The above spreadsheet was created with Google Sheets. In addition to being a journal of what I sow, I use it to record growing and harvest notes from trials. There is also a corn calculator to help track expecting harvest dates. This calculator helps me plan when to sow different varieties to minimize cross pollination and maximize the number of varieties of corn we can grow in a given year.
The following diagram is for reference to content to be found on our Instagram account.
This content is copyright and intellectual property of Never Enough Dirt.
As a stay-at-home dad my focus is on mentoring my young kids (7 & 5 years old.) How I interact with them is how I interact with our garden. With time as the necessary component, I practice what I call, “Harmonious Communication.” This type of communication is a culmination of many principles; with “Nonviolent Communication” principles playing a large part. In addition to, a deep understanding of the principles and mechanisms that drive the natural world enables us to do more with less effort and resources. The natural world is a machine with many moving parts. All these parts interact with one another moving in opposing directions (cause and effect) to generate the propulsion that moves towards a harmonious state.
One understood principle is that pests and diseases are an indicator of a cause and effect loop. Our gardens are planted with this understanding. As a result, I spend time to foster robust and resilient plants; as opposed to spending time to treat them. This is achieved by understanding what nature’s purpose is for a certain pest or disease and putting that to work. The opposite is to act on the problem without knowing that it will exacerbate it. This is liken to removing the natural feedback back effect and replacing it with human driven effort.
It is also very important to note that all growing styles are relevant. Which style a gardener chooses will be dependent on their set of circumstances and the amount of time they have. These tours are for garden enthusiasts; to enjoy seeing what we grow and to understand some of the mechanics of how our garden grows.
Growing beds with one type of vegetable for one large harvest has been a traditional gardening practice for the longest time. Succession planting for smaller yields and variety, on the other hand, is an impactful re-imagination of this traditional gardening practice. There are many reasons why single harvest methods of growing is the most popular method. Above all, the reason it persists is because this practice is relatively easy to grasp, manage, and execute. Climate is another influencer of how food is grown. Southern California’s climate allows for year-round growing. This means that many types of crops can be grown throughout the year; versus having to grow our fill for the year in a short amount of time.
Collecting citrus is a hobby of mine. Blood oranges are one category that I enjoy curating.
As someone who has a fascination for the natural world, I am also very interesting it non food plants. They are not often seen or highlighted on my social media content but they do exist. Look for them in the background!
In this video, I give a walking tour of the various areas on our property where we are growing our tomatoes this year (2021.) On this tour, I will go over some of the different microclimates and ways we are supporting our tomato plants. You will be also able to see 95% of our growing space and catch a glimpse of what else is growing at the moment.
In our garden we happily found huitlacoche (a fungus that took over development of an ear of corn). With it, we prepared in a quesadilla. So as to get a good gauge of this delicacy, we used minimal ingredients. In our tasting, we found the dark pasty part of the huitlacoche to have a nutty taste that is mild. Its texture is a very fine grain. When crushed between teeth, it has a tiny pop that is nice. The white membrane that encases the dark paste is airy and snappy with a fresh corn taste.
Huitlacoche has long been a delicacy in Mexico. In fact, corn truffle as it is also known also dates back to Aztec culture. What makes this a delicacy is rarity. The conditions that allow for this fungus to grow has to be particular. Rainy and weather is usually the key. Up until recently, in western cultures finding fungus in a corn patch was disheartening. Farmers and growers would call it corn smut.
Somewhere along the way, the secret got out. Corn fungus is tasty, unique, and contains amino acids that the body does not produce. The kinds of goodies that help fight infection among other things. Suddenly there was not corn smut to be found. Rather, there were harvests of huitlacoche and corn truffle.
One of the things we are doing this year is experimenting to see how early we can start our plants. We started many plants a month earlier than usual. In February we sowed plants like tomatoes, corn, and watermelon. Sweet corn usually requires warmed to sweeten up so we started with non sweet varieties first like ‘Strawberry Popcorn’ and ‘Seneca Red Stalker.’ Since these varieties are flint corn we had to wait until the plants dried before harvesting them. With them dried and the ‘Roma’ tomatoes ramping down in production, we took this time to clear and transition the beds to plant something else.
With the space, my son and I sowed seeds and are hoping to see 20 strong ‘Oaxacan Green’ dent corn plants.
As for the watermelon:
The ‘Klondike Blue Ribbon’ could have used a few more days to develop its exquisite crispy texture. Nonetheless, the flavor and sweetness was present. On the second tasting of a ‘Sweet Siberian,’ we find that the flesh is rather smooth and just sweet. Once again, the typical watermelon flavor is either non-existent or rather subtle.
Zone 10b / San Gabriel Valley / Los Angeles / Southern California / USA
Music: Dan Lebowitz, “Jeremiah’s Song”
A couple of varieties new to our garden. This is our first tasting. These tastings are very subjective. Good tasting or not so great, I encourage you to grow and judge for yourselves.
Note on the Druzba: They taste much better fully fully ripe. Very ripe ‘Druzba’ has sweeter taste and flesh is not grainy.
Zone 10b / San Gabriel Valley / Los Angeles / Southern California / USA
Music: Dan Lebowitz, “Tipetoe Out the Back”
Today we prepare crab ceviche with ingredients we harvest from the garden; and direct to our dish.
Ingredients (to be adjusted according to your taste)
1 lb imitation crab
4-5 limes
1 bunch cilantro
1 medium to large red onion
1 1/2 lbs of ripe Roma tomatoes
1 Serrano pepper
1/2 cucumber (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
Zone 10b / San Gabriel Valley / Los Angeles / Southern California / USA
Cumbia No Frills Faster by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100275
Artist: http://incompetech.com/
