Seed Library Updates
We’re excited to announce that we are sponsoring two seed-saving demonstration gardens this summer! You’ll find them at these locations:
- Sturgeon Bay Library - large planter by the front entrance
- Door County Historical Museum - two pots next to the front entrance
We’ve selected flowers and herbs that have a historical connection to Wisconsin, including several edibles! We will let the plants go to seed this fall and then harvest the seeds to help replenish our seed library inventory. Stop by the Library or Historical Museum to pick up a brochure that describes the varieties we are growing.
A big thanks to Barb Henkelmann, who is a member of our planning team and a Door County Master Gardener, for designing the planters, and to our volunteers who grew the seedlings. And a super shout out to Pat Webster, who designed the amazing signs!
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June Garden Calendar: Weeds and More!
Good news, gardeners! The wait is over! In early to mid-June, you can finally transplant your warm-season crops like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and cucurbits (melons, cucumbers, zucchini, etc). Be sure to check the weather forecast to make sure there’s no chance of frost, so your warm-loving plants don’t get a nasty surprise. If you don’t have seedlings prepped and ready to go, you can also direct sow plants like beets, kohlrabi, beans, okra, and more right into your garden! Don’t forget to check our handy planting calendar for more complete info.
June is also one of the most important times to weed your garden. With the soil warming, you’re sure to have some unwanted guests cropping up. Though it may seem silly to pull out a bunch of little baby weed sprouts that aren’t threatening your crops at the moment, don’t forget how quickly they grow and how much more time you’ll have to spend pulling them out once they’re “adults!” The easiest way to weed this time of year is with a collinear hoe or another tool that will let you easily disrupt the top half inch or so of soil. For best results, weed on a sunny and windy day, so the weeds will dry out before they’re able to re-root themselves.
Once the soil is warm, you can also mulch around your plants! Mulch helps regulate temperature, control weeds, and retain moisture. Some popular mulch options are straw, fall leaves, wood chips, or even compost. Just be sure that whatever you’re using doesn’t have weed seeds in it, or you may cause more trouble than it’s worth!
Lastly, don’t forget basic crop maintenance: watering, thinning plants to desired densities, scouting for pests, and fertilizing. Happy gardening!
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Community Connections: Renee and Scott Borkovetz
By Renee McAllister
Local gardens are looking great. A garden in the Sevastopol district, the Borkovetz homestead, is no exception. Renee and Scott purchased a five-acre lot located off a quiet road 5 years ago. When they first bought the home, the entire area was overgrown and needed to be cleared. Now, looking at the renovated home with a wraparound porch and maintained yard is peaceful and relaxing. The garden is roughly 14,000 square feet (⅓ acre) and rectangular in shape. A 9 ft. deer fence defines the garden area. Inside they have trees, raised beds, an in-ground garden, and even a tool shed. There are pear, apple, cherry, plum, and peach trees in neat rows inside the fence. Next to the trees are several blueberry plants. Two beehives were added about three years ago and produced a successful amount of honey and wax last year.
Recently the Borkovetz family built an 8’x9’ root cellar to store vegetables. Onions, cabbage, potatoes, pumpkins, and squash did well all winter long in the cellar. Even the beets and carrots that were packed in sawdust survived. Near the end of the garden a tool shed was added, because Scott wanted a larger hunting stand and asked Renee if she would like the current stand to use as a tool shed. This wooden shed is quite nice with windows, overhangs, and lots of storage.
Of the ten raised beds, two are dedicated to asparagus. In the fall, straw is added to keep the plants safe for the winter. Near the beds a cold frame helps tender plants that were started from seed, such as tomatoes, peppers, marigolds, and other flowers. One of the raised beds is dedicated to herbs. Renee admits she likes to add sprigs of herbs from the garden into drinks to add flavor. The bed includes mint, lemon balm, oregano, savory, and sorrel. Another bed has lettuce growing, which is allowed to self-seed year after year.
A little further back behind the tool shed is an area they dedicate to vines such as pumpkins, squash and cucumbers. They even grew watermelon and cantaloupe successfully last year. They used a biodegradable cover for keeping weeds down and allowing space in between to mow around the plants.
Renee and Scott make a great team, as they are always looking to try new things. Scott works in construction and can build raised beds and Renee works on garden styles such as mounded rows, cold frames, and trellises. This year they are working on mounded rows that will have a biodegradable, black, ground cover to keep weeds down and an irrigation system underneath to help with watering. There are roughly six rows that will have tomatoes, peppers and corn. Near the new mounds is an established raised bed that contains strawberries and rhubarb.
It’s a family endeavor for sure, with their father-in-law, two daughters, and family pet, Durka, helping maintain the yard. Also on the property is a chicken coop with Leghorn and Rhode Island hens, which clear weeds from the garden in the springtime.
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Seed Saving Tip: Peas and Beans
By Penne Wilson
Peas and beans are great crops for beginning seed savers. They both are annual, self-pollinating crops, which means that they produce seeds in the first year and require minimal isolation from other varieties. Additionally, you only need to save seeds from a few plants to maintain the variety. As an added bonus, the large seeds are easy to handle!
To save peas and beans, allow the pods to ripen on the plants until they are dry and brittle and the seeds rattle inside. Be patient - this can take as long as one month after you would typically harvest them to eat. Once the pods are dry, remove them from the plants and allow them to dry indoors for at least two weeks. Then remove the seeds from the pods and allow the seeds to dry for another four to six weeks.
Store peas and beans in an airtight container in a cool, dark, dry location. Don’t forget to label your container!
For more information, refer to this Seed Savers Exchange overview for peas and this one for beans.
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Recipe of the Month: Strawberry Fruit Fool
By Deb Moore
Yes, there is a dessert called a Fruit Fool! It is an English dessert, usually made with pureed fruit folded into a sweet custard. Why is it called a fool? It comes from the French word, fouler, which means “to press or crush,” referring to the pureed fruit that is added to the custard or whipped cream. (epicurious.com) This version, which I first had with a friend several years ago, replaces the custard with a sweetened, whipped cream with a splash of either rose water or orange blossom water for a little extra flavor – go light, though, if you choose to add as both could overpower the recipe. You can use any stewed fruit, but, as it’s June, I’m going to go with strawberries! (Although come fall, I may try apples from our orchard!) The recipe below is from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Four Season Farm Gardener’s Cookbook.
Ingredients:
4 cups fresh strawberries, hulled
2 Tbsp. honey
1 ½ tsp. rose water or orange blossom water (Or substitute with 1 Tbsp. orange liqueur)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Leaves from 2 fresh mint sprigs, very finely sliced
Directions:
Set aside 1 cup of the best-looking strawberries for garnish and combine the rest with 1 Tbsp. of the honey and rose water or orange blossom water. Puree mixture in a blender or food processor until smooth and transfer to a bowl. (A food mill works well, too.)
In another bowl, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 1 Tbsp. honey and whip until peaks are stiffer but still glossy. Gently fold half the whipped cream into the pureed fruit until just mixed. Carefully spoon into four glass bowls or large wine glasses.
Halve the reserved berries vertically and gently place over the puree. Spoon the remaining whipped cream on top to make a final layer and sprinkle the sliced mint leaves on top.
Refrigerate 1 hour before serving. Enjoy!
P.S. – Honey has become my new favorite for sweetening whipped cream – so good!
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Book Review: The Food Lover's Garden by Jenni Blackmore
By Renee Borkovetz
Gardening and cooking very often go hand in hand, especially when it comes to the vegetable garden. You can find books about gardening and cookbooks for the kitchen, but this one by Jenni Blackmore does a beautiful job bringing the best of both parts into one location in a simple and-easy-to-understand way.
This book is a practical resource for both the vegetable gardener and the home cook by explaining the very basic tools and techniques needed. It is also an easy read that does not get too technical on these topics but still relays a ton of beneficial information. Also included are many humorous life lessons and tales that will keep you engaged until the very end.
This book focuses on a core group of vegetables and herbs that are simple to grow, simple to cook, and complement each other nicely. Healthy and nutritious recipes are included for homemade meals and food preservation using your very own freshly home-grown vegetables. What better way to have a true farm-to-table experience, and in your own backyard with your own two hands! This book is available through Hoopla at Door County Library.
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Zedé Harut of Grand Risings Farm in Northern Minnesota
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Featured Grower: Zedé Harut
By Mikayla Kifer
Meet Zedé Harut, owner of Grand Risings Farm, which is the first Black farmer-owned CSA in Northern Minnesota. As a child Zedé remembers her mother advocating for fresh food & produce and food & environmental justice in low-income communities. In high school Zedé began to dream of owning a farm of her own. Last summer, after the death of George Floyd, Zedé and her partner Degen made a decisive move away from the “trauma and pain of the cities.”
Now they live on 8 acres of Ojibwe land in Sandstone, Minnesota. 2021 will be Grand Rising’s first full season of production. While they are still in the process of crowd-sourcing funds from their community in the absence of state and federal support, Zedé has already felt a shift towards peace and prosperity. “When I get in the field, and when I'm out in my backyard, looking over the river, it feels so comforting. Like, this is where you're supposed to be. For so long, a lot of our ancestors lost what we were used to. To try and feel that again, through growing food, and then growing food for other people—it feels like not only am I honoring what they always wanted us to have in the first place, but I also feel like I'm coming more into myself.”
To learn more about Zedé and Grand Risings Farm visit their website or Instagram page!
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~~The Door County Seed Library planning team
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