Putting Summer to Work.....

The summer heat has finally found us here in the Central Valley. But before you retire to sitting in front of the a/c with a glass of iced tea for the next two months know you can put the summer heat to work for you.

There are a variety of activities that are improved by our dry heat. We’ll review some of them.

Sun drying foods

You may have heard the phrase “it’s like an oven out here” sometime during the summer. When temperatures reach triple digits the reality is, it is like an oven. So why not use this outside oven to do a little “baking?” From tomatoes to raisins, sun dying is relatively easy, especially on triple-digit days. You can buy a sun drying food rack/dehydrator or you can make your own (most likely the cheaper option). We made our own last year using a standard baking pan and a picnic food netting mini-umbrella (keeps the bugs out) and were able to make great sun-dried tomatoes out of our Romas. Bring the pan or dryer in at night to lessen the risk of spoilage. You can also dry inside either in a window or in a warm, dry room. Drying herbs is great in laundry rooms or garages. Lay them out on a tray or hang them.

Weed killing

Conventional weed killers work better when it’s hot, as do natural killers. Here’s a recipe we’ve used on extra hot days using a standard weed spraying container you’d use for the conventional stuff (don’t reuse one that conventional herbicides were in): one gallon white vinegar, 2 cups lemon juice, 2 TBSPs of liquid castile soap (try Dr. Bonners) and 1/3 cup salt. Leave out the salt if you plan to plant anything there for awhile. Spray at the roots of the weed(s). While it’s a bit stinky for a little while (the vinegar is to blame), it works well and you don’t have to worry about using it around kids or pets. It will kill most weeds, but some like crabgrass may need more than one application. Again triple-digit days are best for this. Spray in the morning and then get out of the heat.

Composting

You can compost year round, but the summer heat speeds up the process. Keep your pile damp, like a moist sponge and turn it regularly. You might even see steam rising from it, that’s okay. If it gets hot enough, it will kill pathogens and weed seeds. You’ll have “black-gold” before you know it.

Solar cooking

You can buy a fancy-dancy solar cooker for around $250. Some people make their own, which is probably what we’ll end up doing cause we’re cheap (at least I’m honest about it). Solar cookers utilize sunlight or the heat, trap it and use it to slow cook food. Solar box cookers can get above 300º F. Not bad for a box lined with newspapers, topped with tempered glass. Research solar cookers and you’ll be amazed what these little babies can cook up.

Laundry

Everyone knows that before dryers, the sun did all the work of drying clothes. If you’re looking to lower a portion of your gas or electric bill sun drying is a great idea especially for bulky cottons and whites. You can wash and dry a giant load of towels easily this way. If they are a bit stiff throw them in the dryer for about 10 minutes and they’ll find their fluffiness. For whites, sun-drying is perfect because the sun does its own bleaching action as whites hang on the line.

So there you have it, the summer heat isn’t so bad (kind of). If you have large solar panels then you’ll probably be one of the few people who won’t cry when they get their utility bill in August. But for those that don’t there are still plenty of things to do to utilize the summer heat. Put summer to work!

The Mad Scientist....

The ingredients are ready. And soon my creation will be complete. Bruhahahaha!

Oh dear. I should explain. I’m just practicing a little mad science here in the kitchen. Homesteading for any short amount of time turns you into a mad scientist. Whether you’re driven by saving money or a love of chemistry, homesteading provides an avenue for creating various concoctions. For the last year our kitchen has been the lab for making homemade cleaners and now I can’t seem to stop (must be the madness).

The Back Story

My husband and I both have asthma, nasal allergies, various skin allergies, etc. Every nerdy allergy you can think of. I often wonder if our first child will be a “bubble boy.” Using many store bought cleaners and cleansers usually led to more coughing, itching, sneezing and frustrations. It’s hard to finish cleaning the shower when the fumes from cleaners are making you dizzy and nauseous. So a few years back I started buying natural cleaners. They were nice, but often expensive.

So I decided to look up a few homemade cleaning product recipes. I bought a book, Googled some recipes, clipped a few magazine articles and soon the mad scientist was born. A little of this, a little of that and before I knew it the concoctions were cleaning almost everything in the house. They were powerful, cheap to make and anytime I needed some more I ran to the cupboard rather than the supermarket. Baking Soda, Borax, white vinegar, lemon juice, castile soap, essential oils, hydrogen peroxide and water became the new cleaning arsenal.

Crafting your own cleaning power

I’d like to share a couple recipes and challenge you to search out some of your own recipes. A word of caution: while you may be using natural ingredients this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use them with care. Even natural products can do harm if inhaled, ingested or if they come in contact with skin, eyes, etc. Some ingredients will bleach or stain clothes. Also, mixing products may be fun, but it can also be dangerous. Never mix ingredients you’re unsure about.

For porcelain sinks, tubs and toilets I use a combination of Bon Ami and hydrogen peroxide. I simply rinse the area with water and scrub some of the major gunk off. Then sprinkle Bon Ami on the surface. Then I gently pour hydrogen peroxide on the Bon Ami; just enough so it soaks it in. Then let it set. For sinks I let it set at least 20 minutes, but an hour or two is even better. Then rinse clean with water. For toilets I add about 1/3 cup of hydrogen peroxide around the bowl after I’ve sprinkled the Bon Ami. Again, wait for about 20 minutes to an hour, gently scrub (if you even need to) and flush. Fantastic.

There are plenty of natural all purpose cleaner recipes out there, but this one can effectively be used on multiple surfaces (sans marble because of the vinegar), it disinfects and it’s relatively cheap to make. Did I mention it works great too, because it does! Mix 1 cup of white vinegar, ½ TBSP of tea tree oil and ½ cup of lemon juice in large spray bottle. Then fill the rest of the bottle with water. You can find tea tree oil at some grocery stores (it’s a little pricey, but lasts forever). You can substitute other essential oils instead of tea tree oil. Well, better get back to the lab. I mean kitchen.

Be safe and have fun making your own concoctions!

Turning a Black Thumb Green.....

I have black thumb disease. Granted it’s a fictional, self-diagnosed disease, but none the less it has resulted in numerous plants dying every year. My mom, in contrast has a green thumb. She is the one who can take those weeping, half-dead, pathetic looking plants from Walmart and magically bring them back to life. Why am I telling you this? Because whether you have a green thumb or a black thumb you can still have a wonderful garden that suites your wants and needs.

You don’t have to run out and buy every gardening book you see to become a great gardener. It’s quite overwhelming to dive straight into the never-ending world of gardening education when you’re first starting out. First, decide what you’re interested in and be honest with yourself about how much time you have to devote to your plants. Maybe just start with a container or two or a small plot of space in the front or backyard; four feet by four feet is a good size for a few veggie plants. Start small and build from there, you won’t regret it.

All plants need three things: light (some prefer more than others), water (again, some prefer more than others) and soil. I won’t make you dizzy explaining the various types of soil and amendments. I will tell you a quick, easy combination that seems to work: organic compost or garden soil and Amend. I choose organic because often things that shouldn’t be included in soil when growing food ironically still end up in the bag. Organic usually means you won’t find any strange chemicals or additives. The best kind of compost is actually the one you make yourself, but we’ll save that for another column.

Kellogg’s Amend is wonderful to use when you are planting in the ground. It’s a stinky (literally), natural soil conditioner that helps turn clay or sandy soil into a gardener’s dream. Work Amend into the soil or blend it with some garden soil in pots, either way it’s a nice recipe for soil success.

Let’s go back to light and water. Now if you live here in the Central Valley you know that it gets hot here. That might be a bit of an understatement. So when the tag on your new plant says full sun, just know that for many plants, they don’t mean our full sun. But fortunately many fruits and veggies (like citrus, melon, tomatoes, various squash, etc.) can handle the heat better people than most people can, myself included. Monitor your yard for where you get sun throughout the day. Place the sun loving plants where you get a lot of sun (probably the south side) and place the ones who can’t take the heat somewhere out of the sun during the late afternoon. Now for regular watering: deep watering is better than sprinkling, watering in the morning seems to work better in guarding against disease and helping plants take on the heat, plants in containers will need to be watered more often and water at the roots rather than the leaves. The garden tag should let you know how much water the plant will need, but the plant will also let you know. If it’s wilting that often means, “I need water!” Turning brown? Well, that’s either “I need water!”, “it’s too hot for me” or “your dog thinks I’m a fire hydrant!” Water as best as you can (not too much or too little) and take extra caution on hot days.

Now, what to grow?

I will ask you this if you’re looking at planting fruits, vegetables or herbs, what do you eat or use in the kitchen most? If you love tomatoes, plant tomatoes. If you buy lettuce every week at the grocery store, plant some lettuce. If you hate brussell sprouts, don’t plant them. They’re gross anyway. In warmer months try these: cucumbers, squash, peppers, tomatoes, pumpkins, corn and pole beans. In cooler months try: lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cabbage and kale. Start with one of two of those and go from there. I advise fellow black thumbs to start with plants rather than seeds when first starting off. This will eliminate weeks of waiting and thinning, etc. When fruit (trees/vines/bushes) are in stock, try a few of those as well, just make room for them to grow.

I won’t go into pest control or soil amendments this week. Just wanted to give you a basic overview.

Goodness. I know this is a lot to take in. Even I’m getting overwhelmed.

I do want to tell you this, “black thumb” disease isn’t something you should fret about. Even if all you do is kill more plants this summer, know that gardening is an unending process of trial and error. You can do everything right and one of your plants may do well; the other will die faster than a soap opera star during Sweeps week. Don’t take it personally. All you can do is provide the right conditions and let nature do the rest. That’s how you turn a black thumb green: practice, patience, persistence and maybe, a little more Amend.