Compost miracle!

It was a gorgeous day yesterday in Williamstown- breezy and almost fall-like as we transplanted and seeded fall crops- some familiar from the spring (chard, kale, pac choi, carrots, and beets) and others new (endive and raddichio). Then while stirring up the compost with all the newly added, hacked up cauliflower stalks and bolted greens we discovered to our astonishment that there were cucumber vines and tomato plants growing inside the original compost bin we had built back in March! The chicken wire served as a perfect trellis for the cukes and they have tons of flowers as do the tomatoes! We were thrilled at this wonderful display of coming full circle in the sustainable food cycle and how “waste” can actually become food.

Tomatoes and cucumbers in our first compost bin

Newly transplanted pac choi and kale (and carrots from seed)

Williams Sustainable Growers: Friday Night Dinners

Fridays at 5:30 Williams students head down to the garden to transplant, weed, water, and harvest for our weekly dinner in Gladden kitchen.  Anyone is welcome to join and we encourage you to come and bring friends!  So far there have been four dinners, and the New England Climate Summer bike crew joined us for the third week (check out their blog: http://climatesummer.wordpress.com/).  The final and most rewarding part of any garden will eventually lead to the consumption of the delicious and nutritious food grown there.  These weekly dinners are meant to bring people together who enjoy the entire process of eating, which starts with the soil and ends with the compost. 

The menus of each week's dinner are spontaneous and center around what is available that week in the garden.  People bring staples such as pasta and rice, but we try to make the dishes around what is ready for harvesting.  Here are the menus that we have made so far.  At the end of each dinner everyone is full and happy, and always blown away by all that we can create with a few simple vegetables from the garden.

Week 1 (6/25) :

kale chips

bok choy, served with hoison sauce on white rice

swiss chard and raisin stir fry

basil and garlic scape pesto, served on pasta

collard greens

fresh currants on vanilla ice cream

rhubarb crisp

Week 2 (7/2):

kale chips

swiss chard and kale stir fry

home made tortillas (thanks to Hilary)

re-fried beans

tacos made with the tortillas, rice, beans, salsa, and cheese (for the non-vegans)

Week 3 (7/9):

kale chips

lentils (brown and green)

sauteed greens (chard and kale)

basil pesto, we made traditional, nut-free, and vegan varieties

fresh ravioli with a sage butter sauce

green beans, seasoned with lemon, thyme, and lime basil

carrot, potato, cauliflower, mustard, and cilantro curry served on rice

vegan, flowerless spicy brownies (Kendra's delicious creation)

Week 4 (7/16):

kale sauteed with apples from the Kellog tree

collard greens

green beans with lemon

south western style falafel (Kendra's tasty experiment)

cauliflower, carrot, green bean, pepper, onion, garlic spicy curry served on brown rice (donated by Mission)

Transplanting peppers into Parsons

This week we were joined by the Climate Action bike crew

Yummy basil pesto

Williams and Climate Summer students

by Amelia Simmons

July Garden Update

Hi everyone! Just wanted to post a few pictures of the gardens as of this afternoon. It's been really hot and dry here the last several days, but everything seems to be handling it okay, even the most recent transplants (eggplant, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, and tomatillos)!

Kellogg:

Parsons:

First green beans!

Tomatoes:

Wild black raspberries growing next to Kellogg!

Peppers:

Biblical heritage cucumbers:

A tomatillo plant (sorry it's sideways)

Basil- we've made some delicious pesto with it!