It’s no secret my favorite urban food garden in St. Louis is Schlafly Gardenworks. Every visit is a learning experience—and a humbling interaction with many vegetables. Early in October, I walked to the garden from my house in Maplewood for the monthly garden get-together (and gardeners’ bonding experience). As an added bonus, a truckload of aged horse manure was going to be dropped there for the gardeners, and I was planning to take some home to add on top of my beds to overwinter and break down as fertilizer for my plants next season.
Kowalski’s final product is handed out to enthusiastic gardeners to enjoy on a cool, crisp morning.
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As I walked up to the group, which was huddled in the far corner of the garden, I could see that Nolan was busy sharing knowledge and making everyone something extremely nutritious to consume—a liquid salad, made in minutes from vegetables from the garden beds. Over the last five years, my eating habits have have taken a sharp turn. I have cut out all processed foods, most meat, fish, and eggs, and reduced my use of oils, dairy, breads and pasta. What do I mostly try to put into my stomach? PLANTS! So I was avidly watching this process of quickly liquefying vegetables that had just been picked from the ground.
Kowalski picking golden beets from the Schalfly Gardenworks beds as ingredients for his “Drink Your Salad,” meal.
I am drawn to logical, common-sense ideas drawn from nature. The closer we mimic nature, the better. So eating food that’s as fresh and raw as possible—that also tastes good and is easy to make and clean up—is something I am totally on board with! Nolan generously walked me through his process, and I videotaped him in action. Take a few minutes to watch it. I was particularly impressed with the blender he used, the Vitamix Pro 300. Wow! Never seen a blender with that much power before—but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at how powerful it is, considering the price tag. Though it is a pricey piece of kitchen equipment, I think it’s worth every penny if you use it daily, and the results are great for your health. It’s on my wish list.
Raw ingredients used for the green drink.
The finished product, with a frothy foam top.
L-R: Cheers! Beth Gellman, Jack Petrovic and Nolan Kowalski of Schlafly Gardenworks, and Kim Rumpsa (who brought the truckload of horse manure).
Beth Gellman, the Garden Coach, is a landscape designer and consultant. Beth works primarily with landscape contractors in Design + Build capacities. Integrating beauty and function with outdoor spaces to create sustainable healthy practices drives her personal and professional life.
