A Narrative of the University of Oregon Urban Farm

Archives for What’s Growing?

Comfrey: A Compost Companion

It’s mid-May and comfrey is blooming in the garden, bringing our attention to this wonderful plant. The flowers are unexpected–sweet, bell shaped purple blooms drooping in umbles. Comfrey is a gem of the garden, providing many uses and benefits. At the Urban Farm, we like to add them to nearly every batch of compost because their leaves contain lots of nitrogen, phosphorus, AND potassium–the agricultural nutrient trifecta, NPK. 

NPK are the primary elements of every fertilizer. They are the basis of what you need to grow plants. You can make your own fertilizer out of just comfrey leaves and water. All you have to do is fill a bucket with about a quart of comfrey leaves and 4-5 gallons of water. Let it sit for a month or so, and you’ll have a stinky brown liquid to fertilize your crops. You can add comfrey with any method of adding nutrients to the soil/plants, like mulching, leaf mould heaps, or simply the bottom of a pot or hole you’re growing vegetables in. 

Comfrey is a wonderful plant to have growing in every garden. The nutrient-dense, prolific perennial not only acts as fertilizer but also attracts pollinators with their sweet purple blooms and has medicinal properties. Comfrey has soothing, anti-inflammatory properties and can be made into an herbal salve for skin conditions like dryness, rashes, and abrasions. It grows back rapidly after each harvest, making it a great plant to use throughout the season. Grow comfrey to serve a multitude of needs and add vibrant health to your garden!

 

Tons of Tomatoes!

Fresh from the Farm tomatoes!

The taste of a freshly picked tomato straight from the vine of the plant that you have grown yourself is a taste like no other. If you have never had a bite of a juicy tomato fresh from the garden, you are missing out. At the Urban Farm and the Columbia St. Garden, we grow a variety of different tomatoes. Students from the Summer term course get to help harvest and enjoy the tomato bounty and students from the previous terms prep the beds, plant, and install the cages for the vines to grow up.

A few notes on the history of the tomato..

A common misconception is that the tomato originated in Italy, due to its identification in today’s world with Italian cuisine. This, however, is false. The tomato is originally from South America and was brought over to Europe during the Colombian exchange.

The tomato was feared when it was first brought over. When the tomato was first introduced to Europe, people thought that they were poisonous! This may have been partially due to the fact that most dishes (of the wealthy families) were made out of pewter, so when the acidic tomato was put on the plates, the lead leeched out. Due to this, tomatoes did not rise to popularity until the 1800’s in Europe.

Fun Facts:

  • We can still find wild tomatoes in the Andes
  • Belongs to the family Solanaceae (sun loving plants)
  • The biggest producer of tomatoes in the world is China!
  • Fruit or vegetable? It depends on who you ask…but the large majority consider this treat to be a fruit.
  • Billions of tomatoes are produced every year

 

Project Tomato (click to learn more)

Another cool UO freshmen program is Project Tomato. This program takes incoming freshmen on a bike tour around to local farms to learn about sustainable agriculture. The students visit the Urban Farm as one of their first stops and help pick the abundance of ripe tomatoes at the beginning of Fall term. They use these tomatoes to create a pizza sauce that is served in Carson dining hall for s local foods night. This is a unique and pretty amazing program to the introduction of the Willamette Valley food scene and gives students a taste of how sustainable agriculture works. I participated in this program as an incoming freshmen and it was how I was first introduced to the Urban Farm. I would highly recommend it to anyone!

Check out some delicious tomato recipes below.

 

Make your own pizza with this homemade pizza sauce recipe! Also, add some of your fresh tomatoes on top of your pizza for a great fresh topping! Check out how to make it here.

 

 

 

An Italian treat, Bruschetta! Click here to learn how to make this classic.

 

 

 

 

Sources:

“Tomato History.” Tomato History | A Brief History Lesson about the Tomato, Veggie Cage, 2005, www.tomato-cages.com/tomato-history.html.

Smith, K. Annabelle. “Why the Tomato Was Feared in Europe for More Than 200 Years.”Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 18 June 2013, www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/why-the-tomato-was-feared-in-europe-for-more-than-200-years-863735/.

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.

Cultivating Mushrooms!

See the spot of white? That’s the fungi growing!

One of the coolest and unique projects on the farm is growing mushrooms on logs! This is a method of cultivating mushrooms by inoculating a log with mushroom plugs.

This is how how you do it.

  1. Pick a log. It should be from 3-6 inches in diameter. The log should be 3-5 feet in length. Good trees to use are ones with a thicker bark such as oaks and maples.
  2. Inoculate the log within 3 weeks of harvesting the log to keep it fresh. If it is longer than that, simple soak it in water for 1-2 days and let it dry.
  3. Drill specific sized holes for the size of

    Soaking the mushroom log

    your mushroom plug about 6 inches apart all around your log.

  4. Place you plug into the hole and and hammer it in until it is level with the log.
  5. Wax it! Wax the top of the plug. This will keep out unwanted critters and prevent it from drying out.
  6. Store the logs in a shady area. These can be stack on top of each other.
  7. The logs need to be soaked one every two weeks (or sprinkled twice every week) to prevent drying out.They need to keep 40-60% of its internal moisture.  The log has to dry between soakings or unwanted weeds might grow.
  8. Fruiting: when there is white mycelia on log that means it is getting close.
    1. Naturally: The log will naturally produce mushrooms after a fall or spring rain. The shock of rain after a warm season causes the mushrooms to sprout. This has about a 9 month cycle.
    2. Forced: You can force the mushrooms to sprout, if they have matured enough, by placing them in cold water for 24 hours. Take the log out after the 24 hours and within a week, full mushrooms should have sprouted! About 7 weeks is necessary before the log can force fruit again.

If properly taken care of, the log can last for years to come! This is a project that has occurred a few times and demonstrated for students at the farm.

Today all varieties of mushrooms are used around the world to eat and prepare delicious meals. They are used as garnishes, in soups, pizza, sir fry, and many more. Here are a few popular and delicious recipes for you to try with your newly grown mushrooms!

 

Here is a recipe for a simple, but delicious, zesty shiitake mushroom pasta!

A classic, stuffed mushrooms! Check out how to make them here.

Sources:

“How to Cultivate Mushrooms in Natural Logs.” Mushroompeople, 2011, www.mushroompeople.com/how-to-cultivate-mushrooms-in-natural-logs/.

All About Artichokes

A little history of the Artichoke…

The artichoke that we know and love today is thought to have come from a wild cardoon, which is native to the Mediterranean. The cardoon and artichoke are members of the thistle family (Asteraceae) which sunflowers and lettuce are also a part of. It is believed that they began to cultivate them as early as the 5th century BC.  The artichoke made its way from the Mediterranean (Italy) and worked its way up through Europe

Cardoon

and eventually made it to the USA.

California and Louisiana in particular were introduced to them first and, are still today, largely popular.  Today, California still produces most of the artichokes in the USA and France, Italy, and Spain are the worlds other large growers, however, it is produced all across the globe.

Culturally, the Italians and French still use it wildly in their cooking.

What is it and how do you eat it?

The part of the artichoke that we eat today is actually a not fully mature flower. When the flower is let to fully grow and mature, a brilliant bright purple flower blooms that the pollinators of the farm love!

The plant produces a large buds near the top and smaller buds as they go down the stem. When harvesting, the bud has to be cut 1-2 inches down on the stem so that a new bud can produce again.

Artichokes can be eaten in a variety of ways, and they are in many places around the world. Artichokes are not eaten raw. To be the tastiest that they can be they are cooked (steaming, boiling, baked, fried, etc..).

Italian Stuffed Artichoke

 

A popular Italian method of eating artichokes is stuffed artichokes. Find the recipe here to learn how to make this delicious treat!

 

 

 

 

Spinach and Artichoke dip

 

Another popular method of preparing artichokes is used in a dip! Spinach and artichoke is a popular combination. Find out here to see how to make a delicious spinach and artichoke dip!

 

 

Artichokes are great in simple recipes too which really bring out the flavor. Perhaps the easiest way to eat them is to steam on the stove until tender. Then each leaf/pedal can be pulled off and by using your teeth, the flesh can be scrapped off into your mouth. These can be dipped in butter or olive oil to add a little flavor.

Artichokes from the Farm!

Interesting Fact:

Artichokes were once thought to be an aphrodisiac, so only men were allowed to eat them. Only Catherine de Medici was recorded to have eaten them.

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Sources:

“Where Did Artichoke Originate?” Artichoke Recipes, Artichoke Recipies, 2017, www.artichokerecipes.co.uk/where-did-artichoke-originate/.

“Thinking of a Thorny Thistle? This Bud’s for You!” Vegetarians in Paradise/Artichoke History/Artichoke Nutrition/Artichoke Folklore/Artichoke Recipe, Vegitarians in Paradise, 2015, www.vegparadise.com/highestperch48.html.

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