October 2024 Newsletter

Thank you to Schreiber Foods!

We are thrilled to announce that the Brown County Seed Library has been awarded a grant from Schreiber Foods and the Schreiber Foods Foundation! This funding will help us expand our efforts to promote seed saving and sustainable gardening practices in our community.

Schreiber Foods is known for their commitment to addressing food insecurity and supporting basic needs in the communities where they operate. Their mission of “Doing Good Through Food®” perfectly aligns with our goal of empowering local gardeners to grow their own food and preserve seeds for future generations.

We are deeply grateful for Schreiber Foods' generosity and their dedication to making a positive impact. Together, we are creating a healthier, more resilient community—one seed at a time!

Thank you, Schreiber Foods, for your partnership and support!

Submitted by Melissa, N.E.W. Master Gardener

What? Don’t save the seeds?

Growing garlic can be a rewarding endeavor. There are two ways to propagate garlic, as well as two types of garlic. This article will provide recommendations based on what is best for our growing zone.

Given the Midwest's chilly winters, hardneck garlic is generally the best choice for growing in this region, rather than softneck. Some popular varieties of hardneck include 'Rocambole,' 'Purple Stripe,' and 'Porcelain.'

It is better to plant garlic cloves (individual segments of the bulb) rather than seeds. Garlic seeds are rarely used for planting because they take much longer to mature and are less reliable.

The ideal time to plant garlic is in the fall, typically late September to late October. Planting in the fall allows the garlic to establish roots before the ground freezes and ensures a robust harvest the following summer.

Planting Steps:

1. Prepare the Soil: Garlic prefers well-drained, fertile soil with a pH between 6.0 and 7.0. Add compost or aged manure to enrich the soil.
2. Separate the Bulbs: Break apart the garlic bulbs into individual cloves, keeping the papery husk intact on each clove.
3. Plant the Cloves: Plant each clove pointed end up, about 2 inches deep and 6 inches apart in rows that are 12 inches apart.
4. Mulch: Apply a thick layer of mulch, such as straw or leaves, to protect the garlic over the winter.
5. Watering: Water the garlic well after planting and keep the soil consistently moist but not waterlogged.

Care and Harvest:

• Spring Care: In the spring, remove the mulch and fertilize with a balanced organic fertilizer.
• Scape Removal: Remove the scapes when they appear to encourage bulb growth.
• Harvest Time: Garlic is typically ready to harvest in mid summer when the leaves begin to turn yellow and die back. Carefully dig up the bulbs and cure them in a dry, well-ventilated area for several weeks before storing.

Don’t worry about saving the seeds from garlic.  When harvesting your garlic, remember to save your plumpest bulbs for fall planting.  A gardener's sign that planting is done for the season is when garlic bulbs are in the ground.

Submitted by Peggy, N.E.W. Master Gardener

Open AI

One Seed, One Community

As we wrap up another growing season, the Brown County Seed Library’s "One Seed, One Community" team would love to hear from you! This year’s chosen seed, the "Sugar Ann Pea," is known for being a compact, early producer, but many of us on the steering team found it a bit challenging to grow after May. We felt it struggled to produce as expected, and we’re curious—what was your experience?

Did you have success growing it, or did you run into any hurdles? Did it grow to a mature plant but fail to produce? Please share your feedback with us! The more we learn from our collective experience, the better we can guide each other in future seed-saving efforts.

Whether you had a bumper crop or struggled like we did, your input is valuable in helping us all grow stronger, more resilient gardens.

Email your thoughts to seedlibrary@newleaffoods.org or fill out the quick poll below. And don’t forget, if you did get a good harvest, we welcome your seed donations for next season!

Submitted by Melissa, N.E.W. Master Gardener

Book Review: Good Seeds – by Thomas Pecore Weso

Weso shares his culinary memories in his grandparents’ home during his childhood. It is his appreciation for the preservation of his ancestry’s food culture told through accounts of specific traditions, his memories, and recipes. 

Each chapter features a practice, food, or beverage and includes recipes for the reader to make themselves. The center chapter is Manomin, Good Seeds and in this chapter, Weso traces Menominee history and wild rice – the good seeds and its historical presence as a staple food of the Menominee diet.

Submitted by Jennifer Classon, Brown County Central Library Associate and N.E.W. Master Gardener

Fall Perennial Plant Care

As fall approaches, it's a great time to think about dividing or moving your perennial plants. Late summer offers a clear view of where everything is in your garden, helping you identify plants for division. Keeping a garden journal with plant locations can also help keep you organized. To keep your garden vibrant, assess which plants need more space or better conditions. 

Some benefits of plant division are:

• Promote Plant Health: Overcrowded perennials compete for nutrients, water, and light. Dividing them helps rejuvenate the plants for healthier growth.
• Increase Blooms: Dense plants may bloom less. Division often boosts flowering, especially in overcrowded plants.
• Control Plant Size: Some perennials spread and dominate garden beds. Dividing helps control their size and prevents them from overwhelming other plants.
• Prevent Disease: Overcrowded plants may suffer from poor airflow, leading to fungal issues. Dividing improves air circulation and reduces disease risk.
• Propagate Plants: Dividing allows you to create new plants for other garden areas or to share with friends.
• Restore Vigor: Older plants may weaken and bloom less. Division invigorates the root system, promoting new growth.
• Optimize Growing Conditions: Struggling plants can benefit from being divided and relocated to better areas of sun, shade, or soil.

It's best to divide plants when they aren't flowering so they can focus on regenerating roots. Aim to divide plants four to six weeks before the ground freezes. This is also a good time to scatter seeds from native plants for early seedlings next year.

Divide plants on cloudy days to prevent them from drying out. Water them before and after division. Ensure each new section has both shoots and roots. Remove any dead or diseased parts for healthy growth. Be mindful when raking around newly divided plants, and continue watering until the frost.

Not all plants respond well to division, and some prefer division in the spring. The University of Minnesota provides a spreadsheet of 125 perennials with advice on how often to divide, what season to do division, and division tips.

Submitted by Kate Fix, N.E.W. Master Gardener; Melissa Wass, N.E.W. Master Gardener; Open AI

The Glean Team Project

Did you know that 854,000 tons of edible food goes to waste in the state of WI? Gleaning is simply the act of collecting excess fresh foods from farms, gardens, farmers markets, grocers, restaurants, state/county fairs, or any other sources in order to provide it to those in need. Rooted In Inc is on a mission to mitigate food waste in our community, and you can help!

The Glean Team is a multi-prong project, in need of volunteers for these areas:

1. Donors who would like to provide excess produce or food.

2. Volunteers to pick up and transport excess produce/food to Rooted In’s office at Trinity Lutheran Church ELCA 330 S. Broadway St. Green Bay, WI 54303.

3. Volunteers to help clean and sort rescued produce at our office for redistribution to our food pantry partners.

4. Volunteers to redistribute gleaned produce to food pantry partners.

Current pantry partners are Trinity Lutheran Church ELCA, NWTC Shared Harvest, The Fridge and Resurrection Lutheran. 

While most produce is donated outright, Rooted In also uses it in individually packaged meals or makes it into shelf stable foods such as salsa, marinara sauce and applesauce for donation. In 2024 alone, Rooted In has donated 11,000 pounds of food to local partners, with 1,230 pounds specifically from gleaning!  

Click HERE to sign up!

For more information, contact:

Selena Darrow, Executive Director, Rooted In

Selena@rootedininc.org

920-676-7506

About Rooted In

Rooted In Inc is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2023. Our mission is to strengthen the health and wellness of the Greater Green Bay community by fighting food insecurity and mitigating food waste. Our vision is to improve local food access from seed to table. For more information, visit our website at www.rootedininc.org, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Images from Green Bay Yard Waste site, 2024.

Calendar of Local Garden Related Events:

Oct 1, noon - 12:30pm (free)

Unlocking Garden Potential: Making Sense of Soil Test Results

Virtual, UW Extension

Oct 3, 5:30pm - 7:30pm ($)

Green Thumb Gardening: Fall Fireworks: Plants for Fall Color

Virtual, UW Extension

Oct 4, 9am - noon and 1pm -3pm (free)

UWGB Day of Service, Seed Packing for the BCSL

Room 139, 2019 Technology Way, Green Bay

Oct 5, 10am - 11:30 ($)

Fall into Foraging: Intro to Foraging Hike

149 Baird Creek Rd, Green Bay

Oct 8, noon - 12:30pm (free)

Soil Solutions: Boosting Your Garden Soil with Amendments

Virtual, UW Extension

Oct 8, 5:30pm - 7:30pm ($)

Green Thumb Gardening: Fall Bulbs for Spring-Blooming Flowers

Virtual, UW Extension

Oct 9, 6pm - 7:30pm ($)

Designing with Fall Bulbs

2600 Larsen Rd, Green Bay

Oct 9, 6:30pm - 7:45pm (free)

Leaf Composting and Fall Garden/Yard Clean Up

515 Pine St, Green Bay

Oct 10, noon - 1pm (free)

Tackling Tough Weeds: Your Questions, Expert Answers

Virtual, UW Extension

Oct 10, 6:30pm - 7:30pm ($)

Foraging Your Yard: How to Make Any Size Yard a Forager’s Paradise

Virtual, Northern Gardener

Oct 17, 5:30pm - 7:30pm ($)

Green Thumb Gardening: Getting the Garden Ready for Winter

Virtual, UW Extension

Oct 19, 9am - 10:30am (free)

Locktender Native Garden Seed Collecting Workshop

Locktender House at Voyager Park

Oct 20, 1pm - 3pm (free)

Seed Collecting Demonstration

2325 Oak Ridge Cir, De Pere

Oct 21, 1pm - 2pm (free)

Ask the Experts: A Monthly Garden and Landscape Q&A Series

Virtual, UW Extension

Oct 23, 6:30pm - 8:30pm (free)

Orchid Diseases

Virtual, UW Extension

Oct 24, 5:30pm - 7:30pm ($)

Green Thumb Gardening: Gardening with Climate Change in Mind: Trends, Challenges, and Adaptations

Virtual, UW Extension

Oct 24, 6pm - 7pm (free)

“Matrix Landscape Design” with Benjamin Vogt

Virtual, Wild Ones

Oct 24, 6:30pm - 7:30pm )$)

Restoring Abundance and Regenerating Ecosystems

Virtual, Northern Gardener

Oct 26, 8am - noon (free)

Volunteer Opportunity: Native Seed Planting

corner of Baird Creek Road and Superior Road, 54311

Oct 26, 9am - noon (free)

Volunteer Opportunity: Invasive Species Removal

Red Smith Park, 2765 Sussex Rd

Oct 26, 9:30am - 12pm & 12:30pm - 3pm (free)

Seed Packing Event

Brown County Central Library, 515 Pine St

Oct 29, 5:30pm - 7:30pm ($)

Green Thumb Gardening: Shady Characters: Great Perennials for Shade

Virtual, UW Extension

Oct 30, 6pm - 7:30pm ($)

The Mushrooms of Autumn

2600 Larsen Rd, Green Bay

Oct 31, noon - 12:30pm (free)

Plant Parenting: Choosing the Best Plants for your Indoor Space

Virtual, UW Extension

Nov 4 - Nov 7 ($)

Friends of the Library Big Book Sale

515 Pine St, Green Bay

Nov 5, noon - 12:30pm (free)

You Can Grow Citrus!

Virtual, UW Extension

Nov 7, 5:30pm - 7:30pm ($)

Green Thumb Gardening: Soils, Composting, and Fertilizers

Virtual, UW Extension

Nov 9, 9:30am - 12pm & 12:30pm - 3pm (free)

Seed Packing Event

Brown County Central Library, 515 Pine St

Nov 18, 1pm - 2pm (free)

 Ask the Experts: A Monthly Garden and Landscape Q&A Series

Virtual, UW Extension

Nov 20, 6:30pm - 8:30pm (free)

Confessions of a Black Thumb: Plants That I Have Killed 

(or at Least Seriously Maimed)

Virtual, UW Extension

Tomatoes from Frost Killed Vines:

Not for Canning

As the weather turns cooler and overnight temperatures dip, you may find yourself scrambling to pick the last of your tomato crop. If a frost kills the vines before you get to them all, are the remaining fruits safe for canning? The short answer is no. Tomatoes from frost-killed or dead vines can be too low in acid to be safely canned. These tomatoes are not the only ones unsuitable for canning. Over-mature, decayed, damaged, or moldy tomatoes can also be too low in acid, and they may have a higher likelihood of carrying bacteria, making them unsafe for canning. 

When canning tomatoes: 

• Choose fresh, firm, healthy, and preferably vine-ripened fruits 

• Always acidify tomatoes, even when pressure canning 

• Follow a scientifically validated recipe, and follow the instructions exactly 

For further information, check the National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP) website at https://nchfp.uga.edu

Oct 2021 UC Master Food Preserver Program | mfp.ucanr.edu 

October 2021 Brought to you by the UCCE Master Food Preservers of El Dorado County Website: https://ucanr.edu/sites/mfp_of_cs/ 

Information Sourced from https://ucanr.edu/sites/mfp_of_cs/files/360433.pdf

Roasted Tilapia with Tomatoes and Olives

Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients:



4 (6 oz.) tilapia filets (or other whitefish)

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1 cup cubed zucchini

¾ cup pitted green olives, coarsely chopped

3 TBSP chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

3 garlic cloves, sliced or minced

1 TBSP olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line jelly-roll pan with parchment paper.

Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper, arrange in single layer on pan. Combine tomatoes and remaining ingredients, toss gently. Arrange tomato mixture around fish on pan.  

Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Serve 1 filet topped about 3/4 cup of veggie mixture. Recipe easy to modify with different veggies or herbs.

Submitted by Melissa Wass, N.E.W. Master Gardener

Wild Ones member Kim Smith has some cute arachnid facts and some amazing photos she took for her blog and the Wild Ones Fall 2024 Journal. Click here to read 4 fun facts about spiders!

Thanks to Annette Weissbach with N.E.W. Master Gardeners for sharing!

Support the BCSL!

We are entirely supported by grants, donations and volunteers! If you are interested, there are many ways to support the BCSL. 

*You can become a Seed Steward and support the library by growing out seeds from our core list to donate. We will accept seed donations by anyone who would like to donate, seeds can be dropped off at the STEM center or at the Central library. 

*You can volunteer to sort and pack seeds. Opportunities will be posted on the New Leaf Foods Calendar of Events, included in our newsletters and posted with the Volunteer Center of Brown County.

*You can make a monetary donation through our Fiscal Agent, New Leaf Foods. Click here to donate.

*You can visit our Amazon Wish List, which has basic packing supplies that we utilize for preparing our seeds for distribution. Click here to access the wishlist.

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