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Field Trip to the MSU Horticulture Gardens

One afternoon this past July, Jim and I headed to an evening meeting in Lansing. We left home early to avoid work traffic and arrived with time to spare. We contemplated our options for just a few minutes before we made our way to visit the MSU Horticulture Gardens for the first time.

14 acres of gardens awaited us. We didn’t have time to visit them all, but we did enjoy a really nice walk through several of the gardens.

The Perennial Gardens were particularly lovely and meticulously maintained. Curved walkways wind between large beds with clearly marked labels with scientific, cultivar and common names. Benches scattered throughout the garden provide comfortable vistas to sit and admire the gardens and pond.

We wandered through the Rose Garden next. This section has a formal layout and high walls that place the rose plants at eye-level for easy of viewing and smelling.

The Vegetable Demonstration Garden provided the majority of the ah-ha moments for us. The clever staking techniques on display certainly caught our attention. Again, the well-labeled varieties growing next to each other allowed us to compare the growing plants. We were especially interested in the mason bee houses in the garden. Mason bees are known for being industrious pollinators for orchards and home gardens. I would like to have some in our garden next season.

The last area we visited — and perhaps the most delightful — was the Michigan 4-H Children’s Garden. Although we traveled without children, we wandered the alphabet garden and found our way through the maze. Bridges, fountains, trains and more are interspersed throughout the beds. It seems a safe and popular space to let your toddlers run off some energy.

There’s no admission charge to the gardens, although the parking in the lot requires feeding tokens into the meters. Paid parking seems to be the trend among gardens.

Since we only had an hour to spare this time, our visit to the MSU Horticulture Gardens was a brief one. We definitely will plan a return trip and allow more time to explore and learn in this beautiful setting.

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By 20 Minute Jan – November 26, 2011

Pilgrim in the Garden

During the seven years we lived in Toronto, we happily celebrated two Thanksgivings each fall. Canadian Thanksgiving, which falls on the first Monday of October, opened the fall holiday season, and we followed it up in November by hosting our own American Thanksgiving dinner. Our exasperated then-6 year old son noted, “This holiday is just about food!” Our guests and our family were fond enough of turkey and fixings that we enjoyed the meal, even if there were no presents involved.

Moving to Toronto to go to graduate school is the closest I’ve come to moving to a new land. In spite of being “just next door”, the experience of relocating to Canada was chock-full of studies in cultural differences and national identity, but still nothing like the changes and surprises that must have awaited the pilgrims.

I tend to think of our pilgrims as already arrived in the New Land. In my mind, they are not travelers, but householders– people with meals to prepare, tables to fill, and chairs to sit in.

More accurately, however, a pilgrim is someone on a pilgrimage, usually a long journey with spiritual or moral significance. In the neat way that global human experience overlaps, the history and practice of many religious traditions have included pilgrimages.

No where in my life am I more of a pilgrim than in the garden. Gardening is never a destination (“Look! A finished and perfect garden!”) but an on-going process. I’m always learning, trying to grow a new plant, moving something that’s not thriving to another spot, attempting a different technique, becoming familiar with a particular weed or flower. I encounter changes and surprises. A garden may not be a place of spiritual reflection for everyone; at the best times, however, our garden gives me the space to ponder the wonders of growing things and the mysteries of creation.

Living in a time and place when the basic human needs– food, clothing, shelter– can be met almost instantly, I find the garden to be one spot where I can get in touch with my inner pilgrim. Gardening slows time down. Nothing happens fast and, for the most part, nothing can be sped up to satisfy more quickly. It is what it is.

Sometimes when I’m out in the garden, I look around and imagine what if I were a settler and this was my food source, my cupboard? How would we eat? In the bounteous days of summer, I like to think we’d eat pretty well. We’d have a salad with all sorts of greens and lettuces, tomatoes, cucumbers, and cook some broccoli or green beans. Could we get a whole meal out of the garden? We occasionally do and, more often, feel quite celebratory when we get at least half of our meal from our yard, like eggplant parmesan (our tomatoes, eggplant, garlic, peppers) or pesto (our basil, garlic). But we like our breads and grains and meat and cheese, and our limited space, time, and skills (and local laws) prevent us from completely feeding ourselves.

The truth of the matter is we don’t need too. We live in the land of plenty and, although our resources are modest, they’ve never been inadequate for keeping our larder well stocked and our table holding a meal. We celebrate harvest at this time of year, even though we live well year-round.

Gardening reminds me that the simplest of human endeavors — sitting down for a meal together– is a long process that starts with soil and seed. Effort– if not mine, then someone’s — combined with sun and rain and lots of time to result much later in the food I am blessed to enjoy. Gardening as one on a journey gives me a frame to appreciate the web of relationships and systems that keep us fed. Gardening as a pilgrim helps me practice thankfulness.

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By 20 Minute Jan – November 23, 2011

Reflections on a Roxbury Russet Apple

Jim explained a Roxbury Russet apple to our friend Jay. “It’s small, and very, very hard, and covered with a brownish sandpapery skin.” Replied Jay, “What you’ve described is the worst advertisement for an apple that I’ve ever heard.” But don’t be fooled by the exchange.

A Roxbury Russet apple is truly a secret treasure of fall.

When I was a kid, I thought an apple was an apple. I don’t remember any knowledge of choices or different types, even. Apples were red or green. Sometime later as a grown-up, I started paying more attention; I discovered varieties and that I liked some better than others.

We were living in Toronto when my relationship with apples changed. For lunch one day, my best friend brought me a Roxbury Russet apple that she’d purchased from Kensington Market. True, the Roxbury Russet is no beauty by usual North American consumer standards. It’s not big or red and shiny. The peel is a brownish yellow, and the skin texture is something like a fine sandpaper or felt. It’s heavy for its size and very hard.

Eating that first Roxbury Russet was stepping through the doorway to discovering the vast variety of apples that exist and the range of tastes and textures that can delight us. The Roxbury Russet became my very favorite apple.

When we moved back to Michigan, I was saddened by the thought of leaving the Roxbury Russet apple behind. We decided to plant an apple tree in our yard, and we found a heirloom nursery, Trees of Antiquity, that had Roxbury Russet stock available. Our tree is not yet at the producing stage, so we have that to look forward to.

Fortunately, I discovered Roxbury Russet apples for sale at the Farmers’ Market in Ann Arbor. I was thrilled. Now each fall, I make trips to our market and check with the folks at Wasem’s table to find out when the Russets will be ready. Roxbury Russets are a late-ripening apple, but the wait is worth it.

The composition class I’m teaching was finishing up on discussion a series of articles about food and health, so I brought in some Russets to slice up and share. I wanted a concrete demonstration of how food choices are limited when the focus is on narrow standards of attractiveness and how heirloom varieties have gotten pushed aside when marketability drives production. I don’t know if I made my points successfully, but I did see a lot of satisfied crunching taking place. There were no leftovers to take home.

Sharing a secret is an innately risky business so I thought twice about writing this post. Maybe there will be a run on Russet apples and I won’t get my fix. Or maybe someone else will be motivated to look beyond the Roxbury Russets’ curious appearance and discover a new favorite apple.

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By 20 Minute Jan – November 19, 2011

Zucchini bounty means shred and bread

A couple of days ago, I had 2 huge zucchini still hanging around. My plan was to shred them. I was just waiting for some inspiration.

I complained to Jim that I wasn’t excited about the prospect of shredding all that zucchini, and he directed my attention to a mysterious kitchen object that we inherited some years ago and promptly stored unused in our basement. The promise of a task made easier was enough motivation for me to dig it out to give it a try.

I didn’t know what to call this device, but some quick research on the internet revealed that we own a vintage Saladmaster food processor. Very easy to assemble and use, it made relatively quick and easy work of my lingering zucchini and for that I was pleased.

Unlike most gardeners, we have never had a zucchini bounty to contend with–until this year. In the past, we’ve averaged maybe one zucchini per plant– nothing to get alarmed about! This year, the zucchini just kept coming. I don’t know what we did right to make our plants so happy, but I’m afraid we have to chalk it up to part of the mystery that is gardening.

We enjoyed some delicate zucchini dishes with small, tender zucchini stir-fried among veggies eaten over rice or sauté with a pasta sauce. A few zucchini managed to hide themselves under those huge leaves or otherwise elude us until we had a whale on our hands.

Fortunately, we discovered a zucchini bread recipe that we like. The tasty loaves disappeared almost as quickly as banana bread so the recipe is a keeper. I’ve popped the 2 cup freezer bags of shredded zucchini into the deep freeze to keep us in zucchini bread all winter long.

Zucchini Bread
(adapted from a low carb zucchini bread recipe from the Livestrong website)

Ingredients:
2 eggs
¼ cup vegetable oil
½ cup brown sugar
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 teaspoon vanilla
? cup almond flour
½ cup pecan meal
¾ cup flour
1 scoop whey protein powder
1 teaspoon salt

Method
1. In a large bowl, beat eggs.
2. Add oil, sugar, zucchini, and vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet, mixing well.
5. Pour into a prepared loaf pan.
6. Bake at 350 F for about 60 minutes. Test center with a clean knife to make sure it’s done.

Cool, slice and enjoy!

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By 20 Minute Jan – November 15, 2011

Gardening Wings: on becoming a Master Gardener

This past Wednesday evening, Master Gardeners of Washtenaw County and their friends gathered for the Fall Harvest and Recognition Banquet of 2011. It was a swell evening that of visiting with gardening friends and feasting on a fantastic potluck; these gardeners are also fabulous cooks! In the background, a slideshow of gardeners at work and gardens in full bloom provided an inspiring backdrop while we dined. There were door prizes, festive centerpieces, certificates and special awards. On a personal note, I got my wings– my Master Garden wings, in certificate form.

Two years ago, Jim read about the local Master Gardener course and suggested that I look into it. Being in one of those more flexible under-employed stages of life, I could fit the whole day per week commitment into my schedule. I contacted the coordinator and had my name added to the mailing list for the next round of applications. When I received the form, I was impressed by its size and depth– not a light weight, shoe-in kind of deal. The application asked for three personal references, and I later heard from my friends that each one was contacted and asked a lot of questions about me. My experience has been that that level of follow-through doesn’t even happen with most job applications. Given that working as a Master Gardener also involves coming in contact with various community populations, applicants are also subject to a background check.

I was really fortunate to get into the class, especially since the Extension Office receives far more applications from people than there is space for in the course.

The Master Gardener class itself was illuminating, challenging and rigorous. We met each week for a 4 hour lecture, divided by a 30 minutes break for lunch. We had a series of visiting lecturers, each with experience and expertise in his or her particular fields– plant science, turf, fruit trees, vegetables, flowers, and more. We received a hefty resource book, with a chapter of assigned reading each week and a take-home quiz. The course itself ended with a final exam.

And then the volunteer hours began. Master gardener trainees have to complete 40 volunteer hours total– half in Extension-based projects, like the Garden Hotline, the Dial-a-Garden Program, working in the demonstration garden at the Extension Office, or soil testing booths, information booths at farmers’ markets and fairs, or assisting with the Junior Master Gardener program. Master Gardeners choose where to do the rest of their volunteer work in projects ranging from Project Grow, Growing Hope, Food and Faith Gardens, Ann Arbor City Parks, Washtenaw County Parks, Matthai Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum to name just a few.

Master Gardeners are encouraged to keep track of their volunteer time through an online application where hours are confirmed by the Extension Office. Not everyone records his or her hours, either through forgetting or modesty, but at the Banquet the Extension Office report noted that 169 gardeners provided 6,898 hours of volunteer time last year. Special recognition was given to individuals who volunteered more than 100 hours, or 250, or 500– and there were more than 35 of those awards given out!

Although Wednesday evening was golden, there is a dark lining, unfortunately– sort of opposite situation to the storm cloud with the silver lining. Due to budget cuts at the state and local levels, the Master Gardener training program will not be offered in Washtenaw County next year. Further the position of local coordinator has been eliminated, much to the disappointment of the Washtenaw’s Master Gardeners.

Email messages from the Master Garden Volunteer Program State Office have assured us that the Master Gardener program will continue and that courses are being planned for 2012 and 2013. In the meantime, efforts will be focused “on programming solutions that are technologically savvy, cost-effective, high-quality, consistent and relevant to the changing needs of our state.” How these changes will play out is yet to be seen, but I do know that the program I participated in works, as seen by the continuing and active commitment of the Master Gardeners who were honored on Wednesday evening.

I truly hope that the funding challenges the Master Gardener program faces are only temporary ones, and that the program can continue to offer members of the community the educational opportunities and volunteer connections that I enjoyed this year. I’m glad I took advantage of the chance to apply when I did, that I had time and space in my life, and that I have a partner who always has my best interests at heart. It’s been a clear series of blessings in my life– the kind that gives a person wings.

Posted in • Growing, • Sitting Still.

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By 20 Minute Jan – November 12, 2011