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August 29, 2013
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Volume 19, Issue 11
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Greetings!
A Note from the Production Manager 
Kate Ritger It's another hot week at the garden and it coincides with several changes in the season. Classes started at the colleges on Monday which means our full-time student garden staff has turned into a part-time crew. Jamie, Ricky, Erin and Molly will be working through the entire season; Shelby and Alicia had to return to other on-campus jobs, and I've hired two new student gardeners. Stay tuned for introductions to Alyssa and LaDeanna. This is our 6th week of harvesting beans and it will be our last. The plants are getting tired and the beans are not as tender. The same is true for the cucumbers - thicker skins. The zucchini plants are also showing signs of exhaustion, but I think we might have a few more to pick next week. The tomatoes are ripening quickly in the heat -- get your salsa and sauce stock-piled for the winter. As far as crops on their way: the sweet pepper plants are loaded with fruit, but most of them are supposed to turn red, are most delicious when they are red, but are slowly changing colors. There are also quite a few cantaloupe on the vines, but they aren't ripe yet -- maybe next week. The kabocha squash vines are drying out quickly, so we might harvest them next week or the week after that. And we planted more arugula and spicy mix and they should be ready to harvest in a week or two.  Sample Treat of the Week: Mexican Sour Gherkins! This has been a fun little experiment to watch. The vines of this miniature cucumber are dainty and the fruit look like baby watermelons. We have just enough for you to taste one, but this could easily be a crop you grow in a pot at home.
Get Ready for Grapes! September 7th Picking!
Our egg farmer, Tim Kuebelbeck, also has a vineyard and this season he is donating the fruits from the Alpha strain to us. Tim's Alpha grapes are cuttings from the Sisters of St. Ben's grape vines. We need help to pick the grapes - Saturday, September 7th. Once the grapes are picked, Tim will crush them into juice and then we'll need more help to make grape jelly. Be in touch with Kate to sign up to help. Picking is also a very kid-friendly activity. Tim's address: 32712 County Road 3, Avon, MN 56310. Even though the address is technically Avon, its just two miles north of St. Joe.
Art Exhibit by S. Dennis Frandrup
Fellow gardener, and artist-in-residence at the College of Saint Benedict, S. Dennis, has an exhibit of ceramic works to honor all of the faculty and students who have been enriched by the arts during the last 100 years of the college. Gorecki Gallery in the Benedicta Arts Center, open Monday - Saturday 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Sundays noon-9 p.m. The show is up through Saturday, September 28.
Bring us your Canning Jars
Please bring us your extra canning jars: quart, pint and jelly sizes. The gardeners and I have been making pickles and we're getting ready to make grape jelly. Pickles and jelly will then be for sale at the St. Joseph Farmer's Market. Compost your Kitchen Scraps
Bring your food scraps (no meat or dairy please) to the garden and add them to the large pile south of the yellow barn. |
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Produce
Sweet corn, Green/purple beans, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, kohlrabi, beets, scallions, hot peppers and assorted herbs.
Bread of the Week
Multigrain
Veggies on the Way
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Contact information
Please call Kate at the number below for quick responses to your questions or concerns. DO NOT just send this newsletter back. It goes to the person who formats the information but is not directly involved in the garden.
(Only if you want to be taken off the mailing list should you reply to this newsletter!)
Reminders
- Please bring back the cardboard flats for tomatoes; it saves me trips to the liquor stores.
- Please continue to bring reusable bags to pick-up. Thanks!
Distribution takes place every Thursday afternoon, unless otherwise notifed. -
4-6 p.m. at the
Common Ground Garden---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.
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5-6 p.m. at St. John's Episcopal Church in St. Cloud. For a link on google maps, click here
Missed Thursday Pickup?
- If you are unable to pick up during the scheduled time, be in touch with me and we'll make other arrangements -- a friend or family member can pick up for you, or we can find another time.
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Garden Evening Hours
Garden evening hours: Mondays 5-7 p.m. Guests, visitors and helping hands of all shapes and sizes are always welcome at the garden but especially on Monday evenings. Your assistance in the garden helps us live our mission of providing local produce to people throughout central Minnesota ... and its really fun! Come garden with us.
Please gather your "extras" and bring for us to reuse and recycle
brown paper bags
canvas bags
plastic grocery bags
gallon ice cream buckets
egg cartons
St. Joseph's Farmers' Market
The St. Joe Market is open every Friday, 3-6:30 p.m. Many vendors, music, children's activities, and more. Located near the St. Joseph water tower. Visit the SJFM website www.stjosephfarmersmarket.com for more information .
Follow us on Facebook! We've been posting photos of our planting and progress. |
Check our website for more ideas, and please share your recipes with us!
We love it when you share your recipes. Sometime last winter I (Kate) read several books about farms selling produce directly to restaurants. The books included several great recipes, which I promptly copied and set aside for later use; below are two. I have not tried these recipes yet. And more unfortunately, I don't remember the titles or authors of the books.
Candied Beets 8 ounces beets, peeled, cut into 1/4-inch cubes 1 cup water 8 ounces sugar pinch of salt and pepper
Place all ingredients in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and gradually heat to simmering. (Do not boil.) Simmer gently for 2 hours, or until beets are firm but cooked through. Cool about 1 hour before refrigerating. Store in its own syrup.
Beet Burgers Note: Apparently these burgers take time to prepare so the author suggests making a triple batch and freezing the extra patties. They say they taste excellent cold.
4 cups beets, grated (4 medium beets) 1 cup onion, chopped (1 medium onion) 1 cup cooked long grain brown rice 1 cup sunflower seeds 1/2 cup sesame seeds 2 eggs, lightly beaten 2 Tbsp soy sauce 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated 3 Tbsp flour 1/4 cup canola oil
Mix all ingredients well in a large bowl. We find it easiest to do this with clean hands. Form into patties and place on lightly oiled baking sheets. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. After about 40 minutes, flip patties for the last 5 minutes of baking. Cooked patties should be browned and firm. You may need to use a spatula to get patty off baking sheet.
I (Kate) just discovered the wonders of baking on parchment paper, maybe that would work in this case too. ************* Every week we will send several recipes that make use of the produce you are receiving in your bag. We also have a significant collection of recipes on our website at http://sbm.osb.org/ministries/common_ground_garden/recipes/. Please send us your own recipes, too--either favorites from your cookbooks or your own concoctions. |
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Contact information
commonground@csbsju.edu
Ryan Kutter, Garden Director, cell: 320-219-3389
Kate Ritger, Production Manager, cell: 262-339-7737
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 Common 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. |
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Common Ground Garden is the ministry of the Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict.
104 Chapel Lane
St. Joseph, Minnesota 56374
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