The Quarter-Acre Farm Read online

  DATE: March 17th

  AVAILABLE IN THE GARDEN: snap peas, onions, thyme, sorrel, eggs

  RECIPE: Sorrel/snap pea frittata with strips of red pepper (freezer)

  Notes

  A good number of pages in my journal are filled with lists of things to do in the garden. While I’ve got a pen in hand, I then make some notes about what’s growing, or how the squirrels are eating the almonds, or the way the chickens scratch like they’ve learned dance steps. I like to go back to read what was happening a year ago, or two, and I’m always gratified to find that eventually I did accomplish the jobs on my list, even if it did take me a while.

  Notes on the start of my garden:

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I know that I will forget to include someone in this long list of people I am grateful to. Unfortunately, and most likely, the person I forget will be someone of utmost importance. Let me apologize to you in advance.

  For the rest I had an idea that I would categorize people and thank them in groups, such as “readers,” “editors,” “mentors,” “family,” “neighbors,” “friends-who-lent-me-books-or-bought-me-whiskey.” However, there was far too much overlap for such a system to work.Instead, I’ll start with “A.”

  Thank you, Emily Albu and Alan Taylor, for tomatoes, wine, root beer, and happy travels. Thank you to my neighbors who have put up with a farm in the neighborhood and the goose noise that goes with it, especially Elaine and Richard, who bear the brunt of the honking, and Laura, Phil, Siena, and Daniel Cox who helped out in so many ways, including providing me with a freezer when I was in great need of it, and a charming weeder (Daniel) on my birthday. Thanks to Judith and Terry for the lemons, Jay for the gardening help, the Chertoks for the orange sticks, and Kate Scow for her soil science expertise.

  Thanks to Krista Lyons, Domini Dragoone, Andie East, Merrik Bush-Pirkle, and all of the people at Seal Press for making The Quarter-Acre Farm the best it could be. Thanks to Angie Ehrdrich for teaching me about purslane, Dan and Sheri Fields for the talented chickens, to Melissa Franke for introducing me to roasted tomato sauce, and to Laura Gross who is that rarified individual who can be both a spectacular agent and a spectacular friend. Thanks to Lloyd and Sarah Johnson who have patiently taught me about the farming life.

  Thanks to Ari and Leslie Kelman, Gail Schneider, and David Matlin not only for friendship but also for being such huge supporters of the Quarter-Acre Farm idea from the very beginning.

  Thanks to Marie Lee for being a great writing pal—we will end up at a retreat together sometime soon—and to John Lescroart and Lisa Sawyer for being stellar mentors and friends. I most certainly would not have gotten far without you. Thank you cheese muse Sacha Loren, and thank you to my Sallys—Sally Madden the computer genius and fellow discontent, and Sally McKee the writer and historian who throws a great party, cooks like a maniac, and who also introduced me to Roxanne O’Brien who I thank for her culinary expertise as well.

  I want to thank Mike Madison, yet another farmer with a generous heart, for reading QAF chapters; Josie Moody, the best niece in the entire world, for sharing writing with me; Deb Nemier for the keyhole garden idea, Roxy O’Brien for reading my recipes, Dr. Barbara Renwick for reassuring Louis about his wife’s health, Chris Reynolds and Alessa Johns for providing me with books and delightful dinners, Gingy Scharff for her gardening acumen and historical perspective, and Steve Shapson for sharing his mushroom expertise.

  Thanks to Carol Kirshnit and Paul Siegel for counsel, latkes, and the fruit of the vine; to Joannie and Clay Siegler for all your help and the best walnuts on the planet; Chuck Krause for seeds and plants, and Deb Neimeier for keyhole gardens.

  Thanks to Gary Snyder for sharing the poetry of a handmade life.

  Loud and long thank yous to all of the Streeters—my mother and father, Mary and Bob; my sister, Summer; and my brother, Nathan—for appearing in this book again and again, and for loving me even though I am the middle child and now a tattle-tale.

  Thank you Diane Ullman for being one of the fantasy sisters and teaching me about bugs, Deb Vanderlist, a fellow small scale farmer, and Eileen Rendahl and Andy Wallace, who most definitely aren’t. Also, Eileen . . . just forever thanks. From writing stuff to kid stuff, broken ankles and ailing cats, there are too many ways I depend on you to list here.

  Shawna Yang Ryan—I can’t imagine being a writer without you there to scheme with, complain to, to ask for edits from, and to celebrate with. And if we weren’t writers, we would still be fast friends.

  Thank you Yaddo for not only a wonderful place to write, but for inviting the most amazing writers to come at the same time I did. Thanks also to the beautiful Ucross Foundation for the time to write in Wyoming, and finally to the Mesa Refuge, where I put the final edits on the book and tested the QAF recipes on gracious tasters Peter Barnes, Jacob and Gail Needleman, and David Sassoon.

  Of course, those that I am most grateful to are my guys. They have all contributed hugely to this effort. Sam was one of my editors, an epicurean of high standards, a fellow animal lover (and wrangler), and a convert to the QAF. Jesse not only illustrated the book but also provided lots of help on the farm, from physical labor to artistic sensibility to horticultural expertise. Further, he brought the darling Nicole into our fold, who knows food and farming and makes a lovely bottle of wine. I couldn’t ask for better kids.

  As for Louis: while he wasn’t always a good sport about the Quarter-Acre Farm, he is always a good sport about me telling people he wasn’t a good sport. He was my first reader, an indispensable editor, and a smart critic. He is also a mulch mover of the highest order and a great weeder. He really does love our little farm underneath it all.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Spring Warren was born in Casper Wyoming to parents who designed water treatment plants for a living but also managed to spin wool, throw pottery, and name each of their three children after seasons. Spring graduated from Black Hills State College in Spearfish, South Dakota, and she received an M.A. in Creative Writing from the University of California, Davis. Her novel Turpentine (Grove Atlantic, 2008), won the bronze medal in ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year for Historic Fiction, was a recommended title of the New York Center for Independent Publishing, and was a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers selection.

  INDEX

  A

  acorn squash

  albatross mosquito-hawk

  albumen

  Alotta Frittata

  aluminum foil

  alyssum

  Amanita muscaria

  Anasazi beans

  anchovies

  angelica

  antioxidants

  ants

  aphids

  apple juice

  apple pears

  apples

  apricots

  aqueducts

  arsenic trioxide

  artichokes

  artificial refrigeration

  assassin beetles

  automaticity

  automatic watering systems

  azuki beans

  B

  Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)

  bacteria

  baked bananas

  Bascomb, William

  basil

  beans

  acidity effects

  cooking tips

  garden space

  gas

  Green-Chile Chili

  growing and harvesting

  nutritional ranking

  salt

  soaking

  soil

  bee balm

  Beefmaster tomato

  beer

  Beet and Chevre Sandwiches

  beet greens

  beets

  Beet and Chevre Sandwiches

  edibility

  growing considerations

  nutritional ranking

  Roasted Tomato Sauce

  root length

  soil

  beneficial insects

  bentonite cla
ys

  Better Boy tomato

  bindweed

  birds

  birdseed

  Birdseye, Clarence

  Bison priscus

  black beans

  black olives

  black scurf

  black whisker mold

  blight

  blue jays

  blue potatoes

  Borden, Gail

  Borrell, Brendan

  broccoli

  Alotta Frittata

  cabbage worms

  edibility

  flowers

  growing considerations

  broken foot incident

  Broom

  browned butter

  buckwheat

  budgets

  see free garden supplies

  bugs

  bush beans

  Bush, Mrs.

  butter beans

  butternut squash

  C

  cabbage

  cabbage moths/cabbage worms

  cactus paddles/cactus fruit

  calendula

  California Experimental Station

  California-style pitted black olives

  Calistoga, California

  canaries

  Candied Orange Peel Dipped in Chocolate

  canned tomato incident

  canning

  Capra aegargus

  Carnation milk

  carnivorous insects

  carpenter bees

  carrots

  insects

  Roasted Tomato Sauce

  root length

  Carson, Rachel

  Casper, Wyoming

  Castroville, California

  cats

  cauliflower

  ceanothus

  Celebrity tomato

  Central Valley (California)

  feed lots

  frost/freeze damage

  potatoes

  temperatures

  chalazae

  chard

  Alotta Frittata

  edibility

  garden space

  growing considerations

  insects

  Roasted Tomato Sauce

  Cheaper by the Dozen (Gilbreth)

  cheese

  cherries

  cherry tomatoes

  chevre

  see goat cheese

  chicken houses

  chickens

  chickpeas

  Chilca, Peru

  chile, green

  Chili, Green-Chile

  China

  Chinese weeders

  chiogga beets

  chitin

  chitting

  chlorpyrifos

  Chocolate, Candied Orange Peel Dipped in

  choline

  Christmas gifts

  see homemade holiday mushroom kits

  Christy, Liz

  Chromelium fulva

  cilantro

  cinnamon brown mold

  clay

  clover

  Coalinga, California

  cockroaches

  cocoa hulls

  coffee grounds

  Colossus

  commercial beans

  company eyes

  compost

  cooperative work

  copper peptides

  cornichons

  cornmeal

  costs

  see free garden supplies

  Craigslist

  cranberry beans

  creeping Jenny

  see bindweed

  Crema de Caracal (snail cream)

  Crete

  crimini mushrooms

  cucumber beetles

  cucumbers

  diseases

  garden space

  pickling

  productivity

  Cullen, William

  cured olives

  D

  Dactylium

  daisies

  dandelions

  Davis, California

  garden space

  neighborhood covenants

  olive trees

  potatoes

  weed control

  DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane)

  dead trees

  deep watering

  dehydration

  Delft, Netherlands

  Delmas, A.

  de-pitting plums

  dermatitis palaestrae limosae

  desserts

  determinate tomatoes

  dill teenies

  dirt

  see also compost

  discarded plants

  domesticated animals

  Doratomyces

  Dow Chemical Corporation

  dragonflies

  dried beans

  dried fruits and vegetables

  drip irrigation systems

  see also irrigation systems

  driveways

  drupes

  ducks

  E

  earthworms

  edibility, plant

  eggplant

  frozen preservation

  garden space

  Roasted Tomato Sauce

  eggs

  Alotta Frittata

  chickens

  egg whites

  egg yolks

  geese

  nutritional value

  Potatoes and Eggs

  egrets

  elm trees

  end-of-year reflections

  endotoxins

  engineered plants

  ergothioneine

  escargot

  see snails

  escargotierre

  Escargot in Two Colors

  Euphates River Valley

  Eureka lemons

  evaporated milk

  F

  falling tree incident

  farmers

  see also Johnson, Lloyd

  farms

  fava beans

  fermentation

  figs

  as desserts

  Figs and Goat Cheese

  frozen preservation

  garden space

  insects

  Roasted Tomato Sauce

  fish pond

  floating row covers

  flowers

  Focaccia, Olive

  folate

  Food

  food preservaton

  canning

  dehydration

  fermentation

  frozen foods

  lemons

  pickling

  forest-green mold

  Franklin Expedition (1847)

  Freecycle Network

  free garden supplies

  freezer burn

  French green lentils

  French-style Escargot

  French Tart, Rough

  French Toast, Walnut

  frittatas

  frost/freeze damage

  frozen foods

  fruit

  dehydration

  as desserts

  frozen preservation

  health benefits

  Roasted Tomato Sauce

  Smoothies

  Walnut French Toast

  fruit flies

  fruit juice

  fruit trees

  fungi

  see also mushrooms

  fungus gnats

  fuyu persimmons

  G

  Gallus domesticus

  Gallus gallus

  garbanzo beans

  garden critique

  Garden Plan

  garden space

  garlic

  Alotta Frittata

  edibility

  Roasted Tomato Sauce

  geese

  aluminum can incident

  behaviors

  egg laying and hatching

  feeding choices

  watermelon rinds

  weed control

  see also Goosteau; Jeannette Pepin

  geophagy

  George (goose)

  Getting Started

  giantic pickles />
  Gibbons, Euell

  Gilbreth, Frank and Lillian

  give-aways

  gleaners

  glycoproteins

  gnats

  goat cheese

  Beet and Chevre Sandwiches

  Figs and Goat Cheese

  goats

  golden beets

  Goosteau

  aluminum can incident

  behaviors

  egg laying and hatching

  falling tree incident

  watermelon rinds

  weed control

  Gorrie, John

  Granny Smith apples

  Grape Nuts

  grapes

  Great Gatsby, The (Fitzgerald)

  Great Northern beans

  Greek olives

  green chile

  Green-Chile Chili

  green devil’s food cake

  green food

  green lentils

  green olives

  green onions

  green plums

  green tomatoes

  green trimmings

  greywater recycling

  Grilled Zucchini

  grocery store discards

  groutweed

  Guerilla Gardeners

  Guthrie, Dale

  H

  habits

  hair dye

  hallucinogenic mushrooms

  Harp, Christy

  Harris Ranch

  Harvest

  harvesting

  artichokes

  beans

  birds

  mushrooms

  olives

  peaches

  potatoes

  pumpkins

  zucchini

  haulms

  hawks

  hay

  heirloom tomatoes

  see tomatoes

  Helix aspersa

  Helix aspersa Müller

  hens

  see also chickens

  herbicides

  herbs

  Hestia (rabbit)

  Holst, Vincent

  homegrown food tastes

  homemade holiday mushroom kits

  home orchard care

  honeydew

  horses

  I

  Iced Tea with Lavender, Lemon Verbana, and Mint

  indeterminate tomatoes

  insecticides

  insects

  International Potato Center

  Ireland

  iron

  irrigation systems

  J

  jays

  Jeannette Pepin

  behaviors

  egg laying and hatching

  falling tree incident

  mushrooms

  watermelon rinds

  weed control