Page 54 - Greet HWY 68 Loop 06.25

ROTARY ROUNDUP GREEN LIVING

Rotary Jazz Concert Country Gardeners Club

Growing Perennial Vegetables in Your Garden

BY DOUG BROWN, SAN BENANCIO BY PRISCILLA DU, SAN BENANCIO

FOR THIRTY YEARS, the Rotary Club of
Corral de Tierra has supported high
school jazz musicians in Monterey
County. In May, the club held a tri-tip
dinner and youth jazz concert at the
Church of the Good Shepherd in Corral
de Tierra, with the proceeds going to
the Monterey Jazz All-Star Band and
Vocal Ensemble.
For many years, the Monterey
Jazz Festival has selected the best
musicians and singers from high
school and home-schooled students
throughout Monterey County. Monterey
Jazz provides instruments, individual
training, opportunities to work with leaves to make fillings in dumplings.
jazz greats, and venues to play for (Please note that only the young leaves
the public. The students also attend a are suitable for some cooking, not the
special jazz camp during the summer. dull green ones that have been beat
In past years, the group has played at up on the side of a road in the sun and
the Library of Congress in Washington, wind for weeks.)
D.C., on the Fourth of July. The band has I hope you try to grow some of
also toured all over the US, as well as, in SUMMER IS THE TIME for vegetable Artichoke is another perennial garden these perennial edibles. If you are
Europe and Japan. gardens to shine. With prices of plant that not only produces delicious into gardening and connecting with
These student musicians are the practically everything going up, growing food (the artichoke head that we eat is neighbors and the community through
best of the best. They reaffirm our belief your own food has become ever more actually the bud stage of the flower part gardening, consider reaching out to your
in our future generation. Listening to appealing and maybe even necessary. of the plant) but can also serve as an very own local garden club, Country
these multi-talented musicians is truly Vegetable gardening is a passion extremely effective barrier that deters Gardeners (established in 1955), at
inspiring. The performance schedule for of many members of the Country animals and humans from crossing. countrygardeners68@gmail.com.
the 2025 ensemble can be found under Gardeners Club. Every summer, when Monterey County has been known as the Traditionally, our club holds a plant
the education tab at montereyjazz.org. our club activities are put to rest, we artichoke capital for decades. There are and vegetable seedling exchange in
Come and hear them if you get a chance! share our garden harvests. probably more artichokes grown here April, where we share our backyard
When speaking of growing than anywhere else in the world. heirloom production stars. Through
vegetables, people often assume it is Asparagus is another perennial these exchanges, I have experienced
Rotarians....share the work an annual, one-season type of thing crop for which Monterey is famous. We many pleasant surprises and tried
that your Club is doing
within this community and that needs lots of work and space and used to have a busy asparagus shipping plants I had never heard of before, and
around the world! Contact must be done all over again next year. season between March and July when I’ve often been thrilled with the results.
Laurie.Martin@n2co.com
or phone 272-4620. This is not true if you plant perennial Monterey County asparagus would be
vegetables, which take their foothold trucked and mostly flown around the
and occupy the space for years. world. Nowadays, most of the asparagus
Purple tree collard is a great growing has moved to Mexico. Priscilla lives in San
example. It grows into a waist-high Finally, fennel, dill’s big cousin, is Benancio with her
dark rainforest form. The leaves are another hardy, multiyear edible plant. family. Not only is
often sauteed, steamed, or made into It has an upright form and grows to she happiest growing
thick soups. This plant takes some human height with an attractive, fine- plants in her garden,
Doug lives in San Benancio with his wife, Maria. They are time to grow but is very hardy once textured look. The thick white stocks but she is passionate
long-time residents of the Loop. Doug is an active Rotarian established. It even survives with are often used in French cooking. about working with
and enjoys being with and helping people far and near. chickens roaming around. Asian people use the fresh young native plants.

54 June 2025 Greet HWY 68 Loop 55