Happy Farm Fact Friday, everyone! This week we’re going to be talking about the delicious fruit and vegetable, tomatoes! On the farm, we have both cherry tomatoes (tiny, sweeter and more crunchy, makes a healthy and yummy snack) and slicer (think big, juicy tomatoes you might slice up to put on a burger or sandwich).

Did you know that botanically, tomatoes are fruits? Fruits are classified as such because they grow from flowers and have seeds. Vegetables, on the other hand, grow from leaves, stems, and roots. However, in the culinary world, fruits and vegetables are classified based on their flavor profile (as tomatoes aren’t especially fruity tasting). You can learn more about their culinary and botanical classification and uses here. Taxwise as well, they are also a vegetable (you can learn about the court case concerning that here.)

We recommend Chef Rick Lopez’s Homemade Salsa recipe which is tasty, a great in-season summer snack, and not hard to make if you have the tools! (Let us know what you think if you try it out!)

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We’re happy to announce that our Summer Farm Program started earlier this month, with 24 new youth and 6 Urban Roots alum planting their roots with us. The youth have hit the ground running between leading our volunteer days, working at our Farmers’ Market booth, and meeting our community and food access partners. They’ve also been helping run our Community Lunches, which we couldn’t do without them! Overall, the Summer Farm Program has really been getting their hands into the heart of Urban Roots. We can’t wait to see how they grow and what else they get up to this summer!

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Urban Roots hopes you are enjoying your summer! We’re doing our best to beat the heat during our busy summer season. We’ve stayed focused on growing and harvesting for our community even with the Texas sun beating down, and have managed to get a lot of food to our food access partners.

Other news on the farm includes our Summer Farm Program beginning earlier this month and they’ve already begun leading groups, meeting our food access partners, helped ran our Community lunch, and more, which you can read about here. We’ve also returned to the Farmers’ Market and will be there for two remaining Saturdays this season. Learn more about it and what else we’ve been up to in our June Newsletter!

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Despite the heat and sun, our farm team has been hard at work and sent out 1,000 lbs of farm-fresh produce a week this past month to a variety of partners. We’ve sent produce to Street Youth Ministry, Go Austin! Vamos Austin, Caritas, FarmShare Austin, North Austin Muslim Community Center, Out Youth, Vivent Health, and Manos de Cristo! As we’ve neared the end of our summer season, we’ve been harvesting summer and winter squash, getting the last of our potato harvest out of the ground, and our tomatoes have been thriving despite the heat (we’ve harvested over 2,000 lbs this past month).

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Happy Farm Fact Friday, everyone! Urban Roots is always growing, but you might be wondering what we’ve been growing for the summer. This season, we’ve been cultivating all sorts of delicious fruits and veggies, and for this Farm fact Friday, we’re going to be talking about the gourd-eous squash we’re growing: specifically, yellow and butternut squash. (Did you know the word “squash” comes from the Narragansett Native American word askutasquash, which translates to “eaten raw or uncooked”? You can learn more about it here.)

Yellow squash and zucchini, characterized by their especially delicate skin and high water content, are summer squash. They are great antioxidants, as well as sources of vitamin B6 which boosts your immune system, improves mood regulation, and reduces risks of heart disease (you can read more about it here). Meanwhile, butternut squash is hardier like other winter squash, such as pumpkin and spaghetti squash with thick protective skin and are built to last for a while in the winter (and are surprisingly sweet). Compared to yellow squash, it’s also a greater source of folic acid and vitamin K (vitamin K being good for bone health and blood clotting).

With all this heat this summer, we want to share one of our favorite summer squash recipes! Check it out here to try a delicious Beef & Squash Quesadillas recipe by Executive Chef Fermín Nuñez of Suerte, a delicious, nutritious, and quick meal that won’t heat the kitchen up too much (of course, the recipe can easily be adapted to what you have lying around). You can also follow our Let’s Get Cooking With Urban Roots video showing the process here.

You can learn more about squash, especially butternut squash, here.

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Happy Farm Fact Friday! As we all know, this summer will be H-O-T, and it’s difficult to keep your soil wet against the Texas summer sun and water restrictions. This week, we’re sharing some tips to help you beat the heat in your garden and outdoor plants.

• – Your lawn: your lawn can go dormant in the summer, like it does in winter. Once a week watering will keep it going, and having grasses native to Texas ensures they’re more built for the area and summer. If you aren’t a fan of the mowing and upkeep grass requires, there’s also alternatives like clover lawns which are drought resistant and return nitrogen to the soil!
• – Investing in mulch: this can protect your soil from the intense sun, as well as keep moisture in your soil for longer. It can reduce weeds, and improves soil quality. Even rocks can be used, depending on the type of rock and plant (this can often be seen with cacti).
• – Shade: Heat and sun stress can really tax your plants. Planting or moving plants to shaded areas, or building shade structures to protect your plants during the day can help.
• – Wilting/Lack of water: with water restrictions, the biggest struggle is your plant having the time to absorb the water. Watering late night or early morning can help a lot before the heat of the day. Additionally, how you water your plants matters. To help cover the amount of crops we water on the farm, for instance, we use drip irrigation (which waters in the spot of our crop) and micro sprinklers, which cover small areas with higher water efficiency, since they water closer to the ground. For individual plants, watering globes or DYI alternatives can be useful overnight, as well, to help the plant absorb water longer.

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Happy Farm Fact Friday! To greet summer coming on the way, we’re sharing two natural bug repellents to keep pesky bugs and critters out of your plants or garden.

The first bug repellent we’re sharing is orange spray. Orange spray is an easy-to-make pest deterrent you can make with your orange peels at home! It’s best to use organic orange peels or to wash your orange peels with a fruit and veggie wash. Cut off the white inner remaining flesh as much as possible, and boil the peels in a cup of water for 10 minutes. Let cool, and strain into a spray bottle. Spray every 3 or 4 days, and observe the plant to ensure the spray is not too strong (if so, you can cut it with more water).

The second bug repellent we’re sharing today is diatomaceous earth! It’s a natural pest deterrent (specifically, food grade, which is important as the filter grade can be harmful to animals if ingested). It’s a mineral compound and has many uses, though it’s an effective bug killer as well. In short, it dries out the exoskeleton of bugs if put on plants/their soil, and can even help with bugs in the home as well. For example, if you find your pet with fleas, you can dust their fur and even things like carpet and furniture to kill fleas. All it needs is some time to work it’s magic, and proper application (different plants may require different amounts mixed or sprinkled in the soil).

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It’s Farm Fact Friday once again, and this week we’ll be discussing the farm closer to home, with your plants around the house! This week we’ll be talking about five common issues when caring for your plants at home, like yellowing of the leaves.

• Yellowing Leaves: This could be caused by a number of reasons, from overwatering to poorly draining soil, not getting enough light or the plant being affected by cold temperatures. 

• Root and Stem Rot: This could look like soft stem or roots, with dark brown or black roots, and generally wilting. To save your plants, take out the affected roots while repotting with sterile soil and a cleaned pot, and make sure not to overwater. 

• Leaf tips yellowing or browning: Remove affected leaves and ensure you don’t moisten them. It may be beneficial to research how to prune your plant, and how much pruning is healthy for said plant.

• Few flowers or small leaves: This could be caused by not enough or too much light, and too dry or too wet soil. This differs between plants, so if you’re unsure, researching recommended care for your plant may help.
• Leaf Spots: Leaf spots are tiny brown or yellow dots on a leaf. This can be caused by bacteria (the leaf spots may appear wet or dark, sunken or translucent) or fungi (the leaf spots are brown with parts of the leaf dying). Avoid getting water on the leaves, take off the leaves affected, and try putting it somewhere with good air circulation.

Learn more about common plant issues from pests to disease here: https://extension.psu.edu/preventing-diagnosing-and-correcting-common-houseplant-problems

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The youth, the Food and Leadership fellows and the South Austin interns have had a warm final month of their programs. The fellows have been cooking it up in cooking workshops on the farm with farm produce they harvested; the fellows made ratatouille, tofu lettuce wraps, salads, and kale chips with pico (yum!) and even used wild dew berries from the South Austin farm to make dessert.  They were also hard at work hosting volunteers on the farm, harvesting, making shares and helping run our farm tours at Tour de Farm. We’ll miss you, Ana, Ava, Kanti, Amanda, Christina, Zane, Noel, Cat, Cameron, Mirella, and Ahnika!

Meanwhile, the South Austin Interns finished their program of 8 months of community engagement, capping off their internship by giving farm tours and cooking with residents that live near our South farm or are customers through our food distribution partnership with GAVA. Thanks to their work, Urban Roots continues to build meaningful connections with Austin residents. Congratulations to Audrey, Melanie, Nick, Quinn, Rodolfo, Milo, Eloy, Amberly, Priscilla, Quinn, Javier, Nashley, and Emilio on completing their South Austin Internship!

We’re extremely proud of the hard work the Urban Roots youth have done, and though we’ll miss them, we’re excited to see where they plant their roots next.

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