Weed Eating at Terra Dei Homestead

    Weeds truly can be the bane of a gardener’s existence, especially when they are as fast-growing and hardy as galinsoga (Galinsoga parviflora) – also known as quickweed and gallant soldier.  This invasive weed was introduced from Central America and is now present across much of North America.  Galinsoga can grow up to 30 inches tall, and has opposite toothed leaves and tiny white flowers with yellow centers.  It has quite shallow roots and can be easily pulled by hand, which is fortunate because to control the weed it needs to be pulled early and often.  While it may be tempting to add this weed to your garden compost pile, resist the urge!  By the time you see those tiny flower heads the seeds are already nearly mature, which is why it can take several years of diligent and constant removal to effectively reduce the population.

    In Colombia, galinsoga is called guascas and is a very popular and commonly used aromatic herb.  The stems and leaves can be eaten raw, cooked, or dried, and have a mild earthy flavor that is somewhat reminiscent of an artichoke.  Well-loved Colombian recipes that commonly include guascas are empanadas, tamales, marinades, and a delicious traditional soup called ajiaco.

    Ajiaco is a potato, chicken, and corn soup that is seasoned with the guascas, giving it a very distinctive flavor.  If, like me, you would like to try your hand at “weed-eating,” I will include a recipe for ajiaco below and would happily be your local source for fresh guascas this summer!  Dried guascas is also a great substitute and can be purchased online, and the papa criolla (tiny yellow potatoes native to the Andes valley in South America) can be found frozen at many Latin markets.

Ingredients 

• 3 chicken breasts (skin removed)
• 12 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 3 ears fresh corn (cut into 2 pieces)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 3 scallions
• 2 garlic cloves (minced or smashed)
• 3 tablespoon chopped cilantro (can omit if not to taste)
• 2 cups frozen papa criolla Andean Potato (or tiny yellow potatoes)
• 3 medium white potatoes (peeled and sliced)
• 3 medium red potatoes (peeled and sliced)
• ⅓ cup dried guascas, or 2 handfuls fresh
• 1 cup crema Mexicana (or heavy cream/sour cream) for serving
• 1 cup capers for serving

Instructions 

1. In a large pot, place the chicken, corn, chicken bouillon, cilantro, scallions, garlic, salt, and pepper. Add the water/broth and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and cook for about 30 to 35 minutes, until chicken is cooked and tender. Remove the chicken and set aside.
2. Continue cooking the corn for about 15 more minutes. Discard green onion and add red potatoes, white potatoes, and the guascas.  Cook for 15 more minutes.
3. Uncover and add the frozen papa criolla and simmer for 15 minutes, season with salt and pepper.
4. Shred the chicken breast and return to the pot. Serve the Ajiaco hot with capers and heavy cream on the side and a serving of rice and sliced avocado.

Dinho, E.  (2023).  Ajiaco Colombiano (Colombian Chicken and Potato Soup).  Website. https://www.mycolombianrecipes.com

What is it Wednesday: March 2, 2022

 

Can you identify what's in this photo?

 

 

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

 

 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

 

 

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

March 2, 2022. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

 

This little cluster of trees are young ash trees,
all growing from the stump of an ash tree that died several years ago.

Ash branches are distinctive because they are one of the few types of trees in our area to have opposite branching pattern – the twigs look like arms growing directly across from each other on the branch. Maples also have opposite branching pattern, but ash twigs are thicker and lighter in color than maples, especially our red maples.

ash twigs with opposite branching pattern

Ash trees are champion stump-sprouters. After an ash tree has died or been cut down, new shoots will grow up out of the stump that was left behind. 

Almost all of our mature ash trees at Lutherlyn (and in much of western Pennsylvania) have died.This is because of the emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle that lays eggs inside the bark of ash trees. When those eggs hatch, the larvae digging their way out of the tree kills the tree. 

But, ash trees are not gone from Lutherlyn, because so many of the ash stumps sprouted new growth. By the time these trees get bigger, the emerald ash borer population may be low enough that not all of the trees in an area will be killed by them in the next generation.  New life emerges out of the death that went before.

For more on emerald ash borers, check out this blog post from back in 2013: https://lutherlynnature.blogspot.com/2013/02/ashes-to-ashes.html . 

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!

What is it Wednesday: February 23, 2022

 

Can you identify what's in this photo?

 

 

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

 

 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

 

 

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

February 23, 2022. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

This is a firefly of the genus Ellychnia.
Ellychnia fireflies do not light up,

and are one of the first insects to become active in late winter,

so they are sometimes known as dark fireflies or winter fireflies.

While fireflies are known for their flashing light displays during summer nights, Ellychnia fireflies are lanternless (they don’t have a light) and diurnal (they are active during the day), and the adults are not active during the summer but when they emerge in September and again from late February to late May. 

The usual firefly life cycle goes like this: adults mate in summer (that’s what the flashing is all about – attracting a mate). Females lay eggs, which hatch later in the summer. Larva overwinter under leaf litter or just below the surface of the soil. The larva pupate and metamorphose into adults early the following summer, and the cycle begins again as those adults look for mates.

The life cycle of dark fireflies is a little different. Adults which emerge in late summer overwinter in the bark of trees. They begin to be active again starting in late February when temperatures warm up. The adults mate in early spring (April-May), attracting mates using pheromones instead of flashing lights, and eggs hatch by summer. The larva remain in that stage for about 16 months. The eggs, larva and pupa do have fireflies’ characteristic bioluminescence, although the adults do not! 

At the end of their second summer, the larva become pupa, then adults emerge in September. These adults will gather on the trunks of trees, wedge themselves into grooves in the bark, and overwinter there. About 90% of the adults survive the freezing temperatures of winter like this! When the weather begins to warm up in late winter, adults resume activity, and we see them hanging around our maple buckets.

Spotting dark fireflies during maple sugaring is a sure sign that spring is on the way, and a hint of the promise of the summer evenings to come with their enchanting cousins. What seasonal indicators do you like to watch out for this time of year? 

For more on winter fireflies from renowned firefly scientist Dr. Sara Lewis, see https://silentsparks.com/2019/06/01/the-winter-firefly/.

This is also a nice reflection on fireflies in general and the lanternless variety in particular:  https://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2019/03/fireflies-of-winter.html

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!

What is it Wednesday: February 16, 2022

 

Can you identify what's in this photo?

 

 

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

 

 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

 

 

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

February 16, 2022.

And the answer is....

 

 

This leaf is not only red-colored, it is the leaf of a red maple tree. 

We have red maples on our minds, because it is maple sugaring season and at Lutherlyn the trees we tap for making maple syrup here are all red maples. Sugar maples have the most sugar in their sap, as the name implies, but red maples also have enough sugar in the sap to effectively make syrup. 

You can tell the difference between red maple leaves and sugar maple leaves by paying attention to some details. Red maple leaves generally have three main lobes - sugar maple leaves have five main lobes (picture the Canadian flag). The space between the lobes (known as the sinus) is v-shaped in red maples, and in sugar maples is more u-shaped. And the most reliable difference is that red maple leaves have serrated edges, while sugar maple leaves are smooth-edged between points.

Leaf shapes, however, are rather variable! You can sometimes find sugar maple leaves that have sinuses that are closer to v-shaped; and red maple leaves that have small points on the bottom of the leaf on each side – does that count as three or five lobes? And of course – leaves are not present on the trees year-round! So looking at the leaves is not always the best way to distinguish the type of tree.

The answer is in the name: Red! The leaves of red maples turn a bright red in the fall (as in this photo) but also the leaf stems, ends of the twigs, and the buds of red maples are all distinctly red. The twigs and buds of sugar maples are brown. Red maples are the most abundant and most widespread tree species in North America. They can grow in a wide variety of habitats, even in areas that are too wet for other trees to thrive, including sugar maples.

At our maple sugaring Saturday Safaris, participants learn other tricks for winter tree id as well – you need to know how to pick out a maple tree (whether it's sugar or red) from all the other trees in a forest so you know which ones to tap! We also include tapping trees, collecting sap, watching the process of making sap into syrup, and of course tasting syrup! The maple sugaring Saturday Safari is always the first Saturday in March, but maple sugaring experiences at Lutherlyn are available for school field trips and scout groups too. Check out www.Lutherlyn.com/ee  for info on these and other LEEP events!  

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!

What is it Wednesday: February 9, 2022

 

Can you identify what's in this photo?

 

 

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

 

 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

 

 

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

February 9, 2022. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

The bird flying close the camera is a tufted titmouse,

and on the feeder are another tufted titmouse on the left

and a white-breasted nuthatch on the right. 

These birds are both very common at birdfeeders, including this feeder behind the LEEP office.
The acrobatic tufted titmouse can hang upside down from branches or even hover briefly. 

In warmer weather they eat mostly insects, but throughout the winter they eat seeds, nuts, berries, and small fruit. At a feeder, they will often take one sunflower seed at a time, move to a nearby spot with more cover, crack open the seed with their bill, then either eat it or store it in a safe spot where they can return to it later.

Tufted titmice nest in cavities - either naturally occurring holes in trees, holes created by woodpeckers, or nesting boxes. The innermost layer of their nests are lined with hair, which they often pluck directly from living animals, including pets and humans!

We are fortunate to have habitat for a large variety of different types birds in all seasons at Lutherlyn!  Check out www.Lutherlyn.com for more on how you can visit Lutherlyn in any season and keep an eye out for our many different kinds of avian friends! 

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!

What is it Wednesday: February 2, 2022

 

Can you identify what's in this photo?

 

 

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

 

 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

 

 

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

February 2, 2022. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

 

This amazing ice formation is hoar frost. 

Hoar frost forms when water vapor freezes as it comes into contact with a cold surface – water changes directly from the gas stage to the solid stage and forms a crystal. (Snowflakes form the same way, but in the air rather than on a surface.) 

If the air is still and there is enough moisture in the air that water vapor continues to come into contact with the initial frozen crystal, the crystals continue to grow larger. 

The formation of hoar frost – in particular especially large crystals like the ones seen here – require just the right conditions of moisture, cold, and stillness of air. The largest crystals in these photos were found near the bottom of a large hill, at the base of a short steep slope, and under some overhanging tree branches. Cold air would have settled there overnight (temperatures were in the single digits), been trapped there by the overhanging branches, and been protected from air currents by the tree branches and the slope of the hill. 

“Regular” frost occurs when water vapor in air which is above freezing temperatures freezes onto a surface whose temperature is below-freezing, like the ground or the roof of a building. (This is also a gas to solid change.)

Rime ice occurs when small liquid water droplets freeze on a surface. 

( This is a liquid to solid change.)

Wikipedia tells us that “The word "hoar" comes from an Old English adjective that means "showing signs of old age". In this context, it refers to the frost that makes trees and bushes look like white hair.”

Whether cold and frosty or glowing with the warmth of summer, there’s always a lot going on at Lutherlyn! Go to www.Lutherlyn.com to check out upcoming opportunities to visit Lutherlyn this winter or to register for Summer Camp! 

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!

Getting Started in Solar

Because we have solar panels at Terra Dei Homestead at Lutherlyn, people sometimes ask us for tips about getting started on putting up their own solar panels. We recently had a chance to talk about this with our solar installer, John Younkin of Blue Roof Farms. Here is what we learned from him:

Currently, the average payback period is about 12-14 years. You will make back in electric bill savings what you paid for the solar installation in about 12-14 years. (That estimate does include some payback from tax credits, which non-profit organizations do not qualify for; so for non-profits like churches or schools the payback time would be a little longer.)

Most solar systems today are grid-tied – this means you are still connected to the power company as well as to your solar panels. Sometimes the solar panels provide all the electricity you need, or even more, and sometimes you need to draw electricity from the power company. This eliminates the need for batteries to provide electricity when the solar panels are not producing. It also means that during the  times when a solar system is producing more electricity than needed, it can sell the extra back to the electric company. Off-grid systems are available too but grid-tied systems are less expensive and very convenient.

Solar panels DO produce electricity even on cloudy days (although a sunny day will produce a lot more, obviously).

Do a rough estimate of the number of solar panels you want and the cost. Solar panels and installation currently cost about $1,300-$1,500 per panel. This is overall cost which factors in the costs of additional equipment like inverters and wiring as well as installation, and of course the panels. Most residential customers need somewhere around 24-36 panels to supply all their electricity. (See below for more on how to estimate how many panels would supply all your electricity.) BUT, how many panels you want to install is up to you – you don’t have to install enough panels to provide ALL your electricity. Because the system is grid-tied, you could provide half your electricity from solar panels, and half from the electric company, or whatever you’re ready for. You also don’t have to install all the panels you want all at one time – you can install some first and add more later.

To estimate how many solar panels would supply all your electricity: 

• Find out how many kWh (kilowatt hours) you use per year. This is usually printed on the lower left corner of your electric bill.
• Divide kWh per year by 365 to find kWh per day.
• Divide kWh per day by 4.2 – this is about how many hours a day provide power, on average, in western PA. This tells you how many kilowatts your solar panels need to produce. (If you are in a different geographic area, this number may be different for you.)
• Multiply kilowatts by 1,000 to find watts. Now you know how many watts your solar panels need to produce.
• Divide the number of watts by the amount of watts each panel produces to find out how many panels you’d need to supply all your electricity. (There is a wide range of how many watts solar panels produce. Our installer is currently using panels that produce 415 watts each, so you could divide by 415 for this estimate.)
• Multiply your final result by 1.2 to account for panels not producing exactly the number of watts they’re rated for.

To summarize:

kWh per year divided by 365 = kWh per day 

kWh per day divided by 4.2 = how many kilowatts your panels need to produce in western PA

kw times 1,000 = how many watts your panels need to produce

watts divided by 415 = how many panels would supply all your electricity

number of panels times 1.2 to make sure you have enough

(These calculations assume that your system will be grid-tied.) 

Example:
The average US household uses 11,000 kWh per year, so let’s use that for our example, although actual usage varies widely, and the usage of a church, business, school, etc., will be very different than household usage.

11,000 / 365 = 30.1 kWh per day
30.1 / 4.2 = 7.2 kw (panels need to produce this many kilowatts)
7.2 x 1,000 = 7,200 watts (panels need to produce this many watts)
7,200 / 415 = 17.3 panels needed
17.3 x 1.2 = 20.76, round down to 20.
Someone using about 11,000 kWh per year will need 20 panels to provide all their electricity in a grid-tied system.

20 panels x $1,500 = $30,000 

Check with your power company - find out what they need for an interconnection agreement. This is an application to the electric company to install a solar system.

Check with your local municipality – ask what you would need to install solar panels. (Ask about ground installation and roof installation, in case you aren’t sure which you will do.) They will tell you what kind of permits or inspections you will need. Each municipality’s requirements are different.

Contact a solar installer. A good solar installer will walk you through all of the above – calculating how many panels you need and what type of system, giving detailed estimates of costs, taking care of the interconnection agreement and local permitting, as well as figuring out how to situate panels on your property and installing the panels and system.

Advertisements you see offering “free” solar panels to homeowners are for solar leasing companies. If the company puts up solar panels on your property, you don’t pay for the solar panels, but you then pay the leasing company for your electricity. It’s a legitimate business model, not a scam, but it’s not necessarily a good deal for homeowners. The benefits are that homeowners don't have any of the up-front costs of installing solar (which is the biggest barrier for many people), and it increases the overall use of solar power. But with a lease like this homeowners also don’t realize any of the long-term savings of having solar panels, which could be significant over decades of not paying anything for electricity with solar panels owned outright. It’s not really free, because you pay the leasing company for your electricity; but it is accurate that you don’t pay for the solar panels.   

Financially, solar panels are fully viable (they pay for themselves in electric bill savings well before the end of their useful life span of 25-50 years), and have been since at least 2003, even here in cloudy western Pennsylvania! In addition, of course, they provide electricity from a renewable resource and cause far less pollution than typical electricity-generating power plants. Getting your electricity from solar panels is a great way to care for the earth!

John can be reached at solar@bluerooffarms.com and www.BlueRoofFarms.com.