Author: Timothy McDermott

Dehydrating Herbs

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I want to say a big “Thanks!!” to Hocking Valley Community Hospital for hosting the “Holiday Projects from the Container Garden” class.   HVCH is an amazing partner and an asset to our county.   This is a web version of the Power Point proceedings so folks have a reference as needed.

Dehydrating is one of the oldest preservation methods known.  It allows storage without energy of a food product.  Similar to canning.  Once the product has been prepared properly, it is shelf stable.   It fits within the food knowledge plan I am teaching here in Hocking County:

Start seeds–> Grow plants–> Harvest–> Storage–> Eat

I consider herbs the gateway to dehydrating.  If you can do herbs, you can move on to veggies, fruit and meat.

Things to consider:

  • Some herbs dry better than others
  • Different herbs dry at different speeds
  • Harvest herbs at the peak of flavor to get the best product
  • Dry herbs as whole leaves and store as whole leaves to preserve flavor
  • Different tools can dry herbs: dehydrator, oven, microwave, solar

The National Center for Home Food Preservation has a nice factsheet on this topic.

First thing is to make sure your herbs are at peak flavor and you trim off any bad leaves.

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I use a dehydrator for drying.  Many methods can be used –>  Four methods of drying herbs from MSU Extension

Thyme - leaves kept on stems works best

Thyme – leaves kept on stems works best

 

Sage - Individual leaves dry best with this large leaf herb

Sage – Individual leaves dry best with this large leaf herb

 

Best herbs for drying: parsley, thyme, sage, rosemary, oregano, chives

Trickiest herb to dry that everyone wants to dry: basil

  • Basil dries at low heat only or turns black, needs 95 degrees
  • Great alternate way to store basil is blend with olive oil alone or as pesto and freeze

Herb you can dry or freeze: mint

  • To me it is not bright when dried.  Store blended in lemon juice or iced tea for a flavor punch

Herb best frozen only: cilantro

  • I blend my cilantro with lime juice and freeze, then add to dishes when cooking

 

I like to make blends and use them for cooking or give them as gifts.  Some great blends are:

  • Italian – parsley, basil and oregano
  • Roasting – thyme, parsley, chives, sage and rosemary

 

Once fully dried, store in a jar, as whole leaves.  It will taste much better than store bought.  Lightly crush leaves when added to cooking.

 

Use these amounts as guidelines for substituting one form of an herb for another: (Source: PSU Extension)

  • 1 Tablespoon fresh herb
  • 1 teaspoon dried herb
  • ¼ teaspoon powdered herb

 

Once again a shout out to Hocking Valley Community Hospital.  We will continue to partner on health and wellness programs.  As a side note they are one of my favorite Hocking County restaurants.  Stop in the cafeteria for some lunch and tell them I said “hi.”

I stop in every so often to hit the salad bar and get my health and wellness on:  (For only $1.25 for a “small” !!!)

Get your salad fix at the HVCH cafeteria.

Get your salad fix at the HVCH cafeteria.

The Urban Farm is Done for the Season

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So on a sunny 60 degree day in late November (I know, right?), Sam, Brad and I finished the paths around The Urban Farm and are now done with Phase II construction.   The target for growing will be to sow some seed like spinach, lettuce, carrots, radishes and peas in March of 2017 to prepare for vegetable sales on May 1 for the Senior Farmer’s Market Voucher Program, and to hopefully have some extra for public sale and inclusion into Meals on Wheels and lunches at the Senior Center.

Special THANKS! to Athens Hocking Recycling Center for some more donated mulch.  I took some pics for you all to enjoy.

Phase I, the herb bed, is doing great. It is still being harvested for use in the Kitchen

Phase I, the herb bed, is doing great. It is still being harvested for use in the Kitchen

 

The winter rye cover crop is starting to germinate. Hoping it gets enough root growth to survive the winter

The winter rye cover crop is starting to germinate. Hoping it gets enough root growth to survive the winter

 

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See you all in the spring.

The Urban Farm – Raised Bed Growing Medium

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We built six raised beds as our starting point for growing vegetables next spring.  Each bed is 4′ x 12′ and 8 inches tall.  The math works out to about 32 cubit feet of soil per bed, with a cubic yard being 27 cubic feet, we need over 7 cubic yards of fill material.

I wanted to get a good head start on organic material as increasing soil organic matter over time can take years, but I did not want to put all my eggs in one dirt basket, so I went with two different compost options,  one a commercial blend and the other a municipal yard waste blend.  We used the municipal blend here at the Children’s Educational Garden at the fairgrounds and while it is a dynamite additive to soil,  when I planted into it straight away,  some plants did not look happy,  showing a symptom called chlorosis, or yellowing of the leaves.  That means the product needs something done to it to smooth out any rough edges.   That is my main concern, making sure I correct any needed deficiencies before planting season.

The first was the compost created at Athens-Hocking Recycling Center.  Sam and I wanted to purchase from them as they have been so gracious with donations of mulch for this project as well as the What a Waste Project.  This material is made from food scraps they collect regionally from homes and businesses that keeps this waste from a landfill and turns it into a salable product by mixing it with wood mulch, turning it, then shredding it down.

Here is a close up of the finished product, some cover crop seeds are visible:

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You know me,  I have to soil test it:

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Pretty impressive numbers.  High organic content,  lots of nutrients.  You can still see some wood pieces as well as some egg shells if you look close.  It is an excellent soil amendment  The problem with using it straight is the alkaline pH of 7.7 can cause some problems with certain nutrients being available right away.   The soil test states to add sulfur to combat that.

 

Next up is municipal yard waste from the City of Logan.   They very graciously donated to this project and Sam and I are grateful.  They take collected yard waste and pile it up and it sits there for years, slowly breaking down.  Here is a close up:

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Not bad looking stuff,  still some bits and pieces.  The soil test results:

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Very similar numbers noted here.  High organic matter,  lots of nutrients,  same alkaline pH.  I did the same with both.   Added ammonium sulfate fertilizer then sowed cover crop seed.

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Ammonium sulfate has  both sulfur, to correct the pH and some nitrogen to help both the cover crops grow and help the soil bacteria break down the residual carbon bits.  My hope is that the fertilizer, the cover crops and the winter will combine to help both of these growing media get to a good point for vegetables by April.

 

Sam and I want to say THANKS!!!! to the City of Logan for generously donating a huge dump truck of compost that we will be able to use to grow vegetables for years.  

 

Save the Date! – Winter Holiday Projects from the Container Garden.

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There will be another fun evening at the Hocking Valley Community Hospital on Monday, December 5th, at 6pm.   Come to see the Hospital’s decorations including a holiday theme in the courtyard container garden.   If you are anything like me, you can never get enough Christmas lights.  I went over today to the courtyard and everything is still doing awesome.

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Even the tomatoes and peppers look like mid-summer.

I harvested a tremendous amount of fresh herbs.

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Into the dehydrator they go.

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I will be making some fun herb blends from the container garden produce and will bring that to show you how to do this from your own herbs at the holiday event, so save the date!

Here is the official release from HVCH with contact info,  hope to see you there!

 

 

OSU Extension Class – Making

Holiday Gifts & Decor with Dried Herbs

Join Timothy McDermott, OSU Extension Educator on Monday, Dec. 5th at 6 pm, to learn how you can use container produce to create holiday gifts as well as for use right in your own kitchen! In addition to learning how to make natural and aromatic displays and gifts, McDermott will also provide a short presentation highlighting trees and plants specific to the upcoming holidays. Location: HVCH Front Main Lobby. Cost: FREE, but participants must register by calling 740-380-8336 or emailing ljohnston@hvch.org

 

 

The Urban Farm – fall harvest has started

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The Urban Farm is now actually a farm.   The paperwork has been processed and we have gotten permission to proceed through the Ohio Senior Farmer’s Market voucher program.  Harvest started on some herbs from our own beds with some fresh fruit from the Chesterhill produce auction.  Sam will come up with some recipes based on what we have to sell seasonally.  We have apples, seckel pears and an assortment of fresh herbs including rosemary, thyme, sage and oregano right now.   I am thinking pork chops with sage and apples myself.

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While there is only one more week left in the voucher program,  these are also available for sale to the public.  Stop by The Southeast Ohio Regional Kitchen but do not dawdle,  once they are gone, they are gone.  Each box costs 5 dollars.  To order a box as well as some other great produce deals CLICK HERE FOR THE ORDER FORM FROM THE KITCHEN

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Phase II of The Urban Farm at Southeast Ohio Regional Kitchen

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Yesterday was the ground breaking day to get some raised beds built and filled so that we could get cover crops in the ground anticipating rain this week and using the last little bit of nice weather for germination.   I had prepared the site a couple weeks prior with some glyphosate.   The area we are using to plant had some seriously potent weeds.

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The plan was to get six raised beds,  4′ x 12′ by 8″ tall placed in this area with 3 foot paths between them.   We had received a donation of lumber from an amazing local partner, Mike’s Lumber LLC on 93N, of all the wood to construct the planting beds.  Huge thanks to Mike!!

Our original orientation would be north-south, but we had some last minute questions about property lines, so we placed the beds on an east-west orientation in case we had to move row two.

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Next we laid cardboard on the pathways and the bottom of the raised beds.  Thick cardboard for the paths,  thin stuff that will break down by next year in the beds.  We put landscape fabric on top of the paths, and then spread wood chips on top of the fabric.  Weeds are a real concern to me and if I get a chance to minimize them I will.  A good start on weed control will minimize them potentially for years. Huge thanks to Athens-Hocking Waste Recyclers for a load of wood chips for the pathways.

Then once the beds were ready a cover crop mix of rye, vetch and clover was planted and watered in.  The cover crop will help the compost we filled the beds with become more bio-active and be ready for spring planting.  I am hoping that we get the second row filled and cover cropped as well.  We were waiting on permission to plant from the neighbors and thankfully got that permission shortly after this part of Phase II was done.

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A huge thanks to the work crew: Sam, Brad, Bob and Robert from HAPCAP.   We also had two sponsors contribute materials that Sam and I want to recognize for their generous donations:

  • Mike’s Lumber LLC
  • Athens-Hocking Waste Recyclers
The Phase II work crew.

The Phase II work crew.

Save The Date! Update on the Veterinary Feed Directive Wednesday January 11th, 7pm

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Changes will soon occur to hundreds of antimicrobial applications for livestock by the end of the year.   These changes will add the need for Veterinary oversight on how medically important antibiotics can be used in food and water in livestock.

A presentation on the basics of what the Veterinary Feed Directive rules will be going forward and how it will impact local producers will be held at the Youth Center at the Hocking County Fairgrounds on Wednesday January 11th at 7pm.

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My take on Fall Lawn Care

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Everyone has chores they like(tolerate)  and chores they hate.  For instance I do not mind hand washing dishes, but hate to empty the dishwasher.  That is weird, I know.   One chore I despise is raking leaves.  You can rake leaves for two hours at my house and come back later and see no grass visible.  Hate. It.

So about five years ago or so, I decided to experiment with using my lawn mower to mulch the leaves in place, with the hope that if I get the particle size down small enough, they would finish breaking down over the winter into some much needed organic matter.   I always do a fall application of fertilizer(and you should too,  it is the best time to do so) and so I would be adding a nitrogen(fertilizer) with a carbon(leaves)

And it worked pretty good.  I do not need my yard pristine.  Just mostly green with weeds at a minimum.

So it is getting to that time of year.  Here is my backyard:

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Buckeye leaves right now. It leafs out first and drops them first

Sometimes to get the leaves into little bits you need to run over them more than once.  Not a problem for me, I like to mow more than I like to rake:

After three mower passes. Still see some brown. It will be all done by spring.

After three mower passes. Still see some brown. It will be all gone by spring.

Leaves are an outstanding organic matter supplement.  They have twice the nutrient content of manure per pound.  In the Columbus Dispatch Home and Garden section, on Sunday October 3rd, 2016,  they quoted Purdue Extension four year leaf mulch test results with applying shredded maple leaves to lawns:

  • no negative effect on turf visual quality, color or growth, soil pH, or the likelihood of developing weeds.
  • research suggested that mulched leaves might reduce dandelions!

 

I still have to follow with fertilizer.  As I stated,  if you only fertilize your lawn  once per year, best to make it in fall.  That is because my lawn, made up of perennial grasses, is in the process of sending energy to the root mass to be able to overwinter for a strong spring emergence.  Putting some organic matter plus fertilizer down will help tremendously with that.

The fertilizer basics:

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Nutrient breakdown is 28-0-3.  (N-P-K).  28% Nitrogen, 0% Phosphorus, 3% Potassium.  The phosphorus is removed due to the harmful algal blooms affecting the Great Lakes and Gulf of Mexico.  A good batch of Nitrogen to help the grass build up energy in the roots to survive winter and come on strong in spring.

The active herbicide ingredient is 2,4 D.   Good against broadleaf weeds, with minimal toxicity to pollinators.  Good for fall use when the weeds are sending energy to the roots to survive the winter.  I send a little herbicide down to the roots of the weeds to kill weeds and eliminate competition to the grass.

I do not use a pesticide by choice.  Your lawn may or may not need that control.  I need the bugs to help break down my organic matter and I enjoy lightning bugs, earthworms and pollinators  so I do not apply a pesticide component.

 

I am five years into this process and it has been pretty successful.  I have a decent looking lawn that tolerates deep shade with a minimum of work and cost.  Just have to remember to run the gas out of the mower and clean and sharpen the blade before winter.

 

CLICK HERE for a factsheet on controlling lawn weeds from Georgia Extension.