Common Ground Garden

 

 

July 7, 2011                                                                                      Volume 17, Issue 5

 

The List: peas, broccoli, Swiss chard/kale, lettuce, and pea greens

Note: The broccoli you receive this week are side shoots from plants we started at Thomsen's Greenhouse in April. These are the same plants that produced the large heads you received the first week of our summer harvest. Broccoli plants produce one large head and then a number of side shoots several weeks later. After harvesting the shoots we'll pull up the plants and put in another crop for later in the season. We also planted broccoli from seed and hope to harvest those heads in a number of weeks. Enjoy! 

 

Bread of the Week: Sourdough!

 

  

Pick-up schedule:

 

Saint Benedict's Monastery Barn (St. Joseph) -- Thursday, 4-6 p.m.

St. John's Epscopal Church (St. Cloud) -- Thursday, 5-6 p.m

 

  

Directions to locations:

  

You really can't miss the barn at Saint Benedict's Monastery. 

  

Enter at the college entrance from Minnesota Street near 4th Ave SW. Make a right at the stop sign and follow the gravel road out to the barn.
  
The other pick-up is St. John's Episcopal Church in St. Cloud. It is located on the southeast corner of Roosevelt Road and Cooper Ave. 
  

 

Greetings!

 

Volunteering in the Garden

 

On Monday, July 11, we will start a weekly volunteering opportunity in the garden. Come out any time between 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Monday nights. One of the gardeners will be there to work with you and give directions on the project for the evening. Meet at the Milk House (distribution space) or stop in the fence garden (across from the Quonset - last year's distribution space), if there are people working there. We look forward to working with you. Kids are welcome!

 

Contact information

[email protected]

Ryan Kutter, Garen Director, cell: 320-219-3389

Kate Ritger, Production Manager, cell: 262-339-7737

 

 

Get Fit in the Garden 

By: Kayla Altendorf

 

 

Feeling a bit sluggish this summer? Come out and try some of our fool-proof garden exercises!

   

Hoeing Aisles CGG Hoeing

Works triceps, biceps, and obliques.

Get a workout and clear weeds from the aisles at the same time! Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, placing one hand near the middle of the handle and the other towards the top. Our hoe of choice is the red Johnny's Seeds stirrup model, as we feel it pro-duces the best workout. Recommended reps: 5 aisles, alternating stance.

 

 CGG Mulching

The Back Breaker

Works upper body, lower back, and legs.

Tools needed: shovel. Dig potato holes or fill the wheelbarrow, always remembering to lift with your knees! Recommended reps: Several loads or holes are the best.

 

 

 

Hauling 

Works legs, promotes balance. wheelbarrow hauling

Our favorite is hauling full loads of compost from one side of the garden to the other and then distributing it evenly in the beds. Be sure to lift the wheelbarrow with your knees so as to not break your back even more than normal. Not only are you getting stronger, you're delivering necessary nutrients to the soil. Recommended reps: 15 

 

 

Aisle Leg Lifts*CGG Leg Lifts

Works butt, hips, and thighs.

This can be done while hand weeding. Lying down on your side in the aisle, make sure your hips are lined up, toes are pointed, and legs are straight. Lift and lower one leg; repeat. Be sure to maintain your weeding efficiency at the same time. If you want to get all-around muscle tone, try moving your leg in small circles.

*Only recommended for experienced weeders.

 

 

Plant Liberation CGG Cool Down

Works arms and waist, as well as focus and concentration.

A great cool-down exercise as the heat of the sun increases at the end of the day. Center yourself with some meditative weed pulling. Work on maintaining your focus and concentration so as to not accidentally end the lives of any baby beets or onions. Free the plants from the weeds and free your mind at the same time. Gardener's Recommendation: Talk to the plants: "You are doing so well," "Lookin' good," or "Look out for those weeds!"

 

 

 

Table Grace from a Benedictine
 
Jany Fournier-Rosset, From Saint Hildegard's Kitchen: Foods of Health, Foods of Joy
 

Lord, Our Father,
You make the seed germinate,
and the harvest come to fruition;
blessed are you, for the food you give us;
grant us the grace to, one day, sit with all the saints
at the celestial table in your kingdom.
Forevermore.  Amen.

 

 

Meet Elizabeth Gleich 

 

Elizabeth Gleich 

My name is Elizabeth Gleich and I am a senior at the College of Saint Benedict. I am majoring in theology and peace studies and minoring in gender studies. I love to camp, bike, read, make music through singing or playing my guitar or trumpet, and in general, enjoy the outside. But most of all, I love to garden. This past spring I studied abroad in Calcutta, India. I stayed with a host family and went to a college there. I can't even describe the things I learned and experienced there. I loved it so much, but I'm happy to be home and back in the garden. I am originally from Hastings, Minn., but my paternal grandmother's family has lived in St. Joseph for many, many years. Gardening is in my roots. Ever since I can remember, I have helped my dad garden vegetables and weed my grandma's garden. Eating food from the garden has been a norm at my house, but I only really started appreciating it when I came to college and realized that I wasn't able to pack carrots that I grew in the garden in my lunch. This is my second year at Common Ground Garden, because I feel that it is very important to connect with the community around me through locally grown, chemical-free food. Planting, taking care of, and eventually harvesting vegetables and sharing it with our members is a way to create solidarity and fellowship with the people of St. Joseph and the surrounding area. I'm excited this year to connect with as many parts of our community as possible: our Common Ground members, the Sisters at Saint Benedict's Monastery, those who use the St. Joseph Food Shelf and the vendors and buyers at the St. Joseph Farmer's Market. As I continue to work at the garden, I look forward to putting those harvested carrots in my lunch and to living out what is already deep in my family roots.

 

 

Music at Distribution
 
SJU musicians with S. ElaineDo you remember seeing these two gentlemen at the Garden Blessing or distribution at St. Ben's (seen here with S. Elaine Schroeder)? Their names are Jared Smith and Matt Palmquist. 

No, they are not St. Joe's traveling minstrels, they are Saint John's University students who are volunteering at the garden in exchange for vegetables. You will continue to see and hear them at distribution, and you're invited to enjoy their music and the hospitable space they create with it. Folks who pick up in St. Cloud, Jared and Matt are going to come your way too.

 

 

 

Recipes

 

Checkout the website for some great recipes for Swiss chard, snap peas, and broccoli. (More Recipes)

Pea Pods with Onion

 

"This simple side from Heather Sauter of Silver Spring, Maryland is a welcome alternative to green beans, and the pea pods look so pretty tossed with chopped onion. 'This dish is a snap to make and tastes like a million bucks,' Heather assures." From allrecipes.com

1/2 pound fresh pea pods
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup chopped onion
3 tablespoons butter, divided
salt and pepper to taste
 
Place the pea pods and water in a microwave-safe bowl; cover and cook on high for 3-5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, cook onion in 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat until crisp-tender. Drain peas; add to onion mixture. Add salt, pepper and remaining butter; toss to coat. Cook and stir until heated through.

 

 

Mixed Pea Pod Stir-Fry

From Delish

By Quick & Simple Staff

(serves 4)

 

1 tsp salt

8 oz green beans, trimmed

2 tsp vegetable oil

4 oz snow peas, trimmed and strings removed

4 oz sugar snap peas, trimmed and strings removed

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 tbs soy sauce

 

In a 12-inch skillet, combine 4 cups water and salt; heat to boiling over high heat. Add green beans and cook 3 minutes. Drain; wipe skillet dry with paper towel. Drain peas; add to onion mixture. Add salt, pepper and remaining butter; toss to coat. Cook and stir until heated through.
 
   

 

 

Salmon with Sweet Chili Glaze, Sugar Snap Peas

and Pea Tendrils

 

Bon Appetit, April 2010, available at epicurious.com 

 

 

Nonstick vegetable oil spray 

1/4 cup Asian sweet chili sauce

3 Tbs soy sauce, divided

2 Tbs finely grated peeled fresh ginger, divided

6 6-ounce salmon fillets with skin

2 Tbs vegetable oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

8 ounces sugar snap peas, trimmed

1 � Tbs Chinese rice wine or dry Sherry

3 cups pea tendrils or pea sprouts (about 6 ounces)

1 tsp Asian sesame oil

 

Line rimmed baking sheet with foil. Coat with nonstick spray. Whisk chili sauce, 2 tablespoons soy sauce and 1 tablespoon ginger in small bowl. Place salmon fillets, skin side down, on prepared sheet. Spoon Chili sauce marinade over and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

 

 

Preheat broiler. Spoon any marinade remaining on baking sheet over salmon fillets. Broil salmon without rurning until browned in spots and almost opaque in center, 6 to 10 minutes, depending on thickness of fillet. (Note: You can also grill it once it's marinated.)

 

 

Meanwhile, heat vegetable oil in wok or heavy, large skillet over medium-high heat. Add remaining 1 tablespoon ginger and minced garlic; stir until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add sugar snap peas and stir until crisp-tender, aout 2 minutes. Add remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce, rice wine and pea tendrils and stir just until wilted, about 1 minute. Drizzle with sesame oil. Place 1 salmon fillet on each plate. Spoon warm pea mixture over salmon fillets and serve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What's Next

 

Vegetable Forecast: Look forward to alcosa cabbage, scallions, zucchini, radishes and more peas.  

 

CGG logoCommon Ground Garden is a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm, where members purchase a share of vegetables and each week during the farm season receive a bountiful box of fresh produce. We pride ourselves on producing fresh, clean, healthful food picked at the peak of flavor and nutrition. As much as we are able, we grow our vegetables without the use of any chemical herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers. We use cover crops, rotations, compost and ingenuity to produce your food in a way that's healthy for you and for the community. When necessary for pest control or to combat disease, we use only products approved for organic gardening.

Common Ground Garden is the ministry of the Sisters of the Order of Saint Bneeidct

104 Chapel Lane
St. Joseph, Minnesota 56374 

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