The Lewis Ginter Community Kitchen Garden is now shut down for the winter. Volunteers in the garden produced 9,913 pounds of high quality produce for FeedMore’s Community Kitchen.

Weight distribution by type:

Tomatoes – 5,594.5 lbs.

Zucchini/ yellow squash – 3,035.5 lbs.

Cauliflower – 460 lbs.

Cabbage – 235 lbs.

Broccoli – 220 lbs.

Green Peppers – 18 lbs.

While falling just shy of the 10,000 pound goal, the 2011 yield represents an 8 percent increase over 2010 production. This excellent yield was made possible by the hundreds of hours of sweat equity volunteers invested in the garden throughout 2011.

The oldest red cabbage leaves produced a kaleidoscope of color.

The red cabbages were a bit of a disappointment by not fully maturing even after 100 days in the field. It’s probably due to getting them planted too late in September.

It’s a bloomin’ cabbage! After the primary heads were harvested, we left the cabbage plants in the field and the plants produced these wonderful clusters of rosettes.

While not heavy or dense, the rosettes were tender and fresh.

We’re still truckin’ along in the Lewis Ginter Community Kitchen Garden. Although it’s now nearly a week into November, the broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower are not quite ready to harvest en masse. We harvested 26 pounds of beautiful broccoli and cabbage on October 31st, but only the few that were fully ready. The recent spate of relatively cold nights is retarding growth, but these vegetables should mature in the next couple of weeks as the weather warms a little. Today our nice group of volunteers focused on liquid feeding the crops with fish emulsion, dividing and transplanting some kale, and garden clean up. The volunteer crew included three generations of the Hooks family.

The mature zucchini plants showed nominal signs of frost burn, but it was clear the row cover fabric wouldn't suffice for any more sub-freezing nights.

We ended our “fall zucchini trial”, as the sub-freezing nights had burned most of the plants. The experiment was based on expecting the row cover fabric to add ten degrees to the zucchini bed air temperature, but the fabric wasn’t enough. I bet clear sheet plastic would have made the difference. We would be at the flowering stage by now, with daytime temps still warm enough for the bees to do their work.

The more immature zucchini plants, showing the effects of frost burn.

Lisa Wooten (left) and Jeannie Arnold (right) and the Hooks family dividing and transplanting kale.

CKG volunteers November 5, 2011 - left to right: Jeannie Arnold, Lisa Wooten, April Hooks, Joshua Hooks, Linda Wakeman, Josephine Hooks, Masen Hooks

Left to right: Josh, April (mom) and Masen on a balmy day in the garden three weeks ago.

The last Saturday in October, a group of seven Dominion associates worked at Lewis Ginter’s Community Kitchen Garden. What started out as a shiver-inducing brisk morning quickly turned into t-shirt weather as the team cleared a large area to prep for the winter cover crop. The team also continued our “manual intervention” pest management system by hand-inspecting the fall crop for cabbage worms. Happily for everyone, no worms were found.

The Dominion Power team with independent volunteer Laura Schumm (center). Laura has been volunteering in the CKG since September 10.

The team worked at a blistering pace to clear weeds from part of the garden, in preparation for a winter cover crop of annual ryegrass and red clover.

The group included Christine, Dawn, Iva, Pam, Kevin, David & Rob (names are not in the order shown in the photo).

That’s folksy talk referring to the fall vegetable garden. At Lewis Ginter’s Community Kitchen Garden we have all the old tomato plants cleared, the stakes & cages stacked, a winter cover crop of annual rye and red clover sown, and we’re just a couple of weeks away from beginning our Fall harvest for the Community Kitchen.

The stakes are stacked for the winter. No small task, made possible by the willing & able hands of volunteers.

We have some good-looking broccoli in progress - a total of 190 plants.

We have three types of cabbages: conventional Jersey, Early Gonzales (a "mini" cabbage) and a red cabbage. A total of 150 cabbages.

It was a gorgeous morning at Lewis Ginter’s Community Kitchen Garden. We took a day off from pampering the cole crops, and applied our energy to the incremental removal of some of the hundreds of tomato plants. The process of preparing the garden for the winter cover crop is well under way.

We had our third fun visit from a really nice group of Northstar Academy students, who whole-heartedly pitched in to help remove tomato vines. I’d like to picture them here, but since the students are minors it’s a complicated and lengthy process to obtain photo releases from so many parents.

We also were fortunate to have help again from Laura Schumm, an artist and horticulture student who has been a regular volunteer for several weeks, and three Dominion employees: Christa Vidonic, George Slayton and Kevin Barry. All three are Business Performance Analysts with Dominion Power.

Kevin, Christa and George take a break from pulling tomato stakes & vines. I don't know what it is about hard labor that makes the CKG volunteers laugh so much. I hope it's not simply the sight of the photographer wearing shorts.

Kevin, Laura, Christa and George with a mountain of old tomato vines. Sort of an "American Gothic" pose - but a whole lot more cheerful!

In what seems like one of the most unpredictable turn of events in the food movement, DC public schools are leading the way in kicking sugary milk and cereals off of their menu. While it seems like a no-brainer for health reasons, it is a bold move.  I have a huge amount of respect for DC schools and their Healthy Schools Act, passed by the council earlier this year and funded in the 2011 budget.  For many of DC’s inner city children, the free (or reduced cost) meals they get at school are the best (and sometimes) only nutrition they get — so it’s important.  According to the Healthy Schools Act, DC has the highest rate of adolescent obesity in the nation and  in some neighborhoods, half of the children are overweight or obese.

With obesity, diabetes, and other health issues on the rise it seems like DC may be just the first of many school systems who will eventually do the same.    For kids, having to choose sugary milk or that is the best nutritional choice is too big a decision with too much freedom.  As parents we would be considered irresponsible if we let our children watch whatever TV shows and movies they want without regards to the content. Why would we do the same with food?

One of the best things about DC Public Schools Healthy Schools Act is that it is clearly spelled out that this program will establish a school gardens program and competitive grants in order to both educate kids and make eating vegetables more appealing.  My elementary-school-aged kids, who are pesca-vegatarian (ie we are vegetarian but we eat fish), and who don’t eat HFCS, food coloring or artificial sweeteners, LOVE vegetables. But I would never serve them processed, canned, trucked-in, or unripe fruits and vegetables that are often served in the school cafeteria. To be honest, I wouldn’t want to eat them either. I know first-hand — in order to get kids to like veggies, you have to give them the best: fresh, local, in-season, organic produce.  And, you have to give them choices. One of my children likes spinach, peppers & cucumbers, and berries — the other doesn’t, but she loves carrots & peas –which the first one won’t eat.  They both pretty much love any other vegetable they come across as long as they know it is fresh and grown locally, without pesticides.

Plus, nutritionally the canned green beans they serve at schools pale in comparison to the just picked fresh raw green beans that my kids are eating in their lunch.  How silly is it that in our culture,  my children are teased because they think peas or spinach are yummy! How strange that my child’s teacher asks if he has a medical problem becuase I won’t let him eat petroleum-based food dyes typically found in many children’s foods — like strawberry milk or Froot Loops.

Blogger, and former Post Reporter, Ed Bruske, who scooped local media to make the announcement, has lots of other great commentary on his blog. If you care about these issues, take the time to read it, you’ll be glad you did.

Here at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, we know how important it is to have good nutrition — with plenty of locally grown vegetables  — even if you can’t find the time to garden or shop at the local farmer’s market.   That is why we started the Community Kitchen Garden with the help of the Community Foundation. Our goal (and we nearly met it last year) is to grow 10,000 lbs of fresh local vegetables for the areas neediest families — those that depend on the Central Virginia FoodBank, Meals on Wheels and partnering daycare organizations that provide food to low income citizens and families.  And so far, it seems to be working.

Back in DC,  The Washington Post‘s Mike DeBonis points out that much of the hard work for DCPS is yet to come:

It’s one thing to take away patently unhealthy choices from schoolkids; it’s another to add new, healthy choices.

And, he’s got a point. But if you ask me, getting the freshest local food and training the staff not to overcook it — but to let its fresh flavor stand on its own is half the battle.

And,this move, coupled with Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign and her school garden initiative along with the White House Garden gives me hope.

Meanwhile, here in Richmond, not only are we incredibly lucky to have the great partnering organizations  in the Community Kitchen Garden project but also we have urban garden advocate Tricycle Gardens. Together with passionate parents at local elementary schools, and organizations like Farms to Schools, there is no where to go but up in our children’s nutrition.  And when I hear whispers at my children’s elementary school that the parents are going to rally, and get a garden planted and get a grant for a salad bar to be built to serve the fresh local veggies that the kids will grow themselves. I don’t doubt for a second that they’ll do it — because times are changing.

Image credit: http://betterdcschoolfood.blogspot.com/2010/06/dc-schools-to-discontinue-flavored-milk.html

Photo courtesy of Ed Bruske

Well, the pools are closed for the year and the kids are back in school; I guess that means that summer is officially over!

But nobody informed the vegetable garden – we continue to harvest vegetables every week! However, as the weather begins to cool down, we have noticed that some of the plants are not producing as many vegetables as they used to. The zucchini and summer squash faded out a couple of weeks ago, and so we have ripped out all of those plants. We planted a second crop of squash about four weeks ago using a variety known for early prolific growth; they produced flowers after a couple of weeks and this weekend we harvested the first crop of veggies off them.

We have also planted some fall crops in place of the zucchini. Last week we put in several rows of broccoli, cabbages and cauliflower, and yesterday we put in the last few plants. After planting we added a good dose of liquid fertilizer to give them a boost. The plant varieties have been selected for early maturation, so hopefully in about 60-90 days we will be pulling out more veggies for delivery to the FeedMore foodbank!

The tomato plants seem to be struggling right now. Many have started to die down and fruit production had definitely slowed. We still have a good number of green tomatoes on the plants, but they are much smaller in size. Another problem is they are cracking before they fully ripen, or they are being eaten by some kind of bugs. To see if we could prolong the tomato production, last week Tom Brinda, Assistant Executive Director of Horticulture at Lewis Ginter, chopped off the tops of some of the tomato plants. Some types of tomatoes are ‘indeterminate’, others are ‘determinate’ – chopping the tops off indeterminates should force the plant to stop growing taller, and put more energy into the fruit production. This practice is often done in outlying areas and in the mountains, especially where you get early first frosts that threaten to kill off the plants. We thought we would try it out to see if we could get one last big bounty before the season is over!

This week we also harvested some more eggplants and bell peppers. We don’t expect these plants to last much longer either, but they have been good while they lasted!

We will continue to work in the garden on Saturday and Monday mornings through September but starting in October we will switch to Saturdays only. Volunteers are still welcome to join us whenever you can – we would love to see you!

I have been working in the vegetable garden at Lewis Ginter for several months now; planting the vegetables, weeding and mulching, and harvesting along with many other volunteers. So I am pleased to bring you this ‘special report’ and show you more about what happens to the vegetables once they leave the garden. The work at Lewis Ginter is just one small part in this ‘Food Chain’.

As I have mentioned previously, the volunteers at Lewis Ginter have spent many weeks tending the plants, and then harvesting:

Volunteers harvest summer squash

When the vegetables are picked we sort them, and get them ready for delivery to FeedMore, the umbrella organization for Central Virginia Foodbank, Community Kitchen, and Meals on Wheels. A member of the Lewis Ginter staff delivers the veggies once or twice a week depending on the amount of the harvest.

Sorted vegetables

A truck load of goodies!

Once the veggies get to the foodbank then Rob Hamlin, Executive Chef steps in and manages the production of meals for Meals on Wheels, Kids Café, and other programs. I visited Rob last week at the kitchen, and got to see many more volunteers in action there. Rob has a small paid staff of 8-10 people; volunteers undertake the rest of the work. Everyday, between 10-18 people chop vegetables and cook and then another 10-18 come in and package the food, enough to make up to 4,000 meals EVERY DAY. As many as 400-600 volunteers a month donate their time to make all this food.

Rob Hamlin, Executive Chef

All the recipes are made from scratch with no convenience products used. This week Rob has been using donated cucumbers for a salad, and next week ratatouille is on the menu using the eggplant and squash.

Cucumber salad

The donated vegetables have been a huge help this summer: the Foodbank relies on donations from corporate sponsors and private donors and as with many charities they have struggled with the downturn in the economy and have seen a dip in donations. The vegetables help fill that gap, and Rob has relied heavily on the squash and other veggies that the garden has provided. So far over 3,018 pounds of vegetables have been used, the majority being summer squash and zucchini – if squash is an average price of $1.99 pound at the store, then that would’ve cost over $6,000 so far! Our donations have saved the Foodbank at least $6,000. I think that’s amazing!

All this work takes a huge amount of coordination and planning, but what surprised me even more was that Rob and his team makes special meals to order. Most of the recipients of the Meals on Wheels program are elderly and many have certain dietary restrictions, so different versions of the menu are made – some bland, some suitable for diabetics, etc. These meals are all packaged, and then labeled with the recipient’s name and dietary needs.

Volunteers package the food

Prepared meal packaged and ready to go!

On Tuesday I went out with my niece and delivered meals for the Meals on Wheels program. I was a little nervous and didn’t know what to expect, as I had never done this before. However, I needn’t have worried, as it was super simple. I checked in at the Meals on Wheels office at 10:30am along with about 20 other volunteer drivers that day, and was given my assigned route. The meals are already labeled with the recipient’s name and details and assembled in coolers. I was given excellent driving directions on the instruction sheet, and off we went. It was fun doing this with my niece and we turned it into a sort of treasure hunt, following the directions to the houses, and then giving the recipients their ‘treasure’. All of the people we met were very nice, and thanked us for bringing them their meals. Also, it happened to be my niece’s birthday on Tuesday, and I love that she wanted to help me out and do this on her birthday. I think it sets an example that we could all follow – doing something for others, especially on a day that is usually all about the birthday girl!

My niece getting ready to deliver some meals!

I thoroughly enjoy doing my bit in the garden every week, but I have also enjoyed this special assignment this week as I got to see for myself how the vegetables are being put to good useand how they are just one part a large chain of helping others. There are so many people that participate in some form of community service, and without that involvement many of these programs could not survive. So, I give a big shout out to all the volunteers out there – Thank You And Keep Up the Good Work!!

home demo garden

demo garden

Some of the necessary chores this week included weeding (of course!) and removing the flowerheads from some of the herbs. Apparently, herbs shouldn’t really be allowed to flower as it makes them taste bitter. Regular harvesting of herbs keeps the flowers at bay, and the plant should continue to grow all season. We removed all the flowers from the basil:

Basil - with flowers

Basil - without flowers

Tomato Before thinning

Tomato after thinning

We also planted more zucchini seeds, in the same manner that we planted the squash seeds last month – by making rows of small hills of compost, cover with soil, then roll over the black plastic barrier, cut X holes in the plastic and put in about 4-6 seeds. These seeds should germinate in about 10-15 days.  We are also starting to see some veggies growing – an eggplant, green pepper and tomatoes. There’s not too many of them right now, but hopefully soon we will have enough to harvest and then we can take it down to the Central Virgina Foodbank where it will be put to good use.

The beginnings of an eggplant!

Last week I also mentioned the mystery bug that is attacking some of the eggplants. One reader helpfully suggested that it might be a flea beetle, but I’m not sure (although I am definitely no expert). I managed to get a photo so hopefully someone out there can confirm what it is!

Mystery bugs

I would like to thank all the volunteers this week for their hard work, and again invite anyone to come by and help out. We work in the garden on Saturday and Monday 9am-12pm; it’s great fun and we would love to see you!