The Everything Guide to Living Off the Grid (15 page)

Grapevines can be planted in the spring as soon as the soil dries out enough to be worked. Prepare a small hole and set the plants to the same level as in the pot in which you purchased them. Clip the top off the vine, leaving only two buds near the soil line. Plant the grapes at least 8 to 10 feet apart. Mulch them to help keep the roots moist.

Bramble Berries—Red and Black Raspberries and Blackberries

Brambles prefer full sunlight and grow best in well-drained, sandy loam soils rich in organic matter. Berries prefer a soil pH of 5.6 to 6.2. Avoid low areas that remain wet late into the spring. However, you should ensure that the plants receive plenty of water during dry periods.

You should also be aware of what was planted prior to putting in the brambles. Certain vegetables like tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and eggplants carry a fungus called
Verticillium
. This fungus lives in the soil for four
to six years and attacks plants from their roots. Brambles are highly susceptible to
Verticillium
.

You will want to plant your brambles in the early spring, but wait until any danger of frost has passed. When you are planting the individual canes, be sure to keep them moist during the process. Dig a small hole; it should be large enough for the roots to spread out, but not so large that the plants would be set deeper than they were in the nursery.

The ancient Greeks utilized blackberries as a remedy for gout, and the flowers and fruit were also used to treat venomous bites. Eating the berry was known to stop looseness of the bowels, and the young shoots, combined with a little alum, were eaten in a salad to fasten loose teeth.

Make sure the soil around both the roots and the plant is firm. Then generously water each plant.

Blueberries contain significant quantities of both antibacterial and antiviral compounds, and have a reputation in northern Europe of fighting infections. They may also help protect against heart disease.

Blueberries

Blueberries prefer full sunlight and grow best in well-drained, sandy soils rich in organic matter with a soil pH of 4 to 4.5. When planting, dig a hole 18 inches deep and 18 inches wide. Mix equal amounts of peat moss with top soil and pour into the hole until it is filled 4 inches from the top. Set the plant and cover the roots with the remaining peat–soil mix.

Space plants 5 feet apart in rows 10 feet apart. Apply 4 inches of sawdust or wood-chip mulch in a 2-foot-wide band after planting. Beginning the next year, maintain a 4-inch mulch depth in a 4-foot band over the life of the planting.

Blueberry bushes need at least one to two inches of water per week. In dry seasons, supplemental watering is essential to obtain good yields of high-quality fruits. Once you reach early fall, however, do not apply extra water unless the soil is very dry.

Remove blossoms that appear in the first year of planting and second year after planting to stimulate vigorous growth.

Wild Fruit

Mulberries, elderberries, and wild raspberries are just some of the bounties of nature that can be found throughout the countryside. These berries often have unique qualities and should be considered part of your harvest.

Mulberries

Mulberries resemble blackberries in shape and size and also have many seeds. They’re fully ripe when black and soft. They are less tart and less pleasant-tasting than blackberries, but they are healthy to eat. One way to harvest mulberries is to spread a sheet of cloth or plastic underneath the tree, and then shake the branches so the fruit will fall onto the blanket. Mulberries will stain anything and everything they touch, so you should wear gloves while you harvest them. You need to process mulberries immediately, either by preserving them in a jelly or freezing them.

Elderberries

Elderberries resemble chokecherries, only they are smaller. Elderberries grow all over the United States, usually by the side of country roads. The black elderberries are the sweetest and can be used for juices and dried for baking. Elderberries grow in clusters, like grapes. The best way to harvest them is to hold a bowl underneath the cluster and snip the cluster from the tree. Elderberry blossoms are used for teas. Elderberries are also used for medicinal purposes.

Black elderberry extract has been found to be effective against the H5N1 strain of avian flu in humans. Black elderberry extract can help protect healthy cells and deactivate viruses. When given to patients, scientists have found the black elderberry extract has the ability to ward off flu infections.

Wild Raspberries and Blackberries

These berries are usually found in wooded areas. If you decide to go berry picking in the wilderness, be sure you examine the area around you closely—berries are also a favorite treat for bears. Wild berries are usually smaller than their domestic counterparts, but often sweeter. Wear long sleeves and gloves to protect yourself from the thorns surrounding the fruit. For harvesting, slip a bucket underneath the bush and as you pull the berries off the bush, and let them drop down into the bucket. You can use these berries as you would domestic raspberries and blackberries in preserves and jellies. You also can freeze them.

CHAPTER 9
Canning and Preserving Food

You will find that there is nothing as satisfying as looking at row after row of jars on the shelves in your kitchen that contain the literal fruits of your labors. Canning and preserving was the way our ancestors stored foods for the winter months. But there was more to it than just storing; they harvested their produce at the peak of freshness and captured it in a jar. Opening a jar of peach preserves on a cold winter’s morning can transport you back to summertime. Knowing that your family will be well fed with nutritious and delicious food will give you a wonderful sense of well-being.

Canning Your Harvest

Whenever you can your harvest, you want to start out with fresh and unspoiled food. Remove any spots of decay. Wash foods thoroughly in clean water. Keep cold foods, especially meats, cold until you are ready to can them.

How you will can your food depends on it’s pH content. The more acidic the food, the less heating time or less heat is required to destroy bacteria. Foods with less acidity need more time or more heat in order to be safe. Most fruits are more acidic and can be canned using a water-bath method. However, vegetables like corn and beans are less acidic and so must be canned using a pressure cooker. Tomatoes have always been in the middle, and it was recommended that water-bath canning was fine. But recently researchers discovered that the acid content of tomatoes depends on where they were grown as well as their variety and ripeness.

It is imperative that you can your foods for the correct amount of time in the correct manner.

Botulism is caused by a certain kind of bacterium,
Clostridium botulinum,
that is practically everywhere in the soil. The bacteria themselves are not poisonous in their dormant state. However, when heated, the spores in the bacteria begin to grow and form a toxin. The spores are resistant to heat and thrive in an airless, low-acid, and low-sugar-content atmosphere. They are killed, however, by the 240°F temperatures achieved by heating under pressure.

Botulism toxin is one of the most deadly poisons known on earth. If you merely touch a finger to it and touch that finger to your lips to taste, you could get enough toxins to kill you. Luckily, the number of botulism cases are rare, but one death is too many. This isn’t meant to frighten you away from home canning, because hundreds of thousands of people successfully home can their produce every year. This is to remind you that you cannot take shortcuts when it comes to preserving your food.

Before you begin canning look at your equipment, especially your jars. Most canning jars are made to be used year after year. Throw away
any chipped or cracked jars. Canning lids are meant to be used only once. Throw away any old canning lids. Rings can be used over and over again, unless they don’t fit tightly. Check your pressure cooker; usually your Extension System office will have information on pressure cooker checkups in the spring.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture offers a twenty-five-page booklet through the Extension service that explains what you need to know about canning, including a section titled “How Much Should I Can?” You can find that booklet at
extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/pub__1510735.pdf
.

Water-Bath Canning

For water-bath or steam-bath canning you need jars, lids, rings, a canning kettle, a rack, and a jar lifter. Place the prepared fruit in sterile, clean hot jars, covered with either water or syrup depending on your recipe. Put the lid and ring on immediately and tighten. Lower the jar into your kettle of boiling water. You will need a rack on the bottom of your kettle for the jars to sit on. Without a rack, the jars could break. The kettle has to be tall enough and the water deep enough so the water will cover the jars by at least 1 to 2 inches at all times. If the processing will take a long time, have an auxiliary kettle filled with boiling water waiting to replace the evaporated water. Once you have filled the kettle with your jars, make sure the water is at a boil, place the lid on the kettle, and set your timer.

Once the correct amount of time has passed, remove the jars with a jar lifter and place them on top of a towel or wooden board on your table or counter. As they cool you will hear the sound of popping, which indicates the lids have sealed.

Start timing your next batch once the water has come to a boil again.

Pressure-Cooker Canning

Pressure canning is not only a wonderful way to preserve vegetables, it’s also a great way to preserves meats, poultry, and fish.

Unlike a water-bath canner, the jars do not need to be completely covered with water in a pressure canner. The directions that come with your specific brand of pressure canner tell you how many cups of water to add in order for it to generate the right amount of pressure.