Today we have a wonderful story that was sent to us by one of our customers who spearheaded the rehabilitation of an elementary school garden in a small Arizona town.
What this story means to me are the far reaching impacts of positive ripples. Small actions that are taken thoughtfully and with full intention can have far reaching and amazing results, most of which won’t be seen by the person starting those ripples.
When we consider the potential results and implications from this small school garden, we can see effects on the young students, the parents and the faculty and staff. From something as simple as the garden brightening the day of a student or teacher; the crunch of a freshly dug carrot enlightening a parent on what good food should taste like, to the foundational change of a student’s life to pursue agriculture as a result of the experiences, tastes and memories of their first school garden, we cannot imagine the number of possibilities or the cumulative effects that they can have.
This is the perfect example of what we talk about in many different ways – that of personal choice, taking responsibility for our own actions, and helping to create a more positive, better and more healthy world through our daily lives, even if it is small things.
Bart wanted to make sure that we mentioned that all garden work takes place during recess, not instructional time, and that all expenses are paid from donations and not school funds. Here’s Bart’s story about Humboldt Elementary and their school garden!
The school garden at Humboldt Elementary School in Humboldt, AZ was started about 20 years ago by Linneal Nick, one of our former teachers, who raised some money to have the ground leveled and a raised bed built. She is now retired and the garden has not been used for several years. It consists of a raised bed, 40′ long, 8′ wide and two cement blocks high located on the south side of a warehouse building on the edge of our campus.
I teach music at the school, and wanted to start a garden club because of my own love of gardening, which began in the early 60s, despite my role as an “indentured weed puller” in my father’s garden. A few years later I had a 4-H garden, and in college I worked in a greenhouse growing willow leaves for a professor doing research on subspecies ofWhite Admiral butterflies. As an adult, I’ve gardened in upstate NY since 1973, and here in Arizona for the last four seasons.
My wife (retired math instructor from NM State, Las Cruces) and I started the garden club in August, with 3rd graders, because my lunch period corresponds with theirs. We have 20 minutes during the recess that follows lunch, 3 times a week, to work in the garden. Unfortunately our ordinary Arizona soil was used to fill the original bed, so our original task was digging up the beds with pick and shovels, and shoveling the dirt through a homemade screen to sift out the rocks. We mixed in peat-moss, compost and natural fertilizers, and planted radishes, beets, beans, peas and zucchini. In flats, we started buttercrunch and romaine lettuce, onions, marigolds, and red and green cabbage. We bought and transplanted a variety of herbs and three cherry tomato plants, and periodically the children get to transplant various plants into 2 quart pots to take home.
Every work period we have a variety of tasks to do: watering the plants, weeding, planting, picking up litter, eating peas and radishes, tending the birds at three feeding and watering stations, sifting soil, planting bulbs for spring, and–our biggest project–digging the hill next to the garden into four terraces, just like farmers around the world have done for centuries. This, believe it or not, is a favorite job. Third graders LOVE to swing picks, rake rocks, and shovel dirt! We lay out perpendicular lines using a knotted rope to make a 3-4-5 triangle, just like the Ancient Greeks did.
On another side of the garden, we dug a bed for pole beans at the base of a 15′ high retaining wall, topped by a chain link fence. This gives us room for a 20′ high trellis, so come spring, we’ll see how high a beanstalk can grow.
Other plans for the future include a compost bin, worm bed, cold frame, pit greenhouse, gazebo, roof water catchment, shallow pond, and a 30 seat rustic amphitheater for use as an outdoor classroom; also roses, grapes, berries, fruit and shade trees; along with native plants to provide food and shelter for the birds.
Parents and community members are welcome to help out, but I have done no direct organizing in this respect as it is not one of my strengths.
We had few nights of vandalism by two kids new to the area. Three school windows were broken, two of our garden pickaxes were stolen and used to destroy our soil sifter and a door, a portion of the garden was trampled, and plants in flats were strewn about. The perpetrators were soon caught by our sheriff’s deputies, and we don’t expect further problems from them. The garden area and school is surrounded by chain link fencing to afford some measure of protection.
Anyone who would like to volunteer, donate, or ask questions is welcome to leave a message at my school phone, 928-759-4436 or contact me by email.
The bulletin board is in the teachers’ workroom. I change it every couple of weeks to let them know what we’re doing. The garden, unfortunately, is on the edge of the campus, and off the beaten path.
Another update to the school garden!
Our compost bin made out of pallets tied together, with the original school garden in the background.
How about the choreography of those two pickaxers? They’re digging up a bed for pole beans next spring, at the base of this 15′ retaining wall, which has a chain link fence on top, so that allows for a 20′ trellis altogether. How high will beanstalks grow?
Checking out the progress of recently planted seeds. Watch them grow day by day.
Transplanting time! Learning how to carefully move the fragile seedlings into a larger container so it can continue to grow.
More transplanting fun!
The original school garden growing some fresh veggies once again!
Radicchio is a member of the chicory family – along with Endive and Escarole – and is part of the dandelion group. Chicories are thought to help with digestion of rich foods and are often served as sides to hearty winter fare in Europe.
Many folks are familiar with radicchio, endive and chicory as a fall and winter vegetable, but their cool season tolerance makes them ideal for early spring planting as well, either starting the seedlings inside and transplanting once soil temperatures are above 45 – 50°F, or just direct sowing when the soil is above 50°F. They can also be planted in the fall and overwintered in a cold frame or heavy row cover and harvested early next spring.
Risotto with radicchio is a very rich and delicious dish that is perfect for the cool spring and fall evenings. Hearty enough to stand on its own as a main course, but also works well with as a unique and delicious side dish.
Ingredients
1/4cupunsalted butterdivided
2small shallotsfinely diced
1tbs.chopped fresh thyme
4cupsthinly sliced radicchio
1 1/2cupsarborio rice
1 1/2cupscooked Italian beanslike Romano
1 3/4cupsdry red wine
3cupsrich chicken stock - can substitute a roasted vegetable stock
1/2cupParmigiano Reggiano cheese plus more for topping
Instructions
Melt 2 tbs. butter in a sauce pot over medium-heat.
Add shallots and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add thyme and radicchio and sauté until radicchio wilts, add rice and toast until slightly browned. Add wine and simmer until liquid is almost evaporated.
Add chicken stock slowly with a ladle and stir the rice occasionally. Continue adding stock and stirring until rice is almost al dente and starts to become creamy.
Add beans and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese to pot and a little more stock if needed. The risotto should be a little soupy.
Stir in the remaining butter and serve in shallow bowls with more Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
Recipe Notes
A little sautéed diced pancetta is also delicious in this dish. Cook it and remove prior to adding the shallot. Top the finished dish with the pancetta and cheese.
Ellen shares her research and experiences with rhubarb, that unusual but loved garden vegetable.
A deep red stalk is more popular among consumers, but often has poor growth and yield. Green varieties are often much more productive. People often assume red stemmed rhubarb is sweeter than other colors but color and sweetness are not necessarily related. The Victoria variety, which is probably the greenest variety, often produce some very sweet stems.
It is interesting to note that the Victoria variety, also known as Large Victoria is easily raised from seed, but the best flavor is often the second year or later. Pull the plant when the flavor starts to diminish and replant. It has juicy, medium sized greenish to red leaf stalks, is a heavy producer and is excellent for farmer’s markets or market gardeners.
Rhubarb (Rheum)
Rhubarb is one of my favorite food plants; its red-green stalks beckon summer on and strawberry-rhubarb pie is one of my favorites. During a trip to Chile, I was introduced to nalka, the Chilean wild rhubarb. The plants grew well along the coast and coastal rivers. We cooked the stalks with sugar the same way garden rhubarb is traditionally cooked. The stalks were so bitter and tough we had a hard time eating them. Rhubarb is a seed-bearing perennial that is thought to originate in Alaska. Rhubarb was first known as a medicinal plant 5,000 years ago. The Chinese prized dried rhubarb root for its astringent, laxative properties.
In the last two hundred years, rhubarb has been cultivated as a vegetable (some consider it to be a fruit because it pairs so well with fruits). Only the young stalks are eaten as the leaves of the plant contain high amounts of oxalic acid, an acid that is present in much lesser quantities in other vegetables such as spinach, sorrel, and beet greens. Oxalic acid has a somewhat sour taste.
There are two types of rhubarb that have been cultivated, the difference between the two groups are the color of the stalk and the size of the plants. “Victoria” varieties vary in color from green to light red with a green interior. Red rhubarbs, such as “Canada Red” are smaller plants, with less disease resistance. The stalks are a deep red inside and out.
Rhubarb is usually propagated by cuttings but can be grown from seed. Rhubarb plants grown from seed sometimes do not exhibit the same characteristics as the parent plants. Rhubarb comes quickly in the spring, when temperatures begin to warm up and is harvestable 6 weeks or so after the weather turns. Plants do not grow in hot weather, and will wilt through the summer. In cooler areas, or in beds with high moisture and well-fed soil, rhubarb can be harvested again in the fall.
Harvesting from plants less than three years old will cause the plant to grow less vigorously and to produce fewer stalks. Rhubarb can be harvested twice a year, if half of the plant biomass is left intact.
My favorite way to eat rhubarb is undoubtedly in strawberry rhubarb pie. There is something unreal about the combination of the sweet and sour tastes!
1pound454 grams rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) pieces
1pound454 grams fresh strawberries, cut into 1 1/2 inch (4 cm) pieces
3tablespoons30 grams cornstarch
3/4cup150 grams granulated white sugar
1teaspoonfresh lemon juice
2tablespoons28 grams unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400°F. Pre-chill pie crust in refrigerator.
Cut and place strawberries and rhubarb in a large bowl.
Mix cornstarch and sugar together and turn in the fruit to the mixture.
Remove the chilled pie crust from the fridge. Pour the fruit mixture into the prepared pie shell. Sprinkle the fruit with about 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and dot with 2 tablespoons of butter.
Add lattice as top crust, bake at 400°F for 45 minutes, or until the crust is a golden brown color and the fruit juices begin to bubble.
Transfer pie to wire rack to cool. When fully cool (several hours later) the juices will gel.
Recipe Notes
Pie should keep for up to three days at room temperature but I have never, ever seen one last that long!
Sour cream biscuits are a delicious use of extra sour cream, for a special occasion or just for the fun of it. Using extra sour cream or sour milk to make biscuits or pancakes is an old technique that dates back to farm house days when there would be extra milk or cream from milking the cow. Organic sour cream will give a noticeably richer flavor.
This recipe comes to us via “Chile, Corn and Croissants”by Joan Stromquist who traveled all across New Mexico visiting inns to compile the favorite recipes of the innkeepers and owners. She shares almost 400 dishes, from spicy Southwestern standards to old favorites. Casita Chamisa, run by Arnold Seargeant, is in Albuquerque and sits on an ancient Pueblo ruins dating from around 720 BC to the mid 1600s AD. This is an old recipe and has been updated for today’s cuisine.
Says Arnold, the proprietor at Casita Chamisa, "This recipe comes from an old, old cookbook I found many years ago. The biscuits are light as a feather and the flavor is excellent. You can use sour milk instead of the sour cream, and they will taste just as good."
Author: Joan Stromquist
Ingredients
3Cupsflour - White Sonora Wheat is excellent
1Teaspoonraw sugar
1Tablespoonbaking powder
3/4Teaspoonbaking soda
1Teaspoonnatural salt - like RealSalt
1/2Cupcoconut oilwarmed or vegetable oil
1 1/2Cupssour cream
Instructions
Preheat oven to 450°
In a large bowl add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir together well.
Add the coconut oil and cut it in well with a pastry blender or stand mixer so that the mixture is crumbly.
Add the sour cream and mix in so that everything is blended, but do not overwork.
Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough about 10 times or just until smooth.
Roll out the dough to about 1/2" thick.
Cut out the biscuits with a 2 1/2" round biscuit cutter.
Place the biscuits on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes, or until they are lightly browned. Check at 10 minutes for doneness.
Recipe Notes
These keep very well for a couple of days. It's doubtful that they will last longer than this! You can also use Greek strained yogurt in place of the sour cream.
Roasted Butternut squash is the mainstay in many delicious cold season soups, with good reason. They are satisfying, slightly sweet and lend themselves to many savory seasonings without being overwhelmed. Here’s an unusual take on the classic with a slightly sweet twist thanks to maple syrup! It is very easy to make and works equally well as a cold weather soup served hot or a surprising spring soup served chilled.
Butternut squash are deliciously sweet and silky, making creamy cold weather soups. You can use almost any hard winter squash to make this soup, and the rich sweetness of the carrot adds an extra dimension to the flavors. It is wonderful throughout the cold months, but can be just as delicious served chilled as the weather warms up.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
2medium butternut or other winter squashcut in half and seeded (about 4 cups)
1/4teaspoonfreshly ground cinnamonCeylon or Vietnamese is preferred for a warmer flavor
1/4teaspoonfreshly ground cardamom
1/4cupheavy cream if desiredoptional
1tablespoonfresh minced chives or parsleyoptional
Instructions
Roast squash, onion and carrot on a cookie sheet lined with foil in a 350F oven for 25 - 35 minutes or until fork tender. Scoop out squash from its shell.
Working in batches, process roasted vegetables in a food processor, adding small amounts of stock and process until smooth. You can leave a few smaller chunks for a more rustic appearance.Transfer pureed mixture into heavy bottomed pot.
Stir in maple syrup and remainder of seasonings. Simmer on low heat for 10 - 15 minutes, then taste for sweet balance.
Swirl in a spoonful of cream and top with chives or parsley and serve hot with crusty bread.
Recipe Notes
The soup can be made up to serving, then refrigerated up to 3 days to allow flavors to mingle and reheated on stove top. It can also be frozen for up to 2 months. Reheat soup on stove top before serving, then add cream and garnish.
Humboldt Elementary School Garden
Today we have a wonderful story that was sent to us by one of our customers who spearheaded the rehabilitation of an elementary school garden in a small Arizona town.
What this story means to me are the far reaching impacts of positive ripples. Small actions that are taken thoughtfully and with full intention can have far reaching and amazing results, most of which won’t be seen by the person starting those ripples.
When we consider the potential results and implications from this small school garden, we can see effects on the young students, the parents and the faculty and staff. From something as simple as the garden brightening the day of a student or teacher; the crunch of a freshly dug carrot enlightening a parent on what good food should taste like, to the foundational change of a student’s life to pursue agriculture as a result of the experiences, tastes and memories of their first school garden, we cannot imagine the number of possibilities or the cumulative effects that they can have.
This is the perfect example of what we talk about in many different ways – that of personal choice, taking responsibility for our own actions, and helping to create a more positive, better and more healthy world through our daily lives, even if it is small things.
Bart wanted to make sure that we mentioned that all garden work takes place during recess, not instructional time, and that all expenses are paid from donations and not school funds. Here’s Bart’s story about Humboldt Elementary and their school garden!
How about the choreography of those two pickaxers? They’re digging up a bed for pole beans next spring, at the base of this 15′ retaining wall, which has a chain link fence on top, so that allows for a 20′ trellis altogether. How high will beanstalks grow?
Red Risotto with Radicchio
Radicchio is a member of the chicory family – along with Endive and Escarole – and is part of the dandelion group. Chicories are thought to help with digestion of rich foods and are often served as sides to hearty winter fare in Europe.
Many folks are familiar with radicchio, endive and chicory as a fall and winter vegetable, but their cool season tolerance makes them ideal for early spring planting as well, either starting the seedlings inside and transplanting once soil temperatures are above 45 – 50°F, or just direct sowing when the soil is above 50°F. They can also be planted in the fall and overwintered in a cold frame or heavy row cover and harvested early next spring.
Here’s what could come out of your garden for this recipe – Thyme, Radicchio and Romano beans!
A little sautéed diced pancetta is also delicious in this dish. Cook it and remove prior to adding the shallot. Top the finished dish with the pancetta and cheese.
Adapted from La Cucina Stagionale
Rhubarb’s Story
Ellen shares her research and experiences with rhubarb, that unusual but loved garden vegetable.
A deep red stalk is more popular among consumers, but often has poor growth and yield. Green varieties are often much more productive. People often assume red stemmed rhubarb is sweeter than other colors but color and sweetness are not necessarily related. The Victoria variety, which is probably the greenest variety, often produce some very sweet stems.
It is interesting to note that the Victoria variety, also known as Large Victoria is easily raised from seed, but the best flavor is often the second year or later. Pull the plant when the flavor starts to diminish and replant. It has juicy, medium sized greenish to red leaf stalks, is a heavy producer and is excellent for farmer’s markets or market gardeners.
Pie should keep for up to three days at room temperature but I have never, ever seen one last that long!
Sour Cream Biscuits
Sour cream biscuits are a delicious use of extra sour cream, for a special occasion or just for the fun of it. Using extra sour cream or sour milk to make biscuits or pancakes is an old technique that dates back to farm house days when there would be extra milk or cream from milking the cow. Organic sour cream will give a noticeably richer flavor.
This recipe comes to us via “Chile, Corn and Croissants” by Joan Stromquist who traveled all across New Mexico visiting inns to compile the favorite recipes of the innkeepers and owners. She shares almost 400 dishes, from spicy Southwestern standards to old favorites. Casita Chamisa, run by Arnold Seargeant, is in Albuquerque and sits on an ancient Pueblo ruins dating from around 720 BC to the mid 1600s AD. This is an old recipe and has been updated for today’s cuisine.
These keep very well for a couple of days. It's doubtful that they will last longer than this!
You can also use Greek strained yogurt in place of the sour cream.
Adapted from Chile, Corn and Croissants
These are really easy and quick to make, taking about 10 – 15 minutes to mix, knead, roll and punch out.
I rolled the dough out to about 1/2″ thick…
Then punched out the biscuits.
The recipe made exactly 24 biscuits, after re-rolling the dough from the scraps left over after cutting the biscuits out. Ready to go into the oven.
Fresh baked biscuits, fresh from the oven! The description is very accurate, they are light and fluffy with a great flavor.
Seed Orientation and Depth: Keys to Successful Germination
Discover the secret to successful seed planting. Learn how the orientation of seeds can significantly impact their germination and growth.
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Roasted Butternut squash is the mainstay in many delicious cold season soups, with good reason. They are satisfying, slightly sweet and lend themselves to many savory seasonings without being overwhelmed. Here’s an unusual take on the classic with a slightly sweet twist thanks to maple syrup! It is very easy to make and works equally well as a cold weather soup served hot or a surprising spring soup served chilled.
Here’s what could come out of your garden for this recipe – carrots, onions, parsley and butternut squash!
The soup can be made up to serving, then refrigerated up to 3 days to allow flavors to mingle and reheated on stove top. It can also be frozen for up to 2 months.
Reheat soup on stove top before serving, then add cream and garnish.