The Southern Agrarian

Southern Agrarianism and the culture of the Old South

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Soil Blocks Update

October 29, 2011 / / 7 Comments

On the Starting Seeds page, I showed how to use a soil block mold for starting seeds. After much experimenting, I have made a few modifications to the process.

  • I no longer try to pack the soil mixture in tighter than I can get by just pressing down several times. I had even tried using blocks of wood to pack it in tighter. While that gave good results, it was pretty tough on the hands, so I went back to the method recommended by the manufacturer. I still try to pack it in as tightly as possible, but only by pressing the mold into the mixture.
  • I no longer use a bucket to press the mold into the mixture – I now use a stainless steel warming tray that I bought from a used restaurant supply store. This is much easier to work with and it allows me to make much better use of the wet soil mixture than I could with the rounded sides of a bucket.
  • I have added galvanized hardware cloth in the bottom of the seed trays. Previously, the blocks would get damaged when I had to move the trays. The stiff, flat bottom that the hardware cloth provides keeps the blocks from bumping into each other.

Hardware cloth lines the bottom of the tray to keep the blocks stabilized when moving the tray. This is a big help in keeping the blocks from being damaged.

The work area. From front to back: water bucket to clean blocker between moldings, stainless steel warming tray where the blocker is packed, seedling tray where blocks are placed when finished.

Packing the growing mixture into the soil blocker.

A garden knife is used to cut away excess from the bottom.

Wipe away excess from the sides using your fingers.

Four soil blocks being extracted from the mold and onto the seed tray.

The soil blocker is rinsed off between uses. Keeping it clean helps make the blocks uniform.

When the blocks have been extracted from the mold, it is not uncommon for part of the block to separate. Use a metal putty knife to gently press the block back into shape.

Use two putty knives together to separate the blocks. They need to have enough air space between them to keep the roots of one block from growing into an adjoining block.

Making Vanilla Extract

October 25, 2011 / / 5 Comments

Self-reliance. Making things for yourself rather than buying them – or at least knowing how – is central to agrarianism. That doesn’t mean that do-it-yourself is always better than buying something from someone who can do it better and more efficiently than you can, but at least knowing how to do something gives a great feeling of satisfaction and self-confidence.

We decided that we wanted to make our own vanilla extract. We were looking for something fairly unique that we could give away as gifts, and all-natural vanilla extract was a good fit for us. Here is how we did it:

We used quart jars, so the vanilla beans are weighed for the amount to be added to 4 cups of 40% alcohol. A recommended amount is one ounce per cup, but we added just a bit more than that.

The beans are sliced lengthwise using a sharp knife.

After slicing, the inside of beans are scraped with a dull knife. The black material that is scraped from the inside is called "vanilla caviar".

Use kitchen scissors to cut the bean husks into short sections.

Vanilla beans with the caviar scraped out and the husks cut into short sections.

Add the husks and the caviar to a clean jar.

Jar with vanilla, ready to have 40% alcohol added.

Fill the jar with 40% alcohol. Vodka is the most commonly used form. My understanding is that the more times it has been distilled, the better.

After pouring, screw the lid on tight and shake it well. Put it away in a cool dark place - it needs to be kept away from light.

The jar should be shaken well once each day for at least the first week (more is better, but too much is just a waste of time). After the first couple of weeks, you can cut the shaking down to once or twice a week. After a couple of months, you can start using the vanilla extract, but letting it age for at least six months will give you better results.

When your vanilla extract has aged and you’re ready to give it away and use it in your own kitchen, pour it through a coffee filter in a funnel, then into brown bottles (the bottles and caps should be sterilized before use).  We will be using 4 ounce “Boston Round” bottles that we bought on Amazon.com in a case of 12. Remember, this is a hand-made gift. That calls for a nice label to go on the bottle.

  • Vanilla beans can be ordered through Amazon.com
  • For more information on vanilla beans, go to VanillaReview.com.

Sweet Potato Update

October 24, 2011 / / 2 Comments

Our first crop of sweet potatoes was a major disappointment. Although the plants were extremely vigorous, they produced only a few potatoes when it came time to dig them up. In addition, their extensive root system seemed to take over the entire raised bed garden section. Next year’s crop will be grown directly in the ground rather than in the raised bed. The raised bed area is too valuable to use plants that take up so much space – especially for such a miniscule yield.

For those who think that gardening could consist of buying a can of “survival seeds” and just putting them into the ground, this is yet another example of why that’s a really bad idea. Growing food takes experimentation and experience (the redundancy was intentional).

I am confident that there is a good explanation readily available to show me just what I did wrong. I just haven’t found it yet. Sweet potatoes are an important food source crop, so I will continue experimenting until I get it right – or learn that it just isn’t going to be a viable crop for my location.

Saving Eggplant Seeds

October 22, 2011 / / 13 Comments

Eggplant seeds are processed much like tomatoes. The main difference is that tomatoes are allowed to ferment in the same liquid that is used to separate the seeds, while eggplant fruit is rotted first and then added to water to separate the seeds. Fair warning – rotten eggplant has a really nasty smell (the seeds, of course, are completely odorless).

Processing the eggplant to remove the seeds is very much like panning for gold. The seeds are heavier than the pulp, and they sink to the bottom while the pulp and other trash is poured out from the top. After a few rinse and pour cycles, you are left with nice clean eggplant seeds.

Yes, this is far more seed than any gardener could possibly need, but there are two reasons why I process so many:

  • Eggplants are an in-breeding variety. Even though you may only need a couple of plants to supply all your needs, if you are saving seeds, you need to plant as many as possible (six is considered the absolute minimum) in order to maintain genetic diversity in your plants and their seeds.
  • Part of the joy of saving seeds is being able to give them away. A large quantity of seeds from this batch was carried to West Africa by missionary friends who will be planting them in their garden and sharing them with the natives in their village. They also carried a number of other seeds from our garden and seeds that others have shared with us.

Probably the single best reference book for saving seeds is Seed to Seed, by Suzanne Ashworth. Sub-titled Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners, it is filled with detailed information about the best way to process and store seeds for maximum long-term viability. It is an essential book for any Southern Agrarian.

Eggplant fruit thoroughly rotted and ready for seed harvesting. One is not sufficiently rotted and was not used. A slotted seedling tray was used to hold the fruit as it rotted.

The eggplant fruits are added to a bucket of water where they are squeezed into a slurry.

Remove any chunks of eggplant that are large enough to pick up. These will be added into the compost pit.

Carefully pour off the water and the pulp. The seeds will have settled down to the bottom of the bucket.

Continue pouring until just before the seeds start to pour out. The pulp that accumulates can either be added to the compost or washed into the grass with a hose.

Add water, swish it around, and pour. Continue cleaning the seeds until you can't remove any more pulp, then carefully pour out as much water as possible.

Air dry the seeds until they no longer clump together.

The semi-dry seeds are spread on a sheet of parchment paper in the dehydrator and dried for about 6 hours at 100° F. The steel nuts are used as weights to keep the parchment paper flat. A better method is to use binder clips from an office supply store, but in this case, I only had enough clips for one of the three trays I was using.

After the seeds have been fully dried, pour them into a clean, dry canning jar and screw the lid down tightly. They should be stored in a cool dark place.

The dehydrator that we use is the Excalibur large 9-tray, Model #3926T. It is a forced air unit and has a timer and adjustable temperature control. A good dehydrator should be a part of any homestead. We have been well pleased with our Excalibur.

How Much Okra?

August 29, 2011 / / 2 Comments

Sometimes it just helps to see how much a given area can produce rather than reading numbers on a spreadsheet. Okra, beside being something I thoroughly enjoy, is a very prolific producer. Here are two photos – the first showing the area planted, and the second showing a typical yield. I pick okra about every 24 to 36 hours. Anything more than that, and you’re going to have okra that is past its prime.

Three Tools

August 20, 2011 / / 0 Comments

There are three basic garden tools that I consider to be necessities. These are the ones that I use constantly.

  • Stainless steel garden trowel. I have several garden trowels around, but this is my favorite. It is solidly made and will not rust. I also have a larger one made of cast aluminum, and that is also a favorite when a larger size is called for.
  • Pruning shears. I have several of them around, and the main reason that this one is still here is that I also got a clip-on holster for it. Far too many of them would get lost when using it for pruning jobs around the yard. I would set it down and forget where I put it until it had rusted beyond use. The main use for them though, is for harvesting from the garden.
  • Garden knife. This is a Japanese knife made of stainless steel. It gets used for all sorts of things, like planting sweetpotato slips and rose cuttings, sawing through roots when running a water line for the chickens, and general poking around in the garden. I plan to make a Kydex sheath for it that I can attach to my belt. Someday maybe I’ll actually get it done.

We have all accumulated a wide variety of garden tools, but the rest of them tend to get buried at the bottom of my box of garden tools and they are never missed. These three tools are the necessities.

Never Prune Okra

August 17, 2011 / / 90 Comments

Several months ago, I decided to try an experiment. I pruned back several okra plants by cutting a few inches off the top. The idea was to see if, as happens with some plants, pruning makes it more productive. In addition, the plants were getting pretty tall. I am 6’6″ tall, and I now have to bend some of the plants down in order for me to pick the pods off the top (remember that this is in a raised bed, so they aren’t as tall as it may seem).

The results? The trimmed plants have produced absolutely nothing from that point on. Let your okra grow as it will and keep it picked – don’t cut anything but the pods.

Interviewed on Amerika.org

August 15, 2011 / / 0 Comments

In today’s post at Amerika.org, Brett Stevens interviewed me about the Southern Agrarian movement. Amerika.org is one of those refreshing islands of original thought on the web that makes you stop and think. As with any good writing – indeed, with anything in life that truly makes you stop and think – you probably won’t agree with everything you find there, and that’s a good thing. Take a few moments to read the interview and discover what else Mr. Stevens has to offer at Amerika.org.

Squirrel Traps

August 13, 2011 / / 2 Comments

#110 Conibear trap set for squirrel
image: William Reid

One of the most serious pests that I have to deal with in the garden is squirrels. They either completely destroy the fruit, or they will eat just enough to spoil it and then move on to the next plant to do the same. A good pellet rifle will help, netting helps, and the squirrels usually find their way to the rat bait in the barn, but trapping also looks like a good way to go. I haven’t tried it yet,  but that will be on my “to do” list. Take a look at this post on the Kansas State University Northern Pecans blog.

The Conibear 110 trap can be ordered from F&T Fur Harvester’s Trading Post.

Hot Weather Crops

July 19, 2011 / / 1 Comment

Here in The South, the intense summer heat limits your garden to only those few plant varieties that can truly handle the heat. Fall, Winter, and Spring gardens are when we get the nice lush growth, but with the heat and the insects it takes careful planning and selection to have a beautiful and productive garden.

This has been an especially hot and dry summer, and the stink bugs were out in force. I have long since pulled up the tomato and squash plants that just couldn’t handle the heat. Here is what I have in the garden now (July 19, 2011).

Strawberries - they are not producing fruit now, but the plants are handling the heat just fine.

Bell peppers are producing well. They turn red before they get very big, but they produce far more than we can use ourselves.

Sweet potatoes. These are doing very well. There are 4 plants in this section of the garden.

Egg plant. The fruit doesn't get very big before harvest stage, but they still produce far more than we can use.

Egg plant ready to be picked

Okra - the Summer performer. No matter how hot the weather, okra just keeps on producing. The only pest is ants, and they are a minor problem and relatively easy to control.

Sweet potato being grown in a container

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