THE END OF THE SEASON
We
have pulled our last tomato plant and pulled the remaining carrots. In a few
days I will put the strawberries to bed as well as protect the blueberries and
rhubarb from our winter visitors. The asparagus is not quite ready to cut down
and straw over yet, another week perhaps. Our weather has jumped to 35 degrees
at night,with a high of 42!! I knew we would be having an early and quick Fall,
there were just too many caterpillars already in September.
We
had our first fire in the wood stove last night and all day today, so that
routine will begin earlier too. I keep a kettle of kindling, a kettle of paper ,
and a BIG wood box, full, next to the stove. we have a large covered wood box on
the back porch we fill once a week, so I can replenish the inside box
easier.
This
is the time of year that I pick up my knitting again, and my sewing, as I am
indoors more. I miss my knitting!
I
also start thinking about next year..what to plant, where, how much, when. What
did well this year, and what did'nt, perhaps I need to move things around. There
are three companies I will be studying this winter, and hope to order from them.
They carry a lot of plants that are hard to find, and heirloom seeds.
jungseed.com
eBurgess.com
rhshumway.com
All
three have good pricing on plants, bulbs and seeds, that I want to try next
year- It is hard to find old fashioned varieties, and I am most interested in
the old fashioned snow ball bush- hydrangea- the blooms are huge and
white.
I
have a 1937 planting guide, from Rural Progress Magazine, that will give you
interesting insights to what people were doing at that time, for feeding their
families.
For
EACH person, in the family, you will need to plant:
8
crowns asparagus
60'
beans
10'
early beets
10'
late beets (this refers to spring and fall plantings)
18
cabbage plants- early
18
cabbage plants- late
15'
carrots- early
15'
carrots-late
8
cauliflower plants
8
celery plants
100'
corn
9'
lettuce-early
6'
lettuce-late
20'
onions
6'
parsnips
45'
peas
5'
radishes- plant every 2 weeks.
15'
spinach-early
15'
spinach-late
36'
string beans
1
squash-early (summer)
3
squash- late (winter)
15
tomato plants
These
are a selection, for a garden, obviously, not all vegetables are listed, but
these were the most common then.
Keep
in mind, this is what people grew to feed their families for the year, per
person. All these things can be combined to make many , many things, canned, or
frozen, or dried, for the winter. Amazing, huh?
We
have never planted anywhere NEAR these amounts, but every year is different, and
we have been known to plant a lot of some, and not so much of another. The herbs
planted are astounding!! The use of dill, green onions, first as chives, then
later for the onions, basil, thyme, a HUGE list, for the perennials.
So..
I am looking, thinking, planning, drawing it out, it will take me a few months
to decide what I want to do come Feb., as we will re-plant strawberries then, to
always have a strong on-coming crop.
I
have thoughts for growing gourds. I grew mini gourds several years ago and loved
them, but never had the time nor space to work with the larger varieties, and
they are curious to me. This next year will be my "gourd year"!!
SOUR CREAM PUMPKIN PIE - from 1979
1,
9" unbaked pie crust
3/4
c packed dark brown sugar
2
T sugar
2
t cinnamon
1/2
t each, salt, cloves, nutmeg
1/8
t allspice
3
eggs
2
c canned or cooked, mashed, fresh pumpkin
1
1/2 c sour cream ( this takes the place of the evaporated milk recipes always
use)
Mix
all together well, bake, 375 degrees, 50-60 mins, till tested clean with
toothpick.
15 comments:
That IS an amazing list!! Yes. And just think how healthy people were eating compared to now.
Good Morning Vickie,
It is really an amazing list. We should be eating like that today, but not all of us are, myself included.
Marilyn
Really incredible that so much would be planted for one person. It looks like an amount for a very large family. Even with freezing and canning, 100 feet of corn, 36 cabbage plants, 15 tomato plants??
Pumpkin Pie is my favorite, and I never saw a recipe like this one. I'm going to try it. Thanks Sue Ann.
Doreen
Hi Doreen-
The sour cream makes a creamier pie, and a lot easier to get into the oven!! Not as "loose", as using evaporated milk.
In 1937, I would guess most families were seven to ten children....so...a lot was needed! I have had this list for years and read it all the time and think..NO WAY am I planting that many cabbages!!! LOL!!! I am already busy enough with 6 tomato plants and 3 cherry ones!!! I think 15 would do me in!!!
Marilyn, it would be neat if you asked Jean, Martha, and Elmer....how many plants they use each year......of a few different veggies....
Sue Ann, do you use a glass or metal pie dish? My family has always used Pyrex glass dishes to bake our pies, but once in a while the bottom crust isn't as brown as I would like it to be. My sister thought maybe we should try metal ones. Just curious what you use.
Doreen
Hi Sue Ann and Doreen,
I wish have to ask Jean or Elmer how much they plant each year. They do sell a great deal of what they plant, I know that.
I haven't used a glass dish in the oven since I had one blow on me as I was taking it out of the oven. Lucky I steppted out of the way fast and didn't get hurt, but I had glass all over the place. After that I went and bought all metal dishes.
Marilyn
I use a pottery dish...made right here in Ohio!! LOL!! Have had it...oh, 30 yrs ...If that one is being used, I do pyrex, but the ones I have are from my grandma.....when they were first made!! They are a little deeper and a bit wider...to get the crust to brown better, bake it first, for 10 ins...just til it begins to turn color..then take it out, and let cool while you are mixing the pie together. Use the oven rack in the center of the oven, and place the pie in the center of that-about half way back into the oven- that should brown the bottom crust alright.
MARILYN! You must have taken a hot dish out into a very cold area!!! Mercy!! Or, did it have any air bubbles in it, or cracks?! Man! That would scare the skin off my bones!!!!
I do have some Corning Wear that was my Mom's and I keep just because she used it and that was made here, right here, in Corning, NY. I spoke to a friend of mine who is a chef and she told me that all glass wear should be replaced ever 10 or 15 years. If you don't, the glass can break up like it did for me that night. I was in Florida, at the time the dish blew. I had rolls on it and took it out of the oven and was going to set it on top of the stove,. But as soon as I opened the door and started to take it out it blew. My Mother had that happen to her once, too. My niece's husband is a chef and he said the same thing. You should replace all the glass where every 10 years because after that it may blow. It is only made to last so many years. His restaurant replaces the glass wear every 5 years.
Marilyn
Oh how interesting about replacing the glass ware. I have my mom's glass pie plates from 40 years ago, and that's what I use to make my pies. I better do some shopping soon.
Come to think of it, my favorite coffee mug was clear glass and it came from my friends parents house after they passed away. I used it everyday for years. One day I dropped it on my hardwood floor, and to my surprise it shattered in a thousand pieces. I could see if it was a tile or cement floor, but I was shocked at what happened on a wood floor. So now I realize that it was probably the age of the glass that did it.
More learning tips on New York State Of Mind!!
Doreen
I never knew that about glass...you think glass lasts forever...huh! I agree with Doreen, always learning here....
Corning ware- now THERE is a good product! I am with Doreen, maybe I need to do some shopping..before I get a surprise!
1) I wonder what that list would look like today -- how much have hybrid seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides changed since 1937?
Some stuff like carrots, onions, cabbage I doubt have changed much.
But I'd suspect today's yields on corn and tomatoes is much higher.
2) The other factor is changing dietary needs. A rural family in '37 would've been using a lot more calories day-to-day -- for example, the kids likely walked to school rather than took a bus.
Figure families on horse-powered farms averaged 4,000 calories/person compared to "modern" Americans aiming for 2,000 calories a day.
3) Call me skeptical, but I'd trust old glassware than modern glassware.
Since sometime in the 1990s Pyrex kitchen products in the U.S. is no longer made of borosilicate glass but cheaper soda-lime glass.
Pyrex laboratory products worldwide and Pyrex kitchen products in Europe are still made with borosilicate glass.
Thanks for that information Matt. You used words that I've never heard of. I also have a new glass pie plate along with my vintage ones from Mom. I wonder if I would be able to tell the difference between the two of them. Sometimes the logo changes every so many years so that their products can be dated.
I agree that the lifestyle has changed so much that the calories consumed would change too. All I could think of was that there must have been a well worn path to the privy after eating all those veggies. I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, but 36 cabbages for one person?? Wow!
Doreen
You know, I didn't quite think of the cabbage thing till right now...but you are right.
When I make coleslaw, I can barely eat half a cabbage worth within a week, and my cabbages are probably on the small side. 36 worth of them in a year? Nuh-uh.
Other thing with those garden quantities, perhaps they were also adding in enough in case some failed -- something like if the potatoes fail, at least you have enough sauerkraut to make it through the winter.
Speaking of Sauerkraut, I have some recipes coming on tomorrow. Also, have some vinegar recipes coming on, too.
Marilyn
I think in some of those plantings, it was the old rule of thumb, much like seeds- you plant 3 seeds, one for the birds, one for the soil, and one to grow. As to the cabbages....it was used a lot in pickling too...and a LOT of kraut was made...for the winter.
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