Summer Gardening - CulinArt Group

Eat Well Blog

Summer Gardening

We are in the heat of the summer months – plenty of daylight, warm weather, and tasty summer produce. There are tons of ways to get the necessary ingredients for your scrumptious Sizzling Superfood Salads: grocery stores, fruit and veggie stands, or farmer’s markets (more on that next month!). But, have you ever considered growing your own? Gardening is a fun summer activity and a great way to spend time with friends and family. Soak up the sun and take a deep breath of fresh air while planting your own cooking ingredients. Everything from vegetables, herbs, spices, and fruits can be planted right in your backyard! Gardening can even be as simple as planting herbs in a pot and watching them grown from your windowsill. Read below to discover the many reasons why gardening is a delicious, nutritious, and sustainable way that will add a boost of flavor your summer meals.

  • Ripe and fresh ingredients: with produce, herbs, and spices right in your backyard, you are guaranteed the freshest ingredients. Keep tabs on what is planted and harvest it right when it’s ripe – how convenient!
  • Sustainable eating: gardening is as local as local shopping can get. Growing your own produce saves you trips to the grocery store, reduces additional food shipping, is cost efficient, plant based, and requires less natural resources – all of which are sustainable actions.
  • Seasonal eating: focus on foods that flourish during specific seasons. There is a reason why produce is recommended based on the season – it tastes the best during those seasonal time periods.
  • Cost efficient: seed packets are typically inexpensive and can be saved and reused from year to year. You can have a garden full of produce, without having to run to the store and spend additional money. And – you have more seeds to plant next time around. It’s a win win.
  • Appreciation for food: when we grow our own food, we tend to appreciate it more. We see the full process and understand the time and care that produce needs to thrive and grow to become tasty. It is also a wonderful way to teach children where food comes from. If you have a garden full of fresh fruits and veggies, you will most likely incorporate those items into your meals more often!

Not sure where to start? Here are some tips to start your very own garden:

  • Choose the location: pick a nice sunny area that is easily accessible so your garden can be watered. It is recommended that the site get at least six hours of sunlight each day.
  • Map it out: calculate the space available before buying seeds or plants. Create a garden map and choose where to plant each item. Some plants may require more sun, shade, or space to grow.
  • Test the soil: there are kits that can help assess your gardening soil to see what it is lacking and test the soil quality.
  • Get the proper tools: take some time to research the necessary tools needed to make your garden thrive. Shovels, a hose, fertilizer, or other equipment may be needed to keep your garden fresh and healthy.

Start small: your first garden doesn’t have to be super extravagant. A simple garden of a few windowsill pots of herbs may be a good place to start, learn, and appreciate the freshness of home grown food.

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  • July 10, 2019

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What our clients are saying

“What a wonderful dinner we had tonight for our international families. The food was delicious and well presented as well.”

“Thank you for including me today in the food waste demonstration/[chef competition] and flattering me with the role of “judge.” I will proudly don the [Stop Food Waste Day] apron the next time I plan an “event” in our own kitchen. I think this is a very worthwhile cause and the statistics you read off are staggering. They, alone, can intimidate a home chef, let alone be the “driver’ for a professional one.”

“Thank you and your staff for all the care and thought you give CSW adults and students. You approach events with such care and elegance- I don’t know how you do it! Especially day after day. Please thank all your staff for their wonderful work and kind manner with all of us. Here is to a great year!”

“Many, and I do mean many, thanks for a great Parents Weekend.  I heard from so many happy parents and you all work very hard to make it happen.  In gratitude and kindness…”

“We are so thankful and so impressed by your immediate attention to our power outage. It was such a relief to see all the equipment and workers coming in within a few hours of the outage. Thank you for serving dinner to all [the] students in a very difficult circumstance. Please extend our thanks to your workers who braved cold weather to grill hamburgers and hotdogs.”

“With all the prep work from Winterim ramping up and classes continuing as usual, it's a busy time to be a Forman teacher. Imagine my delight, tired as I was, when I delved into the upscale-restaurant-quality chicken parmesan our dining hall served last night. Forman is all about support, and providing our students with a dinner of that quality is just as important a measure of support as anything that happens in a classroom.”

“I can’t thank your entire team enough for the outstanding service, food, displays, everything!  You are a master at detail, and because of that Adam and I were able to focus on the parents.  I know what a sacrifice pulling off a weekend like this means, we are so appreciative and grateful to you all for your talent and generosity.”

“I ALWAYS feel spoiled by the meal offerings at CSW (The Cambridge School of Weston) and am entirely grateful for it. As I eat today's delicious and lavish lunch (and think about yesterday's as well), I can't tell you how much I feel so well cared for here, both with the food and by the dining hall staff. CSW cares for us in so many ways, both big and small.”

“Thank You! Chef Budd [and team], you overcame a new online ordering system (and hundreds of labels daily!), provided creative and healthy menus, continued to connect with local farmers to incorporate locally sourced ingredients, and worked tirelessly to serve the school community on three campuses.  While it feels like you are all a little like the Wizard of Oz right now, working behind a curtain in a kitchen far away, we sense your smiles and your passion to deliver the best possible service during these trying times. We are all so grateful!”

“I will say that CulinArt has always been a very collaborative partner to T. Rowe Price, listening to our current needs and future goals and suggesting realistic and achievable strategies to meet those goals.  2020 was obviously no exception.  CulinArt also altered other areas of our OCS and pantry programs to create safer environments for all our associates. We can only thank you for your continued flexibility and innovative ideas through these difficult times.”

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