At the Garden’s weekly Greenmarket you’re going to find more than just beautiful veggies and fruits for sale. At the Greenmarket, we’re hoping you will also find the inspiration to grow your own healthy crops! And we’re here to help you along the way.

This week, amid the greens and beans and peas and cherries, you will also find experts from the NYC Compost Project who will demonstrate how to turn your food scraps into beautiful, rich garden soil that can feed you for years to come! While they say there’s no such thing as a free lunch, growing your own and using what would normally be thrown comes pretty close.

The weekly NYBG Greenmarket near Tulip Tree Allée happens every Wednesday through November 21, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission and parking are free to shop at the Greenmarket and EBT, WIC, and FMNP are accepted. Stay tuned to Plant Talk for information on weekly special events, produce updates, and recipes for using your freshly bought produce.

For a special healthy grilling recipe, head below the jump!

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Last Wednesday saw the return of the weekly Greenmarket to the Garden. The produce that the farmers brought was surprisingly advanced: Red Jacket Farms had cherries, Gajeski Produce had the season’s first potatoes, and Migliorelli had beautiful bundles of herbs just begging to be used in marinades for the grill.

Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised by this, given what a strange weather year it has been. What can you expect this week? More of the same! Fruit, greens, potatoes, green garlic, spring onions, shallots, peas, pickles, cheese, eggs, and the return of the Little Bake Shop‘s delicious pies! Also, bring your family for free health screenings from the Montefiore Office of Community Health and Wellness and St. Barnabas Hospital.

The weekly NYBG Greenmarket near Tulip Tree Allée happens every Wednesday through November 21, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission and parking are free to shop at the Greenmarket and EBT, WIC, and FMNP are accepted. Stay tuned to Plant Talk for information on weekly special events, produce updates, and recipes for using your freshly bought produce.

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The weekly NYBG Greenmarket returns tomorrow! Fresh veggies, fruit, baked goods, and cheeses are available near Tulip Tree Allée every Wednesday through November 21, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission and parking are free to shop at the Greenmarket and EBT, WIC, and FMNP are accepted. Stay tuned to Plant Talk for information on weekly special events, produce updates, and recipes for using your freshly bought produce.

Weekly Walking Club – Meets every Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. by the NYBG information table.
Join Public Education staff for an invigorating 1.5 mile loop around the Garden. Wear your walking shoes and bring a bottle of water for a walk that makes a great part of a healthy lifestyle.

What vegetables will be available?

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Beer. The very mention of the stuff drives palates to distraction. There’s nothing so hallowed as the pouring ritual of a heady stout, or a casual evening get-together at the local taphouse. But while imported brews and stadium fare may have claimed the lion’s share of the industry until recently, today’s beer market is all about toasting the lagers, ales, and lambics of America’s craft scene. And at the root of some of these varied flavors lies a simple flower cluster, a key ingredient to any trophy-winning brew. That’s where the Urban Hops Project comes in.

With a push that could make devoted locavores of us all, The Bronx Brewery and The New York Botanical Garden have partnered up to carry the roots of beer back to New York, just in time for the New York Historical Society‘s celebration of our state’s rich beer-brewing history. In addition to efforts from Bronx-based community gardens and the Cornell Cooperative Extension, we’re throwing in our chips for a true New York brew, a beer made with ingredients grown right here in the city. Better yet, right here in the Garden. Over 120 Cascade hop vines have been planted between the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden and community plots throughout the borough, laying the foundation for a beer so local that it only has to travel a few neighborhoods to reach your glass.
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They’re a curious lot, these dusky squirrels, with their furry ears and black cat sensibilities. You might almost think them bad luck, though even the most superstitious among us would be hard-pressed to toss salt over our shoulders after crossing paths with this forest rodent. And I’m not even sure that’s the right protocol for countering such a thing. Still, these little shadows are worth investigating.

I noticed the black squirrels for the first time while riding shotgun in one of the Garden’s staff golf carts (though the Mosholu course is close, I imagine we only have these because management didn’t take the suggestion of supplying us with go-karts in good humor.) The fellow in the driver’s seat pointed them out as an idle fascination, then asked me if I’d ever seen such a thing. But while a funny sight, there’s initially nothing about their behavior to differentiate them from the eastern gray squirrels you find stuffing capped acorns into their cheeks or, in my case, infiltrating the attic and chewing my home’s wiring threadbare. They breed with the grays, eat the same foods, and in urban areas of the Bronx are just as prone to hassle you for snacks, having grown too accustomed to people.
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Fall’s chill may be creeping in, but the brilliant sun catching the leaves of the Forest makes for a fantastic celebration here at The New York Botanical Garden. Luckily, Docent Suzanne Goldstein was there in the crowd this past weekend to snap photos of the ongoing event in action, from canoe trips to forest tours.

The festivities take off again this Saturday and Sunday with live music, demonstrations, and activities for everyone to jump into. Want to glide along New York City’s only freshwater river with an expert canoe guide? The Bronx River Alliance has you covered. And once you’re back on shore, you’re welcome to join in on one of our trail tours, or sit back and enjoy the pluck and bow of The Manhattan Valley Ramblers’ talented musical arrangements.

Our lauded poetry readings also return for the second weekend of the celebration alongside our brand new, behind-the-scenes science campus tours. There’s just so much to do, hear, and see.
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Back in February of this year, I related my tale of Rose, the red-tailed hawk who shares a nest on the nearby Fordham University campus with Vince, her mate. Since then, the hawks have extended their family. In May, four chicks (a record for this pair and likely any other Bronx hawks) came out to the world. I knew that it was only a matter of time before these youngsters would pay The New York Botanical Garden a visit. I hoped to be lucky enough to see these raptors close up, and I recently got my wish.

It was 9:40 a.m. on a chilly October morning and I had just passed the Garden’s reflecting pool. I wanted to do some shooting of the Conservatory grounds. That’s when I noticed a hawk darting overhead, landing on the lawn by the first tram stop on Garden Way.

The tram crew hadn’t noticed it at first. The hawk was looking down at something. After watching Jr. (one of this hawk’s siblings from 2010’s brood) for so many months this past winter, I already knew what was going to happen next, so I tip-toed ahead, ducking behind one of the two nearby trees and readying my camera. I set it to shoot eight images in one burst and began firing away. It was windy and the ray of sunlight shining through the trees directly onto my new friend kept changing, making getting clear shots interesting to say the least. But I got photos of the newest member of Rose’s dynasty regardless.
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It’s a beautiful day to buy seasonal, farm-fresh produce from our fantastic vendors at the Botanical Garden Greenmarket. The Greenmarket is open today until 3 p.m. Come by to pick up eggplants, cantaloupe, peaches, cherries, and blackberries and visit Spanish Paradise: Gardens of the Alhambra before it closes on August 21!

Gajeski Produce has bunches of sunflowers to decorate your dinner table, corn, zucchini, cucumbers, squash, and field grown tomatoes in all colors. Greens also abound– lettuce, broccoli, and scallions along with fresh herbs basil and cilantro. Don’t forget to pick up some eggs they brought fresh from Feather Ridge Farm.

Migliorelli Farm has carrots, beets, radishes, fennel, and turnips–good kitchen standards to stock up on. More interesting greens like dandelion, collards, escarole, fennel, kale, chard, mustard, and bok choy are available, too. Apples and corn are beginning to become a regular presence.

Local honey can be purchased from The Little Bake Shop. Pies of all sorts-cherry, blueberry, apple, and raspberry in the Linzer tart and other sweets are perfect for sharing.

Bread Alone has sourdough, multigrain, and foccacia breads ready for sandwich fillings. Raisin nut, ciabatta, and peasant rolls are a compliment to any meal. Muffins, tarts, danishes, cookies, and scones make for nice treats.

Red Jacket Orchard has delicious sweet red cherries, small apricots, sugar plums, apples, jams, and ice cold refreshing juices.

You can learn more about Greenmarket, part of the Council on the Environment of New York City–one of the largest open-air farmers market programs in the United States–at their booth. Taste what’s fresh at the weekly cooking demonstrations–this week features blackberry-basil syrup.

Not the Rockies. Not the Adirondacks. Not the Appalachians. This is the Bronx.

Wilderness (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)

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Fields of Gold

Today is Greenmarket day at the Garden. And that means nectarines!

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

The Greenmarket is open from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. and is free to everyone. Stop by!