2010 Watering Schedule Sign-Up

Hello All,

The Watering Schedule for the summer has been set up on Google Docs.

Instructions:

1) Click the link below

2) Scroll to the bottom of the document and click Edit this page in the left corner

3) Enter your name in whichever slot you are available for and close the document

4) Please consider yourself scheduled for whichever shift you sign up for

* Please Note: it will automatically save though it may take awhile to update your changes made*

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Ave2auMQ22izdDJ6VXZfSVAzZFBGY1FJNzZzMEJOc2c&hl=en

Baked Beans Squash

Tried, tested and tasted by myself is a delicious Baked Bean Squash, complete with an Acorn Squash from our own Garden! Here's how to do it:

Ingredients:
1 Acorn Squash
1 cup dried Navy Beans
1 tablespoon Sunflower Oil
1 tablespoon Molasses
1 teaspoon Paprika
1 teaspoon Cumin
1 teaspoon Soy Sauce
1 pinch Sea Salt

Either soak beans overnight and boil for 15 minutes, or boil dried beans for 30 minutes. Cut squash in half and clean out seeds. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake empty squash for 30 minutes. Drain, then mix beans and spices together. Pour mixture into empty squashes and continue to bake for 30 minutes, or until soft and browning. Cover beans with tin foil if they begin to dry or appear as they were when dried.

Serve and enjoy!
Feeds 2 - 4

Frozen Rhubarb Drink

For next year, this drink is amazing to make out of our rhubarb patch!  I know my ma's recipe says to use ginger ale but white wine or vodka work nicely as well.  

 

2 ½ cups chopped rhubarb- fresh or frozen

1 cup water

 

Boil until mushy.  Strain with cheesecloth when it cools.

 

Add-

1 can frozen pink lemonade

1 cup sugar

1 ¼ cups pineapple juice

 

Freeze in something plastic.

Mix with ginger ale or white wine and sparkling water.

Corn Info

Why aren’t my corncobs thoroughly filled out?

Spotty filling of corncobs is due to poor pollination. This usually happens when corn is planted in a solitary row rather than in blocks.  Corn pollen must land on each thread of silk for complete pollination. Each strand of silk is attached to a single kernel. Corn breeders constantly strive to develop varieties with good tipfill, an industry buzzword for large, rounded, full cobs. Some of the older varieties don’t have great tipfill, while many of the new hybrids have excellent tipfill. 

When is corn ready to harvest? Can it tolerate any frost?


Corn is ready to harvest when the silks are brown and have dried up and you can feel the cobs through the husks. The tip of the cob should be blunt and feel full. The appearance and feel of the finished cobs differ with the variety. It takes a bit of experience to know exactly when the cobs are at their prime, but with time you’ll learn.

Corn will be badly damaged by even a light frost. If frost strikes once the cobs have matured, you have about one week to harvest them before the flavour starts to deteriorate significantly. If frost strikes before the cobs have matured, the corn will not ripen. 

The Dirty Hoe Radio Show & Our August Open House

Alex from the Dirty Hoe Radio Show was sweet enough to come out to our garden and interview the coordinator about what's new in 2009 for the ECOS' Campus Community Garden. Download the interview here.

The Dirty Hoe Radio Show is a weekly show on organic gardening in Edmonton that airs Friday at 12:05pm and Monday at 2pm on CJSR Edmonton FM88.

Great news: We're open again!

Saturday, August 22nd, 2009 from 10am - 4pm.

Visit the ECOS Campus Community Garden for our second and final openhouse of the summer season! Tour the organic garden space, see how ourplants have grown, learn and participate in community composting, meet our volunteers and learn about environmentally-sustainable gardening methods.

The market will be open - including every other Saturday - to purchase fresh produce, herbs, soil, and plants.
A BBQ will also be available with veggie dogs & burgers to buy.

Harvest Time and Recipe Sharing

Harvest time is upon us here at the ECOS' Campus Community Garden!

Since July, we've had a steady harvest of mixed lettuces, spinach and leafy-greens. Right now, they have either reached their expiry in the 50-day life cycle and have been reseeded, or they have yet to go to seed and are still producing delicious yields. Our 250 m² garden's been producing over 10 KG of these leafy greens!

Approaching August, we've sighted zucchinis, squashes, snow peas, snap peas, raspberries, strawberries and different colours of beans maturing in our garden. Soon, we'll be able to open a market out front of our garden with all of the delicious produce. So, in order to enjoy these foods, we'll provide some neat things to do with them.

Basic Raspberry Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup raspberries
• 1/2 cup vinager (apple cider, rice, and/or balsamic)
  
• 2 tsp stevia, or sugar replacement
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup vegetable or olive oil

Optionals:

• 1 tbsp flaxmeal
• 1 clove pureed garlic
• 1/4 cup strawberries
  

Preparation:
Add all ingredients, except oil to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Slowly add oil until well combined. Pour over mixed leafy greens, nuts, and/or seeds and enjoy.

Please share your recipe ideas including some of the vegetables and herbs we'll be growing our garden. Comment your recipe in and it'll be visible on this blog!