Grygla’s official vegetable of the summer is announced

Written by Grygla Eagle Newspaper

The One Vegetable, One Community program kicks off at the Grygla community garden this week. One Vegetable, One Community unites local communities by encouraging gardeners of all levels to plant, grow, cook, and/or share a featured vegetable of the year. Each community chooses their own featured vegetable; this year’s veggie in Grygla is SQUASH! 

One Vegetable, One Community is held through University of Minnesota Extension SNAP-Ed, the Northwest Regional Sustainable Development Partnership, and various Grygla community partners. Together these organizations are partnering to encourage healthy food access and community building. 

The Health & Nutrition Programs, SNAP-Ed Educator for our area is Kristina Kaml. She will be meeting with Krystle’s Daycare this Wednesday, May 29th, and invites anyone else interested in joining them to do so! The group will meet at the Grygla Library at 3pm for a special garden story. They will then head over to the Grygla Community Garden and start their planting, which will include a variety of squash seeds going in.

One Vegetable, One Community increases access and enthusiasm for local and inexpensive healthy food. The kick-off event begins a season-long campaign with the hopes that squash will be grown around every corner: from community, personal and school gardens, to gardens at businesses, faith-based organizations and government buildings. By including the chosen vegetable at community events/potlucks; growing it in a community or personal garden; incorporating it on menus at local restaurants; and growing in garden boxes outside local businesses, we are broadening the conversation and making this a community norm. 

Will you choose to participate and plant our featured vegetable, too? A variety of squash seed packages have been made up and can be found at various businesses in Grygla, including the Coop Store and the library. In the seed packages, Kristina included growing and harvesting tips, along with recipes and health benefits. Squash varieties available in seed include summer squash, early summer crookneck squash, cocozelle squash, early prolific straightneck squash, dark green zucchini squash, Waltham butternut squash and table queen acorn squash.

Easy cooking ideas for squash: steam, saute, roast, grill or bake. You can also substitute spaghetti squash for pasta and top it with your favorite tomato sauce. 

Direct-seeding is the preferred method for starting squash. In most of Minnesota, this will be late May. Sow seeds about ½ inch deep. For vining types that will be allowed to spread out in the garden, seeds should be sown 2 inches apart. Allow about 2-3 feet of space on either side of the row for the vines to spread. A “hill” of 3 or 4 seeds sown close together is another way to plant squash in the garden. Allow 5-6 feet between hills. 

28 communities applied and are participating in OVOC this 2019 season. In addition to Grygla, the others are Bagley, Bemidji, Bigfork, Blackduck, Breckenridge, Cloquet, Cohasset, Crookston, Detroit Lakes, East Grand Forks, Elbow Lake, Fergus Falls, Fosston, Grand Rapids, Kelliher, Laporte, Little Falls, Middle River, Moorhead, Newfolden, Park Rapids, Pelican Rapids, Roseau, Thief River Falls, Virginia, Wadena and Warren.