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August 31 2006 - Late summer's golden glow16A • The Suttolk Times • August 31. 2006 Late summer's golden glow Wiilloe mr) rt>t: suftcNirn gin.' Sep - tcmbcr is just around the corncr and the cool nights are but harbingers of what's to o,me. I personally think Sep - tembcr and October can he the bcsl time of the vcar. Naturalist Ncltic Blanchan said. September is apprupnatAv called our golden month because of the wonderful vcllows m our autumn foli- arc the surging scar of goldenrod. the tall. showv sun - tlomcrs . " Focus I.sualiv we have Some sun- ON Slower volunteers NATURE that mraculousfy escape the hwt- by Paul gry bird` that Stoutenburgh corn' to our feed- _ er, Somehow those overlooked sces arc able to send do\Vn taproots that give them a chance to sprout and grove. My son was more deliberate. He flirt\% She Iasi of his sunflower scads unto i mound of din. compost and gar- den trash. all in a halfhearted attempt to sec what would happen. Litt it did he think he'd have such luck. The waste mound ut dirt at the end of his garden must have been the pe'rfcet spot. fix his sunflowers not only sprouted but grew into six- to a it- foot -tall plant.-, with wonderful large. nodding heads of vcllow. We picked lhrce different days from those --cast - aways'- and there arc still some Norc- Sonling. If vuu hulk chxely into the head of a mature sunflower. you will see it is packed with seed. each seed coming froru a single tinv flower. So vuu see, the sunflower isn't one giant flu\ycl head but a tighty packed sccdhcad That is what the botanists call a com- posite plant, in contrast to a single flowering plant such as a nttc. there's much controversy as to where tiny sunflowers originated.The vast majority of scientists sav the sun- flower oxipirla d in the west -'Ihe ones wc• see have been hybridized from na- tive stock. Thcre arc many. many kinds of suntowers throughout the Wulld: the ones most people associate with the name sunflower are the large - headed Russian swill o\\ c•rs fit' � -v';•, :' r 3 a 4 y f Above: Some sunflowers grow eight to 10 feet or more. Here you see them growing to about eight feet. The sunflowers fol- low the sun as it moves through the day. This remarkable ability lets them get the most exposure to the life- giving energy of the sun. Below right: The blossom is made up of many small flowers that at maturity show off the sunflower seeds most of us are familiar with. If not picked soon enough. the birds will surely help themselves. The swdlowrr seeds we I •u in tilt snxc for tccdinr tar feathered friends have created a huge market that is still crowing. Once they we -rr t aised only for the flower and oil they could pro- duce. roolav we're finding all sorts of ways w utilize this healthy sc ed But all this was not new W the Indi- ans whu lived on the eastern shores of Lakc Huron. We know this from the repots of Samuel de Champlain when he visited the area some .1( plus vears ago. Here he found doe Indians culfivat- ine the plant: When mature. the seed was ground into flour. its rou6 leaves were used for fo ddcr. from the vcllow flowers a dw was made and from the stenos a textile fihrr was used i» urea\ - mg. 7Ttev even wrtr 1110 to CxUt act oil To add a bit of pizzazz to your back yard or picnic table, try using sunflowers as an eye - catcher. We're seeing more and more of these big. yellow flowers being sold at our farmstands. that they used in tlneu hair. The sunflower is the state flower of Kansas and it broke into the 193 n po- litical arena in that famous vcar when Alf Landon and Franklin Roosevrlt were campaigning lot the presidcn,' of the United Stales The svmbul of Alf Landon was tic sunfluwtr and it ap- pearrd cvcrvwhcrc this Kansas hopeful travded. To counter the sunlluwcr trademark FDR's slogan was quite clever. Simply stated it read, `Swhflowcrs dic in No- vember." And sure --much. All Landon lust to FDR. I can still remember those big vellum sunflower buttorhs that rrad. Votc for Ali Langdon... Locally. the sunj ,)Nxer is just finding its place in the flower market and we find them being sold at our farmstands for a fair amount. One winery has planted an area of these bright - vellum flowers and I must say it's a real eye - catcher. Often as vo a drive by vuu w dl see someone taking a picture of fine mass of yellow color. L's interesting to now the sunflower follows the son as it moves It's fire green leaves that look to the sun fun then cncgv. To get the most out of its wonder. the sunflower always keeps its 1%a\'cs facing the sun. And so the sunflower is just one more thin than ILLS w, km) \\ the scason I,.; slipping away. Our tomato plants arc finally producing plump. red tomatoes and the ucumbcrs ffkc the zuahinis. seem to grow, u\'cmighl. Ifs the time to gel owl Mark Dickerson 's recipe for making- sun pickles Havc vim ever uicd them! Back in the -70s when Marl' was working at the Davids- farm - stand A here the Bedell winery is tudav, tic gave me this rccipc for what he called Yugoslavian of sun pickles Thc_v used to sell t hetn at the farmstand. Hcw's how wt v_ Julie then: vcai altar veal: N( firm cucumbers in a gallon glass jar with four heads of dill bClw rcn the lavtis two teasp :,,,ns .,I peppercorns and foul pieces of girlie 'rhea mix the hoagie potion of onr- .wd -a -half quarts of w ater with our pint of \ incgar and a short hall-cup of salt. 1-1cat this until the salt dissolves and pour over cvcrytldng in dot jar. to finish it off a piece of rye bread is put on the top.'] o keep the bins ow, a piece of cloth is draped uvn the top and tics secureiv.' hcn the gallon jug is put out in the• sin) for three days and presto, you'\'_- gut the best - tasting pickles vuu could ask fur. Right now we have unc jai in the fridge and one working outside. The L mstands are offrrine the " best of the vcar° right now. x) we couldn't pass by that w„nderful- smelling herb. basil. Just having it in the car filled file air with its pungent an oma. We'd take it back home and try something err\\ t„ us Pe�lo. We -d never made if before but now we have the nwin inetcdicni. basil. Well give it a try. Get out to the farmstands.1n somt- thing different for a chancc. Ear it hr sit. cook it, can it of It cez it. Howevei vuu do it ... cnjov it. __J The Suffolk Times •August 37, 2006 a e summer sgolden glo Yid) Q Suffolk Times photos by Barbara and Paul Stoutent: Above: Some sunflowers grow eight to 10 feet or more. Here you see them growing to about eight feet. The sunflowers low the sun as it moves through the day. This remarkable ability lets them get the most exposure to the life- giving enE of the sun. Below right: The blossom is made up of many small flowers that at maturity show off the sunflower seeds rr of us are familiar with. If not picked soon enough, the birds will surely help themselves. WHERE DID THE SUMMt K 9u : JOY - tember is just around the corner and the cool nights are but harbingers of what's to come. I personally think Sep- tember and October can be the best time of the year. Naturalist Neltje Blanchan said, "September is appropriately called our golden month because of the wonderful yellows in our autumn foli- age: the surging seas of goldenrod, the tall, showy sun- Focus dowers ..." Usually we O N have some sun- flower volunteers NATURE that miraculously escape the hun- by Paul try birds that Stoutenburgh come to our feed- ers. Somehow those overlooked seeds are able to send down taproots that give them a chance to sprout and grow. My son was more deliberate. He threw the last of his sunflower seeds onto a mound of dirt, compost and gar- den trash, all in a halfhearted attempt to see what would happen. Little did he think he'd have such luck. The waste mound of dirt at the end of his garden must have been the perfect spot, for his sunflowers not only sprouted but grew into six- to eight - foot -tall plants with wonderful large, nodding heads of yellow. We picked three different days from those "cast- aways" and there are still some blos- soming. If you look closely into the head of a mature sunflower, you will see it is packed with seed, each seed coming from a single tiny flower. So you see, the sunflower isn't one giant flower head but a tightly packed seedhead. That is what the botanists call a com- posite plant, in contrast to a single - flowering plant such as a rose. There's much controversy as to where our sunflowers originated. The vast majority of scientists say the sun- flower originated in the west. The ones we see have been hybridized from na- tive stock. There are many, many kinds of sunflowers throughout the world; the ones most people associate with th name sunflower are the large- headed Russian sunflowers_ store for feeding our feathered friends have created a huge market that is still growing. Once they were raised only for the flower and oil they could pro- duce. Today we're finding all sorts of ways to utilize this healthy seed. But all this was not new to the Indi- ans who lived on the eastern shores of Lake Huron. We know this from the reports of Samuel de Champlain when he visited the area some 300 -plus years ago. Here he found the Indians cultivat ing the plant: When mature, the seed was ground into flour, its rough leaves were used for fodder, from the yellow flowers a dye was made and from the stems a textile fiber was used in weav- rKansas even were able to extract oil used in their ha nflower is the state flower of d it broke into the 1936 po_ na in that famous year when Alf Landon and Franklin Roosevelt were cam pai�g for the presidency 3f the United States. The symbol of [ -andon was the sunflower Alf and it ap- avPla� everywhere this Kansas hnn, -A.l To add a bit of pizzazz to your back yard or picnic table, try using sunflowers as an eye- catcher. We're seeing more and more of these big, yellow flowers being sold at our farmstands. FDR's slogan was quite clever. Simply stated, it read, "Sunflowers die in No- vember." And sure enough, Alf Landoi lost to FDR. I can still remember those big yellow sunflower buttons that read, "Vote for Alf Langdon." Locally, the sunflower is just finding its place in the flower market and we find them being sold at our farmstands for a fair amount. One winery has (planted an area of these bright -yellow flowers and I must say it's a real eye - catcher. Often as you drive by you will see someone taking a picture of the mass of yellow color. It's interesting to note the sunflower follows the sun as it moves. It's the green leaves that look to the sun for their energy. To get the most out of its wonder, the sunflower always keeps its leaves facing the sun. And so the sunflower is just one more thing that lets us know the season is slipping away. Our tomato plants are finally producing plump, red tomatoes, and the cucumbers, like the zucchinis, seem to grow overnight. It's the time to get out Mark Dickerson's recipe for making sun pickles. Have you ever tried them? Back in the '70s when Mark was working at the Davids' farm - stand where the Bedell winery is today, he gave me this recipe for what he called Yugoslavian or sun pickles. They Here's how we've done them year after year: Put firm cucumbers in a gallon glass jar with four heads of dill between the layers, two teaspoons of peppercorns and four pieces of garlic. Then mix the magic potion of one- and -a -half quarts of water with one pint of vinegar and a short half -cup of salt. Heat this until the salt dissolves and pour over everything in the jar. To finish it off a piece of rye bread is put on the top. To keep the bugs out, a piece of cloth is draped over the top and tied securely. Then the gallon jug is put out in the sun for three days and presto, you've got the best - tasting pickles you could ask for. Right now we have one jar in the fridge and one working outside. The farmstands are offering the "best of the year" right now, so we couldn't pass by that wonderful - smelling herb, basil. Just having it in the car filled the air with its pungent aroma. We'd take it back home and try something new to us — pesto. We'd never made it before but now we have the main ingredient, basil. We'll give it a try. Get out to the farmstands. Try some- thing different for a change. Eat it fresh . cook it, can it or freeze it. However you o it ... eniov it.