TIMBERLINE'S EDIBLE COURTYARD

The Edible Courtyard, a creative garden plan by a dynamic former student at Timber Secondary School, is now underway in the school’s spacious interior court. Kira DeSorcy, who recently graduated from Camosun College’s Agricultural Division, is heading a group of past and present students, including Louis Patterson. They are in the process of building the garden to include raised planting beds, First Nations edible plants, dwarf fruit trees, berry and culinary herbs border, garden shed and classroom shelter. The project has so far received funds from NIC and Renewable Resources Co. and Core Systems which manufacture green alternatives to wheelchair accessible pathways. Students are also planning an Environmental Stewardship Day at Timberline Secondary School which will involve workshops, presentations and a marketplace. In particular the market is open to display for companies that offer eco-friendly products and information to their customers. The event will be held on Apr. 21^st at Timberline and for those interested in participating in the market please email kira.desorcy@hotmail.com .

If Your Fingers Are Itching to begin the planting season early here’s a suggestion for a satisfying crop that can be direct-seeded into your pots and garden strips. Salad greens are the answer. Try arugula, corn salad, raddicchio, lettuces, oriental greens, peas, spinach and swiss chard. These suggestions were taken from a West Coast Seeds planting chart and within weeks you will find yourself picking fresh, crunchy leaves for wonderful evening salads. Using these seeds last season my deck pots were bursting with greens by mid May.

Basil Is My Favourite herb which I use generously for flavouring tomato dishes and sprinkling on salads. Start seeds indoors and wait until mid June to move the generally finicky plants outside. They thrive when placed under the sheltering leaves of your tomato plants. Pick a hot spot on the deck, preferably against a wall and those deliciously pungent smelling plants will continue to produce faithfully, all summer long.

The First Community Garden to be constructed on municipal land is due to open officially on May 15. Meanwhile the founder, Chelsey Holley and her happy band of 14 excited gardeners are charting out the plot lines at the Laughing Willow Community Gardens. It’s located at the corner of Simms Road and Lawson Grove. The plots will measure 4 by 20 feet and are well suited to the square foot gardening concept which focuses on intensive small space growing areas. As well there are raised beds planned for wheelchair accessibility. Actual construction of the site will begin in early April and an open house is planned for 15 May. Funding for startup has come from Greenways Land Trust, the Lions Club, Rotary Club and several small businesses. Sundance Café has set up an ongoing fundraiser by donating the cost of a paper cup for each customer who brings in their own coffee mug. The nearby Presbyterian Church is donating indoor meeting space and Chelsey says this is only part of an amazing community effort to establish the much welcomed garden. There are still spaces available for both wheel chair access and ground level sites. Chelsey will welcome your interest at 926-0279.

HOME GROWN

With The Interest in home grown food sweeping Vancouver Island there is a corresponding desire for beginners to just jump in and join the parade. The gardening guide I rely on is the West Coast Seeds Catalogue. You can order it online or the one nursery here that carries it is Campbell River Garden Centre. The seed company makes it so easy for neophyte gardeners to be successful right from the start. The vegetable planning chart for coastal B.C. takes away all the anxiety of what to plant and when to start. For instance you could be starting your basil indoors now and keep it in potting soil on the kitchen windowsill then place it outdoors in June. The biggest mistake the newbie gardeners can make is charting out too much space. That’s why it is strongly recommended to start out with filling a few pots on the patio or small containers on the window sill.

Another hugely popular concept is Square Foot Gardening. The idea was originated by Mel Bartholomew. If you follow his plan it allows you to grow 100 percent of your harvest in only 20 percent of the space. The best part is there’s no digging. Just build a 4 foot by 4 foot bottomless box. Lay it down on the existing soil, remove grass and weeds and fill the boxes with a high quality soil mix. For a family of four he says you’ll need a total of four boxes. He claims that if you follow his directions you’ll have the most sensational gardening experience of your life. His book is available in the library or go online to his site, Square Foot Gardening.

For Readers Asking me to repeat recipes and ideas for small space gardening they can find them here, the Urban Gardener. All my columns for the past two years are archived in the column to the right of the screen on the opening page. So many readers have exclaimed over the recipe for cooking kale. In fact, you can use the same process on coarse outer leaves left over after preparing beet leaves, broccoli buds and cabbage heads.

Here’s Another Idea for turning the much maligned beet root into a delicious treat. This lonely veg is a powerhouse of nutritional value but it gets passed by when busy people are shopping and planning the evening meal. It just takes too long to cook…unless you try my way of producing a succulent steamed beet in 10 minutes. Take a half dozen medium size beets and cut them crosswise in circles about half an inch thick or less. Melt a good knob of butter and mix with olive oil in a thick bottomed frying pan on medium heat. Cover with a lid and and 10 minutes later you’ll be serving shiny red, juicy, mouth watering beets and with no loss of nutrition as they cook in their own juice.

WHEN TO SALAD

Salad Before, Salad After, Salad in Between…what is the answer. Travelling back and forth to the U.K. and Ireland in order to care for an elderly sister has made me very aware of the many differences in the preparation of food and the times of day in which the meals are taken. When in Ireland it is quite likely that salad isn’t served at all or may be included on the same plate as the main meal. In the U.K., due to its proximity to Europe salad served after the main course is de riguer for the more sophisticated classes but not necessarily adhered to by the less privileged. In France the order in which food is served is highly ritualistic with salad unquestionably following the main meal.

Listening to a debate on BBC Radio I gained from the discussion the understanding of why the order in which food is served is really a matter of the tummy’s ability to digest whatever is sliding down the gullet. Vegetables are more easily absorbed by the body if eaten separately. Meats and chicken require a more acid environment so the most natural process would be to eat one’s salad first.

In Europe class differences still count, one only needs to read a Jane Austen novel to realize the past is still with us. Her rules described breakfast as being served around 1000 am, as befitted a leisure class. (This distinguished them from the lower orders, who ate very early before going off to work.) The next main meal was dinner served at 700pm preceded by afternoon tea at 400pm. As most of the population now adheres to working hours, lunch which is called dinner over here, is quite a substantial meal followed by a late afternoon tea and then supper/dinner, again generous portions, served around 700pm. In France the enormous midday meal, followed by a siesta, is what the country revolves around. The French come to a halt for a leisurely three to four hours before returning to the workplace at 400pm. As a leading member of the European Union this enviable lifestyle doesn’t fit well with the standard working hours of its fellow members. The French are reluctant to change but despite their reluctance the shift is taking place.

Ireland, is now digging out from under the collapse of the Celtic Tiger years. This small nation, once considered the fastest growing member in the European Economic Union, is now facing potential bankruptcy unless the EU is willing to bail them out. In the glory days of the boom with all that wealth available for the first time to the working classes the Irish took to Take-Out meals with a vengeance. Reluctant to give up their newfound leisure time the Irish began to pave over their front gardens. In fact many citizens loved their pavement so much that they ordered the back gardens to be paved over as well. Now that the good times are over the Irish are learning to cook, some for the first time. Book stores are flooded with material on meal preparation and food gardening. The next instruction books one can expect to see on the shelves are manuals on how to remove all that tarmac that surround their cottages so that they can experience the joy of growing one’s own food.

CONVERTING KALE TO A DINNER TREAT

Turning A Big Flat Green Kale leaf into a divine dinner ingredient is a bit of a stretch but it can be done. Take a few of those large outer leaves and slice out the tough stem. Fold the leaves over to create a loose roll and cut them across the grain. Try and slice the leaves into narrow ribbons, about ¼ inch wide. In a heavy frying pan melt a combo of olive oil and a knob of butter. Grill a tablespoon of chopped ginger and a similar amount of chopped garlic. Frying them for a minute should do it. Toss in the kale, sprinkle ½ teaspoon of sugar and a tablespoonful of water. Now, cover with a heavy lid and set on medium heat. Five minutes later pop the lid and you will discover a heap of intensely green, tender, delectable leaves. I do this recipe constantly and it never loses its appeal. Preparing veggies this way is going to make you feel good about what you are feeding the family because you haven’t lost any nutrients or had to pour excess cooking water down the kitchen sink. You have just captured all the intense colour and goodness of the food. You can transform any coarse outer leaves, including cabbage or beet leaves that show up in your garden or your shopping bag, into life sustaining edible food.

Having A Grown Grandson who has Celiac Disease (CD) has made me very aware of how difficult meal preparation can be when one is suffering from this disorder. CD is a medical condition in which the absorptive surface of the small intestine is damaged by a substance called gluten. This result in an inability of the body to absorb nutrients: protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals which are necessary for good health. Celiacs generally get relief from eating a gluten free diet. Gluten is found in wheat, rye, triticate and barley. It is the gluten in the flour of these grains that is the trouble maker according to info I checked on the Canadian Celiac Assoc. website. It is really time consuming to check out the ingredients on store bought products… and eating in a restaurant is like treading around hidden land mines. So when I discovered this week that Locals Market is featuring gluten-free meals prepared on site and gluten free baking supplied by Sylvie’s Market it sounded like a winning collaboration. Crackers made with grated cheese, oregano and potato flour served with their renowned clam chowder is an irresistible combo.

RAISING WORMS

Raising Worms is An Amazing Experience. All you need is a small container or tote box on your back deck. My experiment is turning out well and all I did was fill the tub full of soil and some shredded paper, spade in a handful of red wiggler worms given to me by a friend, and enough water to keep the soil lightly moist. Feeding the soil with finely chopped left over vegetable and fruits , the worms receive a steady supply of food which they convert into nutrient-rich castings. Two or three pounds of green kitchen refuse including tea bags and coffee grinds a week is enough to keep them happy. To create the perfect environment I drilled air holes on the sides and added a cover. It would be a plus to find a tote with a spigot to drain off excess water. That way there is no danger of those little wrigglers becoming water-logged. The compost they create is considered “black gold” as the castings are far more beneficial to plants than any man-made fertilizer, according to a website called WormWatcher. It will provide you with step-by-step guidelines and pictures to assure you get the right start.

Thanks to an alert Quadra Island reader I was reminded that mashing “regular” potatoes with the skins on isn’t a great idea due to the possibility of chemical sprays and fertilizers that penetrate the spud. In past years I have spent long periods in Ireland helping to care for an elderly sister and that’s where I became enamoured with eating mashed potatoes with the skins on…the diff being that they were raised organically. In the past purchasing foods grown organically wasn’t possible on the average budget but the gap is closing. Consumer preference for uncontaminated food is changing the marketplace. There’s a very telling guideline on the web called “The Dirty Dozen Foods” and there you can find the list of chemically raised fruits and vegetables that should be avoided, if possible. There are varied lists available but generally bell peppers, celery and potatoes take the top spots.

A GARDEN IN A BAG

Experimenting With the Various Ways to small space garden has opened up a world of opportunities. Here’s my latest project and this time it is definitely “in the bag”. When you live in a condo with a 20 foot wide deck there is only so much space for pots of flowers and veggies. But what about the outer walls or the fence that divides your space from the folks next door? Reading about a New York high rise gardener who hung large bleach bottles suspended on ropes from the inside frame of his one large window reminded me that anything is possible. He cut away half the side of the bottles, filled them with potting soil and compost and planted them full of trailing vegetable plants. One spring in Ireland, while I was looking after an elderly sister, I successfully grew spinach in a shopping bag on the side walk. That provided me with fresh greens for the next three chilly months.

That led to the idea of filling up colourful shopping bags with soil and trailing veggies and hanging them on outer walls and fences. Well, why not? And shouldn’t every great idea start with a trip to the Salvation Army to select the equipment? I found a wonderful assortment of coloured shoulder bags and sagging purses. The bags I chose each hold about a gallon of soil. The idea of using standard shopping bags was rejected after discovering that at least two gallons of soil is required and the bags are then much too heavy to suspend from the fence…although perfect for seating on an unused walkway. If you are going to try this idea remember to cut holes in the bottom of the bags for drainage.

As I am in the process of moving, my friend has agreed to using his small space for the latest brain wave. So far I have planted one trailing tomato, a zucchini and a patti-pan squash. Next planting will include scarlet runner beans and strawberry plants. The display at the moment looks definitely rag-tag but I do believe that when the vines of all those plants are tumbling down the wall, laden with succulent greens and fruits, and the colourful patterns of the bags are showing through the foliage, that all this effort will be worthwhile.

TO PEEL OR NOT TO PEEL - THE POTATO QUESTION

Spending So Much Time in Ireland these past two years has given me many new ideas on the preparation of food, particularly the humble potato. Potatoes are served everywhere in great abundance. Even rather posh eateries, which generally serve from a steam table, go overboard. Unless you call out a plea to stop, your server will happily place great dollops of fried, boiled and mashed potatoes on your plate. That’s all three on the same dish…hardly room for a green veg, a thick slice of Irish beef or a ladle of rich gravy.

The most interesting thing about the Irish way with a potato is that it is most often mashed with the skin on. Now that is a phenomena I wasn’t accustomed to despite being raised by Irish parents. My mother’s idea of cooking spuds was to cover them totally in cold water and bring to a roaring boil. When done the potato water was poured off and into the sink. Yikes! Well my dears gather round and I will now explain the process for producing a perfect dish of mashed potatoes.

As you are likely aware, there are many vitamins and minerals in the skin of the potato. Leaving the skin on adds precious nutritents. Red potatoes or Yukon Golds are the best candidates for skin-on mashers as the skin in thin and smooth. The red skins give a lovely colour and your guests will clamour for this recipe. Now, slice potatoes into one inch wide rounds, place in a steamer and cook until just soft…about 15 minutes. Drain the water into a bowl and save for your soup stock container. Place a clean tea towel inside the potato pot and leave for five minutes. This will absorb any excess steam and stop the potatoes from becoming soggy. Then it is time to take out that masher and chop them up before adding either milk or butter. Adding milk a few drops at a time allows you to mash the potatoes to perfection and control the soggyness that happens when you splash in too much milk. Don’t forget a lovely knob of butter and there you have it, a dish loaded with nutrients and the perfect comfort food. Explain to the kids that those enticing red flecks are a secret ingredient.