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Meet Ken Kogut, Master Gardener Volunteer

With a new cohort of Master Gardener Volunteers finishing their training, we’d like to introduce them (AND YOU!) to the group of MGVs who have sustained this program for the last several years. First off, meet Ken Kogut!

Can you remember the moment you decided to become a gardener, or when you realized you had become one?

I grew up in a gardening family. I have many memories of gardening as a child. I also grew up in a farming extended family and all my relatives were gardeners, so I guess you can say that gardening is in my DNA. My first garden as an adult began after purchasing my first home outside of Saranac Lake in 1983.  My wife thought I was crazy when I presented my primary new home requirement as a place where I could garden. Gardening in Saranac Lake is not easy; I quickly learned that I could get a frost every month of the year! Cool season gardening takes a lot of work and a willingness to really temper your expectations of what you can successfully grow.Ken, enjoying the great outdoors

What benefits do you gain from gardening?

A great question! There are so many positive things I get from gardening. First and foremost is the wonderful food my garden supplies nearly year round. My goal every year is to produce enough food so that we can be (somewhat) self-sufficient. Through canning, freezing, and cold storage of produce, we have now pretty much reached self-sufficiency. It gives my wife and me great pleasure to sit down for a meal and realize that nearly the entire meal has come from our property… But food is just one of many things that my garden contributes. Self-sufficiency, pride, peace of mind, relaxation, escape from the endless news cycle we live in, and the beauty of watching things grow are some of the other benefits my garden provides. Finally, gardening makes me feel in touch with the natural world around me and nature’s annual rhythm.  

Why did you want to become a Master Gardener Volunteer (MGV)?

Being a Master Gardener Volunteer has allowed me to serve the public on a topic that I love to discuss.  Public service was always a part of my career as an employee of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. After my retirement, becoming a volunteer to work with the gardening community was a way for me to give back after an enjoyable 34 year career. Read more Meet Ken Kogut, Master Gardener Volunteer

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MEET DANIELLE BARSE, MASTER FOOD PRESERVER VOLUNTEER

How long have you been preserving food?

Since 1997. I started with my father’s green tomato pickle recipe and venison. My aunt and I spent a weekend canning and divided up the food. My next adventure involved canning squash, which I learned shortly thereafter was a bad thing! I did not do it correctly, and it spoiled in my pantry. The jars leaked the fermented, rotting squash, and it smelled very bad.

What are your favorite preservation methods?

I like dehydrating foods because it is easy; it saves space; and it’s versatile. I also enjoy pressure canning—I find I preserve many more low acid than high acid foods, the latter of which can be processed in a water bath canner. Plus, I can a lot of meat, which requires pressure canning.

Jar of canned meat.
Danielle likes to make a mixed ground meat as a hunting camp staple. It’s versatile and she fries it up like hash, adds to breakfast burritos, includes with Spanish rice in stuffed peppers and more.

What are some of your favorite foods to preserve and why?

I like to dehydrate apple slices until they are crunchy. I eat them like potato chips or crumble them into cereal, yogurt, or quick breads. I also like to pressure can meats for use as a quick meal solution on busy nights. I can chicken, pork, venison, beef, and turkey, which we use in tacos, casseroles, sandwiches, soups, stews, and stir fry. I like to make and can shepherd’s pie that my family need only heat up before eating. I also make and pressure can many, many different types of soup.

Read more MEET DANIELLE BARSE, MASTER FOOD PRESERVER VOLUNTEER

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Storytelling about Farming

Have you ever experienced something so nice, you wish everyone you knew could experience it too? That was my takeaway from the In Season: Story Slam last weekend. We gathered together in the gallery of the Our Rural Food System in Photos Exhibit, surrounded by hundreds of images of farmers and food producers of the region. The table was laden with goodies, all of which included ingredients from businesses in St. Lawrence County. There were around 40 attendees, and folks were relaxed and enjoying the sunny day in a beautiful space. On top of all that, we were regaled with 10 tales, each with a different take on the complicated, strenuous, and at times hilarious work of cultivating the land and producing food.

appetizers at event
The snacks and drinks at the event were sourced from 8 local businesses.

The format for the event was simple; any community member could opt to tell a 5-minute true story that related in any way to farming or food. As it turned out, every storyteller was a food producer, some growing produce and/or livestock for their own families and many as a business. Despite the differences in production scale, each person spoke with passion about their experiences tending the land or raising food products.

audience
The audience was entertained by 10 community storytellers

The People’s Choice award went to Kathy Montan, hear her full story in the video below where a morning of beekeeping on her remote homestead took an unexpected turn.

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