Subsistence thread

[stig]

Nala is a berry eater.View attachment 122329View attachment 122330

Is that a cloudberry?

 

[stikine]

Is that a cloudberry?

That's a salmonberry. The cloudberries aren't quite ripe yet.

 

[Cobleskill]

I start lump charcoal by starting a small kindling fire. Once the fire gets going set the grate with charcoal right on top. Starts in no time. Briquets last longer but I can cook corn and then meat on lump before it burns down. Nothing says summer like charcoal.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Weed torch. Quick. Let simmer.

 

[stikine]

Blueberry and huckleberry season arrives... wifey picked these last night, a lot more to come.

 

[SeanKroll]

Man, you sure make me wish, I could do that.

@stig Any idea why meat doesn't work?

Heard of anyone else like that?

 

[cory]

 

[stikine]

Wifey and oldest daughter got after the blueberries and huckleberries today. The pickers are a game changer for production.

 

[flushcut]

Our raspberry bush has been produced a few quarts so far, not bad for being planted last year. Looks like a good crop of apples this year. First sizable crop of cortland apples this year, Braeburn are plentiful.

 

[stikine]

Nice. All on your property?

 

[cory]

Wow those rakes look money!

Speaking of apples, aint it crazy how some years they produce heavily and many others not so much? And it is a town wide thing, not just on particular properties.

 

[Jonny]

Wow those rakes look money!

Speaking of apples, aint it crazy how some years they produce heavily and many others not so much? And it is a town wide thing, not just on particular properties.

Cold or really rainy springs that ground the bees and pollinators for our cortland tree will definitely make for zero fruit. If it’s cold enough during that window that they need to pollinate sometimes the flowers won’t really grow much or open up, so again poor pollination.

There’s some apples that don’t bloom until summer, so we usually still get honey crisps and others in September.
And cider. I’m looking forward to that.

 

[stig]

@stig Any idea why meat doesn't work?

Heard of anyone else like that?

I met a french woman, who would also cross the street to avoid passing a butcher shop, since the smell made her puke.

Only one with the affliction I've come across.

I did the first batch of tomato sauce for the freezer today.
Small one, only about 6 quarts.

It is like a burst of summer, when I use it in mid winter.

 

[cory]

It is like a burst of summer, when I use it in mid winter.

 

[stig]

Here is a picture:



The round ones are Berner rosen, a Swiss tomato.
The others are Amish paste, my favourite sauce tomato.
It is like a San Marzano on steroids.
Great taste, huge yield and no diseases.
I love it.

Seeds I get from https://www.rareseeds.com/
Unfortunately they finally figured out that shipping seeds to the EU is illegal, so a friend in California orders for me, then packs them with some gummy bears to hide the sound of rattling seeds and sends them on.

 

[stikine]

Wish we could grow tomatoes like those @stig no poly tunnels or green house's for us at the moment.

 

[Dave Shepard]

It's just non-primate mammals. Don't turn your back on him!

 

[stikine]

I picked some red huckleberries tonight after dinner. The biomass is good this year... this is only from a couple of bushes 20 feet from my back door. I use the sled to separate the leaves from berries by rolling them down the ramp. It doesn't get them all but helps.

 

[stikine]

Went to a mushroom presentation yesterday evening at the library. Today was foraging day along one of the local trails. Came home with some yellow foot chanterelles and a few puff balls.

Will clean these up for dinner tonight.

 

[stikine]

Yeah, I would never try to cultivate mushrooms... there are so many just around the area to pick.

 

[stikine]

More berries tonight.

 

[Burnham]

We've been picking blueberries from our own bushes, and the rampant Himalayan blackberries. Those darn blackberries are very tasty, but you sure do have to put in some blood and tears to get at them. A good year for them, so it's worth it.

 

[stikine]

Bull kelp. Supposed to be the fastest growing plant. Pretty good when made into "pickles". This is a small one I picked up tonight on a beach walk with Nala dog. Didn't bring it home.

 

[lxskllr]

Interesting. What's the texture like? Seems like it could be like sushi ginger, and that would be pretty good.

 

[stikine]

It's mostly from the stalk rather than from the fronds so it's pretty firm. Herring roe on kelp fronds is a whole nother deal and not so common around here.