Backyard Berries and Jammin'

It's been a great year for backyard berries! My strawberry patch has producing at least a 1/2 quart of ripened berries each day. I'm so glad I did an experiment and added pine-needles as a mulch, it seems to have helped with the acidity of the berries and the sharp needles have prevented attacks and pilferages from chipmunks and squirrels. In addition to the pine-needles, I also added pine-berries to the mix - or "White Soul" strawberries to be precise. I've picked so many strawberries I've actually made jam - exclusively from my strawberries (the exception being white sugar and pectin).

Other berries are also in season - Black Raspberries, Pine-berries and the strawberries. I'm hoping to make a mixture jam this week - and if I have enough pine-berries, I'd make a "White Soul" jam, but that might be a few seasons off, as I only have 3 plants.

Finished product! A simple pectin strawberry jam! Amazing on fresh white bread!

Black Raspberries ripening - so sweet, not tart at all this year!

A small "White Soul" strawberry - its ripe (I think) once the seeds protrude off the skin - like so.

My strawberries might be small, but they're delicious every-time!

Fresh pickins' from a morning forage. The combo taste is something special! 

Finally, look at this "White Soul" spread!
The seeds give the appearance of yellow but they truly are white.

A Radish Trio to Share

I always grow radishes. Now that I think of it, I've been growing them for about 10 years. For many years I grew what ever package Canadian Tire had on sale or the dollar store sold - mostly Cherry Belle or Easter Egg. I wouldn't call myself a massive radish fan - often I'm not exactly sure if they actually taste good or where I should use them in my cooking. However after a few years of experimentation they've grown on me. Here is a quick list of some actually yummy uses for radish from your garden.

8 Quick Ways with Radishes

1) Thinly sliced accompanied with cream cheese or goat cheese on Melba toasts
2) Chopped into any coleslaw
3) Sliced and pickled alongside baby carrots and cucumbers (or simply alone)
4) Finely diced into tuna or egg salad
5) Finely diced into devilled eggs
6) Quartered and baked with butter and fresh herbs
7) A pretty garnish - on anything. (See stunning examples below)
8) Raw with a nice ranch dip - or any dip of your liking.

Thinly shaved into perfect coils of itself, patience and practice.
(Photo from Google Search)

Adorable stars made from the tip of a pink radish.
I can imagine them poking out of a vegetable tray.
(Photo from Google Search)

Feeling cute and keen - tiny radish toadstools as a garnish or decor.
(Photo from Google Search)

After getting over the taste of radishes - that watery, earthy, tingly spice, crunchy (sometimes nutty) profile, you realize there is much more to these quick growing root vegetables. Colour. Wither it's finely chopped, or sliced, it adds edible bright colour to your dish.

This year I'm growing the following radishes - Sparkler, Red Head, Pink Celebration, Watermelon (Red Meat), Malaga, Pink Beauty and Bora King. Yes that's a lot, I know. The seeds save well over a few seasons and they all seem to mature at different times.

First to ripen this year are simple gorgeous! Malaga, Sparkler and Pink Beauty! All of these radishes could get larger, but in the process of thinning I removed these small tender guys for munching.

Malaga Radishes from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Dark purple, slightly sweet
and even the leaves display some faint purple veining and purple in the stalks. When cut the
true purple colour leaches onto the cutting board and onto the white flesh of this radish.

Some very pink, Pink Beauty radishes! Very crisp and mildly spicy!

An old classic, Sparkler radish, traditional in every way.
Texture and flavour always very consistent.

All of them together, look at that bundle! Wow!
I sliced them up and made lovely cream cheese canapés!

Bonus awesomeness - the chickens love those spiky radish greens from harvest and thinning!

Quail Full Circle!

Just over a year ago I blogged about my dream to own quail alongside my chickens at the Suburban Mirco-farm. Last fall the dream came true! I picked up 7 adult quail and right away I had an abundance of eggs and cute little sounds were heard coming from the coop. I soon discovered I had 2 males and 5 females. I quickly found quail very easy to keep, extremely productive and of course adorable! Each quail hen was laying an egg each for weeks straight!

The first big clutch of quail eggs collected over a week -
adorably speckled with large orange yolks!

The "First egg" alongside my chicken eggs for size and
colour comparison!

Quail are maybe, not "as" glamorous as I had originally imagined, but that's like anything you're trying for the first time in the garden or with livestock. They are about as easy as rabbits or guinea pigs - litter changes, fresh water and food daily, small leafy greens and egg collection. It's also important to gently handle your quail to check body condition, nails and beaks. I found that the males were rather aggressively breeding and creating some small balding spots.

One of the female Coturnix quail - this colour is called "Golden Italian" or "Gold Tibetan"

The winter in Ontario was very cold and harsh this year, and I lost 3 quail to what I believe to be weather related stress, and personal failure on my part. Especially sad because I lost a beautiful white male, with a small brown bow tie on his chest. Lesson's learned - seal the quail from drafts - insulate better. Despite my drop to only three females, the eggs kept pouring in! It's important to note that quail lay all over the coop, not in nests - so accessibility is important, as well as a cleaner bedding.

As some of the younger quail started laying and the speckled egg colour really started to vary - from large dark speckles to lighter with more delicate speckles. Also- for those who noticed my pink porcelain egg tray - it was from Target store-closing clearance sale! I also have two white more traditional trays for chicken eggs! Easy to wash and perfect for counter-top display, reusable and sustainable!

Baskets are also picture-esk! Note; the olive toned egg, bloom and variation.

Note the title of this blog post - Full Circle. Well, I have my quail, I have a male and three females, what does a girl with 5 incubators do? She collects 23 eggs and bakes them for 16 days at 99.5F, and voila! New baby quail! Some of my eggs were infertile -  but I still got quite a few chicks! They are about the third the size of a chicken chick! Now, enjoy some quail-chick-pics!

Some interesting colour variations! Excited to see how they'll fledge out!

Eyebrows or no eyebrows? Cute or cute?

Don't I look fantastic in the Scotch Heather? A very alternative spring picture!

 I'm excited for the next generation of backyard Suburban quail - and so far a very pleasant experience! Next steps are an outdoor quail tractor and bringing in some fresh bloodlines for more breeding! Coturnix quail come in so many colours!