Upcoming End of March Events

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SpringKickOff_2011_03FT

March 19th – Volunteer to build a compost bins at Sustainable Flatbush’s Church Avenue Communal Garden, East 21st Street at Kenmore Terrace, 11 am – 3 pm. Details here.

March 25th – “Is Local Agriculture Good for the Environment: The Hidden Costs of Food in New York City” event at the Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street. 6:30 pm, $6 museum members; $8 seniors and students; $12 non-members. Reservations required. Details here.

March 26th – Spring Kick-Off volunteer/learning day at Prospect Farm. 10am – 3 pm. Bring work gloves, water, and a shovel if you have one. Children must be accompanied an adults.

April 2nd – Second Spring Kick-Off volunteer/learning day at Prospect Farm. 10am – 3 pm. Bring work gloves, water, and a shovel if you have one. Children must be accompanied an adults.

Compost videos from Annie Hauck

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Hello Prospect Farm Members,

Am happy that the frame insert for our ‘Straw Fort’ last year has a new home at Prospect Farm.
You can see its life as a combined insulated compost bin and cold frame to grow salad greens (assembled, filmed and maintained in our front yard due diagonal to Prospect Farm last winter – see videos 4 & 5 at http://www.brooklynmompostcompost.com.

Since many Prospect Farm members are involved in composting, our videos on the NBC GreenIsUniversal blog and Facebook page link may be helpful:
http://www.greenisuniversal.com/?p=25184

Finally, we designed and constructed a three-part compost bin for the community gardeners at Ft. Tilden.Using nearly all re-purposed and found materials, the bin cost about $2.34. See it at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUSop21LrqI

Enjoy and best wishes in composting,
Annie Hauck-Lawson

Making Brooklyn Bloom free at BBG this Saturday March 12th

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This year’s Making Brooklyn Bloom focuses on the ways gardening can build communities and strengthen relationships among neighbors, schools, service organizations, and beyond. The free event features fifteen workshops—covering topics in urban sustainable horticulture including rooftop farming, citizen science, and caring for street trees—all presented by community leaders in urban greening, members of BBG’s horticulture staff, or experts from other environmental organizations in New York City. First Annual Wilbur A. Levin Keynote Address with workshops all day. Free.

Saturday, March 12 | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Brooklyn Botanical Gardens
Details: http://www.bbg.org/visit/event/mbb_2011/

Dirt Talk Two: Garden Design

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Prospect Farm and Sustainable Flatbush are proud to present Brooklyn Dirt: Monthly Talks on Urban Farming and Gardening.

Talk Two: Garden Design
With Speakers Tom Angotti with Jesse Alter (Hunter ) and Chris Kreussling (AKA Flatbush Gardener)

March 16th, 2011
7 – 9:30 pm
Downstairs @ Sycamore Bar and Flowershop, 21+
1118 Cortelyou RD, BK (Q train to Cortelyou)
$5 suggested donation (proceeds benefit Sustainable Flatbush & Prospect Farm)

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Tom Angotti and Jesse Alter led a group to Cuba in January that studied urban agriculture and organic farming. Tom teaches urban planning at Hunter College and helped start Prospect Farm in Brooklyn. Jesse is a graduate student at Hunter and works at the Center for Cuban Studies in New York.

Chris Kreussling (AKA Flatbush Gardener) is a garden coach with more than 30 years gardening experience in NYC. Chris is also the Director of the Urban Gardens and Farms initiative of Sustainable Flatbush and a community member of the Healthy Soils, Healthy Communities advisory board, a project of the Cornell Waste Management Institute.

http://flatbushgardener.blogspot.com

Sustainable Flatbush brings neighbors together to mobilize, educate, and advocate for sustainable living in their Brooklyn neighborhood and beyond.
http://sustainableflatbush.org/

Prospect Farm is a community group in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn that is working together to grow food in a formerly vacant lot, with the mission toward creating a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Farm that can serve our community. Prospect Farm is the community leader for the Kensington/Windsor Terrace neighborhood group for the Brooklyn Food Coalition.

Help Kensington’s New Youth-Led Farmer’s Market

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The Brooklyn Food Coalition was asked by City Council Member Brad Lander to gather a group of people who would be willing to take turns assisting a youth-led farmers market on Ft. Hamilton Pkwy and E. 4th Street.

The market would run on Saturdays from 11-3. If you have any interest in learning more and/or have suggestions for faith orgs, CSA’s or other groups that might be interested in learning more, please contact Nancy Romer: nancyromer(at)gmail.com. Many thanks.

Note: This market is not being organized by Prospect Farm. Prospect Farm is helping to spread the word.

Garden Pickled Green Beans

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I posted this recipe on my blog Cantaloupe Alone at the end of the last season. I took all the vegetbles left in plot 4 (the plot I shared with Andrea) and pickled them before planting cold weather crops. The results were delicious chopped up in salads, a garnish to bloody marys, or as a snack.

Garden Jar Pickled Beans 

2 1/3 cups water
2 tblsp salt
1 1/2 tblsp sugar
2 1/2 tblsp white wine vinegar
2 peeled garlic cloves, smashed
1 hot pepper, quartered
1 inch lemon zest
1 handful garden herbs
1/2 lb string beans

I did a variation of this pickled bean earlier in the year. I made the mistake of boiling beans with the liquid. The beans became mushy when I was after a crunchy pickle. I suggest boiling the water, salt,vinegar and sugar in a sauce pan and pouring into a clean mason jar on top of the garlic cloves, hot pepper, lemon zest, and herbs. The hot water will dissolve the salt and sugar while bringing out the flavor in the herbs.

 

Cool the jar until no longer steaming, 20-30 minutes, and add the beans. Screw lid on, and shake vigorously. Let sit for 2-4 days until beans have a zesty tang. I like to sample part of a bean every day to see how the flavors are developing. Store in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.

Read the original post: http://cantaloupealone.blogspot.com/2010/09/garden-harvest-pickle-jar.html

Greening Flatbush Feb 27th

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Greening Flatbush: Garden Where You Are presented by Sustainable Flatbush

A fun-filled & information-packed afternoon. Meet your neighbors and get your hands dirty. Come out for demonstrations and hands-on workshops on a variety of gardening and urban agriculture topics, including:

* gardening for kids
* starting seedlings
* growing mushrooms in your apartment
* DIY soda bottle planters
* composting with worms indoors
* how to join theFlatbush Farm Share CSA
* how to care for street trees… and much more!

There will be an information table featuring sustainability education opportunities specifically for youth. Snacks and coffee will be available. Bring your own mug (BYOM)!

WHEN:
Sunday, February 27th, 2-5pm
WHERE: Flatbush YMCA
1401 Flatbush Avenue (at Rogers Avenue)
Brooklyn, NY  11210