>> "Modern Pioneering" is funded by... Brightwater: A Center for the Study of Food, offering degrees in culinary arts, artisanal food, baking, beverages, and more... ♪ ...Sullivan Catskills, a destination for long walks, casting a line, paddling a stream, and farm-to-table cuisine, located 90 minutes from Manhattan -- SullivanCatskills.com... also in part by contributions from the following... and by the support of generous individuals.

A complete list is available at APTonline.org.

♪ >> Just because you live in an urban environment doesn't mean you can't satisfy your desire to get back to the land.

In today's show, I'm going to take you on a tour of my community garden and what it takes to start one in your neighborhood.

Then, a little later, some tips on how to preserve your own herbs.

Plus, my recipe for pressed-flower-and-herb cookies.

Let's get started.

I'm Georgia Pellegrini, a food explorer and author.

Oh, yeah.

I'm on a quest to discover today's masters -- the unsung heroes who are making the best that their own two hands can produce.

>> It is a family secret.

>> So many skills of our past are not being practiced today.

>> There you go!

>> And modern conveniences are driving a wedge between ourselves and the most rewarding things we can do as humans.

Getting your hands dirty.

Come along with me as I discover and celebrate the people who are showing us how to slow down and get back to our roots, because, to me, self-sufficiency is the greatest adventure on Earth.

♪ ♪ Because of my great-aunt Grace, I've always liked to get dirt under my fingernails.

I can still picture her in her gardens, permanently hunched over with shovel and trowel, her white hair puffing out from below the brim of her baseball cap, her floral skirt falling just above her oversized, muddy sneakers.

She and Grandma Pellegrini opened my eyes to what it means to waste nothing, to make the best with what you have.

Because of them, I've learned to cope with economy and a respect for simple ingredients.

In an age of the information highway, social networks, and the blurry line between reality and virtual reality, many of us are seeking to experience things more viscerally, the way our grandmothers did.

We are looking for ways to access what is real and lasting and tangible.

To me, there is no better way to do that than with gardening.

And it is possible for every single person, no matter your space constraints.

Maybe there's a community garden near you with an open plot waiting to have your name on it.

I hope this show gives you the nudge you've been looking for, to take action.

You won't regret it.

♪ [ Clippers click ] I'm harvesting some herbs today for some infused vinegars and syrup I'm gonna show you how to make a bit later.

But, first, I want to show you one of my favorite places.

Within a bike ride of my home, I'm regular here at the community garden.

It's big, with about 50 raised beds fitting in this space.

And it's amazing, the produce I see coming out of here.

♪ Check out this carrot.

It doesn't get any fresher than this.

It's hard to think of a single act that can bring a neighborhood better together than a community garden.

A lot of people don't have the space or the sunlight in their backyards or their balconies but would love the opportunity to take care of a plot of their own.

Can you think of an area in your neighborhood that might lend itself to a community garden?

Maybe you're just the right person to spearhead a local initiative that would pay dividends in your own community for generations to come.

We're going to talk to someone who did just that for their own community.

Joel Henning is the current director of the garden and tells us what it takes to start a community garden in your own neighborhood.

So, Joel, I'm amazed at how active and busy this community garden is.

It seems like every single plot is full.

What does it take to start a community garden like this?

>> Yeah, we actually have a wait list, it's been so busy.

>> Really?

>> And I don't think, since the garden started, that we've ever had more than one or two open plots, which is pretty awesome.

A big part of it is the fact that the initial group of officers did so much work.

>> Okay.

>> So, they actually went around the community and fielded, like, yes or nos from everybody within the couple, like, square neighborhoods.

>> To see if they were for it?

>> To see if they were for it, yeah, because the park currently sits on Austin city property.

>> Okay.

>> So we had to go and pitch the city and say, "Hey, we want to create a community garden, and, like, here are the benefits."

>> Mm-hmm.

>> Which was actually surprisingly easy to get people involved.

>> Okay.

>> I think it took less than a year from the start to actually kind of get everything you see set up.

>> What advice would you give people who are thinking about starting something like this?

>> Talk to your neighbors.

>> Okay.

>> If you're on city land, odds are, you have to get at least a certain percentage of your neighbors and people around the park, or wherever you want to build it, to agree, for the city to kind of help you and get sponsorship.

Part of this garden, and probably the best part, is the fact that there's so many people involved.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> I mean, it talks pretty much everybody volunteering some section of their time.

>> Sure.

>> And so, without that, you don't have a community garden.

>> It's about community, bringing people together, making new friends, getting your hands in the dirt together.

>> It's a lot of work up front.

>> Uh-huh.

>> And there's a lot of unknowns, right?

Weather, bugs, pests, things like that.

But it's definitely worth it.

I mean, as you can see, there's a lot of growth.

There's a lot of produce.

I mean, we're able to donate some to the local food banks.

>> Great.

>> Yeah.

>> What's your favorite thing to grow?

>> Let me come show you my plot.

>> Alright.

♪ Wow.

Look at this -- peppers.

Is that Japanese eggplant?

>> Yep.

Yeah, so, Japanese eggplant.

>> My favorite.

>> Growing green beans and corn, as well.

>> I think you might be the only one here growing corn.

>> First time.

I think there's maybe one other person, but, yeah, I think we're both growing the same thing -- same strain, which is really cool, yeah.

>> Wow.

And is that strawberries you got here?

>> Yeah.

Has been very unsuccessful, due to birds.

>> Ah.

>> But it's been a lot of fun trying.

>> Birds and squirrels are the constant challenge.

>> Yeah, and I would say that jalapeños are, by far, one of my favorite things to grow.

>> Okay.

Why is that?

>> "A," they produce a ton.

So I essentially can harvest like a dozen jalapeños every other day.

>> Really?

>> Yeah.

>> That's amazing.

What do you do with them all?

>> We cook a lot of spicy food.

So, everything from breakfast tacos to we throw them in Indian food, we throw them in Thai food, in pretty much everything we can get.

>> This looks great.

I'm just amazed at seeing what the variety is here.

You can tell what people's passions are, what they love to eat, what their sort of food tastes are, based on what they're growing.

>> And the cool thing is that a lot of these plants actually work really well together.

So, like, I grow -- this one right here is potatoes.

>> Oh, yeah, look at that.

>> And the nice thing is that that provides a lot of ground cover, so I don't have to do as much weeding.

>> That's smart.

>> Beans and corn grow really well together, because beans essentially feed a lot of the nitrogen that corn needs... >> Interesting.

>> Instead of the corn directly pulling it from the ground.

So, what's really cool is, we're able to grow a lot in such a small plot, and we're able to grow a lot of beneficial species.

>> That's really smart.

It's more efficient, I think.

People think you need a lot of land, and you really don't.

>> Right.

efficient, oftentimes, to grow in a small space.

>> Yeah, especially when you're growing species that are native or at least to the region, it's really, really easy to grow quite a lot, which is awesome.

>> Well, this is such an amazing place.

I'm so grateful to be a member.

>> Yeah.

>> I'm glad I got in before the waiting list started.

>> Yeah, and I'm glad I could show you around.

>> I'm gonna go get my hands in the dirt now.

>> Awesome.

>> [ Chuckles ] ♪ Good soil is the foundation of a healthy garden, and the best way to get good soil is by creating and using compost.

Composting is a process of turning organic waste, like vegetable scraps, into nutrient-rich soil for your garden.

It involves layering green matter with brown matter.

Julia Bond, who is the compost czar here at the garden, gives us more tips on what to put in your compost pile, how it works, and why it matters.

>> My name is Julia Bond, and we're in Patterson Park Community Garden, and I'm the compost coordinator.

I've been composting for about 10 years, and I'm doing it because it's an amazing thing that just nature gives us without us having to do anything, and it's one of the single best things that you can do for your garden.

Compost is broken-down organic matter from anything that was once growing or alive.

It's amazing because it does so many things.

It increases soil drainage.

It also increases how much water the soil can hold.

It's easier for plants to access nutrients when it's in there, and it provides nutrients and it also provides important microbial growth for plant health, because when the soil is healthy, it has a healthy microbial population, which helps plants take up nutrients through their roots.

Brown matter, like dried leaves and sticks and twigs -- anything with a lot of carbon -- is separated into a browns pile.

And then leafy things, like soft herby growth, is put into the green pile, and green pile has more nitrogen.

And you're going for a balance of about 30 parts carbon to one part nitrogen, to make good compost.

Which is really hard to eyeball, because everything's a mix of everything, so we just do our best.

And it all is separate until we combine it, and then we turn it over to aerate it, which introduces oxygen and helps the microbes break everything down.

So, when the compost is ready, it should smell like a forest floor.

It should all be kind of one mass of, like, humuslike material.

And that's how you know.

And I just send an e-mail when it gets to that stage, and I tell everybody that the compost is ready, and then they can all take some and add it to their plots.

People use it as topdressing, or sometimes people will use it as something to work into the soil before planting.

We're throwing away resources that are valuable when we don't compost, because nature has this process of recycling, of making nutrients available to plants for future growth.

And it's one of the easiest things that we can do to close the loop in our food cycle.

♪ >> Fresh herbs absolutely transform any dish.

Even a humdrum frozen meal can be made into something worthwhile with a scattering of fresh herbs on top.

And there's something about picking your morning brew for tea, fresh on the windowsill, that sets a good tempo for the day.

It will also add vibrancy to very plain foods, and are thus useful to dry and store, to have on hand, especially in the colder months, when there's less diversity in your garden.

There are several ways to preserve your herbs for the cold months, when there's less flavor and variety.

The most decorative way to preserve herbs is in bundles, hanging them upside down from a rack or windowsill.

The longer drying time may cause a slight loss in potency, but it's worth it.

You can do bouquets of the same variety or mix-and-match herb combinations.

You will want to dry them in a cooler place than you would vegetables, because they're more delicate.

You can protect them from the elements by drying them in a paper bag, upside down, in an airy place.

A dehydrator also would work well to dry herbs, as well as laying them in a tray in the open air.

I oftentimes just use an oven at its lowest temperature, with the door ajar, or simply leave the pilot light on.

The time it takes will vary, depending on the moisture content of your herbs, so check them every hour.

Herbs with tender leaves, like basil and lemon verbena, freeze and maintain their color better than others.

They retain more of their fresh flavor when frozen, versus a more potent flavor when dried.

Rinse the herbs and leave them to dry for several hours until they wilt.

Then transfer them into containers or packages that will freeze well and store in the freezer.

They're now ready to cook with, or turn into compound butters or flavored oils.

♪ Rosemary is one of those woody herbs that maintain its potency when it's dried.

This syrup is a great way to flavor anything from a grapefruit cocktail to soda water to iced tea to hot tea.

A little goes a long way.

And you don't have to use rosemary.

You could use lemon verbena, sage, whatever you like.

Let me show you how to make it.

Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat.

Remove the pan from the heat, and add about 1/2 cup of 5 sprigs of fresh rosemary.

Cover and let them steep for 3 hours to strongly infuse the water.

Remove the rosemary, and strain the liquid into a medium nonreactive saucepan.

Add 2 cups of sugar, and bring it to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar completely.

Boil to thicken, without stirring, for 10 to 12 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat, let the syrup cool to room temperature, and bottle the syrup.

This recipe makes about 1 1/2 cups and will store well in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.

♪ If sweet isn't your thing, then I've got something for the vinegar lovers out there.

These right here are chive blossoms.

I've also got scape blossoms and some purple basil flowers.

Now, this makes a really delicious vinegar -- a bright-pink vinegar, in fact.

I like to use a ratio of about 1 cup of flowers to 2 cups of vinegar.

And what's great is, when you pick the flowers all summer long, it actually encourages growth of these herbs.

Now, of course, you could use any kind of vinegar you want, but I just like that bright-purple color.

I'm gonna put these in here.

You can even include the stems if you want to.

I'm gonna snip off some of these flowers.

And you just keep packing it in.

And as you cook with it, all summer long, you can continue to add vinegar on top of flowers and then add more flowers as you go.

It'll continue to concentrate.

Add a little bit more purple here.

Great.

Now I'm gonna cover it with some champagne vinegar.

Could also use white wine vinegar.

Or even rice wine vinegar would be great.

You just want to use something lighter-colored so you can show that bright-pink color.

So, we're gonna let that steep for about 3 weeks.

And you'll see it slowly become more pink, just like this.

Give it a try.

You'll love it.

♪ What are your favorite smells and flavors?

What colors would you like to see when you wake up in the morning?

What smells would you have fill your kitchen?

What flavors do you want to taste in your tea or omelet for breakfast?

What do you spend the most money on in the grocery store?

What's missing from your grocery store that you wish you had access to?

What are the demands of your space in your life?

These are the most important questions to ask yourself when thinking about what food to grow, whether it be on your windowsill or on the patch of grass along the sidewalk.

Do thoughts of lettuces named Golden Frills and Ruby Streaks thrill you?

Me too.

And just because they way gardeners are supposed to grow tomatoes doesn't mean you should.

Unless you salivate at the thoughts of homemade ketchup, tomato marmalade, and panzanella salad in large quantities, there's no need to toil away at a garden or even a window box unless it is producing something you want to eat.

So pick your favorite, the same way you would at a restaurant.

Your micro plot, your fire escape, or your windowsill are going to be your menu.

♪ Growing in containers is a great way to get lots of produce, flowers, herbs, or even succulents.

And even if you do have a lot of land around you, it's a great way to control and protect your plants.

One advantage is that if you're renting your home, you can take your garden with you when you move.

You can also select your soil more carefully.

And containers can be moved around when the weather becomes threatening, especially around the beginning or end of growing season.

You can also control water and pests more easily.

There are a whole bunch of different planting containers you can use.

You don't have to use terra-cotta pots.

You could use a bag of soil.

You could rip a hole in the top of this plastic bag right here and plant something right in it, and it would grow.

You could also use a tin can.

All you need is drainage.

Just poke some holes in the bottom of this with a nail, and plant right in it.

For example, here is a sweet potato vine.

All I'm gonna do here is break up the roots, add a little extra soil to the bottom, and just plop it right in with some water.

Here's one I've already done.

Super simple.

Put it right on your windowsill.

You could use a tire.

You could use an upside down lampshade.

You could use a dresser drawer.

You could use a garbage bag.

For example, this garbage bag, you could grow 25 pounds of potatoes in this thing.

The point is, you don't have to have anything fancy.

You can use what you have and upcycle what you have.

No matter what you plant it in, soil is the most important thing.

I like to make my own soil, using 4 parts of multipurpose potting soil, one part rotted sawdust or humus, and 2 parts composted fine bark.

And then one handful per pot of slow-release fertilizer, such as powdered sea kelp or fish manure.

So, let's plant something.

I've got a pot right here.

I put some soil in here already.

And then I've got my basil plant.

I'm gonna pop that out carefully.

You kind of want to squeeze the bottom and gently tip it, so that it slowly releases, so you're not pulling those plants out from the top.

You've got the roots right here.

I'm just gonna break them up gently, wake them up, and tell them it's time to start growing.

Alright.

I've released those a little bit so they're not super compact.

Now I'll going to pull my pot over here.

I'm gonna make some space for her.

Here we go.

Pull that dirt aside a bit.

And set that basil right in.

And then make sure you have enough dirt, that you're making enough space for it.

Pull some of that up and around if you can.

Now, if you want to, once you water it, you can add some pebbles on the top to give it a nice surface.

It'll help it retain its moisture a little bit better.

And with potted plants in general, you're gonna have to water them much more often -- sometimes almost every day, when it's hot out.

But the great thing is, you can move them around with the elements, so when it's too hot or too cold, especially in the beginning and the end of the growing season, you have a lot of options to make sure they're safe.

Now, you're gonna want to fertilize it every two to three weeks.

One tip, though, is that if you get soil that already had fertilizer in it, wait 8 weeks before you fertilize it.

You don't want to overdo it.

Now, here's my tip on how to clean the dirtiest of hands.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> ♪ Oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh-oh ♪ ♪ Oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh-oh ♪ ♪ ♪ Oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh-oh ♪ ♪ Oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh-oh ♪ ♪ ♪ Whoa-oh oh-oh oh-oh ♪ ♪ >> As a child, I used to love to collect summer flowers, green clover, and fall leaves for my flower press.

I would then paste them into homemade cards or drop them into letters before sending them off, so that the reader had a little piece of where I was writing from.

Well, here's a way to add a twist to that.

Press edible flowers and herbs, and use them to decorate cookies, because while I love a handwritten letter, there's no better way to send a message than with delicious cookies.

These edible flowered and herbed cookies use just a few simple ingredients and are stunning.

Here's what you'll need.

Organic edible flowers and herbs pressed between parchment and a heavy book overnight; 1 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature; 1/4 cup confectioners sugar; and 2 cups of flour.

I'm gonna take my flour and scoop it out and drop it right in my mixer.

Level it off as best you can.

Got 1 cup... and 2 cups.

Alright?

Then, we're gonna add our powdered sugar.

And then I've got my room-temperature, softened butter.

Now I'm going to turn the mixer on at about a medium speed, till it gets sandy and comes together.

♪ Alright, it's ready.

My dough has come together.

I'm gonna take off this paddle attachment... and put my dough right on this Silpat here.

And we're gonna roll it in between the Silpat and a piece of parchment.

You could also roll it in between two pieces of parchment or two Silpats, whatever you have.

Whatever makes it easy.

Gonna get the spatula.

Get all the excess dough and butter.

Okay.

Now you can kind of finish bringing it together with your hands.

It's gonna be a little bit sticky, but that's okay.

That buttery goodness is what makes those cookies crumble.

Now I'm gonna take my parchment.

Gonna lay it over the top.

Give it a good press.

And then take your rolling pin, and then just gently roll it in all directions, till you have about a 1/2-inch thickness, is what you're going for.

And the key here is, you want to start from the middle and work your way out.

And that will give you an even thickness so you're not with a lumpy, uneven cookie shape.

Alright, we're gonna give it a few more rolls.

See how that looks.

Yeah, it's about 1/2-inch.

Maybe a little thinner, but that's okay.

Alright, we're gonna set that aside.

Now I've got a ring cutter here.

You want about a 2- or 3-inch ring cutter, whatever works for you.

And you want to make these circles as close together as possible, so you can get as many cookies out of your dough as you possibly can.

And then, of course, once you've gotten these cookies set on your sheet tray, you can put the dough back together, roll it out again, and just cut more circles until you run out of dough.

Now that I have these cookies cut, I'm gonna decorate them.

Overnight, I have pressed some herbs and flowers.

You could do it in between two heavy books.

Or if you have a flower press, you can use that, too.

You want to make sure they're organic and edible, of course.

So, I love using nasturtium, violets, viola, you can use different kinds of edible herbs, of course.

I love the woody ones, like rosemary and thyme and oregano.

They make great little leaves and branches as you put together your decorations.

So, I'm just gonna start playing here and have fun with it.

You can mix colors.

I love using bright colors, when possible -- purples, oranges -- anything that really will pop, once it gets baked in the oven.

I'm just pressing gently.

You don't need to press them very hard at all.

The butter in here will grab onto these leaves and suck them in, and they'll bake right in here.

Alright, my last one here, I'm gonna add a few more branches.

Don't forget the little sticks and leaves.

They add the detail.

It's all in the detail with these.

Alright, maybe this little guy has a friend.

Maybe this is a bouquet.

I'm gonna add a violet to here.

And that's next to the little -- a little dill flower that's bolted.

That's just kind of fun.

Perfect.

Now we're gonna put it in a 250-degree oven for just about 10 minutes.

It's a quick cook, and they're gonna be crumbly and buttery and delicious.

♪ Whether you have a bed full of vegetables or a single container of herbs, there's nothing quite like that feeling of harvesting something you've grown yourself.

Store-bought produce just doesn't compare to that rich, homegrown flavor.

Growing food is something anyone can do toward a more sustainable lifestyle.

And every bit of work you put into a garden will be rewarded.

Get your hands in the dirt and grow something.

You might be surprised at the inspiration that follows.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> To learn more about the topics featured on this episode, log on to GeorgiaPellegrini.com or follow along on Georgia's Facebook and Instagram pages for weekly "Modern Pioneering" adventures, tips, and recipes.

"Modern Pioneering" is funded by... Brightwater: A Center for the Study of Food, offering degrees in culinary arts, artisanal food, baking, beverages, and more... ♪ ...Sullivan Catskills, a destination for long walks, casting a line, paddling a stream, and farm-to-table cuisine, located 90 minutes from Manhattan -- SullivanCatskills.com... also in part by contributions from the following... and by the support of generous individuals.

A complete list is available at APTonline.org.

♪