2012 Local Eating Goals

Now that (I hate to say it) we've passed the middle point of summer, I am thinking about and preparing for Fall. This year, more than ever, I am trying to live in the moment and truly enjoy each day and revel in the season- the sweltering hot days, the strangely-cool days, and everything in between. 

However, part of appreciating these summer days is putting up some of my favorite fruits and vegetables for later on the in the year, and planting in preparation for fall. Every year I have a sort of mental list of Homestead-y things I'd like to accomplish- things to grow, things to can, things to freeze, things to dry and store through winter. I'm proud to say that this year, I have actually done some significant fall planting, and I've also done a pretty fair job at "putting up" or canning/preserving/storing & locally sourcing a good deal of the things that were on said mental list! 

I will say that I've give myself some exceptions- this list applies most to food that is eaten in my home. While eating out and about, I do try to have a strong focus on local food, supporting local businesses, and avoiding questionable meat (essentially, it's questionable unless I know where it's sourced from). BUT it's hard to find places to eat that meet all of my strict qualifications! So while I am an intentional eater at restaurants, I am my best locavore self at home, where I can better control what comes into my home, where it comes from, and what I spend our $$$ on.

As I have moved towards eating more and more locally, there is a natural shift towards eating things in the season they grow in. For example, when I say that I eat only local potatoes all year long, it is because I plant potatoes in the spring, I harvest them in the summer, and store them to eat throughout summer, fall, and into winter. Then I stop eating potatoes until I can find them locally again in the spring, or grow them myself once again!

With all that stuff in mind, here's an attempt at a typed version of my 2012 Local Eating Goals.

Happy Home 2012 Local Eating Goals
* crossed off= already preserved or ready to store

Veggies to store/source locally for the entire year-
(successfully achieved this part of the list last year!)
Onions
Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Acorn Squash
Carrots
Garlic (50 heads)

Other food products to source locally for the entire year-
Wheat
Bread
Bagels
Butter 
Milk 
Eggs
Meat products

Herbs to dry & store/grow indoors for the entire year-
Cilantro/Coriander
Basil
Thyme
Rosemary
Oregano
Sage

Locally grown veggies & fruits to Can-
6 pints Pickles
5 pints Tomato Sauce 
10 pints and 12 half-pints Corn
10 pints Green beans
25 half-pints Peaches
15 half-pints Pears
6 pints Apricots
3 pints Cranberry Sauce
15 half-pints Applesauce
3 pints Blueberry jam

Locally grown veggies & fruits to Freeze-
5 quarts Blueberries 
1 quart Cherries 
1 quart Raspberries
2 quarts Strawberries 
3 quarts Corn

Locally grown fruits to Dehydrate-
2 bags dried cranberries

If you'd like to set some local eating goals for yourself, I have a few tips:

• Set some perimeters for yourself- be realistic about what you think you can do
• Have strategies in mind- Where will you shop/how will you grow things to meet your goals?
• Think it out- If you want to can 60 pints of tomatoes, when will that actually happen and do you truly have the time & resources to do that?
• Pat yourself on the back, even if you don't accomplish everything you set out to! You're still making progress, and you'll have a better idea of how you can improve in future years.

What do you try to eat locally year round? 

Are there things that you think are more important to source locally than others?

Choosing Garlic for Late-Fall Planting

If you're going to plant garlic for next year, it's just about the right time to buy your planting stock! There are lots of different types of garlic- I didn't even really think about the different varieties that exist under the larger type categories, let alone the types themselves! In addition to there being hardneck and soft neck types, there are 9 different types (that I know of) of garlic, and a bunch of specific varitieies of each type! There is actually a good list of different types of garlic here: check it out!

I've put together a list of varieties of that I'm interested in planting for next season- overall I'd like to plant about 6 heads of garlic, or roughly 50-75 new heads of garlic.

Softneck
Artichoke (3)

Applegate

Lorz Italian

Inchelium Red

Italian Late

Silverskin (1)
Silver White

Hardneck

Porcelain (1)

Romanian Red
Chesnok Red

Rocambole (1)

Spanish Roja

Here in the Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor area, we have several choices for purchasing locally grown garlic- I hope you are as lucky and that you have local growers to choose from as well! 

There are several good options for organically grown garlic from seed companies like Hood River Garlic, Seed Savers Exchange, and Seeds of Change. I like all of these companies, and I often purchase seeds from these companies, but there are several perks to buying local garlic vs. seed company garlic for your planting stock:

• Local garlic supports a local farmer-
  This one is not a surprise, hopefully, but local growers are often hand-selecting the varieites you are choosing, screening for the best performance. The success of these local growers depends on your business.
• Local garlic is often cheaper-
  I've seen local garlic at the Farmers' Market that costs between $2 - 2.50 per head for a large size. I averaged out how much garlic from Hood River, Seeds of Change, or Seed Savers Exchange costs, and the answer seems to be about $3.70/head. That's not even including shipping prices!
• Local garlic is well-suited to your growing region- Because you are purchasing garlic that is grown close to where you live, it's unlikely that you could pick a varitiety that won't perform well in your garden (at least not because of normal climate issues)
• Greater variety of garlic is available to you- My go-to Garlic family grows 40 + varieties of garlic each year. That's a LOT! Most seed companies I looked at offer 3-10 varieties.

Again, not every grower will specialize in garlic like the Dyer Family does, but if you can find a farm or a farmer that loves garlic as much as you do, I can't think of a single good reason not to run out to your nearest Farmers' Market, Farm Stand, or Farm visiting day and snatch up some of that garlic!

I've grown garlic at home for several years now, and each year, although I'm able to save a heads to plant, I make a point to buy some from local growers too. That way, I can try new garlic types, and do my part to make sure that garlic lovers in my city & county get to by from those local growers for as long as they'd like to sell! Planting occurs around (Hardiness zone 6a) at the end of October-beginning of Novemeber, but it's not too early to start stocking up now! Good luck selecting :)

Planting in Late Summer for Fall & Spring Harvests

This is the year that I'm going to do it, guys- make the leap and do some serious Fall planting! I think I'm usually tuckered out by the time the end of the summer rolls around. Before I know it, the time to plant for fall has passed me by. Not this year!

I'm been direct seeding Fall veggies in my garden for the past 3 weeks now, and I will finish up the last bit of planting tomorrow. If you're in S.E. Michigan, Northern Ohio, or a place with a similar last frost date (Oct 7th), you still have a few days to hop to it!


Fall Planting list:
Super Sugar Snap Pea
Prize Choy
De Cicco Broccoli
St. Valery Carrot
Grandpa's Admire Lettuce
Winter Density Lettuce
Parade bunching Onion
Rhubarb Red Swiss Chard

I've tried to seed most everything in the new, larger bed (pictured on the left)- it's closest to the side door of our home so if I need to dash out during the winter I'm one or two steps closer, and it already has crazy, thriving Kale there.

I'm planning to put up some quick hoops over the first 8 feet of the bed, enough distance to cover up the Kale, fall onions, and sugar snaps. I might want to do another 8 feet of hoop down at the other end (by the lovely garbage bins), because there are broccoli, a few carrots, and some speckles lettuce down there!

I'll be sure to share pictures of the quick hoops once I get them put together, as well as some guidance and assembly photos. I've been wanting to do serious season extension for a long time, and it will finally happen this year! One step closer to that ideal Badass Garden that's always floating in my mind...

What are you planning on planting this Fall?