Holden School Gardeners Offer Peek at Their Efforts

The photos below offer a glimpse of what the students at Holden Elementary School are doing with their vegetable garden project. Clockwise from left: A student holds a sign for the Holden Garden Project; student shows off a oversize radish; students study their garden handiwork.

Holden Garden Update: We're Really Cookin' Now!

by Kelly Ferry

Rose Simmons had arranged for Kelly Ferry to enlist the Kent Recreation Center youngsters in helping maintain the Holden Garden project for the summer months. Rose and Kelly are both members of the Holden Gardeners. Click here for an explanation of how the group got started. The report below was sent to KEC after Ferry spent a day with the Recreation Center children talking about the vegetables in the garden, engaging the children in picking the crops, helping the children share in cooking the harvest in the Recreation Center kitchen and then registering the children’s reaction to eating the vegetables. We thought these children’s experiences might be of interest to our readers.

Wow! The garden is HUGE. The plants are looking so healthy and vibrant, but they also need to be picked. We started at the garden at 9:30 a.m., and the children showed us everything they had noticed over the week. The pole beans were ready for a light harvest. I explained to the children that beans need to be picked regularly once they produce beans in order to stimulate more flower growth and more beans. If the beans are too old on the vine, it tells the plant that it’s time to go to sleep and stop making beans. The children were quite intrigued that the green beans (Fortex French Bean variety) are struggling under Japanese Beetle attacks, while the purple beans aren’t being touched.

Karl Liske brought a beetle trap a couple of weeks ago, and the children have loved emptying it every day. The bag, however, got quite stinky so, rather than buying more bags, Simmons worked with the children to make a bag using a regular plastic bag, tape and string. They did a fantastic job of modeling it after the original bag shape, and it’s working just fine. Excellent work! I am so impressed with how invested the children at the Recreation Center have become in this project. The okra has flowers and some big purple okra already. The children wondered if the flowers become the okra, and I showed them where the pod is just below the petals.

One radish remains in the garden, and it has a massive, woody root structure that curls across the garden, off the bed and into the path around the garden. We talked about how root plants make more seed and decided to leave the radish to see what happens. Perhaps we will get to collect seeds to plant next spring!

The children have shown lots of enthusiasm about the cherry tomatoes, some of which are turning gold. So on to the best part . . .

After the harvest was brought back to the Recreation Center, the next group of children came into the kitchen and WOW. What an enthusiastic bunch. We set up two electric skillets on a rolling cart, then all gathered around the big stainless worktable. They took turns with just about everything in the cooking process, using real knives and learning how to hold their thumbs under their hand while cutting. Some of the children said they had never cooked before. None of them had eaten kale or chard. Most of them had never heard of it until the garden was planted. The childrenleared how to cut an onion (tough with small hands on a large Vidalia onion), peel and cut garlic into fine mince, looked over all the greens for bugs (found a patch of eggs on the back of one chard leaf), picked basil leaves and oregano leaves off the stems, and chopped all of the greens.

The children helped with sautéing the onion and garlic in olive oil (making sure it didn’t burn to the bottom of the pan), added the greens and herbs, and took turns stirring until the ingredients were bright and tender. Meanwhile, another group took turns with two hand-crank cheese graters to shred a big wedge of Parmesan cheese. 

I had cooked two pounds of penne pasta at home and coated it with extra virgin oil, so we added the greens and cheese to that in a giant mixing bowl. Again, they all took turns mixing it to make sure all of the ingredients were well distributed. Then it was time to eat! Every child but one filled up his or her bowl at least twice. Even some of the kids who had said they would only eat the noodles said the kale and chard were delicious. Some said they would ask their families to plant those two vegetables in their gardens next year so they could have the dish at home. One young man popped back into the kitchen as I was cleaning up to announce that the dish “rates a 10!”

Ferry has provided the recipe for those who would like to try it this summer! She says that sometimes she adds canellini beans for protein. Click here for the recipe for Kelly’s Pasta with Greens & Parmesan.

Crooked River Adventures Announces Inaugural Season 2010: New Opportunities for Paddling Trips and Bike Rentals along Cuyahoga River for Kent Residents

The Department of Recreational Services at Kent State University is pleased to offer a new canoe and kayak livery at John Brown Tannery Park in downtown Kent. This satellite facility, named Crooked River Adventures, will provide Kent residents as well as Kent State students with a new form of recreation and leisure. Thelivery is the first significant step in making progress towards the city’s hope of creating a whitewater park.

From May to October, the Tannery facility will be available under the supervision of the Recreational Services’ Adventure Center, offering trips along the Cuyahoga River to two destinations which are easy to navigate and have beautiful views. Although no experience is needed to participate, a safety briefing 30 minutes prior to any departure is required. Each trip is limited to 10 people; return transportation to Tannery Park is provided.

Days/Times/ Reservations
During the week (Monday–Thursday): Paddling trips and bike rentals are offered on a reservation basis. For more information or to make a reservation, click here, or call
330-541-7467.

On the weekends (Friday–Sunday): Crooked River Adventures is open to patrons on a drop-in basis from 8:30 a.m.–6 p.m., in addition to accepting reservations.



For KEC'S 2010 Action Agenda, click HERE.

Ohio Air Quality Development Authority Sponsors Appliance Rebate Program

With the launch of a $10.4 million Ohio Energy Appliance Rebate Program on March 26, Ohio consumers have been able to replace older appliances with new Energy Star–qualified models that can lower monthly utility bills and accelerate energy efficiency in their households. The program, which is administered by the Ohio Department of Development, uses funding from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. With more than 89,000 rebates available, Ohio consumers can purchase Energy Star–qualified refrigerators, clothes washers, dishwashers, high-energy gas-storage water heaters and electric-pump water heaters from Ohio retailers. Rebate values range from $100 to $250. Please note: With heavy demand for these rebates, you may be  placed on a waiting list or find rebates no longer available for certain items. For more information on the Ohio Energy Efficiency Appliance Rebate, click here.

Green Energy Launches New GEOThermal Rebate Program

Green Energy Ohio has been selected by the Sierra Club to receive funding to administer a solar thermal rebate program in Ohio. GEO is now receiving applications for rebates on solar water heating systems purchased after April 1, 2009, on owner-occupied residential properties in Ohio for the primary purpose of supplementing domestic water heating. Qualifying individuals may apply for the rebate to cover a portion of the costs of eligible projects. Information on requirements and how to participate in this program is available on the GEO Web site. For questions, contact Athan Barkoukis or call 216-526-5545.

KEC July 2010 Newsletter Available

To view the July 2010 issue, click here.