Hip Chick Digs

It is that time of year to start planning the coming season’s garden and get our seeds going indoors. I have to admit that I haven’t started a thing yet and I am already feeling really behind. Hopefully this weekend will allow me a sliver of time to get my seed starting organized.

In the mean time, there are still things to do outside in the winter garden. The garden in the house I am renting is sleeping for winter. The soil was so compacted and sapped of nutrients that I chose to heavily mulch it rather than plant winter crops. (If I were really on the ball, I would have planted some cover crops in the fall) But the Urban Farm I volunteer at still shows signs of life and reminders of what we can grow here in the NW on these gray days.

Early February means it is time to “feed” the garlic with chicken manure at the farm. On my homestead, I didn’t really fertilize a whole lot because I would dig in a mixture of chicken manure and used straw before planting. It will be interesting to see what a difference fertilizing at this time makes. My garlic was typically an after thought crop - shove some in here and be surprised in the fall when it has multiplied despite the neglect.

The leeks that were planted in the Fall are now big enough to harvest. We have been eating a lot of soup, since I am not savvy enough to do anything else with leeks. Their tall stalks and lush leaves are a welcomed sign of life in the vegetable beds.

Kale seems to be holding on for dear life. It appears to have made it through the winter, although it looks a bit pathetic. But new, dark green leaves are uncurling with the promise of iron and other nutrients that will keep us healthy and energized.

And finally, the brussel sprouts look good enough to cut off and enjoy (well, if you peel a couple outside leaves from them). My favorite method of preparing them involves a quick steaming until barely fork tender, then tossing in a fry pan with butter and pecans. Simple, but delicious.

Now get back to starting those seeds and planning the garden!

Yesterday I had a couple sunny hours ahead of me before dusk, so I decided to tend to a few minor repairs on the chicken coop. The roof had been leaking in a couple spots and a damp coop can increase the likelihood of pests and disease infiltrating the coop. An even bigger issue, I have been noticing that something has been burrowing into the coop at night.

This larger, more serious problem I noticed a few days ago. Mounded soil, like a mole hill, began appearing right inside the coop fence with a small hole. I narrowed the culprit down to either a rat or an opossum. The critter did not seem to be after the hens sleeping upstairs in the hen house, so I assumed it was coming in to steal food under the cover of darkness.

I searched for the entry point to the tunnel on the outside of the coop to no avail. An hour or so later, I had managed to detach the hen house from the run and moved both away from the coop site. Unfortunately, when I moved the hen house, I discovered large droppings under the floor which sits about 4″ above ground resting on cinder blocks. Ew: A rat had taken up residence.

Mice = I can deal with. Rats = yuck.

I still hadn’t found the source of the hole, so I began moving cinder blocks. I traced the hole under several cinder blocks until it eventually went underground deeper. This is all a rather disgusting treasure hunt I had been on. I was now deciding whether to fill the hole, cover it with a heavy object, or flush it out. I figured I would flush it out with water to discourage the rat from returning to live in damp quarters.

Here I am: three inches from the ground, crouched over a gross rat hole, shoving a hose down there and filling it with water. Everything seems to be going fine. Sometimes the water gets plugged up, so I shove the hose further down until the water gets cleared again. A couple minutes into this endeavor, the water begins gurgling. An air pocket perhaps is rising to the surface. But, no…

A GIANT RAT!!! It flies out the hole, inches from my fingers, right in front of my face! It’s little beady eyes… It’s wet, scraggly fuzzy fat body goes scurrying across the yard!

Pearl, my old americuana, decides to make a run for it. Hey, protein is protein I guess. Luckily (I think?), Pearl was not fast enough and the rat got away.

Why do I share this totally jarring, gross story with you? It’s entertaining. It’s disgusting. And it is just one of those ridiculous stories that comes with the territory of keeping urban livestock. I have been so fortunate to avoid run-ins with pests and disease in general, but it is all too common to have an occasional pest problem.

The next step is to trap the rat and I look forward to returning to the days of pest-free chicken keeping.

Planning and planting typically keeps my mind on the garden even in winter. As I have learned, it can take years and years for a garden to really come into it’s own. The process I chose for my home garden was drawing out a planting plan for the trees, large shrubs and structures. As time went on, I have begun to fill in little bare corners and tuck new plants under larger ones to add dimension.

One spot that still sits bare in my garden is on the north side of our house, which is in mostly full shade. I focus largely on edibles and it can be slim pickings finding a shade-loving fruiting plant. Enter this great problem solver: Evergreen huckleberry.

Evergreen huckleberry, botanically known as Vaccinium ovatum, is an evergreen shrub native here in Western Oregon. It is actually native all the way from British Columbia down to the California coasts. The shrub can grow anywhere from 3′-15′ wide and 3′-5′ wide, although most nurseries estimate it will grow to about 8′ in the shade.

It prefers shade, but does well in partial shade too. I have seen people plant it in full sun and it stays quite small and seems to struggle. If you live on the coast, it can do well in the sun because coastal air and soil stays quite moist and cool.

(Photo courtesy of One Green World)

In Spring, the plant will produce delicate little pink-white flowers that will turn into black huckleberries in September. The twigs have a red-tinge to them, contrasting with the dark green leaves. It does well in moist, well-drained and acidic soil.

There you have it - an evergreen, structural shrub that loves shade, produces both flowers and berries, and cane do well in acidic soil. Problem spot solved!

It is the perfect time of year to plant bare root trees in the garden! While the trees are sleeping for winter, consider what corners of the garden you can stick more fun fruit trees.

I’m dreaming about 5-way pear trees that produce five different varieties on the same tree. The multi-variety grafted trees are also a wonderful way to stretch out the harvest season on small urban plots. The nurseries are all brimming with wide varieties of fruit and nut trees and shrubs. As always, buy from a quality nursery you trust and I urge you to buy local when possible to support the little guys.

Planting bare root is done while the trees are dormant and they wake up in the Spring to their new home. Buying trees bare root is the most economical way to get purchase trees as well. Just be delicate with that root ball as you transport the trees.

When planting, dig a very wide hole so the roots can lay down and spread out around the truck. I have heard recommendations of about 6″ or less in depth. Hammering stakes down on either side and tethering the tree in the middle is not a bad idea. It will help the tree grow in a straight, stable manner during high winds.

Happy planting!

A few years ago I lived in Barcelona, Spain, for about a year and I never tired of the simple Spanish tortilla - something more like a quiche and not at all related to the thin thing you wrap a burrito in. The traditional dish is typically made with olive oil, eggs, potatoes and not much else. Seemingly simple, I have never really had a Spanish tortilla in the US that tasted very authentic to me.

On a recent evening I found myself with a carton of eggs, a bunch of kale and not much else. Enter this fabulous recipe from Gourmet’s 2003 issue, found on Epicurious.com. It calls for things I really always have on hand: eggs, potato, onion, greens (kale, chard, beet leaves, etc), olive oil, salt.

The reason I am sharing it with you? It uses SEVEN EGGS! If you have chickens in your backyard, save this recipe to use up all those eggs.

The recipe is a bit time-consuming when we compare it to the 30-minute weeknight meals we are used to throwing together, but I think the wait is worth it. It is really not labor intensive - it just needs some time to develop the right flavor. And if you try to cut corners, be prepared for an underwhelming result. Spanish cooking is generally simple, but it requires time for the flavors to come into their own.

————————————————————————-

Kale and Potato Spanish Tortilla

Gourmet 2003

• 1 lb boiling potatoes
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 lb kale, center ribs discarded
• 7 large eggs

Peel potatoes and cut into 1/3-inch dice (2 1/4 cups). Heat oil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then reduce heat to moderately low and cook potatoes, onion, and 1 teaspoon salt, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

Blanch kale while potatoes cook:
Cook kale in a 4- to 6-quart pot of boiling salted water until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately transfer to a bowl of cold water to stop cooking. Drain again, squeezing handfuls of kale to extract excess moisture, then coarsely chop.

Add kale to potato mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until kale is tender, about 5 minutes. Drain vegetables in colander set over a bowl, reserving drained oil, and cool 10 minutes.

Lightly beat eggs in a large bowl, then stir in vegetables, 1 tablespoon drained oil, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Add 1 tablespoon drained oil to skillet, then add egg mixture and cook over low heat, covered, until sides are set but center is still loose, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 15 minutes.

Shake skillet gently to make sure tortilla is not sticking (if it is sticking, loosen with a heatproof plastic spatula). Slide tortilla onto a large flat plate, then invert skillet over tortilla and flip it back into skillet. Round off edge of tortilla with plastic spatula and cook over low heat, covered, 10 minutes more. Slide tortilla onto a plate and serve warm, cut into wedges.

———————————————————————-

If you have things like roasted red peppers in the freezer, thaw them and throw them into the mix. I used only a 1/2 cup of oil instead of the full cup, which worked out fine for me. My oven is horrible so I ended up broiling the top rather than flipping. I cooked it in a cast iron skillet and it was AMAZING. I enjoyed with a big green salad.