Plant of the Week: Evans Cherry

Evans Cherry (Prunus sp.)

Spring flowers

Ripening Fruit

Cherry trees produce a fruit that is either sweet (like the well known Bing) or sour (aka pie cherry).  Sweet cherries can be grown only as far north as Zone 5 and are not an option for northern gardeners.  Sour cherries are more tolerant and have long been known to grow in Zone 4, but the re-discovery of the Evan's Cherry brought cherry cultivation into Zone 3 and maybe even Zone 2!

The Evan's Cherry was re-discovered by a University of Saskatchewan horticulturist (Dr Evans) in the 1970's on a farm near Edmonton Alberta (Canada).  He found that the tree would readily propagate and was a tolerant, durable tree.  Initially the nursery market resisted the idea that cherry trees could survive in the northern prairies, but Evans was persistent and the tree now has a wide market in both the US and Canada.  In the US, the Evans Cherry is often marketed as the Bahli or Bahli Evans Cherry and grafted onto a non-suckering root stock.

The Evans Cherry is self pollinating and produces an approximately one inch diameter, red skinned and yellow fleshed fruit mid - late summer.  It is considered a sour cherry but can be fairly sweet if allowed to fully ripen on the tree.  Considered a natural dwarf, the tree grows to about 15 feet tall.  Annual growth can be very vigorous under the right conditions, with the tree putting on 3 or 4 feet of new growth in one season.  Winter dormancy is stimulated by a dry period so it is important to not water the trees in the fall.

If you are interested in an Evans Cherry Pie recipe, check out my post from a couple of weeks ago.  We thought it was delicious! :D
Happy Gardening.

In the Kitchen: Evan's Cherry Pie

My husband has a passionate desire to grow trees, especially warm climate fruit trees.  After we bought our home, he almost immediately began to research cherry and peach trees trying to find a variety that could be grown in zone 4.  He found the Evan's (aka Bali) Cherry tree, which was developed in Canada, and decided he had to have it!  It had just been introduced to the US market at the time and was hard to find, but it has now been seven years since he planted two trees in our backyard.  We have had a very small crop for a couple of years due to poor pollination (bad timing of flowering), and birds who love to eat the bright red fruit.  Finally this year we were able to harvest enough fruit to make a pie! :D

I looked at several recipes before deciding to combine a couple and make my own version.  The result looked beautiful!  As for taste, we thought it had the perfect balance of sweet and sour cherry.  Give it a try and see what you think. :)

You will need to first harvest, clean and cool the fruit.  Once the fruit is cool, remove the pit.  (We purchased a cherry pitter that was worth every cent!  It quickly and efficiently removes the pits and was easy task for little helpers.)  Be aware that the flesh of the cherries will oxidize and turn brown once exposed to the air so freeze or use them quickly.

Evan's Cherry Pie

Ingredients:

1 c sugar (divided)
3 Tbs corn starch
1/2 c reserved cherry juice
4 c pitted cherries
1 drop red food coloring (optional)
2 9" pie crusts
1/4 c crystallized sugar

Instructions: 

1.  Preheat oven to 400F. 

2.  Drain and squeeze cherries to obtain about ½ c of juice and pour into a medium saucepan.  Combine 3/4 c sugar and the cornstarch.  Stir into the cherry juice.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened. 

3.   Remove from heat and gently stir in the remaining sugar, the cherries and optional red food coloring. 

 4.  Pour filling into crust lined 9 inch pie plate. Carefully cover with the top crust, seal and vent. 

5.  Bake 45 minutes or until crust browns and filling begins to bubble. If necessary, cover edges with aluminum foil during last 15 minutes to prevent over-browning. 

 Prepare the filling and fill the pie.

 

 Cool the pie well to allow the filling to thicken before slicing.

Good to the very last bite!

Happy Garden Eating! :D

Preserving Backyard Fruit: Nanking Cherry Jelly

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that the robins were spending a lot of time in our nanking cherry bushes so I went out to investigate.  Sure enough, the cherries were turning red and it was time to get the bushes covered.  Our bushes have gotten tall enough that I now have to 'sew' two 14ft wide nets together with twistie ties before I drape them over the bushes.  I also have to be sure that the net is secured to the ground at all points or the intrepid robins find their way in.

Earlier this week I noticed that a robin had found its way under the net but couldn't get out.  When I went to help it out, I found that most of the cherries were bright red and juicy... it was time to harvest! :)  The kids and I spent a couple of hours harvesting and got 3 ice cream buckets from 3.5 bushes.  I have to harvest the remaining bushes yet, but my fridge can only hold so many ice cream buckets so I spent time processing cherries into juice and then into jelly.  We love nanking cherry jelly/jam and syrup in our home and since we have syrup left from last year, I made jelly. 



First step: Remove the juice from the fruit.
1.  Wash and remove debris.

2.  Just cover the fruit with water and cook until the skin on the fruit starts to split.  (For this batch it took about 30 minutes.)

3. Remove the seeds and skins from the fruit.  I use an old fashion food mill and a little one anxious to help. ;)

Note: If you are looking for a clear, county fair blue ribbon product, you will want to strain the juice trough several layers of cheese cloth to remove the pulp.  I love the texture the pulp gives to the jelly and syrup.  I also cannot imagine wasting any of the fruit, so we mash out as much pulp as we can.


  
Second Step: Turn the juice into jelly.

1. Gather supplies and recipe.  I used Ball No Sugar Added Pectin this year and adjusted the 'sour cherry' recipe on the insert to fit my family.
 
Nanking Cherry Jelly
4 c juice
2 c sugar
1 pkg powdered pectin

2.  Stir the pectin into the juice in a 6-8 quart stock pot.  Heat to a rolling boil (cannot be stirred down) and quickly add all of the sugar.  Stirring continually, bring it back to a rolling boil.  Once at rolling boil, cook for one minute and immediately remove it from the heat.

3.  Skim off foam and ladle into 1 pint jars to within 1/4 inch of the top.  Adjust lids and process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes (for everyone under 1000 ft elevation).

4.  Cool and check lids for seal.  Reprocess or refrigerate unsealed jars. 







Third step: Label and store in a cool dry location.

And that is it!  What is better than turning the fruits of your labor into something that your whole family will enjoy for months to come!

Happy Gardening and Preserving! :D

Plant of the Week: Nanking Cherry

Nanking Cherry (Prunus tomentosa)

The nanking cherry is a member of the Rose family (Roseace) and a native of northern Asia.  It is a hardy, fast growing shrub that reaches about 8 ft at full height and has a cold hardiness rating of Zone 2.  It produces a bounty of fragrant white flowers in the spring that attract a wide variety of pollinators, and vibrant red cherries mid-summer that are a favorite of songbirds, as well as make great syrup and jelly.  (One plant can produce around a gallon of 1/2 inch cherries if they are protected from the birds.)  It comes as no surprise that this shrub is a frequent choice for shelter belts and hedges as well as for individual plantings.

Plant nanking cherries in full sun or minimal shade for best flowering and fruit production.  Two or more plants are required for cross pollination and should be planted a minimum of 4 ft apart.  Plants can be purchased as bare root stock or as root balls.  Dig the hole twice as wide as the root wad and deep enough so that it sits at the same depth as it was previously planted (top of the root ball or look for a darker mark on the main stem indicating the soil line on bare root stock).  Loosen the roots and place the plant in the hole.  Back fill about half full and tamp down before adding the remaining to the soil line.  Water deeply right away and for its first season.

Happy Gardening! :)

Plant of the Week: Strawberries

Garden Strawberries  (Fragaria × ananassa)

There is no strawberry like one that is garden raised, picked at the peak of ripeness, and popped straight into your mouth!  Modern strawberries are a hybrid and have been bred for generations, accounting for the many cultivar found today.  Some cultivars have been bred specifically for supermarkets and produce large. shelf stable fruit while others are bred to be extremely sweet and tender but do not tolerate much handling.

Strawberries come in June-bearing and Ever-bearing varieties.  June-bearing strawberries will produce fruit in June as their name indicates and are then done for the year.  Ever-bearing strawberries on the other hand, start producing in June and will continue to produce a small crop for the rest of the growing season.  Typically June-bearing varieties produce a larger harvest during their short season and are the preference of those who wish to freeze a few, but the ever-bearing will keep your table supplied all season long.

Strawberries can be planted in an in-ground bed, a raised bed, or in a container.  Plant strawberries in the spring once the chance of frost has past, in a bed or container prepared with a soil rich in organic matter and nutrients.  Most strawberries are purchase as started plants and can be found at garden centers or from mail order catalogs.  Just be sure to select a variety that is appropriate to your hardiness zone.  Plants should be spaced 15-24 inches apart in rows that are 12 inches apart to allow the plants to produce runners with daughter plants.  (Do not forget to provide yourself with a 2-3 ft wide path if your bed is more than four feet wide.)  Set each plant just deep enough so that the roots are all in the ground but the crown is not buried.  Water plants well and remove all flowers until the end of July to allow the plants to get established.  This will mean that June bearing plants will not produce fruit the first year.

Protect fruit from nature's thieves (birds, squirrels, etc) by covering them with netting as soon as plants start to turn pink.  Be sure to secure the net well as the wild creatures know as well as you do that this plant has a tasty fruit!  I have watched robins cruise the edge of bird netting looking for any gap in the defenses.  Protect the plants from the winter cold by covering the plants with a thick mulch of straw in the late fall.  Slowly remove the layer of mulch as temperatures rise in the spring but save the straw for mulching between the rows.  This inter-space mulching will help keep dirt and soil microbes that may cause rotting off the fruit as well as help retain soil moisture for the plants.

For more about strawberries, see also my post on Tip Junkie last summer, or how we made our raised bed this spring.  I hope you get a chance to enjoy a few garden fresh strawberries from your backyard this summer.

Happy Gardening! :)

Creating a New Strawberry Bed

 Old (sad) Strawberry Bed and New Strawberry Bed         

Moving our strawberries to a new location has been on my agenda for several years and this spring it has finally happened.  My inspiration/motivating factor was the redwood decking that we salvaged when we replaced our deck last summer.  I am dreaming of several garden 'tools' that I can make with this wood, but the strawberry bed is the first to reach fruition. :)  (I am hoping to get a couple of cold frames made this summer as well, so be watching for that.)

Last fall we sorted through the salvaged wood and pieced together the structure.

The structure of the bed (upside down until soil was added so kids didn't use it as a balance beam).

We cut four 7.5 ft lengths of 2x6 for the bottom tier, 5 ft lengths of 2x4 for the second, and 2.6 ft lengths of 2x4 for the third.  We chose to use 2x6s on the bottom tier and 2x4s for the top two tiers to give the bottom tier a little extra rooting depth before reaching our predominately clay soil.  The top two layers would have each of the layers below it to in addition to it's own so 2x4s should be adequate. The corner supports were cut from 4x4's.  The length of each layer's corner support was the width of it's sidewall plus the sidewalls below it (bottom: 6 inches, middle: 4+6 inches, top: 4+4+6 inches).  Each layer was assembled using 3 inch wood screws to secure the sidewalls to the 4x4 supports.

Once we had determined the location for the new bed, I laid down the bottom tier and covered the existing grass with a layer of cardboard and newspaper.

This layer of dense paper material will breakdown and become compost with time, but will prevent the grass from growing up through the new soil and invading my new bed right away.  Landscaping fabric would work as well, but I wanted to allow for the strawberry roots to penetrate down into the existing topsoil as well so I opted for the layer of cardboard/paper mulch.

Next we determined the alignment of the tiers and then added soil. 

Over the last 7 years I have been working large amounts of organic material into my veggie garden soil.  In the process is has become a raised bed and so I chose to pull soil from my garden to fill the strawberry bed.  My husband tilled a trailer load of aged goat manure & straw bedding, all of the compost we had generated from yard and household plant material over the last year, and some high nitrogen fertilizer (to compensate for the under composted bedding straw) into my garden.  The kids and I then transferred soil into the new strawberry bed (hubby had to go back to work :}).  Great 'physical education' for all of us! ;)

Once the soil is in place, it is time to plant. 

When establishing a new strawberry bed, it is important to start with young, healthy plants.  Either plan ahead and root runners from an existing bed into pots, or purchase plants from a garden center or garden mail order catalog.  If purchasing plants, be sure to select a variety that will be hardy in your zone.  If you question what varieties are good for your area, it is always a good idea to contact your local county extension agent or master gardener.  Plant strawberries so that the roots are entirely covered but the crown in not buried.  It is important to remove all flowers from June-bearing strawberries and from ever-bearing strawberries until the end of July.  This is done to give the plant sufficient time to establish itself before trying to produce fruit.  Be sure to water the strawberries well while they getting established.

Good Luck & Happy Gardening! :)

Rhubarb, One of Spring's First Fruits

New flower stalk (left) and new leaf bud (right).

I was out enjoying my yard last week and realized that my rhubarb is already starting to send up flower stalks!  Yikes, already!  Here is a friendly reminder to remove all flower stalks from your rhubarb throughout the growing season.  The 'fruit' portion of rhubarb is the petiole, or the stalk, of the leaf.  Flowers suck energy from the stores in the root which is where the energy comes to produce the 'fruit' leaves in the spring. 

I also realized that my rhubarb is ready to harvest.  (Is it really just the first of May?!?!)  When harvesting rhubarb, grab the leaf stalk close to the soil and pull up the whole petiole (stalk) and leaf.  Remove the leave portion and add it to your compost pile. You can remove up to about half of the leaf area from one plant at a time, but be sure to let the plant restore itself before you harvest again.  You can continue to harvest until the end of June and then you will need to leave it alone so the plant can spend the rest of the summer storing energy in its roots for next spring.

For more information on rhubarb here or in my Plant of the Week series.

Happy Gardening & Harvesting! :)

Baked Caramel Apple Pancakes

This apple treat is a fall favorite in my home.  My mom clipped the original recipe out of the newspaper and passed it on to me a few years ago.  I have since adjusted it for our tastes and preferences.  It is another recipe that I'm sure your family will enjoy as much as mine! :)

Baked Caramel Apple Pancake

(Serves 4)

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Saute' apples in butter and brown sugar in an oven safe 9 " skillet.

2 large apples peeled & sliced
1/2 c butter
2/3 c brown sugar

3. Meanwhile, combine in a large bowl the following pancake ingredients:

1 c buttermilk
1/4 c whole wheat flout
3/4 c all purpose flour
1 Tbs sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
2 Tbs oil

4. Slowly pour the pancake batter over the sauteing apples, and cook on the stove top until it begins to bubble.

5. Move to the oven and bake for 12-17 minutes.

6.  Serve hot with country sausage, bacon or ham.  No syrup necessary!

If you like this apple recipe, you might check out my Apple Muffin recipe as well. 

Happy Harvest Cooking! :)

Old Fashion Recipe Exchange

Super Moist Apple Muffins

'Tis the season when apples are in abundance!   I shared with you a few weeks ago about the 35 gallon tote full of apples my husband picked for me, and since we have been enjoying many apple treats!  I hope to share a few with you over the next several weeks and here is the first.

A few years ago a friend shared this recipe with me.  I have made some slight changes to fit my family since then, but it has stood the test of time (and many breakfasts!) at my house and I think it will at yours too.  Enjoy! :)

Apple Muffins

2 c flour
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 box instant pudding (your preference, Devil's Food chocolate was used in the batch pictured above)
3/4 c sugar
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 c butter/margarine (melted)
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2/3 c milk (more if too thick)
2 c chopped apples

Pre-heat oven to 400F.  Grease or line muffin tin. In large bowl, combine dry ingredients and mix well.  In a separate bowl combine butter, milk, eggs and vanilla.  Add to flour mixture and stir until moist.  Mix in apples.  Spoon into the muffin tin.  Bake in upper 1/3 of oven for 20 - 25 minutes or a toothpick comes out clean.

Makes about 24 muffins.

Happy Harvest Cooking! :)

Little House On The Prairie Living: Old Fashion Recipe Exchange