Nov 16, 2022 / The Weekly Dirt / persis

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The Weekly Dirt 11.16.22

11.16.22

Around The Farm

By Yixuan Wang (Eve), UW Farm AST Intern, College of Built Environments, majoring in Landscape Architecture 

How can landscape architects foster better urban farming communities?
 

As a landscape architecture student, I have a different perspective of the farm. Looking at farming through the lens of architecture and designing spaces, I see an opportunity for more farms to be integrated into urban spaces. As climate change continues to affect every aspect of our lives, we must think about alternative ways for sustainable food production. One way of achieving this is by growing produce in urban spaces, such as our Mercer Court farm site (photo below).

As I walk down the stairs to the clubhouse at Mercer Court, oftentimes I find myself noticing at structures that support the whole farm. Unlike our farm site at the Center for Urban Horticulture, our farm at Mercer is situated in a highly urban area, each plot surrounded by tall residential buildings and vertically spanning across two stories from one end to the other. The stairs between tiers of beds have been the biggest challenge experienced by the people who work here. Farm teams and volunteers frequently can be seen carrying heavy totes of produce and large equipment up and down the stairs. Wouldn't it be a better design if there were not so many stairs and elevation change?

Above Photo: UW Farm Mercer Court growing site. Taken from aerial video by Skylar Lin YouTube

I selected some great examples of urban farms to showcase the successes and challenges of various urban food production spaces.

Comparison of Urban Farming Landscapes

Residential Scale: Mercer Island Urban Farm
Seattle Urban Farm Company 
Client: Mercer Island resident

Photo credit: Seattle Urban Farm Company

This is a residential design project by Seattle Urban Farm Company. The new design shaped the landscape into a series of raised beds, connected by permeable pavings.
 

Takeaways: 
This example could be used for similar sites with topographic changes. Using salvaged woods and locally sources materials could make this kind of small scale project more achievable. 

 

 

Rooftop Corporate Scale: Corporate Commons 3

Installation and production: Brooklyn Grange
Location: Staten Island, NY

 


photo credit: Brooklyn Grange

This urban farm location is on the rooftop of an office building in Staten Island, New York. this rooftop farm is the biggest rooftop garden in NYC, giving a green and vibrant view towards Manhattan and Fresh Kills Park. 

 

Takeaways:
Rooftop farms have been gaining popularity in the past few, especially during the pandemic. Urban rooftops account for a large portion of the overall shared spaces in cities, but using them as gardens requires a lot of consideration beforehand during the design and construction phase. Things like wheelbarrow circulation, irrigation systems, ventilation, and weight bearing capacity are all things that must be considered.  

 

This Week's Recipe

 

Korean Pumpkin Porridge (Hobakjuk) | MyKoreanKitchen.com

Photo from My Korean Kitchen
 

Squash Porridge with Soft Glutinous Rice "Thumb" Balls

By Audrey Sun, Public Health-Global Health: Nutritional Sciences Major, UW Farm Fall Nutrition Education intern.

This week, in celebration of consistently colder weather and the transition from fall to winter, I will be featuring a traditional Korean dessert. This soup or really porridge can be sweet or salty and is made with a special ingredient. I will be using a seasonal squash, Autumn frost, to recreate a dish from my heritage, Hobak Juk, or pumpkin porridge.

This dish is extremely simple and only really requires four core ingredients. Squash, glutinous rice flour, water, and sugar or salt. Glutinous rice flour can be found at any Asian grocery store and even many big chains like QFC or Safeway (an extremely popular/common brand is Mochiko). Glutinous rice is what gives things like Mochi their chewy texture, and will be used in two ways in this recipe to highlight that. First it will be used to thicken the soup, much like how a roux or cornstarch does.

The second way is optional, but I highly recommend, particularly if you like boba. You mix the glutinous rice flour with water and roll them into thumb size balls before cooking them in the soup. It's best if you have helpers to do this part since it is a bit tedious. You can also do it ahead of time and freeze it on a baking sheet before storing it in a ziploc bag to have on hand. After making this dish you'll want to plop down in front of the fire and enjoy a hearty bowl (or two or three). It’s warming, slightly sweet or salty, and will definitely keep you cozy this winter.

Ingredients

For the porridge:
2 cups of Autumn frost pumpkin (or any winter squash), mashed
3 cups water
¼ cup glutinous rice flour
½ teaspoon of salt
Sugar to taste.

For the rice balls:
1 cup glutinous rice flour
½ cup hot water
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

Instructions

  • In a medium bowl, mix 1 cup of glutinous rice flour with ½ cup of hot water using a spatula or large spoon. When it forms a shaggy dough, knead by hand until smooth. Cover with a damp paper towel while you roll out about ½ inch balls (think thumb size, but it really is preference).
  • Place finished balls in another bowl covered with a damp towel. Alternatively, you can make a double or triple sized batch and freeze them on a baking sheet, transferring them to a freezer bag when they harden.
  • Cut your squash in half, scrape out the insides, and either bake (350F) or steam until tender, about 25 minutes.
  • Scrape out the pumpkin and measure out about two cups, mash in a medium sized pot. Add salt and 3 cups of water and boil over medium for about ten minutes. Add in the rice balls, stirring so they don’t stick to each other. 
  • In a small bowl add your ¼ cup of glutinous rice flour and mix with the same amount of water. Once smooth, add it to the pot whisking quickly so it doesn't clump.
  • Cook until the rice balls rise to the surface, taste and add sugar to your liking (some people actually like to make this savory and just add some more salt, but if you want it more dessert like add sugar).
  • Best served warm, but you can store leftovers in the fridge and microwave to reheat it. 

Nutrition Corner: Autumn Frost Pumpkin

The ingredient for this week, Autumn frost pumpkin has a nutritional composition similar to that of a Butternut Squash. Did you know! Butternut and other winter squashes are technically considered fruit! Butternut is packed with vitamins (primarily A and C), minerals, fiber, and antioxidants that aid with many bodily functions.

One cup (205 grams) of cooked butternut squash (similar to other hard winter squash like Autumn frost, Red Kuri, etc.) provides:
Calories: 82
Carbs: 22 grams
Protein: 2 grams
Fiber: 7 grams
Vitamin A: 457% of the Reference Daily Intake (RDI)
Vitamin C: 52% of the RDI
Vitamin E: 13% of the RDI
Thiamine (B1): 10% of the RDI
Niacin (B3): 10% of the RDI
Pyridoxine (B6): 13% of the RDI
Folate (B9): 10% of the RDI
Magnesium: 15% of the RDI
Potassium: 17% of the RDI
Manganese: 18% of the RDI

Source: USDA

News and Noteworthy:

Growing Grocery Series Offered by WSU

No matter if you only have a tiny apartment deck, small garden space, or plenty of acreage you can grow fresh food in a healthier, more environmentally friendly way.

With an overall focus on limited space/resources, and the combined challenges of western Washington weather and soils,  this series of speakers and topics will help beginners, as well as long time gardeners, l

When: Wednesday evenings from 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Location: online using the Zoom platform. 
Fee:  $5 per class, or…save and take all 15 Growing Groceries classes for $50 
 
Oct. 12     Starting a Vegetable Garden
Nov. 9       Healthy Soil = Healthy Plants
Dec. 7       Raising the Onion & Beet Families
Jan. 11      Irrigation & Weed Management
Jan. 18      Pruning Fruit Trees
Jan. 25      Pea/Bean Family & Cover Cropping
Feb. 1       Raising Berries in W. Washington
Feb. 8       Seed Starting & Raising Transplants
Feb. 15     Raising Broccoli & Buckwheat Families
Feb. 22     Raising the Tomato/Potato Family
Mar. 1      Using Hoop Houses & Greenhouse
Mar. 8      Raising the Cucumber/Squash Family
Mar. 15    Raising Carrot, Lettuce, & Corn Families
Mar. 22    Raising Culinary & Tea Herbs
Mar. 29    Pests, Predators, & Pollinators

Register online at GrowingGroceries.Eventbrite.com.  For more information about all classes in the series, visit snohomish.wsu.edu/growing-groceries. 
Sponsored by the WSU Snohomish County Extension Growing Groceries and Master Gardener programs. For more information about the program, contact Kate Ryan, (425) 357-6024, kate.ryan@wsu.edu
 

Urban Food Systems Lecture Series
 

Join the lecture series hosted by the Nutritional Sciences Program and learn about current critical topics in urban food systems! Available in-person and recorded for viewing online.

Click the link to learn more:
https://nutr.uw.edu/news-events/seminar/



Agriculture and Food Systems Employment Opportunities:
photo of 2 pitchforks in the ground with someone's shoe behind them. This is taking place in a garden plot.

Food Access Resources

The UW Farm donates regularly to the UW Food Pantry. During peak season we also donate to nearby food banks. The links below are resources to help you or someone you know with food access.  

Help The Farm Grow!

Every year, we have the capacity to grow more food and increase our educational and research program at the UW, but not without your support. Every contribution goes to work immediately, helping us better serve students. Your support can sustain our momentum and help seed new opportunities for student internships, academic work, and future growth. Please consider making a gift to the Farm online

 

The Weekly Dirt is produced once a week by the University of Washington Farm, a program of the UW Botanic Gardens, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, College of the Environment. It is published nearly year-round for educational purposes and the majority of the content is written or contributed by students and farm staff.

This issue's contributors:

Around the Farm: Yixuan Wang (Eve), UW Farm AST Intern, College of Built Environments – Landscape Architecture
Recipe: Audrey Sun, UW Farm Fall Nutrition Education Intern, UW Nutrition Sciences Program
Editor: Perry Acworth, Farm Manager and Chrina Munn, AmeriCorps Volunteer 2022-23
Photo Credits: Pamela Dore, UW Photography
Other photos retrieved from the internet and noted in sections 

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