See you at the library!

We'll be at the April 12 Garden Talk & Seed Swap event at the La Crosse Public Library from 10 a.m. to noon with info about this year's community victory gardens! See you there! 

Looking forward to a new season!

We're starting to think about gardening! If you are interested in volunteering in 2025, helping plan, plant, maintain, or coordinate volunteers, let us know!

We're looking for an experienced gardener to supervise the City Hall garden in 2025. Help & support available! Also if you want to help start seedlings in March, please contact us. 

MinisterOfBeans at gmail or 608-315-2693.

Nov. 11 - City Hall garlic & clean up

Time to get garlic in for next year. The warm weather has pushed back the schedule a bit. Aptiv garlic is in but we need to do City Hall soon!

From noon to 2 p.m. on Monday, November 11, we'll pull dead plants and put garlic in at the City Hall Community Victory Garden. Come on down if you want to help! 

And there's still good stuff to pick at Aptiv. Try this yummy recipe for excess chard (may use vegan sausage). https://true-north-kitchen.com/herbed-white-bean-and-sausage-soup-with-swiss-chard/

We have BROCCOLI! (and peas!)

Amazingly, the Aptiv garden is still producing this late in the season. Even the eggplants which got a late second life when we transplanted them into the back, are growing still!

But the stars are the broccoli plants, lots of little and not-so-little side shoots are available. There's also tomatoes, peas, chard, kale, parsley, and a little bit of spinach.

Needless to say, garden clean up and garlic planting have been pushed back a bit. Stay tuned! 

Green Tomato Edition

There are still veggies coming out of our victory gardens! While the tomatoes*, peppers, and squash are done for the year, chard, kale, and even broccoli are still growing at Aptiv and City Hall. Even the late-planted peas are developing little pods .

If you want any GREEN tomatoes, please email, text or call and we can meet at Aptiv. From pies and cakes to relishes and salsas, green tomatoes are the very versatile end-of-season ingredient.

Here are a few recipes links.

Green Tomato Spice Cake - https://www.thespruceeats.com/green-tomato-cake-recipe-3057074

Green Tomato Soup - https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1012773-green-tomato-soup-with-bacon-and-brioche-croutons

Green Tomato Casserole - https://www.hamtownespicery.com/post/2017/06/22/southern-green-tomato-casserole

Green Tomato Pie - https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/green-tomato-pie/

Green Tomato Bread - https://www.thespruceeats.com/green-tomato-quick-bread-recipe-1136180

Last call

Temperatures will drop in the next few days marking the end of most of our garden plants. Today, at the Aptiv garden, we picked a seven  gallon bucket of beans plus lots of red and green tomatoes, chard, kale, and peppers. Excess produce goes to WAFER.

There are still many tomatoes, red and green, including sweet cherry tomatoes, to pick over the weekend at Aptiv. Pick some if you want. In the tomato department, everything must go!

We will still have chard, kale, and broccoli, and possibly some herbs, as things cool off. 

We will plan to schedule a garden clean up for City Hall and Hogan in the next few weeks. Check back for details.

If you'd like to be involved in planning gardens for next year, please email, call or text!

Still ticking!

Amazingly, the victory gardens are still producing lots of "summer vegetables" on October 4. 

Our garden hour at Aptiv today provided a big bag of green beans (and there are still many more for you to pick), lots of tomatoes, broccoli, chard, kale, lettuce, beets, parsley, peppers, and carrots. 

City Hall is winding down but there are still greens, peppers, and occasional squash. 

 Hogan has produce as well, including the (in)famous tromboncino squash which can be used like butternut once they are mature (just before the first frost). 

If you have questions or want to help when we clean up the gardens later this month, please contact us!