3 ways to use Onion

 

Before I get my onion to the above stage- I needed to go out and clip some green stems.

I decided to save the seeds this year as most topple over and fall to the ground.  The seeds can be used as an ingredient and add flavor to food. 

I used a small mesh party favor bag so that the bloom can continue to breathe while the seeds dry. Once bloom turns brown, I cut it off and I also cut the green onion “stem” as close to the main bulb as possible.  I washed, sliced and gave it a spin in the salad spinner until it was mostly dry. 

My mom has had this food dehydrator since the 90s and it works great. I think these cost about $30 at big box stores or cheaper at thrift shops.  I placed it outside patio/cover so it doesn’t stink up the house.  I would check on it every 90mins until it was dried and would snap. 

Once dried, I stored it in a glass jar. Some I grind in a coffee/spice grinder until minced size.  Then I placed in a labeled minced onion jar.  I overly ground dried onion until it was powder and placed it in my onion powder jar.  That’s it- 3 types of green onion textures from just a few stems.  Plus nigella/onion seeds. 

Save seeds for giving to friends to grow onions or to use as a spice.

Resources:

Ways to use nigella (onion) seeds:

https://www.liveayurved.com/how-to-use-onion-seeds-in-the-kitchen.shtml

https://www.tarladalal.com/recipes-using-nigella-seeds-kalonji-onion-seeds-552

Berry Barrel garden

 I don’t have a lot of space in the Los Angeles Garden- so my friends are shocked when I tell them all the different herbs, fruits and plants I grow. But-  it’s really just strategically placed containers and my greenstalk garden towers.  

My goal this year is not only to have an edible garden but an edible native ca/Baja ca garden- and one thing that thrives in California is strawberries. I dedicated a whole greenstalk to strawberries (my parents pulled out the front lawn strawberries I had planted them in 2010.  My dad’s biggest complaint was - he didn’t like the strawberries coming from the dirt.  So I figured if he doesn’t see the dirt and only delicious strawberries hanging out the pockets of my green stalk, he’ll enjoy them. (Only time will tell).

But my kids like all kinds of berries, so I found out blueberries, blackberries, boysenberry, huckleberries, and currants are also native to California.  These are more bushes and would need more space than a pocket can give. I decided to plant some in a half cut wine barrel and in a giant pot that I place under a lemon tree.  The way the sun hits, the berries get plenty of morning and noon sun, enough to thrive.  I got a bushel and berry blueberry plant that should stay small. Currants and huckleberry can be pruned down.

I’ve never heard of huckleberry- so when I found out is was a Ca native- I grabbed it. I’m excited to see what the fruit looks like and taste. Just above it is a blue crop blueberry I bought at Aldi- I had bought 2- then found out I needed a different variety so that it can better produce.  I gave one away and searched up a small container variety through bushel and berry and got a peach sorbet.  While there are blueberries native to CA, I doubt these two are (I recently found out blue crop isn’t even zoned for Ca- so who knows how that will go. And peach sorbet seems to be bred to be small, so I don’t think that’s natural- but I need small varieties since I have so much growing in one container.  I added worms and need to feed them, so I decided to double pot my boysenberry- it will have room to grow and I can easily lift it to feed my worms.  I’m excited to grow boysenberry since it’s a huge hit at Knotts berry farm. I’m such a fan, I even have the knotts cookbook.  Behind it is my chaparral currant- it’s a native berry that I’m also excited to try.  I think growing fruits we are familiar and new native varieties will help my family to taste new fruits.

My berries needed a plant ground cover- (I’m strawberried out) and mint grows the fastest and would be a perfect companion to berries.  I found San Miguel Savory or also known as San Diego Yerba Buena- a rare and slightly at risk mint that grows from Santa Ana to Baja Ca in the chaparral area. I bought it at artemisia garden nursery. I planted it towards the front and when I brush against it- the smell is so refreshing. The small white tubular flowers are beautiful and would make a great garnish in a fruit salad, smoothie, or mocktail drink. Let me know what you know about San Miguel Savory (clinopodium chandleri) and how you would use it in recipes? 

Babysitting my Sister’s Worms

My sister called me up and asked if I could feed her worms and take care of them. Since it’s so easy to do, I had no problem helping her out.

I’m excited to blog this because she uses the method that I used when I got started worm composting many many years ago.  I would rarely filled up my top container, so I would plant flowers on the top bin- this is where my idea for the 2 pot method began. 

I opened her box and she didn’t have anything in the top box either.  I opened the middle bin and in the calmness of the coconut coir, I could see the wigglers. The light bothers them, so they quickly began burrowing down.  

With these bins, my feeding method is “right-left”- so I move all the soil to the left and I place the food in a thin layer on the right and then I cover it. Next time I feed them, I move all the souls to the right and feed on the left.  This helps if I want to remove worm castings, they’ll be worms on the food side.

I also like freezing the food scraps before feeding them.  This insured the food will decompose quickly and ants don’t like frozen food so they avoid it.  I place food scraps in a galón size freezer bag and store it in the freezer. I add food scraps or things that are almost going bad to the bag. It takes about a week or two to fill up a bag.  If I’m leaving town or haven’t collected veggie scraps, I’ll buy zucchini’s and cut them up and place a few of them in the bin.  

Food scraps- I don’t mean left over fried chicken or anything cooked in oil.  I’m talking about that middle part of cauliflower no one eats or the ends of strawberries with the leaves, or soggy grapes.  I usually have a bowl to collect leaves, unwanted veggie nibs, or overripe fruits. I also included egg shells and banana peels.  Then I place all that stuff in my ziplock freeze bag and store it in the freeze until I fill up the bag and have time to go out there and feed them.  For more food items worms can eat, check out the resource links below.

  I cover the food well so that I don’t get fruit flies and other funky creatures.  If I had cardboard, I would have place some on there too. Super easy and it only takes a few minutes- like taking out the trash- but instead, putting food scraps in the worm bin to give you amazing worm castings.

Resources:

https://arizonawormfarm.com/

https://www.lacompost.org/

https://cleanla.lacounty.gov/2023/10/24/unlock-your-gardens-potential-with-worm-composting/

Visiting a Seed Library

Early spring, I had a paper making class pop up on my reel. I was so excited to make book marks, I quickly signed up with V to attend. 

When we got there, we were told that the class had been postponed because the supplies didn’t come in on time.  As we were about to leave, the staff showed us around the shop and told us about the lending program they have. 

The store is called Coyotl Wan Macrhualli and it’s located at 3347 N Eastern Ave in Los Angeles.  The part that one me over is the seed library collection they had.  

After I stopped sliding the cabinets doors around, they had a whole section filled with heirloom vegetable seeds.  The middle section held native seeds.  Some of the jars even had details of where the seeds came from.  By becoming a member, you can join the garden club. This is so cool!  I’ve heard of places like this in Seattle and other states- so I’m glad I found one in the Los Angeles area. I’m excited to bring and share my onion seeds.  You can also borrow garden tools and other equipment.

Please note: I’m not getting paid or getting any benefits from sharing this information- I just think this is a cool shop that offers a great program- lending of garden tools, offers a garden club, and has heirloom seeds and local native seeds.

For more information:

https://linktr.ee/Coyotl.Macehualli?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPMTI0MDI0NTc0Mjg3NDE0AAGnN8G7K68t26VH1TT_iFNbKnbI4m0olqoIJQdR3FlYh6l9PuptqGnxnSqXneY_aem_2ROUDMmmOcK3FGYzuN-C6g

https://www.instagram.com/coyotl.macehualli?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Worm Composting in Green Stalk

 

Many years ago I began my worm composting journey.  I continue modifying it to fit the needs of the environment I’m gardening in.  In my giant metal containers, I do (what I call) the double pot method: I place 2 pots, the bottom pot had the compost food and the top pot holds a plant. The worms live in the giant metal container and travel freely into the composting pot to get food. I know when to refill the container when the two pots almost touch.  Pretty easy and very low maintenance.  

Above are some photos of my double pot method.  I removed the pots to show how moist and full of worms the soil is, but they quickly burrowed down.

I wanted to try something similar with my green stalk towers, but it didn’t work. I couldn’t find pots that could easily fit in there.  I needed to try a completely different approach. After different ideas, I found this one worked for me.

So when I began to use my green stalk towers, I knew I wanted composting worms living there and I would need to find a way to feed them.  I created a small composting “bin” by buying flexible cutting boards and making holes in it.  I cut a small piece off the bottom so than it could fit snuggly in a pocket.  The holes were big enough for worms to get through yet small enough to keep food from getting into the rest of the soil.

I like to freeze my worms’ meals. This helps to decompose food faster as it thaws and ants avoid the cold temperatures.  

Once I filled the pocket with food, I cover it with coconut coir/garden soil and cover it with cardboard.  The coconut coir/soil helps to keep flys and other pests away. I also add a little sand to it- the worms don’t have teeth, so I feel the sand helps the grind the food as it passes through their stomachs.  I have no scientific finds- it’s just my opinion- and the sand also help keep the soil loose.  The card placed on top of the soil is to also help keep the soil moist and hopefully added protection against other bugs. There’s a small gap that I try and fill in with soil as well. 

I usually feed my worms once every month or so- sometimes I notice they eat more during spring and not as much in summer or winter. So I don’t have exact dates, I just keep frozen veggies and fruits in bags until I see they need it.

I place a greenhouse lid on it to protect it against birds or other pests that might want to dig in it. And that’s it- it’s as easy as talking out the trash (but in this cast it’s fruit/veggie scraps into a pocket bin).

Tasting Fried hummingbird Sage

 

Before I can taste Hummingbird Sage (also known as Pitcher Sage- not sure if it’s also Baja Pitcher Sage), I need to grow it.  I’ve seen several videos and read a few articles about how delicious these leaves taste fried (see resources below).  Now that it’s growing and thriving in my garden, I’m ready to give this recipe a try.

Get a few leaves, wash n dry (pat well to get any water droplets off), in a small omelet fry pan and enough oil to cover the bottom of pan and heat (med).  Once oil is hot, carefully add a sage leaf. Within 20 seconds it should crisp, flip over and fry the other side. Place leaf on a paper towel and continue with the rest of the leaves.  I recommend doing 1-3 at a time until you get the hang of it as it fries up very quickly. 

The leaf is a great garnish.  Place crispy leaf over mashed potatoes or over a seared salmon serving. It can also be served over pancakes. Get fancy with your bread slices: toast bread, spread some butter and place a leaf on top. 

Hummingbird Sage has a little different leaf color from other sages- these leaves are green. Other sages have grey leaves.  

Below is a photo of hummingbird sage leaf (left) and white sage leaves (right). Both have square stem and tiny scallops along the whole leaf. Aroma: hummingbird sage has a tropical sweet pineapple smell.  White sage has a strong earthy smell.

Other leaves that can be fried: cleavland sage (maybe white sage- although I haven’t tasted it- the smell is strong- not sure if the taste would be strong). Since they are part of the mint family, maybe fry up some mints like Yerba Buena, and coyote mint.

Resource: 

https://blog.revfad.com/2024/11/03/fried-hummingbird-sage/

https://youtu.be/Cfb9l2xDUa4?si=fnUO9mupB5uc7cr1

Berry bundle container

So it started with bushel and berry’s blackberry and raspberry shortcake- my raspberry died.  I went to a local store to search for a replacement. But all they had were blueberries.  I found a raspberry and blueberry plant at Aldi. Then I saw a video that you need two different blueberry varieties in order for it to produce.  So I ordered it online and needed a bigger container. When I purchased my big container, I spotted ca native huckleberry and a thornless boysenberry.  I bought a chaparral currant and added to the container. I’m thinking of adding mint or woodland strawberries as cover.