It's time to give serious thought to what will go in this year's garden. We've talked before about seeds, planning tools, and even about experimenting with a virtual garden to see what might happen. Now's the time to put that research into action to start taking home harvests like the one pictured here!
Join us Saturday, May 15th and Sunday, May 16th in front of The People's Coop talking plants, gardening, and all sorts of other fun green stuff! We'll be there once more on Saturday, May 22nd for one more chance at some terrific tomatoes, peppers, basils, and great conversation!
We've talked about scrumptious fungus, heirloom potatoes, and classes to help decide what to grow in the garden, but here's a chance to try some of those great local foods for yourself. Think of it as research for the garden or next trip to the Farmer's Market!
The Ark of Taste Dinner is a five course meal (plan for an elastic waistband!) that will knock your socks off. By promoting these foods to your taste buds, the Ark of Taste and Slow Food (check out the Huron Valley chapter, too!) raises the chances of keeping them growing for future generations. Wander over to the Grange Kitchen and Bar to sample some of this amazing fare and see what your taste buds would plant!
Join Royer Held and Tom Scheper for Heirloom Tomatoes and Peppers this Saturday, April 17th! These two heirloom vegetable and gardening enthusiasts will be at the ready to impart some of their tried and true methods for growing organic tomatoes and peppers. Experienced trowels at the ready, Royer and Tom will share their favorite cultivars as well as tips for a beautiful and bountiful harvest. Don't miss it!
Can't make this one? Check out these upcoming classes and get them on the calendar!
Introduction to Composting
Saturday, April 24
10am - 12pm
Leslie House at Leslie Science and Nature Center
Join Geoffrey Kroepel to learn composting methods that suit the needs of every gardener. Basic composting principles will be discussed as well as different methods for making it.
Bees Up Close and Personal!
Saturday, May 1
1pm - 3pm
Dawn Farms
6633 Stoney Creek Drive
Ypsilanti, MI 48197
$7.50/per person
Lora Kadwell will lead a hands-on introductory class and honey extraction. Meet the bees, see the equipment, and give this sweetest of endeavours a try.
*Participants should plan to wear jeans, long-sleeve shirts, and shoes.
** Class size is limited to 15 members, so don't wait to register.
PG: Do you save your own potato seed or seed potatoes or slips? How do you do that?
RH: Potatoes produce fruit that looks like small green tomatoes. Most people don't realize that this happens because the fruit is well hidden on the plants. If you know to look for it, you will find it. I pick the fruit when it is ripe and extract the seed. The seed is about the size of a pin head and it is in a slimy gel. I spread it on paper to dry and package it up like tomato seed for storage.
I have always ordered sweet potato slips and have never bothered to try to produce my own for planting out. I have had sweet potatoes produce slips, but they have done that in the dead of winter when I can't make use of them. I have not tried all of the sweet potato varieties that will grow in Michigan, so I'm still looking over the catalogs for new ones to try.
PG: What's the most important thing to remember when saving seed potatoes?
RH: Keep an eye on them. Don't let them dry out and don't let them rot. Also, don't allow them to freeze. My solution has been to keep them in my fireplace. The fireplace damper lets in just enough cool air to keep temperatures low but above freezing. This isn't ideal, but it works for me.
PG: How long do seed potatoes keep?
RH: Seed potatoes are only good for the following season unless you do tissue culture, which is something growers are doing but is not something a home grower would typically try.
PG: Are there some varieties that are better for saving than others? Some varieties that are more difficult but worth the effort?
RH: I haven't noticed any difference in shelf life for different potato varieties.
PG: What's different about saving seed potatoes than other kinds of seeds?
RH: When you save seeds the seed will remain viable for many years if it is properly processed and stored. Seed potatoes will only make it to the next planting season. They are perishable.
PG: Any recommended reading or a favorite reference?
RH:Michael Pollan'sBotany of Desire goes into great detail about the potato and how it is grown in the US. The book is alot of fun in general. It inspired me to contact the USDA regarding Bolivian potato seed.
There is a wealth of information on the internet. My favorite website is that of PROINPA, an organization located in Cochabamba, Bolivia dedicated to the promotion of Andean crop varieties. The website is in Spanish, but that just makes it more exotic. Their pdf featuring photographs of 100 potato varieties indigenous to Bolivia is a gem.
PG: Does the class talk mainly about heirloom varieties of potatoes and sweet potatoes or all varieties?
RH: The class deals with growing potatoes and sweet potatoes in general, but I do make the point that there are a considerable range of varieties that can be grown and illustrate the point with photos. I also talk about my experience with Bolivian potatoes, which are perhaps the most venerable of the heirlooms.
PG: Is there anything I haven't asked you that you want to be sure to mention?
RH: Bolivian potatoes have been selected to cook quickly, because they are grown at a high elevation where water boils at a lower temperature. They only need to boil for five minutes at our lower elevation. Whoever would have thought there would be Energy Star potatoes?
Potato Seeds, Seed Potatoes, and Sweet Potato Slips
Gardening can be tremendously satisfying, especially when growing vegetables and herbs for your own table. Recently, Project Grow talked with Royer Held, an heirloom enthusiast, about potatoes and sweet potatoes. In the first part of our conversation, Royer shared what got him started growing tubers and why he's kept on growing them. Here in the second part, he offers advice for the grower on choosing a variety that's right for you and your garden.
PG: Are some varieties better for storing, eating, baking, or eating immediately?
RH: Potato varieties differ in starch content and this is what makes them appropriate for different uses. Baking potatoes have a high starch content while my Bolivians and fingerling potatoes have a lower starch content, which make them better for boiling. There is nothing better to eat than a "new" potato: one freshly dug or one snuck out from under a growing plant before the main harvest.
PG: What do you advise a grower when looking for a variety?
RH: Consider how you like to cook your potatoes. Many of the garden catalogs that sell potatoes make suggestions for types that are suitable for particular types of cooking.
In addition to starch content, I would consider early, mid and late season potato varieties. My Bolivian potatoes are late season. That means they tie up garden space until frost. You could grow early season potatoes and follow that crop with greens, daikon, or a cool growing crop to get more out of your garden. A first time grower should select any variety that is commonly grown in your part of the country.
PG: Why are sweet potatoes often grown using slips?
RH: I suspect that growing sweet potatoes from slips is a matter of convenience and a way to reduce cost. It is truly amazing how quickly a slip without roots gets established in the garden. Sweet potatoes root along their stems quite easily, and most of the time the slips have roots already started. Sweet potatoes seldom flower at this lattitude so we don't see seed. If you were to grow sweet potatoes from seed you would have a new variety just like you do when you grow potatoes from seed. This happens quite often in tropical lattitudes, which helps account for the large number of commercial varieties available.
PG: What's the difference broadly speaking (I don't want to give away your whole class!) between using potato seeds, seed potatoes, and slips?
RH: When you use seed potatoes or slips you are growing exactly the same plant and genetic material that produced the seed potato or slip. This assures that you are growing exactly the same thing you grew the year before, or that you are growing exactly the variety that you want. When you grow any plant from seed, you are getting a brand new genetic combination that may or may not reflect the characteristics of its parents. This is where new varieties come from. To me, growing things from seed is far more exciting than simply accepting someone else's idea about what I should be growing!
PG: Is there a particular trick to successfully growing potatoes and sweet potatoes? Is there something you do to always ensure success?
RH: Both of these plants (the potato and the sweet potato) are quite tough. If they weren't, they wouldn't be as widely cultivated as they are. Like any garden vegetable, the key to success lies in the quality of the soil in which the plants are grown. All gardeners should be paying attention to developing and maintaining a healthy soil. As long as you do that, you can grow anything.
That said, sweet potatoes and potatoes should not be supplied with extra nitrogen. That will cause both types of plants to produce foliage rather than tubers. Potatoes and sweet potatoes also benefit from mulch. They both like even soil moisture and do not like to dry out until the end of the season.
When harvesting both regular and sweet potatoes take care not to injure the potatoes. Sweet potatoes that have been bruised, scraped, or otherwise injured are more likely to rot in storage. The same is true to a lesser degree with potatoes.
An unsung hero of the vegetable world is the potato. Often berated as a carb carrying fiend, the potato is really a source of great culinary delights and nutrition. Not to mention, it's got a fascinating history. Project Grow (PG) interviewed Royer Held (RH) about his passion for the potato, and his upcoming class on growing potatoes in the garden. Read this first part of the interview where we talk about the potatoes he grows and the spark that got him to grow his first tuber.
PG: I was aware of your interest in heirloom tomatoes and peppers, but not potatoes and sweet potatoes. What sparked your interest in this group?
RH: I first started growing my own potatoes about twenty years ago. I was eager to try some of the varieties offered by a mail order business that had close to 100 different kinds. I ended up growing a number of fingerlings and some other varieties that sounded interesting.
I grew them off and on, but my interest took off twelve years ago when my daughter went to Bolivia as an exchange student. She came back talking about all the different kinds of potatoes that were available in Bolivia. She said some tasted like bananas, and some were orange. I started looking for a way that I could try some.
About eight years ago I found that the USDA Seed Bank had hundreds of Bolivian potato varieties in their collection. I submitted an application and received ten different varieties that I've been growing ever since.
PG: What appeals to you about potatoes and sweet potatoes? Do you like both crops for the same or for different reasons?
RH: Both potatoes and sweet potatoes are highly nutritious and easily grown in your garden. If you grow them yourself, you have access to hundreds if not thousands of varieties you can't get in the grocery store. Potatoes are easier to grow and better suited to Michigan's cooler summers.
Ever since I received the Bolivian potato seed I have been growing Bolivian potatoes in my garden. I would have to say that I have a fondness for them that is somewhat irrational. Since each potato you grow from seed is unique, each time you raise a potato from seed (as opposed to from a tuber or seed potato) you get a new variety. I have been growing potatoes from seed ever since I got the first batch of seed from the USDA. At this point, I don't know how many different varieties I currently have. Each year I collect seed from plants that produce fruit, so theoretically I could produce 1,000's of new potato varieties if I had enough space to grow them.
I got inspired to try sweet potatoes reading about them in the Sandhill Preservation Catalogproduced by Glen Drowns. Glen grows sweet potatoes in Iowa. I figured if it can be done in Iowa, we should be able to do it here. If you choose early season sweet potatoes you can get a decent crop. It's fun to try an assortment because they have different flavors and textures, just like potatoes.
PG: What's special about heirloom potatoes?
RH: Variety is the spice of life. Commercial growers are not growing heirloom potato varieties in large quantities. Since potato varieties must be grown from tubers each year this makes it hard to keep them going. Will Bonsal who is the curator of the potato collection maintained by Seed Savers Exchange is having a tough time keeping all of the potatoes in his collection from going extinct. Home gardeners should step up and take on this responsibility because they are the ultimate beneficiaries of the preservation of these varieties.
Hungry for more information? Check back for the next installment where we talk with Royer about the varieties he grows, and some specifics about growing potatoes and sweet potatoes. Better yet, register for his class, and take the Project Grow Potato Pledge and get yourself growing!
Potato Seeds, Seed Potatoes, and Sweet Potato Slips
While planning this years garden - whether electronically or using pen and paper - don't forget to plant a row for the hungry. It's not difficult (what's one more row, really?) and can provide fresh food that can make a world of difference for a neighbor in the community.
And Project Grow and Downtown Home and Garden are making it even easier! Take our Potato Pledge and pick up two pounds of seed potatoes from Downtown Home and Garden on April 17th and get growing! Potatoes are easy and satisfying to grow, and are a favorite staple of food banks everywhere.
2. Bring the Pledge to Downtown Home and Garden on Saturday, April 17th to "Potato Alley" behind the store (enter at Liberty Street and exit via Washington Street), and turn that paper into two pounds of beautiful seed potatoes ready for planting.
3. Plant those potatoes! Without a doubt our Project Grow heirloom devotee, Royer Held, will offer some of the best insight on growing potatoes to be found during "Potato Seeds, Seed Potatoes, and Sweet Potatoes" on Saturday, April 10th. (Well-timed for Potato Pledgers so sign-up now!)
4. Harvest in late summer or early fall. Details on collection dates, times, and places can be found at this blog, our newsletter, and via email.
This post about seeds for a cold climate on Cold Climate Gardening is just terrific. The subsequent discussion in the comments section is also well worth a read. Some great seed sources are listed, as well as things to keep in mind while shopping for seeds.
Keep in mind that heirloom seeds have been chosen and saved for generations in an area or region not just for their fantastic flavors, but because they are well-adapted to that particular climate. Local heirlooms from Project Grow are available at the 2010 Annual Seed Swap on Saturday, February 13th, and can also be found at People's Food Coop, too.
Seed Savers Exchange specializes in heirlooms, and offers lots of good information about where they come from, how they grow, and the flavors they produce.
One of the beautiful things about these early Spring days is the fact that the mailbox starts to fill with seed catalogs. One of the challenging things about all those seed catalogs is making choices. There are always the old favorites, and then there are those enticing new plants that are difficult to resist.
Add to the list of enticing things for this month Project Grow's Annual Seed Swap. Going for nearly ten years, the Seed Swap is offers a real-life seed catalog for perusing. The added bonus is that the grower and collector is on hand to answer any questions and talk about the pros and cons of a particular variety. There will also be a nice selection of Project Grow heirloom seeds available, too, and experienced gardeners to talk them over with, too.
Come on out to find a new favorite, talk with other gardening enthusiasts ranging from the newbie to the super-experienced, and get your garden off to a great start!
Inspired? Keep an eye out for upcoming classes led by Royer Held and other local seed savers who share plenty of tips for saving seeds and choosing heirloom varieties.
Don't forget to come on out to the HomeGrown Festival this Saturday, September 12th. Not only will there be a myriad of tasty local foods there (including Project Grow's brilliant tomato tasting table!), including Michigan wines and beers, but a wide variety of other activities. A chef's demonstration, a Made-in-Michigan store, and a bundle of farmer and fiber producer's will also be on hand.
Stop by our table and sample a fantastic variety of organically grown heirloom varieites of tomatoes to begin planning next year's garden as well as give your tastebuds something to celebrate!
And if you'd like to taste more than a few different varieties of heirloom tomatoes join us for our Eighth (can you believe it's EIGHT?) Annual Tomato Tasting. Bring your tastebuds out for an morning of exercise and fun!
Eighth Annual Tomato Tasting Extravaganza
Saturday, August 22nd
9am - 12pm
Ann Arbor Farmer's Market
For more information on the event or to find out how to get your tomatoes in the mix just drop us a note or call 734-996-3169.
Heirloom tomatoes are, thankfully, one of the great (and delicious) rediscoveries of our time. Writers like Barbara Kingsolver and Michael Pollan along with local growers like Frog Holler and Wilson's Farm have helped bring these beauties back to our plates and tummies. And local seedsavers like Royer Held have shown us how to preserve them for the future, and shared their enthusiasm for growing these storied varieties. As Wendell Berry says, "Food with a story tastes better."
In celebration of these great folks near and far (and the tomato itself!) we'd like to remind you that this Saturday - August 22nd - is the Eighth Annual Tomato Tasting Extravaganza at the Ann Arbor Farmer's Market. Sample a wide variety of tomatoes - large, small, red, yellow, and green - to find a new favorite and make notes about which one to grow for next year. We'll have folks on hand to talk you through the tasting, and share information about the tomatoes present.
Tomato Tasting Extravaganza
Saturday, August 22nd
Ann Arbor's Famer's Market
8am - 1pm
Interested in volunteering?Drop Leigh Ann a note or give her a ring at 734-996-3169 to come on along!
Interested in volunteering tomatoes?Bring 'em on down to the market labeled and washed (but not cut up, please!) after 8:30am, and we'll add them to the mix.
Learn the Secrets of the Market and volunteer with Project Grow at these two fantastic upcoming events! (Ok, we won't make you get up at 4:30am, but you'll still have a terrific time.)
Project Grow's Heirloom Tomato Tasting Extravaganza Saturday, August 22nd, 8am to 1pm Ann Arbor Farmer's Market Join us at the Ann Arbor Farmer's Market to share the joy's of organic heirloom tomatoes. Volunteers will help tasters find the tomato of their dreams, share their enthusiasm for these tasty jewels, and probably find a new favorite to grow for next year.
HomeGrown Festival Saturday, September 12, 5pm - 10pm Ann Arbor Farmer's Market The Second Annual HomeGrown Festival promises to be even more fun than the last, and volunteers are needed to help work the Project Grow table, help with fun food-focused activities for kids, and assist in a second tomato tasting. Come on down and be part of some good old-fashioned local action!
Interested?Drop Leigh Ann a line or give her a call at 734-996-3169, and she'll get you squared away.
The most recent edition of the Slow Food Huron Valley newsletter features Royer Held, a wonderful and knowledgeable gardener, who also just happens to be a Project Grow volunteer! Royer leads a number of classes for Project Grow, and helps make our heirloom gardening and seed collection possible. (You can see some of Royer's and our other volunteers handywork at our upcoming plant sales - Friday, May 8th through Sunday, May 10th at Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Saturday, May 16th in front of the People's Food Coop.)
Heirlooms: A Journey in Taste
by KT Tomey
According to Royer Held, the ideal tomato texture should be creamy to slightly succulent. A creamy tomato, in his opinion, is one that you don’t have to bite into. You can just press it against the top of your mouth and it squishes. Succulent, on the other hand, is more firm than creamy, with more substance. The worst possible texture scenario is crunchy, a dire situation Held refers to as “a grocery store tomato in winter.” Software developer by day, Held has become something of an heirloom plant authority in Ann Arbor, and he absolutely loves tomatoes. Especially heirlooms. So what exactly are heirloom fruits and vegetables? The term “heirloom” refers to plants that are "open-pollinated," i.e., by insects, birds, wind, or other natural mechanisms (sometimes heirlooms are hand-pollinated to preserve the purity of the variety). While the definition can get a bit complex when it comes to fruit trees because they are reproduced by grafting (instead of through pollination), basically, heirlooms exclude hybrids and genetically modified organisms.
Take two tomato varieties: Olga’s Yellow Round Chicken, a Russian heirloom variety, vs. the Celebrity Supreme hybrid tomato. Whereas a bucket of the “Chickens” will each have a slightly unique shape, size, texture and color, the “Celebrities” are bred to look like a Hollywood tomato—uniformly shaped, smooth and red. But aesthetics are not the defining feature of a Hollywood tomato. Hybrids are specifically bred to withstand mechanical picking, the anticipated long journey from industrial farm to fork, as well as drought, frost, and pesticides.
One thing the “grocery store in winter” hybrids are not known for: taste. Mark Wilson of Wilson’s Farm has been specializing in heirlooms since 2001, and his preference for these varieties can be summed up in two words: “better flavor.” Wilson, who got into farming about ten years agowhen he discovered it was easier to sell his extra garden produce rather than give it away, hangs a shingle at the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market all summer. He sells melons, tomatoes, peppers, onions, summer squashes, grapes, and beans, but is most known for delicious tomatoes. His most popular are pink, yellow and red Brandywines.He also recommends trying the Charentais French melon, celebrated for its heady, perfumey aroma and deep, sweet flavor. (The French traditionally serve Charentais with prosciutto, but also feature them as an hors d'oeuvre by cutting them in half, scooping out the seeds and filling them with a sweet wine such as Barsac, Marsala, Port or Madiera.)
Wilson’s Farm’s heirlooms are considered a specialty item today, but 100 years ago there was no such thing as commercially bred hybrid plants. The plots of farmers and gardeners across the country each had their own personality. Saving and replanting seeds from each generation of plants allowed varieties like the Cherokee Moon and Stars Watermelon and the Elephant Heart Plum to adapt to their climate, and the selection of crop varieties reflected a farmer’s unique tastes. The transition to the less interesting and flavorful hybrids started around 1900 and today, many traditional heirlooms are at risk of falling off the nation’s radar—and plates.
Erica Kempter, co-owner of Nature and Nurture LLC and organic gardening teacher, worries that the disappearance of heritage foods will create a loss of genetic and cultural diversity. According to Kempter, who is particularly fond of a purple carrot named the “Dragon,” “we’re losing genetic diversity because farmers are not growing open pollinated varieties.”This concern, shared by farmers, gardeners, environmentalists, foodies, and chefs across the country and, in fact world, was the inspiration for The Ark of Taste. Launched by Slow Food just over ten years ago, it aims to preserve and celebrate traditional foods at risk of being forever forgotten—and never tasted. The Ark is essentially a catalog of endangered foods, and includes foods with names as unique as their personalities. Heirlooms such as Aunt Ruby’s German Green tomato can be found on the Ark, along with other traditional foods of all kinds.
Preserving these varieties, according to Kempter, is also important in keeping seeds and crops in the hands of the people, not corporations (we are facing a conglomeration of seed companies since Monsanto has been buying up seed companies of late).
Thinking you might give heirlooms a try this season? A good place to start is the Seed Savers Exchange catalog, “in person” seed savers exchanges, or by contacting Project Grow for information about seed and seedling sales. Look for seeds that originate from the Detroit area’s latitude and climate (e.g., Rome). Once you start growing them, you can save your own seeds, an act Royer Held refers to as “getting in touch with your inner peasant.” Of course, you can also have a great time tasting these varieties, many of which show up at events like the September Ann Arbor tomato tasting and competition in which the medal is awarded to the tomato rather than person who grew it. Bon appetit!
The seed catalog is well-thumbed and a diagram is done of what will be growing this season in the garden patch. The next question is how will it taste? Everyone from Michelle Obama to Slow Food says that organically grown and heirloom varieties are the tastiest things going, and super good for you, too. But what does that really mean? What if it's a rainy summer? What if a friend shares a bumper load of composted sheep manure with you? Does it matter if you do lasagne gardening and your neighbor doesn't? What happens if those fruits and veggies get canned or frozen? Does that postively or negatively impact their flavor?
To answer all of these questions (and possibly more!) comes Mark Baerwolf, manager of Cornman Farms. Over at Cornman, Mark raises some of the vegetables (many from the Ark of Taste) used at Zingerman's Roadhouse by Chef Alex and crew to create some superb local dishes. The first seedlings went into the ground in the Spring of 2007, and the farm has been going strong ever since.
Join us this Saturday to glean from Mark's experience to enhance the flavor of your own garden!
The White House is preparing to put in an organic garden to supply vegetables, herbs, and berries for use in their meals. According to the New York Times article, Michelle Obama decided to move forward with the garden when her pediatrician expressed concern over her daughter's eating habits.
“A real delicious heirloom tomato is one of the sweetest things that you’ll ever eat,” she said. “And my children know the difference, and that’s how I’ve been able to get them to try different things.
“I wanted to be able to bring what I learned to a broader base of people. And what better way to do it than to plant a vegetable garden in the South Lawn of the White House?”
For urban dwellers who have no backyards, the country’s one million community gardens can also play an important role, Mrs. Obama said.
Feel inspired to transform your own house lawn into a garden? Check out some of our upcoming classes and don't forget you can find a selection of amazing seeds from our heirloom collection for sale at People's Food Coop.
You know Spring is just around the corner when you start hearing news about Seed Swaps! Join Project Grow on Saturday, March 21st for our Annual Heirloom Seed Swap.
Gathered from our Heirloom Garden, these seeds will inspire you from the moment you read their names to the last harvest. Find your favorite variety of tomato, and try a new variety of melon. Bring some of your own seeds and take away some a fellow gardener simply raves about, and have more fun than you thought could ever be possible in two hours.
Here are five nifty gardening ways to tell someone how much you care about them, or to give yourself a little hit of love!
1. Purchase seed packets of flowers you'd like to give that person. Bouquets are beautiful, there is not a speck of doubt about that, but a packet of seeds ensures a full season of showing your affection. Everything from sunflower seeds to cosmos to daisies will make a bright spot in the garden for months to come. How about Grandpa Ott's Morning Glories or some edible flowers?
2. Offer a pot of forced spring bulbs like daffodils, tulips, crocuses or hyacinths. While February is a beautiful month, it's also nice to see that spot of color on the desk or table to greet each day. Lots of local stores, like Downtown Home and Garden or Chelsea Flower Shop, have a terrific selection. And the bulbs can be planted outside to bloom again and again for years to come!
3. Take a gardening class together! Project Grow offers a bundle of great classes covering everything from keeping your own bees in the backyard to the basics of organic gardening to landscaping with native plants. Local experts share their knowledge to get you and your garden off to a solid start.
4. Nothing says love like an heirloom tomato. Ok, maybe that's just us, but those heirloom veggies are brilliant in color and taste. Imagine a Green Zebra or Hungarian Heart Valentine - unique coloring and so tasty you won't believe it! (Email us to find out about the Project Grow seed collection or take a class on heirloom vegetables!)
5. Garden together. Imagine spending beautiful summer evenings working together in your Project Grow garden. Birds sing their final songs of the day while snacking on mosquitoes before they get to you, and the sky is a brilliant show of orange and purple as you pull the last weeds and load up on the harvest for dinner. Now, that sounds romantic...
Project Grow is a private, non-profit organization with an emphasis on community gardening and gardening education.
We host many Community Gardens throughout the Ann Arbor area. Find out more at the Project Grow Website.
It's time to give serious thought to what will go in this year's garden. We've talked before about seeds, planning tools, and even about experimenting with a virtual garden to see what might happen. Now's the time to put that research into action to start taking home harvests like the one pictured here! 
