FREE BEEKEEPING CLASS this Saturday, Feb 2nd

We are so excited to have Jimmie Oakley from the Williamson County Beekeeping Association joining us again this Saturday, February 2nd at 10:30am to teach us the basics about beekeeping. Learn how to help save these important pollinators and raise your own honey!

At noon, Kristin Andrews will be featuring a couple Honey inspired recipes in her weekly cooking demonstration. Join Us!

A Honey Bee Visits Basil Flowers in the Monument Garden

Sweet Potato Cooking Class TODAY AT NOON!

Chef Kristin Andrews will be joining us in the Market at noon today to demo a couple recipes featuring Sweet Potatoes:  

 Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Pecans.

 and

Sweet Potatoes with Sage Browned Butter 

Our sweet potatoes in the market come from Johnson's Backyard Garden, a certified organic farm in  East Austin. Not only are sweet potatoes delicious, but they are high in Beta Carotene, iron, potassium, copper, magnesium, fiber and  vitamins C, E, and B6. They have been classified as and "anti-diabetic" food and are anti-inflammatory.

If you join us at 10:30 for Gardening class, you can learn how to grow them in your garden too!

POTATOES!

What is often referred to as an "Irish potato" actually hails from the Andes in South America where it has been cultivated since 200 B.C.E. The potato was so important to the ancient Inca that their measurement of time was based on how long it took a potato to cook! Conquistadors took the potato to Europe and it was from there that the potato found its way to North America. Thomas Jefferson gets the credit for introducing the French Fried Potato to America when he served it at a White House dinner.

Valentines Day is the time to both plant potatoes and prune roses in Central Texas. How Romantic!

This Saturday we are going to make sure you are prepared to grow, harvest, and eat all the tubers you want this spring. First, at 10:30am at our weekly gardening class, we'll be talking about growing both "Irish" potatoes and sweet potatoes.

At noon, Kristin Andrews will be demoing some potato inspired dishes, including a Potato and Arugula Salad

Both classes are free and open to the public. See you there!

Composting Class this Saturday!

 This is from the EPA website:

The amount of food wasted in the United States is staggering. In 2010, more than 34 million tons of food waste was generated, more than any other material category but paper. Food waste accounted for almost 14 percent of the total municipal solid waste stream, less than three percent of which was recovered and recycled in 2010. The rest —33 million tons— was thrown away, making food waste the single largest component of MSW(municipal solid waste) reaching landfills and incinerators.

Not only does this wasted valuable resource have huge economic impacts, it also has huge and immediate environmental impacts. When food is disposed in a landfill it quickly rots and becomes a significant source of methane — a potent greenhouse gas with 21 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. Landfills are a major source of human-related methane in the United States, accounting for more than 20 percent of all methane emissions. Reducing, recovering, and recycling food waste diverts organic materials from landfills and incinerators, reducing GHG (green house gas) emissions from landfills and waste combustion. The use of recycled food waste (compost) has many environmental benefits such as: improving soil health and structure; increasing drought resistance; and reducing the need for supplemental water, fertilizers, and pesticides.

Learn how to keep your food scraps out of the landfill and transform them into valuable "black gold" for your soil! Join us at the Monument Market at 10:30am on Saturday, January 19th to discuss several options for home composting.

Two Exciting Free Classes this Saturday 1/12/13

I just love starting off the new year with a class about soil.  When people tell me that they have a black thumb, I always say, "No, you just have poor soil." If you build and nurture your soil, you cannot go wrong. 

This is why I am especially glad to be hosting Master Gardener JoAnne Dietrich this Saturday, January 12 at 10:30am to teach a class entitled "Preparing the Soil for Vegetable and Rose Gardens"

JoAnne will talk with us about soils and share with us some of the techniques she used to build her veggie and rose gardens at her home in Liberty Hill.

After Garden class, starting at noon, Kristin Andrews will be showing us how to prepare a couple great winter recipes - Winter Squash Risotto and Kale and Roasted Beet Salad. Yum! This is the first of a weekly cooking demo series that Kristin will be hosting featuring the seasonal produce from the market as well as health and nutrition information. I hope to see you there! 

January Garden Classes

Happy New Year! 

If spending more time outdoors enjoying nature or starting a new garden were items on your resolution list, then you don't want to miss what we have in store this month at the Monument Market. Every Saturday at 10:30 we have a free garden class. Here is the line up for January:
 
Saturday, January 5th January In the Garden : Sowing the Seeds of Spring This is our monthly first Saturday series where we cover the garden "To Do" list for the month. Learn what is in season, what you can plant from seed or transplant and other garden tasks.    

Saturday, January 12th Guest Speaker Workshop: "Preparing the Soil for Vegetable and Rose Gardens" With Master Gardener JoAnne Dieterich   
JoAnn will share with us some of the techniques she used to build her veggie and rose gardens at her home in Liberty Hill   

Starting January 12th at noon we'll be beginning a weekly Cooking Class hosted by Kristin Andrews. Stay tuned for more information.... 


Saturday January 19th   Backyard Composting   
Learn how to turn your food scraps and yard waste into black gold for your soil!

Saturday January 26th   Growing Potatoes   
We'll talk about techniques for growing regular potatoes and sweet potatoes in this class.