In this recipe, the list of ingredients included are not limited, for additional produce or herbs options can be added or substituted in your beef stew. Produce such as mushrooms, tomatoes, green peas, red, yellow, and green bell peppers are a great selection of vegetables not only because they are healthy, but also because they are extra flavors added in your dish. Thyme, rosemary, oregano, and parsley are just a few names of herbs that will give your beef stew a flavorful taste. These produce and herbs options can be freshly grown in your garden as well or purchased locally. Whether you are wanting to freshly serve or can your beef stew, this recipe allows you to do either option upon your desire. The pressure canner is available through our rental equipment program. Equipment/Utensils
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When it comes to preparing a pumpkin puree, the food options are endless. Desserts such as cookies, cheesecake, cake, pie, and bread can be used from your puree after you have finished this process. For breakfast, you can prepare a pumpkin spiced latte and pumpkin pancakes using this recipe. Cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg spices can be added for extra flavor as well. In addition, if you like spicier flavors, mace and clove are a couple options to choose as well. Canned puree can certainly be used in this recipe; however, making it from scratch gives you a farm to table experience. Making a pumpkin puree doesn’t just stop there- baking the seeds can be used in salads or even just to eat as snacks. Not only does making a fresh puree taste delicious, but it also can be beneficial to your health. Sugar pie pumpkin contains vitamin A and C, protein, and is also high in potassium; furthermore, it is low in calories. Due to the sugar content and texture in the sugar pie, we chose to use this type of pumpkin. The food processor is available through our rental equipment program. Equipment/Ingredients
How to Preserve Pumpkin Puree Dehydrating or drying foods is another method for food preservation-extending shelf-life up to 3 or more weeks. By doing this method, you don’t have to discard your zucchini after 7 to 10 days due to it decomposing. Also, by dehydrating your zucchini it will take up much less space due to it shrinking after being dried. Since summer squash is beneficial in preservation, it is beneficial to your health as well in many ways. Zucchini is a multivitamin, low in calories, contributes to healthy digestion, and is rich in antioxidants meaning it helps protect your body from damage by free radicals. Not only is zucchini delicious, but it is also great for your well-being. Adding dried spices such as basil, cilantro, parsley, rosemary, and dill is just a few flavorful ingredients to add to this appetizing vegetable. These zucchini chips make for a great snack and can be added to any food dish such as soups to rehydrate. A dehydrator is available through our rental equipment program. Equipment/Ingredients
For this pre-mixed kosher dill pickle recipe, you will need a 22qt. water bath canner (Click Here to Rent a Canner), canning tool kit, a ladle, white vinegar, jars, unused canning mason jar lids, and the accompanying screw rings or bands.
Enjoy your pickles! Learning any new skill can be overwhelming, but having access to the right tools and knowing how to use them makes all the difference. Every canning recipe shared by the Quapaw Farmers Market is made with the same canning tools that are included in each rental kit. This blog explains how to use each tool so you will be prepared to preserve your first batch of food:
Once you are familiar with common canning supplies, it is easy to get started with your first recipes. We suggest starting with pickles or sweet corn, but there are many great recipes available! Quapaw Farmers Market’s equipment rental program makes it easy and affordable to start canning today with just a $25.00 deposit (refunded when equipment is returned). Call 918-238-3168 or click here to book an equipment pick-up appointment. Hosted by our new Agriculture Preservation Coordinator, Jennifer, and the Horticulture Specialist, Dawn. Have you ever thought about becoming a gardener but aren’t sure how to start or maintain a healthy garden that will provide for you and your family? You aren’t alone. A lot of beginner gardeners feel intimidated by upkeep and care because of lack of knowledge or budget. This blog includes several budget-friendly and free options that any home gardener can experiment with to maintain tomato plants. Is that blossom end rot destroying the bottom of your tomatoes? You can fix this calcium deficiency with a 4-lb bag calcium nitrate granules for less than $10 at your local hardware store, but you can also substitute eggshells as a free alternative. Instead of discarding those eggshells you have after making your breakfast, toss them into your garden soil to supply a great source of calcium and add ample nutrients to your soil to reduce blossom end rot. If you don’t regularly (or ever) fertilize your plants, they can develop a nitrogen deficiency. You may notice that the more mature leaves will begin to lose their color and transition to a light green or yellow color. Don’t panic, sprinkle your coffee grounds at the base of the plant each morning as a DIY fertilizer to add nitrogen back into the soil. Not a coffee drinker? There are a wide range of store-bought fertilizer options available for every budget. If your tomato leaves turning yellow and brown towards the bottom stem, tomato blight is likely the culprit. Blight is induced by water and soil splashing up onto the plant foliage. Baking soda and dish soap are both easily accessible and will kill the blight by altering the plant’s pH level. To remedy blight for free, you can regularly prune the bottom stem of excess limbs and suckers. This can also help increase the quality of your tomato harvest! Click here to watch a video from the University of Maryland’s Home and Garden Information Center that shows how to prune a tomato plant. For a free and natural remedy to control those pesky hornworms and cut worms, you can pick the worms directly off the plant and either remove them from your garden beds or treat your chickens with a healthy snack. If you’re short on time, you can also treat these with Dipel Dust or Diatomaceous Earth for less than $10 from the local hardware store. Aphids are tiny bugs that suck that feed on the fluid inside your tomato plant’s leaves and flowers. Neem oil is a natural and relatively inexpensive way (around $10 per bottle) to control aphids, but you can also tackle the pest by hand. Simply spray soapy water onto the affected plants or knock the aphids off into a bucket of soapy water, whichever you prefer. There are many different challenges that can come your way in your gardening adventure but there are also many different solutions no matter what your budget is. Be sure to “like” the Quapaw Farmers Market Facebook page for more helpful videos. Happy gardening! Corn Canning Recipe: Corn is a farm favorite and a staple crop in Oklahoma. While the growing season usually lasts from late spring to early fall, you can enjoy fresh-tasting corn all year by canning. Corn, in the canning world, is considered a low-acid food. This means that it has to be pressure canned in order to make it safe to eat. Pressure canners are able to reach and cook at much higher temperatures than boiling water or water bath canning methods. These temperatures are essential for killing off foodborne pathogens that can make you ill. For canning, you should only use recipes from reliable sources. There are an abundance of safe recipes available, but this is the one we chose for our video. Easy Steps to Pressure Canning Corn:
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How to Save Money with Food PreservationFood preservation is a popular option for those wanting to save money by avoiding overpriced produce in the winter months, reducing the need for pre-packaged produce, and/or maximizing their garden’s harvest. Food preservation refers to any one of a number of techniques used to prevent food from spoiling. It includes methods such as canning, pickling, dehydrating, freeze-drying, irradiation, pasteurization, smoking, and the addition of chemical additives. The various methods for preserving foods are all designed to reduce or eliminate pathogens, oxidation, or both, that spoil food. First, freezing foods can be the simplest of food preservation methods. You just need a freezer and packaging. Research shows that overall processing costs are less than $100 for 500 pounds of food. That breaks down to approximately $0.20 per pound. Compare this to grocery stores that sell bags of frozen veggies from $1-3 per pound. Plus, you’ll be able to save gas by making fewer trips to the store. Canning is a second option for food preservation. Canning operations are more variable than freezing due to the different techniques, ingredients, and additives. Canning is also dependent on your food choice’s yield and acidity. For example, low-acid produce, like most vegetables, will use a pressure canner while high-acid foods, such as fruits used for jams and jellies, use a water bath method. Canning is perfect for storing seasonal foods to be enjoyed all year long; however, it is critical to properly follow canning instructions to help prevent food spoilage and foodborne illnesses. Canning is also a heavy storage-required method, so make sure you have enough space to keep your food. While canned goods at the grocery store can cost between $0.50 to over $1 per can, canning at home often costs less than $0.10 per quart. This means you can process 500 pounds of food for under $50! Dehydrating or drying foods is yet another method for food preservation. It can be more time-consuming than other methods, depending on your food choices. Some of the most popular foods to dehydrate are meat products, but produce can also be dried and dehydrated. The cost to process is similar to canning, around $0.10 per pound or about $50 to process 500 pounds. Just imagine being able to snack on jerky for only a dime! While food preservation can save your family thousands of dollars over your lifetime, be aware that there may be both initial and ongoing expenses associated with preserving. You can minimize start-up costs by renting equipment rather than purchasing your own materials. The Quapaw Farmers Market offers a free equipment rental for all community members. Ongoing costs include items such as electricity, optional added ingredients (such as sweeteners), or the value of your time spent preserving.
Finally, food preservation gives you control over your nutrition and diet. By choosing preservation methods and foods you enjoy, you are creating your own “whole foods” approach to your nutritional lifestyle. Combining food preservation with farming and gardening can give you ultimate control over your food resources and nutrition. If you are looking to save money, take control of your food choices, or to enjoy seasonal foods throughout the year, consider food preservation. Click here to book an equipment pick-up appointment today. Fruit Tree 101There is nothing like plucking fresh apples, pears, or peaches right off the tree. There are many varieties of fruit trees to choose from, but not all are suitable for every climate or growing season. When choosing a fruit tree for your yard consider its winter hardiness, disease resistance and the ripening date of the fruit. Here, we’ll discuss planting and caring for apple trees because they are well-suited for Oklahoma’s climate. Apple trees are extremely popular to plant because of their value as nutritious snacks that are a good source of Vitamin C and fiber. Knowing Your Hardiness Zone: The US Department of Agriculture’s Plant Hardiness Zone Map divides the United States into zones according to the expected coldest winter temperature. Northeast Oklahoma falls within Zones 6-7 where winter temperatures are expected to get as cold as -10º F. Make sure that your chosen variety is fit for this zone to maximize fruit production. Sunlight: Fruit trees love sunlight, so place your tree where it can receive direct sunlight throughout the day. They need 6 to 8 hours of full sun, but avoid planting them during the heat of summer. Fruit trees should be planted in early spring, after the last frost. Watering: All fruit trees require well-drained soil that allows water to drain at a moderate rate without pooling and puddling. To test the drainage of your soil, dig a hole 1-foot deep by 1-foot wide. Fill the hole with water and record how long it takes for the water to completely drain. The ideal time is between 10 and 30 minutes. If you do not have well drained soil you may add amendments such as compost, peat moss, vermiculite, wood chips, or sand. Spring in Oklahoma coincides with the rainy season, so there may not be a consistent schedule for watering. The best way to determine when trees need water is to check the soil. What you’re aiming for is moist — not soggy — soil. In the absence of rain or moisture, check the soil with a garden trowel to a depth of two inches. If the soil is dry to the touch, your tree needs water. During a summer afternoon, up to half of the water can be lost to evaporation. The best time to water is in the morning or evening, so the roots have a chance to absorb most of the water. How often you should water will depend on the size of your tree, soil conditions, and weather conditions. Newly planted trees require much more water than established ones. Remember that clay soils can hold more water while sandy soils may need more frequent watering. Spacing: Most apple trees require cross-pollination. That means a single apple tree without other compatible apple trees nearby may blossom but never produce fruit. You’ll need to find a compatible variety for your apple tree that has the same bloom time. Dwarf apple trees need a spacing of 6 to 8 feet, semi-dwarf trees about 15 feet, and standard or full-sized trees about 25 feet. You’ll also need to observe your surroundings to make sure you don't run into future problems such as overhanging electric lines, underground pipes or cables, locations too close to foundation or sidewalks. Pruning: The best time to prune apple trees is in late winter or early spring while the tree is still dormant before active growth begins for the season. Buds are easier to see to work around and cut wounds have a chance to dry up before insects come out in the spring. You will see less effects on winter hardiness and overall tree health. Pruning is especially effective with apple trees. See the graphic for a basic illustration on how a pruned apple tree should look over time. Planting:
● Fill the hole with clean topsoil (with added amendments, if necessary), carefully covering the roots. Pack the soil in by gently stamping it down with your feet. ● Water the tree with two to five gallons of water, poured slowly enough so that water absorbs into the ground and doesn’t run off. ● All newly planted fruit trees benefit from being staked. This will result in a straighter tree with more growth. Staking is especially important for trees planted on a wind-blown site and for dwarf trees. ● Use mulch, herbicide or cultivation techniques to create a weed-free zone at the base of the tree that extends out to form a circle with a diameter of two to three feet. Nutrient rich mulch doubles as an excellent fertilizer, helps soil retain moisture, and creates cooler micro-environments at the base of the plant. Now that we have shared some helpful tips on planting apple trees, get out and plant! Remember proper planting techniques, selection of fruit trees, pruning, and watering to make the most out of your new apple tree. |
BlogThe Quapaw Farmers Market’s mission is to increase community access to affordable and nutritious foods by promoting farm-to-table initiatives, education, and business opportunities for local producers. Archives
December 2020
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