My good friend's husband, Kevin McCarey is a camera man and he created and edited each video.
On September 11th, 2010, Chicago Botanic Garden gave the timely lecture on how to grow food in the winter using hoop houses and coldframes. The day started with a powerpoint presentation that covered many hoop house and coldframe options and a list of veggies that grow well cover. The day ended with a tour of the Dyett Harvest Garden to get an upclose lesson on how to build and maintain a hoop house over a raised bed. The garden tour included different composting options and planting strategies.
On October 2nd, 2010, University of Illinois Extension, Master Food Preserver, Ella Russell taught the class on how to preserve your last harvest for winter feast. Ella is also an award winning Master Gardener, Master Composter and beekeeper in the city of Chicago. Ella began her presentation on powerpoint to review the different preserving options, drying herbs; freezing veggies; canning for jams and pickling. Ella came equipped with examples of canning pots, bottles and other tools. The group sampled salsa made with preserved peppers, tomatoes and herbs. At the end of the presentation, Ella's assistant, Rosemary Wyche, also from the U of I Extension, gave the group hands-on experience drying herbs using standard paper lunch bags and a hole puncher. The group took home giveaways of herbs, onions and seed packets. Lastly, a petition was signed to encourage the University of Illinois Extension to recognize the importance and popularity of preserving food by supporting the Master Food Preserver program indefinitely.
With an unstable economy and the greening movement, Food Preservation is not your grandma's hobby anymore; it has become sexy for all ages. A few sprigs of basil will cost $5 in a store but if you buy a pack of seeds for $1, grow your own, then dry your last harvest, you can have basil for a year.