Brian Holmes

I recently found out that what I thought was a potting shed next to my garage was in fact a smoke house. I look forward to trying it someday.

Did you try thin slicing the plums while still attached to the pits? This way each slice has a minimum section clinging to the center. Pair that with a twisting of the knife when you're done and it could help shear the fruit away from the pit.

Wish it could be cooked and fed through a food mill, but pits would appear a no go there outside of industrial setups.

Ulla Bisgaard wrote:I think that the OD part will hold some people back from participating. It would be very hard for me to find a dirt patch, since I spend the last 9 years transforming said dirt into dark rich soil.
It’s still inspiring. It made me up my gardening game this year, and it paid off. I grew 2206 pounds aka a metric ton of produce, nuts and grains this year. With total calories over 560k. These numbers will keep growing as the food forest garden matures.
There are probably going to be many, that like me get inspiration from it.

What methods did you employ for your soil building? I've been composting for a few years now and this year did a cover crop. Always looking to learn more.

Odd thought: use it to season focaccha? Generally a salty flat bread, and I've cooked it with red onions on tip before, so seems like a logical extension.

Also: mayo calls for vinegar, so maybe try making mayo with it? Water aspect might be less desirable, bit maybe worth a try :)

Hoping to get figs off my tree this year! This is it's first year coming back off the root ball, hoping for the best

Michelle Heath wrote:Not sure of what area of Maryland you're in, but you may want to check and make sure currants aren't prohibited.  Here I believe black currants are banned statewide and all currants are banned in certain counties due to white pine blister rust.  I am not permitted to grow them (or gooseberries) in my county, but it's okay in the county where my parents live.  So my currants and gooseberries are 30 miles away and unfortunately I don't get to reap much of the harves.t

My wife found the same thing online! Last we checked the ban had been widely lifted as it wasn't found to be effective in preventing spread. Will check again just in case

Last year's perennials included blueberries, Apple, pear, Asian pear, and peaches.  This year we're adding cherries, another apple, 3 more blueberries, goji berries, elderberries (2), and raspberries. Our hope is that in a few years we'll have a couple of blueberry hedges, an orchard, and a smattering of both beautiful and fruitful plants everywhere around the property.

Does anyone have recommendations for other perennial fruit plants? We are also looking into currants, recently found out cranberries likely won't grow in Maryland.

Happy growing to everyone :)

Emptying the compost pile and seeing how much larger it was than last year.
Peach blossoms (our first ever!)
Egg production back up to sustainable levels (no more egg-free breakfasts!)
A box of new perennial plants on the doorstep (more fruit! )
The blossoms on our 30 foot pear tree going gangbusters (before I get in there and prune the interior)

Spring sure is fun :)

Kate Muller wrote:

Brian Holmes wrote:

I keep my dehydrated goods in canning jars and use my  very good condition once used canning lids for these jars.  I keep them in a cool dark part of the basement and easily get 2 years of storage.  

Truncated your quote for space.

Thank you so much for the wonderful advice. A dehydrator sounds like the perfect place to start, and I'll be looking into reusable canning rings

Jan White wrote:I run elderberries through my omega juicer, a vertical auger model from ten+ years ago. It removes the seeds, stems and skins and lets everything else through. I end up with a very thick, smooth liquid. Works well for jam, syrup, vinegar.

How would you go about making elderberry vinegar? I've always wanted to try making vinegar, and this year we're putting two elderberry plants in the ground :)