Something New at 24th Street

It’s a beautiful beginning to another lovely year at 24th Street! And we are just so exited to get this new season started!!

We are ready for a new season of planting, growing, playing and unlocking the magic that lives all around us in the garden.

Although a winter garden often leaves a visitor wanting, at 24th Street we are filled with hopes and wishes for the months to come!!

So drop by and visit one of our cooking or gardening classes or send us your wishes for the new season. Either way, have a happy, healthy and strong New Year!!

 

Workday 4!

Our fourth workday in the garden this year was another screaming success.

We had the biggest turnout of kids yet, thanks largely to the 4th grade teachers who offered their students community service credit if they came.

Here, 4th grade teacher Ms. LaFleur arrives with her daughters:

And they did come, in droves. With their help, we weeded and mulched and mulched and weeded.

weeding

mulching

 

more weeding

We also had help from tree specialist and master gardener Herb Machleder, who helped prune our fruit orchard. We’re hoping that with his help, and our garden manager’s capable hands, we can double our already productive crop next year.

Herb explains some fruit tree intricacies

We played games…

Are they students or a train?

…we looked for bugs…

field guide and magnifying glass in hand, this student goes hunting

…we scraped paint off tables.

scraping paint

We got done everything we wanted and more. Workdays are an incredible chance for us to make a big push in the garden — there’s only so much one or two people can do alone; it’s great to have so many hands. But workdays are also an incredible chance for us to connect with the students and their families in a whole different way, a time for us to remember what we’re trying to do and why. Plus, they’re really fun — more than one kid asked if we could have them every week!

 

To Be Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

Here’s a delicious recipe for onion dill bread.

Dill Bread
Adapted from The Joy of Cooking

Makes one 9×5-inch loaf

1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm (105 to 115°F) water
3 cups bread flour (I replaced 1/2 cup of this flour with whole wheat)
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, or 1 tablespoon dried dill or dill seeds
2 tablespoons sugar or honey
1 tablespoon wheat germ, toasted
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup large-curd cottage cheese
1 large egg

Optional, for top of bread:
1 egg, lightly beaten, or 1 tablespoon melted butter
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt or a few dill seeds

Combine yeast and water in a small bowl and let stand until the yeast is dissolved, about five minutes.

Combine flour, onions, dill, sugar or honey, wheat germ and salt in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. Add the yeast along with the cottage cheese and egg. Mix by hand or on low speed until the dough comes together, addition additional flour or warm water if needed. Knead for about 10 minutes by hand or with the dough hook on low to medium speed until the dough is smooth and elastic. Transfer to an oiled bowl and turn it over once to coat with oil. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place (75 to 80 degrees) until doubled in volume, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Grease a 9×5-inch (8-cup) loaf pan. Punch Gently press the dough down, form into a loaf and place seam side down in the pan. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F. If desired, brush the top of loaf with the egg or melted butter, and then sprinkle with the additional salt or dill seeds. (I highly recommend the butter/salt combination.)

Bake until the crust is deep golden brown and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped, about 35 to 40 minutes. (My bread read just about 200°F on a thermometer when I took it out.) Remove the loaf from the pan to a rack and let cool completely.

 

Workday 3!

November 19 was our third workday of the school year. Both the sky and the forecast threatened rain, but we were determined to soldier on no matter what, and invited people to the garden rain or shine.

But nature complied, as did our volunteer list. It never rained, but was cool enough that no one got too hot or miserable. We had at least 50 people there (including an honors society from Santa Monica College which brought 20 people on its own. Thanks, guys!)

It's like they're playing "Camouflage," our favorite game!

We got huge amounts of work done. In the photo above, people are clearing our former melon and pumpkin patch of the final crops and the weeds that threatened to overrun that fertile soil. Once the weeds were gone, we planted cover crops of borrage and clover to stave of the grasses that want to take over, and replenish some of the nutrients our plants took out. The cover crops will grow there until we’re ready to plant in the space again, at which time they’ll be mixed directly into the soil and turned into compost right there on the spot.

While the adults were using the big tools, the kids were working too. They brought their little brothers and they weeded…:

pulling grasses

…they dug holes, filled in holes, and looked for bugs…

…they picked strawberries…

strawberries!

…and they planted peas.

We got an amazing amount of work done and our best turn out yet. It is so gratifying to see the pride the community — students, parents, neighbors, everyone! — takes in this garden that we love so much. At the end of the day, we were able to send families home with bags bursting with collard greens, chard, kale, mint and other herbs. All of which was grown in beds that were tended to at previous workdays.

To everyone who came: thank you so much for your help.

To everyone else: see you next time, December 10th, 9 am!

 

When Kids Make Salads

 Who says kids won’t love a healthy snack?

Quite often when we tell people what we teach our kids in cooking class their response is, “Do they even like it?” Every time, with a satisfying smile, we reply, “Yes, they do!” And our doubter is left amazed. Take our Fourth Graders for example:

We walked Ms. Lafleur’s fourth grade class to the orchard and began to harvest some of the last Granny Smith and Fuji apples of the year. The kids were literally jumping with excitement over the prospect of picking this delicious fruit.  After we collected a bowlful of apples and took it back to the table, we washed and cut the apples.  The students then learned all about fennel and chopped the bulb up as well.  They also cut up some mint and sorrel they had harvested from the garden and tossed it all with a squeeze of lemon, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Finally, we took our forks in hand, and as a class we counted “one…two…three”…and we all tasted it! At first it was quiet, as everyone chewed up their first bite.  But then, the exclamations started coming from all directions! “This is GOOD!!”  “I love it!” “I’m going to want some more!” Every single student had  something wonderful to say about the tastiness of this snack.  Then from the side I kept hearing, “Miss Cassie, Miss Cassie” and so I walked over to my friend at the table.  He stood up and looked at me with an almost desperate countenance and pleaded “Please! Can I take this recipe home and give it to my mom so that she can make it for me for my birthday?!?” At once my heart was overjoyed at this most sincere stamp of approval.

Ms. Lefaur's class enjoying the salad

 

Try it for yourself and tell us what you think!

Apple Fennel Salad

Ingredients:

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and halved

2 bulbs fennel, sliced thin

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

optional: 1/4th cup chopped sorrel

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Method:

1.  Cut the apple into thin slices and place in a medium bowl with the fennel and sorrel.

2. Whisk together the lemon juice, mint, and olive oil in a small bowl.

3. Toss the apples, fennel and sorrel with the vinaigrette and season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Enjoy!

 

Too much good stuff!

The American Honda Foundation has just awarded us another $25,000 grant to continue our efforts throughout our (ever expanding!) community. To them, we say, “thank you!” and we can’t wait to put that money to work.

On a smaller but no less exciting note, we used our bike blender again in one of our cooking classes. The kids loved the resulting smoothie (the adults, not so much). The adults (this one, at least) did love seeing an entire class rally around each other. They stood in a circle around the bike chanting each others’ names and helping out when the pushing got tough. Literally: the kids would step on the pedals to help or kneel next to the bike and push the pedals with their hands if their classmates couldn’t turn them. The whole scene was heartwarming, and the apple smoothie at the end was well deserved.

In fact, it was so exciting that a class of kindergartners even filed in silently behind their teacher to check out the scene. They took the opportunity to walk around the garden too, and take a gander at our newly planted winter crops:

We’ve got several plantings of kale, chard, collards, and broccoli and more already in and going, and several more beds ready for plants that are on the way:

These beds were planted first. Just after they went in the ground, the water in the garden was turned off due to an irrigation issue at school. Thus, the plants bolted and look crazy (those tall plants in the middle bed are lettuce!). They still taste good, though. You can see the Mexican Marigolds blooming along the fence. They make the air so fragrant!

This was our second planting. We’re hoping to get some delicious brassicas and greens out of these beds. The flowers in the corners help attract beneficial insects, which eat the aphids and other pests that eat our crops.

Here, the amended soil waits patiently under a layer of alfalfa. The mulch layer will break down and replace some nutrients our earlier tomato crop leached from the soil. It will also protect the roots of whatever we plant next, staving off too much evaporation and some pests.

 

Harvest Moon

As I type this, I can hear the gentle chords of Neil Young’s Harvest Moon playing in the background filling me up with fond memories of a night that just passed us by.  The Harvest Moon Celebration, Garden School Foundation’s annual fundraiser, was this last Saturday.

The night took on a life of its own as guests arrived for the evening festivities. We had converted The Barn Studio, GSF’s Headquarters, parking lot into a space of beauty and class. Overhead hung hundreds of twinkling lights, flowers and gourds danced between the divine hors d’oeurves from Real Food Daily and Andrew’s Cheese Shop.

Chef Gino Campagna set up his cooking station where he created a feast of polenta and sausage followed by the most decadent pumpkin raviolis! The owner of The Gourmandise School of Sweets and Savories had donated her beautiful son’s baking talents to the evening. He had made the most incredible French Macarons that simply melted in your mouth.

Music by Fur Dixon and Steve Werner filled the pathways, making the cool evening warm with western-folk energy. Her voice made everything feel brighter.

The amount of generosity and love for the organization was overwhelming as people stepped into the Barn for the Silent Auction. There was a quiet rush for Karen Haas’ handmade jewelry, a not so quiet rush for tickets to Wicked, gorgeous dresses by Rachel Pally were bid on over and over again, and Maureen Selwood’s artwork was a dream.

The Live Auction was nothing less than lively! A couple in Tuscany (aka Westwood) called in to make a bid on famed Chef Travis Lett of Gjelina, cooking a private meal for 8 people in their own home. Original artwork by Nancy Goslee Power was actively sought after as was an in-home cooking class with Amelia Saltsman.

The night would not have been possible without the support of our amazing volunteers, friends, and local community! You made the night memorable and we thank you for that.

 

Recipe: Pickled Watermelon Rind

In the garden we are regularly left with pounds of food scraps to compost.  So when we discovered pickled watermelon rind our ears perked right up at the idea of another garden snack!  What a great lesson in resourcefulness for all of us!!

Pickled Watermelon Rind

 

Upon looking, it’s easy to see that there are many variation of this pickle recipe.  This recipe below is from Whole Foods and is quite tasty!!

Makes 2 pints

For this recipe, make sure that traces of the pink fruit are gone from the watermelon rind then cut away and discard the green peel, too. What you’re left with are chunks of thick, white rind that definitely don’t deserve to be thrown away. Use this pickle as a condiment on sandwiches or serve as you would a chutney with grilled meats.

Ingredients

2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar or honey
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon whole cloves
4 small, dried chiles
4 wide strips lemon peel
1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1 1/2 pounds peeled watermelon rind, cut into (1/3-inch) chunks (about 5 cups)

Method

Put vinegar, water, sugar or honey, salt, cloves, chiles, lemon peel and ginger into a medium pot and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Add rind, reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer until rind is tender and translucent, 8 to 10 minutes.

Spoon contents of pot (with pickling liquid) into glass jars, seal tightly and chill overnight. Serve right away or store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

 

Garden Workdays are the Best

Workdays at the 24th St Garden are some of the best days. True, there are tons of extra hands, so we can get a lot of gardening work done. But more importantly, they’re a great chance for us to connect with the broader community — to meet parents and show them what we do, to bring friends and family and curious strangers in to the garden and, well, show them what we do, too. We build relationships during workdays that are invaluable to the success of our program.

We recently had such a workday.

Parents and volunteers came in to help and watch. Here, you can see students planting fava beans, one of our favorite cover crops, as the grown-ups look on.

Of course, we also pulled boatloads of weeds from the circle garden and pounds of grass from the kitchen garden. We yanked out dead sunflowers and summer crops, and whatever else was passed its prime. And then, things got exciting.

Paula White of Organic Control donated hordes of beneficial insects for the garden.

We released fleets of ladybugs onto our brassicas and strawberries (to control aphids):

                   

which we later investigate closely with magnifying glasses:

We also released worms into a bed we’re amending. They’ll help replenish and aerate the soil:

              

And we set free some snails which eat the snails that eat our plants.

Despite the addition of all these carnivorous insects into the garden (it’s for the protection of the plants! Honest!) we do strive to make our space one of community. We want people from all walks of life to feel acceptance and belonging in the garden. The workdays are a chance to demonstrate that desire, and for people to come in and feel it for themselves. And it seems to be working. This grasshopper, for example, has made herself right at home, as we hope other insects and people will continue to. That’s how we know we’re doing something right.

 

 

It tastes as good as it looks!

With our garden classes underway and our cooking classes yet to begin, we have been taste-testing our homegrown goods.  And it has been a success! If the students’ excitement for seconds is any indication of flavor, we are growing some tasty fruit!!

Getting ready to try the melon!

Here are some of our beautiful apples begging to be picked.

Our Fuji Apples

Come experience this beauty firsthand at our next workday: October 8th from 9 am until 12 pm we will be in the garden working on some garden beautification projects.  Then at 12 pm Master Gardener and fruit tree expert, Herb Machleder, will be teaching a fruit tree pruning workshop.  All are welcome, so come and join us for the fun!!