Monday 17 August 2015

Happy Holidays - and food swaps

As our volunteers keep up the watering rota, harvest delicious crops - some of which turned up at a local fresh produce swap - the blog will take a break until September. 

If you want to find out about food swaps in Cambridge, subscribe for the newsletter at www.cambridgesustainablefood.org/events/.

Mary, one of our volunteers, sent this update to the group: "There is much to harvest at Empty Commons: beans, zucchini, chard, some tomatoes, some corn, cucumbers and herbs. The corn is ready when the silks turn brown... we usually husk, put corn into rolling boiling water for five minutes and then eat in the traditional American way 'corn on the cob'. For best results cook and eat right after harvest for the sweetest flavor. Blackberries seem to be everywhere!"

Enjoy the rest of the summer! If you want to join us, please read the first blog post, which has a map showing the garden's location and contact details for the group.

Monday 10 August 2015

Here comes the harvest....


Peter potato planter



Peter potato picker
There is always something to be done at the Community Garden. Watering rotas need organising, bindweed has invaded the wild garlic patch, the shed door's has become stiff... but on the upside, harvesting has started!

There are beans, courgettes, cucumbers and more... Spare produce is placed in the sharing box by the Hobson's conduit, which is busy with walkers, cyclists... It will be a welcome surprise for those passing by in the next few days.

There is a sudden glut of cucumbers, which are right for pickling, has anybody got a favourite recipe for gherkins to share?

We have lots of potatoes. We store them in the wooden shed in a bucket covered with a compost bag to keep them in the dark. The potatoes were planted by Peter and Terence (not pictured), both regular members of the group. No pesticides were used.

Join us to share in our bounty!