Children's Activities Have Started Once Again!

We had a wonderful time learning, planting and painting with the kids this past Saturday at Pete's Community Farm! They did a great job making signs to mark each plant and vegetable in the garden. 

Children's activities will continue throughout the summer, every other Saturday, from 10-11:30 am. Please  join us for some free educational and environmental fun! Or, join us during the week to spend time in the garden relaxing and enjoying the sun. Check out the pictures from Saturday, as well as our weekly open hours, below!

Stop by during any of the times listed above!

We had lots of help to plant all the bell peppers, hot peppers and strawberries.

What masterpieces! Now all can name which plants are growing in the garden.

Madelines International cooking classes

   On June 4th ,11th, and 18th our Garden and Nutrition intern Madeline gave a cooking class based on different cultures around the world. We made Vietnamese, Chinese, Mediterranean, American, and Peruvian food. Some vegan,some vegetarian, and others recipes with meat (used for only an optional choice).

 Madeline's second cooking class,

 In process of making the vegetarian burger patties from scratch with her .

A healthy burger choice packed with quinoa,black beans,kale sandwiched in between cucumber slices in stead of your average beef patty in a bun. Partnered with a three bean Mediterranean salad, replacing the fries.

                                          

       Madelines first cooking class

 First cooking class, Madeline mad fresh Vietnamese spring rolls made with raw vegetable and 3 dipping sauces.Next we cooked some vermicelli noodles dressed with spring onions ,ginger, and soy sauce. Also made a Chinese-Peruvian hybrid of fried rice.

- Written by Madeline, G&N Intern

Kompost Kids

Kompost Kids is a nonprofit organization which outreaches to help the public how to make compost, which eventually turns into dirt for the plants and by doing this act, it also helps the environment. The compost is known as "waste", but it's really food that has been used and just broken down as it slowly becomes into dirt. How exciting! Not as exciting of how it smells, because it honestly smells bad, but hey, that's the beauty of nature. You will get used to the smell, like I did.

Kompost Kids is also a safe environment where children and families can interact with each other, as they educate themselves to learn how to keep our earth clean, for example; reduce, reuse, and recycle. But other than that, I enjoyed myself when I went to Kompost Kids, because it was in the outdoors and I learned more about compost. That's also another thing, many people don't know about compost. So I think Kompost Kids is a great educational place to start. So personally, I think it would be a good opportunity to go to Kompost Kids so you can educate yourself and educate others.

-Written by Samatha, G&N Intern

ROOFTOP FARMERS MARKET OPEN!

Welcome! It’s the perfect time of the year to enjoy Core El Centro’s Rooftop farmers market’s comfortable atmosphere and have a blast with vendors, locals, family, or friends!

Open every Monday night 4:00pm-8:00pm through October 13^th the roof top market enables people to relax openly, appreciate food, and share delicious recipes or preparation tips with our farmers!(We even host cooking demonstrations throughout the season as well!)

We offer people the opportunity to take the time to enjoy the garden as a whole, search through the variety of goods and services at the market, eat a snack, read a book, converse with friends or folks around, and enjoy the great view!!

Most importantly, we believe the rooftop farmers market to be an important element towards our mission at Core/El Centro which is to give the opportunity for the community to seek locally grown nutritious food and live a more prosperous and healthy lifestyle. We also believe our farmers market to be a place where people can learn from one another, share new ideas, and take time to appreciate the world around us. Our farmer’s market utilizes the beautiful rooftop space we have to celebrate food, healing herbs, community gifts, and more!

We now have an exciting and new Roof top Farmers Market Rewards Program and the purpose of the program is to thank community members for their use of the market! As a member of the rewards program, an individual will receive one stamp on their Edible Skyline: A Rooftop Revolution card for attending the market and making a purchase. Also there will be a secret “code word” that will be included in our Facebook page in our Newsletter which offers the chance to receive a second stamp on your card!

*Once an individual accumulates 10 stamps, they can exchange the card for a $5 voucher to use towards CORE/El Centro produce.*

Plus receive one raffle ticket per week to be entered in a drawing in June, August and October.
Raffle ticket prizes include:
(Food processor---> Raffle Drawing June 29th)
(Chocolate and Cheese basket---> Raffle Drawing August 31st)
(Mystery Prize---> Raffle Drawing October 13th).

(Also thanks to a generous sponsorship from United Healthcare we will match EBT/SNAP purchases up to $20/week and we accept EBT/SNAP, credit, and debit cards!)

Rooftop Open Hours

Core El Centro welcomes everyone to come and visit the Rooftop garden. There is a lot  to see, like the growing strawberries and the chamomile that is literately everywhere. The Rooftop is open Monday during the farmers market thru Saturday at noon. There is always someone in the Rooftop working on the garden.
There is always sometime new in the rooftop; plants are always sprouting.

Rooftop Hours    

The rooftop is open 6 days a week.

Monday- 4:00-8:00 pm

Tuesday- 9:00-11:00 am

Wednesday- 9:00-12 pm

Thursday- 4:00-6:00 pm

Friday-5:00-7:00 pm

Saturday-10:00-12:00 pm

The rooftop is alive with vivid colors and 50 shades of green. The aura of the rooftop will give you the peace and quiet you been looking for. With a great view of the city you will fall in love with the rooftop. Come and bring your friends there is always something growing in the garden.

Core El Centro Rooftop Garden is located @ 130 S. Bruce St, 5th floor 

  Rooftop? 

Rooftop.

Written by Jackie (Garden Intern)

City Livin' 

Did you think you would ever find chickens in the city? As of July of 2011, you can own chickens in Milwaukee! We are grateful for the chickens that reside at Pete's Community Garden and the life they bring to the area. Below are some helpful tips when caring for chickens!

When choosing a breed, take into account Milwaukee's chilly winters. Some cold climate breeds include: 

• Plymouth Rocks
• Wyandottes
• Chanteclers
• Orpingtons
• Langshans
• Sussexes

Plymouth and Wyandottes are also great egg laying breeds as well. Owning chickens will provide you with the freshest eggs possible. Fresh eggs have a stronger taste and a more orange colored yolk.

Your chickens must have a place to live! Chicken coups must be large enough to give each chicken at least 16 square feet and must cleaned often. Also, be sure to secure the chickens inside the coup at night so that they are protected from predators.

Chickens will eat just about anything. I know they thought some of the things we planted tasted pretty good. In addition to the complete organic feed we give them, they really enjoy fruits and vegetables. It is also very important to make sure they have enough water. Especially when the summer weather gets hot!

Have any further questions about chicken permits or care? Visit the Milwaukee page at http://city.milwaukee.gov/chicken#.VY2pYUbSoTA, the My Pet Chicken guide at http://www.mypetchicken.com/backyard-chickens/chicken-care/guide-toc.aspx or stop by the garden during our open hours and we'll be happy to answer them. 

Early Harvest

May is the perfect time to start planting seed but it is also time of harvesting some leafy greens. Your joking right? Not Necessarily!

Started the season fairly early with the use of a cold frame. We sowed arugula seeds was in late February to early-March and have we have already harvested the arugula twice this year.

Using a cold frame you can start sowing seeds earlier in the year and have the advantage of harvesting early. Or extend the end of the season by a few weeks in November. Similarly you can also cover some plant, like Kale, over the winter in a cold frame for it to seed in the spring of next year. Either way it becomes a great tool to have.

Here is a link on how we built our own cold frame from scrap parts and some hardware:
How to Build a Cool Frame

P.S. To use it for overwintering plants, make sure to take into consideration of the height of the plants.