Sunday, June 30, 2013

Saturday Workday: CACG's Largest Beet (unofficially)

We spent a couple of early (hot) hours at the garden on Saturday cleaning out some of the garden beds on the shady eastern side.

David was there as well, and unearthed what he called the largest beet he has seen at the Center Avenue Garden.

Since he has been here since the garden's inception, I'll take his word for it!

The garden is looking great right now as the summer crops continue to grow.

Karen gave Colin and Brenna a ride to the job site.

David dug up this beet, the garden's largest ever!
Turns out it was a candy cane beet!  Thanks for the find, David!



Thursday, June 27, 2013

The Garden Spiral: Changing with the Seasons

Jennifer and Mike built this garden spiral last summer, and we've watched it produce plenty of vegetables and herbs in less than a year.

The spiral was built in the Summer of 2012.

In the Fall, Carlos, Jenn, Mike and other help plant a cover crop of red leaf lettuce and onions.

And the spiral supplied an abundance of food.  

This spring, Jenn began preparing the bed with fresh compost after the lettuce had gone to seed, as well as planting new herbs.

Brenna and Karen chipped in with some eggplant that was donated by the Orinda Farms.

And now it's early Summer 2013, and we have a fresh variety of budding zucchini, eggplant and basil, among others.






Monday, June 24, 2013

Update on the Corn Doug Planted

Doug started this corn at his house, and planted in the Prosperity bed on April 13th.

The corn's progress on June 24th - thanks Doug!


Sunday, June 23, 2013

Karen's Zucchini Boats

There are some amazing zucchini growing at the Center Avenue Community Garden right now, and if you happen to harvest a few, you should give Karen's zucchini boat recipe a try.  It's one of my all-time favorite side dishes!

Here are a couple of pics, plus the recipe. Enjoy!



Karen's Zucchini Boat recipe (serves 6), from the Food Network:

4 large, firm zucchini with skin
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup of ground almonds
1/2 cup of heavy cream
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup of parmesan cheese
1/4 cup of fine dry bread crumbs

Trim and discard zucchini ends.  Working with the 3 widest, cut across width into 2 inch lengths.  Scoop out inner meat and seeds of each 2-inch piece, leaving a thin base at bottom so "boat" stands for stuffing. Place scooped-out centers into a food processor.

Roughly chop remaining zucchini. Add to food processor and puree until well chopped.

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil.  Blanch zucchini boats just until they begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Immediately refresh in a bowl of iced water.  Drain and arrange, flatside down, in a large jelly roll pan or roasting pan.

Preheat oven to 375-degrees.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add reserved chopped zucchini and saute until liquid is evaporated, about 15 minutes.  Stir in nuts, cook for one minute, then add cream, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a boil. Cook until cream thickens, about 3 minutes.  Add 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese and all bread crumbs.  Remove from heat and stir until smooth.

Using a tablespoon or pastry bag fitted with a plain tip, stuff zucchini boats with cream mixture.  Pour boiling water into pan containing filled zucchini boats until it rises about 1/4-inch, to form a water bath.  Bake 15 minutes.

Heat broiler. Sprinkle remaining parmesan cheese over tops and place under broiler until slightly golden, about one minute. Serve immediately.

Kid Mover


Sunday, June 16, 2013

Workday at the CACG: The Garden's Largest Zucchini (unofficially)



The zucchini are really taking off!  This guy was the biggest I have ever seen.



Abundance of sunflowers

I was clearing out of of the garden beds, and I unearthed this large carrot, who hadn't seen the light of day for months.

The tomato patch.

Sweet peas.

David and Terry putting the finishing touches on the Hugelkultur bed.

The cherry tomatoes are starting to appear.

David and the kids having fun on the logs.

Colin watering the corn, beans, squash, and pumpkins.

Big Dragonfly.

Karen thinning out some of the tomato plants.

Brenna relaxing in the shade.

David is hard at work, getting the irrigation lines in place for the corn, beans, and squash.

Bob's sugar cane is starting to take off.

Thanks to David for the local honey and rosemary, and his friend 'Little Bit' for the tasty eggs.  We harvested the sunflowers, zucchini, and romaine lettuce.























Thursday, June 13, 2013

Backyard River and Bridge

Crossing the bridge.

Mining for gold in pajamas.


Early Morning at the Garden

The tomato patch is looking good!

A sunflower stands out near the front entrance.

An herb spiral, with more sunflowers in the background.


Monday, June 10, 2013

Community Garden Crop Swap Coming Soon

Jennifer hosted a very successful Burlap Sack Giveaway at the garden last Saturday, and she's planning to organize a regular Crop Swap each month as well. Here are some more of the details! The first swap will be Thursday, June 27th.




Center Avenue Community Garden Crop Swap
333 Center Avenue in Martinez
Fourth Thursday of ever month
Swapping starts PROMPTLY at 6:30 p.m. - Plan to arrive by 6:15 p.m.
***Bring Your Own Bag

Bring your extra garden produce to swap with fellow gardeners.  Meet your neighbors and share gardening wisdom. No money changes hands - only produce. 
Too many zucchinis or lemons?  Bring them to the crop swap!

Monday, June 3, 2013

Burlap Sack Giveaway at the Garden this Saturday, June 8th

The Center Avenue Garden is hosting our 2nd Great Burlap Bag Giveaway at  333 Center Ave., Pacheco, CA  94553.  We hope you can join us to enjoy the garden, say hello, and take a few burlap sacks for creative projects in your own garden.

Here's a site for fun uses of burlap sacks: http://www.homegrownfun.com/how-to-use-burlap-sacks-in-garden/