Making labels for rose hip syrup

The rose hip jelly we made turned out more like syrup than jelly.  It probably didn't have enough pectin.  It still tastes great.  The group decided to make labels and give them out as Christmas presents.

The group creating their designs.

 Here are Matthew's perfection syrup designs

These are Marvin's perfection creations

These are Walter's PERFECTION

Saving beans

Today we finished sorting the Old Mother Stallard beans we harvested.  We can plant them next year, or cook them in soups.

Planting flowers and continuing to clear the garden

We collected seeds from flowers after they matured in the summer.  Today we helped nature out by planting them in areas around the school.

Isaiah and Jalen inspecting some Liatris seeds.

Matthew and Walter compare the shape of the Liatris seeds with some cosmos.

The group scatters the seeds.  We planted some a few inches under the soil, and some we scattered on the surface.  We'll see which grow better when the time comes in the spring.

Here are some marigold flowers that have matured to become seeds.

Matthew removes the seeds from the flower to scatter.

After we've planted flowers, we move on to the garden.  There are still some plants that need to be removed and fed to the chickens.  See those tall brussels sprouts?  Believe it or not, they're still ready to eat.

Okay Winter. We get the picture. We should shut down the garden for the season.

Chicago has been experiencing a deep freeze the past couple of weeks, with wind chills dropping into the single digits.  We still have some crops in the ground in our garden, but were waiting for the temperature to come back up near (if not above) freezing to make it easier to work the soil.  We had good conditions today, but the light mist that started the morning turned to blowing snow!  So it made for an interesting work day.

Robert, Jalen, and Matthew collect all the beans, pull the old vines from the fence, and compost the waste.

Matthew shows off one of our last carrots.

Jalen, Matthew, Robert, and Isaiah sort bean pods to dry.  We'll then remove the colorful beans.

The crew proudly shows off onions and carrots that we harvested and washed.

Clearing the garden for winter

Winter weather has hit the west side of Chicago with full force.  The cold temperatures were the final death blow to most of the summer crops, like tomatoes and eggplants.  It's time to clear them out for the winter, since pests and diseases can overwinter on rotting plant material.

Robert and Tyshaun pull up eggplant plants.

Robert ponders the root system of a plant.

Tyshaun transports the plant material to the compost pile.

Making Rose Hip Jelly: Part 2

Today we finished the process of making rose hip jelly.

On Tuesday we extracted the juice from our rose hips.  A few seeds made it through the strainer, so we fished those out.

Brian cuts lemons.

We squeezed the lemons and added the juice to our rose hip extract.

Pectin is a type of sugar that makes jams and jellies solidify.  We also added that to our mixture.

 Mr. Dwyer didn't do much except order people around and drink coffee.

We heated the rose hip extract, pectin, and lemon juice to a boil, and then we added sugar.  Lots of it.  Then we brought it up to a boil again.

We made sure to stir it continually so the sugar didn't burn.

This is a video clip of the jelly boiling.  We held it at that temperature for one minute.

Meanwhile, we sterilized the jars by boiling them in water for ten minutes.

We filled each jar and screwed the lid on tight.  Then we but it BACK in boiling water for ten more minutes, which seals the jars and allows us to store the jelly at room temperature until it's been opened.

Making Rose Hip Jelly: Part 1

Rose hips are the fruit that a rose plant produces when the flower is pollinated.  The Agriculture Club is making rose hip jelly.  Jelly, unlike jam and preserves, is made from the juice of a fruit.  The process is a two-day affair.  We'll finish the second stage on Thursday.

Here's a picture of rose hips ready to harvest.  They taste best after the first frost of the year.

Walter washes the rose hips.

Malachi cuts the ends off the rose hips, which we'll put in the compost pile.

 Once the ends are washed and cut, we put them in a pot of water to boil for an hour.

Walter stirs the mixture.  We wish we could take a picture of the smell; it's delicious!

Can you see the difference after they've been simmering for an hour?

After the students mash up the cooked rose hips, Mr. Dwyer scoops the steaming mixture into a mesh bag, held expertly by Brian.

 Over the next hour, the juice from the rose hips will drain.  We'll discard the seeds and the fruit and save the juice to make the jelly on Thursday.  STAY TUNED!

Fall plantings

Fall is an exciting time in the garden.  We plant many different crops that will bloom in the spring.

Brian re-plants part of the ginger that we recently harvested.

Walter prunes brussels sprout leaves to promote ripening of the sprouts.

We grew this head of garlic last year, and set it aside so we could plant more.  Malachi separates the head into cloves.

Each clove will become a full head of garlic.

Walter digs a trench...

...then fills it with compost.

Brian places the cloves in the trench, and covers them over with soil.  They'll be among the first green to appear in the spring.

Fall landscaping

The agriculture club usually focuses on growing food at CJA, but since the old chicken coop has been moved to a new location, there's a spot on campus that needs new ornamental landscaping.  The crew dug holes for transplants and used our compost to enrich the soil.

Malachi and Ms. Lucy dig holes for our new plants.

Mr. Dwyer could not resist adding something edible to the landscaping mix.  We planted two blueberry bushes, which also have very attractive foliage in the fall.

Moving the old chicken coop

Since the chickens got a new home almost a year ago, we've been meaning to move the old chicken coop and turn it into a tool shed.  We finally got the job done!  It took eight people to pick up the whole structure and slowly walk it to its new location.  Many thanks to Mr. Tengel, Amari, Jonathan, Elijah, Prince, Mr. Lynch, and Mr. Gosselar for pitching in!

Now we'll be able to have tools closer at hand while we're working in the garden!

Another Friday harvest day and market

On Fridays, the Agriculture Club harvests produce during recess and sells it at our farm stand during dismissal.  Another bountiful harvest and a successful market!

In this video, Brian harvests Good Mother Stallard beans.  We wait until the pods have dried out to harvest the beans, which can be stored for months.

Here's a clip of Walter harvesting a cabbage.  You can tell it's ready for harvest when the head is nice and firm, even if it's still pretty small.

Brian demonstrates how to harvest shiitake mushrooms in this video clip.

In this video, Walter harvests a patty pan squash.  Everyone says they look like UFOs.

 Ginger is ready for harvest.

Walter cuts off the stalks, then we dig up the roots.

Brian and Walter show off the ginger plant.  We'll break off a piece and replant it so we can harvest again next year.

The weather is beautiful and we have a beautiful harvest to share with the CJA community.

Students smell the delightful aroma of fresh ginger root.