Here we take a look at what two very busy young women have made in the downtown Kansas City neighborhood of Longfellow. With informed and diligent attention to the resources that the Kansas City area has to offer to urban gardeners and farmers, these two have done wonders to an abandoned city block. An urban farm that is uniting a neighborhood through food, work and community.
The end of summer means the tomatoes are ripening and coming in, in large bunches. The cooler temperatures trigger the fruit to become red and delicous. This is what we have been waiting for, although we now have too many to eat and give away. Freezing a few is one alternative that is simple, quick and delightful to have in the winter.
We take some time to visit the beautiful schoolyard garden at Kansas City’s Notre Dame de Sion in the Hyde Park neighborhood. This is a quick look at some the busy activities that the garden creates. From food education, to the lunch program and probably more than any of that, to the joy that a schoolyard garden can deliver, for the kids, their families and the teachers too.
Thanks, Laurie and Mike
The peak of the summer is upon us and the cucumbers are producing more than we can eat. So, why not preserve some for later? A batch of refrigerator pickles will capture summer in a jar. Much less mess and effort than canning but they are called refrigerator pickles for a reason. A simple and quick solution to, too many cucumbers.
Thanks for taking a look.
Laurie and Mike
With the potatoes that we just recently harvested – and it being summertime, we would like nothing better than a fresh potato salad. First, we have to journey out to the garden to pick some green beans to mix in and then quickly get back to the kitchen. This dish is very simple, very fresh, very delicious and oh so “Summer”.
With a hot July and Summer in full swing the garden is busy growing. While we wait for the crops to come in, there is one that has been growing underground since Spring. The potatoes, that were planted early, are waiting to be discovered. They are always a bit of a mystery as you really don’t know what you have until you put a shovel into the ground. So, we get to the potato harvest.
Every year in June, Kansas City’s Union Hill Neighborhood has a walking tour of the gardens among the homes there. From the back-yard and front-yard gardens to the shared spaces in the common areas there are several stops. Our vegetable garden is always included. In this episode we prepare it for it’s public coming out. A bit of weeding, fertilizing and mulching and we are finished and ready to join the neighborhood for this annual rite of passage into Summer.
We visited the thriving Ivanhoe Neighborhood in the heart of Kansas City, Missouri. It is a busy place during the garden growing seasons. Spring, Summer and Fall- there is always something going on, in part thanks to the Master Gardeners of Greater Kansas City. With their help and the efforts of the neighbors, Ivanhoe is turning vacant lots into gardens and a parking lot into a weekly market.
With the garden loaded up with nutrients we are ready to set the Summer plants and seeds into the ground. A garden plot this small takes a bit of planning and execution to fit them all in. What plants go where and in what order is key to being sure that they can all live and grow in harmony. This takes some time and effort but in just a few weeks it will all begin to payoff. So, this is Part 2 of our Summer planting day.
Thanks for watching, Laurie and Mike.
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