Giving thanks to a growing garden

Produce harvest 11/16/2011



Thanksgiving is here. We are so very thankful to be harvesting roots and shoots from the garden in November.   Produce includes lettuce, carrots, radishes, parsley, kale collards and swiss chard.  The fresh produce is very popular at pantry, especially this time of year.  Row covers have been installed to help keep things cozy.    

Our garden is expanding!  NHCO has purchased the adjacent lot.  Final plans are not yet determined, but the additional parcel will help us keep growing!

Lettuce, under row cover on 11/23/2011



Adjacent lot to the garden. 

The Fried Green Tomatoes Experiment

NHCO's garden coordinator here.  We have picked the last of the tomatoes for the season.  It is sad to see them go.  By August, they were in their prime and grew over 6 feet tall.   Fall is here and the first frost is nearing.  The tomato plants were dying back more and more with the cooler nights and shorter days.  And now, hardly any green on the plants remain.  The tomatoes however are beautiful shades of green.  They were picked green to ensure that they would not wither and shrivel up on the dead stems. 

The pantry clients are hesitant to take green tomatoes.  Can you blame them? I have never even eaten one.  I have taken the green ones home to ripen on my kitchen counter and then bring them in for pantry the following week.  We have a volunteer working on simple recipes for the common and not so common produce from the garden.  I have done some research on how to eat green tomatoes and ever since the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes," came out, I have always wondered what they taste like.  And, I think it is important to try recipes to see if they actually work.  Which leads me to.....

                                                                     

                                          The Fried Green Tomatoes Experiment

I am by no means a cook and never claim to be.  This is a very easy recipe.  Prep and cook time, 30 minutes.

Ingredients:

·         green tomatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick; for cherry tomatoes, cut in half

·         salt and pepper

·         flour for dusting

·         2 eggs, beaten

·         cornmeal or bread crumbs

·         vegetable oil

Preparation:

Salt and pepper the tomato slices before frying; dust lightly with flour. Dip slices in beaten egg, letting excess drip off, then coat well with meal or crumbs.  Fry in oil until browned, turning gently (about 3 minutes each side).

Welcome Fall

Bean flower

Friday was the official start of Fall.  We are still quite busy at the garden.  The beans, tomatoes and peppers continue to grow and produce fruit because of regular harvesting.  



Carrots



Heirloom Tomato









 

Delicata squash





  
 

Cherry Tomatoes

  

Winterbor Kale



Kale planted in August is yielding  a good crop. The carrots are just about ready to be yanked out of the ground.  The pumpkins are still producing.  We have harvested several growing outside the fence and the bigger varieties are ripening.  Winter squashes, which store quite well for months, will be making their appearance at pantry soon.  

This morning we found out who has been stealing the sunflower seeds...the crazy squirrels that like to perform back flips off of the walnut trees.

Garden Spider update: We have not seen the garden spider, which we named Aura, from the latin name Argiope aurantia, in a few weeks.   

Pumpkin ripening

Kale, cabbage and collards oh my!

Kale, cabbage and collards (cool weather crops) were planted this evening in two of the new four contour in-ground raised beds located at the front entrance.  Check out the new garden arbor, installed by volunteer George with the help of NHCO's Healthy Futures Americorps VISTA Dave.

New Life

We are collecting bean pods that have past their prime for eating for seed collection.  This bean, third from top, wanted to get an early start.  We found it on the ground and because of the recent rain, was starting to grow.   

Mother nature's desire to bring new life and continue life is astounding even in the mist of devestation.  Please click on the link below to learn of the "Survivor Tree" now growing again at ground zero.

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/ground-pear-tree-survived-terrorist-attack-13540761

Tomatoes cont.

 

Youth Leadership Coordinators can't be serious all the time.

Tomatoes Take Over!

The tomatoes at the garden are taking over the world. Each tomato plant is about six feet tall and six feet wide. Trying to navigate through the plants has become nearly impossible. It's a jungle out there!