Page 395 - Demo

Country Gardeners Take Their FareTo The City Gardener%u2019s Harvest FairBY LIZ KOCHGrowing a rich bounty of harvestable vegetables, contrary to popular notion, is not a pleasure reserved for Farm er Joe or Suburban Sam. City soil %u2014 Brooklyn soil %u2014 yearly yields a bounty of tasty vegetables. But the image of a City gardener replete with straw hat and hoe still leaves many unconvinced of gardening success. But after all earth is earth and sun is sun.People living in apartments tend to view the urban garden experience as a trip out the the farm er%u2019s markets in Long Island, or for something closer to home, visiting the local green grocer.Yet every year, a persistent few, pioneers of an urban sort, can be seen making their shopping trip into their own backyard or even out onto their fire escape where their tomatoes are tied to the iron work. And, the tomatoes do produce red fruit in the City, and broccoli heads swell equally large in the hot city sun. Also, any nursery in New York City worth its African violets will naturally stockThe cherry tomatoes are themost popular contest. Theyare very prolific and usuallypretty uniform. But they arealso the most difficultto judge.insecticides, because the City garden, whether it is out on the terrace or in a small plot of earth in the backyard, suffers like its country cousins from an onslaught of vegetable munching insects.GARDEN IN A BROWNSTONEIn Brooklyn the profusion of rowhouse buildings are often enhanced by a 30-foot yard in the rear, that provides a garden large enough to produce many shopping bags full of fresh vegetables. For example, backyards in Carroll Gardens this time of year display an abundance of vine ripened tomatoes, bushy basil and flowering string beans.Ten years ago the City Gardeners Harvest. Fair began its annual event with an awareness that New York City gardeners were perfectly capable of producing a high quality harvest whether in containers on the fire escape, buckets on the front porch or in a small patch in the backyard. The annual event, held this year on August 16 at Floyd Bennett Field, is an opportunity for city dwellers to show their know-how in the garden, with contests for the best city-grown vegetables, baked goods, crafts and even a scarecrow contest. On the other hand, visitors to the fair can bask in the presence of animals usually not seen in the confines of a city. It%u2019s an opportunity to pet a pig, brush a sheep or take a ride on a horse-drawn hay wagon. For the real country experience, square dancing and country bands will tickle the feet into action.For City dwellers growing a garden the challenge for the contests should be enticement enough. The vegetable contests include every imaginable vegetable from snap beansto okra to cherry tomatoes and the largest sunflower competition. %u201cWe%u2019re trying to single out the fact that these were all grown in New York City and in many ways comparable to the country cousins,%u201d says Charles Mazza from the Cornell Cooperative Extension, one of the organizations presenting the fair. %u201cPeople who live in apartments don%u2019t tend to think of city backyards as gardens,%u201d he adds.TWO DOZEN JUDGESThe approximately two dozen judges who will evaluate the vegetables look at condition (no cracked fruit or insects) quality and uniformity of size, shape and color. The best green thumbs will be awarded gardening tools. Last year approximately 200 people participated in the contests, many submitting vegetables in more than one category.%u201cThe cherry tomatoes are the most popular contest,%u201d Mazza says. %u201cThey%u2019re very prolific and usually pretty uniform but very difficult to judge,%u201d he explains. Some of the more lighthearted contests, include the largest tomato, which Mazza says in past years has resulted in two to three-pound specimens. For children nine to 18-years old a special scarecrow contest will be held at the fair. Entries in past years included scarecrow spacemen as well as the more traditional hay stuffed version.For gardeners confident that the overall quality of their harvest is up to par, a bountiful basket contest will also be held. Constestants submit five different varieties of homegrown vegetables. The raw vegetable art category will challenge your skills in making artistic arrangements of vegetables (cut-up or whole). In past years vegetable swans have been created. For gardeners who lack a backyard space, three container grown vegetable contests will be held for tomatoes, eggplant and peppers.For those who prefer to turn their vegetables into a more edible form, four food contests will also be held with a new category %u2014 creative coleslaw %u2014 added this year. Yeast breads and rolls make up another category (they must contain a fresh vegetable, fresh fruit or fresh herb) as well as Quick breads and muffins. For fresh fruit friends, a pie contest will be held.OTHER CATEGORIESOther contests that day include beets (three roots), carrots (three roots), cucumber (three fruits approximately six inches long), eggplant (two fruits), onion (three bulbs), pepper (three fruits either red or green), zucchini (two fruits roughly ten inches long), cherry tomatoes (eight fruits), tomato (standard, three fruits), largest tomato by weight (one), and largest sunflower (by size), measured by the circumference of the head. A flower contest will be held for marigold large (single bloom three inches across), zinnias large (single bloom, three inches across), hybrid tea rose (single large bloom per stem) and a garden bouquet with five different varieties of home grown flowers.One word of encouragement to potential participants unsure of their gardening skills: %u201cTiming and luck plays a big role. You can%u2019t plan six months in advance that you will grow the largest tomato. You walk out in your garden one day and there it is,%u201d says Mazza.ITALIAN A R T IRON WORKSBURGLAR PROOF SPECIALISTSPRO TECT YOUR VALUABLES W ITH S A FE GUARDS%u2022W IN D O W G UARDS%u2022 DOOR GUARDS%u2022 CELLAR DO ORS%u2022S K Y L IG H T GUARDS%u2022 ROOF HATCHES%u2022S T E L L STRUCTURES%u2022 LOBBY DO O RS%u2022 STEPS-TO-ORDER%u2022 STAIRCASES%u2022S P IR A L STAIRS%u2022 PORCHES*%u2022 RAILINGSB row nstone Housesl a n ijm a rlr R n lM In n eOur Specialty %u201d875-136238 Bergen ST.Double Your Closet Space AtCLOSET WORLDW ith Closet M aid Shelving &Elfa Basket System s/ ' I - - l / U Ak AMA U1UOOIO - IXIIWI lO lldBathroomsFREE DESIGN &CONSULTATION SERVICE67 Clark Street, Brooklyn, N.Y.330-0465A Oriental-type RugsA Braided Rugs%u2605 Broadloom RunnersA Carpeting for stairsand hallwaysSales & ServiceOMarfofCarpet Cleaning Co.Est. 19285604 3rd Ave.439-9005____________rGoing Out? SeeUp & Coming forWhere to Go.carol joos, cabinetmakerform erly fe r r is & jo o swoodworking by womencustom kitchen cabinets,ZOAR CONSTRUCTION& HOME IMPROVEMENT CORP.LANDMARK & BROWNSTONE RENOVATIONSCO-OP AND CONDO CONVERSIONSB athroom s%u2014 K itc h en s%u2014 W indow sW ood W indow s M ade To O rderLICENSED ARCHITECTURALDESIGNSF R E E (718) 37 7-9090 f u l l yE S T IM A T E S (24 hours) IN S U R E D*: G r a n d O p e n in g :*$ SAVE $ DOLLARS $COME TO OUR NEW SHOWROOM191 Flatbush Avenue(Between Bergen Street and Fifth Avenue)OPEN 8 a.m.-6 p.m.Repairs & S alesO N ALLM AKES & M O DELSREFRIGERATORS& FREEZERSSTOVESCommercial %u2022 Residential| 10% OFF All Sales &%u201dServices 1with thl# ad %u2014 Offer Expires August 14, 1986%u2014 C A L r u i f %u2122 ^ ^0000 %u00a9 ONE YEARFREE SERVICEAND PARTSW E W E L C O M ELA N D LO R D& REALTYA C C O U N TS%u2022 FRIGIQAIRE%u2022 NORGE %u2022 M ost Repairs Done on Prem ises[1 %u2022 PHILCO %u2022 Expert on Punctured CoilU %u2022 W HIRLPOOL %u2022 Frost Free Specialists%u2022 AMANA %u2022 Air Conditioning Experts%u2022 G.E. %u2605 Including Foreign Makes%u2022 COLDSPOT %u2605 W holesale %u2022 RetailU %u2022 WELBILT W e also repair air conditioners,%u2022 W ESTING HOUSE ranges, washing machines,%u2022 KELVINATOR%u2022 HOT POINT dryers, and dishwashers.%u2022 GIBSON%u2022 ADMIRALARMSTRONG RE%u2122%u201c'B%u2122 N191 Flatbush Avenue(betw. Bergen & 5th Ave.)1289 Atlantic Avenue(betw. New York & Nostrand)A ward- Winning Writing and Reporting on Brooklyn'sBusy Arts Scene Every Week in The Pages OfThe Phoenix, Brownstone Brooklyn's No. One NewspaperAugust 7,1986, THE PH O EN IX, Page 21