Posted by: Nick Cavanaugh in Untagged on
Aug 2, 2009
I've been pretty busy during the last month and now have the opportunity to share some info about what I've been up to, so check it out. A few weeks ago I visited the Hudson Valley and was able to get a glimpse of some awesome urban farming and community gardening efforts. Seeing these in action inspired me to think of the possibilities for what we could be doing in Syracuse and elsewhere. First is Ashe Urban Farm in Newburgh, NY, then Gardens for Nutrition in New Paltz.
Ashe Urban Farm is Orange County's only youth run urban farm. The group that tends the farm was formed through an afterschool program at Newburgh Free Academy. I was inspired to see the youth initiative and the way that they are intentionally seeing their efforts as more than just gardening: they're trying to change the way their community relates to food by bringing the farm back to the city. They've got a great variety of vegetables, including beans, squash, beets, radishes, and much more, grown right in the city of Newburgh. Check out the images:
Ashe Urban Farm tends their space in the larger "People's Garden of Newburgh."
Posted by: Nick Cavanaugh in Untagged on
Jun 15, 2009
Alright, my first solar food dehydration experiment has been completed. I dehydrated some store-bought basil and parsley with the homemade solar dehydrator I blogged about last week. I detailed the process and outcome below, with photos. Let me know if you have any feedback or suggestions, as I'm completely new to this.
In total, the herbs were outside in the dehydrator for roughly 11 hours, with a temperature range between 100 and 115. All told, the process took 4 days. From what I can gather from a little internet research, air drying basil, in comparison, could take a few weeks. Sun drying basil could have it done in a comparable time, although some people argue that exposing herbs directly to the sun can cause a loss in nutrients and flavor.
On Wednesday, June 10, at 3:00pm I put the herbs out in the dehydrator which was at a temperature of 110 degrees Fahrenheit. I left it outside for about four hours, after which the temperature dropped below 100. The herbs appeared to be beginning to dry, but had a long way to go.
Posted by: Nick Cavanaugh in Untagged on
Jun 9, 2009
Hello everyone, I would like to share with any interested readers a project that I'm working on as part of an internship I'm doing at the Alchemical Nursery Project. I've become very interested in food preservation as a means of allowing us Central New Yorkers to eat locally all year 'round. I'm particularly interested in food dehydration as the cheapest, most energy efficient, most space efficient method I know of, which is also comparably great for preserving nutrients and flavor. Best of all, I've learned that you don't even need to purchase equipment to dehydrate food - we can dehydrate food simply by harnessing the sun's rays!
Solar dehydration is an ancient food preservation method that in many climates requires nothing more than laying food out in the sun. In CNY, however, our temperature and humidity may mean a little more work. In doing a little research, I found a design for a solar dehydrator that can be built almost for free. Here's the design, which can be found at http://www.ehow.com/how_4901341_build-own-dried-fruits-vegetables.html :
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