Call us 860-740-6938 Eric talks with Rick about how to start vegetable seeds, seed starting, grow lights, and how to avoid damping off of seedlings, broadcast seeding of mesclun and lettuces, what kind of fluorescent bulbs to use in your grow light. Plus more than you want to know about Rick’s crawl space and the problems with pouring a slab foundation in sandy soil. Plus a follow up to our How to Deal with a Contractor talk, with Rick playing the role of the customer, and Eric as the contractor. And a few of Rick’s favorite podcasts.
Author: Eric
-
The BKswappers Food Swap at the Brooklyn Kitchen
This weekend I went down to New York City to go to Brooklyn to be part of Megan’s BKswappers event which was held at the Brooklyn Kitchen in Williamsburg Brooklyn or perhaps it’s Greenpoint – the border there is a bit fuzzy – but it was really fun as you can see from these pictures.
From the potluck snack table The Brooklyn kitchen has a really nice large space that they use for classes and demonstrations and they were nice enough to allow Megan and Jane to host the BKswappers there. They opened the store a little bit early for us on a Sunday morning and we all just moved in. I forgot one detail but the food swap is also potluck and I forgot to bring anything – not surprising – but there was a ton of food there as you can see from these pictures.
some of the foods offered for trade 
Hard Cider being bottled on premise for the swap How does a food swap work? We talked about how to have a food swap on GardenFork Radio with Megan, one of the hosts of BKswappers. To start you can email a group of friends and have everyone meet at someone’s house. Invite your friends to bring foods that they have made that they would like to trade for foods that other people have made. ( As your food swap gets larger, you can use meetup.com for or eventbrite.com to organize your group )
I brought honey, applesauce, pickles Everyone gets together at the appointed time and place ( name tags are suggested ) and they set out the foods they have brought on a table. Each food item, be it an apple pie or a jar of applesauce has a piece of paper ( an ‘offer slip’ ) in front of it describing what the item is and perhaps a brief note about how it was made, or what foods go well with, like hot dogs go well with ketchup. Underneath the description are five numbered lines for swap offers.
An offer to swap is made by writing on the slips Perusing the table of food that is to be swapped, people decide what they would like to trade for and jot down on the ‘offer slip’ next to the food item they are interested in what they want to offer that person in trade.
There’s also a lot of socializing that goes on while everyone is checking out the table, and people are eating all the fun food brought for the potluck. People brought apple pie, donuts with bacon, egg salad, duck rillet, several cheese plates, a citrus salad. All really great stuff.
Bacon Donuts. wow. 
Food-a-rama at the potluck table So while you’re looking at the foods that you want to swap for, you’re getting to eat food as well. nice.
Some people put on the potluck table a sample of what they’re offering to trade. For example, someone brings bags of cookies they want to trade; they might put out one bag of the cookies on the potluck table to give people a taste of the cookies that they are offering up for trade. Which is pretty cool.
There is a lot of socializing the goes on the whole time while everyone’s eating all the snacks from the potluck.
At a given time Megan and Jane announce: okay it’s time to do the swaps. People then look at slips of paper ( the offer slips ) next to the food items that they have offered up and see what people are offering. It is usually five or six people that offer to trade. You pick which one you like to trade for you go find the person and “say sure I’d like to trade my pickles for your applesauce”. Then your trade is done.
An action photo of the swapping of food The BK swappers event is is really well-established now, they were written up in the New York Times recently ( article link here ) and that made the turnout even higher. I think there were about 40 people, from the pictures you can see it’s jam packed with super nice people.
While at the food swap I learned about making sauerkraut from a fellow food swap attendee. I spoke with another guy that made hard cider – there is a picture of him drawing off a little mini keg here. The best item from the potluck table were some little mini doughnut pillows with the icing and bacon on them , yum.
Megan, aka Brooklyn Homesteader, is one of the hosts of BKswappers So a big thank you to Megan and Jane and thank you to the Brooklyn kitchen for hosting as well. you can find out more about BK swappers here.
FYI We interviewed Megan about how to start or host your own food swap and here is a link to that GardenFork Radio episode. -
Late Winter Gardening & Apple Tree Pruning : DIY Video
An early spring tour of the vegetable garden, where Eric talks about using a hoop house cold frame to get an early start on spring vegetable plants, and how to grow sugar snap peas, plus some of eric’s thoughts on how to prune fruit trees like the old apple tree in the yard. Plus the Labrador Retrievers, of course.
In this video we talked about how to make a cold frame hoop house, and you can see that DIY video on our site here
Buy the thermatic vents here: http://amzn.to/2zG4WjC
To learn more about how to start seeds, make seed starting plant pots, seed starting, and growing plants in seed starting trays, watch our video How to start seeds video here.
What are you doing to get a head start on the growing season, what season extenders are you using? Let us know below: -
Bullfrogs Scare Me : GardenFork Radio
Leave a comment: 860-740-6938 A more laid back GF Radio, as Eric is kinda tired, and Mike is, well, Mike. But, we talk about Frog mating calls, using social media in your job search, Eric’s visit to a food swap, BKswappers, at Brooklyn Kitchen, slide rulers, how to keep your dogs out of your raised beds, and birdhouses. Please write a review on our iTunes page!
photo by Click
-
Hire Mike, IT Expert : GardenFork Radio
Mike is seeking new employment opportunities in the computer tech social media IT world. He is smart. So hire Mike.The alternative title for this show has to be: Approach the Printer and say “Print”. How to get to the moon using slide rulers; The Apollo project, the joys of Bruce’s steel cut oatmeal recipe, April Fool’s jokes, raised beds and companion plantings, seed starting, Kefir and yogurt.
10 things about the Apollo Moon Landing link here
MakerBot , the 3D printer here
-
The Mice in My Greenhouse
It was pretty toasty in my greenhouse yesterday, and while cleaning up I ran across this mouse nest inside a terra cotta garden pot. The mice had moved out, but this shows how industrious they are when building a nest. All sorts of materials in this nest to make it cozy.
What's inside? 
cozy mouse nest -
Still snow in my yard…
But it’s slowly melting. The black plastic will warm up the raised beds quickly. Yours?
-
How to Grow Heirloom Tomatoes : GardenFork Radio
Call us: 860-740-6938 Want to know How to Grow Heirloom Tomatoes? or just how to grow tomatoes? Today we talk with my neighbor Priscilla, who is an heirloom tomato expert, and has more energy than I do even after drinking lots of coffee. Priscilla grows tomato seedlings of 30 different heirloom tomato varieties each year and sells the young plants at her farm stand at the end of her driveway.
Priscilla mentioned several seed companies she is ordering from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds has a beautiful catalog and is very pro-active about heirloom seeds. Their site is here http://rareseeds.com/
Totally Tomatoes is a catalog that has more tomato varieties than anyone else, I think. Their site is here http://www.totallytomato.com/
Shumway Seeds website is here: http://www.rhshumway.com/
We will also be posting a new GardenFork video this week on how to start vegetable seeds in these neat homemade cardboard containers Priscilla showed us how to make.
Some of my favorite heirloom tomato varieties are Black Krim, Mortgage Lifter, Prudens Purple, and Juliette.
What are your favorite tomato varieties? Let us know below:
-
Thundersnow In My Head : GardenFork Radio
Comments and questions: 860-740-6938 call us! Mike and Eric talk about thundersnow, bicycle seat height adjustment, the vernal equinox, how to make soft cheese, making sweet and sour cabbage, a crashed hive, watching web video on your HDTV, using appleTV on our TV & the art of highway rest areas
links to things we talk about in the show:
how to make cheese video
sweet and sour cabbage recipe video
www.restareahistory.orgphoto by alvimann
-
How To Make Maple Syrup at a Sugar Shack: GF Video
Ever wondered how to make maple syrup? I have a number of friends who have sugar shacks and boil down sugar maple sap to make maple syrup. Last weekend I visited one of my friends and made this video about how to make maple syrup.
You can also use simpler methods than the one shown here with the 2 stage evaporator, I plan on tapping my sugar maples next year and making maple syrup in with a simple propane burner and stainless steel steam table tray that will be my evaporator.Do you make your own maple syrup? How do you make it? and any tips and tricks you can offer us here? Let us know below
-
The Martha Radio Gig, Margaret Roach, & GardenFork.TV
Eric tells about his Martha Stewart Living Radio experience, and Margaret Roach’s new book, making mid-life changes & going back to college, brand name batteries, Mike’s Jukebox repair, dog beds, and more on GardenFork Radio. call us 860-740-6938
Link to Martha Stewart Living Radio is here Link to Margaret Roach’s blog and info on her new book is here
-
I’m just holding Mike’s coat : Gardenfork Radio
Please like us on facebook.com/GardenFork ! Rick, Mike, & Eric talk how to fix ice dams, how to prevent ice dams, insulating your attic, getting honeybees ready for spring, Sirius Martha Stewart Living Radio, and how to prune a tree the right way. Only the most recent 100 shows are on iTunes. Listen to the full radio archive at www.GardenFork.TV
The how to repair ice dams video we talk about is here
photo by ronnieb
-
Bath Vanity Falling Off Wall : Stuff I See While Working
I’ve been in a lot of houses and apartments that have been renovated or are new construction, and I’m never surprised by what I see. Take this expensive bathroom vanity as an example:
right side is a bit off here… Here the bath vanity is falling off the wall, not a good thing. Especially for a brand new renovation.
Vanity counter separating from wall Crawling underneath the vanity and searching around, I found that the whole vanity, with this heavy counter top, had been installed with 4 drywall screws. And two of screws did not hit a stud.
On the right side of the vanity the drywall screws had sheared. wow.
Before starting to fix this, I explained to the homeowner that it was possible the vanity top would crack when we raised it back into place. Always warn people.
I got the car jack from our car and with some scrap lumber, raised the vanity a bit higher than its original location. I did this because I knew the vanity would probably drop just a bit when screwing it back in to the wall.
I then got my hammer drill out – the right wall is the common wall between 2 brownstones, hence its a double brick wall- and drilled a 3/8″ hole thru the tile deep into the brick.
concrete sleeved anchors are bulletproof I drove in a sleeved anchor, and tightened the vanity to the wall. If you have to hammer in a sleeved anchor, put the nut on the anchor before hitting it with hammer to save the threads. These anchors hold a lot of weight and are easy to put in, the hardest part is drilling the hole. I use them to hang TVs on brick and cement walls.
What surprises have you found when doing repairs? Tell us below
-
How to make cheese, ricotta cheese, queso blanco : GardenFork.TV
I’ve been wanting to show you all how to make cheese for a while now; basic soft cheese like ricotta or queso blanco is easy and gives you the basics to move into more involved cheeses. The homemade cheese recipe and some book recommendations are below the video.
Click here for an Amazon search for books on how to make cheese. Plus I list the most popular books below.The GardenFork.TV Home Made Cheese Recipe
Get the freshest best quality milk you can find for this. I have seen raw milk for sale now, but use it at your own risk.
Measure out 2 cups of milk into a microwavable container, a Pyrex pitcher works well for me
Add 1 teaspoon of Citric Acid, you can also use vinegar, if so, use 2 tablespoons of vinegar.
Mix the milk and acid together
Place the container of milk in your microwave and turn on high for 2 minutes
The power rating of your microwave will determine how long to heat the cheese, you want to get the milk to at least 165F, but you can go up to 185F.
When the milk has gotten hot enough, take it out and give it a stir, then let it set for a few minutes.
Pour it thru a fine sieve into a bowl, this will separate the soft cheese from the liquid.
Labradors love this liquid, called whey, by the way.
After the cheese has drained, you are ready to eat. Add a bit of salt and honey to make it even better.
©2014 all rights reserved.
-
There’s a lot of duct tape in the world : GardenFork Radio
Monica and Eric talk about Monica’s renovation of her 2nd floor, and the surprises you find when you take the walls down in your house. Plus Raising goats in your backyard, Ice Dams, Rain Gutters, Dog Toys, insulating your home, and how to remove a bathtub from your home.
Here is the backyard goat article in the NY Times
The Goat Justice League is here
photo by Duboix
-
Eric guest hosts Martha Stewart Living Radio next week
This is one of those fall out of your chair kind of things.
After being a guest a few times on Martha Stewart Living Radio, I’ve been asked to guest host the afternoon of March 7th and March 8th.
How cool is that?
I’ve been working with the producers this week about guests I’d like to have on the show, and confirmed the following cool people:
Nichelle Stephens, Cupcakestakesthecake blogger & social media expert
Ulla Kjarval, grass fed beef farmer – advocate – blogger
Gennaro Brooks Church, green contractor, EcoBrooklyn.com
Jaden Hair, SteamyKitchen.com cookbook author , TV personality
Robert Newton, Chef & Owner, Seersucker Brooklyn NY
Megan Paska, urban homesteader, beekeeper, BK Swappers
Joshua Stokes, chef with the answers to your questions, GrillAChef.com
I’ll be on from 1-4 pm Monday and Tuesday. You can listen to Sirius ch 112 – XM ch 157 on your computer and smartphone. They offer a 30 day trial, you can learn more here.
-
Braised Sweet & Sour Cabbage Recipe : GardenFork.TV
Red Cabbage is one the super foods we should eat more of, so here is a simple recipe for red cabbage. This recipe is a braise, which basically means the food is cooked, but not covered in a liquid with the cover on. Red cabbage is a beautiful vegetable to grow, and when you slice it open it looks really cool, like an art photo. Red Cabbage has large amounts of vitamin C and K, and is part of the brassica family of plants, along with broccoli and kale.
Braised Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage Recipe
1 medium head of red cabbage quartered, cored, and sliced
1 medium sweet onion
1 cup raisins
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
1 cup apple cider
Cut up the onion into a rough dice, nothing fancy. Add to a thick bottomed pot with oil and cook until starting to just brown.
Add the chopped red cabbage, and cook down the cabbage a bit, ideally you are getting all the cabbage to saute a bit to sweeten it.
Add in the cider vinegar, apple cider and raisins.
Bring the cabbage mix to a simmer, give it a stir, lower the heat and cover.
Stir the cabbage every 10 minutes or so, after 30 minutes it should be cooked, but if you cook it low and slow, you can keep it cooking longer, and it will sweeten and break down more.
Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage tastes great after its cooked, but it tastes even better the next day. Put it in the fridge overnight and pull it out for lunch or dinner. You can warm it up, or eat it cold. © eric rochow, all rights reserved.
How do you cook cabbage? Tell us how below:
