Because canning and freezing have been around long enough to become embedded in our food culture, it’s a bit disconcerting to think of preserving food by any other means. Just how did our forefathers preserve food prior to Louis Pasteur’s discovery of sterilization by heat (1860’s) and the invention of refrigeration (early 1900’s)? Drying and salting were certainly used extensively; smoking, drying and salting were used to preserve meat and fish and drying was employed primarily for fruit. When it came to preserving everything else, fermentation was the preferred choice. Fermentation? Ughh! Because refrigeration and canning have driven such a permanent wedge between us and our long history with fermentation, many people are now repelled by the thought of eating something thats been fermented. Actually fermentation is still used to make a few common foods and beverages, namely; beer, wine, cheese, yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut and sourdough bread. Unfortunately, except for the latter, all of these foods are typically pasteurized. Why this is a bad thing will be pointed out shortly.

Why would one want to preserve something by fermentation when it can be canned or frozen? There are several very good reasons. Canning and freezing both consume large amounts of scarce energy that we are currently fighting wars over. Fermentation requires no electricity or cooking. Freezing any large quantity of food requires a chest type freezer – a luxury purchase for most. Canning also requires the purchase of additional equipment. Fermentation only requires a water seal crock and recycled jars to take excess production from the crock. Because sealing is less important with fermented food, lids can also be recycled.

Perhaps more importantly, the process of canning – using heat to sterilize food (pasteurization) – denatures food by destroying nutrients and important enzymes that aid in digestion. Conversely, fermentation releases nutrients, making them more available for our bodies to use. Fermentation is accomplished by probiotic Lactobacillus cultures – those friendly guys that live in our digestive system and help us assimilate food. 100 years of refrigeration and canning has separated us from our 10,000+ year long symbiotic relationship with these cultures and research indicates that many modern mental and physical illnesses may be attributed to lack of cultured foods in our diet.

What about bad bacteria getting into food and making us sick? Isn’t that why pasteurization became popular? Three things; 1) fermented foods are made with salt which creates an inhospitable environment for bad bacteria; because our bodies contain salt, friendly lactobacillus bacteria can flourish in a salty environment (we are 80% bacteria), 2) given the right fermentation environment, the friendly bacteria will kill keep bad ones at bay, 3) Luis Pasteur had some very wealthy influential friends who saw the potential of using his process to their financial advantage. The latter was the beginning of the industrialization of food and the downhill slide of human health and historic food cultures.

Another oft asked question is regarding the time it takes to make fermented foods. In reality it takes much less time to go through the fermentation process than the canning process. Canning requires a cooking stage for some foods and the heat sealing stage in a canner. None of this is needed for the fermentation process. The Japanese employ perhaps the easiest system. They use a “koji box” made of rot resistant wood (modified wine barrels work), fill it with rice hulls, add water and salt, inoculate it with culture, put it in a dark cool place and then add whole intact vegetables as they come from the garden. When they need a vegetable, they reach into the box and pull it out. What can be simpler? Rice hulls have a natural resistance to fungus and the addition of the salt and culture completes the preservative picture.

A simple water seal crock is a good way to start fermenting (I got mine online). There are many recipes for fermenting foods depending on the type and desired result. A basic recipe for vegetables is to place them in the crock in layers and sprinkle each layer with salt. Add the inoculant, place a weight on top, cover with water, place the lid on and fill the water seal. The seal prevents entry of undesirables and allows the carbon dioxide given off by the culture to bubble out during fermentation. Whey derived from clabbering fresh goat or cow milk is full of lactobacillus culture and makes a great inoculate. Use a couple tablespoons of whey per gallon. If you have some fermented food and no whey, use some of the juice from the fermented food (as long as it hasn’t been pasteurized) as an inoculate. After 2 or 3 weeks fermentation in the crock (cooler temperatures slow fermentation, warmer speeds it), place the vegetables in jars for longer term storage, freeing up the crock for the next batch. Canning jars as well as recycled peanut butter, pickle or any other jar with a metal lid and a rubber seal will work. Jars and lids should be sterilized. Crocks and jars should be stored in a cool dark place (root cellars are hard to beat). If none exists in your house, put the jars in the fridge for longer storage. I’ve had kraut last for 6 months in jars, out of the fridge. For more info, email me at katbambu@hotmail.com.

For millennia fire swept through much of southern Arizona on an average of about twice per decade.  Our native grasses adapted to this onslaught, developing the ability to bounce back quickly after a fire.  In short, fire determined that grass would be the climax plant community of much of the 3,000’ to 5,0000’ elevations.  Mesquite saplings are not able to withstand the constant onslaught of fire, so for thousands of years mesquite trees have been relegated to areas where fire didn’t often reach.  However, given time to become established, mesquite can tolerate fire to some extent and with native animals continually dispersing its seed, mesquite was always able to gain new footholds here and there while losing them elsewhere.

Native Americans understood that grass supports a much wider array of game than mesquite and these folks may have played a role in aiding fires much as native peoples still do in many parts of the world today.  Our native Masked Bobwhite quail is a good example of a game species whose population increases after a fire.

In the latter half of the 1800’s, white man came along and threw a monkey wrench into this finely tuned ecosystem in the form of cattle.  Cattle were allowed to increase in numbers far greater than the fragile grasslands could tolerate and within a few decades much of the grass was gone (along with countless tons of topsoil), leaving insufficient fuel for its creator.  Pressed for food due to lack of their natural food source (grass), cattle began to browse on mesquite pods.

It just so happens that mesquite seeds need to be scarified to germinate.  Scarification is botanical lingo referring to the process of etching the hard ectoderm of the seed to allow water to penetrate and cause germination.  Mold usually accomplishes this task, but being stepped on by a large animals hoof or rolling down a rushing arroyo can also accomplish etching.   It turns out that passing through the digestive system of a cow or bull accomplishes scarification exceedingly well.  In fact this ecosystem never saw a more efficient way of distributing mesquite, thanks to the fact that the seeds are passed out inside a pile of perfect growing medium. This – combined with insufficient grass to fuel fires – is how the very animal the ranchers brought here to eat grass are still to this day turning the grasslands into mesquite bosques.

This newly altered ecosystem is more of a curse than a blessing because; native wildlife dependent on vast grasslands are in decline, mesquite taps more groundwater than grass, grass serves to prevent soil erosion better than mesquite, grass slows rainwater runoff better allowing more to soak in and recharge the aquifer, grass is a better soil builder and of course grass supports much more game (another local food source – another column) and a wider array of non-game species.

On the plus side; we get to harvest more mesquite pods.  When left with lemons, make lemonade.

Because mesquite trees flower and begin to set pods during the dry months just before the monsoon begins, the setting of pods is highly dependent on winter rains.  The springs of 2006 and 2007 saw very few pods due to very dry winters.  Although the winter of 2007/2008 was not exceedingly wet, there was sufficient rain to enable a decent pod set this year.  Some trees in low lying areas or near the downspout of your rain gutters received enough extra moisture to set heavily.

Pods are ripe when they are easily pulled from the tree. If you have to pull hard enough to bend the branch, its not ready.  Like most fruit, the pod will be sweeter and more nutritious when left to ripen on the tree.  Look for pods that are not discolored and have no insect damage or bird droppings on them.  If the pods have a black mold on them, discard them.  These molds may contain carcinogenic aflatoxins.  Brown spots are often due to mesquite beetles probing the green pod for juice.  These pods will not be as sweet and should be avoided.  Before pods can be milled they have to be dry enough to snap crisply when bent.  If it has rained recently pods can absorb enough moisture from the air to be too wet to mill, even if they are kept inside.  If your freshly harvested pods are not snapping dry, lay them out in the sun on a screen to dry before storing.  To avoid rodent and insect damage, store in tightly closed containers.

Bruchid or bean beetles are a major pest on mesquite pods.  There are three species in southern Arizona; Stater limbstus, Mimosestes amicus and Mimosestes alkei.  The latter two lay eggs on the pod.  When the eggs hatch the larvae burrow into the pod with adults emerging through the holes left by the larvae.  The former species enters the pod through the burrow left be the latter two and lays eggs directly onto the seed.  Many of the pods you harvest will have eggs on them with the larvae doing their thing well after you have put your pods into storage.  This is why you may be greeted by hundreds of bruchid beetles when storage containers are opened days or weeks later. For this reason it’s often better to mill earlier rather than later.  Contact me at katbambu@hotmail.com for information about milling.

Food security, gas prices, food prices, and local economics – these issues have compelled many to become locavores or; one who derives their food locally. Jessica Prentice coined this term in San Francisco at World Environment Day in 2005. The New Oxford American Dictionary deemed all of this sufficiently important to declare “locavore” the best new word of 2007. Already the connotation of a locavore is evolving to; one who derives all of their needs locally.

Buying locally produced goods or services from a locally owned business or farm greatly improves the chances that your money will cycle through the local economy and end up back in your pocket. This recycling of money in the local economy is inherently stabilizing to that economy and promotes local autonomy. Conversely, spending money locally on products made by corporations that are sold at local retail stores sends much of your money to far flung corporate headquarters. I occasionally consult with people who want to build sustainable homes. Some have innocently asked me if Home Depot counts as a local resource. Umm, no. Purchasing goods made far away that were shipped to a local retail store is part of the problem, not part of the solution. In the case of spending money with a local business that is not locally owned, chances are good that an even greater percentage of your money will leave the local economy, with only the money paid to local employees and perhaps some ad revenue remaining behind. In both cases much of what you pay will never be seen in the local economy again. This hurts local producers of similar goods and hampers economic development of your home town. Compare these examples to the local producer whose entire life’s investment is in his local community, greatly compounding his positive economic impact.

One can begin to see how a large number of folks making prudent use of their purchasing power can create positive change that benefits everyone. Granted, not everything one needs can always be produced locally. However, often one can find a locally available used version or substitute, or a neighbor who has extra produce, eggs, goat milk or beef from their cattle.

In small local economies farmers often cannot make a living if they are required to fulfill expensive government regulations. This is unfortunate because they usually know all of their customers by name. It behooves the farmer to not sell a bad product because the small clientele base could quickly evaporate due to a bad reputation. Additionally, if people knew how commercial meat, eggs and milk are produced in crowded, disease ridden, industrial farms verses the small local producer whose animals often have room to roam and access to natural food sources which results in healthier food for the consumer, they would likely choose to buy from their local non-licensed producers over licensed industrial producers.

Fortunately other options do exist. Many small communities are well suited to developing cooperative groups that can take advantage of local resources, especially at this time of year when everyone’s garden is overflowing. Folks with excess produce can get together and swap produce for eggs, milk, meat or other goods and services. To get the ball rolling, I propose we start such a group in Arivaca. Initially this cooperative might want to focus on locally produced food, but it seems natural for it to evolve and fulfill more of our needs. Some of us have been talking about this for some time and we are arranging to acquire locally produced grass fed beef, eggs and produce through this group. If you are interested in participating, go to www.ArivacaLocal.org.

As for locally owned and operated farms, one of our best sources in the Arivaca area is “Forever Yong” farm near the end of Moyza Ranch Road. John and Yong Rueb have operated this organic farm for nearly ten years and offer a wide variety of seasonal vegetables. When purchased at the farm, prices are about half of what you would pay at a retail store. Yep, that’s organically grown produce for less than what you would pay for chemically grown produce from a grocery store. Call 398-8030 for an appointment.

Another local resource that I often make use of is Larry Beckelman’s’ salvage yard. For many years Larry has salvaged old buildings and other materials locally. Through the years I have purchased fencing, roofing, lumber and numerous other useful things from him. His prices are less than what you would pay for the same material new and when you add in the gas savings and the boost to our local economy, it becomes a wise option.

This month’s topic is biochar, a term that recently came into usage to describe incorporating charcoal to greatly improve a soil’s biological activity. Biochar itself is ancient.  I first came across terra preta (“black earth” to Brazilians) reading “1491” by Charles C. Mann, (I highly recommend the book).  Mann conducted research on the North and South American continents prior to the arrival of Columbus and learned of a civilization, living along the Amazon 6,000 years ago and doing something so advanced scientists are still trying to understand it.  Instead of slashing and burning the rain forest, as is done today to clear a plot of land for farming, this ancient culture turned the forest into charcoal then buried the charcoal along with their food scraps, excrement and pottery shards. Later generations grew crops in that medium for the next several thousand years without ever having to add any further amendments. Today, some of these soils, rediscovered in the first half of the 1900’s, have been intensively farmed since then, without additions to increase fertility. This is more astonishing when realizing that the typical crop lifespan of land that has been slashed and burned is only 2 to 3 years.  In the Amazon most of the nutrient base is in the above ground biomass, slashing and burning it to ash consumes most of this base.  What little nutrients are left are quickly used by farming and/or leached away by the intense rains. However, converting that biomass into charcoal only consumes about 50% of the biomass.  When the remaining 50% – in the form of charcoal – is buried it will remain stable for thousands of years, perhaps even tens of thousands of years.  The life span of this material is one of the many things scientists are trying to determine.

But that’s not the amazing part.  Charcoal is incredibly porous and apparently there is something about the combination of this porosity (many things in soil are porous) and the charcoal itself that creates a fine habitat for the creation of countless beneficial microbes, which set up housekeeping in the charcoal converting crude organic matter into a nutrient-dense medium.  Something else about charcoal as a substrate allows these nutrients to be doled out in an optimal way; very judiciously.  Not even the intense rains of the Amazon leach them (or the intense watering of desert gardeners?). Plant roots, mycelium and other soil flora and fauna love this well aerated, carbon-based medium and flourish within it creating a veritable paradise of fertility.
But that’s not the amazing part.  Burying charcoal sequesters CO2, our most problematic greenhouse gas.  It’s a “net negative” sequestration as plants grown in biochar enriched soil grow faster and pull even more CO2 out of the atmosphere in the process of photosynthesis.

Even considering the smoke produced by making biochar, (50% of the biomass) it is still a “net negative.”  When a crop of biochar is buried, its benefits will sequester far more C02 than was generated by its smoke.  Plus, it will last far longer than the time it takes for the sequestered biomass to be replaced.  If the next generation of biomass is turned into charcoal then a compounding effect begins. This compounding of sequestration is pretty amazing, but the most amazing aspect is that the gases (smoke) can be captured and converted into biofuels such as alcohol or diesel!  We can have our cake and eat it too.  Before the advent of electricity, our great-grandparents used kerosene as a lamp fuel.  Kerosene was often distilled from the gases (smoke) created by the production of charcoal, which was used to fire wood burning stoves.

I spent several weeks in May making biochar in my outdoor earthen horno and applying it to my garden.  It takes several years before the biochar becomes fully charged with nutrients, so I’ll be unable to report on the results for some time. If you are interested in using biochar you can buy lump charcoal, made from hardwoods and used for barbecuing. (Do not use charcoal briquettes, they’re often treated with starting fuel and fillers that you don’t want in your garden.)  Biochar must be broken into 1/4” pieces to maximize the surface area. If you have a big garden this could be quite expensive as it needs to be applied at a rate of about 2% to 9% of the volume of soil. In other words if you roto-till 100 square feet to a depth of 8”, the math would be – lets say a 4% ratio – 4% of 8” x100 square feet. Cornell University, the leading institution in the U.S doing research into biochar, recommends starting with 2% and adding more later, if needed. There is no hard information on the optimal amount. As of my last check, the highest known ratio in the Amazon was 9%. My guess is that the amount will vary depending on the soil type, its pH and climatic conditions. Research is now being conducted to determine if biochar was used in other ancient civilizations in different ecosystems. If you’re interested in how to make your own biochar, contact me at katbambu@hotmail.com.

Because much of the world’s farmland has succumbed to erosion and loss of fertility due to poor farming practices, the implications for biochar are profound. The creation of what amounts to a permanently fertile soil, will change agriculture as we know it. The addition of chemical fertilizers to the soil will no longer be needed. Even current organic farming practices will become antiquated. For more information, Google biochar, terra preta or agrichar, or go to biocharInternational.org.