HOSPITALITY GARDEN

The college community stepped up in a big way at the Garden Club Feast & Fundraiser. Guests came away from the event with sweet and savory treats, herb bundles from the garden and a satisfied smile.  The club had a great time, lots of laughs, music and lights; plus, they collected an impressive little bundle of donations that will be used to fund the holiday meal at CHIPS a soup kitchen and support network in Park Slope.

On December 3 the Club is hosting a Holiday Party that will offer festive foods and gifts provided by Club members and will hopefully raise money for C.H.I.P.S. (This is a soup kitchen and support network in Park Slope)

Our next organizational meeting will be Nov 19 at 12:45 in Namm 202.  Be there to help w/ the details for this event.

Want to see where we grow this bounty & more all year long?

Garden Visit this Thursday Oct. 15th!

Join us at Namm 202 12:30 pm as we depart shortly to give new members a tour of the Brooklyn Grange.

Come see how organic foods are sustainably grown in a concrete jungle- this is the future of food.

Basil, Cilantro, Parsley, Arugula, Italian Red Peppers

All you need is freshly harvested basil, parsley, cilantro, and arugula from the Hospitality Garden. (And high quality virgin olive oil, grated parm and garlic.)                                                                                               Of course the expertise of garden club members Caroline, Amanda, and Maen is essential to mix it all together. And we loved having all the students, faculty, & new garden club members that came out to sample Pesto Three Ways.

It was a superb event. Lots of fun and so tasty. Kudos to Jennifer, Jimmy, Tammy & the rest of the clean up crew.  You guys are incredible.    Next meeting and trip to the Garden is Oct 15.  More details to follow.

In the Brooklyn Navy Yard, under the narrow shadow of a wide cargo ship, in all types of conditions, a couple dozen stalwart builders and architects of Team DURA are constructing a net zero solar house. (Can’t wait till the A.C. gets hooked up.) Hard work, focus, screw guns and planning are evident in the progress they have made this last month.         Go see it.  See their facebook page: Team DURA Solar Decathlon.

A few of the DURA members are in the Hospitality dept and they (along with Garden Club members) are the driving force behind the latest lunch that was delivered to the construction crew today: beef and bean burritos; melon & fruit salad; sage, garlic and kale pasta; iced tea; cookies. Enjoyed in that narrow band of shade btw the house and the river.

Kudos to Felipe, Maen, Dah-wei, Caroline, Brianna, Maggie, & Prof Jaccus. They are an interesting cadre of interdisciplinary students (& faculty) who manage to carve out the time to support this phenomenal Solar Decathlon team.  All players get a shot of energy in the collaborative process.

Returning from the ASFS conference at Chatham University it is easy to be inspired by the greenery they have on their sustainable campus. Everywhere are beautiful plantings! (and fields of flowers.) Although the Hospitality Garden does not have acres of land available, or the deep pockets that this private university does, we gardeners can plant basil, chard, beans and a few other things Next Thursday July 9 at 4:00 pm. That way, with a little luck, we will have some veg and herb that can go deeply into some of the culinary classes at City Tech this fall.

Contact Prof H. if you plan to meet there: mhellermann@citytech.cuny.edu

Members of the Garden Club helped with an al fresco lunch on June 18 at the Navy Yard. It was nothing short of superb. Kale and collards from the Hospitality garden, cheese and fruit DONATED  by the garden club, lettuce from the Brooklyn Grange, basil and dill from a local herbalist, and pasta, fruit, bread, vegetables etc from the generous folks in the CLT dept.

Salads and sandwiches and dessert were delivered to the team DURA student construction crew who are building a net zero solar house in the Navy Yard. Creating this amazing house that will be dis-assembled and trucked to CA this fall, is demanding a huge commitment from the Team.

They would love your support. Check em out on facebook: Team DURA solar decathlon

Three strong students from Computer Science, Engineering and Liberal Arts put in some solid work at the Garden today. They hauled in 4 large sacks of well- aged, nutrient -rich compost and dug it into one of the raised beds. (A certain well-aged professor provided some guidance.)   What a great day it was for working out on the roof!  After digging in, they brought back hearty, healthy, and good sized tomato seedlings for the Plant Sale on Thursday May 14.

Kudos to Jimmy, Raymond and Kevin for the digging and raking and hauling.

on Monday we pick the lettuce and radish for the B-Tech reception.

The first day of spring is tomorrow and it might snow; stay inside and take this quiz for extra credit.

1. How many gardeners can you fit in a green house?

a) It depend on how many flats of micro-greens there are in the greenhouse                 b) 15, but they must be well acquainted                                                                                   c) Dah-wei, Caroline, Lawrence, Amanda, Jimmy, Tammy, Claudia, Jacquie, Al

2. Who was the head farmer, main man, manager who showed students how to plant?

a) Mr. GreenJeans;  b) Matt Jefferson; c) Thomas Jefferson

3. Arrange these garden creatures from oldest to youngest:

a) dinosaurs;  b) Micro greens;   c). Prof Hellermann;  d) pepper

4. What famous person said “Tho an olde man, I am but a young gardener”   ?

a) Mel Brooks;   b) T Jefferson; c) B Franklin;   d) Jay Z

5. When will these seeds germinate, need to be re-potted, be ready to plant outside?

a) before you know it, 4  weeks,  late spring   b) sooner than you think, after heck freezes over, when the chickens come home to roost

ANSWERS:  1,c   2,b  (or not to be)   3, c    4, b     5, c

Garden club members will soon be able to plant a few seeds in the greenhouse at the Navy Yard garden plot. There are HUGE drifts of snow up on the roof of bldg 3 but the greenhouses are toasty and humid inside due to solid construction & good insulation.

Both Matt the head farmer (and Ben the mover / shaker) have given the okay for club members to get some plants started next Thursday.

Stay tuned for more details. And think spring. Only 14 more days & its official.