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  • From: Greg <FarmerGreg@UrbanFarm.org>
  • To: Recipient List Suppressed: ;
  • Subject: [permaculture] Phoenix Mesquite Collection and Community Walkabouts
  • Date: Sat, 16 Jul 2005 21:10:18 -0700

Hi all,

We had a great planning meeting for the mesquite milling the other evening. There were nine of us there and we accomplished a lot. We (The Phoenix Permaculture Guild, The Phoenix Slow Food Group, Roadrunner Park Farmers Market and The Urban Farm) will be working together to bring this event to Phoenix. The biggest thing that we need to get accomplished right now is that everyone needs to get collecting beans so that there are plenty to mill in November. So mostly this email will spell that out.

First of all go out and collect mesquite beans. They are ripe and dry now and will continue to produce into September. Collect only dry beans then follow the directions below on how to process them.

I have had several people inquire as to that I am talking about when I say milling. Milling is a process by which the mesquite beans are pulverized into a protein rich powder very similar to flour. It is very tasty and can be used for cookies, breads and in drinks like protein powder. It is really good stuff.

Community Collection Walkabouts
We will be offering several mesquite bean walkabouts over the next 45 days with the first one being on Saturday August 6. We will meet at 6 am (to beat the heat) at Chris Carlile's home at 920 W Pierson, which is just south of Camelback and just West of 7th Street.

We will be offering one on the west side and one in the east valley in August (more information to follow). If you would like to sponsor a walkabout let me know.

Specific Collection Information

So you want to begin collecting the mesquite beans here are the rules and specifics.

1. Collect only dry beans.
2. Collect only beans that are on the trees.
3. If you must collect beans off the ground here are some caveats
* Beans presented for milling MUST contain only beans. Any beans presented that have stones, sticks or other debris CANNOT be milled. These other items damage the mill.
* Beans soaked or damaged by water cannot be milled.
* make sure that no pesticides are sprayed in the area where the beans are collected.
4. Once you collect the beans they need to be dried. I suggest using your solar oven to lightly toast the beans. This drys them out and kills any of the bugs that like to inhabit the beans. Last year I collected some beans and when it was time to mill them they were infested with bugs...So

Solarizing/baking
To dry and to rid beans of bugs it is suggested that you heat the beans for a minimum of 2 hours at 160F. This dries the beans and kills any pests that might be inhabiting them.
Solarizing options: spread on tarp on driveway (but beware of rain - if it doesn't ruin beans it will change their flavour), use solar oven or a regular oven and add batches of beans when you cook other things.

5. Store the beans in airtight containers. Once you have dried the beans get airtight bags or we suggest 5 gallon buckets with airtight lids and store them away.

When you go to Collecting
What to take when collecting:
Tarp / sheet to catch the beans when they fall.
Stick with hook (pruning saw/ grapefruit picker etc..) to shake branches
5 gallon containers
Hat, water etcŠ
Note: Raking beans from ground (especially from xerascaped gravel) risks pesticide residues (and also getting debris into the harvest). It's better to pick from the tree or shake them off onto a sheet/tarp

Collecting methods - take a tarp, lay under tree and shake branches (by hand or with a stick/pole)
Quality and taste of beans vary tree to tree - taste as you collect!

Mesquite's you'll find here in the valley:
Honey Prosopis glandulosa
Velvet P. velutina
Chilean P. chilensis
Screwbean P. pubescens (not as recommended for flour? maybe better for tea?)
Can hybridize, can be hard to distinguish (except screwbean). Taxonomy is a bit muddled! See http://www.desert-tropicals.com/Plants/Fabaceae/Prosopis.html



When you bring the beans for milling:

1. All beans milled are for home use and cannot be sold.
2. We will do a snap test. The bean needs to snap in half with a crack rather then bend. Any beans that bend cannot be milled as they can jam the mill and that slows everything down.
3. In Tucson they limit people to three five gallon pails of beans, mainly because the turnout for the milling is so great and they have a hard time getting through it all. We may have to do this as a starting point to make sure that everyone gets a chance to mill.
4. You are encouraged to bring at least one 5 gallon pail as it will grind down to about 1 gallon of flour.

Milling Yield and other specifics
The milling will be at Roadrunner park (30th St. and Cactus (location of farmers market) on Nov. 5th. The time will be announced at a later date.

A 5 gallon bucket of beans = 1 gallon flour 1 = about 2 lbs
In the store one pound of mesquite flour sells for $7 to $15
There will be a charge of $5 per 5 gallons of beans for milling. This goes to paying for the mill and mill operators plus hauling the mill from Tucson. It is
Flour should be frozen to preserve until use.
Carob milling also will be possible at end of day.

See you at one of the walkabouts or the milling.

Don, Rachel, Greg, Pam, Judy, Chris, Mike, Pauline, Kerry,

--


***ATTENTION*** Please note my new email address. FarmerGreg@UrbanFarm.org

The Urban Farm
Growing good food
Having fun gardening
Connecting with nature


Greg Peterson
http://www.urbanfarm.org
602/565-7045



  • [permaculture] Phoenix Mesquite Collection and Community Walkabouts, Greg, 07/17/2005

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