Kate Ritger    

Hello friends,

Student visitors to the garden often ask me "what's your favorite thing to eat from the garden?" I struggle with an answer because I love almost everything we grow, so whatever is ripe in the garden at the moment is often my favorite. I now have a better answer ... cantaloupe! Ryan Kutter is a great watermelon connoisseur, but give me a cantaloupe fresh from the sunny garden and I will be in heaven. I am very happy that after so much loving care throughout the season, we have big and beautiful cantaloupe to share with everyone this week.

We also started harvesting the winter squash this week. Delicata first--they are the smallest and easiest squash to work with. Think of it like a personal size squash. The flesh is creamy and even buttery, and the skin is tender and easily digestible. Don't worry about peeling the Delicata. Cut it lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and bake it or cut into strips for the grill or saut�ing.

How many more weeks of distribution? 18 weeks of harvesting brings us to Thursday, October 23. I believe the garden has enough produce to get us until then. Keep eating! Sometime between now and then we'll have our end-of-season hot pepper dessert potluck! Dream of spicy desserts ...

Leaves and wood ash: I'm looking for leaves to use as mulch around next year's tomatoes, and wood ash to fertilize our rhubarb patch. Be in touch if you can contribute or know folks who can. Thanks! 

Eggs: Again, this Thursday, September 25 is the end of the egg subscription. Starting next week Tim Kuebelbeck, our egg farmer, will be at Thursday distribution with eggs to sell on a first-come, first-serve basis. $1.75 for a half dozen and $3.50 for a full dozen (this is in line with the egg subscription price).

Have you seen these funny bug traps around the garden? Earlier this summer I received a call from the University of Minnesota Department of Agriculture wondering if the garden would be part of a bug survey. Sure, why not? So two representatives came out with bug traps and put them throughout the garden. There are different traps for different types of bugs and they strategically put them near the bugs' host plants. The Department of Ag is trying to watch for a variety of invasive species that have been moving across the country. Thankfully none have been found at the garden. I was intrigued that the Department of Ag would contact CSAs and community gardens, but gardens/farms of this sort, unlike big, corporate farms have a lot of plant diversity which attract a wide variety of bugs.

And here are a few more photos from the Girl Scouts!

 

                                      Both photos by Grace from Cold Spring, 9 years old

 

Raw or Cooked??

By Kari Sholing, RDN, who is a subscriber and our garden registered dietician. She will be contributing regular articles to the newsletter and is happy to answer specific questions.  

Contact her at: karijean999@gmail.com   

 

As the weather turns cooler, my mind and taste buds are more drawn to warm, cooked foods.  I hear people express concern about eating cooked foods.  Many health advocates promote "raw diets" where absolutely no food is cooked.  Some methods of cooking can destroy enzymes and promote the formation of unhealthy compounds.  Also, eating a raw diet ends up being primarily vegetarian because there aren't many individuals that will eat raw meats.  So there are a few advantages of eating raw:  you'll get lots of fiber, vitamins, and minerals while also reducing calories and potentially losing weight.

 

But eating only raw isn't perfect, and there are some advantages to cooking foods.  For example, cooked carrots contain more anti-oxidants than raw because cooking releases beta-carotene.  Cooked tomatoes also have more lycopene because the fibrous portion of the tomato has been cooked down.  In general, cooking vegetables makes the cell walls less rigid releasing more nutrients.  Steaming is one cooking method that helps retain vitamins and minerals.  Then of course, there are the vegetables that should never be eaten raw:  potatoes, legumes, and yams!

 

Maybe it's best to mix it up:  eat a bit of raw and a bit of cooked vegetables every day!  Either way, the vegetables are great for your health!

 

 

• If you are unable to pick up during the scheduled time, be in touch with Kate and we'll make other arrangements. Friday or the following Monday at the garden is another option--the barn is open both days from 8 a.m. - 7 p.m. A friend or family member can also pick up for you.

Bring Your Own Bag

Don't forget to bring your own bag to pick up your veggies. Canvas bags are great. We are also happy to receive your extra brown paper bags, plastic grocery bags, gallon ice cream pails and canvas bags.

Compost Your Food Scraps

Bring us your food scraps! If you don't have your own home composting system, add them to the monastery compost pile. No dairy or meat, please. The pile is located just south of the big yellow barn.

Find us on

Would you like to learn more about other happenings at Saint Benedict's Monastery? Sign up for our e-newsletter, Monastery Musings, and find out more about the Sisters, special events and offerings that go on here year-round. Just send Sister Karen Rose your e-mail address at krose@csbsju.edu and we'll add you to our e-newsletter list!

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. Please send us your own recipes, too--either favorites from your cookbooks or your own concoctions.

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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