adjusted to taste.

Ingredients: Pumpkin, Carrots, Potatoes, Corn, Onions (or Leeks), vegetable or chicken stock, heavy cream (or milk).

Method:

Chop onions or leeks and soften them in a pan with some olive oil.
Toss in finely cubed carrots.
Toss in finely cubed potatoes
Simmer all in stock or broth.

Onions, carrots and potatoes waiting for the stock

Quarter a pumpkin, remove seeds and bake until soft.
Peel cooked pumpkin and puree in food processor.
Add Pumpkin to stock.

Add corn, salt and pepper to taste.
A touch of Cayenne provides a nice finish,

Once the potato cubes are well cooked, add cream (or milk).
Take a good half of the chowder and process it in a blender to add back to the soup (this will provide a nice velvety thickness to the chowder).

After working in the field...there's nothing like a hot bowl of Pumpkin Chowder