The New Urban Homesteaders

Most Urban Homesteaders Go Against the Grain….

One thing that most urban homesteaders have in common is we are somewhat limited in space. When planning how to use that space we must choose wisely. When thinking of growing grains visions of vast fields of crops swaying in the breeze spring to mind. Oh that’s lovely……if I had a field :(. But instead of looking at this from a farmers’ viewpoint, lets look at it from a gardeners’ perspective.

The following is a list of the most popular grains:

  • Corn
  • Wheat
  • Oats
  • Quinoa
  • Rice
  • Barley
  • Rye
  • Chia
  • Flax

Let’s start with corn. This year we finely figured out how to grow corn properly in a small space. Most gardeners think this crop should be planted in rows. Wrong. Think more along the lines of square foot gardening only more.

  • Plant on a 4″ grid
  • Effects of torrential rain
  • Great comeback

Planting the corn on a 4″ grid provides optimum opportunity for the process of ‘tasseling’. As the silks wave in the breeze they pollinate receiving plants. If you have your corn in a rather protected spot you might want to get in there and shake things up. I mean literally reach in and shake the plants thereby causing the pollen to drop. Now corn actually quite likes daytime heat. However, this crop likes it to cool off at night. During our ‘heat dome’ week, nighttime lows were higher than the average high temperatures that this region would normally observe at this time of year. This resulted in a disruption to the way this and many other plants grow and prepare to set pollen. Despite our success in growing the crop this year; we have decided that it takes up too much real estate for the yield. The amount that it does produce is enough to consume as a vegetable. Not enough to actually process it into a useable grain form.

I want to skip down the list to quinoa (keen-wha). You’ve probably heard it said that you shouldn’t eat anything you can’t pronounce. Except quinoa. You should eat quinoa. Some would call this a ‘superfood’. The UN proclaimed 2013 the International Year of quinoa. They went on to suggest that this crop could play a role in addressing the world food insecurity issues due not only to it’s nutritional value but also it’s ease to grow. According to a paper published out of the Ames Research Centre, ” NASA is considering Quinoa as a potential crop for their CELSS (Controlled Ecological Life Support System) project.” I’ve copied the link to this paper. If you have a minute, it’s an interesting read. It goes much more in-depth doing a complete analysis and a detailed comparison with other grains.

1 cup of Quinoa contains:

  • Protein: 8 grams
  • Fibre: 5 grams
  • Manganese: 58% of the RDA
  • Magnesium: 30% of the RDA
  • Phosphorus: 28% of the RDA
  • Folate: 19% of the RDA
  • Copper: 18% of the RDA
  • Iron: 15% of the RDA
  • Zinc: 13% of the RDA
  • Potassium: 9% of the RDA
  • B1, B2 and B6: over 10% of the RDA
  • Calcium, Vitamins B3 and E: trace amounts

This year was my first attempt at this crop. And although we had many struggles weather-wise; I was impressed with the harvest. The biggest take-away was that quinoa plants do not like to be wet. This crop is particularly averse to overhead watering and rain. They are also prone to mold in the seed heads (which again can come from overhead watering). So attention needs to be paid if your area is given to fall rains. I grew a rainbow selection. Plants grow 4 to 10 feet tall. Mine averaged about 6 feet tall. I will definitely be planting this again next year; only more 😉

  • In the garden
  • Needs drying time
  • Not a terrible harvest….
From start to finish I found this an interesting crop.

What to do with all those lovely seeds….. You can dry roast the seeds on the stove top for 8-10 minutes and then grind into a useable flour. Or cooked in seed form you can make all kinds of savoury side dishes. I particularly like the cold quinoa salad that is often offered at the deli. Super easy to make.

Quinoa Salad

quick and easy cold side dish
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup quinoa well rinsed
  • 2 cups water filtered
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup red onion chopped and soaked in vinegar
  • 1 can black beans rinsed
  • 1 cup corn fresh, tinned or frozen (thawed)
  • 1 cup Roma tomatoes chopped
  • 1/2 cup red pepper chopped
  • 3 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp honey I use fermented garlic honey 😉
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper

Instructions
 

  • Rinse the quinoa really well.
  • Combine quinoa, water and salt in saucepan.
  • Bring mixture to a boil, then lower the temperature and simmer with the lid on until water is absorbed. About 10-20 minutes. This can vary depending on the size of the quinoa.
  • Remove the lid and fluff with fork. Set aside to cool.
  • While quinoa is cooking; chop the red onion place in a bowl and cover with vinegar and let sit.
  • If corn is frozen; place a it in a bowl and run boiling water over it and let sit.
  • Chop the tomatoes and the peppers.
  • Place the last 5 ingredients in a jar and set aside.
  • Place the quinoa in a large bowl.
  • Drain the corn and the red onion and add to the bowl.
  • Add the peppers and tomatoes.
  • Shake up the dressing and pour over bowl ingredients.
  • Mix well and adjust seasoning.

Notes

For added nutrition and flavour cook the quinoa in chicken broth.
Bring the heat; add a seeded jalapeño pepper and or some chili powder.
Instead of black beans try chickpeas.
Experiment. This is a very forgiving recipe.

Now I want to skip down to Chia. I have not tried this one because everything I’ve read suggests that I do not have a long enough growing season. But this crop intrigues me for much the same reasons as the Quinoa. It does not take up much garden space. High yield of seeds that are high in nutrition. Here’s what I’ve found out through my research: plants like full sun; good drainage. Scatter plant and then thin to 18″. These plants grow into small bushes about 3 feet tall. Sounds interesting. If anyone out there has tried growing chia plants (other than chia pets 😉 ) let me know how that turned out for you.

Until next time; keep going against the grain. Push the envelope. Food security is (or should be) possible for everyone.

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