I came to Newfoundland for the first time just over four years ago. I can still vividly recall taking the ferry across from Nova Scotia in the late winter, listening to the groaning sounds of the ice around the boat. Within two months of arriving I made my first trip to Bonne Bay, a remote fjord on the west coast of the island. I went to learn about the food system and fisheries in the region as part of a PhD program I was beginning at Memorial University that fall.
Maple syrup conjures up images of towering arboretums in places like Quebec or Vermont, but it’s a little known secret that the rugged and hardy maple trees of Newfoundland make darn fine maple syrup. With nothing more than a half dozen maple trees, some old salt beef containers and a handful of 25 cent metal tree taps, you’re good to go and can expect to end up with over a dozen bottles of hand made maple syrup.
Spectacular vistas, whales breaching, ice bergs floating by, and a foragers paradise. We are blessed with many wilderness areas that offer abundant edible plants. I rarely go on a hike without stopping to have a little taste of this or that. In this post, I will touch upon some of the edibles currently available in our wonderful wilderness.
Thanks to the listing from Seeds of Diversity, I was able to locate a gentleman in Newfoundland who has a great deal of experience growing a wide variety of potatoes here. Last week, I recieved by my set of samples from George, and here's what my benefactor told me about the varieties:
Red Dutch: A very dry, yellow flesh red from Holland in the 1940’s. An excellent potato. Late maturing.
Northern White: A white flesh variety, from Quebec apparently, from the early 1900’s. Very high yield. Good taste.
Most of my local food is gone now until the new harvests start, but I stockpiled a lot of berries last year so we're still enjoying local partridgeberries and cranberries from the freezer. Here are two very different recipes to enjoy what's left of last season's berries: Partridgeberry Vinaigrette and Partridgeberry Hot Cereal. To share your berry ideas Root Cellars Rock has a forum where you can post recipes, cooking tips and tricks for using local foods.
Yes, there are actually things growing already! Here are a few things I've got on the go so far:
Peppers: The first sprouts came up just as April started, and I'm seeing lots of growth in some of the varieties already. Not all of the types have sprouted yet, but peppers can be a bit slow. In fact, I was surprised to see any this soon! I've got 13 varieties planted, with a good mix of sweet and hot peppers. Right now, the sweet peppers are in the lead, so they'll probably be ready for transplant first.
Salad Greens: These only took a few days to start sprouting, and hopefully I'll be harvesting them for salads in a few more weeks. I used those clear containers that berries come in (yes, occasionally non-local berries end up in the house), and packed them with seed starter mix. Since I'm not worried about transplanting, their relatively shallow depth isn't a problem.
Hard Cider:Ok, not really a planting, but it does involve live organisms (yeast). I started this batch about a week ago, using apple juice, a can of frozen apple juice concentrate, and a packet of Champagne yeast. This is my second batch, and I'm hoping it'll be even better than my first (which was actually pretty good).
Have you got any cool spring projects on the go? Post about them in the comments!
