It was a perfect day to escape cube-life and garden at work! There are over 320 Associates participating in the gardens this season. They swooped in and cleaned up their 40″ x 12′ raised beds and many planted cool season crops.

In several weeks we will start harvesting fast growing items like the salad greens and radishes. Our next event will be Plant Day in mid-May when it’s safe to put in the tomatoes, peppers and other tender items.

Enjoy the gallery, and come back to see our progress.

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Black Bean Millet Quinoa Burgers

From The Informal Garden | Main Dishes | American

Don’t think of it as a "meat" substitute or burger like. It’s really a sandwich friendly, flavor, fiber & vitamin filled patty. This is not a quick recipe to whip up, but it’s intended to stock your freezer for quick meals for days to come.

Total 100:00

Prep 60:00

Cook 40:00

cal Calories 209kcal

Low fat Total Fat 2g

sat-fat Free Saturated Fat 0g

chol Free Cholesterol 0mg

sodium Sodium 267mg

carbs Total Carbohydrate 38g

Serving size 69g Calories from fat 18kcal Fiber 6g Protein 10g Sugar 2g

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked no sodium drained black beans
• 1 cup sprouted red quinoa
• .25 cup dry millet - toasted cooked w / water
• 3 lg cloves garlic
• 100 g red bell pepper
• 100 g Japanese sweet potato
• 1.5 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 cups low sodium bread crumbs

Directions

1. Using a food processor, mix all the ingredients except the bread crumbs.
2. Fold in the bread crumbs. Weigh 70 gram portions and shape into patties on a baking sheet. Bake at 375° F for 15 minutes, flip and bake an additional 10 minutes.
3. Serve immediately, or let cool and wrap each in wax paper and freeze in freezer bags

Tips

• Grab a frozen patty, leave in the waxed paper, and microwave for 45 seconds to 1 minute to warm up for a quick bite.

– Nutrition Facts

for 100 grams

Calories Fat Cal.

Nutrition Facts Ingredient Description Wikipedia

Analyzed by Kitchenbug

Updated the baking instructions 1/28/13

Yes, I took advantage of local sales and bought said accessories. After one successful test grinding and stuffing of 3 lbs. of my own chorizo (3lbs. pork butt with spices), I was very excited to proceed making a batch of bratwurst. I visited two local butchers for supplies and chilled appropriate and started a wonderful grind of veal and pork. About halfway through, my Kitchen Aid mixer began to protest. I now find myself resorting to a WTF chant!

I am not trying to grind some exotic meat product, and I’m also respecting the recommended chill and particle size. ARGHHH! Why is this so hard. I’m more than willing to go back to the hand crank method/procedure, but am distraught at the quick apparent gear failure in my very expensive mixer appliance.

I honestly don’t have much patience to spend on the phone, or taking my mixer to a local “fix-it” shop either. I’m quite handy, and willing to replace faulty parts as needed, but need a little guidance to where to find said ‘parts”, and also how to disassemble and reassemble.

Seriously, I’ve attached a video that illustrates the current issue. I know that someone can tell me what part has failed and how I can replace and install the new one. I have raw meat that will be wasted soon…I’m looking for immediate assistance.

Please watch the video – what exactly what is happening with my grinder/mixer???”

In July of 2012 the Gardenieres visited Highlands, North Carolina to see the Mountains In Bloom and install a perennial garden with our Southern Gardeniere Mary Katherine. Here is a photo gallery of our adventure.

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Ingredients

4 Small Blue Potatoes, grilled, chilled, and cubed
2 Large Redskin Potatoes, grilled, chilled, and cubed
2 Large White Potatoes, grilled, chilled, and cubed
1/2 Large Sweet Onion, diced
2 Mini Cucumbers, diced
Handful Fresh Cilantro, finely chopped
Dried Dill
1/3 cup Sour Cream
1/3 cup Cultured Buttermilk
2 Tbsp Chive Blossom Vinegar
Sea Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper

I love to cook potatoes on the grill. They are perfect to serve with your steak or chicken, and I thought it would be fun to use them in a summer potato salad. Simply wash, dry and cut the potatoes into large equal size pieces about 2 to 2.5 inches and toss with a little olive oil, then put directly on the hot grill. Turn every 5 to 8 minutes until they are cooked through, making sure they don’t blacken. Usually takes 15 to 20 minutes depending on the size of the pieces. Test by piercing with a small knife or toothpick. You can store in the refrigerator up to two days before using for this salad.

Time to make the salad. Warm the potatoes in the microwave for 45 seconds. You just want to take the chill off, not cook too much. Cut into 1/2 inch size cubes put in a large mixing bowl. Add to this the diced onion, cucumbers, chopped cilantro and dried dill. Mix gently with your hands or a wooden spoon.

In a separate bowl, combine the sour cream and buttermilk. When thoroughly mixed, add to the potato mixture. Add vinegar, sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Mix gently to coat all the potatoes. Serve immediately, or chill up to two days.

Jill made an excellent Mango Salsa that we enjoyed with tortilla chips and as a garnish for the grilled chicken. I’ve included the ingredient list for this treat at the end.

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We used the grill for everything else; Jerk Chicken Breasts, Red Skin Potatoes, Summer Squash & Zucchini, Asparagus, and my new favorite; Pineapple on the grill. For the veggies, we just tossed in a little bit of olive oil and seasoned with a dash of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.

The pineapple was prepared by cutting off the ends and the outside rind. Then cut in half lengthwise, and each half quartered lengthwise. Then the fun stuff was added; bourbon and local honey. We let it soak up this goodness for about a half hour before putting onto the hot grill. It takes about 3-5 minutes on the outside end, and then on each wedge side. We served warm with the rest of our meal. I can see this being an excellent dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

For our protein course, and the featured one for the hungry 20 year old boys, we grilled huge chicken breasts. When we were shopping at the Naples Fresh Market I spied an amazing spice rack. Of course we chose a packet of Jamaican Jerk Seasoning to add a little zing to the chicken. I started with the rinsed and dried chicken breasts in a bowl and added the juice of 6 key limes, chopped fresh garlic, kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, local honey, and fresh sage & rosemary from Jamie’s herb garden. They marinated for about a half hour, and then I rubbed on the jerk seasoning to 4 out of the 6 a few minutes prior to putting on the grill.

One note about the grill; always use a little oil on a paper towel and use tongs to rub on the grates. I neglected to do this and made a HUGE mess out of Joy’s grill. We are continuing to clean it up today.

Mango Salsa
Fresh Mango (from neighbor’s tree)
Sweet Onion
Red Bell Pepper
Orange Bell Pepper
Mini Cucumber
Fresh Cilantro
Blackened Poblano Pepper
Fresh Key Limes (Juice)
Lemon Zest (and juice of one lemon)
Cayenne Pepper

Grilled Red Skin Potatoes
Easiest way to cook them! Toss in a tiny bit of olive oil and season with salt and pepper
I always toss on the grill as soon as I light it, they take a while to cook through, but worth the wait. Turn often to prevent blackening

Grilled Summer Squash & Zucchini
Small ones cut in half lengthwise, tossed with olive oil and salt and pepper
Cook about 3 minutes on each side. We then put them on the upper warming rack while the rest of the dinner cooked

Jerk Chicken Breasts
Juice of 5 Key Limes
Local Honey
Fresh Chopped Garlic
Kosher Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
Fresh Sage
Fresh Rosemary
Jerk Seasoning (Thyme, Allspice, Granulated Onion, Granulated Garlic, Paprika, Cinnamon, Mustard, Red Pepper, Nutmeg, Jalapeno Pepper, Parsley, White Pepper, Horseradish Powder, and Citric Acid)

Grilled Asparagus
Toss in a tiny bit of olive oil and season with salt and pepper
Grill about 2 minutes each side, keep an eye on them to prevent blackening

Grilled Pineapple with Honey and Bourbon
(repeated from above) The pineapple was prepared by cutting off the ends and the outside rind. Then cut in half lengthwise, and each half quartered lengthwise. Then the fun stuff was added; bourbon and local honey. We let it soak up this goodness for about a half hour before putting onto the hot grill. It takes about 3-5 minutes on the outside end, and then on each wedge side. We served warm with the rest of our meal. I can see this being an excellent dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Some of the items planted; onions, potatoes, celery, cabbage, broccoli, radish, carrots, arugula, lettuces, swiss chard, beets, turnips, spinach, and peas. In just 2 hours, 100 teams completed the job, including the cleanup.

All of the soil and mulch bags were collected for recycling, as well as all the seed packets, and plant trays. We used compostable cups for drinking water, and every last one was collected. Did I mention how windy it was? Our dedicated gardeners chased every stray down…and some of them blew hundreds of feet away!

Our next event will be “Plant Day” on May 18th. This is when it’s safe to put in tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and other warm season crops in central Ohio. More gardening to come!

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ABOUT ME:
My day job is as the Manager of Multi-Media for Scotts Miracle-Gro at the world headquarters office in Marysville, Ohio. I also helped to establish the expanded Associate Gardens in 2009 on the Marysville campus and am excited to be planning our 4th season of vegetable gardening in the new raised beds.

For over 38 years, Scotts Miracle-Gro has provided vegetable garden plots for Associates and their families on the Scotts Campus in Marysville, Ohio. In the spirit of growing and giving, in 2009 it was improved and expanded by adding over 3,000 square feet of raised beds for intensive square foot gardening. Participation increased from 45 to over 570 Associates that first year by teaming experienced gardeners and new gardeners to grow their own produce just steps from their offices. All participants pledged to donate at least 25% of their harvests to the local food pantry. That first season produced over 3,500 pounds for the Marysville Food Pantry, providing fresh vegetables to over 100 families each week.

In 2010, participation increased to over 620 Associates. Better garden planning increased our donation total to over 4,000 pounds.

We have just started planting our 2012 gardens, our goals are to extend our growing season with Spring, Summer and Fall crops, and improving the variety donated to the food pantry. We are also focusing on the education of our own Associates through workshops on planning, planting, cooking and preserving.

2009 Scotts Miracle-Gro Associate Gardens