Gardening for Everyone | Introduction: Yes, Everyone 

This content is copyright & intellectual property of Never Enough Dirt.

With many approaches to gardening, there is one to match up with everyone’s situation. As a host, I create space for the many different approaches to come together. As a docent, I will help those from one approach to understand those from another approach. As a coach/mentor, I will guide everyone to an approach that works for them in the present and future. As a teacher, I will provide approach-relevant information and knowledge.

The first step to gardening is to understand the different approaches/styles. The diagram below will help illustrate the main pathways.

Regenerative / Low Budget Gardening
Starting at home plate and following the green path will take you on a regenerative farming/gardening path. It is also the same path taken by those with limited budgets. It is the most rewarding path. This is the path of artisan, homesteader, self reliance and other likeminded folk. On this path you are “[a] jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.”

On the diagram, the necessity for possessing many skillsets, broad knowledge, and ability to use tools effective are represents by boxes with a dark circle and a box with the word, “tool.”

The pictograms are lined up and are a simple algebra equation. Starting from the left, the two triangles are a pictogram for mountains to depict land (R.) The flexing arm represents elbow grease / labor (L.) The water droplet is just that: water (W.) Next is a pictogram of the sun (C) with the face of a clock (T). That represents and sun’s energy and time. Lastly, the battery pictogram represents synthetic energy (E.) This is human generated and stored energy in the form of: fertilizer/amendments and electricity (fossil fuel/clean energy.)

From those variables we have the following equation: R+L+W+C+T+E = Output

When viewing through this equation, not only is the picture more interesting, it is more insightful. It explains how growers in warm climates can grow more with less space; and vice versa in cold climates. As a resident of Southern California living on an urban lot, we are able to grow quite a bit and quite easily because of the climate. Additionally, as I have come to find out that many traditional gardening practices are based on limitations that are not relevant in a much different climate. As we get further along, I’ll share what those are.

With this equation in mind let us bring back a couple of variables from earlier– tools (t) and skilled labor (w.) These variables are multipliers. Matching the right tool with the right skillset will multiple the labor variable (twW.) Now making the following equation: R+L+twW+C+T+E = Output’

Using this equation to make a remark about Regenerative Agriculture: R+L+W+C+T = Output
In regenerative agriculture, the E variable is nonexistent or almost nonexistent. Instead of generating/capturing energy by synthetic means, energy is captured by raising animals, green manure, and silage primarily though the variables of land (R), water (W), the sun’s energy (C), and time(T). In other words, the sun’s energy is combined with elements from the earth and water. In time that energy is stored as living organisms. Energy is then release during the burning and or decomposition process.

The Purpose of Progress
It is important to acknowledge the purpose of progress is to allow choices of paths to be taken. With progress, it enables more of us to take the path of least resistance. In other words, success can be achieved without having to be an expert, ability/skill, nor a lot of time. As a result, gardening has blossomed into a large market with many products to suite the many situations progress has created. At the time of this writing, the consumer space for mass consumption is newer and emerging. This space allows those in situations with too low of land (R), time (T), knowledge/skill (w), and labor (L); due to time or mobility constraints.

On the diagram, this path is the fuchsia path or even the paths on the right. These paths involve an additional variable; and it is an impactful one– money. Money will buy appliances. Which will then take place of tools, skill, and labor. All the while, it is also important to acknowledge that progress can come at the cost of purpose & fulfillment. It is therefore crucial to maintain a sense of purpose when using progress as an accessibility device. After all, the whole point of gardening is to seek contentment through creation. In this frame of thought let us also acknowledge the mental health aspect of gardening.

Conclusion
There is space for the many ways to garden and this is a space for all of them. How someone garden is going to be very unique to their circumstances. Their approach is made evident when we consider the equation from the above diagram (R+L+twW+C+T+E = Output’). As such, there are two main pathways for gardening this day and age: low budget and consumer; mix in low and high tech; with everything in between.

Where one person may purchase a tailored product, another will go a different route. While their resources may be limited, they will be able to achieve the same goals by using their skills and unique knowledge. At the end of the day, we are all seeking the same thing and that is fulfillment through purpose and excellence.

Up next: The truth about “garden soil” and how best to use it.

Hodge podge
Regenerative / low impact / budget
Curated & defined

Sowing Journal

Sowing-Journal-2023Download

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.

Blue Print

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.

Public Service Announcement: Low Impact Development

Public Service Announcement (PSA):

Without Low Impact Development (LID), lawns can no longer exist. Native gardens become ecological liabilities: less permeable surface than lawns and enablers: of dust /air pollution, vermin population increases, flood, erosion, and wildfires.

With LID, harvesting thousands of gallons of rainwater can be enabled on your property as DYI project(s) or through a LID contractor.

With a rare consecutive year of La Nina (drought conditions in the Southwestern USA), the water situation looks dire. The silver lining is that we should be seeing more normal weather patterns next year. However, we need to act in order to not get ourselves in this situation again.

For those able to make the necessary modifications to their land/property, please adopt and implement Low Impact Development (LID) designs. Agencies tasked with LID are primarily concerned with storm-water management. LID designs divert rainwater from storm drains through infiltration and tanks. The secondary effect of LID is the restoration of the hydrological cycle. This restoration in effect allows for the storage of rainwater in the earth. Millions of gallons of precious rainwater is otherwise lost to the ocean. When water is stored in the ground, our plants can survive on natural rainfall and will only need supplemental water during the hot months. Furthermore, rainwater infiltration flushes accumulated salts from our soil.

LID and permaculture principles both mimic natural systems. The biggest difference is that LID design specifications have industry/regional standardization. With this standardization LID may be implemented at scale. With LID, harvesting thousands of gallons of rainwater can be enabled on your property as DYI project(s) or through a LID contractor. See your local municipality for region specific LID guidelines/requirements. For the Los Angeles area, the City of Los Angeles LID handbooks are a great place to start. Look for these at the following link or at the City of Los Angeles Sanitization department. https://lacitysan.org/san/faces/home/portal/s-lsh-wwd/s-lsh-wwd-wp/s-lsh-wwd-wp-lid/s-lsh-wwd-wp-lid-ld?_adf.ctrl-state=siquvmi6c_5&_afrLoop=7676140078240805#!

Restoring the hydrological cycle is crucial. Without this restoration, lawns can no longer exist. Native gardens become ecological liabilities: less permeable surface than lawns and enablers: of dust /air pollution, vermin population increases, flood, erosion, and wildfires. Without this restoration we will collectively continue to use more water than available– a threat to home gardens.

Our Never Enough Dirt gardens thrives because we capture and infiltrate every rain event. Furthermore, our soil is comprised of a signification percentage of native clay, a water and nutrient retaining medium. One of the simplest yet most impactful action every arid climate gardener can take is to incorporate more native clay into their garden. Start with a 30% incorporation of clay to the soil mix. Afterward, adjust watering and amendment schedules accordingly.

Further reading:
What is the hydrological cycle, https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/hydrological-cycle

An even rarer third La Nina has been forecasted for Fall of 2022. Hopefully this 3rd event does not extend beyond 2022, https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01668-1

What We Grow & How We Grow — Our Kitchen Garden

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.

Video caption: Hello, I am Brian. About 8 years ago I became a stay at home dad. I went from an after work and weekend gardener to a food producer for our family. About a year ago, I put my energy on succession planting. To date, our garden provides us with the bulk of our produce. Our climate does most of the growing. My job is to ensure: -that there is a constant supply of food for our soil. -that I understand the needs of individual types of plants and to match up them up with those conditions. -that is a constant stream of new plants to take the place of harvested plants. To bring everything together, I take a multidimensional skills and knowledge based approach. There is a blend of many disciplines from farm management to holistic practices. Results are a steady supply of variety and garden to table produce.

Succession Growing, An Illustration

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.

Video caption: A variety of fresh (garden to table) vegetables are perhaps the greatest perks of growing a garden. Succession planting is key to this perk. In this video, we see an example of succession planting in action. This is a skill that takes time, patience, and discipline to develop. The key take away is that it is possible.

Crazy About Citrus

Collecting citrus is a hobby of mine. Blood oranges are one category that I enjoy curating.

The Plants Not Often Seen

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!

Garden to table: Nixtamal Cherokee White Eagle Corn Tortilla

A recipe to turn the joy of growing heirloom dent corn into tortilla for tacos, quesadilla, chips, etc.

Over a thousand year of cultivation
In addition to the neat appearance and coloration, heirloom corn have historical, geographical, and cultural significance. These heirloom varieties developed hundreds of years ago (and longer) became a vital food source for the indigenous people of the Americas.

Nixtamalization
One of the special qualities of corn is that it is a grain. Corn is grown with surplus in mind; it is then dried and stored to be consumed during the non growing season or times of lean harvests. Dent corn varieties with their starchy qualities are the most ideal type of corn to use as grain. Without machinery, turning this hard grain into an ingredient can take enormous amounts of labor. Nixtamalization was discovered as a process to make corn easier to work with. Developed over 1500 years ago in Mesoamerica, nixtamalization is a process of rehydrating corn in an alkaline solution. This process of rehydrating corn loosens and softens the tough hull and germ. Thus the corn becomes softer and easier to grind. More importantly, it makes corn more nutritious while also removing toxins from mold that may have grown during the storage of this grain. [Source: Wikipedia]

In this recipe, you will be making tortilla from nixtamal masa. (Masa is a dough made from ground dried corn. Nixtamal masa is masa made from nixtamalized dried corn.)

Recipe

Makes about twelve 5-inch tortillas.

Ingredients

  • 1.5 cup dried dent corn (~two 6-inch ears of ‘Cherokee White Eagle’ corn. )
  • 1 tablespoon pickling lime (also known as calcium hydroxide)
  • water
  • salt
Two ears of ‘Cherokee White Eagle’ dent corn
yields about 1.5 cups

Turning dried corn to nixtamal masa to tortilla is a two day process. Recommended equipment: a food mill capable of making masa (or food processor,) cast iron skillet or carbon steel pan, 8 quart pot, colander, shallow bowl, wax paper, two small cutting boards (or a tortilla press.)

Nixtamal masa
Simmer and Steep
Fill an 8 quart enameled or stainless steel (non reactive) pot a little more than half way with water, add 1 tablespoon of pickling lime, and bring to a boil. Add corn and let boil for about a minute before reducing to a simmer. Simmer for 15-30 minutes. Remove from heat and allow the corn to steep overnight (12 hours.) The alkaline solution will soften the hard outer hull (pericarp) and give it a membrane like characteristic. While the solution is safe to handle, do note that it is caustic to some degree. Handle with care until you know your tolerances.

Wonder Junior DELUXE PLUS w/ masa auger
(Product not endorsed by NeverEnoughDirt)

Rinse and Clean
Next day, drain and rinse corn in a colander. At this point the membrane, tip cap, and germ can be removed from the kernel. This is done by rubbing hands against the corn and removing individually. This is necessary for recipes that call for a very smooth masa; like tamale. For our tortilla, a little bit of grit gives it great texture. It therefore will not be necessary to remove everything entirely.

Mill and Dough
The next step is milling the nixtamal into nixtamal masa. Feed the masa mill a little bit at a time (less than a handful) and mill at the finest setting. Adding a tablespoon of water during the milling can help. Experiment with adding some water here and there to find what works best. A food processor is an alternative. Work in small batches and experiment with adding water.



Once all the nixtamal has been milled, add a couple of pinches of salt and knead the loose nixtamal. Add a little water at a time until it comes together into a large ball. When the dough is too dry, it will not stay together. When it is too wet, your hand will be sticky with nixtamal. An ideal ball of nixtamal masa will not leave your hands wet like you just washed them.

Making tortilla
Allow the masa to rest for about 15 minutes. 5-inch tortillas are easiest to work with. Shape a ball about the size of an extra large meat ball. Place one sheet of wax paper over a medium cutting board. Place the dough ball in the center of the wax paper. Then lay (on center) a sheet of wax paper on top. Using another cutting board, place it center over the dough ball and press straight down.

When the desired thickness is reached, set aside the top cutting board. Slowly peel away the top off the wax paper sandwich. Then gently place the wax paper back on top of the tortilla. Grab the bottom wax paper, flip it over and gently peel the wax paper away. Transfer the tortilla onto the palm of your hand. Finally, transfer the tortilla onto a heated pan. Carbon steel pans or cast iron skillets work best. Cook until one side is slightly toast before flipping it over and cooking the other side.

Finished tortillas are great as snacks, quesadilla, tacos, and even fried up as chips.

Recipe notes: This particular garden to table combines an ancient corn processing technique developed over 1500 years ago in Mesoamerica with a variety of corn that was developed in North America.

11″ carbon steel pan

Brian Truong is a kitchen garden cook. He enjoys cultivating historically and culturally significant ingredients for a garden to table experience. See what he is up to on Instagram and on YouTube @neverenoughdirt and also at https://neverenoughdirt.com

FROM THE GARDEN: Huitlacoche Quesadilla

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.

FROM THE GARDEN: Oaxacan Green Tamale

Green tamale made with ‘Oaxacan Green’ dent corn. The red sauce includes paprika pepper that we grew and both dried and smoked. We were able to wrap a couple of tamale using the husk from the ‘Seneca Red Stalker’ corn. The husk has a dark red pigment and one can suspect that it contains lovely antioxidant compounds called, “anthocyanins.” In the steaming process, some of the compounds have infused with our tamale; giving it an even more interesting color.
When you unwrap a tamale, you unwrap much more than a delicious treat. As an outsider, you get to immerse yourself in cultures that date as far back as 5000 BC. This is a food that was developed in Mesoamerica long ago. The process precluded by breeding grass into the corn we know of today. Then came the development of the #nixtamalization of corn. Nutrition, food supply stability, abundance, and ease of preparation is the stuff that allows a civilizations to advance and thrive.
Following this long ago developed process, we turn our corn into masa by adding calcium hydroxide to a water solution, boiling our corn and allowing it to rest overnight. Nixtamalization increases the concentration of good things like calcium and niacin. It also reduces toxin as well as improve flavor and aroma. Lastly, it breaks the dried corn down so as to reduce the amount of labor required to prepare it. This is significant in its own right because it allows corn to be stored and used in the off season or years of scarcity.
From our 10 ears of corn, we were able to grind and turn it into about 4 pounds of masa. Which turned into about two dozen tamale.
This being Christmas time, we are reminded of how tamale is a festive food for many Mexican households. This is a time when many come together to take part in the process of making tamale together with family.
With that we have unwrapped a little bit of history, culture, and science. Please share if you have more to add.
Video recorded 2018, December 19 & 20.
Zone 10b / San Gabriel Valley / Los Angeles / Southern California / USA