Radishes

So, today I harvested some radishes from the garden, one variety was Cherry Belle and the other was White Icicle. Cherry Belle and White Icicle are ready to eat from seed in about 28 days. When planting radishes, make sure to thin out seedlings. Make sure they're a good 2-3" apart, depending on what variety. I found that the ones better spaced apart matured faster. The seedlings that were too close were slow to mature or never developed. Harvest radishes when younger, if you wait too long, the radish can become spongy and hot. If radishes show signs of cracking, you waited too long. Oh, and don't waste those radish greens, instead turn them into a salad or stir fry. 

Home Made Pesto

So, I have a camping trip coming up for a class. I have to make a entree for 14 people so I finally had the excuse to take the time to make some pesto from some fresh basil that I've been growing. This year, I happened to have miniature basil, the leaves are smaller and the plant is more compact. I would recommend it for someone who doesn't have as much room, it stays compact, you can mow it down when it starts to flower and it keeps growing. This variety might do well in a bright window sill. It's a hybrid so I don't know what the seeds will become next year. I'm trying to shift my garden to all heirloom open pollinated varieties so I can save seed each year instead of purchasing them. 

Alright, so here's how I made the pesto. 

1.I cut as much down as I could, stripped the leaves, stuck the leaves in the mortar and crushed them. You could use a food processor to speed it up. 

2.I crushed a couple garlic cloves, I recommend you start with a small amount and add little by little. 

3. I put the crushed garlic and basil together in the food processor along with the olive oil. I slowly added the olive oil until it had the texture I was looking for. 

4. When storing the pesto, make sure you cover the top with a small layer of olive oil. This helps preserve the pesto better because no oxygen is getting to the leaves. Without this top layer, the pesto would turn black pretty fast. So basically I went off a recipe but found myself just adding basil and garlic together and finding the right texture.

UCSC Sustainable Agriculture.Agroecology Harvest Festival

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of going to UC Santa Cruz Harvest Festival. Events ranged from apple juice making and apple tasting to hay rides around the farm. As you walked up to the entrance you could hear the bluegrass playing. Light showers came and went throughout the day. It was an amazing time to be at the farm for a harvest festival. Watching the transition from summer to fall in front of our eyes while enjoying fresh picked corn and veggie kabobs from the field.  We went on a tour of the farm, it was awesome to see what the students are doing. They have a six month apprentice program were students from all over can participate in. I strongly recommend you check it out if your interested in agroecology, or learning hands on how to feed a lot of people sustainably. There were things I thought the farm was missing. For example, there was no seed saving and no livestock/animals. So it wasn't a closed loop production, something I myself am looking for. http://casfs.ucsc.edu

Introduction

Hi, My name is Christopher Harrod. I'm a student at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, CA and also a student at Merritt College in Oakland, CA. At both  colleges I study horticulture with an emphasis in sustainability. I'm with a wonderful girl right now. I have a great group of friends and family. Anyways, the purpose of this blog is to share the interesting things I learn and see throughout my day. It could be that I want to share a picture of flower that's blooming or share an interesting plant that might I think is useful. Also, topics will include natural building, permaculture, cooking and DIY projects. This is a pretty open blog, feel free to email me or comment. I would love to hear from you.