A Narrative of the University of Oregon Urban Farm

Archives for fruit trees

Fig it!

Fig harvest from the Farm!!

The Urban Farm fig tree located right beside the club house is massive, and probably the coolest tree at the farm. When the tree begins to ripen near the end of summer with fresh figs, there has to be hundreds. This Summer we had a few students climb up to the tree and pick bucketfuls of ripe figs, a true treat.

Figs have a long and fascinating history with humans. The origin of the fig started in Asia, and eventually made its way to the Mediterranean area. It has been found to be used and cultivated by ancient peoples dating back to 5000 BC! Some even think it could be the oldest domesticated crop. WOW! It was first introduced to the United States in the 1400’s by Spanish missionaries. California was the place of introduction and this is where the vast majority of fig production still happens today in the USA.

The fig portion of the tree itself, the part that we eat, is actually a flower sac, or synconium. This is not a fruit, like many believe. The flower sac grows flowers internally. How this occurred is the stem grew out and created a sac where only female flowers grow inside. Due to this, they also do not rely on pollination to thrive and produce more.

Fig Facts:

  • Can live up to 100 years and get to the height of 50 feet
  • More than 750 different varieties
  • Fig symbolism: peace, fertility, prosperity
  • 1200+ species eat figs and is considered a keystone resource
  • In 1892 Fig Newtons appeared on the market
  • Figs used considered a healing plant and were used for their medicinal properties. Chimpanzees have been observed eating the bark and leaves (unusual food for chimps) and researches have thought that they are using these fig parts as self-medicating.
  • Some think Eve ate a fig instead of an apple in the Garden of Eden
  • Figs are loaded with calcium. Half a cup of figs is equivalent to half a cup of milk!

Check out some awesome fig recipes down below.

 

Here is a simple sweet breakfast or snack to make with fresh figs! Yogurt, figs, and honey…Yum!

 

 

 

 

Have you ever had a homemade fig newton? Even better than the kind from the store. Try it out yourself here.

 

 

Also, the fig just picked from the tree and eaten by itself is mouthwatering too. Just make sure it’s ripe! A fully ripe fig hangs down from the branch. If you look carefully, you’ll notice how the unripened greener figs stick out from the branches, whereas the riper ones droop down and have a yellowish tint to them. And lastly, feel the fig before picking. The ripest yellowish ones will be super soft and squishy, that is when they are perfect for eating. But don’t worry, if you happen to pick one when it is not all the way ripe, leave if for a few days and it will ripen off by itself.

 

 

Sources:

Shanahan, Mike. “Earth – The Tree That Shaped Human History.” BBC, BBC, 17 Jan. 2017, www.bbc.com/earth/story/20170116-the-tree-that-shaped-human-history.

Trowbridge Fillipone, Peggy. “Garden of Eden to Modern Day, Figs Tempt Humans With Sweetness.” The Spruce, The Spruce, 2 Feb. 2017, www.thespruce.com/history-of-figs-1807598.

Abundance of Apples!

That time of year.

A post shared by Urban Farm (@urbanfarmfriend) on

Making Apple Cider at the Farm!!!

 

Making Fresh apple cider at the Urban Farm is a treat normally reserved for the Fall term class when the apples are fallen on the ground and ready for cider! However, as the end of the Summer session is coming to a close, there were enough apples laying around to pull out the press early. Making the cider is pretty simple and fun! All you have to do is pick up apples that have fallen on the ground around your trees, and there are plenty of these around in both of the orchards at the Farm. Then load them into the press and students get to take turns spinning the press which crushes the apples and releases the juices from the apples. When enough apples have been crushed, you can release the juice to be poured out (as seen in the video above) to get the fresh cider!

Now let’s learn a little bit more about the history of cider…

Once the early civilizations learned how to ferment apple cider it was a trend that caught on quickly. The earliest known record of cider production is thought to have come from 1300 BC in Egypt because of evidence of apples trees once inhabiting there, but we do not no for sure. What we do know is that in 55 BC villages in England were recorded to have been drinking a beverage made from apples that resembled apple cider very closely. Ever since then, cider has taken off and truly become a staple in 9th century Europe. Farmers even began having whole orchards just for cider production.

Cider was introduced to America when the colonists arrived. And it caught on quickly was well because of New England being a great place to grown apple trees. It was quite popular for a while as the water was not always the safest to drink and the apples did provide some nutritional value. “Applekin” was even a variety created for kids to drink that did not have as high of an alcoholic content.

Today, apples are a beloved and tasty treat. Check out a few recipes below to see some of the wonderful creations you can make with a tasty apple!

 

An American classic, delicious apple pie! Find out how to make it here.

Serve hot with a scope of vanilla ice cream…almost nothing better.

 

 

 

 

Apple Oat Crisp…a sweet treat for desert or I say breakfast. Good to pair with ice cream or yogurt!

Learn how to make it here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources:

Lewis, Danny. “The Ancient Origins of Apple Cider.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 8 Dec. 2016, www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ancient-origins-apple-cider-180960662/.

“Apple Cider, Apple Butter, Perry, and Vinegar.” National Apple Museum, The Biglerville Historical and Preservation Society and The National Apple Museum, www.nationalapplemuseum.com/appleciderandmore.html.

New Farm Happenings

Hello to the University of Oregon blog community! My name is Ayla Ginger.

I am so happy to be placed here on this wooden bench, spilling out my first, long awaited post for the Urban Farm blog. I wish to bid the previous blog writer and urban farm friend, Kat, a loving hello and farewell. It has been over a year since she last posted on this blog, now living in Portland and partaking in many great gardening endeavors.

My goal here is to post weekly updates on the growing narrative that is the Urban Farm, similar to Kat. I took the Urban Farm class almost two years ago and fell in love with the place, the process and the people of the farm. New plants, topics and issues are constantly sprouting. Hundreds of students occupy the outdoor classroom a term; think about all the hands that have collectively dug into this dirt that have contributed to its healthy state today! Who are these hands? What is their experience on the farm?

From what I have gathered over time spent and conversations had; this place, this outdoor classroom, this cultivated open space, has affected, and continues to affect the lives of an innumerable amount of species. I aspire to bring light to the place, process and the people, and to share this narrative with any who may be interested to listen. Gardeners, urban farmers, nature lovers, academics, ecologists, poets, what have you, all welcome!

I wish I had photos to share, but I am having some technological difficulties in that area. Photos to come soon!

Under The Hawthorn Tree

Currently Listening: Crypt Trip- Crypt Trip

Friday May 1st the Hawthorn Tree came down to let in more sunshine and open up the abandoned kiln area.  What an important event to document in the history of the farm!  We were lucky enough to have Sperry’s Tree Care come and do the work with Jesse as one of the former team leaders here at the Urban Farm.

timber 2

timber 4

timber 5

timber 7

Since we can use the wood chips, they will leave the pile for us!

wood chips action shot

 

Harper and Jesse discussing which apple tree should be removed to let in more light for the existing ones:

what to cut

jesse cut 1

jesse cut 2

jesse cut 3

 

Now, how can we use everything to its upmost potential? Let’s save this log to inoculate it for spores!

do we save it for mushrooms

jesse cut 4

Never haul away someone else’s branches:

never haul someone elses branches

 

Taking a break, talking about the Millrace which had been turned on that day:
talking about the millrace

Look at that sunshine!:

beds now have sunshineUpdate!:

Check out the new garden beds and growth that have flourished since the removal of the tree:

May 19: new sun beds may 19 2

Life Alive!

Currently listening: Menace- Best of

Today I went around and just took pictures of both classes and both locations, the Columbia street and the UO one. I’ll elaborate more on that later, but first I want to post these pictures!

Morning Class at UO Urban Farm:

Lauren’s group examining the bee’s:
Laurens AM class and bees April 28

Harper’s group setting up tomato cages:
group hello tom cages april 28

tom cages getting it done april 28

om cage standing 2 april 28

tom cages emma funny pose april 28

Shelly’s group is all like ‘lettuce party over here’:
Shelly very happy lettuce april 28

Shelly group lettuce party april 28

Shelly planting lettuce April 28

Shelly before group shot april 28

Shelly Group Shot April 28

 

Morning Class at Columbia St. Urban Farm:

Some group dialogs about classroom projects and real-world events before beginning the days work:

Keegan and Dan group bales April 28

group bales 1 april 28

group bales 4

Kasey’s group is Taking Care of Brassicas: 

kasey brassica action 1

kasey brassica action 2

Using a machete helps to ensure they get chopped up into decent sizes for the compost pile! The more surface area the greater the exchange rate between microorganisms during decomposition which in turn leads to a faster rate of decomposition within the entire compost pile. Life!

kasey machette skills

sow those hardy stocks up

Kasey is holding a sprayer full of compost tea!:
kasey compost tea sprayer

Goofing around:

kasey group goofing

Dan’s group getting ready to plant some Solanaceae:

Dans group gathering 2

Dans group solanaceae 2

Dans group solanaceae 1
Keegan’s group talking about reworking ‘the boneyard’: 

Keegan bone yard

Afternoon Class at UO Urban Farm:

The afternoon class ran out of sunshine and got rain instead, but fear not! they continued their journey and had a great turnout!

Dan’s group checking out their turnip & carrot bed:
group thinning turnips 1

group looking at turnips 5

Kasey’s group putting up tomato cages:

We learned that to improve water resources the tomatoes were going to be planted in little trenches- to help with watering come summer time when there are less ‘hands on deck’ in the Urban Farm.
Katie tomato cages April 28

Rainy and cold but Happy April 28

 

cheyenne tomato cages april 28

Leeks!:
Leeks April 28

All of this happened within a normal day of classes at the Urban Farm!

 

We harvested about 18 pounds of food security today, radical! You can check out the up-to-date harvest log here.

Be our friend on Facebook! And

Instagram

Later Days

-Kat B!

Winter 2015

Currently listening: Blue Cheer- Vincebus Eruptum

It just so happens that I have some scattered pictures from winter term available to share with you!

Jan 24 (Saturday Session):

We went over to River Bend Farm/Orchard to learn and help them prune their pear tree’s!

RB Action Shot

Before (not our handy work):

RB before tree

After:

RB after tree

February 3:

I transplanted an m-9 honey crisp apple that Keegan (a team leader) taught me (and many other interested students) how to graft at the Sustainability Fair!  My friend Anna named the tree Isaac :]

Sustain Fair Feb 3

Issac tree m9

February 16:

It was a beautiful sunny day at the farm and we were able to harvest so much we had some leftover’s!  The winter classes are smaller than the fall/spring group sizes.

feb 16 leftovers
I spy: giant red mustard, cilantro, collard greens…

feb 16 garden shot

February 23:

This day our group elected to work in the greenhouse for planting seeds!  We planted a nice mix, such as beets, tomatoes, kale, cabbage, and more.  We worked with flats/trays, cells.. and talked about the benefits of using one over the other for each plant.  Seeds are donated to the Urban Farm through various community organizations/resources.  Previously in the term we went through the collection of seeds and set aside ‘old’ seed (prior to 3-4 years) and organized the lot.  The germination rate goes down with each consecutive year past the packaging date.

beet package

seeding trays

Inside the greenhouse! What plants do you see developing?

inside greenhouse trays

March 2:

Some lovely purple sprouting broccoli:

brassica mar 2

Beets from the Urban Farm, in the front doorway of my house:

beetz

March 9:

The last day of winter classes for me at the Urban Farm!  We got to transplant an entire bed of Walla-Walla Onions, “So good they had to name them twice!”  These are fresh onions, not storage onions, these will be ready in the summer time.

Keegan’s group came over to help once they were done with their projects:

walla walla

Dan looking accomplished!

onions mar 9 woo

I hope you have an enjoyed a brief and quick insight into what kind of tasks can be done at the Urban Farm during winter term.  As always, feel free to follow us on Instagram and Facebook! @UrbanFarmFriend

Instagram
Later Days

-Kat B!

Summertime

It’s summer time at the Urban Farm and the living is definitely easy. Our summer term class has been spending most of their time on the farm trying to keep on top of harvesting. Last year we planted way too many zucchini and crookneck squash plants. We adjusted things this year in the hopes that no one gets buried with summer squash. I’m happy to report that we are getting a good variety of summer squash, tomatoes, lettuces, beans, beets, cucumbers and such.

The apple trees are hanging over and starting to drop fruit already. Not sure what is going on there. Don’t they know it’s only August? Typically we harvest those in another month, around late September. The pear trees seem to be behaving though. We should have a good crop come October.

The school break between summer and fall terms is on the horizon. We always need extra volunteers during that time. If you are interested, send us an email or just stop by on a Saturday from 10:30-12:30. Happy harvesting!

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