Recipe of the Month
5-minute Cucumber Salad
Ingredients:
- 1/2 medium red onion, sliced thin
- 1 medium clove garlic, chopped
- 1 medium cucumber, halved, seeds removed, and sliced
- 1 medium tomato, cubed
- 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
- 1 TBS feta cheese
- 6 kalamata olives, cut into halves or quarters
- 2 TBS fresh lemon juice
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh or dried dill (optional)
Directions:
Chop garlic and slice onions and let sit for 5 minutes to bring out their health-promoting properties. Combine all ingredients and serve.
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-- Thank You --
The Good Food Project earnestly thanks the following businesses and individuals for their support in providing plants, supplies or services for the community garden.
Home Depot
Inglewood Farm
Garden Path & Stone Center
Milton from Fads and Frames
Frances Boudreaux
The Bryan family
The Mathews family
The Lasyone family
The "Girls of Grace"
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What Our Garden Needs
The following items are needed to enhance our community garden.
Manure
Compost
Leaves
Please contact us at goodfoodproject@fbcenla.org
or 318-445-2773 if you are able to donate any of these items.
Thank You!
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Sprout
Good Food Project Garden News
July 2012
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"There is no such thing as a gardening mistake, only experiments." Janet Kilburn Phillips
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 Volunteer of the Month
Staying clear of the hustle and bustle of the big city, Frances Boudreaux has taken root in her quiet hometown of Ball, LA along with her husband Ken. But even though she chose a peaceful place to settle in, her life seems to be busy as ever. Frances takes the phrase "Jill of all trades, master of none" to a whole different level. From an artist and florist to an entrepreneur and book author, Frances has done it all. She is devoted to serving her community, which shows through her work as a CASA volunteer and an advocate for battered women and children as well as her involvement with several local non-profit organizations. She is always on the go and is continuously taking up new and exciting projects. When life starts getting too hectic, however, there is one place where she knows she can get away, and that is here at the garden.
Frances' father was quite the horticulturist and shared his love for nature with his children. Although for Frances, gardening is more than just a hobby and a fun pastime, it's also a therapeutic tool. She enjoys turning an empty plot of land into a beautiful piece of art and that is just what she has helped do in our garden. After meeting Lori for the first time, Frances could immediately see her vision and feel her passion for the Good Food Project and was eager to offer a helping hand. Having seen the transition of the garden when it was virtually nothing to what it is now has been a thrilling part of Frances' experience here.
"It amazes me because the garden is in the middle of an industrial area and now it's more like a refuge, and an empty lot was turned into something really special," Frances explains. "It's wonderful what the garden can offer people in the way of learning and doing well for the community."
Frances has her own visions for the garden as well, and every Wednesday she is able to see them through and add her own unique touches including the succulent rock garden, butterfly garden, and accents she has added to the gazebo. She frequently brings her own ornamental plants, rocks, and gravel to brighten up the garden, which has also served as a muse to Frances.
While working in the garden one day, Frances was so moved after planting tulips, it inspired her to paint a picture. This led to her creation of a beautiful set of gift cards with an array of tulips on the cover as a fundraiser for the Good Food Project. Her support and dedication to the Good Food Project has been overwhelming. Frances is a remarkable woman and a joy to get to know- and once you do, she'll have you pulling weeds and planting seeds with her in the garden.
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 Chicken Coop Thanks to a great group of volunteers that came out to the garden on June 24th, we have officially begun the construction of our very own chicken coop. This will be the future home of our fowl friends that will add fertilizer, remove insects, and provide a rich source of omega 3 to some of our Food Bank clients.
As you can see, we still need to finish this project. If you or your group need volunteer hours or would just like to help out please contact us.
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Urban Gardening Ideas
Want to start a vegetable garden, but don't have a yard? Luckily for us, vegetables have only three basic requirements: light, soil, and water. And they don't have to be planted in the ground-they grow great in containers. You have to start by finding a spot for your pots that gets six to eight hours of sunlight a day and has access to water. Window boxes, patios, doorways, sidewalks, and even roof eaves (for hanging baskets) can house a few containers. In general, shallow-rooted plants, such as lettuce, spinach, radishes, and most herbs, need only 6 to 8 inches of soil depth to grow well, while deeper-rooted plants, such as tomatoes and squash, need 12 inches of soil. Terra-cotta pots, wooden boxes, and even 5-gallon buckets make great containers. Just make sure your containers have drainage holes, are not translucent or opaque (sunlight will fry plants' roots), and are big enough to support the plants growing in them. Fill your containers with a well-draining potting mix (topsoil will compact in containers) that has some compost or an organic granulated fertilizer mixed in. Remember that container plants usually require more water than ground plants. In no time at all, you will be enjoying fresh, crisp veggies straight from your home! Want to learn more? Come to our workshops!
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The Green Market
Every Saturday
Downtown Alexandria
Support your local farmers every Saturday, at the Alexandria Museum of Art near City Hall from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. Enjoy fresh, local organic produce, natural pecans, grass-fed beef, pastured poultry, eggs, and much more!
Local producers interested in becoming a vendor should contact the Alexandria Museum of Art.
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Don't miss these Sustainable Garden Workshops!
July 6, 9 a.m.
Vermiculture
July 20, 9 a.m. Organic Pest Control
August 18, 9 a.m. Edible Weeds
The Good Food Project classes are taught at The Food Bank of Central Louisiana and each participant will receive a Topsy Turvy aerial planter. Donations are encouraged.
Registration for planning purposes is required. Please indicate your attendance by e-mailing goodfoodproject@fbcenla.org, using our online registration at www.goodfoodproject.org or calling
318-445-2773. These workshops are free and open to the public. However, we would appreciate any donation you may be able to provide in order to keep our workshops going.
Please note: we had to reschedule our "Edible Weeds" Workshop. Hope you can make it.
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What You Can Plant
This Month
Plant Fall squashes like acorn, butternut and pumpkin.
You may start a crop of greens (mustards, kale, collard, and turnips) after the middle of July has passed.
Grow a late summer crop of Southern Peas (purple hull, crowder, black-eyed, and cream.)
Butter beans can be planted this month.
Okra loves the heat so you can still plant it now.
Cucumbers can be planted this month as well.
Get a head start on your fall crops and start transplants indoors from about the middle to the end of this month. Things like broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts and cabbage can all be started.
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Sustainable Garden
Tip of the Month
To keep bugs off of your plants in your garden, try blending up some chives, onion, and garlic with water to mix up an anti-pest spray. To make the spray, just chop peeled garlic, onions or chives very fine and mix half a cup of water with it, and then strain it into the spray bottle. A homemade remedy that is safe and effective!
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