Have you visited the garden lately?

Can you believe it's already April? Where has this year gone so far? We missed February early planting of peas. St. Patrick's Day and potatoes. But we are so ready to get out there and plant some seeds and starts! So are the plants that survive the winter. Despite our apparent neglect, plants know what to do and they get started on their hard Spring work. See what's happening...

Here's the garlic the first grader's planted in the Fall. You can ask a first grader about the garlic, and they will show you which one is "their's." 

This is some kale that overwintered. Kale is one of the most hardy and amazing vegetables out there. It never ceases to amaze. And here's a new thing to try--kale rapini. That's the little flower stalks at the top. It's like broccolini if you've ever had that. Delicious sauteed with olive oil, salt and garlic. Yum!

Oh mint, what will we do with you?

Another traditional crop of Oregon, the hop. As you can see, it is ready to climb. Last year, it wove itself in between the fence slats. I think this year we should give it a nice ladder.

What's been happening in the garden?

Well, that would be a really great question! Or a better question might be what has happened to our garden blog?? It really is amazing that McKinley has such a great garden and it's because we have really great volunteers. This is the 4th or 5th year of the garden and most of our volunteers have kids that will be leaving McKinley soon. So now is the time to get in on the outdoor fun! 

And it's not just outdoor fun. There has been a lot of cooking going on for our monthly tasting tables. Kids got to try squash in October and cranberries in January. Some kids in the after-school SKEF program have been really big helpers prepping things for the rest of the school to sample. Here's a little of their handy work:

Separating squash seeds from the stringy goop is messy work.

First things first, always wash your veggies.  These squash came from Minto Island Growers.

As you can see, we had delicata squash, which you don't have to peel, and butternut squash, which you do have to peel.

This squash is ready to be roasted!

Guess what's next to taste in February? 

      BEETS!     

A lovely, vibrant red vegetable for Valentine's Day. Yes, the next tasting table will be Friday, February 14th. So come have lunch with your child and try one of the prettiest root vegetable around!

The tasting tables will be the 2nd Friday of every month. We feature an Oregon product, grown as close to home as possible. To learn more about these products, check out the  Oregon Harvest for Schools. (just scroll down to see the cool posters)