Fresh from Wellspring Charitable Gardens - March 6, 2026

Fresh Today… Winter Squash, Savoy Cabbage, Rainbow Carrots, Lettuce, Kale, Beets, Broccoli Shoots, Parsley, Cilantro, Grapefruit, Navel Oranges, Blood Oranges & Lemons

Using your Produce… by Julie Moreno

More carrots are coming this week. Our multi-colored carrots are wonderful roasted. The recipe that I’ve included this week is a masterclass in balancing textures, elevating this humble root vegetables into a vibrant, multi-dimensional salad. By roasting the carrots with water, you achieve a creamy interior with a caramelized outside. The orange and avocado provide a contrast to the spices, while the lemon juice and cilantro cut through the richness for a clean finish.

Roasted Carrot Orange

Avocado Salad

(adapted from April Bloomfield’s recipe)

2 medium garlic cloves, smashed

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted

    and ground*

1 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted

    and ground*

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

6 carrots, sliced in half lengthwise

1 orange

1 ripe Hass avocados

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons cilantro sprigs

* You can use ½ teaspoon of ground spices, toasting them slightly in a dry pan will bring out the flavor*.  Preheat the oven to 400° F.  Press the garlic and put the paste in a large mixing bowl with salt, cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil and stir well, then add the carrots and toss so they’re coated with the oil and spices. Put the carrots in a large shallow casserole dish in one layer. Scrape out the extra garlic, spices, and oil from the bowl and spread on top of the carrots. Pour ¼ cup water into the casserole with the carrots. Cover the dish tightly with foil (or a tight-fitting lid) and put it in the oven. Cook the carrots for 25 minutes. Take off the foil and keep cooking until the carrots are lightly browned and tender, about 25-35 minutes more. While the carrots are roasting, peel the orange and avocado then cut into chunks. When the carrots are done, take the dish out of the oven and let it sit until the carrots have cooled slightly.  Put the avocado, oranges and carrots with their spices from cooking in a large mixing bowl, add the lemon juice and the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Toss gently, taste for salt and serve topped with the cilantro.

Wolfpack Seen at Wellspring

Wellspring Charitable Gardens is now partnering with Wolfpack EarthCare and Irrigation to help our gardens grow. We have long sought a capable worker to come alongside Market Gardener Anna Hazen and help with the more technical side of farming, which includes irrigation maintenance, equipment repair, pruning, and field preparation. Jakob Magana, owner of WolfPack has graciously provided Nick Gutierrez to fill that essential role. We are so thankful that tasks we have long put off can now be taken care of efficiently and effectively. Thank you, Jacob and Nick, for the expertise you have provided. You’ve done a howl of a good job in our gardens!

(209) 505-8863

Wolfpackeci.com

Citrus Season…

This time of year, there is more citrus than we can eat. I have several friends that give them to me, looking for someone to take them off their hands. I will juice them and make sorbet when I have a bowlful, but if you are like marmalade, try this recipe. It works with either navel oranges or blood oranges for a pretty pink color.

Easy Orange Marmalade

2 large oranges or 3-4 small

1 lemon

1/3 cup water

2 cups granulated sugar

* Wash the oranges and lemon, thoroughly scrubbing the peels. Cut off the stem ends of the citrus. Cut each citrus into 8 pieces. Discard any seeds. Place the citrus pieces in a food processor and pulse/chop until the rind is in very small pieces. You should have about 2 cups of processed fruit. Add citrus to a large saucepan over medium heat. Add water and the sugar and stir well. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a low boil and simmer, stirring often, for 30-35 minutes until thickened, the temperature should reach 220°F. Pour into jars or containers with a lid. Allow to cool to room temperature, then store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 3 months.

Metaphors of Soil and Soul…

Nothing Wasted

Ronda May Melendez & Keith F Martin

Walking through garden rows resembles journeying through life. There is always something to see, something to discover, something to learn, to ponder, and to inspire wonder. My fondest childhood encounters with wonder occurred in gardens. They offer poignant reminders of the mystery and interconnectedness of life and death. They are sacred spaces where seemingly irreconcilable elements work together to provide nourishment, growth, and transformation.

There are newly delivered mounds of brown compost piled beside colorful crops – purple broccoli and pink cauliflower, red cabbage and green kale. What a story the contrast reveals. Winter morning air is brisk, but the sun warmly smiles as if enjoying the incongruous elements coexisting side by side: decayed and discarded waste brought back to nurture life and growth in the garden. Compost – comprised mostly of dead vegetation - seems inert, but it is living and active.  Worked deeply into the soil, the organic agent releases nutrients and organisms that loosen and enliven the soil. The dead and the living are essential, yet contrary, catalysts for supporting growth in the garden. 

Later, I harvest sweet watermelon radishes from the compost enriched rows and reflect on our longings to be nourished and transformed. Like garden plants, we need to be rooted and well-tended, we require rich and varied nutrients, and we yearn to thrive and bear sweet fruit. At times, though, we find ourselves surrounded by heaps of compost. Waste and want, death and decay restrain our growth and compromise our vitality.  Still, somehow, God purposefully transforms that debris into nourishment that helps us thrive.

Today in the garden I saw and treasured that juxtaposition of active life and transformed waste. Life and death lay side by side, preparing to be joined for good. God wastes nothing. Rather, He transforms waste into wonders that enrich and nourish our lives.

“Now in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”   Romans 8:26-29