On a quiet back street in Vista sits a small school vegetable small garden. Crafted by K-5 students at Casita Center for Technology, Science and Math. this collection of vegetables is not only a gardening lesson, but also lesson in history.
Assistant Principal Tammy Lee and her talented staff have researched a project in one of the 15 beds, fondly known as the Three Sisters Garden, which features corn, beans and squash.
A lesson in Native American culture
Native American gardens can teach us about the Iroquois, showing us a “system adapted by the culture that experimented with crops that respond to each other.” This lesson came from just one of the many activities featured in the Cornell University Garden-Based Learning Program.
If you and your children would be interested in creating a home-based garden program this summer, and would like to create The Three Sisters Garden, visit the site (gardening.cals.cornell.edu) for planting instructions, harvesting and related science activities. This site is a great resource.
Casita Center cooks up a storm
At the Casita Center in Vista, the outdoor garden activities are part of the STEM program, which integrates hands-on learning, imagineering, sustainability, communications and core subjects.
According to Lee: “Our students experience the full gambit of producing food when they participate in cooking projects with kitchen lab instructor Grace Gray. … The students participate in nutrition lessons each week, such as cooking with the Three Sisters Garden or making guacamole! Another favorite is making pizza with toppings of fresh tomato, basil and peppers.”
For more information about the Casita Center and the application process, call them at 760-724-8442 or visit cas.vistausd.org.
Create a meal with the Three Sisters this summer
You don’t need a garden to use fresh vegetables this summer! The following is from the Florida-based Suwannee Rose blog, which features native recipes. This one was created with the Three Sisters Garden ingredients.
Three Sisters Harvest Bowl
Squash
• 2 cups Seminole pumpkin, butternut or kabocha squash, peeled and cubed
• pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
Beans and corn
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 Vidalia onion, diced
• 1-2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped sage
• 1 teaspoon minced rosemary leaves
• 1 teaspoon thyme leaves
• 2 ears corn
• 1½ cups beans
• salt and pepper, to taste
• Serve with: wild rice, quinoa, arugula or kale
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425.
- Toss the squash cubes with salt, vinegar and olive oil. Spread on a baking sheet. Roast for 20-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so until tender all the way through when you poke them with a fork.
- Meanwhile, sauté the onion in a large Dutch oven for a few minutes, stirring. Add the celery. Cook until both are soft and translucent. Stir in the red pepper and herbs.
- Slice the corn off the cobs and add it to the pot. Give it a good stir. Gently fold in the beans. Simmer, and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Build your bowl with wild rice, quinoa, kale and/or arugula. Top with the corn and beans mixture and roasted squash. Garnish with some fresh herbs if you please.
Jano Nightingale is a Master Gardener and horticulturist who loves to cook with vegetables. She teaches gardening at the Carlsbad Senior Center community garden and can be reached at [email protected]. To register for gardening classes, call the Senior Center at 442-339-2650.
