Easton Community Gardens Win Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Award

By Christina Georgiou

Second from left, Sophia Feller, who manages the West Ward Neighborhood
Partnership's community garden program, celebrates with Barbara DeStafano,
Elinor Levy, Yvonne Tugya, Lynn Holden, Joanne Czeck, Scott Slingerland,
and Lexy Rodriguez Tuesday afternoon at Daddy's Place in Easton. The
group had planned to accept the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s
Community Greening Award yesterday in a ceremony at the
Pennsylvania Governor's Mansion in Harrisburg, but cancelled their trip
due to the snowy weather.

Easton's community gardens and urban farm, programs run by the West Ward Neighborhood Partnership (WWNP), have been very popular and were an integral part of the city's experimental "Veggie Van" program this summer. And now, the program has received recognition outside the City of Easton as well.

Beating out 89 other nominees, the program was awarded Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Community Greening Award yesterday in a ceremony at the Pennsylvania Governor's Mansion, presented Susan Corbett and horticultural society president Drew Becher.

But, while WWNP staff, along with about a dozen volunteers, partners, and friends had planned to attend the ceremony to receive the award personally, snowy weather on Tuesday made the group decide to forgo the trip.

So instead, a number of those involved with the city gardening effort gathered at Daddy's Place, next door to WWNP offices, to celebrate the recognition yesterday afternoon.

Despite missing out on the chance to accept the recognition personally, community garden manager Sophia Feller said the honor means a lot to her and all the others involved in the community garden plots.

"It is wonderful for WWNP to be recognized by PHS for all the hard work, sweat, and...tears put into the community garden program over the past five years," she said in an email. "This award is for all of us, because it took every single volunteer and partner working together for a greener and kinder community to make the gardens and the urban farm grow as well as they have."

The award-winning project started with four urban community garden projects in 2008 and 2009 and has expanded to 13 gardens, an urban farm, a small greenhouse, and two summer garden programs for kids.  Free garden classes are offered each spring as well.

WWNP community garden mascot Rosa the Rabbit was also
present for the celebration.

Urban gardening initiative partners include the Easton Area Community Center, The School of Natural Learning, Spring Garden Children’s Center, Penn State Master Gardeners, HUD Senior Housing, Easton Area Neighborhood Centers, The Kellyn Foundation, Lafayette College, and The City of Easton that collectively bring a wide range of garden programing and education to West Ward residents. The community gardens were made possible by a grant from the Wells Fargo Regional Foundation.

In recognition of the honor, Easton City Council is expected to present a congratulatory citation to WWNP this evening at its December 11 meeting.

The WWNP was created by the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley in 2005 to improve the quality of life for the densely populated West Ward.

Nurture Nature Center Kicks Off Urban Garden Project

By Christina Georgiou


Donors for the Nurture Nature Center's Urban Recycle Garden gathered

for a celebration party at the Downtown center Thursday night.



Nurture Nature Center topped its Kickstarter goal only a week ago, but the organization is already working towards making its Urban Recycle Garden a reality.

Inviting the 107 donors who gave a total of $9,500 toward the project, along with a number of other donors who contributed approximately $1,500 more, to a celebration party Thursday evening at its Downtown Northampton Street educational center, NNC director Rachel Hogan and master gardener Kate Brandes said the garden will be a reality this summer.

And, with $3,000 more than NNC's original goal of $8,000, along with an offer from local engineer Rich Herschlag to do a formal structural analysis of the building's back roof to ensure it's strong enough to bear the weight of it, the project will not only encompass the small back parking lot of NNC, but extend up along the wall and over it to the roof itself.

A mock-up of what the new garden will look like behind Nurture Nature
Center, from Pine Street. The green space will extend up and over the roof too.
Contributed photo.

The wall that leads to the roof will be resurfaced by Rob Wozniak of Preservation Works, NNC's next door neighbor, who also offered to donate his services, Brandes said.

Giving a tour to some of the donors during Thursday evening's celebration party, Brandes described the project in detail.

The current parking lot against the back wall of the building will be transformed, she said, with a fence and gate, along with raised garden beds. A trellis will be added along the building's back wall, and an existing one near a back entrance to the building will finally get use.


Nurture Nature Center master gardener Kate Brandes
describes what the new garden will look like to donors on a
tour of the space Thursday evening.

"A lot of it will be a container garden," Brandes said. "The garden is meant to demonstrate how people can grow things in very small spaces, even fire escapes."

She added the center is looking for both input on the types and styles of containers to be used, as well as donations of various types of containers themselves.

"We can use anything--old garbage cans, pots, whatever," Brandes told guests, noting NNC has a wish list of items to be donated on its website.

While the project will bloom this summer, completing the roof garden may take a little longer, though the center plans to begin work on it immediately.

"What the roof will exactly look like, we're not sure yet," she said. "The engineer coming to us was a bit of a surprise."

The ground level garden will feature all sorts of plants, with an emphasis on those that are edible.

"We want to do themed gardens, like a salsa garden," Brandes said.

The instructional and inspirational nature of the project will be highlighted too, for both in-person and on-line visitors.

"Everything we do...we're going to have instruction worksheets," she said. The sheets will be available as handouts to those who visit NNC, and as downloadable copies via the web.

An automated watering system that will make use of runoff from the center's expansive roof  will ensure plants are optimally watered at all times, "so that when we're not here on the weekends, things will still get watered."

The garden's produce will flow with the seasons, and the center hopes to keep it running year-round, as the weather allows. Hardier plants, such as kale and maybe some herbs, will be cultivated in the colder months, she said.

A garden board has already been appointed to oversee the project, and it will convene for a meeting next week. Members, all chosen from the local community are:

• Lynn Prior Director of Greater Lehigh Valley Chapter of Buy Fresh Buy Local
• Emelie Swackhamer, Horticulture Educator, Lehigh & Northampton Co. Cooperative
• Barbara Hinkson, owner of Compost (an urban garden center located in Easton)
• Joe Judge, Master Gardener and Bushkill Stream Conservancy representative
• Sarah Edmonds, Garden Manager and Metzgar Environmental Projects Coordinator at Lafayette College
• Kristin Jasionowski, Owner, Lunaria Gardens, a Permaculture consultation, design, & education service
• Pat Janssen, Easton Environmental Advisory Council
• Sophia Feller, West Ward Community Gardens

One of the board's first tasks will be to discuss what will be done with produce from the new garden. Suggestions include donating it to local food pantries and/or using it for further instructional opportunities, such as holding canning workshops.

Plans for the garden's first full season next year, are already forming too.

"We are in touch with a beekeeper about putting a hive on the roof next year," Brandes said.

About 90 of the donors were on hand for the party celebrating the garden fundraiser's success Thursday evening.

In addition to enjoying refreshments donated by local restaurants and shops, including Two Rivers Brewing Company, the Philadelphia Pretzel Company, Sweet Girlz, Weyerbacher and the soon-to-open coffee shop Briva, the Easton School of Rock's Bank Street Band filled the air with some blistering rock-and-roll tunes.

Guests were treated to packets of organic seeds to help green their own gardens, and were invited to offer suggestions for the space, as well as vote on a number of container gardening ideas that will be utilized in NNC's new space.



A raffle for a Trek bicycle donated by
Genesis Bicycles was won by local artist
and Urban Recycle Garden donor Patricia Delluva.



A raffle for a Trek bicycle donated by Genesis Bicycles was won by local artist and Urban Recycle Garden donor Patricia Delluva, whose work is part of one of NNC's current painting exhibits.

"With your help, we've successfully funded this project and are already working on first steps to get the garden built," NNC Director Rachel Hogan Carr told guests.  "We're really grateful for the community support. Thank you."

To learn more about Nurture Nature Center's Urban Recycle Garden, click here.

Reading Room to Hold Birthday Party, Free Gardening Event

The Cops 'n Kids Reading Room is turning two years old, and a birthday party has been planned to celebrate the milestone.

The public is invited to the event, which will happen on Saturday, June 8. Free food, free books and fun activities at the reading room will follow a parade that begins at 10:30 a.m. at Centennial Park, South 12th and Ferry streets, which will progress to the Cops 'n Kids Reading Room at the Easton Area Community Center.

A tae kwon do demonstration, storytime with Dr. Seuss, a "mad science demonstration, child safety protection finger printing, and other activities are planned from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

There will also be a garden fair at the event, also from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., where West Ward Neighborhood Partnership gardeners will be giving away tomato, pepper, eggplant and other vegetable plants.

Composting and worm bin demonstrations, along with an interactive display for kids and families, and a raffle to win a basketful of flowers will also be part of the gardening celebration. Master Gardeners will be present to help with gardening questions.

Pre-planted tomato and basil pots will also be for sale for $10, and rain barrels will be available for $45.

Free recycling barrels will be available West Ward residents too.

The Easton Area Community Center is located at 901 Washington St. Both the Cops 'n Kids Birthday Party and the gardening celebration will take place in the rear of the building, accessible from South Ninth Street.

For more information about the event or about the Cops 'n Kids Reading Room, which aims to connect children and the community through literacy, visit www.copsnkidseaston.org

If You Can't Beat It, Eat It: Japanese Knotweed

By Christina Georgiou

Recently, there's been a lot of attention in Easton being given to the idea of urban gardening, particularly to grow healthier food, and also to the environmental detriments of invasive plant species in the local area.

The idea that the city is a "food desert" has also been floated around a bit, though technically there is no neighborhood that strictly qualifies as one. (To be considered a true "food desert" there needs to be a lack of a dedicated grocery store in a two-mile radius. While it's true three out of four of Easton's neighborhoods don't have a supermarket and it would be a much better thing if they did, all four neighborhoods are within the two-mile reach of one.)

While we are definitely supportive of urban gardening and growing food, favor native plants over invasive ones, and would very much like to see more healthy (and more affordable) foods sold in neighborhood stores, there's one idea that we think is a bit neglected--what already is available and what to do with it.

This is the second article in the series "If You Can't Beat It, Eat It", where we're highlighting a few edible, healthy plants you may not have noticed  (or just call "weeds") that grow all around the Easton area.

Click here to read the first article in the series, on dandelions.

One of many leafy platoons of an army of Japanese knotweed
that is quietly and voraciously taking over plant habitats
in the local Easton area. This one has set up camp along
the Bushkill Creek, crowding out many other native plants.

When it comes to invasive plants, it could be easily said that Japanese knotweed is one of the worst, if not the worst, and few that have ever met this voracious plant would disagree.

Once it gets the tiniest foothold, it takes over like a leafy invading army, creating a "mono-culture" in its immediate environment. Its underground rhizome network sends up fast-growing shoots, which reach heights of three to 12 feet in a matter of a couple of months. During its peak growing time, it can grow one to three inches a day, and when it reaches full height, it's leaves are the size of a man's hand, depriving potential competitors of sunlight.

It's incredibly difficult to kill--a tiny live piece of stem or root in soil with a little water is enough for the plant to regenerate itself. Chemical herbicides aren't terribly effective, and repeated applications of poison over a succession of years are usually necessary to eradicate it.

Other techniques include repeatedly chopping the plant down and removing the vegetation to prevent it from rooting and continuing to spread, as well as burning it. (One suspects the use of a flamethrower might be most satisfying, if not actually prudent.)



Shoots of Japanese knotweed, being a literal "pain in the
asphalt" along Pearl Street in Easton.

Knotweed rhizomes can go 10 feet deep and stretch up to 30 feet away from visible plants. Its roots can--and do--break through concrete and pavement to spread, often causing costly damage to structures and roadways, though it prefers to take hold in disturbed soil, particularly along waterways, which, when their banks flood, is one of the main ways it travels.

It's literally a "pain in the asphalt" to pretty much anyone who has to deal with its unwanted presence.

Japanese knotweed and it's close cousin, giant Japanese knotweed, was imported from Asia in the late 1800s as an ornamental plant. It's droopy flowers, seen in late summer, produce winged seeds, which is another way it establishes itself in new areas.

Areas in the northeast of the U.S. have had a particular problem with Japanese knotweed, but it's found all over the North American continent, including in Alaska. It's also a problem in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. The World Conservation Union has listed it as one of the world’s worst invasive species. Probably the only place it's not considered a major pest is in Japan, where it comes from.



Yes, that's ALL Japanese knotweed. We suspect it's
plotting the demise of that tree on the upper left as
its next conquest.

Locally, Japanese knotweed has become a particular problem along Easton's waterways, said  David Hopkins, the city's public works director.

"It's horrible," he said when I asked him about Japanese knotweed.

He said he thinks flooding is to blame for it becoming especially prolific in recent years. It's crowding out native plants, blocking access to waterways and also harbors ticks in season, he added.

But there is one upside to Japanese knotweed. It's edible, and it's surprisingly tasty and nutritious too.

Japanese knotweed is an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C and its cofactor, the antioxidant flavonoid rutin, and of resveratrol, the same substance in the skin of grapes and in red wine that lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol and reduces the risk of heart attacks. It also provides potassium, phosphorus, zinc, and manganese.

As a food, it can be used as a replacement for rhubarb in any recipe that call for it, including pies, crumbles, muffins, tarts, sauces, syrups, etc. It can also be steamed or grilled like asparagus. Tea, wine, cordials, and pickles are also possibilities.

Flavorwise, it's unique, with a lemony hint, and somewhat reminiscent of both rhubarb and asparagus, though which it is more similar to seems to depend on its preparation.

While most probably haven't heard of eating Japanese knotweed, the practice isn't rare. Several locations in New England have festivals and/or cooking contests annually centered around Japanese knotweed, and in England, where the plant has also become a big problem, chefs have been developing gourmet recipes to find ways to consume it.



Young Japanese knotweed setting up camp in a field setting.
See those pretty violets on the lower right?
If the knotweed isn't stopped, they're doomed.

Hopkins said he thinks the idea of people eating the local Japanese knotweed is a wonderful idea, and said that foraging the plant for food is perfectly fine in the city.

"I would welcome it if (people) took it all," he said, adding he'd be willing to try some himself. "It would make me feel good to consume something that's been such a pest. What a great thing it would be if people ate it."

Foragers need to be mindful about where they pick from, so as not to pull plants from areas where it is prohibited, as well as making sure their chosen locations haven't been treated with pesticides and herbicides, which is a common way many places deal with Japanese knotweed infestations, but in Easton, this is unlikely to be much of a problem.

The City of Easton has no future plans to apply herbicide in most areas, after it controversially did so along the Delaware River banks in Riverside Park last year, Hopkins said. Any place herbicide is applied on city property will be clearly marked, he added.

In Hugh Moore park, the city will utilize goats starting in June to try to help control runaway Japanese knotweed growth, Hopkins said. The initiative, along with others the city will be trying this year, will be led by the city council's Environmental Advisory Committee. Public works employees will also be chopping down the plant with mowers and weed wackers repeatedly, too.

"We're going to try to not use chemicals at all," Hopkins said.

So, upon discovering that Japanese knotweed is edible, not to mention readily available all over the place, I decided to give it a try.

I have to admit, I wasn't expecting much. I was more expecting that Japanese knotweed is "edible" in an "it will keep you from starving to death at the end of the world" sort of way. I mean, how good could such a horrid plant, and one that grows as tall as a small building and is advancing like a malicious army be?



Japanese knotweed, cooking with butter and garlic. It
not only looks a bit like asparagus, it tastes a lot like
it too.

 Surprisingly good actually. Pan sauteed with a little butter and garlic, it is very much like asparagus with lemon, which I happen to adore.

While there are a number of specific recipes for knotweed crumble out there, I decided to test the theory that it can be substituted for rhubarb in any rhubarb recipe.

Wow, it really does make a very tasty dessert too. The crumble I made has a sour apple taste, and the green color to match, though from a visual standpoint, it looks more like green rhubarb.

The season to harvest Japanese knotweed for food began about two weeks ago, and will continue for a few more weeks, into June, depending on growing conditions and the weather.

New shoots of the plant are reportedly the best, though the top 6 to 12 inches of taller plants are also fine. Basically what you're looking for is the tender parts, before the mature plant becomes woody and too stringy to be tasty.

Harvesting Japanese knotweed is a snap, literally. You can just break off the hollow stalks, or snip it with scissors, if you prefer. Anywhere where the stalk is too tough and stringy to do that easily is probably too mature to provide good eating, though I suspect peeled, the stringier stuff would be fine for wine-making and tea.

You can use a basket to carry it home, or just stuff a plastic grocery bag full. (I used two, doubled up. En masse, the vegetation gets a little weighty, and I didn't want the bag to split.)

Err on the side of harvesting too much over too little--you're doing the local environment a favor by carrying this stuff off, and there is NO danger of overharvesting here. Once you've tried it too, you may well want to eat more or try other recipes with it, and having it already on hand is easier than having to go pick more.

When you get home, to prepare the knotweed for use, strip it of all its leaves, and chop the top off too. Give it a good rinsing.

If you're not going to use it right away, you can store it in the fridge for a few days as is, with or without the leaves. It will wilt a bit, but the stalks, which is the part you're going to use, should be fine. You can also put it upright in water to keep it crisper, though you definitely don't want to do it for so long that it roots.

As tempting as it may be to compost, this is one plant you definitely should NOT do that with, or you will end up with it growing on your property, out of your compost pile or bin, only furthering the local Japanese knotweed problem. Dispose of unused bits in the regular trash. Or you might burn the scraps on the barbeque and toss the ash in the compost heap, giving it a nice nitrogen boost, if you really want to be a purist about not contributing to landfills while not contributing to the spread of this pest plant.

Many foraging guides I've seen recommend peeling off the skin, though I found that's unnecessary with the youngest stalks. Still, it's a simple process if you need to do it. A light scrape with a knife or using a vegetable peeler is quite effective. The best stalks I harvested ranged in size from 1/4 inch to about 1 inch in diameter, though some smaller stalks were tough and some larger ones quite tender.

To cook knotweed like asparagus, I cut the cleaned young, tender (unpeeled) stalks into 4-6 inch long pieces, and chopped up a couple of cloves of garlic. In a heavy frying pan on a medium heat, I melted about two tablespoons of butter, and tossed the garlic in. After a couple of minutes, I added the Japanese knotweed on top, and while it was pan grilling, I sprinkled a little bit of coarse kosher salt and a dash of black pepper on top. A very  few minutes later, when the stalks had turned a light shade of olive green and went limp, I tossed the entire thing into a bowl.

This turned out to be amazingly good, as I mentioned earlier. The garlic carmelized a bit, and added a nice crunch to the lemony flavor of the knotweed, which softens up considerably when it's cooked. (The stalks should be limp when cooked through, otherwise they'll be stringy and unpleasantly tough. But the limpness is not a detriment to flavor in this case, and the texture is actually still good this way.)

I suspect onions would also be very good with knotweed. Grilling the stuff on a barbeque  in a pan with a little water and then maybe some butter at the end, would also probably work well, either by itself or with other veggies.

Moving on to knotweed's sweeter side, I decided to make a crumble, aiming for something that would serve as a dessert, as well as perhaps a breakfast treat.

Here's the recipe I used for Japanese knotweed crumble, which I adapted from one for rhubarb:



Crumbly-topped Japanese Knotweed
Yes, it was good. Yep, it's all gone now.


Crumbly-topped Rhubarb Japanese Knotweed

• 3 cups chopped Japanese unpeeled knotweed stalks
• 1 Tablespoon flour
• 1/2 cup granulated Sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon water
• 6 Tablespoons of butter, softened
• 6 Tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (regular or quick cooking--either is fine)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
 
In a 10x6x3-inch baking dish (that's a standard loaf pan), combine the first six  ingredients. Mix the butter into the flour and brown sugar thoroughly, then stir in the oats.

Sprinkle or spread over the rhubarb. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the rhubarb is tender and the top is brown.

Again, Japanese knotweed can be used in any recipe that calls for rhubarb. If the recipe says to peel the rhubarb, then peeling the knotweed is advisable. If it calls for unpeeled rhubarb, then peeling the knot weed probably isn't necessary.

If you harvest Japanese knotweed later in the season and it's beginning to get tough, my online foraging sources suggest peeling it down to the more tender core is advisable.

Boiled Japanese knotweed, pre-puree, on its way to
becoming fruit leather.

I chose easy recipes to begin with, having no idea whether Japanese knotweed would be worth the effort.

As it turns out, it most definitely is. Next on my list, besides more "poor reporter's asparagus", is knotweed muffins, knotweed quick pickles, knotweed vodka, and maybe some knotweed wine.

I also found a recipe for knotweed fruit leather that sounds tasty and pretty easy to pull off, which is in the works.

I'm truly amazed at what I found experimenting with Japanese knotweed. I had expected that it would be a lot of work for little gain as a food, and that it might be passable, but not great when it came to tastiness. All of my expectations turned out to be completely wrong. It's pretty awesome stuff.

Give it a shot. It's not only free, nutritious, tasty food, but by cutting it down, you'll be doing your neighborhood and the local environment a big favor!

Finding and identifying Japanese knotweed:

• It really is everywhere, once you identify it, but known places in Easton and the greater Easton area are along waterways, such as the Bushkill Creek (easily accessible via the Karl Stirner Arts Trail in the city), and along the Delaware and Lehigh river banks. (One place to avoid along the Delaware River though, is in Riverside Park, and also at Scott Park, due to the application of glyphosate last year. Give it another year or two before harvesting from these locations. All other areas along the riverbanks should be okay.)
• If you see obviously unhealthy or "burned" looking Japanese knotweed, especially surrounded by other sickly looking plants, skip picking from that area. Again, the City of Easton says it doesn't plan to use herbicides this year and will clearly mark areas if they do use chemical means to control plants or pests, but that doesn't preclude private property owners' use of these substances. That said, you may find some old, hollow, long, fibrous stems from last year next to the new shoots. This is actually a good sign that the plant has not been treated. Additionally, waterways, where it likes to grow the most, are protected areas, and should generally be free of such hazards.
• Japanese knotweed has hollow bamboo-like stalks that are crooked at the "knots" or stem joints. The leaves are large, usually at least a few inches wide, and grow off the stalks  on alternate sides of the stem joints. It doesn't look like anything else that grows in the area, and there are no poisonous look-alikes. Shoots coming out of the ground vaguely resemble asparagus. It usually grows in stands, with many stalks shooting out of the ground in the same area. Due to the fact that it has a habit of taking over anywhere it's becoming established, few if any other kinds of plants will be found growing within the cluster.

Click here for more about how to identify Japanese knotweed, from a foraging expert.

Click here for a few more Japanese knotweed recipes.

Click here for a number of good rhubarb recipes, for which you can substitute Japanese knotweed.

If You Can't Beat It, Eat It: Dandelions

By Christina Georgiou

Recently, there's been a lot of attention in Easton being given to the idea of urban gardening, particularly to grow healthier food, and also to the environmental detriments of invasive plant species in the local area.

The idea that the city is a "food desert" has also been floated around a bit, though technically there is no neighborhood that strictly qualifies as one. (To be considered a true "food desert" there needs to be a lack of a dedicated grocery store in a two-mile radius. While it's true three out of four of Easton's neighborhoods don't have a supermarket and it would be a much better thing if they did, all four neighborhoods are within the two-mile reach of one.)

While we are definitely supportive of urban gardening and growing food, favor native plants over invasive ones, and would very much like to see more healthy (and more affordable) foods sold in neighborhood stores, there's one idea that we think is a bit neglected--what already is available and what to do with it.

Over the next few weeks, we'll be highlighting a few edible, healthy plants you may not have noticed  (or just call "weeds") that grow all around the Easton area...



These happy dandelions have no idea they're about to
become dinner.

Dandelions are probably the one plant everyone, regardless of their level of botanical expertise, can identify on sight and even at a distance. They're also one of those things that pretty much everyone has an opinion on.

Kids usually like them because it's one flower they can pick without getting into trouble, not to mention it's fun to blow the seeds and make`a wish.

Those that are obsessed about their lawns are usually more of the opinion that dandelions were sent by the devil specifically to vex them and ruin their otherwise perfect carpets of green.

It's true that dandlions are an invasive plant, though no more so than those surburban lawns, which are almost exclusively made up of non-native grasses themselves.



Like the majority of invasive plants, dandelions were brought to North America's shores deliberately--many times over a couple of centuries, in fact, by a number of different groups of immigrants who brought the plant along to grow in their gardens for both the tasty greens and also for the plant's medicinal qualities.

Those with gourmet tastes know that buying dandelion greens and roots are pricy, if you can find them at all.

But this time of year, dandelions are everywhere, free for the taking. And, if you know what to do with them, they're delicious. 



A bit of foraged bounty: baby dandelion leaves, dandelion
flowers, both whole and just the centers, which will be made
into tea, syrup, and wine. Wild onion grass, far left, added
a bit of extra flavor to dandelion fritters.

Most foraging guides suggest the baby leaves are best picked before the dandelions bloom, before they pick up a too-bitter flavor, and they're probably correct. But I found this past weekend that in areas with many dandelions, there are still plenty of baby leaves out there.

Baby leaves make a very tasty salad, either by themselves or mixed with other greens, like a spring lettuce mix--no fancy prep needed. Just pick and rinse. Toss a bowlful with olive oil, lemon juice and sprinkle with a dash salt and pepper, and you're good to go. Or do it with a nice vinagrette, if you're so inclined.

Dandelion greens are highly nutritious, packed with more vitamins and phytonutrients than anything you'll find in the produce aisle of the supermarket. Folate, magnesium, phosphorus and copper, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), vitamin K, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B6, calcium, iron, potassium and manganese all come packed in those awesome little leaves. They're also a very good source of dietary fiber and have a number of other reported health benefits.

A cup of the raw greens only contains 25 calories, too, so feel free to indulge and have two or three.

Oddly enough, a bowl of raw baby dandelion greens is actually quite satisfying. There's a theory out there that many of the people that are overweight and/or obese because they're actually malnourished from eating a processed food diet, and as a result, their bodies are desperately trying to compensate by sending signals they need more food to get more of the lacking nutrients. From what I've experienced in the last couple of days, with a dandelion salad being more than sufficient for lunch, I have to wonder if it's not true.



Baby dandelion greens, with olive oil, lemon juice and a tiny
bit of sea salt. Yum! Looks like the kind of salad you'd pay
a pretty penny for in a pricy gourmet restaurant, doesn't it?

If you find that it's past the season for baby greens, the more mature ones are quite good steamed or boiled, much like you'd prepare spinach. Later in the season, doing a quick boil, then draining the leaves, and doing a second quick boil again should remove the intense bitterness without losing all the nutritious goodness dandelion plants have to offer.

Serve cooked dandelion greens with a little chopped garlic, lemon juice, and/or some butter or olive oil. Again, it's quite delicious.

While dandelion flowers are most often associated with making wine (which I've done in past years, and plan to again this year), they can also be brewed into a very nice tea, which I personally usually enjoy with a bit of honey, iced.

Dandelion syrup, which I haven't tried yet, is also apparently a classic and easy to prepare.

But the most appealing recipe for dandelion flowers I've found so far is dandelion flower fritters!

I just discovered this concept, and having tried my own variation based off of several different recipe versions this past weekend, I can vouch that they are really, really awesome, and nothing like what you might imagine either.

Dandelion fritters may be healthy, but they're not at all reminiscent of "health food." They taste quite sinful, actually, but still carry all the good stuff that dandelions have to offer in the way of nutritional goodness.

The prep is quite simple and easy--if you can make pancakes, you can make dandelion fritters. If you've got kids, I'd imagine they'll not only enjoy these as much as adults, but they'd probably love to help out with the gathering too.

Gather a mixing bowl full of dandelion flowers, whole, just the tops with the stems removed, and give them a good rinsing. No need to dry them off, just shake off the excess water--a colander works well. (Actually, you can even just gather them into a collander in the first place...) Big flowers are easier to fry up than little ones.



Dandelion flower fritters in the making...

For the batter, mix together one cup of flour with one egg and a cup of milk.

For a savory flavor, add some onion and/or garlic powder to the batter, or while you're out getting the dandelions, pull a few young strands of onion grass and chop it up finely before mixing it into the batter.

Take each flower and dip it face down into the batter. Give it a twirl to get some batter between all those tiny petals.

Drop each flower onto a hot lightly oiled griddle or frying pan for about 2-3 minutes. When lightly browned, turn each flower over (a fork works best), and cook the other side too.



Dandelion fritters are amazingly yummy!

For a sweet breakfast or dessert version, you can sprinkle the plain version of the fritters lightly with confectioner's sugar. If you've gone for the savory version, a tiny bit of sea salt brings out the flavor nuances. 



Eat immediately. On the off-chance there are any left, they reheat in a toaster oven or conventional oven easily.

This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to dandelions. The roots are commonly dried and brewed into a healthy coffee substitute, and there are many other recipes out there for the rest of the plant too.

If you have a family or favorite recipe for dandelions, please share it with us in the comments! We'd love to know about it.



A field of dandelions that sits near the Bushkill Creek in the City of Easton.

Foraging for dandelions and other edible plants is not only fun, but it's free!



Still, there are some very important things to keep in mind when foraging for edibles:

• Make sure the area you pull from hasn't been treated with herbicides and pesticides. If you have a service like ChemLawn, eating the weeds from your property is a very bad idea. And while it's true that modern farming makes use of some of the same chemicals, herbicide and pesticide use in residential areas is many times more per acre than farmers use on crops.   It takes a number of years of non-use before it's safe to eat plants in areas heavily treated with these chemicals. That said, other than pesticides/herbicides applied by local residents themselves, urban Easton's backyards seem to be mostly free of this problem.
• Many public spaces, such as parks, are treated with pesticides and herbicides, and plants picked directly from roadsides carry the risk of lead, road salt, petrochemicals, and other extremely unhealthy things. Additionally, some roadway edges in the local area are treated with herbicides by PennDOT to help keep them clear of obscuring vegetation. Sites on or near old abandoned industrial properties are not usually a good idea either--poisons like PCBs may well lurk in the soil and be carried into the plants. Be sure the area you're picking from is free from such hazards. Areas along protected waterways, nature trails, abandoned fields, and woodland areas are usually a safe bet.
• Respect public laws and private property. While it's very rare anyone has any objections to someone picking their unwanted plants, particularly problematic invasive ones, they very likely will have objections to a stranger unexpectedly hanging around their house or on their lawn without permission. However, if you ask nicely and explain what you're doing in advance, a homeowner or resident may well give their blessing to your endeavor. And if someone shows up and asks you to leave, apologize and do so immediately.

Spring Plant Exchange Set for Saturday

The West Ward Neighborhood Partnership will hold its annual spring plant exchange this Saturday, May 4 from noon to 3 p.m. at 630 Northampton St.

Those who would like to participate should bring a plant, clearly marked, to exchange for another variety at the swap. Bulbs, tubers, rhizomes, and plants of all varieties are all welcome.

The WWNP Neighborhood Physical Quality and Natural Resources committees will also be offering rain barrels, tomato buckets, herbs, house plants, and flowering bedding plants for sale at the event.

A limited amount of shrubs will also be available for a suggested donation, an announcement about the event said.

For more information or questions about the event, call 610-515-0891.

Click here to download a pdf of the event poster.

Nurture Nature Launches Fundraising Campaign for Urban Garden Project

By Christina Georgiou


Rachel Hogan talks about Nurture Nature Center's plan for
an "Urban Recycle Garden" Friday evening.



It's been part of the Nurture Nature Center's (NNC) plan from the beginning to incorporate urban gardening and an educational program to go with it into their facility on Northampton Street, and now after five years of operation, it may finally happen.

The Center launched with a Kickstarter campaign party Friday evening, attended by nearly 100 people, to highlight its plan to create an "Urban Recycle Garden", which requires $8,000 to become a reality.

"We're really excited about this program," said Rachel Hogan, NNC's director. "We have a really beautiful vision of how we can use that area and demonstrate how people can grow their own food."


Works by Pat Delluva, Jody Matthews, Sydney McGinley,
Patti Tinsman-Schaffer, Kay Stauffer, and Todd Stone,
Nurture Nature Center's latest art exhibit, were on display
during the fundraising campaign launch. Additionally,
"Riverview" by Easton artist Isadore LaDuca, which
he donated to the center, was also on view.

 The initial phase of the garden will be at ground level just off of Pine Street behind the NNC building. The majority of the cost will go towards building a system to collect rainwater from the roof of the center, which will also be useful towards mitigating stormwater runoff. Other costs include building a trellis along the center's back wall to grow vegetables and vines, basic supplies such as soil, and to create handouts and other educational materials about the garden so visitors will be able to recreate some of the ideas.

"One of the things we're going to do is leverage it as an educational tool," Hogan said. "We want to demonstrate things people can do at their own homes."

The majority of the garden's containers will be recycled, and the emphasis will be on practical gardening, said NNC's Kate Brandes, who is a licensed professional geologist, certified floodplain manager, and a Penn State Master Gardener.

"I think the bottom line for me is this is a project for regular people. It's different from a community garden or a green roof," she said.

Kate Brandes looks out over the roof and area behind
Nurture Nature Center, which the organization hopes to
transform into a blooming garden this summer.

If the Kickstarter campaign exceeds the $8,000 goal, Nurture Nature plans to apply the money to continuing the green space, creating a rooftop garden just above the back wall of the building.

That part of the project has also been in the works from the beginning, Brandes said, but is more costly.

Needed are a structural certification from a licensed engineer stating the roof can hold the weight of the garden, as well as modifications to the fire escape balcony to make it safer for visitors. Additionally, the center would like to replace the heavy fire doors that lead to the fire escape with paned-glass ones so the garden will be visible from the  third floor "Science on a Sphere" room above.

Friday evening, a number of people were seen donating toward the project, some through the Kickstarter campaign, and others writing checks directly. By the end of the evening, $2,500 had been garnered for the project, in addition to NNC's Kickstarter campaign.

The online effort runs through Saturday, May 25 at 10 p.m. and had garnered $440 in pledges from 11 backers as of late Friday night. By mid-Saturday afternoon, the amount had grown to $765.

If Nurture Nature Center reaches it's goal, the garden project will be implemented immediately and yield its first crops this summer, Brandes said.

Additionally, the center is planning a campaign closing party for the backers on Thursday, May 30.

Brandes said she's very much looking forward to making the garden a reality.

"We've been waiting to do this for five years," she said.

To contribute to the Nurture Nature Center's Urban Recycle Garden or view more details about the planned project, click here to visit their page on Kickstarter.

For more about Nurture Nature Center and its mission, visit the organization's website.

Updated at 1:57 p.m.

WWNP to Offer Free Gardening Classes

The West Ward Neighborhood Partnership is offering classes to teach people about gardening, with all you need to know to get started. And, if you are already a gardener, you will meet new friends and learn new things, the program promises.

The free classes will be held on Tuesday evenings in March, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Salvation Army, located at 1110 Northampton St.

Dinner is to be served during the classes, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., with class running from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., followed by a question and discussion period until 8 p.m.

People of all levels of experience are welcome, including children.

Class topics are as follows:

• Tuesday, March 5, "Planning and Design"- Planning where to put your garden is the first step to success, do youhave good sun exposure and access to water? This class will teach the basics of design and planning.
• Tuesday, March 12, "Seeds and Transplants" - Buying plants for your garden can be costly, learn how to start your own plants from seed and how to care for and transplant them successfully to your garden
• Tuesday, March 19, "Insects: the Good the Bad and the Ugly (IPM)" - Your plants are in and your garden is flourishing, but wait, what is that little yellow and black striped bug on the cucumbers? This class will tell you how to check for bug problems before they get out of hand and what to do about them.
• Tuesday, March 26 , "Organic Gardening"- Why organic? Learn how to create healthy soil and maintain a diverse environment to grow nutrient rich food for your family.

For more information, call Sophia Feller 610-515-0891.

Updated on Wednesday, March 6 at 2:35 a.m. to correct the address of the Salvation Army.

City Officials Say Container Garden Can Stay, with Modifications

By Christina Georgiou


A set of container gardens around a Downtown residential building that has recently become the center of controversy for area gardeners and nature lovers will not be required to be removed if the owners of some of the plants are willing to make minor modifications to the placement of the pots, Easton city officials say.

 

Laini Abraham's garden on Sitgreaves Street, pictured with
a petition on Change.org demanding that it be allowed to stay,
was not the target of Easton city code officials, who were
in fact addressing a complaint about another potted garden
around the corner on Church Street, which belongs to
Abraham's neighbors.

“We're rational people,” said Mayor Sal Panto said Monday. “There's got to be a way to do this.”

The whole controversy, though, may have arisen from a series of misunderstandings.

A petition on Change.org started by building resident Laini Abraham has garnered more than 550 signatures in less than a week, demanding that the city allow the urban gardens to stay after her landlord was verbally warned that some of the.potted plants violate city ordinances by blocking the sidewalk.

But Abraham's potted garden, located on Sitgreaves Street and pictured with the petition, was not the focus of the warning, both city officials and property owner Bill Barrel have confirmed.

The building, located at Church and Sitgreaves streets, is home to two sets of planting containers. One, belonging to resident Abraham and located on Sitgreaves Street, does not block the sidewalk and was not the focus of an informal verbal warning that sidewalks must be kept clear.



This is the container garden on Church Street that came to
Easton city code enforcement officers' attention last week,
after a man apparently complained to the city that he tripped
in the street in front of an oncoming car while walking around
the plants.

 The other set of potted plants, located on Church Street, belongs to two other residents of the building and blocks the narrow sidewalk of the alley street, technically a violation of city code. It was a recent complaint the city received from a person who claimed he was forced to walk in the street and tripped in front of an oncoming vehicle that brought the container garden to the city's codes office's attention, city officials say.

They added that the city tries to work with property owners to find an amicable solution before fines or penalties are assessed, and that property owners are always given time to address a problem before that happens.

No formal warning or letter has been issued by the city on the matter demanding the gardens' removal either.

Barrel says that he asked all the tenants to remove the gardens because he felt he couldn't tell some tenants to remove or modify their gardens and not others.

“As a building owner, it's a little more complicated for me,” he said. “I don't want to get into a hassle with the city. If there were a fine, I'd be the one to have to pay it.”

He said he understands both perspectives on the matter.

“Most people like (the gardens), but someone complained. And it is against the law,” Barrel said.

But he said he's happy to hear the city is willing to compromise on the matter.

“They just have got to give us a little time to do it,” he said.

An image that accompanied the petition in favor of
the gardens is not accurate when it comes to the legality of
dumpsters and weeds, both of which are also technically
 in violation of city sidewalk ordinances. However, situations
in the city's narrow alleyways are decided on a case-by-case
basis, and there is no formal permit for
a dumpster, city Planning Director Becky Bradley said.

Abraham said she's happy the city is willing to compromise, but feels the city is “backtracking to save face” and the law is arbitrary, given that dumpsters are sometimes block sidewalks when other placement space isn't available.



“I think it's crazy that that's the deal,” Abraham said. “People have been walking around those plants for three years with no problem... Dumpsters are exempted because they're considered necessary. But it would be good if gardens were considered necessary too.”

 
However, Easton Planning Director Becky Bradley said Abraham's statement about dumpsters being exempted is not entirely accurate.

“There is no formal permit for a dumpster,” she said by phone on Tuesday, adding that the placement of dumpsters is determined on a case-by-case basis when a new business is opened during the zoning hearing process.

She added that sometimes they are moved or placed by waste disposal companies without approval from the city. In the cases where someone complains or they are creating a nuisance, the city then assesses the situation and in some cases, the receptacle's removal or relocation are ordered when possible, Bradley said.

Waste removal is an essential service, she said, and planters can be easily rearranged to keep a walkway clear enough for pedestrian passage.



Though they block the sidewalk entirely,
it is unclear whether these waste receptacles like these
are allowable, as the matter of placement is decided on a
case-by-case basis, depending on the property's use and
space limitations. Sometimes property owners or
waste haulers relocate receptacles without approval,
city officials said, but often unless there are complaints,
the matter often goes unaddressed.

The city considers most things on a case-by-case basis when it comes to alleyways, which are all largely very narrow and unconforming to official city code Bradley said, noting that they are also used for servicing buildings and businesses so main streets aren't clogged.

“Alleys are very—they're a little funky,” she said. “They're a little more democratic in terms of use.”

Bradley said because the alleys serve a variety of purposes and people, the city largely doesn't involve itself with technical code violations unless something is brought to officials' attention.

“There are a lot of bigger issues than a container garden we have to deal with,” she said, adding that issues like blighted buildings and habitually negligent landlords whose buildings constitute serious health and safety issues are much higher on her department's list of priorities.

Another city employee, who asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak with the press, confirmed that Easton tries to give more leeway in terms of code enforcement when it comes to city alleyways.

“You're talking about these tiny, little streets. The sidewalks aren't even three feet wide,” the employee said. “So we're stuck between a rock and a hard place. Everything is within reason. But (people) shouldn't have to walk in the street, because there are idiots (driving) out there.”

Panto said the city has no intention of fining Barrel if the planters on Church Street are rearranged to satisfy the need of pedestrians to pass without having to step into the street. He noted that the city hasn't even issued a formal written warning.

“The city has looked the other way for three years...The idea that we're out to fine the landlord $1,000 is incorrect,” Panto said of the maximum fine that could be assessed for non-compliance. “It doesn't happen for.slumlords, and it certainly isn't going to happen for planters. Common sense will prevail.”

-------

In response to the petition and a number of emails from residents regarding the matter, Mayor Sal Panto posted a response on his Facebook page late last week, the text of which appears below as written:

Thank you for signing the petition. I truly appreciate your voice in this matter and thank you for getting involved. As a clarification to the events that led to the visit by our code officer
who incidentally has also signed the petition, we did not go out looking for this infraction. We received a complaint about the pots. A pedestrian was walking down the alley and tripped trying to go around the pots and fell into the alley in front of a car. He was upset and reported the incident. We followed up. The code officer spoke to the landlord and was told that it was a violation, which it is. However, there are many violations that when they arise common sense is used rather than the letter of the law.

Alleys in our downtown have an interesting history and have come full circle. Initially homes were located on them and people lived on them. My father grew up on an alley in downtown called West Street. They played and important role in the layout of the city. As time grew on more and more people moved out of the downtown (mostly forced by urban “removal”) as more and more commercial activity moved in the center of the city. Today we see residential uses on the rise but we still have, and want a vibrant downtown.

This is where the collision occurs between tow distinct uses. Businesses need the alleys for deliveries and pickups and yet most of these business building footprints occupy the entire site thereby requiring deliveries on one lane streets blocking traffic and against the law and no place for things like garbage and recycling containers. So while ugly garbage containers are “accepted” because of need, planters are more of a voluntary addition. Don’t get me wrong, the more plants and flowers the better. So we have a code that is required because pedestrians need to have safe places to walk and yet some of our sidewalks are only 3 feet wide.

Our code and building department reviews all requests for businesses in the downtown and looks at ancillary services like where the garbage cans will be placed. We also review plans for outdoor seating which we want to encourage but there must be a 3 foot clearance for walkers and wheelchairs.

I will personally take a look at this particular situation. I have seen the pictures online and I believe the issue may be with the larger round planters which appear to block the entire width of the sidewalk whereas the rectangular ones appear to allow for some passage. One solution may be the use of long rectangular planters that still allow some room for pedestrian passage.

The matter has been brought to our attention and I will make sure that we find an amicable resolve. We certainly don’t want to curtail the greening of the city, we want to encourage it. If you have any other suggestions please do not hesitate to email me. Our minds are open.

Again thank you for your participation in the local government process.

Sal