Whether you prefer planting from seeds or plant starts initially, the key is to choose heirloom and open-pollinated varieties. Open-pollinated plants grow true to type, which means that their seeds can produce the same kind of plant as the parent. Some plants of the same genus, however, can cross-pollinate, so plan on planting only a single variety of each related vegetable, or separate varieties by distance. (Isolation distances for seed saving are available from many publications, including the books listed below.)

To find seed sources appropriate to your region, get in touch with local seed savers at seed exchanges. When you buy, choose from small local producers and nurseries that carry heirlooms and plants well-adapted to your area. In time, your garden can become its own seed bank, and you’ll have a rich and reliable supply for yearly planting.

Northwest Sources of Heirloom and Open-pollinated Seeds and Plant Starts:
  
Abundant Life Seeds (London, OR)
Bountiful Gardens (Willits, CA)
Full Circle Seeds (Sooke, BC)
Irish Eyes Garden Seeds (Ellensburg, WA)
Osborne Seed Company (Mt. Vernon, WA)
Salt Spring Seeds (Salt Spring Island, BC)
Seeds of Victoria (Victoria, BC)
Sunseed Farm (Acme, WA) – organic plant starts
Territorial Seed Company (Cottage Grove, OR)
Uprising Seeds (Bellingham, WA)
West Coast Seeds (Delta, BC)
Wild Garden Seed (Philomath, OR)

Further Resources:
Organic Seed Alliance (Port Townsend, WA)
British Columbia Seed Database (British Columbia)

Books:
Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners by Suzanne Ashworth
Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades by Steve Solomon
Seed Sowing and Saving: Step by Step Techniques for Collecting and Growing More than 100 Vegetables, Flowers, and Herbs by Carole B. Turner

More on seed saving:
Saving Seeds, Sowing Food Security
How to Save Tomato Seeds

Cipollinis (pronounced chip-oh-LEE-nees), whose name means “little onions,” originated in Italy and come in white and red varieties. Their sweet, mellow flavor and diminutive flattened shape make them an excellent choice for roasting or kebabs.

The classic way to serve cipollinis is oven-roasted, slowly caramelized in olive oil, salt, pepper, and served whole as a side dish with meat or roast chicken. They’re also delicious in any recipe where a rich, sweet onion flavor makes the difference. I like them in quiches and rice dishes.

In addition to their flavor, these distinctive onions have many health benefits. Like other members of the allium genus, cipollinis contain compounds believed to have anti-inflammatory, anticholesterol, and antioxidant properties.

Recipes:
Oven Roasted Cipollini Onions
Tomato Onion Quiche

Small, sweet, saucer-shaped cipollini onions are delicious when oven roasted and slowly caramelized in olive oil. Serve these savory onions as an appetizer, with crackers, or as a side dish for meat or chicken.

cipollini onions
olive oil
salt
fresh ground pepper
fresh thyme or rosemary








Select small onions or cut larger onions in half. Peel the onions and slice a thin layer off the top and bottom. Toss in a shallow baking pan with oil, salt and pepper.

Roast at 425º F for about 30 minutes until caramelized and tender.

If desired, top the onions with bit of fresh thyme or rosemary leaf a few minutes before the onions finish roasting.

More recipes:
Tomato Onion Quiche
Zucchini Pancakes

More about onions:
Cipollini Onions

Pastry chef/farmer Tina Hoban on her farm in Ferndale, WA.

That’s because Scratch Desserts, the artisan bakery Tina founded in November 2010, is located as close to fresh foods as she can get it: on her farm. Following in the newly revived, yet centuries old traditions of the Farm-to-Table movement of growing food and eating fresh from the earth, Tina uses ripe, seasonal ingredients from her farm in her custom-baked desserts.





Living Off the Grid, Modified

Before the bakery came the farm. Working as a pastry chef in the city of Minneapolis in 2004, Tina and her husband dreamed of a different kind of life. “We wanted to be on the land, off-grid, and raise our own food,” Tina said. Returning to the Pacific Northwest, where Tina had trained as a pastry chef, they found a lovely 7-acre farm near Ferndale, Washington.

“As soon as we saw it, we were hooked,” Tina said. “The plum tree was in bloom. We were eating plums. We walked down to the creek, we said, ‘This is it.’”

Seven years, two children, and a reality check later, Tina and her family are living the “modified version of the dream.” Although their farm is not off the electrical grid, they raise much of their own food. With an orchard of apples, pears, plums and hazelnuts, along with strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, gooseberries and rhubarb, the farm provides the basics for cider, homemade wine (“Gooseberry wine— It’s really good!”), and desserts.

Tina’s large cultivated gardens overflow with vegetables in summer: tomatoes, peppers, garlic, leeks, shallots, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, sunchokes, beets, potatoes, squashes—every vegetable she can think of growing.

St. Croix sheep. A mother ewe with week-old lambs.

In the pasture, St. Croix sheep graze peacefully, while closer to the barn a flock laying hens range about, eating grass and pecking at bugs.

“We strive to eat nothing but our own meat and eggs, and supplement with vegetables,” said Tina. “We have beef, lamb and chicken. We usually raise pigs.” She and her family also rely on neighboring farms for food they don’t grow at home.

Sustainable Farming

The Hoban's moveable chicken coop.

Building their sustainable homestead has been an education in the integration of nature and the cycle of life. “We’ve learned so much. It’s a circle.” Tina said. “We need everything we have here if we want to be without inputs.”

Starting an On-Farm Bakery

Tina rolls out sweet almond crust for berry tarts.

The idea for a bakery on the farm soon grew into Scratch Desserts. Tina and her husband Ed, a carpenter, planned and built a commercial kitchen on the property, while Tina developed the recipes for seasonal pastries. Now, Scratch Desserts delivers in town and offers custom handmade desserts

Cinnamon pastry

Tina’s aim is to make European desserts with local Northwest ingredients. She uses eggs and fresh fruit from the farm, organic sugar, milk and cream from

Almond cupcakes with blackberries

Taking advantage of what is fresh on the farm, she transitions her specialties with the seasons. In spring she might offer rhubarb vanilla upside down cake; in summer strawberry crostadas or apple, pear or berry tarts; in fall and winter pumpkin pies, and hazelnut or marionberry bittersweet chocolate tortes.

Like everything on the farm, the bakery follows the seasons. A taste of spring, summer, fall and winter? They’re on the menu!

Scratch Desserts delivers throughout the Bellingham area. You can find fresh baked pastries from Scratch Desserts at the Time in Play Cafe in Bellingham, and each Saturday, April through October, at the Ferndale Public Market. For more information, contact Tina at (360) 255-9120 or tina@scratchdesserts.com

Coriander seeds

Coriander (Coriandrum sativum), a tasty annual herb, seasons food in many cuisines, from Mexican salsa to Indian chutney. Eaten fresh, the plant’s bright green cilantro leaves

Coriander leaves are often called cilantro.

Humans have grown and used coriander for millennia. In fact, archaeologists discovered the dried plant in the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamen’s tomb. Coriander has a long history of folk medicinal uses. In India, coriander juice mixed with turmeric is a treatment for acne. Herbalists prize it as a digestive tonic, a sleep aid, and an effective antibacterial ointment.

Coriander vs. Bacteria

Recently, researchers from the University of Beria Interior in Portugal systemically investigated coriander oil to discover exactly how it killed bacteria. In a study published in the August 2011 issue of The Journal of Medical Microbiology, scientists tested coriander oil on twelve bacterial strains, including salmonella, E.coli, and deadly MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus.

The researchers found that a dilute 2 percent solution of coriander oil damaged the bacterial cell wall, then killed the bacteria. The scientists concluded their paper saying, “The results . . . are noteworthy and justify the use of this plant, not only as a food flavoring agent, but also as a food preservative in order to prevent bacterial spoilage of foods.”

So coriander, like cinnamon and turmeric, not only seasons our food but in the future may protect it and our health.

More articles:
Can Oregano Save the Planet?
Growing Ginger in the Pacific Northwest
Beets: A Natural Medicine?

A mother deer and fawns check out a suburban backyard.

Deer are nibblers.They like to browse on many kinds of plants, especially the new shoots and tips of trees, shrubs and garden vegetables and flowers. Increasingly bold in populated places, deer thrive in wooded areas that adjoin open yards or gardens, which provide cover for a quick escape.

Deer are habitual in their foraging. You’ll often see them at about the same time every day— frequently around dawn or dusk.

In the wild, cougars, bears and coyotes prey on deer, and eagles and bobcats pose a threat to young fawns. In the city neighborhoods, deer have little to fear, except perhaps from cars and large dogs.


Deer Deterrents

As deer pressure increases in populated areas, organic gardeners are turning to folk remedies and new ideas for deer-proofing the garden. Many of the remedies rely on creating a strong scent:

A deer-resistant artichoke

• Human hair - Hang handfuls of human hair bundled in cheesecloth bags around the garden.

• Deer-repellent - Mix up a strong-scented liquid and spray it on the plants or the ground around the plants. Gardeners often try water mixed with eggs, hot peppers, garlic, hot sauce or some other disagreeable odor.

Fragrant calendula helps deter deer.

• Grow deer-resistant plants. Deer will bypass vegetables and herbs they find less palatable.

• Get a big dog.

The Deer-Free Garden

Although deterrents can help, the only way to truly protect your garden against deer is to put up a fence.

Fences should be 6 to 8 feet (1.8 to 2.4 meters) high for success. In areas of heavy deer damage, it is helpful to angle the top of the fence outward. Deer will go under a fence before trying to jump over, so make sure the barrier extends to the ground. A 17-inch (43 cm) gap at the bottom is an invitation for deer to crawl under.

If the cost of fencing seems daunting, consider the following ideas for low-cost deer barriers.

Bird netting over a garden bed will protect against deer.

Small enclosures are great for protecting a single plant or a group of plants. Good options for barriers include these:

• Bird netting secured with sticks or stakes. In areas of low deer pressure, this is a great way to protect favorite vegetables, such as beans or

Deer munch on grass, leaving the pear tree behind this fence untouched.

• Fish line fencing. Tie rows of 100 lb. monofilament fish line between tall stakes to create a nearly invisible barrier. This can be an attractive way to protect showy flowers such as roses.

• Chicken wire or snow fencing held in place by wooden stakes. Although a bit more pricy, this is a good option for fruit trees. Fencing should be at least 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall. Although deer can easily jump a 5-foot fence, they will not do it in small spaces unless there is a clear landing area.

Deer Fences

Use fences for larger spaces, such as enclosing an entire garden.

Fish net deer fencing

Branch and twine fence

More articles:
Deer Resistant Vegetables and Herbs
Get to Know the Good Bugs: Attract Beneficial Insects to Your Garden
What Weeds Can Tell Us About the Soil

A deer bypasses a tomato plant to look for more palatable fare.

Deer-Resistant Garden Plants

Except in areas of high deer pressure, deer will usually bypass these garden vegetables and herbs.

Tomatoes

Chives

Lavender

Sage

Parsley

Moderately Deer-Resistant

These plants are moderately safe, however, deer may turn to this group of veggies and herbs when favorites are not available. Take care to protect the young shoots, which are always tender and delicious!

Rainbow chard with deer damage. Chard is most vulnerable to browsing deer in the fall and spring when other food is not available.

Basil

Deer love to munch on peas and beans. The also enjoy tree fruit and most berries. If you’re looking to attract deer to your garden, try planting some of these:

Pea shoots are a favorite meal for deer.

If planting resistant vegetables does not deter deer from your garden, you may need to consider more serious deer defenses such as barriers and fencing. Whatever you plant or whatever measures you take, one thing is certain, the struggle between determined gardeners and determined browsing deer will continue!

More articles:
Deer Defenses: Low-Cost Ways to Deer Proof Your Garden
Get to Know the Good Bugs: Attract Beneficial Insects to Your Garden
What Weeds Can Tell Us About the Soil

1 kohlrabi bulb
2 carrots
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1–2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
2 green onions
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds

 
1) Peel the kohlrabi bulb and carrots and slice them into into matchsticks. Mix together in a serving bowl.

2) Whisk together vegetable oil, rice wine vinegar and salt and pepper for dressing. Toss with the slaw.

3) Garnish with sliced green onions and black sesame seeds.
 
More recipes: Kohlrabi with Honey-Sesame Dip
More about kohlrabi: Cool Kohlrabi

Chef Andy Millage of Let Them Eat Cake created this celebration cake in the shape of a champagne bottle.

“I think a cake should reflect the person,” says Millage, who bakes all her cakes, cupcakes and gingerbread from scratch using quality butter and pure flavor extracts. “What I enjoy is making people realize that a cake—be it a wedding cake or a birthday cake—just doesn’t have to be boring. You can have something elegant and still be unique.”

Zebrazz Cake

Cattywampus Cake

Fondant Rose Cake

Flavors and Passions

While Millage is happy to create lovely, traditional wedding cakes, she derives the most pleasure and challenge from designing a cake that truly fits the person and the occasion.

It starts with the customers. People come to her with an idea and she shows them what is possible. Offering some 25 cake flavors, tasting samples, and an idea book of photos with 26 years of baked artisan delights, they look for the “jumping off point” that will help create a cake unique to the client.

Never Enough Garlic Cake

“They might come in and say they want something traditional. But maybe they’re sky divers; that’s their passion.” So Millage creates an elegant cake that reflects that passion in subtle way.

The reward is seeing the joy her cakes bring to people . “I feel I’ve done my job if someone walks into an event and says, ‘That’s it! That’s perfect. You took my vision and made it happen.’”

The First Cake

Millage wasn’t always a pastry chef. As a geologist who worked for years in the oil industry, her fascination with creating artistic cakes began one year on her mother’s birthday when she decided to make a birthday cake model of her mother’s home, complete with a mini hot tub. She had fun with the project and soon found herself reading books about cake decorating and trying out new designs. In time, friends started coming to her for unique event cakes, offering to pay her, and the idea for Let Them Eat Cake was born.

Today, with 4,000 cakes and 26 years of baking under her apron, Millage averages 150 unique wedding and event cakes in a year—mainly through word-of-mouth recommendations and the Bridal Fair. Her inventive cakes have included such unusual shapes and themes as these:

Andy Millage of Let Them Eat Cake shows how she created a crocodile cake.

Toy Cakes - Baby Blocks, Choo-Choo Train, Crayons, Christmas Stocking, Tub Time

Food Themed Cakes - Banana Split, BLT, Burrito, Oops! – Dropped Ice Cream Cone

Garden Cakes - Butterfly, Garden Time

Hobby/Sports Cakes - Catch of the Day, Beach Party, Golf Bag, Olympic Swimmer, Roulette Wheel, Sea Kayak, Sandcastle

Celebration Cakes - Celebration Present, Graduation Cap, Flower Basket, Pina Colada

Travel Cakes - Jet Plane, Sailboat, Ski Resort, Globetrotter, Mountainside, Suitcase

See how Andy Millage creates a Tron “Light Cycle” cake.

Let Them Eat Cake is located in Bellingham, Washington. Contact Chef Andy Millage at amillage@drizzle.com or (360) 733-3078.

Photos courtesy of Let Them Eat Cake.

More articles:
Gourmet Survival Skills: How to Make Pie
How Do You Become a Chef?

oregano

Flash forward to 2011, where oregano has emerged as a promising digestive aid for cattle. If you think this is not a major issue, consider the numbers. Each year in the United States, 100 million cattle release six million metric tons of methane into the atmosphere — a significant 25 percent of U.S. methane emissions. It is important to understand that methane, or CH4, is a greenhouse gas 23 times more efficient at trapping heat than the more common greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO2). To compare them, the amount of methane must be multiplied by 23 times to give an equivalent amount of the CO2 heat trapping capacity. Consequently the six million tons of methane emitted by America’s cattle equal nearly 140 million tons of CO2.

Contrary to what you may imagine, most of the methane cattle generate during digestion is exhaled or belched rather than released through flatulence. An average cow in the U.S. releases 252 lbs. (114 kg) of methane every year or about 5,800 lbs. ( 2,636 kg) of equivalent carbon dioxide. This is about half of the yearly CO2 emissions of the average U.S. passenger car.

There is an additional problem with methane, which makes controlling agricultural emissions even more critical. Methane is a major source of ozone (O3), a powerful greenhouse gas and a toxic air pollutant causing billions of dollars of crop damage and thousands of human deaths from respiratory diseases. A cut to methane production will significantly reduce both global warming and air pollution.

Enter Oregano

With so much at stake, agricultural researchers have focused efforts on methane reduction through experimental cattle feeds. Scientists have tried such dietary additives such as garlic, cinnamon, and antibiotics—all of which decreased methane production to some degree. Then, as reported in the September 24, 2010 issue of the journal Science a research team led by Dr. Alexander Hristov, associate professor of dairy nutrition at Pennsylvania State University, achieved promising results. By adding a pound of oregano to the cow’s daily feed, Dr. Hristov’s team found that methane emissions decreased by 40 percent. As an extra, the oregano increased milk production by approximately 4 percent.

In a second trial, oregano cut methane emissions by 27 percent, and milk output increased by 4 percent. When recently contacted by NW Farms & Food, Dr. Hristov said that his team continues to test oregano as a feed additive and hopes to discover exactly how it reduces methane in the cow’s rumen.


Powerful Benefits

Assuming farms could reduce the six million metric tons of U.S. cattle–produced methane by 33 percent, it would be equivalent to removing 45 million tons of CO2 per year— the CO2 output from approximately 7.63 million passenger cars. With decreased methane comes the added bonus of less ozone air pollution and improved air quality.

For cattle ranchers and dairy farmers this could also bring financial benefits. For example, on dairy farms in Whatcom County, Washington, cutting methane emissions from the County’s 50,000 cows could diminish greenhouse gases by roughly 34,000 tons of CO2—the equivalent of taking 6,800 cars off the road. Reductions in CO2 have recently been worth $10 per ton in the voluntary carbon credit market. At this rate, 34,000 tons of reduced CO2 equivalents would earn Whatcom County dairy farmers $340,000 per year.

So the next time you bite into a slice of pizza, think about the benefits of the humble herb, oregano. The delicious seasoning on your pizza may lead to cleaner air, a cooler world, happier cows and better paid farmers.


Related Articles:
An Unlikely Renewable Energy Hero: Methane Gas from Dairy Cows
Renewable Energy from Dairy Farm Manure