Still producing!

Aptiv is winter squash heaven with the vines spreading into the next county! There are still lots of potatoes at Aptiv, too, along with broccoli, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, chard, kale, and green beans.

At City Hall, the peppers and broccoli are this year's stars with eggplants, green beans, cucumbers, summer squash, kale, tomatoes, and chard still coming in, too. We planted some second crops and you can see them coming up now, too. We should have lots of kale this winter.

The Hogan garden is still producing too despite the Reader's Digest worthy story of a couple of weeks ago! Because we aren't sure of the school district's plans, we are going to assume this is probably the last year for Hogan in this form. Are there other sites in the neighborhood where a community victory garden could grow?

As we near the end of the fifth year of gardening, we are amazed to see how many vegetables we're still getting! The weather outlook is for warmer than normal through the end of the year. We'll see how long we can keep things going!

If you want to volunteer, please connect. We'll need more help at season's end for sure.

Here's a good recipe for this time of year (and you can even make it vegan!)

Eggplant with feta from The Spruce Eats is quick, easy, and scrumptious. And you can use a vegan feta if you want. Easy to find and yummy are Follow Your Heart crumbles or VioLife block.

Caring Community

Vegetables are popping out all over the place and we encourage you to pick what you need for your family. It looks like more people are  picking at Aptiv. That's great!

There's nothing a gardener loves more than seeing plants they've cared for over several months produce corn or cucumbers, beans or eggplants. Few veggies pop right up, so we have a long time to consider when they'll be ready and how we can prepare them.

For community victory gardeners, the joy also comes from knowing SOMEone will get a meal or a favorite treat, even if they don't know how to grow it or don't have the money to pay for it.

That's why what happened on September 1 at the Hogan garden is so frustrating, maddening, saddening.

One of our garden volunteers was walking past the garden Monday evening and found two boys selling vegetables

They were selling Victory Garden vegetables (which are FREE). They had picked pretty much everything, including potatoes and beans that were ready AND squash, peppers, and eggplants that were not ready to be picked. 

Worse, people had apparently paid the boys for the free vegetables. When our volunteer talked to them about their actions, they didn't really seem that concerned, pulling out a big wad of cash that they were going to use to buy treats at Ranison.

Please help us look after this community resource. Don't buy free vegetables. Watch over the garden. Help educate children about community care. Please. 

There may be time for some things to come back; new little eggplants are pushing out, for example. But, in the meantime, if you live in the Hogan neighborhood and need vegetables, try the Aptiv or City Hall gardens (Aptiv is bigger). Bring your kids and let them help.

Bean Time

We have the BEANS! Bush beans and pole beans at all gardens are ready to pick now. We need to keep them picked but we need to pick them right. 

Please pick by pinching off the bean where it emerges from the plant. Use two hands if you need to. Just pulling on a bean may pull the whole plant from the ground. Pinching the bean off avoids leaving little stubs of edible beans hanging on the plant. Please don't pick or handle the plants when they are wet to avoid spreading disease.

We are also coming into other summer veggies now with cukes, peppers, and tomatoes about to ripen and even a few eggplants  

At Aptiv, the summer squash are coming in. The other two gardens are a bit behind. Kale and chard are still growing too. Potatoes will be ready soon but you can maybe find a couple just under the soil. Please cover any exposed potatoes with soil if you don't pick them. 

And, if you need dill, pull the whole plants from the City Hall Garden (use the seeds for cooking or to plant in your own garden next year).

The Aptiv garden time has officially shifted to 8 a.m. Fridays and, when needed, Tuesdays.  Know that if you want to pick from that garden on your own, the best times there are Mondays and Thursdays.

If you get bored with eating lovely beans cooked until crisp-tender and with a bit of butter, garlic, and dill (like this https://itsavegworldafterall.com/garlic-butter-green-beans/), here are a couple of other recipes.

Spicy Szechuan Green Beans Stir Fry (Sue & Gumbo):  https://youtu.be/QFMWpgLXRac?si=_ucJfVtvH3ig9Oe-

Green Beans & Mushrooms (I also add julienned carrots) (Taste of Home): https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/garlicky-green-beans-with-mushrooms

Pick me!

It's very wonderful to be volunteering in the garden when someone stops by to pick a few things for a meal! More is coming in now, including green beans (all gardens), cukes (Aptiv), and more. (Photo of volunteers at Hogan VG  by Lori).

Thanks to Leah, we now have wood chips to spread on the city hall paths! We're doing a bit at a time as we are able while trying to keep up with weeding and replanting beds. If you want to help out, please join us!

Aptiv garden time is now 8 a.m. Fridays  instead of 9 a.m. It's a bit cooler then.

Feel free to contact us if you have questions or want to help!!

Cukes & chips

The Aptiv garden is now putting out cucumbers and beans in addition to kale and chard and herbs.

At City Hall, we have chips! Wood chips will gradually replace weeds on the paths there. We are still trying to keep up with weeds in and around the beds!

In the next couple of weeks, spring things like spinach, peas, cabbage, and cauliflower will come out and we'll plant fall things there. If a section of garden looks empty, that's why.

We'd love to have a few more helpers at each garden, if you'd like to join us, please email, call, or text!

PEAS PLEASE!

The Aptiv garden is FULL of peas that need to go into someone's salad, stir fry, or other delicious dish!! Pick them now!

Snow Pea Salad from Yummy Addiction.

Chef Ani's Snow Pea and Tofu Stir Fry. 

From The Spruce Eats: Snow Peas with Butter and Lemon.

[We've found some plants--celery, peppers, onions-- that have been pulled out of the ground and left. If you pick something, please take it and use it. If you're not sure if it's ready or how to use it, come to a group gardening session or let us know and we can meet you there to go over what's what. Thanks!]

Pick me!

Dill

It's always a surprise and a delight when the seeds we plant in April and May grow into vegetables we can eat in summer and fall. The peas are ready at the Aptiv and City Hall gardens. The lettuce, kale, cauliflower, and cabbages are ready. At Aptiv, we also have beets!

Some potatoes might be found, too. Look for a plant whose flowers have fallen off and gently feel around just under the soil near the base. This year, we didn't have all the seed potatoes labeled, so early and late varieties are mixed together and it's a bit harder to know when they are ready by the calendar.

Some things are simply gifts from the past. A cloud of dill, sprouted from last year's batch, covers part of the City Hall garden, along with many volunteer marigolds. We are pulling some of the dill to give this year's summer squash space and light to grow, but it can also be harvested by snipping the feathery leaves and leaving the rest of the plant to grow more

If you go to City Hall, take some dill will with you!

Now, we're scrambling to replace the harvested  veggies with new seeds or seedlings for harvest in September while we also try to keep the beds and paths free of weeds. 

If you want to garden with us or get an overview if what's where so you can garden on your own, come to a group gardening session or contact us and we can meet up with you!

Aptiv - Fridays at 9 a.m. (may be switching to 8 soon!) 

Hogan - Tuesdays at 9 a.m.

City Hall (usually) - Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m.

Try this: Potato Salad with Dill and Peas from the Vegan Larder