Mandie

The Great Tomato Tasting Festival!!

Posted by Mandie on July 20, 2011

Jul 202011

This Saturday at NC A&T University Farm there will be an event for tasting all kinds of tomatoes (both Heirloom and Hybrid varieties). The event includes tours of the farm’s research plots at 9am and 10am, tomato cuisine and canning information, and lots of tomato tasting!
Where: NC A&T University Farm 3136 McConnell Road in Greensboro

When: Saturday, July 23, 2011

Time: 8am-12noon (rain or shine)

Cost: $5 per person; 10yrs & under are free

To get more information go to www.guilfordextension.com and click on the basket of tomatoes or call 375-5876

The Garden needs Volunteers!

Posted by Mandie on July 6, 2011

Jul 062011

This upcoming Saturday July 9 we are in need of some extra volunteers. If you are in town this weekend consider spending your Saturday morning with us at the garden. We start working at 8am but if that is too early for you please join us later, even an hour of your time spent with us is helpful. We continue to have both Saturday workdays starting at 8am and Wednesday workdays from 4:30pm-6:00pm. We hope to see you out there to enjoy in growing our garden.

There have also been some changes in the upcoming garden schedule. The Youth and Family workdays have been changed to different days so that more people are able to participate. The new Youth workday will be Saturday July 16 and the second Youth workday / Family workday will be Saturday August 6.

The servant center is still in need for “kid-friendly” foods that are safe to prepare when their parents are not home this summer. Things like microwave pasta dishes, peanut butter, and pop-tarts are ideal.

Garden News

Posted by Mandie on June 30, 2011

Jun 302011

The Garden is in full swing this summer with green beans, squash, and bell peppers thriving. We have started Wednesday workdays to keep up with the growing produce, weeding, and watering from 4:30 pm-6:30 pm. Feel free to visit us for however long you can during this time. Any helping hands are greatly needed and appreciated! We also continue to have our Saturday workdays starting at 8:00am but again feel free to join us for any period of time to join in the gardening. Next Saturday July 9 is the Youth Garden workday. We encourage all the youth and their families to join us in working in the garden that Saturday. Thank you to everyone who has devoted time in the garden this summer already and to those who have brought bags or produce from their own gardens. We look forward to seeing everyone at the garden soon!

Garden Recipes

Posted by Mandie on June 30, 2011

Jun 302011

What are your favorite recipes to use fresh seasonal veggies with? I love using fresh summer veggies from our garden and from the piedmont triad farmers market in my meals! Here is a recipe I like to use for red bell peppers. Email me some recipes you like to use with your fresh garden produce and I will post them here for everyone to share.

Black Bean and Mango Salad:

Ingredients:

1 15.8 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups mango, diced
1 cup sweet red bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 seeded Jalapeno pepper, minced or hot sauce to taste

Combine all ingredients, including beans in bowl. Toss and serve.

Upcoming Garden Events!

Posted by Mandie on June 14, 2011

Jun 142011

Tomorrow, Wednesday June 15, the TWF program will have some info and tips on nutrition and healthy eating. There will also be a short skit and activity. Workdays will continue through the summer in the garden on Saturdays now starting at 8:00am to try and beat the heat. Wednesday afternoon workdays will start next Wednesday June 22 from 4:30-6:00pm. Feel free to come for just a portion of either the Wednesday or Saturday workdays. We know everyone is busy but even 30 minutes of time helps to grow our garden further. In July we have some exciting events planned in the garden! Saturday July 9 will be a special garden workday for the youth and Saturday July 30 will be a special workday for families with younger children. Of course everyone is welcome to attend these workdays as well but we hope they will be special days for the youth and families to come together to work the garden. Keep an eye out for sign up sheets at church to volunteer in the garden on these workdays. We need at least 4-5 volunteers on Saturday workdays and 2 on Wednesday workdays. We are encouraging commitment earlier in the week so we can have more productive workdays in the garden. So look at your calendar and make a point to pencil the garden ministry in at least once this summer.

Community Garden Tour

Posted by Mandie on June 1, 2011

Jun 012011

Tomorrow, June 2, is the Guilford County Cooperative Extension Community Garden Tour that our Garden Ministry will be included in. The tour includes more than 20 gardens in the Triad area and is split into two groups according to region. The tour is from 5pm-8pm. We are excited to be included in the tour to share our garden with the community and learn about other gardens. You can find more information and a driving guide at the Cooperative Extension website: http://guilford.ces.ncsu.edu/index.php?page=lawngarden .