A Picture is Worth a Billion Blossoms

If you've driven by any apple orchards in the last day or two, you've probably noticed that apple bloom is well underway. Thanks to these warm temperatures, it's a little earlier than we first anticipated, but we're not complaining. The sooner we get to eat an apple fresh off the tree the better.

Not only is it an early bloom, but it is a heavy bloom. Judy Eckert described walking through the Millstadt orchard as "divine this spring." Farmers refer to a bloom of this magnitude as a "snowball bloom." Unfortunately, no matter how beautiful, the more the merrier doesn't hold true for apple orchards. Since blossoms essentially turn to fruit, there is a risk of overcropping. When there are too many apples on the tree, the size and quality of the fruit is sacrificed. This is why the farm crew will be working diligently the next couple of weeks to thin the blossoms, which will ensure successful fruit production.

What you probably haven't noticed is all the bees buzzing around the orchard. Bees are needed to successfully pollinate the apples. Unfortunately, Mother Nature doesn't guarantee the amount of bees required to pollinate an entire apple orchard, so we have beekeepers come in to help us. The bees are responsible for transferring pollen from one blossom to another. In order to successfully produce fruit, cross-pollination must occur between apple trees. In layman's terms, this means that a bee cannot transfer pollen from one Golden Delicious blossom to another Golden Delicious blossom, but rather must transfer it to another variety of apple tree. This is why it is an absolute necessity to plant two different varieties of apple trees in close proximity to one another.

As the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, but here on the farm, it's worth a billion blossoms...

Azaleas... The Royalty of the Garden!

"I love azaleas for their color and practicality in the landscape. The Girard and Hershey azaleas are a couple of my favorites. I also like the new Encore, a repeat blooming azalea." -Jerry Hearn, Garden Center Manager

As a child growing up, I always thought that azaleas were just another plant that my Grandpa had to replant every year, not realizing that they were a perennial shrub. When I was nine years old, I decided to help Grandpa "clean up" the flower beds in the back of the house. I think you can see where this is going. Yes, I cut down the azaleas! Instead of pulling out the belt, Grandpa, bless his heart, just smiled at me and said, "I guess we'll have to buy Grandma a new one." Because of this, I will always remember Azaleas and treasure them as one of my favorite flowering shrubs.

About Azaleas

Azaleas generally do well on the east or north side of a house. They like early morning sunlight to dry the dew off their foliage, but they do not like afternoon sun. Azaleas like acidic soil, ranging on the pH scale from 5.5-6. There are soil amendments that you can use to accomplish this pH level. They don't like wet feet, so make sure you plant them in a well-drained spot.

Evergreen vs. Deciduous

Are azaleas evergreen or deciduous? Azaleas can be both. Deciduous azaleas drop all their leaves in the fall. If the weather is dry, they may drop their leaves earlier than usual. Their leaves grow back in the spring. In warmer climates or unusually warm winters, deciduous azaleas may retain some of the their leaves through winter.

Evergreen azaleas also drop their leaves, but appear to be evergreen, because they grow two sets of leaves each year. Their spring leaves are thinner, larger and grow along the stems. These leaves drop off in the fall. Their summer leaves are thicker, small, grow crowded at the branch ends and remain through winter. In colder climates or extremely cold weather, evergreen azaleas may drop most of their leaves in the winter.

Pruning Azaleas

The best time to prune your azaleas is before they send out new growth for spring. The only problem is that you will be cutting off this year's blooms, so be careful. The next best time to prune is during or right after bloom. This will maximize the time the plant has to fill out before winter.

So, if you want a beautiful shrub that will give the color and grace of a rose without the thorns, try an azalea!

The Essence of Wine

"The progression of smells and tastes we enjoy with wine is like that of no other beverage. Wine fans call these "essences" and these are what make wines special." -Glenn Boeker, Eckert's Wine Manager

Some will tell you that the soil where the grapes are grown has a history of producing other plant life. They will say that the scent and taste of these previous plantings finds its way into the wine grapes. Some Europeans believe their "old world" wine has more terroir, or flavor, from the soil than "new world" wine. While this is one possible explanation for the complexity of wine flavors, we don't believe it to be correct.

We believe that the vessels and processes used to produce the wine are a major factor in the earthiness or smoky taste in old world wines. Most of the old world wines use wood and concrete tanks, which cannot be cleaned as well as the stainless steel tanks used in the new world.

It is a fact, that wine grapes are blessed with more than 20 components of flavor, while ordinary fruits generally have less than 10. Hence a wine made from pears, for example, will not be as complex as one made from grapes. In other words, it won't have as many essences.

There are distinctive essences associated with most varietals of wine grapes. Grass, gooseberry and grapefruit, for example, are used to describe the essences of Sauvignon Blanc wine. If grown in a warmer climate, from 35 to 40 degrees latitude, the wine will show grassy essences. However, if the same grape varietal is grown in a cooler climate, from 50 to 55 degrees latitude, the gooseberry and grapefruit essences usually prevail. Maritime climates can adjust this latitudinal effect, which would explain why many good wine regions are close to water.

In our Essence of Wine class, we experiment with six wines produced from different grapes varietals and try to identify the essences they contain. Essences are distinctive to your individual perceptions and we may not agree on all of them. Obviously, your perceptions are most beneficial to your own wine drinking pleasure.

So why are wine essences important? Suppose you like Sauvignon Blanc and want one to enjoy with your favorite white lasagna recipe. This dish has the usual lasagna cheeses, but asparagus and maybe other greens instead of meat. When you ask a wine specialist for a recommendation, they may ask if you prefer the grass or grapefruit essence. There are grassy wines from California and citrusy ones from New Zealand. Obviously, you will want to pick a wine that displays the essence you most enjoy.

Other varietal wines have similar stories, but different essences. Find out what essences you like and look for them in the wines you buy. If you would like to learn more about the essence of wine and a chance to identify your own preferences, please join us for our wine essence class on Thursday, April 8th from 6-8 pm. Spaces are limited, so please call (618) 233-0513 to make your reservations.

Fresh Herbs: From Garden to Plate

Did you know that Eckert's has its own herb garden? We sure do. The Garden Center grows fresh herbs and we use them in our prepared foods. Since becoming a culinary gardener, we've been rewarded with flavor, fragrance, and a variety of texture, color and leaf shapes.

If you have never grown herbs before, but are considering it, let us encourage you by telling you that they are super easy to grow and very tolerant plants. In fact, they often thrive and even produce the best flavors when kindly ignored (just keep them free of weeds). Herbs require well-drained soil or potting mix and about six hours per day of full sun. If you don't have space for a traditional garden, not to worry, as herbs will do excellent in containers, too.

If you are a beginning herb gardener, we recommend the following perennials: chives, marjoram, English thyme, sage and Italian oregano. These herbs will come back year after year. Basil is another great herb to try, but it is an annual, so it will have to re-planted each year.

We all know that kids like to help and gardening is a fun way to show them where their food comes from. Once you reap the benefits of your garden, cooking up some snacks with your fresh herbs will be both fun and delicious! Some favorites herbs for kids include chocolate mint (finely mince and add to your favorite brownie recipe), pineapple sage (actually tastes like the fruit) and French tarragon (tastes like black licorice)!

Once you begin to use fresh herbs in your favorite recipes, you'll never want to go back to using dried herbs again. But remember, a little goes a long way. You do not need much to make an extraordinary impact in your cooking.

Here are a just a few of our favorite recipes using fresh herbs, but let your taste buds guide you.

Crusty Tomato Basil Bites
4 medium sized tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 Tbsp. finely chopped green or red bell peppers
1 Tbsp. finely chopped red onion
2 garlic clove, pressed
8 large, fresh basil leaves
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt and ground pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese
1 small sourdough break loaf

In a medium bowl, combine tomato, bell pepper, onion and garlic. Stack basil leaves, cut into long thin strips. Add basil leaves to tomato mixture and add oil. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and let stand 1-2 hours to let flavor blend.

Diagonally cut bread into long, thin slices. Broil or grill on both sides until golden brown. Spoon tomato mixture on to bread slices, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and add ground black pepper. Serve immediately!

Mom's Mint Punch
5 lemons
4 oranges
1 small grapefruit
1 6oz. can of pineapple juice (3/4 cup)
2 cups sugar
1 quart water
Two handfuls fresh mint leaves, washed

Squeeze lemons, oranges and grapefruit juice into a gallon pitcher or large container. Add rinds. Add pineapple juice. In medium saucepan, combine sugar, water and mint. Bring to boil, stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour the hot liquid over the juice and rinds. Let cool. Squeeze out rinds and discard. Add enough water to make one gallon. Refrigerate.