Holiday Lights at the Garden

Happy  Holidays everyone!  This weekend many gardeners got together to put up the lights in the garden--it looks so festive.  Thanks for bringing some cheer to the garden this season.

And thanks to Amy Schwartzman and Maria Lazarini for sending in photos of the event.  It looks like a lot of fun!


Amy Schwartzman

Maria Lazarini

Annual Brooklyn Leaf Drop

6/15 Garden Stoop Sale

Please come and support the garden's stoop sale by bringing new and gently used items to donate--and while you are there, do some shopping to support the garden! 

Freezing Greens

I've been blogging a lot this summer about my kale.  It was my first time planting and I had an extremely prolific crop.  The good news is that now that the season is winding up, I have a ton to freeze and eat throughout the winter.  If you are in the same boat, follow these easy directions for freezing greens.  It also works for things like green beans.

  

First wash the greens really well.

 

Then cut out the vein in the center

and chop into smaller pieces.  You can see I have a lot.

Working in batches, submerge the kale into boiling water and let it boil for about 3 minutes.

Then immediately put into ice water for 3 minutes.  You'll have to continue to add ice throughout the process, especially if you have a lot of greens so it's good to make sure you have plenty made ahead of time.

 

Drain the water from the kale.

 

Let it sit on a paper towel to get excess water out.

And freeze! I freeze mine in 2 cup servings so that if recipes call for a specific amount, I only need to thaw out what I need.  This should keep kale for 6 months so it's important to date the kale as well.

Enjoy!  

The People's Climate March

6/15 Green had a great showing at this march!  Thanks to all the members who showed that people can make a difference--especially when they work together.  And thanks to Elvira for these great photos! The banner really looks amazing. 

Making the Banner for the People's Climate March

Garden members get creative for a cause!  Here's a photo of Elvira, Jane, Peggy, Isabella and Ramona making the banner for the march on Sunday. 

People's Climate March

Come join other members of the garden community to go on the People's Climate March in NYC--which is part of the global weekend of action, where communities around the world are demanding action to "create a world with an economy that works for people and the planet."

The date is this Sunday, Sept. 21.  Members are meeting in the garden at 9:15 and bringing noisemakers and drums.  There will be a 5 foot banner that Peggy, Ramona, Elvira, and other members* made for the march. See photo above. 

For more information, check out:  http://peoplesclimate.org/march/

UPDATE: I've changed the time to 9:15 instead of 9:30--members will be leaving the garden at 9:30 so be sure to get there early! 

* (other members--can you please send me your name)
 

Kale Salad--Yum

I wrote several blogs about how much kale my garden is producing this summer.  I can hardly cut it fast enough.  But that's okay because I'm loving having a kale salad almost every night with dinner.  Like this one with apples and goat cheese--yum!  And I'll have plenty to freeze for the winter.  All from a $2.50 pack of seeds.  

Kale!

I've gotten so much kale this summer--every week I'm getting enough for my family to eat several salads each nice and I know I'll have plenty to freeze.  I'd love to hear what else other people in the garden are growing and what is coming in well this year.  

Life and Then Some

I love this time of year in the garden when things seem to be bursting with growth and life and we see so many vegetables ready to harvest.  But then we see plants like this one below that remind us that the season will turn soon and that an important part of the cycle of nature is for plants to create seeds and die.  The contrast against the backdrop of green is just stunning to me.  

Children's Garden

A couple week's ago I posted a picture of work at the Children's Garden.  Well, the finished garden is simply magical.  A very happy place for little gardeners.  My daughter couldn't stay away.  Thanks to all who put in the effort to make it such a wonderful space.  

Movie Night at the Garden

This Saturday is movie night--free at the garden,with a great classic movie!

(PS--sorry there was no image earlier. I was traveling and having technical problems)  

Write in the Garden Notebook

Do you know about the garden notebook? It's a great way to share the day-to-day story of the garden. 

What to do with all those pea shoots?

The peas are gone now (and weren't they yummy!) but the shoots are still taking over your plot.  Did you know you can actually eat these?  They make extremely tasty greens for a salad.  Or you can saute them.  They are delicious in a simple pasta of pea shoots, peas, and Parmesan cheese.   

Working on the Children's Garden

In addition to the big wall project, there's so much more going on in the garden right now, including the relocation of the Children's garden.  The team worked hard on it this weekend.  They wanted to point out that no plants were harmed in the moving of the garden--all have been relocated to happy homes!  

Photos of the Wall from Sharon Peters

More photos from Sharon.  This was a major job!  Thank you, Sharon!    
                                        

I think they earned a rest!

Photos of the Wall from Anahit

More great photos from Anahit of the second weekend of work.  Thank you!

A Job Well Done!