xtension Educator Calendar of Events Eang Healthy—Growing a Garden Series Master Composters Pruning Grape Vines Brown Bag Forum Person In Charge Worm Compostng Cowlitz County WSU Extension programs and employment are available to all without discrimination. Evidence of noncompliance may be reported through your local WSU Extension office. E Just How Economical is That Vegetable Garden? Spring 2015 WSU Extension Cowlitz County 360-335-3014 “How economical is that home vegetable garden? Pretty economical--- if you choose your crops wisely and know what you’re doing.” Don Tapio shares with us “[that] for every dollar spent on a garden it produces $25 worth of vegetables.” If you have been wanting to start a personal garden but have been lacking the motivation, perhaps this article can help. Page 2-3 Best Business Practices presents… How many seminars about customer service or sales have you attended where the presenter encourages you to spend time and money to develop elaborate and clever tools to ‘hear the voice of the customer’? Have you done it? www.growhappykids.org Recipes Glazed Roots Vegetables Harvest Grain ’N Nut Pancakes Grow Happy Kids is a Food $ense family website dedicated to … 1. Sharing ideas to connect kids to naturally nutrious foods. 2. Providing tasty, low-cost recipes any parent can fix and be proud to serve. 3. Creang a support–place to link to others and local community resources. Page 5-6 WSU Strengthening Families Program The Strengthening Families program for parents and youth 10-14 years old is a national evidence-based program that has been shown to be effective in delaying teen use of alcohol and tobacco; reducing aggression, and improving parents’ family management skills. Learn how you can participate Page 4
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xtension Educator
Calendar of Events
Eating Healthy—Growing a
Garden Series
Master Composters
Pruning Grape Vines
Brown Bag Forum
Person In Charge
Worm Compostng
Cowlitz County
WSU Extension programs and employment are available to all without discrimination. Evidence of
noncompliance may be reported through your local WSU Extension office.
E Just How Economical is That Vegetable Garden?
Spring
2015
WSU Extension
Cowlitz County
360-335-3014
“How economical is that home vegetable garden? Pretty economical---
if you choose your crops wisely and know what you’re doing.”
Don Tapio shares with us “[that] for every dollar spent on a garden it
produces $25 worth of vegetables.” If you have been wanting to
start a personal garden but have been lacking the motivation,
perhaps this article can help. Page 2-3
Best Business Practices presents…
How many seminars about customer service or sales have you
attended where the presenter encourages you to spend time and
money to develop elaborate and clever tools to ‘hear the voice of the
customer’? Have you done it?
www.growhappykids.org
Recipes
Glazed Roots Vegetables
Harvest Grain ’N Nut Pancakes
Grow Happy Kids is a Food $ense family website dedicated to …
1. Sharing ideas to connect kids to naturally nutritious foods.
2. Providing tasty, low-cost recipes any parent can fix and be proud to serve.
3. Creating a support–place to link to others and local community resources.
Page 5-6
WSU Strengthening Families Program The Strengthening Families program for parents and youth 10-14 years old
is a national evidence-based program that has been shown to be effective
in delaying teen use of alcohol and tobacco; reducing aggression, and
Question: Like many others, we have decided to grow a vegetable garden this year
to help out with the family food budget. Since we have limited space, we are wondering which vegetables would give us the greatest return on our investment?
Answer: There’s no question that cost conscious Americans are going back to the land
to grow their own beans, squash, corn and tomatoes in backyard gardens. A recent sur-vey of 2,500 households by the National Gardening Association bears this out. Nearly 37 percent of those surveyed said they plan to grow their own food this year, up 6 percent from a year ago. Fruits and vegetables will be a priority for 34.5 percent of gardeners, up 108 percent from 2006, according to survey results released this week. In fact, accord-ing to George Ball of the W. Atlee Burpee Company, sales of vegetables and herb seed and plants are up 30 to 40 percent over 2007 which is more than double the annual growth of the last five years. Last year, vegetable seeds out sold flowers for the first time in recent memory.
But how economical is that home vegetable garden? Pretty economical---if you choose your crops wisely and know what you’re doing. According to Ball, the average cost-benefit ratio of home-grown vegetables is 1 to 25, based on a garden of 30 vegetables his company studied last year. That means for every dollar spent on a garden it produces $25 worth of vegetables. However, with six of the most popular vegetables—tomatoes, beans, peas, bell peppers, butter-head let-tuce and carrots, the ratio is even better. A $10.00 investment in those seeds plus $80.00 to pay for soil, fertilizer and the cost of preparing the planting bed could yield $650 worth
of vegetables-a savings theoretically of $560.
Aside from saving money, growing your own vegetables makes it a lot easier to get the minimum “five-a-day” servings of veggies and fruits the experts now recommend for health. Most common fruits and vegetables are packed with not only the vitamins and minerals already known to support good health, but also help to boost the immune system, retard the aging process,
and help halt or prevent many chronic diseases.
Although the average size of vegetable gardens is 600 square feet, about half of backyard gardens are 100 square feet or less, according to the National Gardening Association sur-vey. Gardens don’t have to be big to be productive-- using space saving techniques lets you make the most of the area you have. Plant breeders have developed many compact
varieties well suited for limited space and container gardening. For a good return on space, consider growing peppers, snap beans and green onions; bush varieties of squash and cucum-bers; and root crops such as radishes, carrots and beets.
Trellising is another great way to increase the yield per square foot of space. Plants that trellis well include cucumbers, toma-toes and peas.
Raised beds will help organize the garden and have the added advantage of letting you concentrate on the most productive vegetables. They are easy to build, and because they allow you to use near perfect soil, your plants will be their most productive too.
If you would like help getting your garden started check out the Eating Healthy, Growing a Garden Series .
Dates and Times can be found on page 8
Washington State University Extension has a new food preservation program called PRESERVE THE TASTE OF SUMMER . It is a series of eight online lessons for the in-home consumer who wants to learn about food preservation and food safety. It is designed for beginning canners and also veteran canners who want to update their knowledge and skills. The lessons provide the most current USDA approved food preservation recommendations. Some counties may off local workshops or hands-on lessons for those people who complete the online lessons. To learn more about this program visit us at
1. In a saucepan, add the water, onions, carrots, turnips and potatoes. Simmer uncovered over medium heat until vegetables are tender and the water is almost ab-sorbed, about 15 minutes.
2. Sprinkle with the sugar and olive oil.
3. Turn up the heat and continue to cook, shaking the pan until the vegetables are glazed and slightly golden.
4. Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately.
Makes 4 servings
Per serving: 100 calories, 2 g protein, 20 g carbohydrate, 1 g total fat, trace saturated fat, .5 g monounsaturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 50 mg sodium, 1 g fiber, 357 mg potassium, 31 mg calcium
Recipe from www.mayoclinic.com
Harvest Grain ’N Nut Pancakes
1. Lightly oil a skillet or griddle and preheat it to medium heat.
2. Grind the oats in a blender or food processor until fine, like flour.
3. Combine oat flour, whole-wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
4. In another bowl, combine buttermilk, oil, egg and granulated sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Combine dry ingredients with wet ingredients, add nuts and mix well with mixer.
5. Ladle 1/3 cup of the batter on the hot skillet and cook the pancakes for 2 to 4 minutes per side or until brown.
These freeze well. To reheat, place in the microwave for about 2 minutes.