Garden Goes Berserk; Bulk Food Orders Now Available!

Sweet potato squash!

Better Farm's gardens are literally bursting forth with delicious, fresh produce—which means we're now taking discounted orders for organic food that's available for delivery, pick-up, or pick-your-own on a one-time, weekly, or daily basis.

Look at all this beauty!

Organic, heirloom tomatoes: perfect for sauces, salads, sandwiches, and more!

Tomatoes, onions (red, white, yellow), garlic

White Scallop Squash

We are offering a pick-your-own bag sale, in which you can fill a grocery bag with as much produce as you can pick for $15. Or, place an order now for up to 50-percent off bulk rates of the following organic produce items:

• Apples (heirloom)
• Beets
• Borage (edible flowers, great as garnishes)
• Chives
• Cilantro
• Corn
• Elderberries (frozen)
• Kale 
• Leeks
• Lemon Balm
• Lemon Cucumbers
• Lettuce 
• Mint
• Nasturtium
• Onions
• Oregano (giant red, standard)
• Pumpkins
• Raspberries
• Rhubarb
• Soybeans (Edamame)
• String Beans
• Sweet Potato Squash
• Swiss Chard
• Wheat Grass
• White Scallop Squash

 Place your orders or set up a pick-your-own visit by calling (315) 482-2536 or emailing info@betterfarm.org.

Blueberry Wine Workshop Aug. 10

BetterArts presents its third annual Art of Winemaking workshop at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 10, at Better Farm in Redwood.

Fermentation expert Paul Jennings will teach attendees basic fermentation principles and discuss various methods for wine- and beer-making. Students will gain hands-on experience creating their own batch of blueberry wine with blueberries picked locally.

Each participant is invited to take a bottle of blueberry wine home for aging (wine may be picked up at Better Farm several weeks after the class, when bottling has occurred).

The cost for this class is $10. Pre-register by emailing info@betterarts.org. If you would like to participate in the picking of local, wild blueberries, please let us know! There will be a picking field trip scheduled several days prior to the workshop.

Better Farm is located at 31060 Cottage Hill Road in Redwood. To see a complete listing of upcoming workshops and events, visit www.betterfarm.org/upcoming-workshops.

What's Growing at Better Farm

Seedlings and seeds enjoy some fresh air on (yet another) rainy spring day.

In spite of the perpetually crummy weather outside, spring is upon us at Better Farm. Asparagus, chives, garlic, leeks, strawberries, raspberries, peach and fig trees, and many many more plants and herbs throughout the gardens have been waking up each day and spreading new, green leaves. Inside, seeds are sprouting every day and we're getting regular shipments of new exotics like dwarf pineapple trees, coffee plants, and Mediterranean olive trees.



With evenings just starting to offer the sustained warmth necessary to harden seedlings off in the greenhouse, we've been getting the babies ready for the great outdoors by exposing them to the elements during daylight hours on the back deck. This late season hasn't reaked any havoc yet in regard to the health of our preemies—but it has certainly been inconvenient! Usually by this time of year, all the plants are living full-time in the greenhouse, potatoes are in the ground, and we're starting in on onions. Regardless; here are some photos of all the activity afoot:

Asparagus heads poke up out of the wet soil out back.

Tomato seedlings reach for the sky.

A preview of what's to come: eggplant, celery, cabbage, tomatoes, peppers, and cauliflower make their grand entrances.

Our CSA begins today; but there are still spaces left if you'd like to sign up for weekly shares of fresh produce throughout the season. We also offer amended CSAs to those who are only in the North Country on weekends; or those who would like a bulk rate on what's in-season but can't commit to a weekly pickup. Our updated list of produce this season:

Vegetables (all organic)

Artichoke—Imperial Star Organic

Asparagus

Beans—Black Coco, Monachelle di Trevio, Envy Soya, Garbanzo, Great Northern

Beets—Lutz Green Leaf

Broccoli— Belstar

Brussel Sprouts—Royal Marvel Hybrid

Cabbage—Derby Day

Carrots—Purple Haze Hybrid, Rainbow Blend, Yaya Hybrid

Cauliflower—Veronica Hybrid

Celery—Redventur

Corn—Northern Xtra-Sweet Yellow

Cucumber—Lemon

Eggplant— Rosa Bianca, Japanese White Egg

Kale—Red Russian

Leeks— Giant Musselburgh

Lettuce—Buttercrunch, Sunset

Okra

Onions— Yellow Sweet Spanish

Peanuts—Jumbo Virginia,

Peas—Little Marvel Shell Pea

Peppers—Green California Wonder, Italian Sweet Red

Potato—Yukon Gold, Red, Sweet

Pumpkin—Shishigatani/Toonas Makino, Connecticut Field

Quinoa—Shelly

Radish—Pink Beauty

Rosemary

Swiss Chard - Bright Lights

Soybean

Squash— Thelma Sanders' Sweet Potato, Crookneck-Early Golden Summer, Caserta Zucchini, White Bush Scallop, Argonaut Hybrid Butternut, Black Beauty Zucchini

String Beans—Compass Bush Bean

Tomatoes—Ananas Noire, Purple Calabash, Better Farm heirlooms

Watermelon—Sugar Baby

Fruits and Trees

Apple

Apricot

Dwarf Banana (indoor)

Blueberry

Catalpa

Cherry

3-in-1 Citrus (indoor)

Coffee Plant

Fig

Kiwi

Mediterranean Olive (indoor)

Peach

Dwarf Pineapple (indoor)

Raspberry

Strawberries

Herbs

Basil—Large-Leaf Italian Basil, Lime

Borage—Blue

Chives

Cilantro

Dill

Garlic

Lemon Balm

Mint

Nasturtium—Mixed Dwarf Jewel

Parsley

Ramps/Wild Leeks

Rosemary

Sage

Salad greens—various

Flowers

Mammoth Gray Stripe Sunflower

Kochia Scoparia Grass

25 Giant Allium

“Red Sun” Sunflower

Various wildflowers

To join Better Farm's CSA and enjoy a weekly share of fresh produce all season long, please email info@betterfarm.org or visit www.betterfarm.org/csa.

Better Farm's First-Ever CSA Program

An afternoon harvest from last fall.

Better Farm' s Community-Supported Agriculture program is designed to bring individuals and families living locally weekly shares of fresh produce from Better Farm's gardens at extremely affordable rates.

Community-Supported Agriculture, or CSAs, allow individuals or families to have direct access to high-quality, fresh produce grown locally. When you join a CSA, you're buying a “share” of produce from a particular farm or group of farms. Better Farm's CSA runs weekly from May 1 through the end of November, about 31 weeks. CSA members can visit Better Farm on a weekly basis to pick up their shares of produce. CSA members pay for the entire season of produce up-front. This early bulk payment allows Better Farm to plan for the season, purchase garden supplies and seeds to ensure a productive yield, and more.

Weekly share amounts fluctuate in accordance with what is in-season. In May, a share may only consist of some salad greens and asparagus; while a share in October will include artichokes, tomatoes, greens, herbs, Swiss chard, potatoes, flowers, pumpkins, leeks, and much much more.

Typically, seasonal CSA costs are between $400 and $600 for an individual. Because Better Farm's goal is to increase access to delicious, organic, healthy food, the first year of this CSA program is available at rock-bottom rates:

These rates represent a a full 31-week program:

• $250/individual (roughly $8/week)
• $450/couple (roughly $14.50/week)
• $800/family of four (roughly $25/week)

CSA members will be notified of additional add-on opportunities (meat, eggs, cheese, soaps, baked goods, etc.) should these become available throughout the season; and may opt in to hear about food-related activities held at Better Farm throughout the year (supper clubs, farm-to-table events, workshops).

Click here for a list of the organic produce we are growing at Better Farm in 2014. Please note that this does not necessarily indicate produce you will receive (in some cases, certain plants do better than others based on weather, pests, etc.).

If you would like to sign up for Better Farm's CSA, send an email to info@betterfarm.org with the below information and we will bill you through Paypal (additional Paypal fees will apply). Or, you can print out the below form and mail it us along with a check made out to Better Farm. Those of you with special scheduling needs may contact us for a prorated CSA plan.

Mail to: Better Farm CSA Program, 31060 Cottage Hill Road, Redwood NY, 13679.

Name: ___________________________________________

Address: _________________________________________

Phone Number: ___________________________________

Email: __________________________________________

CSA Membership Level (About 31 weeks starting May 1):   

• ______$100 Summer Weekender (weekends only June 1-Sept. 1)
• _____  $150 Weekender (weekends only May 1-mid-November
• ______$250/individual (roughly $8/week) 
• _____$450/couple (roughly $14.50/week) 
• _____$800/family of four (roughly $25/week)

Preferred Day for Weekly Pickup: _________________

Delivery CSA Coming to the North Country?

Better Farm

is in the process of outlining a grant that would provide the sustainability campus with start-up funding from SARE to create a network of farms providing a delivery CSA to residents living in the region, and is looking for local farms interested in participating in the proposed programming.

The Northeast Chapter of the

Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Pr

ogram

(SARE) is offering partnership grants to agricultural agencies, organizations, businesses, or local governments working directly with farmers to address issues that affect the farm community. Farmers must be partners in the planning process and the proposal. SARE funds production, marketing, on-farm demonstrations, and community development efforts that address key themes in sustainable agriculture. Sustainable agriculture is understood to be agriculture that is profitable, environmentally sound, provides a good quality of life for farmers, and is beneficial to the community.

To that end, Better Farm is seeking local farms to partner with for the following proposal:

Better Farm plans to increase access to fresh, locally produced foods for community residents in and

around Redwood, N.Y., while strengthening farmer-consumer relationships and supporting local agriculture by creating a delivery CSA service to people living locally. Community-Supported Agriculture programs provide weekly stipends of fresh food to a community; Better Farm enhances this programming by bringing fresh fruits, vegetables, jams, syrup, meats, cheeses, eggs, and milk from a variety of local farms directly to neighbors' doors. Better Farm would act as liaison between individuals, families, and farmers; creating the network of farmers necessary to provide people with a diverse assortment of weekly groceries for a low rate. Redwood is a small community of 500 people with limited access to food. Shopping at a grocery store in Alexandria Bay is a 20-mile round trip; Watertown a 50-mile round trip. Funding would allow Better Farm to coordinate with local farms and families, create inventory lists and price sheets, convert a diesel truck to run off refined vegetable oil thereby eliminating gas costs, and put the program into its first year of production. With EBT cards now accepted at farmers' markets and farm stands, this programming encourages even those with the lowest incomes to purchase local food at a premium rate. 

How It Works

This is a buy-in program. In its first phase, Better Farm partners with local farmers interested in selling their goods at a bulk rate to individuals and families living locally. 

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Those farms provide Better Farm with available products and bulk rates, along with seasonal information. Then, Better Farm will disseminate information via radio, print, online, and mailers to homes in the community alerting them to this available program. Signing people up will involve educational workshops, greeting people at their homes, calling campaigns, and public seminars. Individual and family seasonal rates will be available, as well as tiers:

• Vegetarian (with or without packaged goods, checking all that apply: maple syrup, jams/jellies, lotions/salves, fibers/yarns, dairy products, eggs)

• Omnivorous (with or without packaged goods, checking all that apply: maple syrup, jams/jellies, lotions/salves, fibers/yarns, dairy products, eggs)

Rates will include fees to cover all-inclusive delivery fee (driver rate, basic maintenance of delivery vehicle, fees due to participating farms, and overhead costs for future marketing efforts) and will be payable via EBT card, check, credit card, or through monthly or weekly installments.

Interested participants will be given a survey at the beginning of each season to go over their expectations, what products they would be interested in purchasing, and their budgets. A similar survey will be distributed at the end of each season to gauge customer satisfaction with products received, chances of having return customers, and suggestions for improvements.

What

It Does

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Better CSA solves the problem of a

food desert

in several ways. One, it creates a network of local farmers offering a variety of goods at competitive rates. Two, it creates a network of buyers that can then purchase food at a bulk rate. Three, it uses a “green” vehicle (a diesel pickup truck converted to run on spent vegetable oil) to deliver the food to people's doorsteps, reducing their fuel costs and amount of time spent grocery shopping.

This project enhances sustainability in the following ways:

• Reducing pollution from vehicles going to and from several supermarkets to get groceries

• Reducing pollution associated with the import-export of produce, meat, dairy products, and eggs

• Shifting demand from large-scale agricultural practices to more sustainable, family operations

• Encouraging local farmers to employ sustainable, organic practices

• Encouraging consumers to eat more nutritious food that sustains healthy lifestyles in the long-term

• Educating children (and adults!) in the community to make healthier food choices and to enjoy a larger diversity of products in their diets

Farmers interested in partnering with Better Farm on this project should email

nicole.caldwell@betterfarm.org

.

Winterizing Your Strawberry Plants

Strawberry plants will come back annually to provide you with beautiful, yummy fruit for years. But if you live in a northern climate, it's imperative that you protect these plants from the elements. If a strawberry plant's root system freezes solid, the plant you nurtured will die and you'll have to replant the following year. Thankfully, prepping your strawberries for the winter months couldn't be easier.

In-Ground Strawberries

If your strawberries live in garden beds, simply cover them up with a few inches of straw or leaves for the winter. Wait until the ground is fully cooled off and your plants are done growing for the year. Then give them a nice, thick layer of mulch. This does double duty; protecting the fruits from frigid winters, and providing great compost material for your soil. Be sure to check on the plants a few times over the winter to make sure freezing and thawing hasn't forced them up. If so, tamp them back down, water, and add more straw or leaves.

Container Strawberries

Strawberries that are growing in pots should be placed somewhere cold but not frozen. An unheated garage is a great place to store the fruits for the winter, but you'll need some sort of insulation to ensure your strawberry plants don't freeze solid. Don't worry about the lack of light, as the strawberry plants will be dormant and won't need any light. Just be sure to add water every few weeks to ensure the roots don't dry out. You can also plant your strawberries in the ground for the winter, utilizing the straw-as-insulation approach outlined above.

One of the best ways is to over-winter container strawberries is to put the pot in a larger container and insulate the space between with leaves or straw. Or, place the container on the ground next to a heated wall and ideally out of the winter wind. Insulate the exposed sides of the container with mulch, leaves or straw. Or just bury the container. The surrounding soil will insulate the roots over winter. Then dig up and hose down the container next spring.

Please don't try taking your strawberries inside to continue growing as houseplants! Strawberries need a dormant season in order to trigger a new round of growth in the spring for fruiting.

Hydroponic Tomatoes

In addition to the

aquaponics

setup at Better Farm, we're installing a hydroponics system this year in order to grow tomatoes all winter long. While researching the best methods for a prolific crop, I came across a great tutorial at

Vertical Hydroponic

that walks you through the whole process. Those instructions are below.

Tomatoes are one of the most popular species of plants to grow hydroponically. Although many types of plants exhibit faster growth rates and accelerated fruit development in hydroponic systems, soft-tissue plants like tomatoes do especially well.

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Tomato Seeds or Starts

Since tomato seeds germinate relatively rapidly, most growers will begin their tomato plants from seed. Tomatoes seeds take approximately 10 to 14 days to germinate. A tomato plant will become fully mature in about two months. There are hundreds of different cultivars of tomatoes, including determinate and indeterminate varieties. Cherry, Roma, and Beefsteak are just some of the many popular tomato cultivars. Determinate varieties produce a large crop of tomatoes all at once and may also top off at a specific height. Indeterminate varieties produce multiple crops that grow in overlapping stages. Most heirloom varieties of tomatoes are indeterminate. It’s a good idea to research the different cultivars to find out which variety works best for your gardening situation. After about two weeks, your tomato plants should be ready to transplant into your hydroponic system.

After inserting the strongest plant starts into your hydroponic system, your tomato plants will begin to produce fruit within 60 days. Make sure you plan ahead and have an appropriate support system for your tomato plants. Tomatoes are a soft-tissue vining plant that requires a lot of support. Without a trellis or support stakes, the stems of your plants will most likely break under the weight of the tomato fruits.

Although spacing will depend on the particular variety that you are growing, typically tomato plants should be spaced about 18 to 24 inches apart. However, you can place the plants closer together if you train the vines appropriately to allow enough room for the fruits to develop. Vertical hydroponic systems such as the Bio-Tower are especially well suited to growing vining plants like tomatoes since the vines can easily hang off the sides of the growing containers.

Like many other fruiting plants, tomatoes require pollination in order to develop fruits. This will naturally occur in an outdoor environment from wind movement or bee activity. If you are growing indoors, you can either manually pollinate your flowers by touching different flowers with a small brush, or you can use alternating wind currents to induce cross-pollination.

Light

Tomatoes like a lot of light but can thrive with as little as seven hours of sunlight per day. However, tomatoes in too much strong direct sunlight may eventually show signs of heat stress.

Temperature

Ideally the temperature for tomatoes should remain between 65 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and between 55 to 65 degrees during the nighttime.

Nutrients

As a fruit-producing plant, most tomato varieties require relatively high levels of phosphorous and potassium. A typical hydroponic nutrient solution for tomatoes has a pH between 5.5 and 6.5. Tomatoes may also require a calcium supplement since the creation of fruit uses significant amounts of this secondary nutrient. However, make sure to follow the instructions for your particular brand of nutrients before adding any supplements to your reservoir.

Harvesting

After approximately 60 days, you should begin to have tomatoes that are large enough to harvest. Although there are many different varieties, most tomatoes turn red when they become ripe. You can pick off immature fruits and blossoms to maximize the size of the remaining fruits. You can also increase your harvest by “suckering” your tomato plants. “Suckering” is simply removing internodal branches that are not producing fruit. This encourages the plant to devote more nutrients to the branches that are producing fruit.

Pests and Diseases

Tomatoes are susceptible to a variety of plant diseases; including tobacco mosaic virus, fusarium wilt, and various other mildews and fungi. Tomato plants require significant amounts of calcium for fruit development so blossom end rot is another common problem that growers encounter. Common pests include the cutworm, aphids, and the tomato hornworm. Check with your local garden supplier to find the best pest prevention treatments for your particular environment. Remember, birds, squirrels, and deer will also eat tomatoes if they can get access.

Autumnal Harvest

Better apples.

It's Autumn in the North Country! Colors are bolder, fruit and veggies are coming out our ears, and all the tourists have left the lakes, streams, and rivers empty for the locals' enjoyment. Look at all this beauty:

Better Farm's gardens are virtually overrun with more zucchini, cucumber, string bean, pumpkin, lettuce, kale, artichoke, onion, you-name-it than we can shake the proverbial stick at. Kristen and I picked 50-plus-pounds of veggies in about 20 minutes the other day:

Kristen shows off the string bean harvest.

String beans, zukes, tomatoes, leeks, broccoli, tomatoes, Swiss chard, and kale.

We've kept the farm stand open later than ever, and we're taken custom orders and even doing low-scale CSAs with those living locally who would like a weekly share of fresh produce. And I've been juicing like a mad woman! Here's one of the smoothies I made the other day:

Smoothie made from apples, raspberries, Swiss chard, kale, wheat grass, peaches, and cantaloupe.

No need to start buying produce from the grocery store just yet! Swing on over or give us a call at (315) 482-2536 to place an order or pick your own.

Contact Better Farm at info@betterfarm.org to schedule a pick-up, tour, or set up a CSA program until the snow starts to fly!

Save Your Own Tomato Seeds

Saving seeds is a great way to ensure a steady supply of heirloom fruits and vegetables in your home garden. All you have to do is collect seeds from your best plant, dry them out, and store them until you're ready for growing season.

One of our favorite heirloom produce items is the tomato; and each year, we have a bunch of different fruits to choose from that we'd love to duplicate. This autumn, we're selecting some of the best-looking tomatoes and extricating the seeds so that we can grow the plants indoors in a new hydroponics setup (more about that to come!).


Here are some very easy-to-follow instructions for harvesting your own tomato seeds, gleaned from Garden Web:

You may have brought home a particularly delicious tomato from the supermarket, or gotten an heirloom tomato from a Farmer's Market, or grown one in your own garden that is so wonderful you want to save the seeds from it and grow them next year. Nothing ever tastes quite as good as a home-grown tomato!

So, how do you save the seeds? The method is easy to do....it's a little gloppy, and it's a little funky, but you'll be able to save seeds in a manner that will lesson the occurence of tomato disease while giving you plenty of seeds to germinate, and with left-overs to share or trade. This seed saving process is a process of fermentation.


Select to save seeds from a tomato that has a flavor that you love....if you're a home gardener and saving seeds from tomatoes that are growing in your garden choose tomatoes from the very healthiest-looking plants.

Take your chosen tomato and slice it in half across the middle (its "equator"). With a spoon or your well-washed fingers scoop out the seeds and their gelatinous "goo" into a clean cup or container. Add a couple of tablespoons of water to the seeds.

Cover the container with a piece of plastic-wrap and then poke the plastic-wrap with a paring knife or pen point to put a small hole in it...this is to allow for air-transpiration. (A little fresh air needs to get in and out of the cup to help foster fermentation.)

Place the container of seeds in a warm location; a sunny windowsill or the top of the refrigerator are both excellent sites to place the container of seeds. Now Mother Nature will take over and begin to ferment the seed and water mixture. This takes about two or three days. Each night remove the plastic-wrap, stir the seed and water mixture, and then replace the plastic-wrap, if you use a new sheet of plastic-wrap then don't forget to put a small hole in it for air-transpiration. The top of the liquid will look "scummy" when the fermentation process has seperated the "goo" from the seeds. It also helps destroy many of the possible tomato diseases that can be harbored by seeds.

Take the container of fermented seeds to the sink and with a spoon carefully remove the scummy surface. Then pour the container's contents into a fine kitchen sieve and rinse the seeds with water several times...stir them while they're in the sieve to assure that all surfaces are thoroughly rinsed. Give a few sharp taps to the sieve to help remove as much loose water as possible from the seeds.
Line an open plate with a piece of waxed paper or a large automatic-drip coffee filter. Place the rinsed seeds onto the wax paper or coffee filter and spread them about so they are in a single layer. Place the plate in a safe location where the seeds can dry for a few days. Stir the seeds a few times during the drying process to assure that all their surfaces are evenly dry. Spread them out again into a single layer after each time you've stirred them. Tomato seeds are thick and can take up to a week to dry thoroughly. If you're having a rainy week that drying time may lengthen by a few days.


How do I know when the seeds are dry?
Dried seeds move quickly and easily across a plate, they do not stick to each other.


How do I store them?
I like paper packets or some folks like plastic. Whichever envelope style you choose is a matter of personal preferance. If you choose to store your seeds in plastic the seeds must be BONE DRY....otherwise any moisture in the seeds will be transferred to all seeds inside the plastic packet, it will foster mildew and rotting and the seeds will be ruined.


How do I label them?
Tomatoes are generally self-pollinated so there is rarely a chance of cross-breeding. If you save and trade your seeds you might wish to describe your trade offering as "open-pollinated" tomato seeds. That way the trader knows that Mother Nature was solely involved in the fertilization of the flower which produced the tomato that you have saved seeds from.


Onto the packet write the tomato variety name (if you know it) or a very good description if you don't, add the term "open-pollinated" if you're sharing or trading your tomato seeds, and also add the current year to the packet description.


And that's that! Do enjoy saving tomato seeds and growing your own tomatoes at home from them. Home-saved tomato seeds are a wonderful gift to tuck into a holiday card for when you want to add a "little something extra", or to share with friends and neighbors.

—Trudi Davidoff

An Apple a Day...

It's a great year for apples. Whether you've got a tree or two in your yard, enjoy picking your own, or just love to load up at farmers' markets, we're coming up on a strong season of pies, fresh-pressed cider, turnovers, and any other apple-related dishes you can dream up.

After a tricky season last year when droughts caused a marked decrease in fruit production, apples have made a comeback with places like the local

Burrville Cider Mill bringing back gallon jugs of cider

and a marked drop in consumer cost for the fruit that did Adam and Eve in.

So however you go about acquiring this most wonderful fruit, consider between bites creating a delicious batch of apple sauce, pressing your own cider, or just utilizing one of the below recipes for a treat that's, well, sweet like apple pie on a Sunday afternoon.

Not for the faint of heart, here's a tutorial on constructing your very own cider press:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Small-Homebuilt-Cider-Press/

And for the rest of you, here are some great recipes being broadcast throughout the Internet in recent days:

Canned Apple Pie Filling

From Canning Homemade

Great as a gift, or for storing until you want a fresh-baked pie this winter!

10 pounds tart apples - peeled, cored and sliced (~20 cups sliced)

5 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cup Clearjel

1 T. cinnamon

2-1/2 cups cold water (2 1/2 qts water if you omit apple juice)

5 cups apple juice

1 tsp. nutmeg

3/4 cup bottled lemon juice

Preparation -

For fresh apples, place 6 cups at a time into 1 gallon of boiling water and boil one minute when it comes back to a boil. Drain but keep fruit covered in a bowl.

In a stockpot, mix the sugar, Clearjel, cinnamon, nutmeg together. Add the water and apple juice, stir to mix well. Bring to a boil and cook until thick and bubbly, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Add the lemon juice. Fold apples into mixture.

Pack the apples into hot, sterilized quart size canning jars. Best way to fill is in layers. Using the funnel ladle one large scoop and using the spatula press the apples down in the jar to remove the bubbles. Continue filling using this technique so that you work your way up the jar with as little air bubbles as possible. Fill the jars to 1" headspace. (Because of expansion you can go to 2")

Wipe the rims and place the hot lid/rings on the jars. Process in a water bath canner for 25 minutes at a full rolling boil. Wait 5 minutes, remove and place on dishtowel overnight undisturbed. The next day remove rings and clean jars and label with recipe name and date. Store in a cool, dry, and dark place.  This recipe will make 6 - 7 quarts.

Note:

For a great variation substitute brown sugar for the regular sugar and apple cider for the apple juice. This will make an amazing Caramel Apple Pie filling! 

If you need Clear Jel you can order it from the

SB Canning Store

!

BEST Vegan Apple Pie

From

My Vegan Son

Ingredients:

Pie crust

(

make your own

or check out the “Wholly Wholesome” organic, traditional pie crust)

Filling:

• 4 large organic apple

• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg

• 1/2 c. sugar

• juice of one lime

• 2 Tbs. flour

Pie Top:

• 1 stick of butter or vegan replacement (~1/2 c.)

• 3/4 cup flour

• (1/3) cup sugar

Preheat your oven to 350F. Wash, peel, and chop your apples. Place them in a bowl. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, flour, and lime juice. Mix well. Pour the apples on the pie crust.

In a separate bowl place the buttery stick, the flour, and the sugar. Using your hands, combine the ingredients until they form a dough. Make one big dough ball and break into four smaller dough balls. Each dough ball should cover about 1/4 of the pie. Using your hands, flatten the dough balls as if you were making tortillas and start covering up the pie until it is completely covered.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until slightly golden (see picture).

Let it cool before you dig in

*Note: Always bake the pie on top of a pizza pan in case of pie drippings. 

Cranberry and Apple Crumble

From 

Spoonful

This sweet-tart crumble is best served warm, topped with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream (or vegan alternative). To be sure you're using the freshest berries, you'll want to choose fruit that has bounce in it. Or you can put it to the water test. Small pockets of air trapped in fresh cranberries make them bounce—and float in water.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup flour

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar

• 1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces

• 6 cups peeled and sliced (about 1/2 inch thick) apples (we like Braeburn or Granny Smith)

• 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

• 1/3 cup fresh orange juice

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 375°. Combine the flour, G cup of the sugar, the brown sugar, and the butter in a bowl. Mix the ingredients with your fingertips to create pea-size crumbs. (Alternatively, pulse the mixture in a food processor 10 times or so.)

2. Combine the apple slices and cranberries in a large bowl. Mix the juice, remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar, and cornstarch in a small bowl. Pour the mixture over the fruit and toss well.

3. Spoon the fruit into a 2-quart baking dish and sprinkle on the flour mixture. Bake the crumble until bubbly and golden brown, about 40 minutes. Serves 6 to 8.