Omi's Hühnersuppe (Grandma's Chicken Soup)

Another recipe from my mother's side, this soup includes just about everything in the garden. A rich, flavorful soup that is considered a necessity at my house during the cold, winter months or for a bout of the flu.

1 large roasting/baking hen (the bigger and older the chicken, the better the flavor)
1 celery root
1 bunch celery
1 bunch carrots
2 purple-top Turnips
1 Leek
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley
1 bunch green onions
3 Parsnips
1 large yellow onion
4 Bay leaves
Salt
Pepper
Noodles (Ditalini style or wide egg noodles)
Chives, chopped (optional)
*For a vegetarian version, exclude the chicken and add more carrots, celery, or other vegetables of choice.

Clean the hen, removing the neck, gizzards, and anything else on the inside. Rinse thoroughly with cold water. Put chicken, rear-end facing up, in a large stock pot. Clean the celery, carrots, turnips, onion, leek, and parsnips. Cut the vegetables into very large chunks and put into the stock pot, stuffing some of the veggies into the chicken. Scrub the celery root clean of dirt, or peel off the skin with a knife. Cut into quarters and add it to the pot. Rinse the parsley and green onions, adding them to the pot as well, along with the bay leaves. Salt and pepper to taste, and then fill the pot to the top with water. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce to simmer and cook for two to three hours (do not cover with a lid whatsoever). Cook noodles while soup is cooking. After the soup is finished, separate the vegetables and chicken from the broth, throwing away inedible vegetables (celery root, turnips, yellow onion, leek, parsley, green onions, and bay leaves) and keeping the edible ones (celery, carrots, and parsnips). Separate the meat from the chicken and throw away bones, cartilage, and skin. Add vegetables, meat, and noodles into individual soup bowls, fill with hot broth, and garnish with chives

Stephanie Stiglmeier
Community Garden Intern

Raw Milk available as a Fungicide to Community Gardeners

Diluted raw milk will be available on Sundays starting at 11am for the next few weeks. The milk will be in a cooler with a spigot by the south gate. Bring a spray bottle and take what you need, being considerate of other gardeners who might need it also.

How to use it:

1. Spray any affected leaf on both the top and the bottom sides until dripping.
2. Spray every 7-14 days.
3. The milk will be diluted between 7:3 and 9:1 water to milk. A concentration of milk heavier than 30% does not seem to increase the fungicidal effects.
4. Wash out the spray bottle thoroughly after use -- old milk stinks!

Other things to consider:

1. Powdery mildew can spread from leaf to leaf -- consider pruning off badly affected leaves. Clip off dead or yellowing leaves, making the cuts close to the stem. BE SELECTIVE -- pruning squash makes it easier for pests and disease to enter the plant. 
2. If you're looking for a commercial fungicide, it has to be ORGANIC. Follow all of the use instructions carefully -- application of commercial organic fungicide can be harmful to the applicator. Here's a link with more information on commercial ORGANIC fungicides.

THIS DILUTED RAW MILK IS AVAILABLE TO THE WAGNER FARM COMMUNITY GARDENERS ONLY, AND ONLY FOR USE IN THE WAGNER FARM COMMUNITY GARDEN.

Bayerischer Kartoffelsalat (Bavarian Potato Salad)

This recipe comes from my grandmother on my mother's side, and is a must for any of my family's events - birthday's, holidays, Sunday dinners. I can guarantee this will become a favorite potato salad recipe and beats any American potato salad. 

5 lbs of potatoes (Yukon Gold, or any other type of white potato)
1 lb of bacon (for a vegetarian/vegan version, substitute with one large, thinly sliced cucumber
1 bunch of green onions, sliced
Salt
Pepper
Canola Oil
White vinegar

Clean the potatoes with water, and then boil them (with the skins on) until cooked. While  the potatoes are boiling, cut up the bacon into small pieces and cook in a frying pan. Set aside the bacon and bacon grease. After the potatoes have finished cooking, peel them while they are still hot (use paper towels to hold the potatoes while peeling). Cut the potatoes into large chunks and put into a large mixing bowl. Add the green onions and the bacon with the grease into the mixing bowl. Add salt, pepper, canola oil, and white vinegar to taste. Mix to combine. Try not to mix too much or else the potatoes will turn into a mush. Serve warm for best taste.

Stephanie Stiglmeier
Community Garden Intern

Family recipes

Over the next few weeks, Stephanie will be posting German recipes from her family's kitchen.  It's a nice homage to the Wagners, who came here from Germany in 1855.

If you'd like to share some of your recipes, please email them to me or drop them off at the farm. It's a great opportunity to learn new recipes to use our beautiful produce.

Powdery Mildew Strikes!

Powdery Mildew on a member of the Cucurbitaceae family 

Powdery mildew has been spotted in the garden this week, and it is taking over with a vengeance. Almost every plant in the Cucurbitaceae family has been affected (this includes melons, squash, cucumbers, zucchini, and pumpkin). It seemed to take off after the very humid day we had last Monday. 

Jen is going to have milk available starting this Sunday, and continuing Sundays after that. She will leave out a cooler of diluted milk with a spigot all day Sunday, and it will be cleaned out at the end of the day. Free of charge to everyone, but you will have to supply a spray bottle.

You can also treat the mildew with store-bought, organic products. Watering only in the mornings, as well as providing good air circulation, can help relieve the mildew, but it is recommended to treat with the milk.

If you have questions, please let me or Jen know.

Stephanie Stiglmeier
Community Garden Intern