The 2012 Chief’s Cherokee Family Garden Kits will be distributed on Thursday, April 26 at 5pm at the Yellowhill Outdoor Gym. A total of 350 starter garden kits will be distributed by Principal Chief Michell Hicks.
The kits contain:
1 Stayman Winsap apple tree
25 strawberry plants
Golden Bantam sweet corn
Danvers half-long carrots
Spacemaster cucumbers
Heirloom pole beans
Purple Globe turnips
Acorn squash
King of Mammoth pumpkin
Early Prolific Straight Necked yellow squash
Mammoth sunflowers
Cherokee Speckled butterbeans
How Much Will Your Garden Grow?
In addition to all the good food, good fun and family time you’ll find in your garden you can win prizes too!!
1) Enter in the Cherokee Garden Contests! Judges visit your garden in June and prizes are given in September.
Dates to be Announced. Call 554-6939 to enter.
2) Enter your poster in the Cherokee Indian Fair
On your poster include: Pictures of your garden, Estimate the number of pounds of each vegetable you grew, Who worked in your garden, the Size of your garden, and a Paragraph describing “How your garden reflects Cherokee traditions and culture”. Enter your poster on Friday, September 28 from 8am – 8pm in the Exhibit Hall.
If you have extra produce this summer…
Can it! Call the Cherokee Tribal Cannery at 497-2440 for info. on how to have your extra produce canned for fresh, healthful foods all winter long. The cannery is open from mid-May to mid-October.
Sell it fresh! You can sell the extra produce! Try Saturday mornings at the BIA Yard Sale, or call EBCI Cooperative Extension at 554-6935 for other ideas.
Basic Cooking for Fresh Vegetables
Garden-fresh vegetables are naturally sweet and tasty. Little needs to be done to prepare them for a healthy meal.
Supplies:
cook pot
water
stove
large spoon
knife
cutting board
simple seasonings: salt & pepper
fat (olive oil, butter, or bacon grease)
Cooking directions:
1) Wash dirt from vegetables.
2) Cut off any brown parts.
3) Cut or slice into smaller pieces, if necessary. Add to cook pot.
4) In the cook pot, add enough water to barely cover the vegetables.
5) Set pot on the stove and bring the water to a boil.
6) Boil until the vegetables are tender (5 – 15 minutes).
7) Add simple seasonings to taste. Only a dash of salt is needed. Pepper to taste. If fat is added like butter, bacon grease or olive oil, use as little as you can get by with because fat is high in calories. You can flavor a whole pot of greens with ¼ teaspoon of bacon grease – and still taste it!
This simple cooking method is perfect for nearly all vegetables. When cooking greens, boil them for a few minutes. Drain that water off and replace it with fresh water and boil again. This will remove the bitterness from the greens.
For more information contact EBCI Cooperative Extension Agriculture:
• Kevin Welch, Center for Cherokee Plants 554-6928
• Sarah McClellan-Welch, Gardening & Agriculture 554-6935
• Tammara Cole-Talley, Agriculture Business 554-6931
– EBCI Cooperative Extension
