I have a fondness for crocuses (…croci?). They are the first of the perennials to bloom in the spring, and they were always out in the yard at the Lubbock house, so childhood nostalgia there. They represent the first marker of seasonal change with a dramatic splash of color – a much appreciated change from the brown and grey winter, and they do so at the most needed moment: the heart of suicide month (or at least they do now anyway, what with climate change and all).
They also indicate a phenologic marker! Time to plant radishes. We don’t really eat many radishes, but as the first cold-weather crop that can be grown, I plant them for the sake of planting them.
Also, the crocus bulbs are planted on the whippet graves, so there’s a bit of an “awwww” factor as the blooms remind me of dogs past. Rest in peace, you naughty dogs.
I would hazard to say that safe food storage temperatures are general knowledge. If you don’t know what they are, then I’d encourage you to pay more attention to food safety, unless you enjoy full digestive purges:
<0 F for frozen food
>32 to <40 for refrigerator food
But these temperatures are for static storage. 0 F isn’t cold enough for the act of freezing, because it’s too slow and allows big ice crystals to develop in the food during the process. Sure it’ll still be safe to eat, but the quality will suffer. This dilemma has long bothered me as a gardener, hunter, and possessor of meat-cutting skills. How do I freeze that which was never frozen without adversely affecting its cellular integrity?
Vitrification would work, but I’m apparently the first person to ever search the internet for “how to vitrify beef”. So I’m guessing it’s not practical, or perhaps it’s very expensive.
That option ruled out, I’m left with one choice: cool things as quick as possible. I surmise 3 methods:
Flash freezing
Blast freezing
Just freeze things in as low a temperature as possible
I’m not going to source liquid nitrogen, so option 1 is out. Nor will I go buy dry ice every time I want to freeze things. Blast freezers are more assembly line industrial systems, so obviously I’m not going that route either. Which leaves option 3.
Sushi restaurants accomplish option 3 with medical-grade freezers, which get as cold as -123. They also cost thousands, which I didn’t want to spend. But in my searching, I found a growing market for ultra low-temp consumer grade freezers. Apparently enough people wanted these that they’re available for reasonable prices. And so, I got this little number:
Cute, isn’t it? I like the frostbite warning placard.
3.5 cubic feet, with a low temperature setting of -40. Not bad. And after adding some cold packs to stabilize it, and using an expensive thermometer that could actually read temps that low without malfunctioning, it goes even lower.
That’s pretty darn cold.
So far I’ve only used it a couple times, and I haven’t eaten what I froze in it yet, so the verdict is still out. I’m hopeful though. Here’s to some non-mushy frozen food!
Peppers have been started and I’m growing some lettuce just for fun. Also, I’m trying to start new sweet potato plants from last year’s tuber harvest. One rotted, but I’m seeing some roots on the others. Hopefully that’s a good sign.
I also supplemented the grow lights this year. LED tech is getting very versatile now. I can get something made in just about any configuration I can think of. In this instance, it’s some narrow strips to fit between the traditional bulbs.
Off to a good start. Things look happy. It’s almost time to plan radishes and begin tomato starters!
So ends the 2023 growing season. Bittersweet, really, as I’ll miss it but I’d never garden to begin with if I didn’t have a seasonal break. Here’s some pics of the final crops:
I plan to make some kimchi, but that’s a lot of radish. Those were new this year. Everything else is properly stored or preserved for the winter.
Next up: more squirrel, I hope. Let hunting season commence!
