Early season treats from the garden and the woods

Savor sorrel in soup and salad

Even if you planted your peas and spinach in April, you will not be eating them anytime soon. Despite days of full sun and occasional days of high temperatures, spring in New England is often cold and rainy, too. Our vegetable gardens putter along, but few things are ready to eat until June, or later. There are vegetables you can be eating now, however, if you plan right.

I eat parsnips as soon as the snow melts and the ground thaws. How? I overwinter parsnips in the ground, which sweetens them up and makes them even tastier. I plant parsnip seeds in June. They need warm soils to germinate. Even then, they take two to three weeks to come up out of the ground.

Parsnip seeds only are good for one year, so buy new seeds each year. Plant the seeds an inch apart and half an inch deep. A key to success is to thin your parsnips so they are not crowded. Thin them in July when the greens are 4 to 6 inches tall. They need 3 to 4 inches of space between plants if you want good-sized parsnips. If you mulch the plants well with ground-up autumn leaves or straw, your work is done until harvest time the following spring.

Parsnips are an old-fashioned vegetable, but prepared properly they are delicious. I peel and chop parsnips into half-inch-thick slices and steam them until slightly soft. Then I cook them briefly in a frying pan with butter. At the last moment I add maple syrup and cook at low heat until it caramelizes. Yum! Don’t have any this year? You can buy parsnips at your farmers market or even the grocery store.

A little-known perennial green is sorrel. Once established, it produces a plethora of light green, lemon-flavored leaves, year after year. The French make soup with it, perhaps because the greens themselves pretty much melt and disappear if you sauté them. So for years I just added them raw to salads.

Then I got Deborah Madison’s wonderful cookbook, Vegetable Literacy. She uses sorrel with peas and leeks to make a soup. But I don’t really follow recipes, and found that yes, indeed, sorrel goes well with peas. But I found I can boil frozen peas, then at the last minute add chopped sorrel. Just boil it for another minute, drain, add butter and enjoy!

closely packed leaves on low growing plant, in ground
Sorrel is ready to eat now for me. Photo by Henry Homeyer.

Another early perennial vegetable, asparagus, is also coming into season. If you like asparagus — and I can’t imagine anyone not liking it steamed and slathered in butter — you should grow it. It is mostly sold as crowns (roots), not seeds, for starting a patch, but seeds are available if you want to start an acre of asparagus.

Don’t crowd your asparagus. The roots are sold in bundles of 25, which is fine for a family of two. Plant them 18 inches apart and 6 inches deep. Buy any of the Jersey hybrids; they are all male and won’t start new plants that will crowd out your established plants. When planting, add lots of compost and some organic fertilizer. They like full sun and plenty of moisture, but will grow with as little as four to six hours of sunshine if that is all you can offer.

To keep on getting good asparagus every year, keep it well-weeded and top dress it with organic fertilizer every year after you finish picking. Mulch is good for keeping weeds down. And don’t over-pick your asparagus: Three weeks is the season for a well-established patch. Don’t pick any in Year 1 or 2. The plants need to store lots of energy for next spring’s production, so they need to grow fronds all summer for that.

Fiddleheads are a great spring treat. They are the new shoots of the ostrich fern, a big shade-loving fern that is common in New England. All ferns come up as fiddleheads, but only the ostrich fern is tasty. There is an easy way to identify them: They are the only ones that have a groove up the inside of the stem, just like celery.

I sauté fiddleheads in butter in a cast iron frying pan. First I brown some slivered almonds in olive oil, then I add the fiddleheads and some chopped garlic or the bulbs of ramps (more on them below). I pick not only the curled part of the fiddlehead but also the first 6 inches of stem. But I only take one or two fiddleheads from each plant to allow it to develop well.

Ramps, also called wild leeks, are easy to grow if you have an open wooded area with maple, ash or beech. They are commonly sold now at farmers markets. Both the bulb and the leaves are edible, so cut off the bulbs and plant them. Next year they will please you by showing up in early spring. If you plant 25 to 50 bulbs each year for three years or more, you will develop a nice patch. Once established they will spread by seed and root.

My favorite way of eating ramps is to clean them and rub off the gelatinous covering of the bulb, and then chop the entire plant for cooking. I fry them in a cast iron pan until the leaves wilt, then make scrambled eggs. They can also be added to anything that requires garlic or onion — they are the same family.

We will have to wait until July or August to get our tomatoes, even those like ‘Early Girl’ and ‘Fourth of July’ that are quick to produce. But if you start some perennials in your garden, you can be enjoying tasty treats even now, in May. I am.

Henry Homeyer is the author of four gardening books. His email is [email protected]. He is a lifelong organic gardener and a 20+-year veteran of the UNH Master Gardener program.

Featured photo: Ramps are easy to grow and a real spring treat. Photo by Henry Homeyer.

Kiddie Pool 23/05/11

Family fun for the weekend

Outdoor adventures

• Join the Beaver Brook Association at Maple Hill Farm (117 Ridge Road, Hollis) for Homesteading with Rivka on Thursday, May 11, at 6:30 p.m. This class is geared toward teens ages 14 and older and will teach how to make healthy snacks and treats from plants that can be foraged in and around the state. The session costs $30 and spots can be reserved at beaverbrook.org.

• The Goffstown Old Home Day is back on Saturday, May 13, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be live performances at Rotary Park and the Common, a cake and pie auction, vendor booths, food, activities and more. Visit facebook.com/GoffstownOldHomeDay for more information.

• Visit Derryfield Park (Highland Street in Manchester) on Saturday, May 13, for a Family Fun Fair from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be activities and entertainment, music, food, fun and chances to win prizes like tickets to a Kidz Bop concert. There will also be vendors and booths for parents to shop. Visit wzid.com to learn more about the free event.

• The Turf Depot of Hooksett (39 Londonderry Turnpike) is hosting Cruising The Depot Car Show on Wednesday, May 17, from 5 to 8 p.m. The Depot is partnering with Nor’eastern Pontiac-GMC-Oakland Club to co-host this family-friendly event. In addition to the classic cars, there will be prizes, food, ice cream and music. Dogs are also welcome; visitors should bring their own chairs to sit on. The event is free. For more information, visit turfdepot.com.

Indoor fun

• Calling all princesses, mutant ninja turtles and superheroes: The annual Kids Con New England is on Saturday, May 13, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be cosplayers dressed up as beloved characters, children’s books writers and illustrators, comic book creators, crafts, food, a costume contest and more for everyone to enjoy. Tickets cost $15 per person, free for kids ages 5 and younger. Visit kidsconne.com and see the story in the May 4 issue of the Hippo. Go to hippopress.com and check out the e-edition, the story is on page 11.

• Symphony New Hampshire is putting on Peter and the Wolfon Saturday, May 13, at 11 a.m. at the Keefe Center for the Arts (117 Elm St., Nashua). The classic piece of music, composed by Sergei Prokofiev, has charming, thrilling and dramatic moments. This production has been made even more family-friendly with guest narrator Andrew Pinard. Tickets can be purchased at the door, and prices start at $10. Visit symphonynh.org for more information.

• The New Hampshire Reptile Expo is on Sunday, May 14, at the Courtyard By Marriott (70 Constitution Ave., Concord). Get up close and get to know the different reptiles, exotic animals and amphibians at the show. Kids ages 12 and younger are free, while tickets cost $10 to $15 for those over the age of 13. Visit showmesnakes.com for more information.

Farmyard celebrations

• Brookford Farm (250 West Road, Canterbury) is hosting a Heifer Parade on Sunday, May 13, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event is to celebrate the cows moving to their springtime pastures. Visitors will have the option to buy a lunch made with the farm’s fresh ingredients. The fair costs $10 per person and the lunch’s price is yet to be determined. Visit brookfordfarm.com for more information.

• Celebrate all things sunflower with The Educational Farm at Joppa Hill (174 Joppa Hill Road, Bedford) at their Sunflower fun event on Monday, May 15, at 4 p.m. The interactive program is designed to teach children of all ages about the characteristics that sunflowers have. Kids will get to do a craft while they learn about the sunny plant. Spots are $15 and can be purchased at theeducationalfarm.org.

How is your soil and how can you improve it?

Dig some holes, see what you’ve got

Most gardeners know that success in the garden depends on many factors: You can’t grow a sun-loving plant in a shady area, for example. And a shrub that loves wet places won’t do well in dry soil. But the key to success is really the quality of your soil. Not only that, any soil can be improved with some help from you, the gardener.

Ten thousand years ago the glaciers made a final pass over New England, grinding rocks into sand and smaller bits that became sandy, clay and loam soils. Soil is made up of roughly 45 percent ground rocks, 5 percent organic matter, and the other 50 percent is air. Surprisingly, plants get their oxygen through their roots, not leaves.

Of course if you have been driving your car over the lawn, it is compacted and has much less air. Even walking regularly over the ground will compact the soil, which you should avoid, especially when the soil is wet. Compacted soil not only has less oxygen, but also is tough for roots to penetrate, and it is more likely to be waterlogged. Crabgrass does much better than planted grasses in compacted soil.

An easy test for soil compaction in your lawn is to take a screwdriver with a 6-inch shaft and see if you can easily insert it into your soil. If not, the soil is seriously compacted. A lawn with compacted soil will improve if you spread a half-inch layer of compost over it every year. Earthworms and other soil organisms will slowly move it into the soil, improving it. Flower and vegetable beds can be loosened with a fork or hand tool.

It makes sense to get a soil test done every three years to see if your soil is improving with your efforts. Your state extension service has a lab that will test your soil for a fee. Get the home garden test, which will tell your soil pH (acidity), mineral content, organic matter content and soil texture. If your vegetable garden is near the house and it was built before 1978, get the soil tested for lead (the law prohibiting lead in paints passed in 1978). Some states include testing for lead for free in the standard test.

By adding compost or aged manure to your soil in the garden, you will increase the percentage of organic matter and improve soil texture or tilth. You should have at least 4 percent organic matter, and 8 percent is terrific. I add compost every time I plant anything, even though my soil is excellent. Good compost contains lots of living bacteria and fungi that help plants.

Your soil test will not tell you how much nitrogen your soil has, as that number varies daily according to moisture levels and temperature. But if you have plenty of organic matter, it probably has adequate nitrogen. Still, I add some slow-release organic fertilizer when planting anything except annual flowers. Organic fertilizer (unlike most chemical fertilizers) provides nitrogen and other nutrients slowly, rather than all at once. This encourages healthy growth, not a fast spurt of green growth.

Two simple tests you can do involve digging holes. Dig a hole with straight edges down at least a foot to see the soil profile. The top layer will be darkest, as that is where the topsoil is — maybe just 2 inches, or maybe as much as 6 inches. The deeper the topsoil, the better. Adding compost and working it in will increase the quality of the soil; the top 6 inches of soil is where most plant roots are (except for trees).

The next layer is subsoil, which is a different color, perhaps a light brown or reddish brown. Finally, you may get to a layer of sand, gravel or clay. Sand or gravel will help your soil drain well; clay will act like a barrier, holding water. If the soil stays wet much of the year, it will be gray.

Drainage is important for most plants. You can test this by digging a hole 24 inches wide and about 8 inches deep. Fill it with water. If it drains out right away, or within 20 minutes, you have very good drainage. If it holds water for a few hours, especially if there has been much recent rain, you are fine. If it holds water overnight, you have a drainage problem.

If you have a drainage problem, you can build raised beds, either with wood sides or just mounded up. There are plenty of companies selling raised beds or corners for making raised beds with lumber you buy locally. Most lumber stores will cut your lumber to length.

Another simple soil test you can do for free is to moisten some soil, then rub it between your fingers. If it is sticky, it is a clay soil. If you feel grains of sand, it is a sandy soil. If it is neither, and is a nice brown color, you have a good loam, which is what you want.

The last test is to take a handful of moist soil and try to form it into a cylinder. Clay soil will hold together well. Loam, which has some clay, will hold together but break apart if you touch it with your other hand. Sandy soil will fall apart when you squeeze it. The remedy for sandy or clay soil is a generous dose of compost.

Rome was not built in a day, the saying goes. This is true for soil, too. It takes years to get your garden soil in optimum condition everywhere. So work on the places where you are planting for quicker results.

Featured photo: Raised beds are great for areas that flood or stay wet. Photo by Henry Homeyer.

A fair time for the Faire

New Hampshire Renaissance Faire is back for 19th year of medieval fun

Take a few hours to step back into the 1500s, or into a fantasy novel. From jousting knights to traditional Celtic music, the New Hampshire Renaissance Faire will have it all.

The Faire is back, for two weekends only, to bring medieval fun for everyone in the Granite State. Danny Scialdone, the manager of the Faire, said this was pretty unusual for Renaissance Faires.

“The original founder had been involved in Renaissance Fairs for many years, up until the point when she was a mother,” Scialdone said. “She didn’t pay attention to the adult-themed things. She was like, ‘Wow, I want to bring something forward where parents can bring their kids.’”

While not every aspect of the New Hampshire Renaissance Faire is family-friendly, Scialdone said that the events that are geared for a more mature audience are clearly marked everywhere.

In addition to keeping a large portion of the activities geared toward age-inclusivity, Scialdone said that any additional kids’ activities, like a segment called Tea with the Queen, come at no additional costs to families.

“We try to make it inclusive and try to enjoy a really fun atmosphere,” Scialdone said.

Part of the atmosphere is having theme days, Scialdone said. On Saturday, May 13, it will be pirates versus ninjas; Sunday, May 14, will be the Celic and Norse day; Saturday, May 20, will be fairy and fae day, and Sunday, May 21, will be the Dungeons and Dragons day. Scialdone said people should dress up in costumes to match the themes, and he encouraged visitors to go all out.

“We even had a guy dressed fully up as a unicorn one year,” Scialdone said, adding that people should “have a good time and be a part of the Faire.”

This year, for the first time, the Faire will be renting costumes out to visitors who either didn’t dress up or didn’t know where to start with building a costume.

In addition to making the Faire as affordable as they can, Scialdone said the price for admission doesn’t just cover the entrance fee for the event, but any extra proceeds will go to New Hampshire Food Bank.

Last year, the Faire reached a lifetime milestone of $250,000 raised for the bank, since 2011. They also provided food to more than 100,000 people. Scialdone said that was his favorite part of the Faire, getting to know that he was helping to give more than just a fun experience.

“You’re absolutely getting more than what you give … getting to feed 100,000 people, that’s the biggest take-away,” said Scialdone

New Hampshire Renaissance Faire
Where: 80 Martin Road, Fremont
When: Saturday, May 13; Sunday, May 14; Saturday May 20, and Sunday, May 21, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Price: Starting from $15
Visit: nhrenfaire.com

Kiddie Pool 23/05/04

Family fun for the weekend

Cats & dogs

• The Dana Center for the Humanities at Saint Anselm College (100 St. Anselm Drive, Manchester) presents Johnny Peers and the Muttville Comix on Friday, May 5, at 7:30 p.m. A graduate of the Ringling Clown College and a professional clown, Johnny Peers with his gang of shelter dogs combines “the joyousness of physical comedy with man and his best friend,” according to the venue’s website. Tickets cost $45; see tickets.anselm.edu.

• The Seacoast Cat Club’s annual cat show will run Saturday, May 6 (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.), and Sunday, May 7 (9 a.m. to 3 pm.) at the Douglas N. Everett Arena (15 Loudon Road, Concord). Tickets cost $10 for teens and adults ages 12 and up, $7 for seniors, kids under 12 and active military service members, and free for kids ages 4 and under. A $25 discounted price also applies for families of four. See the event page on Facebook @seacoastcatclub for more details.

Taking the stage

• The Palace Youth Theatre (80 Hanover St., Manchester; palacetheatre.org, 668-5588) will present Guys and Dolls Jr., with showtimes on Wednesday, May 3, and Thursday, May 4, at 7 p.m. The mainstage musical will feature student actors in grades 2 through 12, according to the theater’s website. Tickets start at $12.

• The UNH Symphony Orchestra and the UNH Youth Symphony Orchestra will present a public concert on Sunday, May 7, at 6 p.m. in the Johnson Theatre of the Paul Creative Arts Center (on the campus of UNH, at 30 Academic Way, Durham). The performance is free and open to the public, and also available online at YouTube.com/unhmusic, according to a press release.

Fairies, gnomes & superheroes

• It’s Fairy & Gnome Day at the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St., Dover; childresn-museum.org) on Saturday, May 6 — enjoy a live show from Lindsay and Her Puppet Pals (at 10:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m.), a dance performance from the Musical Arts Ballet students at 2:30 p.m., and other ongoing activities, like crafts, scavenger hunts, fairy and gnome home building and more. Reserve admission for either the morning (9 a.m. to noon) or afternoon (1 to 4 p.m.) play sessions, which cost $12.50 for adults and children over 12 months old, $10.50 for 65+, according to the museum’s website.

• Join the Bookery (844 Elm St., Manchester) for a superhero-themed Saturday storytime on Saturday, May 6, at 1 p.m. featuring local cosplayer Jenna Deedy as Captain Marvel who will read the 2019 children’s book What Makes a Hero, by Pamela Bobowicz. Admission is free but registration is encouraged. See bookerymht.com.

Meet the Kid Conservationist

• May’s Super Stellar Friday at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (2 Institute Drive, Concord; starhop.com) on Friday, May 5, at 7 p.m., will feature Jack Dalton, known as the “Kid Conservationist.” In 2021, at the age of 10, Dalton released his first book, Kawan the Orangutan, Lost in the Rainforest, hoping to inspire the next generation of conservationists, according to the Center’s website. Attendees will meet Jack and learn about his recent work on the island of Borneo. He will answer questions about orangutans. Admission costs $12 for adults, $9 for kids ages 3 to 12, $11 for 62+ and for students, and free kids under 2.

All things agriculture

Farm, Forest & Garden Expo celebrates its 40th year

By Mya Blanchard

[email protected]

With spring in full swing, it’s officially the season for all things outdoors. Just in time is the New Hampshire Farm, Forest & Garden Expo, returning for its 40th year to the Deerfield Fairgrounds on Friday, May 5, and Saturday, May 6.

The event will include demonstrations, classes and workshops held by exhibitors on countless agriculture-related topics, such as tapping maple trees, growing flowers, starting a garden, pruning trees and how to safely operate a chainsaw.

“This [is a] place to learn about agriculture and forestry for all, [from] the avid farmer to the backyard enthusiast,” said Jayson McCarter, chairman of the expo’s board. “History being very important, you could always learn from the experts on how things ought to be done.”

Farm animals will be present and contests will be held, like the Future Farmers of America Floral Design Competition and a grilling contest sponsored by 4-H, an international youth development program.

While there has been a kids zone for many years, 4-H is now responsible for organizing what is now dubbed the “Ag Discovery Zone.”

“This year we kind of have a farm-to-table theme going,” said Michelle Bersaw-Robblee, the program coordinator for 4-H. “I think it’s a great opportunity to engage our future decision-makers and consumers around agriculture.”

Traditionally having been held in Manchester, and usually during the month of February, the expo is now taking place at the fairgrounds.

“We just outgrew it, and it being in the winter was tough,” expo manager Kelly Bryer said. “The spring just seemed like a better fit and the Deerfield Fairgrounds is already an agricultural venue and it just gave us lots of room to grow, bring in more partners [and] expand those partnerships.”

The expansion allows the event to be used as a platform for organizations to showcase themselves. One such organization is Bedrock Gardens, a 37-acre public garden in Lee.

“[Formal gardens] … have formal beds where roses are planted and you walk from one bed to another bed of formal flowers. This is not that kind of garden,” said Nanci Taylor, the organization’s community outreach coordinator. “It’s more like meandering on a trail. Part of the time you will be in a forest and you will see plants and bushes that grow in shade, and then you’ll be in sunshine. … There’s a different feeling to each of these areas as you walk along.”

According to McCarter, the farming community is at risk due to economic hardships, regulatory issues and urban development.
“While our farmers are as committed as ever to keep our fields, forest and natural resources viable for future generations, the duty to preserve just doesn’t get any easier,” he said. “That’s where our expo comes in. Not only is it a great ‘old home day’ for all those who are currently protecting our precious commodities, it’s a chance to educate and inspire those who will take over these efforts some day.”

NH Farm, Forest & Garden Expo
Where: Deerfield Fairgrounds, 34 Stage Road, Deerfield
When: Friday, May 5, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday, May 6, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Cost: $10 per person; includes one-day admission to the expo and additional entry for its door prize drawings (free for kids ages 12 and under)
More info: nhfarmandforestexpo.org

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