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Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Yuletide

On Friday November 30th we enjoyed our first community collaboration with the First Baptist Church of Pacheco on who's land the CACG is thriving. It was a bon fire and carol singing evening. We are glad that we went ahead despite rain for a large part of the day. Our decision to proceed was to be based on the ability to light the bon fire ! We did manage to light the fire and throughout the evening we continued through a few showers.

 



The church provided the chairs coffee, hot water, franks, condiments etc. Some people brought their own so we had a variety of sausages.
Many sausages were sacrificed to the fire.
There is an art to keeping your sausage on the stick!
There is something primal about community gathering around a fire at night to feed. Something generations have been doing for eons, and it still feels comforting and fun.

Movie Night

On December 14th we are screening a selection of videos about cob building. Please see the details in the right side panel.
We are hoping to build a cob oven at the garden one day.

There is a an enthusiastic group of natural builders in El Sobrante called Vertical Clay and they are offering this workshop next month ....

The Natural Plasters Intensive a three-day workshop that is applicable both to conventional and to natural buildings, and is a thorough introduction to the possibilities of beautiful finishes made with natural materials.  We will talk about the basics of plaster design and mixing and how to prepare different kinds of walls for plaster.  We will work with the two basic categories of natural plaster--earth and lime plasters-- in several different forms, and we will apply plaster on both natural and conventional wall surfaces.  January 25 - 27, East Bay.

For more information or to register visit www.verticalclay.com

What Is This Flower?

Calendula   kah-LEND-yew-lah
The yellow and orange flowers are thriving all around the garden and especially in the Peace bed where these photos was taken on December 3rd.


Some History
Though originally used by Indian and Arabic groups, calendula was also valued by the Egyptians and Greeks. In India, marigold wreaths crowned the gods and goddesses. The Egyptians believed it was a rejuvenating herb and the Greeks utilized it for culinary purposes. By the American Civil War, one of the modern uses, wound treatment, was being developed on the battlefield.

Swiss Chard to the left




About Calendula

 
Calendula color through the winter months
 

 In cooking, Calendula is used primarily for color.  The flower petals can be added to butter, cheese, soups and rice to add saffron-like color.
The flowers are also useful as decoration on salads or around dishes.
In our climate Calendula does not like the very hot days of late summer and generally blooms less at this time. However the amount of water that the vegetable beds require works very well for Calendula plants.


What is in Season now at CACG?

Swiss Chard. At its best now in the cool weather. To harvest cut off individual leaves. Some people do not like the stem which can be stringy. If you are making a smoothie then it doesn't matter otherwise cut the stem out and compost it. The leaves can be steamed on their own or mixed with kale or Collards. If steaming with these partners put the Chard in the pot late and steam for just a couple of minutes. The Kale's generally have tougher leaves that take longer to break down. You might also add Mint or Nasturtium leaves for a different flavor.
Swiss Chard can also be used as salad leaves. They can be raw leaves in the bottom of a bowl with soup poured over them.
The leaves can be used in a sandwich or an omelet.
I'm not much of a cook but these are just a few simple ideas, and I'm sure there many more possibilities. Enjoy!

There isn't much to plant at the garden in December except onions, leeks, chives and garlic.
There is some thinning of the group seeding of Lettuce, Broccoli, Kale and Swiss Chard. The thinnings can be eaten or transplanted to spaces recently vacated by summer crops.

We did replant the Potato towers recently. Hopefully we will have a crop in May of next year.
 
What happened to the children's wagon?
 I think it went the way of the teeter totter. Don't suppose the person, or persons, responsible for its removal are reading this ... but if they are it would be very community minded and totally in the spirit of the holidays if they returned or replaced it :)
 
Wishing you all a joyful and meaningful holiday season, whatever you celebrate. May your thankful open hearts find time to count blessings and reflect on what is waiting to be born in you for the New Year ahead.  David