For two days this week we had a reminder of the sun and warmth that is hopefully just around the corner! Blowing fog was back today, but I'm looking forward to a sunny September and I'm sure the plants are too! Is your garden ready to capitalize on the soon-to-be "summer" in SF? We're planting quick growing leafy greens like spinach, kale, lettuce and mustard greens; putting in more of the always in demand peas, cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage; and direct sowing carrots and radishes. Late September and October are a good time for arugula seeds. Looking ahead, October is prime garlic planting season, while November is good for strawberry plants. And right now we are loving the explosion of dahlias in the garden!
August projects in the gardens:
We worked with 10 folks from Salesforce last Tuesday who helped weed and mulch all of the MacArthur neighborhood garden, as well as waterproofing the picnic tables, planting beets and spinach, and doing some small construction projects. Thanks!Three groups of YMCA summer campers visited the Ft. Scott garden where we taught them about seeds, seedlings, worms, and let them taste test herbs and garden veggies.
Weekly produce deliveries continue to the intern housing and to the Presidio Foods family of restaurants. We've grown and delivered over 1000 pounds of food so far to interns, volunteers, and Presidio visitors!
Finally, work has continued building new raised herb and flower beds at the Ft. Scott Garden. More improvements there are coming soon- it's been an exciting year so far! Come visit and see what's growing :)
Calendar:
The next garden resource day will be at the Ft. Scott Community Garden on Saturday, September 8 from 10am-1pm. We'll have compost and seedlings available to give away. If you have pots or buckets from previous months, please return them to the garden so we can reuse them. Seedlings available will likely be: kale, cauliflower, broccoli, and lettuce. Thanks!
Fall plot checks are happening in October- Monday 10/15 for Baker Beach and South Baker Beach and Tuesday 10/16 for the rest of the neighborhood gardens. If you have questions or something is preventing you from tending your plot, a quick note before then is appreciated.
During the September resource day, Emily will be teaching short workshops about fermentation. Read below to learn more and RSVP here (workshops will be identical):
10am workshop, September 8
Noon workshop, September 8
Fermentation is
the intentional use of microbial transformations to stabilize food products.
Understanding that environmental conditional affect how food changes over time,
the process of fermentation seeks to encourage the growth of certain organisms while
simultaneously discouraging the growth of others. When it comes to vegetables,
there are several results produced by fermentation. As mentioned above, the main
and original purpose of fermentation was to preserve the food product. By
creating an acidic environment around a food product, the growth of lactic acid
bacteria is encouraged and the growth of pathogens are discouraged. Another
result of fermentation is helping to make some nutrients more available and
also generating some additional nutrients. Through the accumulation of
microbial bodies there tend to be elevated levels of B-vitamins and the
metabolic byproducts of the microbial digestive processes include certain micro-nutrients.
If
you’ve looked around the gardens recently, you might’ve noticed that there are
a lot of cabbages growing beautifully (as summer is coming to a close and
you’re trying to think of what to plant next, cabbage is a solid option). When
I see cabbage, I immediately think sauerkraut. Lacto-fermentation has been used
for centuries to preserve seasonal vegetables. Sauerkraut is made by this
process! There are beneficial bacteria present on the surface of the cabbage
and when submerged in a brine, the bacteria begin to convert sugars in the
cabbage into lactic acid; this is a natural preservative that inhibits the
growth of harmful bacteria. This fermentation process not only preserves the
cabbage but also transforms it into a crunchy, delightfully sour condiment,
sandwich topping, or perfect addition to savory soups and stews.
At the most basic, all you need is cabbage, salt, and some sort of container to store it while it's fermenting. If you’re interested in learning how to make sauerkraut and getting some new recipe ideas come join me in a sauerkraut making workshop during the next garden resource day. It won’t be long until you’re enjoying your own homemade sauerkraut full of beneficial bacteria and maybe even your own garden-grown cabbage!
