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 

Rain gardening

Hogan Garden

We're happy the high heat is gone for a bit and we welcome the rain! This week we'll continue weeding, both beds and paths where needed, and start picking! 

The City Hall garden time this week is WEDNESDAY at 5:30 unless it's raining. Sometimes we just have to catch some dry time on our own whenever it works. 

All the gardens have kale, radishes, lettuce, cauliflower. Spinach is bolting (sending up seed stalks and starting to get triangle-shaped leaves) in some places - pull the whole plant when that happens and eat the leaves. We'll plant new stuff in the gaps.

If you want to join our weekly garden groups or have questions, please email, text, or call.

Spinach-Kale Side Salad from Daisybeet: https://www.daisybeet.com/15-minute-everyday-kale-spinach-side-salad/

Tart cherries

The Aptiv orchard includes (tart) cherry trees and cherries are ready to pick now. We also believe there are cherries at the YMCA Food Forest on Main & West Ave.

Cherry Buckle from The Southern: https://thesouthern.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/taste-recipe-cherry-buckle/article_ee5ba825-0e1d-520d-b790-e0c27331fd6b.html

Easy Sour Cherry Sauce from Art and the Kitchen: https://www.artandthekitchen.com/easy-sour-cherry-sauce/

Scapes + more!

 

We have scapes! And lettuce, cauliflower, dill, and more!

Even as we finalize planting, some things are now ready to pick.

Garlic scapes are the seed stalks that shoot out of some varieties of garlic plants. You can punch or cut them off right where they come out of the plant when they have made a curl, and use them like you would green onions or chives. You can eat of discard the tapered seed head. More from The Gardener's Almanac here: https://www.farmersalmanac.com/what-the-heck-are-garlic-scapes

At City Hall, there are garlic scapes plus cauliflower, dill (it's everywhere), kale, and lettuce (find the lettuce in the tomato bed, under the pea arch, and around the compost bin. The napa cabbage near the cauliflower, has bolted (gone to seed). You can still eat the leaves (pull the whole plant), but we'll replace it with some other plants soon. We are hoping to remulch the paths in the next few weeks.

At Aptiv, we have scapes and herbs right now, plus some radishes and lettuce.

The Hogan garden is starting to produce lettuce, spinach, and radishes.

Try this - Kale, Garlic Scape, and Walnut Pesto

More scapes, should you need them, should be available at the Kane Street Garden, or a farmers market. They come and go quickly, so het them now!

If you would like to help out at any of the victory gardens, please call or text 608-315-2693, or email us at MinisterOfBeans@gmail.com.

Still planting!

As weather warms, we'll finish up planting soon. This week, the City Hall garden day will be Wednesday at 5:30 instead of Tuesday.