Sunshine Weekly Weeder Newsletter
24 August 2017
www.sunshinecommunitygardens.org
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All Gardeners Meeting - Mark your calendar!
Saturday 9/16, 10:00 am
In front of the trailer porch
Feel free to bring food.
There will an update on the ACGA Conference, a financial update and more...
If you have any agenda items email Nick Sweeney at nick.sweeney@hotmail.com
Micah 6 Food Pantry
Being that August and September are low veggie production months, the poundage going to the Micah food pantry has hit a temporary slump. If anyone would like to pick up an extra bag of fruit when grocery shopping and donate it, it will be greatly appreciated. Please leave in fridge in trailer before 9:00 am on Saturdays and mark it "Micah".
How my Plot went from Flop to Flourish
I think many of us have experienced what happens when you don't pay enough attention to your plot. This article has some good advice.
Sweet Potato Greens by Suzanne Bradford
Did you know that you can eat sweet potato greens? Just like beets, sweet potatoes offer two crops for the water and effort of one! For those of us looking for a good and healthy leafy green vegetable that will withstand our Central Texas summer heat and insects, sweet potato greens are the perfect solution.
The leafy greens from this glorious tuber have a texture similar to spinach, which is ideal for those of us who find that Malabar or New Zealand spinach are a bit too gelatinous or chewy. Sweet potato greens are high in vitamin K and vitamin A, and have three times more vitamin B6, five times more vitamin C, and 10 times more riboflavin than the actual sweet potato. This makes sweet potato greens nutritionally similar to spinach, but with less oxalic acid than spinach and chard, making them less sharp in their taste. The greens are difficult to describe in flavor, except to say they are very mild. They tend to take on the flavor of whatever they are cooked in.
Similar to spinach, sweet potato greens can be cooked in a variety of ways, including sauteed, braised, added to soups, put in smoothies, cooked in scrambled eggs and omelets, cooked in rice, or cooked in a quiche or fritatta.
For a good way to start the day, try this breakfast recipe:
Breakfast Hash (Serves Two)
In a large skillet, heat a few tablespoons of avocado oil (or whatever your favorite cooking oil is). Add 1.5 cups of asparagus cut into 2-inch pieces and cook for about five minutes. Add a couple of handfuls of cleaned and torn sweet potato leaves and toss to coat with oil. After the leaves are well coated, add a protein such as slices of Adelle's Chicken Apple sausage (or any leftover cooked meat such as pulled pork or pulled chicken). Stir together and cook for just a few minutes.
Push the asparagus, greens, and meat to one side of the skillet and add a few more drops of cooking oil to the empty side of the pan if needed. Crack and add two eggs; after the whites have set, flip the eggs. Turn off the skillet and let it sit so the eggs can finish cooking.
Spoon the asparagus mixture onto two plates, sliding a fried egg onto each serving. Serve with a side of sliced avocado or guacamole.
This recipe can be adapted to use whatever veggies and meats you may have on hand...mushrooms, peppers, eggplant, onions, garlic, etc. You can even chop and cook the sweet potato stems, but keep in mind they need a bit longer of a cooking time than the leaves.
Enjoy!!
Austin Organic Gardeners Club Meeting
Monday 9/14, doors open 6:30, meeting starts at 7:00
The speaker will be George Altgelt, founder and president of Geo Growers, will discuss Good Soil Nutrition and how healthy soil can prevent common plant problems. Reusing is even better than Recycling
Video on Proper Lifting for gardeners
ACGA Conference Experience by Nicole Fisher
This was also my second year to be able to attend ACGA's conference. I unfortunately, have class the day of the next All Gardener's Meeting, so I wanted to share my experience here and let everyone know how much I gained and how much I appreciate being able to go! Thank you!!
Because the conference was in Harford this year I asked TSBVI if they would pay for me to take a side trip to Boston to see Perkins School for the Blind. Perkins is considered another one of the other best schools for people with visual impairments in the world (yes, that is right TSBVI is one of the best as well) and they have a horticulture therapy program that I was interested in learning more about.
If you have heard of Perkins before it is likely because Hellen Keller was educated there. Hellen learned Geography with this globe.
The horticulture therapy program was amazing. Most of the work they do in HT is inside due to the cold Boston winters. Seeing this made me even more grateful to SCG for our accessible pathways and all the amazing structures you guys have built for us.
At the conference, I decided to present about accessible gardening at the conference my session was called School and Community Gardens: Access for All. I used our school garden and the other accessible areas of Sunshine as examples of some options. I talked about making accessible pathways, some accessible bed options, as well as other considerations. I left them all with resources as well, so they could have specific plans on building beds and more.
While the conference is always very informative my favorite part is the garden tours. I decided to go on a tour of programs in New Haven, Connecticut. It is always fascinating to me how many groups are doing similar things as well as how many more places we could learn from.
New Haven Farms neighborhood farms is a non-profit, which has a program that provides CSA shares to people who have had them prescribed by a clinic for a diet related disease. These members of the neighborhood also get classes, which include nutrition education and healthy cooking. We also went to a program that reminded me of Urban Roots, and to an amazing outdoor high school called Common Ground, more on that next week.
The horticulture therapy program was amazing. Most of the work they do in HT is inside due to the cold Boston winters. Seeing this made me even more grateful to SCG for our accessible pathways and all the amazing structures you guys have built for us.
Overall, the experience of going to Perkins School for the Blind and the conference was amazing.
Again, thank you SCG, for allowing me to go!
Weeder Content
Should you have any content to add to the Weeder, email your article or suggestion to pporter_scg@austin.rr.com. On normal weeks content should be received by end of day Wednesday.
Officer and Zone Coordinator Contacts - Sunshine Gardens
Officers
- President - Nick Sweeney nick.sweeney@hotmail.com
- Vice President - Marilyn Landberg marilynlandberg@utexas.edu
- Secretary - Polly Porter pporter_scg@austin.rr.com
- Treasurer - Caroline Limaye scgtreasurer1@gmail.com
- Director - Bill Cason wccason@gmail.com
- Director - Lori Dobbin loridobbin@gmail.com
- Director - Randy Thompson jartdaht@gmail.com
Email the board.
Zone Coordinators
- Zone 1, Martin Morales marmoral512@gmail.com
- Zone 2, Katy Davis katydavis@austin.rr.com
- Zone 3, Ludmila Voskov lvoskov@austin.rr.com
- Zone 4, Ila Falvey ila.falvey@gmail.com
- Zone 5, Mary Gifford mgifford@austin.rr.com
- Zone 6, Charlotte Jernigan charlotte@cybermesa.com
- Zone 7, Maria and Philip Wiley m.stroeva@gmail.com, philip9wiley@gmail.com
- Zone 8, Shannon Posern sposern@hotmail.com
- Zone 9, Kerry Howell casonhowell@gmail.com
- Zone 10, Christopher Schroder
christopher.s.schroder@gmail.com &
Karl Arcuri karl.w.arcuri@gmail.com
Other Personnel
- Weekly Weeder Newsletter - Polly Porter pporter_scg@austin.rr.com
- Plant Sale - Randy Thompson & Janet Adams jartdaht@gmailcom
- TSBVI Liaison & Volunteer Coordinator - Janet Adams jartdaht@gmailcom
- Plot Assignment - Kay McMurry scg.plots@gmail.com
- Compost Coordinator - Janet Adams jartdaht@gmail.com
- Education Committee - Shannon Posern shannonposern@gmail.com
- Carpentry & Repairs - Robert Jarry r.jarry@sbcglobal.net
- Water Leak Repairs - Steve Schulz sschulz784@aol.com
- Tools & Wheelbarrows - Bob Easter beaster1@austin.rr.com
- Kitchen Supplies - Anita Keese
anodekraft1@msn.com
(If supplies are needed for events, contact by email or at 512-773-2178) - Compost Tea - Jennifer Woertz jen@enjeneer.com
- Micah 6 - Dana Kuykendall kuykendall@austin.rr.com
- Micah 6 - Mary Gifford mgifford@austin.rr.com
- Website Coordinator - Sharon Rempert scgardenweb@gmail.com
- Spanish language contact - Andriana Prioleau gabp8dec65@hotmail.com
Record Service Hours Online - Green Binder
