- Author: Jalena Rusaw
- Author: Heather Hamilton
Protea is a species of flowering plants from South Africa. It is a member of the Leucadendron family, also commonly known as the sugarbush. Interestingly enough, it belongs to an ancient angiosperm, which evidence from pollen fossils that date back to 80 million years ago. They generally flower in the spring and are pollinated by birds, insects, and wind. Some protea, such as the ‘King Protea', are self-pollinators, while some are considered self-incompatible relying on cross-pollination to set seed.
I have used a variety of protea in my floral design, the variety ‘Safari Sunset' which is super tough and has a brilliant burgundy color tone. When I need this color, it is often a go-to depending on the time of year. This past week, I made a fishing tribute to a very dear friend and fisherman using this flower. I love its unique characteristics and interesting varieties. I have used ‘King Protea' and ‘Pink Mink' as bridesmaids, as well as, in bridal bouquets. It is especially cool when people are open to new varieties, and this flower can stand out as a focal in any arrangement.
My fabulous co-worker Jess shared her Leucadendron from her garden for my fishing tribute.
Thank you Jess!
- Author: Angela Tipsey
The 2023-2024 Youth Development Program year ends on June 30, 2024. At the end of each program year, the online enrollment system resets and all enrollments rollover into an "inactive" state.
The ZSuite enrollment system will begin this process on June 21, 2024. At noon on that day, families will no longer have access to the system for this program year.
The projected date families can login and enroll for the 2024-2025 program year is noon, July 18, 2024.
Please note that the enrollment system access dates listed above are subject to change. The information will be updated if that happens.
- Author: Devii R Rao
Do you have livestock in San Benito County? If so, you'll want to attend the livestock pass fire training which will be hosted by the Ag Commissioner's office and presented by CAL FIRE.
A holder of a San Benito County Livestock Pass may have access to a closed area during a disaster if granted by the incident commander, a law enforcement official or their designee. Access to the ranch property is only for the purposes of sheltering, moving, transporting, evacuating, feeding, watering, or administering veterinary care to livestock.
Date: June 21, 2024
Time: 9:00 am
Location: Bolado Park
RSVP by June 7 required: 831-637-5344 or bmancilla@cosb.us
Click here for the flyer with more details.
Livestock Meeting Flyer 2024 Updated
- Author: Jennifer Codron, UC Master Food Preserver Volunteer
Spring has sprung and not only are the birds and bees stirring, but humans on the Central Coast are out and about after a much-needed rainy winter season.
There are parties, garden workdays and spring cleaning to attend to. All of these activities leave very little time for working in the kitchen! When my rhubarb started coming in, I decided I wanted to use the fresh stalks without spending too much time in the kitchen. So, I made strawberry rhubarb jam with low-sugar pectin. (Ball Realfruit Low or No-Sugar Needed Pectin)
Friends and family often ask for a lower sugar product so no-sugar/low-sugar pectin is a great solution to use with a berry jam recipe. The peel-off label on the jar of pectin provides a useful table of ingredients listing the amounts to multiply by the number of jars you wish to make. My water bath canner fits about 7 jars, so I multiply the recipe by four to make about 8 - 8oz. jars of jam. That eighth jar is always my sampler that I do not process and just store in the fridge.
Strawberries can often be found at the farmers markets on the Central Coast, sometimes year-round! These were purchased at Cal Poly while I was in the orchard u-picking citrus fruit.
I grew up with rhubarb growing in our garden in Michigan. My Finnish grandmother always had a patch in her garden, too. It is not always easy to find here on the Central Coast, so I decided to plant my own. These stalks came from my second plant which did much better planted in full sun.
The people of China were the first to use this plant as a medicinal herb over 5,000 years ago. When the English discovered rhubarb, they began eating the leaves which caused great stomach discomfort as the leaves contain oxalic acid and should never be eaten. Two hundred years later, Europeans discovered the tart stalks and used them to make tarts, which gave rise to the nickname “pie plant.”
University of Wisconsin Horticulture
Now let's get started. First, follow this link to read up on how to properly prepare your jars.
Once your jars are preparred, clean and remove any blemishes and stems. Chop your strawberries, arranging them in a single layer. I use an old-fashioned biscuit cutter for chopping the berries. I leave it a little chunky as I like pieces of fruit in my jam.
Then, measure the chopped strawberries.
Chop the rhubarb into equal sized pieces.
Then, mix the chopped and measured fruit into heavy bottom pan and add water or fruit juice.
Gradually stir in pectin and bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly.
Then add sugar. It is important to fully dissolve the pectin before adding the sugar.
Return to a full rolling boil and boil hard for 1 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and skim any foam off the top that has formed.
Pack jam into prepared 8 ounce jars and measure the head space. There should be ¼ inch from the jam to the top of jar.
De-bubble each jar by sliding the tool down the sides of each jar.
Process the jars for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath canner at a full rolling boil. Steam will escape through the side of the lid during this process. At any point, if the water drops below the boiling point, start your timer over for the full processing time as directed by the recipe. After 10 minutes, turn off the heat, remove the lid and let the jars stand for 5 minutes.
After the 10 minute processing time and 5 minute standing time, carefully remove the lid and let the steam escape away from you. Leave the jars in the water bath canner for another 5 minutes.
When removing the jars, be careful not to tip the jars. Leave any remaining water collected on the lid in place. Water spots will likely form on the lid, which is ok. A little vinegar on a clean towel will easily remove those water stains.
Remember to label and date the jar and remove the band for storage. Store for a max of one year.
This recipe is a quick process and perfect for a teacher gift or host gift for spring parties, or to include with your beach picnic in the summertime!
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