Next Public Meeting to Save Nick's Organic Farm - TONIGHT, Thursday, June 9  

We have been following this campaign to Save Nick's Organic Farm closely at MVG, and the next opportunity for action and unity is here.

Despite hundreds of us signing petitions, calling and emailing, our county government has not been swayed, yet, from its plan to turn Montgomery County's only organic seed farm into soccer fields.  (A farm which Nick Maravell, a nationally recognized organic farmer, has been operating for 31 years.  That's Nick's daughter on the tractor.) They are holding another public meeting to discuss this plan tonight, Thursday June 9 - and we need to come out in force for this event!  (The soccer organization which is pushing the deal is recruiting folks to come to the meeting, to avoid the open revolt they faced back in April, so it's all the more important for our supporters to attend.)

The meeting will be held at the Potomac Community Center Social Hall, 11315 Falls Road, Potomac MD, from 7:00 - 9:00pm.  We urge people to show up early if they can, to bring signs, and to wear something green to show unity.  

Click here for details - then come to the meeting, join the campaign, and help us save this irreplaceable heritage farm in our own county!   

 

School Gardening Video, Part II

You may remember from earlier this year, when we posted the first installment of the school gardening video produced by the U of MD Home and Garden Information Center and the Maryland Master Gardeners' Grow It Eat It program.  We are delighted to announce that Part II has been released.

The sequel, also starring Chrissa Carlson, the director of the Food for Life program at the Hampstead Hill Academy in Baltimore City (who spoke at MVG's February 12 program on working with children in the garden), is entitled "Components of a Successful School Garden."  In it, Chrissa does a great job of running through some of the essentials of the successful school garden, from making it visible to the local community, to the importance of arbors, benches, herbs, flowers and artwork, to how you create raised beds and deal with bad soil.

This is another great video from the folks at HGIC and the Master Gardeners, with special thanks to head MG Jon Traunfeld for his steadfast promotion of school food gardening.  Check out "School Gardening Part II:  Components of a Successful School Garden."

School Salad Parties!

As any regular MVG reader knows, this past January we won a significant victory when the Montgomery County Public School system, after many months of opposition, posted guidelines allowing vegetable gardens to be grown on public school property.  It was a great victory, and we're delighted that a number of schools have taken advantage of this new policy.

As part of this effort, seven of the elementary schools that participated with the Audubon Naturalist Society's innovative GreenKids program (expertly directed by Jenny Brown) are marking the end of the season with special Salad Parties this week.  As this article from the Germantown Patch notes, "the first-graders at Cedar Grove Elementary School loved growing - and eating - salad greens so much, they're throwing a party to celebrate"

These gardens are great examples of community participation, involving contributions from the Master Gardeners, local businesses and Scout troops, and they were great learning classrooms for the kids.  But most of all, they were a lot of fun, and taught the most important lesson of all: where food comes from. "The kids really, really loved it, " said Claire Gardner, first-grade reading teacher at Germantown's Cedar Grove Elementary School.

Way to go, to Cedar Grove, East Silver Spring, and all the other MC elementary schools involved in this project!  Now let's see if we can double or triple the number of schools doing it next year! 

 

Garlic Scape Season Is Here

Another thing fans of MVG know is that we are big fans of garlic.  And this is a special time of year for garlic lovers, for we are getting that preview of our soon-to-be-harvested garlic: garlic scapes!

Garlic scapes are the long thin, twisty swirly flower pod that comes out of hard neck garlic about a month before harvest.  (Those in the picture just came from my own garden.)  They are fascinating and beautiful in their own right, but if you cut off the whitish flowering tip, the rest of the scape is also one of the most delicious and unique edibles to come from your garden.

With thanks to Master Gardener and MVG Advisory Board member Erica Smith, here are some great recipes for garlic scapes.  Interestingly enough, though, the list is missing what may be the best of all, garlic scape pesto.  And it's incredibly simple: just put the chopped up scapes, olive oil and parmesan reggianno cheese in the food processor, blend 'em up, and you will have a taste sensation you will not soon forget.  Serve it to you guests on crackers or bread, and watch the delighted smiles that follow!

A Man and His Mulch

One of the most important rules of organic food gardening is to never leave the soil naked.  This means mulching.

Mulch serves a number of important functions, from suppressing weeds and moderating soil temperature to one that is oh-so-critical as we enter the heat of the summer: preventing moisture evaporation.  You want to water less often and more effectively during the heat (and drought) of the summer?  Then mulch your garden.

Many substances can be used to mulch a garden, including black plastic, but the best ones are organic, since (among other things) they add nutrients to the soil as they break down.  

And in this gardener's book, there is no better organic mulch than straw.  Lightweight, easy to handle and spread, and cheap ($8 for a bale that covers a lot of area), straw is in many ways a gardener's dream mulch.  It also lasts an entire season, and adds a truly attractive element to your garden, especially if you grow in rows. (And when you pull it out of the raised bed you can throw it in your walkways, to help keep them weed free as well.)

Straw is available at most nurseries and garden centers, and even a growing number of hardware stores.  So if you haven't mulched your garden yet, don't delay - and consider giving straw a try!  

Composting 101 

Another key component of the organic, sustainable garden is composting.  Composting is critical to a closed loop system, where little (or nothing, except what you eat) leaves the garden, and little is needed to come in, since you are using your own weeds and plant waste to create next year's compost.

Composting is also easy as pie (or making garlic scape pesto), and the Montgomery County Division of Solid Waste Services provides free composting rings for the taking, as well as lots of good information.  And if you'd like another source of good basic info on how to start your own composting, then you should look no further than this excellent video, once again from the Master Gardeners.  Thanks again, MGs, you rock!   

 

Missoula Coyote Children's Choir Sings "Grow Your Own Food!"

In keeping with the theme of school and children's gardening this update, we've just got to re-present, for those who missed it on the MVG Facebook page, the Missoula Coyote Children's Choir singing their (mostly) original hit song, "Grow Your Own Food!"

The song contains basic food system wisdom that would be welcome in most USDA officials, all presented with great humor and a loving touch.  Be forewarned though - if you watch this, you just might have a hard time getting the tune out of your head!  With thanks to MVGer and growingSOUL Director Jessica Weiss for passing it on, here is "Grow Your Own Food!"

"Somebody plant me... somebody plant me... somebody plant me now!"