Demo Garden gets compost bin!

The demo garden now has a compost bin!

We constructed a three bin compost pile out of chicken wire and small metal posts, but there are different sizes and designs of bins out there. You can make your own or there are many pre made ones ready to buy.

Making compost is simply helping to facilitate the natural cycles of growth and decay. If you’ve taken a walk in the woods you have seen compost in its most basic setting. Plants and animals that die over the course of a season decompose on the forest floor. This creates a rich soil on the forest floor.

Your garden soil can be greatly improved by adding your own compost. Compost releases the nutrients that were once found in the decomposing materials into your garden. It is a great organic alternative to adding chemical fertilizers. When applying synthetic fertilizers you are usually just applying nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. Compost supplies those elements as well as many others such as boron, copper, zinc, iodine, and iron.

The organic matter in compost binds to soil particles, which helps sandy soil retain water and clay soil drain better. This action also allows for more air space in the soil, which helps roots to grow.

Compost can also provide nutrients, moisture, and habitat for beneficial organisms living in your soil.

You can put your kitchen scraps, grass clippings, weeds, dead leaves, straw, livestock manure, & some paper into your compost pile. By composting these materials you can save up to 20% of your trash from going into the landfill!

For more information about composting, including a step-by-step tutorial, compost bin designs, a list of do’s and don’ts, and more visit compostinfo.com

Symbols of Summer in the Demo Garden

A sunflower is blooming in the demo garden! I love sunflowers. They are a symbol of summer, are beautiful and have a nice smell to them. I like them so much that earlier this summer I camped out in our patch at home!

The big, beautiful acorn squash plant in the demo garden doesn’t look so pretty anymore. It has developed powdery mildew, a fungal disease. This disease affects many different plants, but squash is one of the species that are especially susceptible. Each species contracts a different type of powdery mildew, so this fungus should not transfer onto any other plants in our garden. Powdery mildew is whitish gray covering over leaf surfaces and other parts of plants. It is usually caused by high humidity, which plantings in the shade, lots of dew, and close plantings can contribute to. This fungus can impair photosynthesis and extract nutrients from plant, causing a decline in the health of the plant. Leaves will probably turn yellow. If powdery mildew is really severe it can prevent buds from forming into fruit on the plants. Our Acorn squash already has many large squashes on it, so we will have to wait and see how they ripen.

Over the past couple of weeks the garden has been filled with signs of summer as we harvested the rest of the pole beans, quite a few

cucumbers, an eggplant, a kohlrabi, a couple of habanero peppers, more turnips and more herbs. The marigolds are blooming around one of the beds, making a pretty border around the tomatoes and peppers. I cut down the rest of the buckwheat and turned the entire plot under last week.

Since we got the demo garden planting pretty late and this summer hasbeen pretty cool we are still waiting on our first tomato, but they are turning! Nonetheless, tomatoes are now abundant at the farmers market and in our home gardens. I love the wonderful smell that tomato plants possess. I enjoy caring for tomatoes, transplanting, suckering (even if it does stain your hands black), stringing, and picking them. I like seeing the different varieties, in all their different shapes and colors. The only thing I do not like about tomatoes is eating them. I’ll admit this is pretty abnormal (especially for someone that has 800+ tomato plants at home)! I simply do not enjoy the taste of tomatoes.

However, I have found a salsa recipe that I believe is delicious. It is a verysimple recipe for making fresh garden salsa. Even though it takes a little while because you have to let the tomatoes sit and drain, it is easy to make, so try it out!

Garden Salsa

5 medium tomatoes

½ tsp. Salt

2 small onions

2 hot peppers

1 small clove garlic

2 tsp. Balsamic vinegar (rice, wine, cider)

2 tsp. Olive Oil

salt & pepper to taste

Core and dice tomatoes in medium bowl. Add salt and let drain for about an hour. Pour off juice. Add the rest of the ingredients. Chill one hour. Enjoy!

Wishing for thyme in the demo garden

Every time I visit the demo garden I am struck by how wonderfully it is growing. I really enjoy visting and working in the garden because there is always something new to observe. Last week the demo garden changed its look slightly. The Haricot vertical bush beans and the Goldrush bush wax beans were harvested and the plants pulled out. The beans were so pretty that I just had to eat one of the yellow wax beans before the volunteers took the pile of beans home.

The acorn squash plant is huge! We pulled the bean plants out as soon as we harvested the beans to make room for the monstrous plant. The plant has many small squashes on it. The plant and the weird shaped (acorn looking) squashes are provoking many comments from all of the volunteers, as well as one of the park employees who is looking forward to trying one as soon as they are ready to harvest.

I also chopped down half of the buckwheat and am going to turn it under with a shovel this week. This will allow the plant to decompose in the soil and release its nutrients for our next planting. The buckwheat has grown so much (it comes up to my waist now) and is covered in small, attractive, white flowers. The bees are enjoying the buckwheat flowers even more than I am! Every time I go to the garden the flowers are covered in bees of all sizes, which isn’t too much of a surprise since buckwheat honey seems to be popular. It is a wonderful sight! For more information about buckwheat and cover crops check out my post from a few weeks ago.

Herbs take up a section of the demo garden with Sweet Marjoram, Basil, Dill, Coriander, and two kinds of Parsley growing. These are a nice addition to the garden because they can be harvested almost constantly throughout the summer and add a really nice touch to dishes. My family planted an herb garden along the back of our house this year and I am trying to remember to utilize them as possible this summer.

Herbs always seem a little tricky to me. I am never quite sure how you are supposed to pick each herb, when to cut, if I am supposed to pick the flowers off, how much water they need, how to preserve them, etc. For help with these questions and others, visit the West Virginia Extension Service’s site about growing herbs in the home garden.

Herbs not only add great flavor to recipes, but they also prove their worth as good sources of vitamins and minerals. Marjoram contains calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and vitamins A and C. Basil is rich in magnesium, manganese, and vitamins A, C, and K. Dill contains calcium, iron, manganese, and Vitamins A and C. Coriander is full of Vitamins A, K, B, C, E as well as calcium, potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus.

Parsley is the stand out herb, as far as nutrition is concerned, being a great source of Vitamins A, K and many B vitamins. I’ve even heard that it contains more Vitamin C than some citrus fruits! Parsley also has iron, calcium, potassium, copper, manganese, and iodine.

This is enough to convince me that I need to make an effort to add some spice to my cooking. Not only will my taste buds benefit, but my body will as well!

Demo Garden Workshop Kit Available

As Maggie mentions below, Last Friday (7/24) the ECC Demo Garden was bustling with young YMCA campers who were visiting for a workshop on the importance and value of local foods, gardening, and sustainable growth. ECC’s Maggie Ashmore worked with Eric Guindon of Wilmington College’s Grow Food, Grow Hope initiative and Phil Swindler of Swindler and Sons to plan the programs.

The demonstration garden was established this past spring by Energize Clinton County to illustrate both the nutritional and economical benefits of having a small-plot garden. The demonstration garden serves as a way to increase public awareness and provide a valuable educational tool for people of all ages.

For Energize Clinton County, supporting local growth is critical to its mission to promote sustainable development. Along with the demonstration garden, ECC facilitates the Clinton County Farmers Market and the Buy Local First campaign in order to further stimulate the growth of the local economic foundation in Clinton County.

Also, please check out GFGH’s John Cropper’s excellent piece in the 7/28 Wilmington News Journal on Friday’s activities.

ECC has published a document with the Grow Food Grow Hope (GFGH) initiative detailing the recent youth education program held last Friday at the ECC Demonstration Garden in J.W. Denver Williams Memorial Park.

The document is available for download by clicking on the picture to the right.
To learn more about Grow Food, Grow Hope, visit: http://www.growfoodgrowhope.com/

Demo garden hosts program for YMCA Day Camp

Last Friday Eric Guindon, Mariah Fulton, Phil Swindler, Kelsey Swindler, and I led a program about gardening for 32 YMCA day campers at the demonstration garden. I was impressed by the knowledge that the campers already possessed about gardening and food issues. I was also amazed by their enthusiasm to participate in each activity. I think the program went well and I hope the kids had as much fun as I did.

For more information about last Friday’s program please read John Cropper’s blog post about it on the Grow Food Grow Hope site or his article in the Wilmington News Journal!

Demo Garden Thrives!

It amazes me how much the demo garden grows every week! Last week I thought all of the plants looked pretty large, but this week they have really filled out. The plants are spilling over the edges of the beds. The garden looks really full and productive! We have small green beans, peppers, squash and tomatoes forming!

Some of our white radishes bolted and so we pulled them out of the garden. I made a mistake and pulled the rest of the white radishes out because I thought they were bolted as well. Afterwards, one of the volunteers informed me that is just the way white radishes grow. It just goes to show that you can learn something new about gardening every day.

We also discovered that the turnips are big enough to eat. When I announced that the turnips are ready to be pulled in the ECC office I created a problem. Where are we going to give all of our turnips? Taylor said that he is ‘turnipped out’. His comment made me think about the way you eat when you have a garden.

When spinach is ready you eat spinach, when peas are ready you eat peas, when zucchini is ready you eat zucchini, etc. This summer I have looked through my family’s cookbooks multiple times (with the arrival every new abundant veggie) for new ways to prepare our garden harvest. I actually find it quite exciting to flip through the pages of a cookbook in an effort to prevent myself from becoming sick of a particular food.

I love that gardening can lead to creativity in the kitchen! Besides trying many recipes out, I also enjoy doing taste tests with different varieties of zucchini, potatoes, lettuce, peas, etc. I encourage you to pick something out of your garden, grab a cookbook, and start cooking. There is also a wealth of recipes on the internet! If you do not have your own garden, I would push you to go to the farmers market and buy veggies with out worrying about what you will do with them, until you get home. This is a chance to be resourceful and creative!

Some delicious recipes for what is in season right now include:

Zucchini Hot Cakes

2 cups grated zucchini (pressed dry between paper towels)

2 T chopped onion

¼ cup Parmesan cheese

¼ cup flour

2 eggs, slightly beaten

2 T mayonnaise

¼ t oregano

Salt & pepper to taste

Stir together all ingredients. Melt 1 T butter in skillet. Spoon 2 T batter into skillet and press down with spatula. Cook until both sides are browned. Repeat until all batter is used. Serve plain or with tomato sauce or grated cheese or sour cream.

Garlic Friendship Dip

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

½ cup sour cream

½ cup mayonnaise

½ cup Parmesan cheese

a little Parsley

Blend together & let chill. Serve with veggies or chips.

Demo Garden Blooms!

The Demonstration garden has really blossomed this week. The bush beans, Russet potatoes, and Acorn squash are covered in pretty blooms. The tomatoes and peppers are beginning to produce small fruits and the Kentucky Wonder Pole beans have reached the top of their trellis.

This week we harvested some Dill, Basil, and the remainder of the Cherry Belle radishes. I added some compost to the soil and planted 4 head lettuce in their place.

There are barely any weeds to be seen in the garden now, and no insect pests. The eggplants look better than any I have ever grown, not a flea beetle in sight. Their foliage is a beautiful purple and green.

The buckwheat is looking nice as well. It is anywhere from 3-7 inches tall now. I know a farmer that grows buckwheat, and he recommends cutting buckwheat when it is about 7 inches tall, and eating it in your salad. Today I tried eating some plain, and it was pretty good. I am excited to try some in my salad!

While you can eat buckwheat plants when they are young and tender in salad, or harvest their seeds and make flour out of them, we did not plant the buckwheat as a food crop. We planted Buckwheat as a green manure crop.

A green manure is a crop that is grown during the summer months

and plowed back into the soil while still green or right after it flowers. The purpose of doing this is to improve the soil quality in your garden or field. They can help retain water, loosen and aerate the soil (helps to suppress weeds that thrive in highly compacted soil), prevent weeds from growing and seeding, provide food for beneficial insects, and help reduce plant diseases and pests. When the crop is tilled back into the soil it releases nutrients as it breaks down and improves the tilth (fluffiness) of the soil.

Many plants that are used as green manures are legumes, which make them useful for fixing nitrogen in the soil. Some plants also help replenish Potassium, Phosphorus, Calcium, Magnesium, and Sulfur in the soil as they decompose.

For more information on the benefits and limitations of green manures visit the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service for an overview of cover crops and green manures. You can also visit gardenguides.com for a list of green manure crops, as well as information on when to plant and turn them under.

First demo garden harvest!

The demonstration garden is growing wonderfully! The Kentucky Wonder Pole beans are starting to grow on the trellis and the Acorn squash is going to bloom in the next couple of days! All of the herbs are thriving and need to be used!

This week the tomatoes were suckered and the garden was weeded and watered. One volunteer has worked in the garden each day for about ½ hour. There have been relatively few weeds in our plot, mostly just a creeping vine.

The buckwheat has germinated and is now about ¾ inch tall. The germination was pretty spotty, but there is still a fair stand.

I pulled 10 more Cherry Belle radishes today. I ate one that was slightly larger than a golf ball. It was nice inside, not pithy, but it sure was spicy. There were a couple of ladies eating lunch in the park that were happy to eat the rest of the radishes!

Radishes are actually really good for us. They are high in fiber, Copper, Manganese and Potassium. They are also a good source of Vitamins C and K. Radishes are a member of the mustard family, which helps explain why they have a bite to them.

We are most used to seeing red, round radishes, like the Cherry Belles in the demo garden. However, they can be found in a variety of shapes and colors. French breakfast radishes are red and white in color and can hold up slightly better in the heat. I enjoy eating them because I believe that they pack less of a punch than Cherry Belles. It could be argued that the prettiest radishes are the Easter egg variety. They are perfectly round and come in a colorful mix of white, pink and purple!

Radishes are a great crop to start out gardening with because they do not take up much space, are easy to grow, are nutritious, are frost tolerant, and are ready to eat in as early as 21 days. If you would like any more information about Radish varieties or growing tips click HERE.

Demo Garden Grows!

The demo garden has grown beautifully over the last two weeks! The muskmelon, nasturtiums, and even the sweet peas are up! There is a wonderful stand of each. We were a little worried about our chance of germinating sweet peas in this hot weather, but the lure of gorgeous looking and delightful smelling blossoms prompted their planting anyway.

One of the local Girl Scout troops made superb vegetable signs to adorn the garden, which pleased the demo garden volunteers. Our favorite is one that says “sweet pepper” on one side and “sour pepper” on the other.

I finally was able to plant Buckwheat seed this week for our cover crop! It should germinate within 4-5 days, so hopefully I will see little seedlings popping up by the beginning of next week.

While I was planting the Buckwheat, I took a look at all of the other plants in the garden and discovered that a few of our radishes are ready to eat! I pulled one and ate it, yum! Due to the heat the radish was a little spicy, although I always think that Cherry Belle radishes are a little on the spicy side.

The beets, turnips, and radishes were thinned early in the week to allow each plant enough room to grow. While the demo garden beets are a long way from mature, I am now starting to eat the beets out of my families’ garden.

I love beets.

I even have a shirt that says “I dig beets” on it. The greens make an attractive addition to salad mix when they are small and tender and raw beets are good chopped up in salad. I spent the last 4 months in New Zealand, and during my time there I even acquired a taste for pickled beets. Even if you aren’t beet crazy, you will probably still enjoy roasted beets.

I think that roasted beets taste exactly like sweet corn. While I am going to have to wait a few weeks for some fresh sweet corn from the farmers market, and probably until August in order to eat corn from my garden, I can eat beets now. Plus they make a brilliantly purple dish on your plate!

To roast beets just cut the greens off about 1 inch above the root and cut off the skinny root.

Toss the beets in olive oil

Roast at 400 F for about 1 hour

Put some butter and salt on the beets and enjoy!

I eat the skin and it tastes just fine if the beets are fresh. If you are opposed to eating the skin, it pulls away easily after roasting.

Kelsey wrote about beets already, so sorry for another post about beets. But please try them if you haven’t already!

Demo Garden Planted!

The Demo garden has transformed from a grassy patch of grass in the veterans memorial area of the park to a growing garden! The Banana Split Festival marked the kick off of the J.W. Williams Memorial Park Demonstration garden.

The garden is split into four 6’ x 6’ blocks to allow for easy rotation in the future. In bed 1 we have planted an assortment of beans, with a few melons, nasturtiums, cucumbers and squash thrown in.

Bed 2 holds garlic, turnips, radishes, carrots, salsify, kohlrabi, onions, and a variety of herbs.

Bed 3 awaits planting until the seed arrives, but will be sown in Buckwheat for the purpose of being plowed back into the soil as a green manure.

Bed 4 contains a variety of tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and eggplant, as well as some sunflowers, nasturtiums, and marigolds that will provide even more beauty to our plot in the weeks to come. Maybe the marigolds and nasturtiums will also help deter some pests, as has been described in previous posts…

The raised bed (bed 2) has been planted using the square foot gardening technique. I was pretty amazed to see how many plants could fit into the bed when using the square foot technique! I cannot wait to see how they do as the summer progresses. I have almost always grown vegetables in straight rows, but the demonstration garden’s mix of square foot design, rows, and free form arrangements reminded me that plants don’t mind not growing in rows. Gardening is quite a creative endeavor.

Now that the garden is planted and starting to really take off, my mind is turning from garden logistics to wondering how this garden can be used as a demonstration. We are hoping that this blog will help us get the word out about the garden, and the banner hanging on the garden fence will hopefully attract the attention of people passing by.

ECC will also be forming educational programs about gardening, food, and nutrition throughout the summer. While these programs will be aimed at the younger generation, we welcome kids of all ages to participate.

If you are interested contact me at mashmore@energizecc.com.

Ground Broken for Denver Park Demonstration Garden

This past Thursday, May 7^th, a group of nine Clinton County residents broke ground on a demonstration garden planned for the memorial site at J.W. Denver Williams Memorial Park. The group included: Guy, Sandy, Maggie, and Nellie Ashmore, Cynthia Hannah, Ceel Wathen, Dana Williams, Angela Simonson, and Taylor Stuckert.

The proposal for the demonstration garden was approved by the Parks Board on April 13^th. The total area for the plot is 12’x14’ and will feature a rotation of four beds, which includes one raised-bed plot.  

The demonstration garden is in conjunction with the greater community gardens initiative partnered by Energize Clinton County and Wilmington College.

 

The garden will be a way of illustrating both the nutritional and economical benefits of having a small-plot garden. The demonstration garden serves as a way to increase public awareness and provide a valuable educational tool for people of all ages.

The goal is to have a place for teachers to bring students or public workshops to be given that provide a hands-on experience throughout various stages of the process.

The public is encouraged to visit the garden site which will continue to develop over the coming months. The garden is located in the memorial square (with the flag pole) by the volleyball courts.

Demonstration Garden Approved

A proposed plan demonstration garden was approved on Monday, April 30th by the Wilmington City Parks Board.

The purpose of this garden is for public awareness of the accessibility to the nutritional and economical benefits of small-plot gardens. The garden will also serve as an educational tool for various organizations and local school districts.

The proposed plot is to be in the southwest corner of the fenced memorial site that is directly across from the Park Offices. The total area of the site is 51'x50'. The proposed area for the garden is 12'x14'.

The garden is currently being led by a group of the following individuals: Taylor Stuckert, Mark Rembert, Sandy & Guy Ashmore, Ceel Wathen, Chip Tabor, Angela Simonson, Tammy Reed and Hazel Niles.

The garden is in conjunction with the community gardens initiative which involves the following groups: Wilmington College, Energize Clinton County, Clinton County OSU Extension, Swindler & Sons Florist, McCarty Gardens, That Guys Family Farm, Clinton County Master Gardeners, No Child Left Indoors, Sugartree Ministries, Clinton County Regional Planning Commission, Wilmington FFA, among others.