Growing Thymes: February 2010 Newsletter

Posted By Jessie Nichols, on February 2nd, 2010

ANNOUNCING: VeggieYouth Spring Program

After a pilot program this Fall, Veggielution is proud to announce the upcoming Spring 2010VeggieYouth program! Americorps members Sally Neas and Jessie Nichols will be coordinating and running the program. The program is going to be a fun time to introduce teenagers to sustainable agricultural practices, local food systems, cooking, nutrition, and environmental justice issues. The program will be joining the community work day on Saturdays in addition to an afterschool session on Thursdays, so you can look forward to getting to know our VeggieYouth this spring! Any interested youth can apply and get more information under the VeggieYouth tab on our website.

Farmstand Opening

Veggies, veggies, get your veggies!

Starting February 13th, Veggielution will open it’s much anticipated farmstand. The farmstand will operate Saturday afternoon, 2:30-5 pm. The opening will be a “soft opening”, meaning that it is not widely publicized, giving us time to build capacity and work out the kinks before a larger grand opening later in the season. But don’t let that stop you from telling all your friends!

The farmstand is an important step in the direction of serving Veggielution’s mission of equalizing access of organic produce. Our produce will be sold on a sliding price scale system, wherein customer are empowered to pay what they can. Customers will be able to choose from three categories, each of which sells the produce a different price. This will guarantee that all customers are able to afford produce while still providing funds for the operation of our organization.

State of the Farm

January was a soggy but productive month out at the farm. Winter storms brought the most precipitation California has received consecutively in 10 years! We were defenseless against the park’s poor drainage, and some of the crops spent a few days with wet feet. However, the clay rich soil slowly absorbed the water, and it is slowly drying out. We think our veggies are going to make it! Also, the blustery winds took a toll on our broccoli but they seem to be recovering fine. All this precipitation has done some good on the farm as well. These winter rains have bolstered our cover crops in the front half of the acre. Featured in the photo above are rows of fava beans which are excellent for replenishing nutrients back into the soil. Members of the legume family help make atmospheric nitrogen available to plants. On the right side of the acre, we have a lush cover crop growing that includes vetch, bell beans, and rye grass. Have a look next time you’re out!

Despite the rain, the winter harvest is in full swing. We are up to our ears in leafy greens: mizuna, collards, pok choi, an exciting variety of lettuce and a sweet, nutty arugula, to name a few. The spinach, along with cabbage, kale and broccoli are on their way. Last week was our first broccoli harvest. Granted, it was only a symbolic amount, weighing in at less than a pound, but it will hopefully be the beginning of a robust crop. But let us not allow broccoli excitement to upstage it’s prolific cousin, choi sum. A member of the Brassica family, along with cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage, this Asian vegetable has been the delight of the winter. We have also been harvesting small but steady amounts of carrots and radishes. Last week was the peak in our winter harvest so far: 40 pounds! These delicious and beautiful vegetables are a great relief from the bleakness of winter.

Supplies Needed

Veggielution staff members have recently been spotted in dumpsters and random factories. ”Why?” you may ask. We need cardboard! And lots of it. These materials will be used for our sheet mulching project on the farm. The cardboard needs to be corragated, nonwaxed and relatively free of holes. Also, we need as many newspapers as you can bring, both for sheet mulching and wormbins.

We are also in need of large quantities of lumber, preferrably 1” x 6”-8” nontreated wood. Please help us out if you know a source for this!

Lastly, we need something to put it all in. The farm needs a pickup truck. If you or someone you know is interested in donating a truck for tax write off purposes, please let us know!

Veggie of the Month: Arugula

More greens for you this month. Arugula burst onto the trendy scene in the ’90’s, but don’t hold that againist it. It is a ubiquitious component in the pre-bagged salad because of it’s intense, peppery flavor that can also be described as “roasted”. It’s native to the Meditarranean, where all of its common names (also roquette, rocket and rugola) derive from its Latin name Eruca. It is widely naturalized, which is a polite way of saying that it grows like a weed and self-sows. The more domesticated variation has wide, lobed leaves, while its wilder cousin has narrow, toothed leaves like a dandelion.

Although most often eaten tender and young in salads, arugula makes a nice cooked green as well. Here’s a meal you can make with it.

Calzone

1 big bunch arugula

1 bag baby spinach (or chard or more arugula from the farm)

1/2 container pizza sauce

1 package Boursin or Boursin Light cheese (or shredded mozzarella; we’re not too picky here)

1 bag pizza dough (use whole wheat and get some more fiber!)

cornmeal, for non-stick sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 400 F. If you have a pizza stone, heat that; if not, don’t sweat it. Heat the oven for a good 15 minutes to ensure it’s really hot. Wash the greens and put them, still wet, into a pot big enough to hold them. Put a lid on and heat them on low until they’re wilted, maybe 5 minutes. Drain the cooked greens. Flatten the pizza dough into a round about 14 inches across (go ahead and spin it over your head if you’re into that). Put it on a cookie sheet (or a pizza peel, if you have the whole pizza stone thing going on) that has been sprinkled with cornmeal. On half the dough, spread the sauce, the broken-up cheese and the cooked greens. Fold the dough over and seal it really well, by folding the edges and pressing them down. With a peel, slide the calzone onto the stone, or just put the cookie sheet in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes.

Serves 2 or 3 people.

Did you know that calzone in Italian means “pant leg?”

Volunteer Spotlight: Todd Sauke

It was a cold, rainy morning at Veggielution and workday leaders and staff were there early, preparing for the workday. The weather was truly miserable, and someone asked, “Is anyone even going to show up?” Someone aptly retorted with, “well, Todd will be here!” And indeed he was!

Todd Sauke is one of Veggielution’s most reliable volunteers. He shows up almost every Saturday, without fail. He has taken on big projects, such as becoming our composting guru. Every week, he monitors the compost piles and gets people turning them. Todd says that much of the reason he comes to Veggielution is that he likes “the attitude of people here; they have an attitude of social justice”.

Todd teaches physics at San Jose State University and also gardens outside of Veggielution. Back in his hometown in Minnesota, Todd has a small orchard of apple, plum and cherry trees. In addition to his agricultural knowledge, Todd brings his culinary skills to our weekly volunteer potluck. He says, “I like having a big family to make food for”, and we love having him! Next time you come to the workday make sure to try the chutney and homemade bread. It’s amazing. Thank you Todd!