A Busy Summer
What abundance summer Sun produces!
The first picture here is our big garden as the plants were starting to grow.
From the same hill more recently.
Its hard to see much in that jungle. Other pictures don't do the abundance justice.
Beets
Tomatoes
Sunflower
Squash
Amaranth
Kale, chard and the solar food dryer
Drying chard and kale has become a prime way to preserve the greens. It takes no energy besides the Sun and is said to preserve a maximum of nutrients.
Just break it up and spread it out on trays,
Put it in the dryer,
and in a couple sunny days or 4 or 5 cloudy days, it is crisp and can be stored for a long time without any electricity.
Chard, kale, nettles and mint:
Also dried are rhubarb, sumach berries, zucchini and stevia.
Pears are next.
Sorry the image is sideways. The dryer is tall & I was holding the camera over my head pointing toward the ground.
And we are looking forward to drying a bunch of apples. They have worked well in past years.
Lots of beans have dried on the plants.
These guys didn't seem to eat much where we found them in the garden, but we have wondered what their mom was up to.
The terraced floor for the Summer Kitchen was completed just in time for Kids Camp. It is about 1000 sq. ft. The barrel on the grill is full of straw that will feed Oyster mushrooms.
A pipe, now burried, runs to
a dry well for the eventual sink.
And the stone wall to retain the gravel floor for the eating area is under way.
The firewood is in.
Tim's inovative approach with birch-bark.
Much more preserving to do before there is much call for heating. Pickles are in and tomato chutney. Tomato sauce is bubbling away as I type.
More on the Eco-Village project at: