Monthly Garden Gossip

September, 2010

Welcome to our garden! We're proud of our hard work and want to share the reward with you, so here is what's going on in the garden this month.....

Central Alabama

Once again it is time for muscadines.  Are you are wondering what you are going to do with all of them?  You can eat them fresh, of course, you can make jelly or even wine.  However here are a couple of other things you can do with muscadines.  Chef Hastings of the Hot and Hot Fish Club in Birmingham, held a cooking class here a Petals and he made a Muscadine Sorbet that was very delicious.  He served it with a little shortbread cookie.  An easy and elegant dessert that can be made ahead. 

We also have a recipe for muscadine pie. Very simple to make.  The filling for the pie can be made ahead and frozen.  I have made several batches of the filling and kept it in the freezer and during the winter made the pie.

 Bon Appetit!

 

Muscadine 'Darlene'

Muscadine Sorbet

4 quarts (about 51/2 pounds) fresh muscadines 2 washed
1 1/2 cups Simple Syrup
Dash of freshly squeezed lemon juice

Combine the muscadines and syrup over medium-high heat.  Stirring occasionally, until the softened and begin to break open about 30 minutes.  Remove the mixture from the heat and cool slightly, about 30 minutes.

Place the grape and syrup mixture into a fine-meshed strainer or chinois set over a medium bowl.  Gently press the grapes in the strainer with a rubber spatula to release as much juice as possible; discard the pulp mixture. You should have about 4 1/2 cups of juice.  Add the lemon juice.  Refrigerate the muscadine juice until well chilled.

Pour the muscadine juice into the ice cream machine and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions.  Remove the sorbet from the machine and transfer into a freezer-safe container.  Freeze the sorbet for at least 4 hours or until ready to serve.

Simple Syrup

2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup water

Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved.  Boil for 30 seconds and remove the saucepan from the heat. Cool the syrup to room temperature.  Refrigerate the syrup until well chilled.  Makes about 2 3/4 cups


 

 Muscadine Pie


5 c Muscadines
1 c Sugar
2 T Cornstarch

6 Slices White Bread Crusts Trimmed
3/4 c Sugar
1 t Vanilla
1 Stick Of Unsalted Butter-Melted
1 Egg


Remove the skins from muscadines and cook pulp until it softens. Put
through food mill to remove seeds. Return pulp and skins to pan and
cook together with sugar until skins are softened. Add approx 2 -3
tablespoons cornstarch. I mixed with a little water to dissolve
cornstarch.

Place filling in a buttered 9"X13" pan. Make sure that the filling is at least 1 1/2" thick. A quart and a half container did not fill a 9"X13"  pan. I had to use 8"X11". If you need to use more muscadines cornstarch and sugar will have to be adjusted for the additional amount of fruit. Place bread on top of fruit filling and pour butter and egg mixture evenly over bread. Bake in 350° oven 30 to 40 minutes until top is brown. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Note:  If your muscadines are very large, you can cut them in half and remove seeds and cook the skin and pulp together with the sugar until softened. Once they are softened, about 30 minutes, add the cornstarch.

The apples are now being harvested.  We have Cumberland Spur, a red delicious type and Southern Gold,  a golden delicious.  Harvest of our other varieties of fall apples is just beginning.  The Asian pears are ripe and being harvested.  If you have never had one you are missing a real treat.  The two varieties that are ripe now are Korean Giant and Shinko.  Once harvest is complete on your fruit trees apply a light application of fertilizer, often only nitrogen is applied from July to early September depending on the fruit plant.  For example, once apples are harvested we would apply a very light application of calcium nitrate (2 to 4 ounces) per tree to our 8 year old trees.  This type of fertilization enables the trees to overcome the stress of heavy cropping without becoming to vigorous as they approach fall.  Plants that have good vigor and did not have a heavy crop should not need any fertilization
Haven't cut back your blackberries yet?  We have a video on our website to show you how to do it from start to finish.  Have a look!
Cool season crops are planted this month.  You may direct seed lettuce right into the garden. It should be done at two week intervals for a longer harvest.  Broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprout, Swiss chard and Bok Choy may also be direct seeded but you can also put out plants.  These should be readily available at your nursery this month. Our 2011 seed has arrived and is available for sale.
Continue weeding so your fruit and perennial gardens are clean going into fall.  Be careful if glyphosate (Round Up) is used.  Generally it is best to move to another herbicide this time of year such as the "Grass Killer" Sethoxydim sold as Grass Getter.  Round up can still be used but be careful around your fruit plants not to get it on the trunks or stems as it can be absorbed into the plant

 

  
You may plant blueberries this time of year if you can give them at least weekly watering. The most ideal planting time is late fall and winter which allows for the greatest plant development during the first growing season. Blueberry plants are very sensitive to the use of the nitrate form of nitrogen.  Applying fertilizers such as sodium nitrate, calcium nitrate or ammonium nitrate can result in severe damage or death of the plants.  Always use ammonium forms of nitrogen such as urea, ammonium sulfate or ammonium phosphate and avoid any fertilizers that contain more than 10% nitrogen in nitrate form. A fertilizer such as Grower's Special (12-6-6) that contain slow release nitrogen and micronutrients is recommended.  The only pruning needed initially is to reduce plant height at planting time by 1/4 to 1/3 usually 7 to 14 inches.  Remove broken roots and separate roots at 3 to 4 areas around root ball where they may be growing in a circular direction. Blueberry plants do not require annual pruning for the first several years except to remove low branches lower than 15 inches from the soil and diseased or broken branches

 
The  fall 2011 wildflower seed is now in stock and ready for sale.  It is sold by the tablespoon or teaspoon depending on the size of the seed for $1.00.  Sow seeds between October and January using a mix of 4 parts sand to 1 part seed to help disperse the seeds evenly.  Prepare your bed by tilling lightly, scatter the sand and seed mixture on the prepared area and water.  Many of these seeds need the cold weather to germinate.  Opposite is a picture of our California poppies.  The bright orange color of these spring beauties really caused heads to turn.

We are still growing!! It will be ready to shop on September 15.  Six thousand square feet is being planned to house all of our fruit plants and fruit trees. We will have 15 gallon established fruit trees for sale as well as many demonstration trees to show techniques, such as espalier, pruning and maintenance.  Check it out the next time you are shopping

Flame Prince Peach

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