14 Jun From the Vegetable Garden to the Kitchen
Joe Baumgartner
Did you know that the Folk School has a wonderful and diverse vegetable garden? Joe Baumgartner heads up the Folk School gardens with the help of our work study students. This session, we’ve got Peter, Lydia, Annalea, Devon and Jake on our work study team.
Work study students Peter and Annalea plant peppers in the garden
Every week the work study students help to weed, plant, water and harvest the wide array of vegetables in the garden. The vegetables are then used by the Dining Hall to create delicious meals like Greek chicken salad.
Steve Cipriano creates Greek chicken salad for lunch
Here’s a salad with Kale and lettuce from the vegetable garden
The Dining Hall isn’t the only place that makes good use of the Folk School garden harvest. This week, David Dante taught a cooking class in Davidson Hall using produce from the garden. This week they used asparagus, beets, green beans and garlic to make pickled dishes.
Folk School produce awaits pickling in David Dante’s Fear No Fish class
Apart from all of the vegetables the Folk School gardens also feature beautiful flowers, which we use to decorate all over campus from the living room in Keith House to the tables in the Dining Hall.
A work study harvests flowers from the garden
Perhaps the most charming part of our garden is our flock of chickens. Edward, the resident rooster, and his lady friends are often seen scratching around the garden on their daily free range outings.
Edward and his lady friends investigate a new garden bed
We use our gardens for all kinds of things. Not only does it provide fresh, local produce for our students, it’s often used for weddings, anniversaries and many other events. It is also the beautiful backdrop for our annual Easter Egg hunt.
Have you ever taken a look at our Gardening and Homesteading program? Here are some of the classes we’re offering this year:
Gardening/ Homesteading at the Folk School
Made in the Shade (Weekend) July 5-7, 2013 with Tim Ryan
Build a Garden Arbor August 25-31, 2013 with Tom Donahey
Bonsai Express (Weekend) Nov 15-17, 2013 with Tim Ryan
Herbs: From the Shakers to Today’s Uses Nov 17-23, 2013 with Carol Blackburn
Last week we offered Herbs for Health and Happiness with Cathy Merckens. Students learned to plant, harvest and use all sorts of herbs in the garden.
So if you haven’t had the pleasure of seeing the garden yet, stop by some time and go for a stroll. Be sure to say hello to our talented gardner, Joe and his team of work studies.
Some of the beautiful flowers grown in our gardens
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