Want to eat local? Grow your own! It doesn’t get any more local than that.
But let’s go beyond the salad. We have to eat year round. Our ancestors learned that there were certain things that they could pick and pick again, things that could be processed for long term storage, cool season crops that would keep well into colder weather, and a few things they could winter over in the garden to harvest in late winter or early spring.
Cabbage is coming in now and it’s one that many have learned to preserve for long term storage as sauerkraut. Sauerkraut has a long history and was once carried on ships as a defense against scurvy. Essentially, shredded cabbage is salted down and allowed to ferment, then canned to enhance safe long term storage.
Let me interrupt myself at this point to say that food preservation and storage needs to be done very carefully. When I mention canning, freezing, or drying anything there will be little detail because I have no training in food safety. But when you take on that responsibility, you owe it to yourself and your family to get specifics and do it right. Cleanliness is important, temperature is vitally important, and sufficient time at a temperature is critical. Food borne pathogens such as botulism can be far more hazardous than any pesticides.
But back to food … if you’re growing greens such as Swiss chard or collards, you can continue to pick outer leaves while the plant keeps growing a long term supply of fresh greens.
It’s not too late to plant more beans and peas. These are good nutritious staples for winter soups and stews and there are several ways to preserve them – canned, frozen, or dried.
Blueberries are perhaps the easiest of all fruits to grow in our area and they freeze quite well. With attention to variety selection you can have a few berries for fresh eating throughout the summer and at some time a main crop that you can put away for the rest of the year.
Next month, after you get over the July 4 festivities, you can start planting the fall garden. The winter squashes can provide lots of energy for the human diet and they store well. In most cases they will need to be picked before frost. Wipe off any soil and spread them to cure in the shade for a week or two. Then move them to a basement or under the house for long term storage.
Root crops likewise are good for long term storage. Carrots, beets, turnips, and potatoes can all be kept well into cool weather in a cellar or under the house.
And depending on the winter, several crops can be started in the fall and carried through the winter for early spring harvest. Collards that mature in late fall can withstand some pretty severe cold weather (or what passes for severe in our area). There’s a good chance of having fresh, vitamin rich greens for January and February. Onions started in the fall will be ready for pulling as green onions in the winter and will make bulbs in late spring. Spinach may survive the winter depending on how cold it gets. It probably won’t grow much. But if you get it started in the fall, then it will be ready for picking outer leaves that much earlier in late winter to early spring.
Gardening doesn’t have to be a spring-summer phenomenon. In our climate it can be a full time activity. And if you want to eat local food, there’s nothing more local than growing your own.
For more details on how to grow your own Vegetables & Herbs or Fruits & Nuts, go to
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/chatham/ag/homehort/homehort.html
E Letters are archived at http://chatham.ces.ncsu.edu/content/WGEindex and
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/chatham/ag/homehort/WhatsGardening/WGEindex.html
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Al Cooke
Extension Agent, Horticulture
Chatham County Center
N.C. Cooperative Extension
PO Box 279, Pittsboro, NC 27312
919.542-8202; Fax 919.542.8246
al_cooke@ncsu.edu
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/chatham/staff/acooke/home.html