Fresh from Wellspring Charitable Gardens - October 15, 2026

Fresh Today… Pie Pumpkins, Napa Cabbage, Red Lettuce Heads, Summer Squash, Carrots, Eggplant, Cucumbers, Bell Peppers, Rosemary, Basil, Chives, Popcorn & Zinnia Blooms

Using your Produce… by Chef Julie Moreno

Our fall vegetables are in full swing with pumpkins, Napa cabbage and popcorn, coming your way. If you want to save the last of our basil, I recommend turning it into pesto and then freezing the pesto in ice cube trays to pop out and enjoy in the winter. You can also grate the summer squash and freeze it, to use in zucchini bread. This week I included a salad recipe for the Napa cabbage. It uses fresh herbs and green onions for flavor, and the apple gives it sweetness with the honey.

Fall Napa Cabbage

Salad with Almonds

½ cup slivered almonds

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 teaspoon soy sauce

½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon honey or sugar

1-2 apples, grated about 1 cup

1 head napa cabbage, chopped

2 green onions, thinly sliced

2 carrots, grated

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons chopped basil

Freshly ground pepper

* Preheat the oven to 350°. In a small pan or pie plate, toast the almonds for 5 minutes, until they are light brown.  Let cool. In a large mixing bowl, mix the oil, vinegar, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, salt, honey and grated apple.  Add the cabbage, green onions, carrots, cilantro and basil and mix well. Add the almonds and season with pepper.  Toss again and serve.

The Surprise in Eating Organic

We are often surprised by the obvious price disparity between regular and organic produce at the grocery. There are, however, other surprises in eating organic, pesticide-free fresh produce. Sometimes pests gnaw on leaves or disfigure a perfect face. Sometimes they crawl down into the core of a cabbage or lettuce head. Recently we noticed a bug had slipped into a Napa cabbage and made a rather unappetizing appearance during dinner preparations. Please accept our apologies should this happen to you!  We work hard to inspect and prewash your produce to provide the cleanest, freshest, best tasting, best looking, and best-priced organic vegetables, fruit, and herbs, but sometimes you will get produce with living “Proof of Organic” concealed within. If a bug or another pest appears for dinner, simply disinvite the unwanted guest by washing it down the drain. If a pest has completely ruined your produce or appetite, we will happily replace your produce or offer something else to fill your order and restore your appetite.

Even the WCG Pickin’ Crew contends with unwanted pests!

After harvesting cauliflower, Cindi found an overly-friendly

green caterpillar crawling up the front of her shirt.

There’s living Proof of Fresh!

Pie Pumpkins…

This week we are sending out pie pumpkins. You can keep them for decoration or cook them. You can roast the whole pumpkin or cut it in half and scoop out the seeds. Cook it at 375°F for about an hour, until it’s soft to the touch. Scoop out the flesh and then puree it to use in pies or desserts. You can also roast cubes or slices like in the recipe here.

Roasted Pumpkin with Walnuts and Goat Cheese

4-5 cups pumpkin, cut into cubes or slices

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ teaspoon salt

1-2 tablespoons honey

1/3 cup walnuts

fresh ground pepper to taste

¼ cup crumbled goat cheese

* Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Toss the pumpkin cubes with the oil, salt and honey.  Spread out on a parchment lined baking sheet and cook in the oven for about 25-30 minutes, until tender.  In the same oven, while cooking the pumpkin, toast the nuts until fragrant, about 5 minutes.   When the pumpkin done, place on a serving dish and top with the walnuts, goat cheese and fresh ground pepper.

Metaphors of Soil and Soul…

Amending

Ronda May Melendez & Keith F Martin

Nuts are harvested and now piles of gypsum are appearing throughout the valley almond and walnut orchards. Gypsum signals the soil needs to be loosened. Soil compaction happens on land that is heavily irrigated or where heavy machinery is used. Compaction constricts soil pore size (the space between soil particles) and prevents water, oxygen, and essential nutrients from freely and fully supplying the tree’s root system. Compacted soil constrains growth and interferes with fruit production. The result is unhealthy vegetation and unhappy farmers. 

The solution to compaction is not to uproot the trees and replant but to change their growing environment. Amending the surrounding soil restores healthy space between soil particles. Gypsum, a soft mineral, relaxes the soil’s structure, enhances its water absorption, and increases aeration, enabling tree roots to penetrate deeply and nourish sufficiently. Gypsum is also a fertilizer that supplies trees with calcium and sulfur that boost proteins for strength, chlorophyl for photosynthesis, and the immune system for fighting pests and disease.  Healthy soil promotes heartier roots, healthier trees, and higher fruit yields. 

Similar to trees, we need our hearts amended when we’ve been constrained by the weight of emotional, mental, or spiritual demands. A season of disappointment, discouragement, grief, or despair can compact our heart’s soil so that we no longer have space to move or breathe, absorb nutrients, or grow. Root bound, we become arid and malnourished. Fruit is dwarfed, if produced at all. We wilt, wither, and become vulnerable to pests, disease, and rot. We may feel ‘lucky’ simply to survive.

When I am pressed down by the demands of such seasons, I feel shame and want to withdraw to find space to recover. Recently, however, the Lord has been urging me to engage, despite my condition, and view my need as an invitation to amend my time with Him and others, loosen my heart, and make healthy space to grow. Only then can I sink my roots deeply and establish myself firmly for a new season of growth.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream,

and does not fear when heat comes…”    Jeremiah 17:7-8