A visitor to the garden today would not be able to miss the new, exciting, and very TALL addition to our summer landscape! A group of students worked with our staff to build a 20-foot trellis, on which we’re planning to plant Italian White Gigande beans.

Trellis-building and the planting of the last long-season summer crops such as corn, beans, and squash (otherwise known as the “Three Sisters”) is happening just in the nick of time. If we wait another week or two, some of the crops will be spoiled by the first storms in the early fall. Traditionally, the Three Sisters were sown in early July with the first summer showers throughout what are now the Southwestern, Southern, and Northeastern United States. In these regions, afternoon thundershowers were consistent enough to water the crops without irrigation and the growing season was short and intense.

Although agriculture was not historically necessary in the Berkeley area because wild game, waterfowl, fish, and edible roots, nuts, and berries were so plentiful, we find ourselves now in an agricultural society which is quickly losing touch with indigenous agricultural knowledge.

Here in the Edible Schoolyard garden, we are renewing our traditions of growing and eating food together by paying tribute to the Native American tribes which cultivated these three sacred crops for thousands of years through the North American Continent and what is now Mexico. This summer, we have chosen Hopi Blue Corn, Cherokee Trail of Tears pole beans, and assorted winter squash for our Three Sisters plot.

Today’s Menu
Handmade pita bread
Tabbouleh
Chick pea hummus
Raita with radish, cucumber, and mint
Smoosh (a delectable mixture of cooked summer squash and garlic)
Shaved lemonade ice