On Saturday May 6th, Extension’s Harvest Kitchen and high tunnel were filled with families and friends enjoying the beautiful sunny day during the Grow and Preserve Open House. Visitors learned about numerous food preservation and gardening resources available at Extension through an assortment of activities. We shot some photos of all the happenings, check them out below!
As a result of our many years of teaching food preservation classes, the Harvest Kitchen has a well-stocked kitchen. For the Open House, we assembled a Preservation Equipment Showcase so community members could wander through the shelves to compare tools. In 2022, after 50 years of putting up food for her own household, Mary Robinson went through the training to become a Master Food Preserver volunteer. She’s pictured here, sharing information about food preservation with a visitor. Other volunteers sharing their experiences in preserving the harvest include Kathryn Farr, Sasha Kocho-Williams, and John Youngblood.One thing our Master Food Preserver volunteers love is how canned foods pack a lot of flavor while simplifying future meals. Danielle Barse and Jan DeWaters gave out free samples of chili and corn relish in the Harvest Kitchen, along with the recipes to make these water bath canned and pressure canned recipes at home.
Master Food Preserver Loni Recker distributed free canning jars to 55 households that were donated during the April Canning Jar Drive. Some of the jars were reserved for upcoming Harvest Kitchen classes so folks can take home samples of what they make. Reallocating jars between community members was a brand new activity for Extension and was made possible with the generous donation from 20+ households.Master Gardener Volunteers Sara Trimm and Anneke Larrance set up outside the high tunnel where people of all ages planted vegetable and flower seeds, and nearly 50 households brought a 6-pack home to germinate. Visitors also tried their luck at matching up seeds with the vegetables they came from, and looked through some of the books Master Gardener Volunteers use to answer gardeners’ questions.Community Horticulture Educator Erica LaFountain, pictured at center, and Master Gardener volunteers Brad Pendergraft and Doug Welch fielded gardening questions in the tunnel and planted seedlings in the raised beds with some eager young gardeners. The vegetables will serve as fresh snacks for the Farm Day Camp this summer.Additional community partners lent a buzz of activity to the front classroom. Pictured are Energy Advisor for St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, Nolan Rishe, and Energy Navigator Volunteer Coordinator for the North Country, Nick Hamilton-Honey. Nolan and Nick were ready to answer any questions about energy, saving money, and helping neighbors.The 2023 Local Food Guide is hot off the presses and GardenShare’s Carlene Doane and board member Martha Pickard-Palmer distributed it along with resources on their programming to combat hunger and support local farmers. Find GardenShare this season at one of the three markets they manage in the region including Canton, Gouverneur, and Potsdam.Geetika Narula won the free raffle gift basket, which was made possible with donations from local businesses including Adirondack Fragrance and Flavor Farm, Big Spoon Kitchen, Hare and Moon Farm, littleGrasse Foodworks, Malorie’s Beehive, Milkweed Tussock Tubers, Bittersweet Farms, Nature’s Storehouse, Never Tire Farm, Orebed Sugar Shack, Pat & Aprils Pork, and Squeak Creek Apiaries.
Fun was had by all throughout the day, but don’t worry if you missed us at the Open House. There’s many upcoming opportunities to dive into local food including our Grow and Preserve class series that focuses on growing specific garden vegetables and then preserving them through paired workshops. Workshops extend through the season from the kickoff session on growing strawberries (May 31st) to cultivating garlic (October 5) . Find more information on the Grow and Preserve classes here.
