Sunflowers

Here's a picture taken in August 3rd of 2008. Weslee's, my son,was standing in front of our corn patch (actually, our "Three Sisters" patch: corn, squashes, beans and some sunflowers) in his gardening outfit, shortly before everything had a huge growth spurt.

Some of the corn stalks (closest to the fence and shed) reached over 9 foot tall, and the sunflowers grew mostly to 8 foot. We sowed mammoth sunflower seeds, so when they grew to their fullest heights and start forming the faces, we were amazed and stunned.

This second picture shows what we see from out side by the driveway. Ivy and honeysuckle in front, corn and sunflowers in the back. Imagine coming home from a hard day of work and seeing the tall sunflowers peeking over the fence. What a wonderful greeting.

That was our experimental year, where we had only 1/12 of an acre, on which our house and driveway also sat.  So...yes, we learned a lot. We learned to plant only one sunflower per square foot or more so that they will have room to spread out their leaves. We learned that the roots are so strong that they will help break up clay soil and aerate deep down. We learned to not harvest them too early: the faces will droop down under the weight of mature seeds, the backs of the faces will begin to turn from green to yellow then brown, and that the window of harvest is small: as soon as the backs begin to turn, the birds will find them. We tied paper bags around the heads (with a few holes for ventilation) until we harvested them the day before our first frost.

We harvested 9 heads from the backyard. We kept them in their bags and put them in the basement to continue curing. Be sure to keep them up to prevent mice and other critters from getting to them.

Some time in mid-Summer, we decided to plant some sunflowers in the front yard too, to hide an aspen tree that died and needed to cut down. So, even though they got a late start, several seeds took hold and grew up. One only made it to about 3 feet tall (I planted the seeds too close together) but the other 4 grew tall.

They survived our first frost. When I went out to check on them, look who I saw! These last two pictures show the deep blue Colorado sky, our biggest front-yard sunflower and our friend, the butterfly. This butterfly let me watch almost 10 minutes, as it sunned its wings and enjoyed the bounty of the flower.

Sunflowers brighten up anyone's day, and provide great nutrition. Once you get the hang of it, it's obvious when to harvest. Back of faces turn color. Paper bag them (we poked holes in the grocery bags, then tied them with twine). Before the first frost, cut them down, taking plenty of the stalk so you can hang them from the ceiling. Before hanging, if there are any yellow petals still covering the seeds, carefully brush them away. Re-bag, tie, and hang. Keep them in a cool dry place, in the paper bag, until the seeds fall out when gently shaken. Roast or freeze to keep from going rancid.

If you have goats, they love the stalks, and all kinds of farm critters like the leaves.

Great source of nutrition, and a fun snack. AND they are a great way to (1) break up rocky and clay-y soil and (2) a stealth food plant.

 

Here's a nutritional chart on sunflower seeds I found at: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=57

Check out the nutrients, vitamins and minerals. One ounce of sunflowers seeds provides 5 grams of protein, 241 grams of potassium, 170 calories (of which 130 are from fat - the good kind), fiber, sugar, Vitamin E, folate and more.
 

These are SO easy to grow and look at the benefits. Meanwhile, remember you can make oil from the seeds, and be sure to save some seeds to plant next year (don't roast, freeze, or dehydrate the seeds you plan to plant).

Vikki

Food Foraging - The Mighty Oak

Oak trees can provide a lot for people who live off the land.  The acorns can provide food for us humans, but also quite bountiful to bring in wildlife, from turkeys and other birds, to deer, raccoons, possums and so much more. 

The leaves and the acorns are edible by us humans ... cooked or raw.  More about the acorns in a moment. The leaves are best when young and tender, and if picked then, can be dehydrated to store for winter's use. I imagine you can probably fry them with tempura batter just like maple leaves.

The bark can be used as a tea to stimulate appetite, improve digestion, and to help your body fight off cough, bronchitis, fever, colds and diarrhea.  It can also be applied directly to the skin as a poultice or compress, or you can add it to your bath water for red itchy skin from cold exposure, and for swelling and pain in mouth, throat, anal, and genital regions.

And, of course, you can use the wood, branches, and trunk to burn or make a variety of beautiful furniture. Remember, liquor cures well in oak casks and barrels!


ACORNS:
As with most all seeds, acorns from the oak are a fairly good source of protein.

Now, acorns ... yes, they are bitter and can be nasty tasting (tannin: bitter and astringent compounds), but this can be mitigated.  Lay out the acorns and allow to dry. This will make them easier to take off the shell/husk.  OR freeze fresh to get off the papery husks, etc.

Shell and immediately place in water until you are all done.  Place the nutmeats and water (half and half) in a blender, whir to pulverize. Do it in small batches. (If you are doing this without electricity, use a mortar and pestle.)

Place the mixture in glass jar or ceramic container with a tight cap. Put in a cool place, below 75 degrees, to prevent fermenting.  Change the water every morning, using a strainer PLUS cheesecloth so you won't lose the acorn fat, oil or flour.  Be sure to shake the jar or stir thoroughly so that all of the flour touches water.  This is called "cold leaching"; do not boil as this could kill the starch and gluten.

You will know when the flour is ready when you can place a little in your mouth and taste, basically, blandness. It could take anywhere from three to ten days.

Do a final strain with REAL cheesecloth over a bowl (you'll need this remainder liquid). Squeeze every drop of water out that you can. The lump remaining should seem like a ball of clay.

Take the bowl with the remainder liquid in it. Let it settle for one hour. Carefully scoop out the top water.  When you have only sludge on the bottom, which is acorn fat and starch, use a spatula to scrape it into whatever you are drying your acorn flour in.

Dry the flour on a baking sheet (cheesecloth on bottom and across the top to prevent bug contamination) in a hot room or garage, or use a solid fruit-roll-up dehydrator tray. Set the dehydrator to its lowest setting. Check every hour or two. Dry until completely absent of moisture. Carefully store.

Yes, it's a lot of work, but when you are in a situation where you really need to do this, you can.  Consider the Ancient Peoples of North America ... they would do this often, not just with acorns but many other nut meats.  They obviously didn't have blenders or glass jars so they used a mortar and pestle, tightly woven baskets and warm rocks.

For a coffee substitute, shell, soak, bake then grind.

To use as flour, add a little water, pat into a little flat rounds and bake on a hot rock. Make it a little tastier by adding chopped dandelion leaves, wild chives or onions, dried or powdered fruit or veggies, and, of course, maybe a beaten egg (rob that nest!).


ADVICE: Take a walk around your neighborhood.  Make a note of any oak trees. When acorns start to drop, gather as many as you can (probably should ask permission) and experiment with them.  This is an EXCELLENT stealth foraging opportunity.