Hello Garden Friends:
Name that Vegetable! It’s time again for another edition of our “Name that Vegetable” contest. The subject of this contest is pictured below. Hints: It’s high in vitamin A and Omega-3 and 6 Fatty Acids and eaten by cultures around the world. Grows prolifically in Iowa.
Send me your entry (okay, guess) this week and the winner will be announced next week.
Here’s what is happening in a food pantry garden near you:
Agape Garden, 7384 NW 16th Street in Ankeny (Next to the Faith Chapel and close by John Deere) We harvested another 285 pounds on Thursday! We picked cabbage, broccoli, beans, carrots, zucchini squash, beets,bell peppers, banana and jalepeno peppers. Over 2,400 pounds donated this year!! The garden is really starting to produce! Volunteer hours in the Agape garden are almost every Tuesday and Thursday evenings around 6:30. Call Craig Crist to verify time and dates @ 515-577-8260 leave message if no answer. The Agape Garden always needs help.
| Faith & Grace Garden. Between 24th & 28thStreets north of Ashworth Road, WDM, by Covenant Presbyterian Church and St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, park in the lot north of St. Timothy’s off 24th Street.
Picnic/Followed by Gardening, Friday, July 6. Potluck picnic starts at 6pm with gardening at 7pm. Bring a side from the deli and table service. Drinks provided. Bring the family. We will be harvesting vegetables for donation to the Trinity United Methodist food giveaway on Saturday morning.
For more information contact Tim at timothyjgoldman@gmail.com or call 745-9842 or contact Mark at wdmmarshall@msn.comor call 988-5381.
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Below are harvest totals through June 30 for the Faith & Grace garden followed by the organization to which the food was donated.
| Units in Lbs |
Total |
| Peas |
140 |
| Bush Beans |
234 |
| Chard |
34 |
| Kale |
20 |
| Lettuce |
134 |
| Onions |
559 |
| Purslane |
55 |
| Zucchini |
125 |
| Radishes |
83 |
| Turnips |
203 |
| Total Harvested |
1,587 |
| Eddie Davis Community Center |
146 |
| DMARC warehouse |
390 |
| Trinity |
611 |
| Family Violence Shelter |
65 |
| Catholic Workers |
25 |
| Cavero Park/Bidwell Riverside |
350 |
| Total Donated |
1,587 |
St. Anthony’s Garden of Eden
For information about the Garden of Eden, please contact John at comphelp@ecity.net or by calling 515-240-3146.
| St Francis of Assisi Garden The garden is located across the street to the North, from St Francis of Assisi church in the North-east corner of the playground.
Jan Hoeman is now back from China! Jan, how did the garden do while you were away? For more information, contact Jan Hoeman at Janhoeman@mchsi.com. |
Urban Harvest Garden – An outreach of Urban Heights Covenant benefitting the Urbandale/Windsor Heights Food Pantry 7605 Aurora, Urbandale, Iowa 278-1371Last week we celebrated our first harvest. We thinned the onions and got 58 pounds! We also had kale and radishes. The garden got 1/2 of rain on Friday and another 20/100 Saturday. With the hot weather forecasted the weeds are gonna pop! Join us Wednesday night for a BIG kale harvest and a little weeding!You can go to the church website at desmoineschurch.org to donate using PayPal. All donations are tax deductible. ALL produce is donated to the Urbandale/Windsor Heights food pantry. You can also connect to the blog and Facebook there. For further information contact Garden Manager Beth Rydberg at 314-2114 For information and best times to garden, please email Beth Rydberg at brydberg@mchsi.com
Homemade Deer & Rabbit Repellent:
Elmer Fudd wouldn’t stand a chance against our rabbit infestation. It’s time to get serious.
5 eggs (Blend them thoroughly if using a sprayer) and you’ll probably need to strain the mixture before using
1 cup of buttermilk, milk, or yogurt (think stink!)
2 Tablespoons of hot sauce
1 Teaspoon of liquid dish soap
1 Tablespoon of vegetable oil
15 drops of cinnamon oil – optional
2 Teaspoons of finely crushed garlic – optional
Mix and let sit for a day or two. Strain and spray. There are many such recipes on the web and most are similar to the store-bought brands but cost much less. The awful smell is the same either way but it does go away after the mixture dries.
Homemade Natural Bug Spray Recipe
3 1 ⁄2 ounces (which is basically 1/3 cup) of Witch Hazel
1 ⁄2 teaspoon Lemongrass Oi
1 ⁄ 2 teaspoon Eucalyptus Oil
1 ⁄ 2 teaspoon Citronella Oil (oils available at Grennlife or Earthfare)
Directions
Combine all ingredients in a small four-once spray bottle
When you use it, be sure to shake the bottle contents before spraying (the oils separates from the witch hazel) p.s. It smells divine!
Recipes……Recipes……Recipes……
Cold Green Bean Salad
1 lb. green beans (fresh)
some chopped, roasted red pepper
some chopped Vidalia onion
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley (fresh or dried)
4 tbsp. white vinegar
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
6 tbsp. corn oil
6 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
4-6 garlic cloves, crushed
Cut off ends from beans and discard. Wash beans and cook 10 to 12 minutes. Drain beans and rinse with cold water. Mix all other ingredients together and pour over beans. Let marinate in the refrigerator a few hours before serving.
Zucchini Cookie Recipe – from the cookbook Simply in Season by Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert
¾ cup butter (softened)
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
Cream together.
1 egg
Add and beat until fluffy.
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1 cup flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cloves
Sift together in a separate bowl.
1 ½ cups zucchini (shredded)
Add to creamed mixture alternately with dry ingredients.
¾ cup raisins
¾ cup walnuts (chopped; optional)
Stir in. Drop onto greased baking sheets. Bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Bake cookies as soon as they are mixed. If the batter stands too long, it will get a bit watery.)
Chocolate Chip variation: Omit spices and raisins. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and ¾ cup chocolate chips.”