some winter good news!

as we all getting ready to tuck in for the winter and eat our canned, frozen, dried fruits and veggies from the summer, we can't forget the garden!  this is a great time to plan for the spring, research seeds and plants we might want to grow and figure out what worked and what didn't.  we can discuss this more in the coming months for sure!  in the meantime, here's a little reading for you:

1. regarding a judge's order to remove hundreds of acres of GMO sugar beets that were illegally planted.  Federal Court Orders First-Ever Destruction of a GMO Crop, Center for Food Safety

2. an article about some organic practices (such as planting crops for integrated pest management), maybe something we can use next year in the garden:  Farmers Wage Organic Battle Against Pests & Weeds, NYTimes

Grow Another Row donation totals

GJ Main Street Community Gardeners: We have much to be proud of this season, not the least of which is the food that we were able to grow and donate to those in need. Please take a look below at our accomplishments and the thanks we have received.

Thank you for all of your hard work!


Here is our personal Main Street Community Garden message of thanks and our donation total for the season:
Dear Main Street Growers,

Thank you all so much for donating your time and talents to help feed the hungry in Mesa County.  You donated 375 pounds of gorgeous produce to the Community Food Bank, Catholic Outreach, Homeward Bound, Mesa County Supplemental Foods, and the Western Slope Food Bank of the Rockies.  So much of the harvest this year was really healthy produce that other gardeners weren't providing - kale, china choy, arugula, chard, etc.  With a few recipes provided along with the greens, your produce expanded the repertoire of the Homeward Bound kitchen.

The garden is such a special place in downtown GJ.   Almost every time I was at the garden, I was stopped by a passerby with questions and compliments.   The fact that you as a group have made it a special point to donate a portion of the harvest really attests to the community spirit of the garden.

Thank you all again,

Amanda

Grow Another Row
www.growanotherrow.org 
 
Here is the message that went out to the entire Grow Another Row fleet of gardeners, volunteers, etc.: 

Hi Grow Another Row Growers, Volunteers and Friends,

Our season has officially come to an end.  We grew and delivered 6707 pounds of fresh fruits and veggies to Catholic Outreach, the Community Food Bank, Homeward Bound, Mesa County Supplemental Foods, the Salvation Army, the Senior Center, St Benedict's Place, and the Western Slope Food Bank of the Rockies.  This beats last year's total of 5936, which is pretty good considering how sluggish our gardens were this season.  We had 21 different growers participate, but this doesn't include people who dropped off produce at the CSU Extension office, the individual employees of Refrigeration Hardware Supply, and the gardeners with the Main Street Community Garden.  The variety of produce was amazing: asian pears, tomatillos, okra, and celery to name a few exciting donations.

Eighteen volunteers picked up, delivered, and harvested the produce.  This year we got more requests for harvesting projects than we could handle.  I was thrilled to partner with the Mesa County Sheriff's Office Work-Ender Program.  This alternative sentencing program allows people to serve their time by working for non-profit, charitable, and tax supported agencies on weekdays and weekends and still be able to retain their job and support their families.  Over two hot days, they harvested 2,619 pounds of tomatoes and peppers from the CSU Research Fields.  I hope next year we can continue this relationship and meet more requests to harvest produce from local fields and orchards.

All of our growers and volunteers have been incredibly dedicated, and I am so thankful for your participation.  I'd like to recognize one amazing volunteer - Nicole Sizemore.  Nicole delivered 1093 pounds of food this year.  She personally harvested at least 300 pounds of produce from partner growers.  She and her husband started a Grow Another Row garden and donated 34 pounds from their own backyard.  Not bad for first-time gardeners!   She did the bulk of this heavy work when she was 8-9 months pregnant and used every opportunity to teach her 2 year old daughter the value of community service.  This isn't all Nicole did.  In April, she designed our new brochures and found a donor to print 300+ color copies.  With the brochures, we recruited new growers, volunteers, community partners, and donors.  One very sweet man sent us $100 after running across our brochure at Bookcliff Gardens.  We've used some of the money for coolers and scales.  The rest we'll save for next year.  Nicole purchased seeds, packaged them up in smaller bags, and designed beautiful cards with growing directions and a description of GAR.  We used these cards to successfully spread the news about GAR.  Finally, Nicole was a one-man publicity machine.  She recruited new growers and volunteers from every avenue of her life -- play groups, work-relationships and even jury duty.  I know I am forgetting something because at times I could hardly keep up with her energy and drive, but it is safe to say that GAR would not have grown and been successful this year without her.

Thank you  to all of you who participated this year.  I wish you all could have all heard the wonderful compliments and thank yous from the organizations who received the produce.  Their warm response was easily worth the hard work this season.  I will soon be sending you individual totals of how much you grew or delivered this year.  Until then, you have my heart-felt thanks and admiration for your community service.  

Warmest Regards,

Amanda

Grow Another Row
www.growanotherrow.org 

MANDATORY WORK SESSION & FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

MANDATORY WORK SESSION: 
This Thursday we will have a very important work session to rip out all of the plants (except the perennials and the newly planted garlic) and prepare the soil for a long winter's nap. We will also remove the irrigation tape and the plastic row coverings. We need many hands to complete these tasks which are  our main preparation for next season. Please plan on joining us. If you cannot make it, please email to let us know.
    
After last night's low of 31, many things can still be salvaged from the garden such as the hardy kale and chard. The green tomatoes should still be salvageable too. Here's one idea of what could be done with some of those green tomatoes: 
Fried Green Tomatoes  The cornmeal and flour crust is what sets this recipe apart from others.  Yield: Makes 4 to 6 servings   
Ingredients 1  large egg, lightly beaten  1/2  cup  buttermilk
1/2  cup  all-purpose flour, divided 1/2  cup  cornmeal  1  teaspoon  salt  1/2  teaspoon  pepper  3  medium-size green tomatoes, cut into 1/3-inch slices  Vegetable oil  Salt to taste    

Preparation Combine egg and buttermilk; set aside. Combine 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, cornmeal, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl or pan. Dredge tomato slices in remaining 1/4 cup flour; dip in egg mixture, and dredge in cornmeal mixture. Pour oil to a depth of 1/4 to 1/2 inch in a large cast-iron skillet; heat to 375°. Drop tomatoes, in batches, into hot oil, and cook 2 minutes on each side or until golden. Drain on paper towels or a rack. Sprinkle hot tomatoes with salt. 


 Southern Living, JULY 2003  
 Mmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmm. 

*****************************
HUGE SPECIAL THANK YOU to the dedicated gardeners who planted the garlic in the rain last Thursday! We will have both Chesnook and Late White garlic varieties to harvest next June thanks to their hard work! And of course many thanks go to Cameron Place CSA for donating the garlic seed! 

harvest EVERYthing!

Please get out there with your neighbors and friends and harvest ALL of the food. If it makes it through tonight's low of 31, it probably won't make it through Tues. and Wed. evenings' lows in the mid-20s! Feel free to yank out an entire basil plant and take it home with you. Do NOT pull out the perennial herbs such as the chives, orgeano, and thyme. There are likely quite a few ripe tomatoes hiding in there. Gather up all of the green tomatoes you see. If you bring them home, they should ripen over the next week or so, especially if left in a sunny spot by a window. 
   
If you are willing/able to harvest food for Grow Another Row, please email me so that we can coordinate a pick up.  

The Green Room and Garlic!

I will be on KAFM tomorrow (Tues., 10/19) at noon for an interview with Heidi Ihrke on her 'The Green Room' public affairs show. We will be chatting about our beloved community garden, harvest season, veggies, perennial plantings, looking forward to the 2011 season, the Four Block Diet, etc. Tune in if you can! And if you like jazz, food, wine, or a combination of all three, make a note of this special upcoming event: Vino & Vinyl.


The weather is truly holding out for us with regard to our garden's bounty. We do not have a frost predicted any time in the next week! So please continue harvesting what we have before we have to tell it goodbye, as alas, it is inevitable. Our putting the garden to bed sessions will have to wait until next week and the week after. We will be planting garlic this week. We have about 2 hours of work to do, with say 3 people working. But we could make it all happen in about 45 minutes if we had about 8 people. We will plan on working on the garlic on Tues. and/or Wed. evenings this week. Please respond in an email if you can help.

potluck + mandatory work sessions

we WILL have our potluck this week. The weather is predicted to be absolutely lovely for just such an occasion, particularly for an evening so close to the average first frost date! Now that's an indian summer for ya! We will gather for the potluck on Thurs. (10/14) at 6:30pm after our 5:30pm work session. please bring a dish to share and bring your friends and neighbors who would like to learn more about GJ's first community garden! 

 

we will plan on a solid work session for each of the remaining thursdays of october. Please plan on being at at least 1 out of the 3 sessions: Oct. 14, 21, 28. We have quite a bit of work to do to prepare to put the garden to sleep at the end of the season. In the meantime ------ the garden is nearly overwhelmingly abundant! Now is the time that we should be in there enjoying all of our work from this season that has flown past us. 

  

This week we should be able to plant garlic seed which is being donated by Cameron Place. We have prepared the row where the garlic will be planted by tearing out the beans and amending the soil with the luscious composted soil that we uncovered at the bottom of our compost bin --- with the encouragement of "the compost lady", Pat. 

If we haven't seen much of you at the garden lately ---- don't hesitate to come back out and reacquaint yourself w/ the veggies and your fellow gardeners. 

  

See you on Thursday!   

GJ MAIN STREET COMMUNITY GARDEN EMAIL CLEAN-UP

It is about that time of year where we are looking to clean things up around the garden. That includes this email list. If you are on this list, it is because you are either a member or you have shown some interest in the past. We are hoping to streamline things to be sure that this email communication is being put to good use, primarily as our main line of communication with our members. If you are not a member, but you wish to continue to receive emails from this Main Street Community Garden info. hub, you will need to be sure to reply to this message in order to let us know what your intentions are and that you wish to be on the general community info. list. Members will also need to reply to this message in order to make certain that we are aware of your continued interest and your plans for involvement in 2011 and in order to continue receiving these messages. All parties interested in remaining on this email list should respond by Thurs., Oct. 7th. Those who do not respond will be removed from the list. 

In 2011 we are aiming to continue to grow our membership and fine tune the way that the garden operates. We are principally interested in our members being downtown residents who intend to work together with their fellow community members to maintain and reap the rewards of the garden, as well as harvest our surplus food for local charities. Please spread the word to your neighbors and friends who might be interested in joining us in these goals. 

  

Correction of a task listed in last week's email:
We will be ripping out the row of beans (NOT the chard and arugula) in the middle section of the garden to make room for a whole row of garlic seed. Therefore, please harvest those beans for yourself this week prior to the removal of the plants at Thursday's work session.

We seem to have some non-members from the community who may be helping themselves to our produce. Please do your part to address fellow gardeners when working in the garden and feel free to explain to those who do not appear to be members how the garden works. It is NOT a free for all. It IS members only.

Plan ahead to join in a community potluck at the garden to take place on Thurs., Oct. 7th at 6:30pm. Please invite your neighbors and friends!
  
Thank you and Happy Autumn!  

weekly work session + upcoming Okt. Potluck

MEET US THURS. at 5:30pm for our weekly work session: 
We will be lopping off excess parts of tomato plants tomorrow to help allow for the green tomatoes on the plants to ripen up in the last few weeks before the average first frost date. We need to harvest our full arugula and chard crops in order to prepare that bed for garlic which we will plant this fall in order to harvest it next summer. We will also be doing some work on the compost and tending to the weeds surrounding the garden.

Please send us an email to let us know if you harvested any of the onions, just for us to be able to have a better idea of what goes on at the garden when we are not around. The onions were actually not ready to be harvested yet as they were meant to grow into a slightly larger globe. They needed more time in the ground until they got there. But we would very much appreciate hearing from you to know whether it was a gardener who got to take them home or a passer by who may have thieved them.
  
Save the date for our GJ Main Street Community Garden POTLUCK which we will hold after our work session at 6:30pm on Oct. 7th. Please bring a dish to share and encourage your friends and neighbors to attend w/ dish in hand if they would like to learn more about how the garden works. We would love for all of our members to join in on this fun community event celebrating the bounty after this season's collective hard work.  

THE CHARITABLE HARVEST CONTINUES

THE CHARITABLE HARVEST CONTINUES ---- PLEASE COME OUT AND HELP IF YOU CAN!    
++++++++++++++++ 
Hello GAR volunteers,

The CSU fields are gorgeous and FULL of ripe tomatoes.  It is such easy picking.  Four of us today picked 391 pounds of tomatoes and 44 pounds of peppers in about an hour and a half.  This includes two pregnant women who were also chasing after two 3 year olds at the time.  We plan on really cleaning up tomorrow evening since we will be less distracted.

I will be at the fields at 4:30.  Come whenever you can.  Bring a medium size cloth grocery bag - we found that they are the perfect size to fill up without crushing the tomatoes. We'll transfer to boxes for transportation.  If you have small-medium boxes, they would be great too. 

Many of the CSU staff are gone this week, so I am still working on a Saturday session.  Please pass this along to friends or other groups so we can get this food into the hands of people who need it.

Directions:
Take hwy 50 to Orchard Mesa.  Exit B1/2 Rd - it is an overpass crossing the highway.  Take B 1/2 Rd all the way to 31 3/4 Rd.  Turn left at 31 3/4 Rd and then a very quick left into the driveway.  Make a left and then a right onto the main dirt road.  You will see my green subaru parked along the side or in the fields.  Give me a call if you need directions:  609-610-1425.

Thank you!!

Amanda

Grow Another Row
www.growanotherrow.org 

Grow Another Row HUGE charitable harvest! THIS WEEK!

Dear Gardeners and Community Members:

Grow Another Row has planned a HUGE charitable harvest event at the CSU Extension farm. They will be picking tomatoes and peppers this Tuesday morning. Starting at at 9:30am. Come when you can, bring a friend and bring some boxes! There will most likely be another gathering Wednesday evening OR Saturday morning.  If you are interested in helping on either of these days, please let Amanda know:
Grow Another Row
email: growanotherrow@gmail.com  www.growanotherrow.org
314-7389 

If you don't think you are physically up for picking, but would like to help, they need someone who can sort the tomatoes. You will be set you up in the shade and you can do the very important job of tossing any tomatoes with problems.  This will help the picking go faster too if we don't have to sort in the field.

The research center is located at 3168 B 1/2 Rd.  This is not at the CSU extension office off highway 50.  To get there, take hwy 50 onto orchard mesa.  After 27Rd, there will be a exit to the right that takes you over the overpass.  Cross hwy 50 and at the bottom go straight onto B1/2 Rd.  Take B 1/2Rd until you reach 31 3/4 Rd and turn left.  A quick left into the driveway takes you onto the research center.  Wind your way past the buildings until you can turn left onto a straight road flanking the fields and orchards.
  

With your help, this food will not only not go to waste but will help out those who need it!  

Docs Prescribe VEGGIES!

here's a great (albeit it still small) program in Massachusetts wherein doctors are prescribing vegetables to their patients.  as part of the program, low-income families receive vouchers to their local farmers' markets where they can shop for farm-fresh produce for their families.  read more about it here!

citys growing produce!

I was listening to Colorado Public Radio the other day and heard an interview with a man who worked with the city of Colorado Springs (who are experiencing a budget crisis and are cutting programs, including decorative plantings) to plant the city parks and decorative spaces with veggies as a form of expanding community gardens in spaces the city can't care for.  Today i read this article in GRIST about other cities around the US that are planting gardens in these previously-decorative-only spaces, and anyone can zip by and harvest the veggies for free.  What a win-win!

one way to use all of that kale!

KALESLAW 

 

Serves 8-10   
 

1 head of kale 

2 large lemons 

1 quart filtered water 

1 Tbs. olive oil  

2 carrots 

1 cup Veganaise 

2 tsp. fresh black pepper 

1 tsp. sugar 

1 tsp. kosher salt 

quarter of a red cabbage (garnish) 

 

1. Prepare the kale for its rub-down: take each leaf and remove the stem by either slicing a "V" shape and separating the two green sides from its spine, or simply pulling off the leafy green in chunks. Discard the stem. Throw the large kale leaves into a strainer. Rinse and let sit.  

 

2. Zest both your lemons into a large mixing bowl, making sure to get every last inch of yellow goodness. Save zest for the dressing. When complete, slice and juice lemons into a separate container. Fill a large bowl with water, and add only half the fresh lemon juice to the water.  

 

3. Submerge kale in lemon-water and let sit for 1-2 minutes. Take a small bunch at a time and massage the kale by scrunching as hard as you can, releasing and taking a new handful of kale. Repeat for several minutes. 

 

4. Remove kale and let dry in a colander, or spin dry. On a cutting board, slice each large chunk or leaf like you might chiffonade basil. If the leaves are not big enough to get long, coleslaw like slices don't fret. Place kale in a container with a lid to store overnight. Combine the rest of the lemon juice (should be close to 2 Tbs., if not juice another lemon) with a Tbs. of olive oil. Let sit in fridge overnight, but before you clean up make dressing for tomorrow. 

 

5. Combine Veganaise with black pepper, sugar, salt and lemon zest and whisk to make dressing. Add a half-teaspoon of lemon juice if needed to whisk, but no more. Save for service. 

 

6. After kale has sat all night, drain liquid and spin dry. Grate carrot and shred cabbage. Toss together with dressing and serve cold.  
pairing recommendations: 

Beverage: Craftsman Brewing's Heavenly Hefe 

Soundtrack: Talking Heads' "This Must be the Place"   

CONTINUAL HARVEST  

We are getting into that sweet spot in the growing season now where pretty much everything is ready and needs to be continually harvested. (With the exception of some of the recently seeded or transplanted items such as the onions, radishes, new cilantro, new beets, new carrots, and new lettuce.) Continual harvest encourages more prolific development and growth on the plants. 

 

We welcome the Main Street Community Garden members to come to the garden throughout the week as you prepare for your meals, even on a daily basis if that is how you would like to do it. We want for everyone to be able to enjoy and use the veggies as they are becoming available. Keep in mind that there are other gardeners coming out to harvest as well. So please try to be fair when harvesting. 

  

As an example of a general rule of thumb, if there are 10 eggplants available, just take one so that others can partake. Trust me, there will be many more this season. The tomatoes are an item that would be good to harvest more sparingly, at this early point as they are just beginning to ripen, in order to share the wealth. In a few weeks, we will have no limits on Toms because they should be just bursting! The kale, chard, herbs, broccoli, jalapeños are all ready to give give give NOW! So please go ahead and harvest those items for yourselves throughout the week. 

  

I have taken a suggestion from one of our members and I am attaching a veggie by veggie list of guidelines of how to harvest each one. Please have a look at it. And ask away if you need further clarification. 

  

GROUP HARVEST 

You are also quite welcome to harvest for yourselves on Thursdays. Last week we tried a new method of harvesting where we set out boxes and harvested each veggie en masse and placed them into boxes. Then gardeners who were working together on harvesting the different veggies could take a fair amount from each box for themselves and the remainder at the end of the evening was given to Grow Another Row. 

 

One of the main goals voiced by members at the beginning of the season was to give to charities. We are so fortunate to have this charitable outlet where we are easily able to share this bounty with those in need. Thursdays are the day that we have arranged for the pick ups for Grow Another Row. We will plan to harvest during our community work session and then the donation will be made around 7pm at the end of the session. If you have in mind a certain amount of vegetables that you need or want to harvest for yourself, feel free to do so. And you are of course welcome, to harvest for yourself into your own bag or box and do not need to place items into the communal harvest boxes. But do keep in mind that a portion of the garden's bounty is intended to be donated.  

 

We are simply trying to make this process clear at this point in the season now that we are having plentiful harvests. Please do not hesitate to ask questions if you have them. And we are very open to input and truly encourage open dialogue about how to make all of this work as smoothly as possible. 

         

TOMATOES  

This week we need to continue to tame the tomatoes. We have run out of twine, so please bring twine to tie them with as well as scissors to continue to sucker them and pare them down. We also need additional poles to train some of them up onto. Tall, straight pruned shrub and tree branches can work for this if you have any lying around in your backyards. 

  

As you will notice, the tomato plants are just hitting their stride. We planted so many and with such density that we need to be on the aggressive side when we are pruning them so that as the season goes on (and bear in mind that we will be harvesting tomatoes straight on through September, and likely well into October before the first frost will snatch them away) they will continue to grow and fill out and we need to be able to get our bodies in between the rows to harvest them and hunt around for the ripe ones that might be hiding in the tomato jungle. So don't hold back! But only get aggressive if you absolutely KNOW what you are doing. If you do not know, please ask us! We are around each week to help. 

  

DOGGIES 

Please keep in mind one rule that needs to apply to all gardeners ------- please tie your dogs up OUTSIDE of the garden fence. Thank you! 

 

See you at this Thursday's 5:30pm work session.   

Fresh Summer Recipes

Here is a recipe to make use of all the tomatoes that will be exploding from the garden in the next week! Get your canning supplies ready to make some salsa!!!!

Deliciosa Tomato Salsa

-4 medium-small round or 6 or 7 plum ripe tomatoes
-Fresh serrano chiles to taste (roughly 3 to 5, or even more depending on your Scoville scale)
-A dozen or so large sprigs of cilantro
-1 large garlic clove, peeled and very finely chopped
-1 small (4-ounce) white onion
-1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
-Salt and pepper

Core the tomatoes, then cut in half widthwise and squeeze out the seeds if you wish (it will give the sauce a less rustic appearance). Finely dice the flesh by slicing it into roughly 1/4-inch thick pieces, then cutting each slice into small dice. Scoop into a bowl.
Cut the chiles in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds if you wish. Chop the chiles as finely as you can, then add them to the tomatoes. Carefully bunch up the cilantro sprigs, and, with a sharp knife, slice them 1/16-inch thick, stems and all, working your way down from the leafy end until you run out of leaves. Scoop the chopped cilantro into the tomato mixture along with the optional garlic. Next, finely dice the onion with a knife (a food processor will turn it into a sour mess), scoop it into a small strainer, then rinse it under cold water. Shake to remove the excess water and add to the tomato mixture. Taste and season with lime juice and salt, and let stand if you have a little time, for the flavors to meld before using or scooping into a salsa dish and serving.

Fresh Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Preheat broiler.

- 1 1/2 pounds fresh tomatillos
- 5 fresh serrano chiles
- 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
- 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
- 2 teaspoons coarse salt

If using fresh tomatillos, remove husks and rinse under warm water to remove stickiness. Broil chiles, garlic, and fresh tomatillos rack of a broiler pan 1 to 2 inches from heat, turning once, until tomatillos are softened and slightly charred, about 7 minutes.
Peel garlic and pull off tops of chiles. Purée all ingredients in a blender.

Cilantro Pesto Recipe

Ingredients
2 cups, packed, of cilantro, large stems removed
1/2 cup blanched almonds
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/2 teaspoon chopped and seeded serrano chile
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 cup olive oil

Method
In a food processor, pulse the cilantro, almonds, onion, chile, and salt until well blended. With the food processor running, slowly add the olive oil in a steady stream. Add more oil as needed for your use.
Makes about 1 cup.

Whatever you don't use, you can freeze. Line a ice cube tray with plastic wrap and fill in the individual cube spaces with the pesto. Freeze and remove from the ice tray, put in a sealed freezer bag for future use.

++++++++++++++++++
this goes extremely well atop of cheddar/scallion scones!


Ingredients
2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour or Pastry Flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
2 large eggs, beaten
1/3 cup cream or sour cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 cup (4 oz.) grated sharp Cheddar cheese
3 scallions, chopped

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375¡F. Sift together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder. Rub in the butter with your fingers. Mix together the eggs, cream, and mustard. Add this to the dry ingredients. Stir in the grated cheese and the scallions. Mix just until combined. This is the consistency of drop-cookie dough. Liberally flour the counter and your hands. Pat the dough into a 1-inch-thick rectangle. Cut into 10 triangular scones. Place on a well-greased cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, or until nicely browned and a cake tester inserted into a scone comes out dry.

How to Sucker Tomato Plants!

click on this post's title to check out this simple video link showing exactly how we will be suckering the tomatoes tomorrow evening!

THINGS TO HARVEST...this week at the garden!

Did someone say "HARVEST"?!?! Not to let the priority of PULLING WEEDS get away from us (which we DEFINITELY need to pay some attention to tomorrow evening), but we have good stuff to harvest! And it is only the first week of June!

ARUGULA - Please harvest one big bunch of arugula per household. Gently grab your bunch with one fist and cut about 1/2 inch above the dirt. The remaining arugula roots will grow again and we can have multiple cuttings form this crop.

CHIVES - Please help yourselves to chives and chive flowers. They are very flavorful and the flower itself is edible too.

CHINA CHOY - Cut about 1/4 below the dirt for a full intact head of china choy. Please just harvest the FULLEST heads of China Choy and leave the smaller ones to grow bigger. One per household.

KALE - Kale is available to harvest on a leaf by leaf basis. Snip the largest leaves just above its connection point to the base of the plant. Snip leaves from different plants, not all from the same plant, to allow the plants to continue to grow bigger. If you have any questions about WHAT to harvest and/or HOW to harvest it, PLEASE ASK! We will be meeting at 5:30pm tomorrow for a community work session. See you then. Come with a basket or a bag for bringing your harvest home.

Update on the covered up peas & lettuces: They are coming back! They just needed a little protection from the hungry birds. I guess it was a long winter for those guys too...

Special report: The first marigolds and nasturtium blooms of the season have made their way out!

We still have room for a few more gardeners to join us this season. Please spread the word and put any interested folks in touch with us via this email address: gjmainstreetcommunitygarden@gmail.com

Colorado now has a New Food Council Bill

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter just signed a bill to create a 13-member Colorado Food Systems Advisory Council, which will begin meeting later this year to set state-wide goals on access to healthy foods.  Read more about this bill here, and note, at the very end of the short article is a little shout-out to LOCAL FOOD!  What do you think about this piece of news?

CSA talk at KAFM tonight!

Please join us tonight at 7pm at KAFM's Radio Room for a talk by Melanie Ettenger from The Cameron Place CSA. You can learn more about the farming practices at one of the Grand Valley's main sources for local/organic veggies and fruit. Come out to show your support for this important movement and to satisfy your appetite and curiosity about where your food comes from!

more info. here:http://kafmradio.org/beyond-radio/learning-series/2010/cameron-place-csa

Mmmmmm mmmmmm good!

Here's a recipe (see below, courtesy of PCC Natural Markets) for using some of the things we have in abundance in the garden.

Chive Blossoms - check!
Peas - any week now!
White beans - coming...one day (probably not until fall to be honest...!)

And before the peas and pods join us, feel free to take a few of the young pea shoots and tendrils here and there! Here's how:

Once your pea plants are about 6 - 8 inches tall, you can snip off the top growth including one set of leaves. This will be your first, small harvest, but cutting off the growing tip will encourage the plants to branch out and continue growing.

After that, you can continue harvesting the top 2 - 6 inches of the pea plants every 3 - 4 weeks. You can harvest shoots, leaves and tendrils as well as any flowers or buds that may have formed. Once they stop tasting tender, stop harvesting the shoots and pods will still form on those plants! Don't harvest the shoots from every plant. Try one out of every 3. We can work together to harvest some shoots at our work session on Thurs. after we pull weeds, create a trellis for the pea plants, and fill in the spaces where we left off from Planting Day with more transplants.

Tuscan Pappardelle with Spring Peas, Hazelnuts, White Beans and Chive Blossoms
Serves: 4 to 6
The textures and flavors of this dish are so bright and fresh, and the combination of the sparkling green peas with the deep purple chive blossoms is gorgeous! It can be served as a side dish with roasted meats or as a simple one-dish meal on its own.
Ingredients
· 3 tablespoons olive oil
· 1 cup shelled green peas
· 3 cloves garlic, minced
· 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
· 2 cups cooked white beans (cook your own or use organic canned beans)
· 2 to 3 cups cooked pappardelle pasta
· 1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
· 1/2 cup sun-dried or oil-cured tomatoes (or use fresh tomatoes or sweet red peppers)
· 1/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
· 1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley or fresh basil
· 2 tablespoons chive blossoms (or substitute rosemary blossoms or pea blossoms)
· Juice of 1/2 lemon
· Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
· Shaved Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Preparation
In a wide sauté pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat and add the peas, garlic and sage. Cook for a few seconds until aromatic. Toss in the white beans, pappardelle, hazelnuts and tomatoes. Add the chicken or vegetable broth and cook gently until heated through.
Toss in the parsley or basil and chive blossoms. Add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Serve garnished with shaved Parmigiano.
Recipe by Lynne Vea, PCC Chef
Source: Demonstrated at the Pike Place Market Flower Festival, May 9, 2010.

We pull our weeds by HAND!

This article in the NYT talks about the threat of Round-up resistant weeds that have been cropping up throughout the US since 2000. “It is the single largest threat to production agriculture that we have ever seen,” said Andrew Wargo III, the president of the Arkansas Association of Conservation Districts. All the more reason to grow our own organic veggies!

May 6th & 8th for our next community work sessions

We will be meeting next:

Thurs., May 6th at 5:30pm to spread the plastic over the rows

Sat., May 8th at 10am to transfer our baby seedlings and plant seeds directly

hope to see you then.

Sign-ups are ongoing! Please tell your friends, family and neighbors! We still have more open slots for members to join us.

Garden Interview on KAFM

Tune in to KAFM Radio at noon today (Thursday, April 22nd) to hear an interview about the Community Garden and other gardening efforts in Grand Junction!  Listen to the solar powered community radio on line or old school style by turning the dial to 88.1 KAFM.

and Happy EARTH day!

Thurs., April 22nd Community Work Session

Please join us this coming Thurs., April 22nd at 5:30pm for community work in the garden. We have rich, organic soil to spread over the rows.

We will also be continuing with ongoing sign-ups for the season. The garden is open to all!

How the Garden Works
- $35 investment/dues per household for the season
- 10 hours of work commitment per household over the course of the season
- May thru October growing season shared responsibilities and community work sessions

Seed Sowing + Spring Clean-Up this Thursday!

Join us this Thursday at 5:30pm for seed sowing and for Spring Clean-Up!

If you have certain seeds that you would like to plant, please bring them. If possible, please bring seeds that you know are organic. Cameron Place will provide planting mix and trays. And then you should be prepared to take home your little tray of soil to care for it, water it, keep it warm, and provide light once they have germinated. After about 6 weeks of this upbringing, you can bring them back to the garden for transplanting!

Good ideas for seeds that you can bring for sowing:

kale, chard, lettuces

We will also plan on spending about an hour working in the garden doing clean-up and getting things ready for what's to come in the next few weeks.

Please email us with any questions.

Hope to see you Thursday!

***INVASIVE SPECIES ALERT***

As we head into the prep/planting phase of this year's garden...

Perhaps I should have been more expedient in getting this important information out to the Main Street Garden Community yesterday, but I feel it is critical that you make yourself aware.

Click on the title of the post to learn about this new species that we should be looking out for!

Successful Snowy Sign-up!

Despite Mother Nature's April Fool's Day snowy joke, the community garden sign up was a huge success as we all huddled on the Mesa Land Trust porch next door to the garden. We added a bunch of new members and enjoyed connecting with old friends. The wet snow prevented us from cleaning the garden, but that will be done at our next work day Thursday the 8th. In the meantime, our little cover crop is poking up through the fresh snow and we're all excited about imminent spring! Thank you all who signed-up, and see you soon!

Sign-Up + Spring Clean-Up this Thurs. at 5:30pm

Please join us this Thursday, April 1st for the 2010 Community Sign-Up and Spring Clean-Up work session. If you are interested in becoming a member, now is the time to bring in your dues and get signed up. Dues for the season are $35 per household.

Meet us at 10th & Main Thurs., April 1st at 5:30pm.

As far as our Spring Clean-Up goes, we have lots of work to do in raking and picking up debris around the garden and the perennial border. And if you can believe it, we even have some weeds to tackle that are sneaking in a little jump on things in the early rays of spring sunshine. We are also working on a new sign to put up on Main and we need help prepping the sign for the paint job that will make its way onto the old sign that we are up-cycling for our use. If you have them, please show up with gloves, rakes, and trash bags. And be ready to meet & greet your fellow gardeners for this season!

Spread the word to all of your friends, family, and neighbors ----
Something's Growin' Downtown!

GJ M.S.C.G. Informational Flyer

See the attached scan of our informational flyer. Please note: this is a tri-fold flyer, so it may appear a bit out of order in this double-sided display. But all of the info. is still there/the same!

2010 Planting Plan

In order to get everyone excited about this growing season, we wanted to share the planting plan with you:


We have incorporated everyone's votes on the poll on the blog and we worked by committee to establish the planting plan for this season for the Children's and Community sections. The CSA is giving us two extra rows this year. So we are excited about growing some flowers, onions, leeks, and scallions this season!

Please keep the early season dates in mind that we posted on St. Patty's Day. Looking forward to seeing you all there! Email: gjmainstreetcommunitygarden@gmail.com with any questions.

Join Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution!

MESSAGE FROM JAMIE

The American Food Revolution needs to start now! If you care about your country and the health of its children please help us make a difference. We need your support to get people back in touch with food and keep cooking skills alive before it's too late. We want to make sure every kid gets good, fresh food at school. It's proven that real food promotes more effective learning. If you want better health for your kids the junk food must go. I need to be able to show The President and industry how many of you out there really care about this issue so please don't wait, sign up today. It will only take 30 seconds.

America's health needs you!

Thank you. Please forward this to your friends, family, classmates, teachers, colleagues and anyone else who you think cares as time is short.

Be sure to Join Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution! You do NOT want to be left behind!

www.jamieoliver.com/campaigns/jamies-food-revolution/petition

GJ Main Street Community Garden

's

Jamie Oliver!

** Early Season Important Dates **

Please make a note of the important upcoming dates over at the GJ Main Street Community Garden:

Thurs., April 1st, 5:30pm - Community Sign-Up + info. meeting / Early Spring Clean-Up

Thurs., April 8th, 5:30pm - Sowing transplants from seed hands-on learning session

Thurs., April 22nd, 5:30pm - Season Kick-off Work session --- we'll be spreading compost and tilling the soil

Thurs., May 6th, 5:30pm - Work together to spread the plastic weed + irrigation mat over the rows

Sat., May 8th, 10am - Planting Day!

Please stay tuned to the blog for additional information and feel free to email us with any questions or comments: gjmainstreetcommunitygarden@gmail.com

Spread the word ------ Something's growin' downtown!