Solar Cooking Recipes and Tips

Below are some tried-and-true recipes I use in my solar cooker throughout the summer, followed by a few tips. For more on solar cooking, see Cooking with Sunshine or Solar Cooking for Home and Camp.

Sun-Nutty Granola

Adapted from Simply in Season

Mix together in large bowl:

3 ½ cups rolled oats

½ cup ground flaxseeds

1-2 T xylitol (or brown sugar)

1 ½ t ground cinnamon

¼ t salt

½ cup sesame seeds

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 to 1 ½ cups chopped pecans, almonds, and/or walnuts

In a small bowl, mix:

¼ cup oil

1/8 to ¼ cup honey

¼ cup fruit juice or water

1 t vanilla

Add to the oat mixture and mix well. Spread on a dark pan and place on two loaf pans to elevate inside the cooker. Bake uncovered several hours in the solar cooker with the lid propped slightly open. Stir once or twice throughout the baking time. Granola is done when it is dry.

Oven instructions: Bake at 250 degrees for a few hours, stirring every 20-30 minutes.

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Sunttata
This flexible frittata adaptation is a great way to use up small amounts of leftover vegetables and make use of whatever herbs are in your garden. You can even use potatoes you've precooked in your solar cooker earlier in the week. Experiment with different combinations of vegetables as they are in season.

Note: Only one of us eats cheese, so we put the grated cheese on half the eggs, but you can also add it right to the egg mixture.

6 eggs
1-2 cups vegetables, choosing from:

--diced precooked vegetables, such as asparagus, potatoes, green beans, greens
--chopped raw vegetables, such as peppers, chilies, zucchini, green onions, mushrooms

handful of chopped herbs, such as parsley, thyme, chives, etc.
salt and pepper
grated cheese as desired

Oil a dark 8-inch square or 9-inch round baking pan. Beat the eggs and add a little water. Beat again until fluffy. Add the other ingredients, reserving or omitting the cheese if desired. Pour into the pan, cover well with foil, and set in the solar cooker with a dark cloth on top. Bake for 3 hours or until dinnertime.

If you have reserved the cheese, you can uncover the dish an hour before dinner and spread the cheese on top, then re-cover and set back into the cooker to let the cheese melt.

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Sol-Posole (New Mexican Hominy Stew)

Adapted from Extending the Table and Cooking With Sunshine

2 pounds pork necks

6 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 onions, finely chopped

1 bay leaf

water to cover

Place in dark pot, cover tightly, and set in solar cooker (bringing to a boil first on stove if desired). Cook 2 to 4 hours, until meat is cooked. Remove from the solar cooker and cut meat from bones, returning the meat to the pot, along with:

2 20-oz cans white hominy, drained

1 t salt

2 T chili powder

2 T tomato paste, or to taste

1-2 chili peppers, chopped (optional)

2 T ground cumin

1 t oregano

½ t thyme

Mix well and return to solar cooker. Cook 2 more hours, or until dinnertime. Just before serving, top with:

½ cup chopped cilantro

Serve with rice or warm flour tortillas. Garnish with lime wedges if desired.

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Pie-in-the-Sky Plum “Pie”

(or apple, peach, berry, etc.)

Adapted from Simply in Season’s Fruit Platz recipe

1 cup flour

½ cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 ½ t baking powder

¼ t salt

Combine.

½ c butter or oil

½ c milk, water, or juice

Mix in butter until crumbly. Add liquid. Mix with fork until a ball of soft dough forms. Press into greased 9 x 13-inch baking pan.

4 cups plums, cut in half (or use other seasonal fruit)

2 T (or more) xylitol or sugar

Mix, then place the plum halves cut side down in rows on top of the dough.

2 T (or more) xylitol, sugar, or brown sugar

½ cup flour

¼ cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 T butter

1 t cinnamon

½ t nutmeg

Mix and spread over fruit.

Cover tightly with foil and bake in solar cooker (ideally raised up on loaf pans to be close to the glass) for 3-4 hours.

Oven instructions: Bake uncovered in preheated oven at 375 degrees for 30-45 minutes.

Solar Cookery Tips

My cooker’s so bright…I gotta wear shades.

Protect your eyes from glare! Wear sunglasses when placing food into or removing it from your solar cooker, and keep your back to the sun.

Keep one eye on the weather report…and don’t believe the radar.

Sometimes the radar shows zero precipitation, but a sudden downpour can come along and soak your cooker. Best to check out the window now and then, and stay near home when solar cooking on “iffy” days.

Solar cookers take flight.

When solar cooking or drying lightweight foods, like granola or tomatoes, be sure to put something heavy in the bottom of your cooker. A glass casserole dish or bread pans help keep the cooker from taking flight in a gust of wind.

Mistakes were made. (Learn from mine.)

• Poorly covered food steams up the glass and reduces the inner temperature of the cooker.
• Overloading the cooker with too many food items at one time may result in half-cooked food.
• Overcast days are not viable cooking days, and no amount of fist-shaking at clouds will make a difference.
• Remember to choose thin cooking pots; glass, cast-iron and other heavy materials take too long to heat.

Harnessing the Most Plentiful Source of Energy on Earth

Solar Cookery was a surprisingly popular station at the SkillShare. We relished the opportunity to show off the humble box cooker that Judy made two summers ago. What fun to share the solar-baked granola and sun-roasted pumpkin seeds I'd been saving in the freezer for the occasion. Especially fun was explaining how well it works with all kinds of dishes, from stews to desserts - even a whole chicken.

Why cook with the sun?*

•

• It saves money and time.
• It's healthful and delicious.
• It's safe and kind to the environment.
• It's empowering.
• It draws you closer to nature and the rest of the world.
• It's fun and satisfying.
  

You can use a solar cooker if:*

• you live between the 60th parallels of latitude on Planet Earth
• your cooker remains unshaded for at least four hours between 9am and 4pm
• your shadow is longer than your height
• your cooker gets at least 20 minutes of sun per hour on a cloudy day
  

Food safety concerns:*

• Raw refrigerated or frozen food remains cold enough to prevent bacteria growth until the sun starts to heat up the cooker.
• Food heats up quickly to the point where harmful microbes are killed, at 160 degrees.
• Cooked food should be kept above 125 degrees or below 50 degrees to keep haramful bacteria from growing.

Materials needed:*

• Two cardboard boxes
• Insulating material (crumpled up newspapers, fiberglass batting, straw)
• Aluminum foil
• A pane of clear glass
• Tape, glue, and sharp utility knife

Follow Judy's step-by-step instructions on how to make a solar cooker (cat optional). You can also use online plans or those in Cooking with Sunshine or Solar Cooking for Home and Camp.

*Source: Anderson, L , Palkoovic R, Cooking with Sunshine, Da Capo Press 2004

Looking for Edible Landscaping Info?

Check out presenter Amy Mullen's Fraudulent Farmgirl blog, where she has posted her presentation from the SkillShare. She also has a list of her favorite edible landscaping books, handily broken out by experience level of the target audience.

A list of resources as suggested by our presenters

Books Recommended by Irvington SkillShare Presenters
Note: Bookmamas carries many of these!

Gardening:

Trowel and Error: Over 700 Tips, Remedies and Shortcuts for the Gardener by Sharon Lovejoy.
Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots: Gardening Together with Children
The Way We Garden Now, Katherine Whiteside (a series of pick-and-choose projects, including some for kitchen gardening)
The All New Square Foot Gardening, Mel Bartholemew
Gaia's Garden, Toby Hemmingway (about domestic permaculture)
Grocery Gardening, Van Krevelin (new this year, and more of an introductory book)
Mrs. Greenthumbs Plows Ahead
Four-Season Harvest: Organic Vegetables from Your Home Garden All Year Long by Eliot Coleman

Vermiculture:

Worms Eat My Garbage

Chickens:

Chickens : tending a small-scale flock for pleasure and profit / by Sue Weaver.
Keep chickens! : tending small flocks in cities, suburbs, and other small spaces / Barbara Kilarski.
Raising chickens. Haynes, Cynthia.
Storey's guide to raising chickens : care, feeding, facilities / Gail Damerow.
Chickens in your backyard: a beginner's guide. Rick and Gail Luttmann.
Chicken coops : 45 building plans for housing your flock / Judy Pangman.
The chicken health handbook / Gail Damerow.
Keeping chickens : getting the best from your chickens / Jeremy Hobson and Celia Lewis

Homesteading:

Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life, by Jenna Woginrich
Radical Homemakers, by Shannon Hayes
The Backyard Homestead, Storey Publishing (great intros on lots of subjects)
The Urban Homestead (Expanded & Revised Edition): Your Guide to Self-Sufficient Living in the Heart of the City (Process Self-reliance Series) By Kelly Coyne, Erik Knutzen
Scott Kellog and Stacy Pettigrew's Toolbox for Sustainable City Living

Solar Cookery:

Cooking with Sunshine: The Complete Guide to Solar Cuisine with 150 Easy Sun-cooked Recipes, by Lorraine Anderson and Rick Palkovic
Solar Cooking for Home and Camp, by Linda Frederick Yaffe


Food Ethics:

Diet for a Hot Planet by Anna Lappe

Cooking:

Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook by Beth Hensperger
Fix it and Forget it Cookbook by Phyllis Pellman Good (there are several different editions/variations on this cookbook)
Fresh from the Farmers' Market: Year-Round Recipes for the Pick of the Crop by Janet Fletcher
The Harvest Eating Cookbook: More than 200 Recipes for Cooking with Seasonal Local Ingredients by Keith Snow
The Farmer John Cookbook
Simply in Season, by Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert


Preserving:

Ball Blue Book, the Guide to Home Canning and Freezing (may be out of print but used are available at Amazon)
Saving the Seasons


Beekeeping:

THE BACKYARD BEEKEEPER- Kim Flottum
THE BEEKEEPER'S HANDBOOK- Diana Sammataro & Alphonse Avitabile
PLAN BEE- Susan Brackney
NATURAL BEEKEEPING- Ross Conrad

Fermenting:

Wild Fermentation, by Sandor Katz

Foraging:

Feasting Free on Wild Edibles, by Bradford Angier
Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide by Elias and Dykeman.
Stalking the Wild Asparagus, by Euell Gibbons
Harrington's How to Identify Plants.
Newcomb's Wildflower Guide

Herbal Medicine:

Healing with Whole Foods, by Paul Pitchfor
The Green Pharmacy, by Jim Duke

Bread:

Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads

Native Plants:

Go Native! by Harstad
Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens, by Doug Tallamy

Urban Homesteading – Putting It All Together

by guest blogger Autumn Williamson


Urban homesteading is a growing trend in which eco-conscious individuals who live in an urban setting are utilizing the small parcel of space they occupy to sustain themselves. Although many people think of homesteading as moving out to the country and working their land full time in order to be self sustaining and more eco friendly, homesteading in an urban environment can be even more sustainable because you use less in fuel, water, and space. There are many things that you can do to become self sufficient while living in the city, most if not all of which you will have access to learning at the Irvington SkillShare "Feast"ival.

When you decide to strive for the goal of becoming an urban homesteader you should start out small. Just start by growing a small amount of food or herbs at first. You can grow herbs in your windowsill, hang a tomato plant upside down in front of a window or on a balcony, or plant a potato in a 5 gallon bucket on your porch. Even though at first you will not be supplying all of your own produce, you will be learning many valuable lessons on how to grow vegetables. (Be sure to save seeds at the end of the season to plant next year! ) If you have a moderately sunny yard you can build a couple of raised beds (best to build in the fall so they are ready to go in the spring), start a compost pile or get a tumbler, and make a rain barrel once you get your gardening skills set. If you have even more room in your yard you can plant fruit trees or bushes, wheat or oats in place of grass in your front yard, or even grow grape vines along your fence. Many urban homesteaders also keep small animals also. Common animals for city keeping are chickens for eggs, dwarf goats for milk, bees for honey, and rabbits for meat. By the way, all of these are legal to keep in Indianapolis. (Check your neighborhood's regulations though.)

Once you start producing your own food you can start cooking and preserving it so that you can reap your gardening rewards all year long. There are many ways to preserve foods that you will have access to learning at the Skill Share and everyone has their personal preference. You can dehydrate, can, freeze, root-cellar, or ferment. Since you won’t be producing all of the food you need at first, and may never get to that level depending on the size of your property, make sure that you make the most of the local markets. Try to do the majority of your grocery shopping from local sources and buy extra of your favorites when they are in season to preserve for the winter when choices of in season foods are slim.

The biggest challenge that new homesteaders face is to learn the changing of the seasons and what to do when. To start out build some garden beds in fall. The real garden planning begins in January when the seed catalogs become available. Plan out what you want to grow and where it will fit in your garden or yard. Order seeds in late January/ early February. Start seeds in late February through mid March. Mid March to mid April is when you plant spring plants (peas, spinach, broccoli, kale.) The old saying is to have peas planted by St. Patrick’s day. Look up the Last frost date for Indiana and plant summer plants around then, usually late April to early May (things like tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, zucchini.) Warm weather crops like sweet potatoes and watermelon should be planted in late May or early June. Wait until late June or early July to plant pumpkins so they are ready for Halloween. Then if you are planting a second crop of cool weather crops they should go in mid August. July and August are the main months for preserving as most things will be ripe then. As plants die off in the fall you can turn the soil over and add compost so that they are ready for the spring. You can also grow some plants year round with row covers but they need to be planted by the end of August. September and October is a good time to make soap for the year or other crafts for holiday gifts. Enjoy thanksgiving and Christmas and you’ll be ready to start planning your garden again in January!

The biggest thing is to do what you can and have a desire to do yourself and form relationships with local vendors for the rest. You want to enjoy what you are doing and not force yourself or you’ll stop and a little is better than nothing. Urban homesteading is all about going back to relying on ourselves and our local community to supply our needs rather than being disconnected from our food source and having those products come from large monoculture farms that are negatively impacting our environment. Learn all you can from the SkillShare and have fun putting it all together!

Autumn lives with her husband and two children in the Community Heights neighborhood. She shares recipes, knitting patterns, and her experiences on the urban homestead at Autumn Adventures.

Introducing Presenter - Amy Mullen

A Tale of Two Soups

by Shawndra Miller
Every now and then, like the time I took a simple chicken soup to a sick friend and her sister asked me in amazement if I made it from scratch, I realize that I’m not quite mainstream. It’s probably not that common to buy a whole chicken that was raised on pasture by a local farmer and roast it to succulent perfection in the oven. Let alone subsequently simmer the carcass to make a rich stock, then pick the bones clean to use every scrap of meat in a soup loaded with locally grown veggies.

Then again, not too long ago (OK it’s been a few decades), I was a clueless college student, with popcorn and cinnamon toast being my main culinary accomplishments. The first time I realized that soup didn’t need to come from a Campbell’s can, I was watching friends whip up a simple meal in their tiny kitchen. I remember someone asking, Should our soup have tomato in it? Holding up a ripe tomato. My mind was blown about twelve ways.

First, at the time I wouldn’t even have known where to begin if someone gave me a soup pot and a bunch of ingredients. It would have been a stretch even with a recipe. But there in that little off-campus apartment with Tracy Chapman crooning from the boombox, there was not a cookbook in sight. And as my friends came to consensus on the tomato question (yes, definitely the soup needs a tomato), I thought, you can do that? Just, make it up?

So I can relate when someone can’t even imagine cooking a darn thing. I’m living proof that anyone can learn how. And by now I’m so immersed in this way of life that sometimes I forget it might be a little out of the ordinary to soak dry beans overnight and cook them in a solar cooker by day, or grow a mess of cukes to pickle in a crock, or pick fruit growing wild, or any of the other semi-nutty things I do in my quest to be an urban homesteader.

One of the most exciting things about getting ready for the SkillShare has been finding my people, realizing that there are countless individuals right here in Indy who are reclaiming these kinds of skills for themselves and their families.

Equally exciting is the idea of attracting people who might be mystified by one aspect or another of garden-to-kitchen skills. Because I have been there. In fact I’m still a novice in many ways, and that’s the beauty of bringing these people together in one room: We all benefit from shared knowledge.

So whether you butcher your own meat or are still looking for your oven’s on switch, whether you feed your family and neighbors out of your garden or are just inching toward growing some sprouts on a windowsill, we hope you will check out the SkillShare this Sunday. We believe everyone has something to teach, and in turn something to learn. Join us!

Shawndra will be demonstrating solar cooking at the Irvington SkillShare "Feast"ival.

These Pips Don't Lie

This is the center of a persimmon seed, taken from a persimmon grown right here in central Indiana. There is a tiny spoon-shaped core there. Do you see it?

Do you see it now?

It means the winter will be cold and snowy, according to folk wisdom. Apparently if you cut open a seed and find a little knife, that foretells a winter with cutting wind and ice. If you find a fork, it predicts a mild winter. But a spoon? AKA snow shovel? That means the persimmon tree is feeling the white stuff coming our way.

SkillShare presenter Kay Grimm (see her video here) says these pips don't lie, so dig out your snow boots now, folks. Because if it starts blizzarding on Nov. 7, that's no excuse to miss the SkillShare. Kay will share how to save seeds for the next growing season, and if you're lucky, she might also share more of her vast repertoire of plant wisdom.

Photo credit: Quay Kester of Evoke Communications.

Introducing Presenter - Patricia Waters

Works by the Irvington Garden Club

by guest blogger Ed Myers, president of the Irvington Garden Club (one of our many collaborating partners)

Since its founding in 1999, the Irvington Garden Club has undertaken numerous beautification projects, including:

• Benton House Historic Garden highlighting plants in cultivation prior to 1900
• Kile Oak Habitat Garden, which is registered with the National Wildlife Federation and planted with Indiana native prairie wildflowers, woodland plants, grasses and shrubs
• a community park on Webster Avenue complete with benches, picnic tables, raised garden beds and playground equipment.
  

Additionally, the club maintains a shrub rose garden, an Emerson Avenue Median and urns at both the corner of Audubon and Washington and the Bona Thompson Center.

Under the club's leadership and with the help of Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc., over 850 trees were planted on Irvington streets between 2000 and 2008.

Within the past few years the club has partnered with Irvington Terrace Neighborhood by providing hundreds of native plants for their Washington/Shadeland overpass project. The club also worked in partnership with the Irvington Green Initiative and others by donating 500 plants to the "Teaching Rain Garden" adjacent the Pennsy Trail and the Irvington Community School. IGC is also a major sponsor of the Irvington SkillShare "Feast"ival.

This year the club celebrated not only 11 years of sponsoring Irvington Farmer's Markets in Ellenberger park, but also 10 years of organizing the neighborhood's annual garden tour .

During the summer, club meetings are held at 7 PM on the 4th Monday of each month in member's gardens. During the rest of the year the club meets at the Irvington United Presbyterian Church, 55 Johnson Avenue. Recent programs have included presentations on rain gardens, native plants, herbs, dividing perennials, cactus, and jack-in-the-pulpits.

Guests are always welcome to attend monthly meetings. Additionally one does not need to reside in Irvington to become a member of the club. Those seeking further information can call 503-6139.

Note: The Irvington Garden Club will have a display in the resource area of the Nov. 7 Irvington SkillShare "Feast"ival; be sure to stop by and find out more!

Introducing Presenter - Pepper Partin and her lady friends

For All of These Reasons...

by Judy Hostetler, functional artist/nurse/do-it-yourselfer

I am eagerly anticipating the Irvington Skillshare "Feast"ival Spirit and Place event. As a presenter I am excited to share what I know about solar cooking with others - and as a lifelong learner I want to expand my knowledge on self reliance and sustainable food practices.

Why do I care about this? There are several reasons. I love good food, food that is tasty, simple and nutritious. Food that is real. I am not a purist when it comes to eating only locally grown organic food, I do have my moments when nothing tastes better than some fried greasy comfort food, but since I made a conscious effort several years ago to eat more whole foods and be more intentional about what is in my food and where it comes from, I feel better physically and have more energy.

I feel more connected to the earth and am an active participant in the cycles of nature. We grow a variety of vegetables and herbs tucked into garden beds on our small urban lot. Composted kitchen scraps, leaves and grass clippings add rich nutrients to the soil resulting in a steady supply of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and greens that find their way into our meals. We use the sun to cook some dishes and each time marvel at the power of the sun when its energy is harnessed and concentrated inside a simple insulated cardboard box.

It's the right thing to do for the earth: building up and replenishing instead of depleting and destroying. The earth sustains life, but not without intentional caring for the delicate balance that sustains all life. Living with this in mind makes me slow down and pay attention to the world around me.

It is also the right thing to do for ourselves and our community. As a nurse I am daily reminded of the impact that dietary choices have on our health. Many chronic illnesses are a result of detrimental lifestyle and dietary habits that over time wreak havoc on our intricate body systems. I believe the adage “You are what you eat” - and if I take control of what I put into my body, I have a better a chance of being the kind of person I want to be.

See you at the Skillshare "Feast"ival!

Introducing Presenter - Matt Groshek

Introducing Presenter - Linda Proffitt

Introducing Presenter - Kay Grimm

Meet Alan and Betsy Bernstein

"Everybody loves Alan," one Irvington resident told me when she heard that Chef Alan Bernstein of Alan's Catered Events is involved with the SkillShare.

Rightfully so, and for many reasons. The long-time local business owner spoke to a group at September's Irvington Green Hour about his commitment to sustainable business practices. He and his wife Betsy (she's co-owner of the business and his right-hand woman) source the majority of their foods locally. In fact, much off their produce comes from their own two-acre orchard and garden. Just by preparing foods from scratch and preserving in-season, close-to-home produce, the Bernsteins are cutting their waste. And incidentally, they are simultaneously pleasing palates with out-of-this-world flavor.

They also reduce waste by using china, silverware, and linens for most of their catering. "Sure, then we have to wash them,"Alan says with slightly crinkled nose, "but that's part of the commitment."

Any disposable plates & utensils used in drop-off catering are made of recyclable or compostable materials, such as sugar cane. "I don't know if (customers) like having their food served on sugar cane," Alan jokes. "But that's what we do."

Another option is serving ware purchased from a company that uses pressed "fallen leaves." The palm leaves are formed into elegant little boats and plates.

The caterers' other green business practices include recycling, offering rebates for returned canning jars, and using rain water for irrigation, which the Bernsteins did long before it was cool.

At the SkillShare, Alan and Betsy will be demonstrating the process for water bath canning and passing out samples of their delicious food. They will also have canned goods for sale, along with cider and goodies to enjoy at the event.

Best of all: The demo, along with the rest of the SkillShare, is free. Don't miss this opportunity to learn the art of canning from a seasoned chef. You can get all your questions answered - and even taste the results! As Alan says, "The biggest reward of canning is fresh and wonderful-tasting food." The proof is in the pudding. Or the pickle, or the jelly, or the... well, you get the picture. See you there!

Introducing Anna Chase & Jane Hagenauer

Introducing Presenter Shawndra Miller

Introducing Presenter Darren Chittick

Here is both a video of and an article by Darren Chittick





There is something about a tomato ripened on the vine, still warm from the sun with a dash of salt and a little cilantro that pleases the palate more than the most complex of French dishes. In Indiana, tomatoes are a summer staple. Local grocery stores are still stocking round, red fruits from Mexico, Canada and California instead of the heirloom goodness local farmers have to offer. Add to that the travel time that those little darlings were picked green and then forced, under duress, to ripen in a truck or airplane, and it’s a wonder they even survive! And that is only the tomatoes!

This understanding has led many to local farmers markets. While this is a great solution, why not plant a garden, too! The very idea of gardening is immediately intimidating to some. It seems to mean a lot of work for a little return. That is because the word gardening is attached to a mental imagining that isn’t always realistic. Many nuvo, urban homesteaders are realizing that gardening can mean a lot of things and can fit any schedule.

The garden of yesteryear, long rows in big plots, is not as applicable to urban life. For the city-dweller, the possibilities are still vast. Vertical gardening, raised beds, and container gardens are just a few possibilities for fresh, organic produce grown at home. These can support something as simple as a salsa garden on the patio to an entire feast of vegetables and fruits from the yard.

Even if you haven’t had a garden all year, mums aren’t the only thing to get into the ground as the weather cools. It’s time to plant garlic that will be harvested next year. It’s still great weather for lettuces, cabbages, broccoli and spinach. Many greens and root veggies, in fact, prefer cooler weather. It’s not too late to consider getting some wholesome food into the ground

The MBA Recruiter Learns to Farm

by guest blogger Tyler Henderson, co-owner of Big City Farms, SkillShare "Feast"ival rainbarrel presenter

In addition to farming, I have a completely different profession. I am the Director of Operations for North and South America for the Bocconi University School of Management in Milan, Italy. Laura (my wife) and I lived in Europe from 2004-2006 where I completed a master’s program in higher education policy and upon completing that program, I took a job in Milan that required I live somewhere in North or South America (wouldn’t you choose Indy if you could live anywhere in this hemisphere!).

I am responsible for student recruitment for two international MBA programs requiring that I travel for 10 weeks each fall and 4 weeks each spring. I am writing this from Shanghai and from here I will end up in Japan, Korea, Canada, Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Turkey and Italy before returning to Indianapolis in November. I am not sure that I could have two professions that have a wider gap between localization and globalization. My hope in all this is that I am a better farmer because I am an MBA recruiter and vice versa.

I was reflecting on the summer these past few days, as I realized my summer has come to a quick end. I set out this summer with one goal that I verbally expressed to Matthew [Jose] and Laura while sharing a meal together last winter: learn how to run a small-scale, CSA-based, vegetable farm. I always want to farm with Matthew (let me say that again, always) but I thought if Matthew were to ever change his mind about farming, or move away from Indianapolis, I would still hope to run a farm. I am pleased (and somewhat surprised) to say that I think I met this goal. I had been no more than a hobby backyard gardener before this summer, so the amazingly sharp learning curve that was achieved is satisfying.

Vegetable farming has called on many capacities, both predicated and unpredicted. Of course, I realized there would be long hours, early mornings, hot days and exhausting work – those go with the territory. What I had not accounted for was the degree of planning, organization, networking and public relations. It has confirmed the point of Michael Pollan, Joel Salatin and others – we need farming to attract the best and brightest as a profession, as opposed to a profession chosen by folks who might not have other options. This will not happen until the chasm between the pay scale of farming and jobs like international recruitment is closed. It strikes me every time I think about the difference in money I earn in these two professions.

The world would be fine if every MBA recruiter stopped working tomorrow, but what about if every farmer quit tomorrow?

The summer has been full of big and small battles both won and lost. The wins of starting the first onion seeds in February, planting the first radishes March, building sturdy trellises in April, watching the crops take off in May, starting the CSA in June, getting a bumper crop of tomatoes in July and the magic of digging the first potatoes in August. The losses of sleep, crops to bind weed and the anguish of hoping for rain during the driest August on record.

But these tangible wins and losses are lessons that will be applied to next year, and the year after, until the wins get bigger and more satisfying and the losses get smaller and more humorous.

I cannot remember the last time I vocalized a specific goal and then met every ounce of that goal - I am afraid we do this too little as adults.

--excerpted from Tyler Henderson's letter to Big City Farms' Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) members. See Tyler discussing rainbarrels in this video created by Steven Shattuck.

AgroEcology Moment: Assassin Bugs and Preying Mantids

Photos and story by guest blogger Angela Herrmann, Master Gardener and Locavore

Many folks are squeamish around insects. Yes, I have been known to let out a little scream and jump when a cricket or a wolf spider jumps at me, much to the amusement of those who know me. In the gardening world, it seems that all insects are intent on ruining your garden. However, that is not the case. Our first instinct when confronted with lacy bean or squash leaves is to run to the garden or hardware store to buy an insecticide and douse the garden.

However, RESIST that urge! Why? When you kill the insects with “bad” behaviors, you’re also killing the good insects … like beneficial insects such as the assassin bugs and praying—or preying!—mantid. Without beneficials, we’re leaving a huge vacuum for even more hungry insect pests to invade and feast on what’s left of your beans and squash. A number of insects are our allies and they have voracious appetites. Have you seen the size of a praying mantid or an assassin bug? I have been fortunate to provide homes to these and others in my home garden.

In short, when we create a garden, our intent, besides bountiful harvests, is the creation of an ecosystem. Within that ecosystem, each plant, animal, and insect has a role. Anything that we can do to contribute to increasing beneficial insect habitat will increase the services they provide in helping you maintain control over hungry insect pests.

Despite it being so late in the season, the time to start is now. Know what kinds of insect pests are attracted to your fruit and vegetable plants. Then familiarize yourself with the various methods to control those pests. Those methods might include cultural controls (good soil quality, crop rotations, or companion plantings), physical controls (studying the potential pests so you can recognize them, removing them by hand with a soapy dish of water in the morning when they’re sluggish, and finding and destroying eggs), biological controls (the topic of this post, such as creating habitat for beneficial insects so they can do the work) and as an absolute last resort, chemical controls—but only through a system of integrated pest management (IPM).

Today I noticed a several clusters of squash bug eggs … so my task in the morning will be to remove them. That will mean less leaf damage later and fewer egg-laying adults in the future.

The bottom line: with some attention to your garden and a willingness to provide a more hands-on approach, you should not have to resort to pesticides. You’ll save money and enjoy organically-grown harvests.

To learn more about beneficial insects, check out these resources:

Ohio State University Extension

Mother Earth News

Purdue Extension's guide to insect pests and a few beneficials

--Angela Herrmann, a Master Gardener in Marion County, is just returning from a nine-week AgroEcology Summer Intensive 12-credit hour program at Goshen College.