Every Monday evening from 5:30-7:30 p.m., there is a gardener present to supervise volunteering. Come out and join us. We'll find a garden task that is right for you: gentle bending, micro-weeding, vigorous alfalfa eradication (our garden used to be an alfalfa field). And we have kid-friendly tasks and vegetable coloring pages, too.

Upcoming Garden Events 

 Cheese-making!
 Tuesday, Sept 20, 5:30-7:30 p.m., St. Ben's Spirituality Center
Jenny Kutter, former garden manager and wife of director Ryan Kutter, will lead us through the steps to make fresh mozzarella. You too can make cheese at home; come and learn how. Please bring a snack to share and RSVP to commonground@csbsju.edu, The class capacity is 10.

Directions to the Spirituality Center: Turn onto the St. Ben's Campus via the Minnesota Street (north) entrance. Turn right at the 4 way stop intersection as if you were coming for distribution. Turn left before you get to the Quonset building (where distribution was in the past) and park in the spots on the left.

Garden Potluck and Harvest Day
 Saturday, Oct 8, potluck at noon; harvest activities from 1-3:30 p.m.
Come for just the potluck, just the harvest activities or both. There will be child-friendly activities. Please bring a dish to share. Plates, utensils and beverages will be provided. We'll get the garden ready for its winter rest.

Interested in a Garden Retreat?
 Are you interested in a morning or evening reflection on garden spirituality, spiritual lessons learned from gardening, and Benedictine stewardship? Friends welcome. Potential dates and times are: Tuesday, October 11 5-8 p.m., Friday, October 21 5-8 p.m., Saturday, October 22, 9-12 noon or Wednesday, October 26, 5-8 p.m. Please RSVP to commonground@csbsju.edu, Six people are needed to proceed with planning. Please indicate which dates work for you.

Tim Kuebelbeck, our egg producer, has grapes for sale and they are chemical and pesticide free. He has both red and white varieties. If interested in purchasing, call Tim at 320-363-4380 to reserve an order and for directions. Tim will help with harvesting the grapes to preserve the vines.

Red variety

• Grown in St. Joseph for almost 100 years
• $0.70 per pound
• Makes wonderful jelly and waffle syrup

White variety

• Elmer Swenson's/Brianna
• $0.70 per pound

Food Processing 

An excerpt from Pickled, Potted and Canned: How the Art and Science of Food Preserving Changed the World, by Sue Shephard 

"Preserving large amounts of food quickly before it spoiled required the help and cooperation of everyone in the community. Until the eighteenth century, few households in northern countries had enough land to grow hay for winter fodder, and by November the farmers had traditionally slaughtered all but the best of their livestock, which they kept back for breeding in the following year. The butchered meat was salted into barrels, laid out to dry or hung up above the hearth to smoke. Neighbors visited each other to assist with the salting, the sausage making, with cutting the cabbage for sauerkraut, preparing the apples for cider making and with fruit drying, butter churning and cheese making. In many cases, they pooled their produce to make communal preserves, producing great barrels of wine or giant cheese to be stored in their cellars, or bundles of sun-dried fruits, peppers, and tomatoes, which they laid out on the roofs of their houses or hung out in the dry air like washing. Cooperative food preserving helped to strengthen the sense of community, and everyone went home with a bit of fresh food to eat and some to put by, their stomachs filled from a good traditional feast to celebrate the job well done."

5 pounds fresh small beets, stems removed

1 cup white sugar

1 ½ teaspoons pickling salt

2 cups white vinegar

2 tablespoons whole cloves

Place beets in a large stockpot with water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes depending on the size of the beets. If beets are large, cut them into quarters. Drain, reserve 1 cup of the beet water, cool and peel beets.

Sterilize jars and lids by immersing in boiling water for at least 10 minutes. Fill each jar with beets and add several whole cloves to each jar.

In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, beet water, vinegar and pickling salt. Bring to a rapid boil. Pour hot brine over the beets in the jars and seal lids.

Place rack in the bottom of a large stockpot and fill halfway with water. Bring to a boil over high heat and then carefully lower the jars into the pot using a holder. Leave a 2 inch space between the jars. Pour in more boiling water if necessary until the water level is at least 1 inch above the tops of the jars. Bring the water to a full boil, cover the pot and process for 10 minutes.

Vegetable Forecast