It was a great class on November 2! We learned to make three kinds of fermented vegetables. Then we made pizza and had a delicious healthy lunch. Thanks for all to Nancy, our teacher.
Author Archives: Lois
Fall Planting Tips for the San Diego Area
Fall, especially October and November, is prime planting time for native plants and most perennials.
Remove fading summer plants.
Add compost to your soil, and mulch on top. Keep the mulch a few inches away from tree trucks, as they are especially susceptible to fungal infections when they stay too damp.
Plant cool season vegetables:
Brassicas, such as broccoli, kale, cabbage, and cauliflower.
Root veggies, including beets, carrots, rutabaga, and garlic.
Leafy veggies, such as lettuce, spinach, and chard.
Peas and fava beans.
Flowers, such as California poppies, marigolds, snap dragons, stock, sweet peas, and pansies.
For a more detailed planting guide go to Master Gardener planting guide.
Summer Gardening Tips
Maintain a thick layer of mulch around plants to hold in moisture and suppress weeds.
Warm season vegetable seedlings (tomatoes, squash, peppers, eggplant) and seeds (corn, beans) can still be put into the ground through July for fall harvest.
Plant Brassica family seeds (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower) in August for winter harvest.
Carrots, beets, and turnips can be planted by seed all summer.
(Thank you to California Gardening Magazine, published by the San Diego Floral Association for wonderful seasonal gardening information.)
For a more detailed planting guide, go to Master Gardener planting guide.
Winter Gardening Tips
Soil tips:
Keep your soil covered with plants or compost. Grow cover crops (lava beans, alfalfa) – they heal and enrich the soil.
If you use only kitchen scraps in your compost pile, you create a bacterial compost which weeds and Bermuda grass love. Add straw and paper to make fungus predominant compost. This is good for most plants.
Plant cool season vegetables such as:
beets leeks
broccoli lettuce
Brussel sprouts mustard
cabbage onions
carrots peas
cauliflower radicchio
celery radishes
fava beans spinach
kale Swiss chard
For a more detailed winter planting guide go to Master Gardener planting guide.
Summer Garden Tips
Maintain a thick layer of mulch around plants to hold in moisture and suppress weeds.
Warm season vegetable seedlings (tomatoes, squash, peppers, eggplant) and seeds (corn, beans) can still be put into the ground through July for fall harvest.
Plant Brassica family seeds (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower) in August for winter harvest.
Carrots, beets, and turnips can be planted by seed all summer.
(Thank you to California Gardening Magazine, published by the San Diego Floral Association for wonderful seasonal gardening information.)
For a more detailed planting guide, go to Master Gardener planting guide.
EWG’s Dirty Dozen: Cancer Prevention Edition
Environmental Working Group’s latest consumer guide highlights 12 of the worst chemicals that are known to disrupt cancer-related pathways and gives you tips on how to avoid them. You will also find guides to minimizing exposure to pesticides in produce, chemicals in sunscreen and other personal care products.
Their website is here.
Let’s Make Pickles!
Learn to make delicious pickles! These lacto-fermented pickled cucumbers and green beans make tasty snacks or finger food. My family loves them! They are a nutritious snack packed with probiotics for health and enzymes that enhance digestion. And they are easy to make! Lacto-fermented, or cultured, vegetables and condiments are a great way to get plenty of beneficial “good” bacteria into your digestive system.
Sunday, July 12, 1:00 to 4:00 PM in Jamul.
Alpine Ranch Creative Health and Ecological Solutions
Featured
ARCHES (Alpine Ranch Creative Health and Ecological Solutions) is a non-profit organization, offering classes on healthy cooking, nutrition, and sustainable gardening. We sponsor the school garden classes at Jamul Primary School.
Let’s Make Super Salads!
We had a wonderful morning at the Ranch last Saturday, learning to make delicious salads.
Chef Nancy introduced us to a variety of tasty salads for various occasions. For example, a tabouli salad with feta cheese would be perfect for a summer luncheon entrée. A side salad of marinated black-eyed peas and sun-dried tomatoes would go with any entree. We also learned the secrets to creating family pleasing homemade salad dressings.
Nancy also shared this important information about purchasing produce and choosing oils.
Then came a tour of the beautiful garden at the Ranch.
Last, we had a yummy lunch of salads, bread, and dessert.
Salad recipes:
Arranged Salad Home Fermented Giardineira Black-eyed Pea Salad
Cabbage Salad with Jewels Corn Relish Raw Beet and Kale Salad Tabouli
Making Soup at the Ranch
If you had walked past the ranch kitchen on Saturday morning, you would have heard lots of chopping, talking, and laughing. The Hearty Soup Class was happening. Aromas were intense and inviting. This fun class was followed by a tour of the garden and a lovely lunch of four different soups, salad, corn bread and sourdough bread. Hope you can join us next time!
Here are the delicious recipes from this class:
Cream of Broccoli Split Pea ala Crockpot Winter Squash Soup
Fiesta Chicken Soup Honey Baked Apples
Italian Balsamic Salad Dressing and Za’atar & Tahini Salad Dressing