Ulla Bisgaard

[quote=Mart Hale


I am special LOL

Some suggestions.

I have put over 10 inches of wood chips on my soil about 6 years ago which has all composted and mixed with the sand so the higher humus in my soil might be a factor...         I have heard the soil can be very very poor in your area, that also may be a factor,    I have only certain areas of my land that the cassava does well in,     In those areas I am putting more and more cassava,      We have seen temps of down to 25 deg in this area, so  that may be a factor, or it could be the variety of cassava that may play a role.      But all 4 varieties of cassava I have work with this method.

Our soil is actually fantastic. I have spend 10 years transforming it from dirt to dark rich soil. It has been a lot of work, but worth it. Also, I grow my cassava in a raised bed, that has a lot of compost in it. I add compost to my beds twice a year, and I use a lot of mulch too, but not 10 inches. I mostly use straw mulch for my plants, since experience has showed me, that wood chip mulch, won’t compost here.

Mart Hale wrote:

Ulla Bisgaard wrote:

Mart Hale wrote:I think this is the first time AI was useful for me....  

Knowing that grating the cassava so that it has more surface area to help get rid of the bitterness sure makes sense...      

This answers the question about why I have never tasted any bitterness in my cassava flour. I peel them, cut them, wash them and then cook them in water, before freeze drying and grinding.

The freeze dryer is going to pull  out the moisture......

What I am now thinking of doing is 1) boil the cassava in instant pot till soft,      2) remove cores.    3)  blend in vitamix adding water,  put in fridge for a day...     Bring out strain thru cheese cloth.....    

When I get off my diet,   this looks like the path I want to travel down.     The bitterness in mine is an after taste, not terrible, but I imagine with dumping the water, and increasing the surface area I will see huge improvements..

The freeze dryer fulling out the moisture is why I use it. If I don’t dry it, I can’t grind it into flour, which is the whole purpose of why I grow cassava. The method i proscribed in the original post, works really really well. I get amazing cassava flour out of it.

Mart Hale wrote:
As for the stalks,    I cut them into 12 - 14 inch segments and plant them 2 -3 inches deep in the fall,  so that they can start the rooting process thru the winter time and be ready for spring.         I used to store them inside but as I thought about it, that is a waist of time for me as cutting them and putting them back into the ground for my 9A zone.

That’s interesting. We live in Growzone 10b, and I have never had any success when I plant them in fall. When I do that, they don’t develop any roots. That’s why I have switched to planting in March, an advise I got from a gardener friend. I wonder why you can do it that way, when I can’t.

Mart Hale wrote:I think this is the first time AI was useful for me....  

Knowing that grating the cassava so that it has more surface area to help get rid of the bitterness sure makes sense...      

This answers the question about why I have never tasted any bitterness in my cassava flour. I peel them, cut them, wash them and then cook them in water, before freeze drying and grinding.

I used to harvest and plant in Now/Dec too, but first year we grew them, but I only had 20% develop roots. Starting them indoors, was a mess, since my nursery isn’t that big. I did some research (don’t ask me where), that said to harvest and plant in March, so that’s what I trying now. I have only grown these the last 3 years. Last year the place I planted them in wasn’t secured enough, so I lost a lot to gophers and rats. I only have 6 plants left, so now we are setting up a permanent raised bed, where we can keep the gophers and rats out. Then in March we will harvest, and then fill the bed with cuttings.
My hope is to grow enough, so that don’t have to buy flour. Due to celiac we don’t use grains for bread, instead we use cassava and almonds flour.

John Rains wrote:

Ulla Bisgaard wrote:

Mart Hale wrote:Very kool!

What variety of Cassava are you growing?

Do you have a slight bitter aftertaste?

Thanks for sharing!

I actually don’t remember the variety LOL. I have grown and cloned them for so long, that I honestly don’t remember what I started with. As for being bitter, I haven’t had that experience.
This year, we are actually moving the plants to a permanent bed, so the plants are secure from gophers and rats, and we can install irrigation. This also means, that I can harvest as needed, instead of doing a full harvest each time. I am also hoping this will mean larger roots.

Where did you get your casava tubers? from?

Originally I got them on Etsy. They are pretty expensive though, which is why we want a dedicated space for them. We usually harvest in March and plant again right away, since it’s just a question of cutting the branches into 11 inch pieces, and then just put them back into the soil. It has to be in spring, so the plants can grow big, before the weather gets colder. Otherwise they won’t develop roots. We do this in March. It’s a kind of strange, that it doesn’t grow from the tubers, only from cuttings.
As for the tubers, you can also get those on Etsy, but keep in mind, that the tubers go back very quickly.

Mart Hale wrote:Very kool!

What variety of Cassava are you growing?

Do you have a slight bitter aftertaste?

Thanks for sharing!

I actually don’t remember the variety LOL. I have grown and cloned them for so long, that I honestly don’t remember what I started with. As for being bitter, I haven’t had that experience.
This year, we are actually moving the plants to a permanent bed, so the plants are secure from gophers and rats, and we can install irrigation. This also means, that I can harvest as needed, instead of doing a full harvest each time. I am also hoping this will mean larger roots.

Anne Miller wrote:Usually when I make bone broth, I use it up quickly.  I make rice for me and the dog with broth rather than water.

Any extra goes into the freezer.

I think it is wonderful that you have enough to can it for the future.

My favorite is actually Turkey broth, so I am looking forward to thanksgiving. We always start broth with the bones left from the Turkey, and I usually also can any leftover Turkey meat. It’s so easy to make stew, if you have all of the ingredients ready and processed. I also use it for Turkey and gravy, the use is endless.

Timothy Norton wrote:My personal usage of broths in the kitchen has increased after being on Permies for a while. I've learned how to make a general Kitchen Scrap Stock to keep on hand but the next step is to learn how to preserve it through canning.

If I might ask, do you try to can a whole bunch in one event or are you making broth and canning it on a more frequent schedule? I'm trying to get my head wrapped around if it is worth it to get a BIG canner right off the bat or if a small one (and the savings that comes with it) is more appropriate.

I actually have two pressure canners. I have a regular presto pressure canner and an electric pressure canner also from presto. As for the logistics, I simply leave the pots on the stove between each batch I can. That way it doesn’t go bad, and I have nothing to stress about. We leave it to cook for 24 hours and then keep it simmering until we have canned/used all of the broth inside. We have finished one of my brew pots, and are about halfway through the second one. Both of them was start Wednesday. I can do this, because my pots not only have sprouts, but also a thermometer so I can make sure they stay on a safe temperature. All jars are pressure canned for 25 minutes. Before storage. Having two canners also means I can get it all canned faster. The pots can take a total of 60 quarts, but that includes the bones and vegetables. We usually get around 50 quarts when we use both brew pots, so it’s hard to get it all canned the same day. It also doesn’t harm the broth, to simmer for an extended time.
As for the canners, I love them both, but do to my memory problems, it’s safer for me to use the electric canner. It will remind when to warm up jars, when to fill them and when to put the regulator on, and all times are already programmed in, so after you put the regulator on, it does the rest on its own. We got it, after my short term memory got so bad, that I broke two of the regular canners. If I am alone, I only use the electric since it’s safer that way.

We rarely use water to cook in. We use broth instead, to maximize nutrients in our meals. I get hospital treatments, that deplete my bodies vitamin and minerals, vitamin pills don’t get absorbed, so I concentrate the vitamin and mineral content in what I eat and drink. All vegetables and things like rice and pasta are cooked in broth. The leftover liquid in the pot, is then made into gravy or soups. Plus since we raise our own meat. We always end up with a lot of bones. So far, we have processed 400 pounds of meat, and we have more chickens to process in December.