In this case organic matter would be horse manure. Early this spring I called my cousin Kay who has two horses and asked if she had any horse manure I could have. She said,”When can I bring it over?”
Manure is great for garden soil. It fertilizes as well as aiding the soil structure, not to mention it is green in many meanings of the word. Long before the modern world knew the terms green, sustainable, organic, community garden, seed saver, or locavores they were part of daily living for my family.
The way of farm life for my grandfather and the generations before him was to grow food to feed your family and sell what you couldn’t eat, preserve, or store. Grow grain and grass to feed and house the animals that helped you till the fields and sell the surplice grain. Clean out the manure in the animals’ stalls and spread it in the fields where it helps the next crop grow. You can’t get much more sustainable or labor intensive than that.
This is a 1937 photo of my Grandfather cultivating (weeding) his corn field with his two mules. Grandfather is riding behind the mules as they are pulling an implement called a cultivator which is essentially a large hoe. Now we would call it organic weed control.
The first thing I fertilized with my delivery of horse manure was the asparagus. I planted two short rows two years ago and this is the first year I cut a few of the largest shoots. Asparagus takes a few years to get established. If you cut too many too soon the plants will not do well. But patience pays off because a well established and cared for couple of rows will produce for many years. There is nothing to compare to the sweet green flavor of freshly cut and lightly steamed asparagus.
To my delight I found a new product that is wonderful for steaming fresh vegetables. It is Ziploc brand Zip’n Steam bags. As the Ziploc folks will tell you on the site these zipper bags are designed for the microwave oven and contain no dioxin. Some how this method of cooking makes my garden fresh veggies taste better than steaming them in any other way.
I just put the clean asparagus in the bag, added a little butter (the Ziploc guys suggest you add butter after you finish cooking but I like to add it before) and hit the cook button. Delicious. I have tried this method with broccoli, green beans, and fish so far and have not been disappointed. I found the bags at my local supermarket next to the other storage bags. The cooking directions and suggested cook times are printed right on the bag. If you can make microwave popcorn you can cook fresh vegetables!
This spring I only cut the largest spears of asparagus for a few weeks. I left the other stalks grow into fern-like five foot tall plants aided by Kay’s horse manure. Next year their roots will be fully established and I will be able to harvest as much as I want.
