This Year's LOCAL HARVEST - Yummy!!

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Internet Shop of Handmade Items In Fibers




Late June or early July is the start of the season for pick-your-own orchards - at least, where I live here in the Antelope Valley of Southern California!!

I've been there twice so far this month - it was for the Apricots!! They only have them for a few weeks early in the summer and they are absolutely one of my favorite fruits!! Picked 20 ibs of fruit both times -- and most of them were Apricots - 2 varieties. So delicious!!

Though I still have fresh ones in the fridge, I have a whole bunch of them halved in the freezer - hopefully, they will last for months!!

Also, picked a few peaches and plums!!

Boy-oh-boy!! Fresh fruit right off the tree -- nothing tastes as good!!

I HIGHLY recommend finding an orchard to go picking in, if you can find any where you live.

• Better tasting.
• Usually Better for You!
• And definitely Better for the Environment - picking locally!! They call it "Low Carbon" - less packaging, less transportation, less carbon emissions for what you buy!
  

And the quality of the fruit is so much better - doesn't compare at all to store-bought fruit!!

I admit - at this point, I am a bit spoiled!!

The local orchrds in the Antelope Valley usally have fruit on the trees through sometime in October or early November - though the Apricots are only for a few weeks, they have different varieties of Peaches, Apples, Pears and Plums at various times through the months. If you don't want to pick yourself, they usually have some fresh-picked fruit in their cold-storage, which you can just buy.

There are a vsriety of orchards that either sell on-site or let you pick yourself in the Antelope Valley -- and east of us, I believe in what is known as Apple Valley.

Check http://www.localharvest.org for what they have listed, wherever you live -- or maybe the local Chambers of Commerce can help!!

It is really really worth the time and effort to go and pick your own fruit -- some of us even think it is FUN!!!!

Harvest Season - My Last Trip to Pick My Own Fruit

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Internet Shop of Handmade Items In Fibers








Mid-October now -- Harvest Season for sure -- but for the fruit trees, it is the end of the season of blooming and new fruit.


The local orchard where I have gone to pick fruit has closed its gates for this year.


Last Wednesday I went -- and even though I meant to be frugal and only pick half a bucket -- well, I couldn't help myself and I picked most of a bucket --


-- still some late peaches on the trees - just lucious -- have cut up at least half of them and put them in the freezer - a few fresh ones still in the fridge. I will at least have some frozen slices of peaches to thaw or put in smoothies for some weeks to come!


-- lots of late pears on the trees and I picked a bunch -- still hard and firm -- the people at the orchards say that is the best way to pick them -- maybe they will last! When I have bought them in the grocery stores they soften and turn dark almost right away. Just checked this morning - still firm in the fridge!!


-- Ah-h-h! The apples!! Just love the fresh apples picked off the tree -- again infintely better than the grocery store ones -- they said I picked some Fujis and Granny Smiths -- just love those tart Granny Smiths, but also love the slightly sweeter Fujis and Galas!!


I have been told that the Granny Smiths will last for 3 months or so in the fridge, so I'll be eating the Fujis first -- and I can always make some lucious apple sauce in my crock pot -- did that last January!!


Picking my fruit -- no matter if it is a little difficult physically for me to be walking around with a bucket of almost 20 pounds of fruit (LOL) -- is so much fun -- and I will miss it until next summer!!


Hope some of you others found some freshly-picked local fruit -- or got to pick some yourself!!

LOCAL HARVEST - Local Antelope Valley Orchard - Now Open with APRICOTS!!

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Internet Shop of Handmade Items In Fibers


Called The Local Orchard in the Antelope Valley today to see when they would be open with their first crop and my favorite fruit -- APRICOTS!!

And they are open!!

They expect to have PEACHES to pick after July 4th!!

Will go next Tuesday and pick some APRICOTS - ripe and lucious right off the tree!!

Looking forward to it!

If you are anywhere within driving range of the Antelope Valley and like APRICOTS, it is really worth it! These APRICOTS fresh off the tree - especially picked yourself at the ripeness you like -- are the best I've ever tasted.

They have 2 varieties and hopefully the later one will last a bit into July. I will pick a bunch -- and pit and halve the ones I can't eat pretty quickly and I'll have fresh frozen, yummy APRICOTS for months probably. Did last year.

Then in July -- some PEACHES -- and boy they are also incomparably better than any I have ever found in any kind of store!! Also ripe and lucious right off the tree!!

Have a fun outing -- and get some fresh, local, tree-ripened fruit without the packaging and transport!!



Ruth

LOCAL HARVESTS - Local Pick-Your-Own Fruit Orchard in the Antelope Valley of Southern CA

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Internet Shop of Handmade Items In Fibers


I am a strong supporter of getting at least produce that is relatively locally grown.

Of course, I live in California, a major agricultural state. When I shop locally, I make a point of watching where the produce comes from and I usually make a point of buying locally, which for me means California or maybe Mexico.



I make another point of not buying anything from a different continent - including Central America and South America and Europe, etc. I really think it is funny when the local stores here in the Antelope Valley of Southern California have fruit and vegetables from Chile -- just saw some green grapes last Friday, but they were from Chile, so I put them back.



One of the reasons I think it is so funny is that the Antelope Valley of Southern CA is agricultural and there are various orchards and even a few vineyards and other agricultural business right in our own valley.



I personally know of a small Pick-Your-Own fruit orchard a few miles from where I live in the east Antelope Valley.



I've been getting fruit from there during the season when they have fruit for years now -- and my personal experience is that you can't compare the fruit you can pick fresh off the trees there to anything you can buy at any grocery store - or even any of the farmer's markets or fruit stands that I have been to.



Of course, I prefer to pick my own, though I sometimes get the pre-picked fruit they have available also (for those who can't or don't want to pick their own). When you pick your own, you get it ripened on the tree to the level of ripeness that you like.

About the first 4 weeks of the picking season each year, they have 2 varieties of apricots. Now apricots are one of my favorite fruits of all time -- and I could never find ones in the stores or markets that taste as good as theirs -- but I am picking right off the tree!! I pick as much as I can during the weeks they have them -- then some I halve and pit and put in the freezer before they go bad -- after all I can only eat so much!! I remember that last year I still had some in the freezer in September.



They have different varieties of Peaches starting about early July through about mid-October.



They also have Plums and Pears and lots of varieties of Apples!!



This March, I still had a few of their apples in my refrigerator from last fall (they had lasted a long time) -- I was not supposed to be eating fresh, raw fruit at the time -- so I cut them up to make apple sauce in my crockpot and it was so yummy!!

IF YOU LIVE ANYWHERE NEAR THE ANTELOPE VALLEY IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA -- OR WILL BE PASSING THROUGH, YOU MIGHT WANT TO STOP BY AND PICK A PAIL OF FRUIT (OR MORE!).


There are various Pick-your-own Orchards in the Antelope Valley.


I have found out that this year they expect to open sometime mid to late June with Apricots - and they expect a plentiful crop. That is an estimate - they open when they have fruit that can be picked. You can call - at this time of year they either have a message on their answering machine or whoever answers the phone will know what is happening.

IF YOU LIVE SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE COUNTRY, CHECK http://www.localharvest.org TO SEE WHAT LOCAL FOODS YOU CAN FIND WHERE YOU LIVE. 


 I JUST CHECKED AND FOUND Morgan Botanicals from Tehachapi, CA who I am now following on Twitter.



I'll bet if you check it out and try it, and maybe even do some comparisons, you'll find that local fruits and veggies taste better than others that travel long distance.



It is also better environmentally - as no travel means no carbon emissions from transporting the food (this is called eating low carbon).



My fresh herbs in my own container garden in my yard taste better than any dried herbs could taste and, since I snip off the plant when I want to use them, they are better than any fresh ones you can buy in the stores!!



For the best fruits, vegetables -- and meats, if you can find them -- GO LOCAL!!






Ruth

FRESH-PICKED APRICOTS AND PEACHES -- SO-O-O DELICIOUS RIGHT OFF THE TREE -- AND PART OF A LOW CARBON DIET

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Internet Shop of Handmade Items





LOOK GOOD, DON'T THEY!!??

BOY - ARE THEY!!

This is a picture of just a few of the apricots and peaches I picked myself yesterday locally - just a few miles from where I live!!

Actually, I went a little "wild" -- I picked right around 16 pounds of apricots and peaches!!!!

I went to a local U-PICK orchard in the Antelope Valley of Southern California - where they have about 16 acres of different fruit trees.

This is the beginning of the season -- and right now they have ripe on their trees apricots and the first crop of peaches (sorry - I don't remember the names of the varieties).

I just love apricots -- and they only have them for 3-4 weeks every year, so when I pick them, I pick a bunch. After few days, when I have eaten what I can so far, I take some of the rest (before they spoil) and cut them in half and take the pit out and put them in the freezer.

Then I have them through the summer for as long as they will last!! They make a great cold summer snack - alone or with some other foods such as yogurt or in a fruit salad or in a mildly hot (with jalapeno peppers, a little onion and celery) fruit salsa!!

So-o-o delicious!!

So-o-o much better than anything you can buy in the grocery stores!!

AND - THIS IS PART OF EATING A LOW CARBON DIET -- AS THERE IS MINIMAL, IF MUCH OF ANY, CONTRIBUTION TO GREENHOUSE GASES IN GETTING THEM!!! THIS IS WHY:

1. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION TO AND FROM THE ORCHARD!!
2. NO PACKAGING - PICKED RIGHT OFF THE TREE - PUT IN A REUSED BOX TO TAKE HOME!!
3. NO TRANSPORTATION BY THE SELLER AS I PICK IT AND PAY FOR IT IN THEIR ORCHARD!!

SO - ANOTHER PLUS POINT - HEALTHY FOR ME, HEALTHY FOR THE PLANET - GOT TO INCLUDE THE FACT THAT IT SUPPORTS A HETEROGENEOUS ORCHARD OF DIFFERENT SPECIES OF FRUIT TREES WHICH, BELIEVE ME, I HAVE HEARD -- SUPPORTS A CERTAIN WILDLIFE POPULATION. 16 ACRES ISN'T ACTUALLY CONSIDERED BIG ENOUGH TO BE ECOLOGICALLY SIGNIFICANT -- BUT EVERYTHING HELPS -- ESPECIALLY MORE TREES!!

Whereever you live -- are there any U-PICK orchards where you can get lucious fruit that you pick for yourself right off the tree??? Check it out -- you might find some!!

Even if you have to drive there -- make it an outing with a bunch of people (carpooling) -- and stock up -- and have some fun!!!!!

Ruth

HOME GROWN CHERRY TOMATOES - YUMMY!! - IN MY OWN CONTAINER GARDEN!!

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Internet Shop of Handmade Items
RSS Crochet Thread Plus - Internet Shop of Crochet Thread


My garden is quite small, but a couple of years back I found that the best way to get tasty fresh tomatoes was to grow your own!!

I don't eat too many of them -- only in salads some -- because of my diet and how I combine foods.

So, I decided to get some cherry tomato plants - and have my own fresh cherry tomatoes that I can just pick off the plant as they ripen!!

Bo-o-oy, do they taste good that way!!!

I have six cherry tomato plants in containers (yes - you can grow them in containers!) on the east side of my unit, so they get the full morning sun. My plants have blooms and little green tomatoes on them already - so I am just waiting for them to ripen.

If I take good care of them (which I plan to with watering every day), I figure that I should have fresh cherry tomatoes into the early fall before it gets cold. Our warm weather lasts well into September and sometimes into early October, so that will be quite a while!!

And I had some tomato seeds that sprouted -- now I have to see how they develop into adult plants. I am curious -- this is the first time I have ever tried tomato plants from seeds and I will see how they turn out!!

And getting my tomatoes from my own plants is great for doing a Low Carbon Diet!! No packaging, no transportation - all organic (the soil I use is organic!!) -- and on top of all that, they taste much better than anything from any grocery store -- at least they did in previous years!!

My spring-summer-fall container garden is developing and I just love it!!

I'll have some pictures later!!

Ruth

EARTH DAY IS EVERY DAY #2 - CHANGE YOUR DIET & HELP REDUCE CLIMATE CHANGE

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Internet Shop of Handmade Items
RSS Crochet Thread Plus - Internet Shop of Crochet Thread

Well, this is a new slant on helping to do something about climate change. I had never read much of anything about it until today - and I guess this was a good day to learn something new about how I could help reduce climate change - it is the offical Earth Day, after all!!

Funny thing about it - it coincides with what I do to eat a healthy diet for me (healthy for my body, I mean, not just the planet).

"Low-carb" has an additional meaning these days.

"Low-carb" for years has meant eating a diet with carbohydrate grams of what you eat being below a certain level.

Well, this "low-carb" diet has a new meaning for "carb" - in this meaning "carb" means carbon and a Low Carbon Diet means a diet low or lower in contributing to carbon emissions. When the food production, transportation of the food and disposal of any of the food (and how) is calculated, foods have different carbon levels - there are are low carbon foods, or lower carbon foods and higher carbon foods.

Apparently meat - such as beef - and cheese - and some fish or seafood - are higher carbon foods, while poultry is a lower carbon food than livestock meat - and locally grown vegetables and fruits are really lower carbon foods. Locally grown fruits, vegetable - or locally grown anything - is lower carbon because there will either be no transportation - or very little.

Fruits and vegetable generally are a low carbon food, but those Dutch red peppers from The Netherlands are much higher carbon because of all the transportation from The Netherlands, which causes a lot of carbon emissions. Those Dutch red peppers (the sweet variety that I like so much) and that I have seen in some produce sections look gorgeous and delicious, but both the price and the fact that they came from overseas put me off right away and I wouldn't buy them.

On the other hand, going to the local orchard where you can pick the fruit you want off the tree yourself and put them in your own boxes or bags that you are re-using - and that taste many times better than the same kinds of fruit in the grocery store that came by 18-wheel refrigerator trucks - will really have a lower carbon level, because:

1) locally grown (no carbon emissions from 18-wheel refrigerator trucks!!!!)
2) hand-picked
3) no packaging because you pick it and can put it in your own recyclable, reusable container
4)very little waste because it tastes so delicious and you eat it ALL!!

My home grown fresh herbs are really low carbon - I grow them in my front yard in containers organically and when I want them, I just step outside and cut a few pieces off to put in whatever I am cooking. Locally grown, hand-picked as needed, no packaging and no waste at all!!

Check out this link for a "Low Carbon Diet Pocket Guide" by Bon Appetit Management Company: http://www.circleofresponsibility.com/uploads/documents/low_carbon_diet/8-1740_lcd_pocket_guide-final.pdf.

If you want, use their Low Carbon Diet Calculator at http://www.eatlowcarbon.org/.

Like I said, reading about the Low Carbon Diet - it coincides to some degree with my own personalized diet - lots of fresh vegetables and a moderate amount of fresh fruit - poultry, which is my main animal protein, is definitely preferred over any livestock meat like beef. The only real difference is that a doctor recommended wild alaskan salmon, which I understand is a fairly high carbon emission food because of how it is caught and transported, but I only eat a small amount of that.

So do two things - eat healthier for you and eat more low carbon for the planet.

Every day is really Earth Day!!

To a healthy environment for all of us --

Ruth