The Greater Houston Urban Garden: Healthy Living Seminars

Please join us Saturday, August 18, 2012 from 9am to noon for a day filled with information promoting healthy living. We will be offering free learning seminars such as Healthy Food Preparation, Bee-Keeping, Fall Gardening, and Yoga. The schedule is as follows:

• • 9 am (45mins) - Healthy Cooking – Sabali Mpozi – Vegan Comfort
  -Healthy food preparation.
  
  
  • 10 am Fall Gardening (45 mins) – Justin Duncan – Prairie View Cooperative Extension
  -Preparing a raised bed and planting a fall crop.
  
  
  • 11 am Bee Keeping (45 mins) – Dean Cook & Nell Wheeler – Natural Beekeepers – Water Conscious & Rain Water Systems
  -Explore the advantages of bee keeping.
  
  
  • 11:30am (30 mins) – Yoga Basics – Raquel Bradley – Realign Yoga
  -Breathing techniques and basic yoga postures to rejuvenate the body, open the spine and promote relaxation

We look forward to seeing you there! For more information regarding the festival please visit our website at http://www.mglg.net/#!mglg-festival.

Also please RSVP the event here http://www.facebook.com/events/203427066452306/

Peace,

Divine Leaders

“Tour De Hood” Bike Ride Encouraging Physical Fitness

Divine Leaders Incorporated and Shrine of the Black Madonna is proud to host “The Second Greater Houston Urban Garden Festival”. This historic event will be take place August 17-18, 2012 at the Marcus Garvey Liberation Garden (MGLG) and many other community institutions.
The purpose of our festival is to encourage parents and children to make an adjustment to a more sustainable and less stressful way of living. To aid in this goal there will be an emphasis placed on exercise, conservation, better eating habits, and more cooperative living amongst Houstonians.

In order to introduce local residents to enjoyable and family centered physical activities, on August 17, 2012 at 7pm, we will host a “Tour De Hood” Bike Ride. This 10 mile community bike ride will be lead by “Tour De Hood” around the Greater Southeast Houston Area. “Tour de Hood” is a 501(c) 3 organization that is geared towards getting people the practical information they need to be healthy mentally and physically. Residents will be lead throughout community bike trails and historic neighborhoods. Up to 40 bicycles will be provided for community residents to participate who do not own their own bicycles. This bike ride is sorely needed in our community to increase physical activities and to help local residents feel more comfortable about exercising in their own neighborhoods.

Your attendance, participation and support of this event would be greatly appreciated. We are excited about this upcoming festival, and we look forward to you being a part of the experiences. For more information please contact a Divine Leaders representative at divineleadersinc@gmail.com or 713-396-0001. RSVP for the entire festinal here.

Plant of the Month: Cantaloupe

Cantaloupe is a very productive fruit that grows wonderfully in the MGLG. This year cantaloupe is second generation, which means it was planted from the seeds we harvested from the prior year. The recognized health benefits of cantaloupe are lower blood and cholesterol levels, a reduction of the risk of heart disease, prevents cataracts, and reduces the chances of being diagnosed with cancer.

An uncommon trait of fruit that is special about cantaloupe is that it contains both vitamin C and beta-carotene. The vitamin C helps keep arteries clear and beta-carotene fights heart disease. These two antioxidants are one the main reasons cantaloupe helps prevent cancer and many other age-related health issues. In addition, the fruit also contains a large amount of potassium, which helps lower blood pressure. Supposedly, cantaloupe has twice the amount of potassium than a banana. Our bodies need potassium to help expel excess sodium. A large amount of sodium (salt) is a cause of high blood pressure.

The cantaloupe growing in the MGLG are our small, sweet, and very aromatic jewels. A couple of our frequent garden workers were having a debate about whether to call the “Candy Canteloupe” or “Candyloupe”. Yes they are that sweet! Plus the smell alone makes me not want to cut the cantaloupe and just use it in my home as potpourri. Would like to have a similar experience with the produce in your home? Well drop by The Living Grocery Store this weekend and pick up a couple! Come early, because they disappear QUICKLY!

MGLG Kale Day at Sunshine Health Food Store & Vegetarian Deli

On May 10, 2012, Sunshine Health Food Store will feature the freshly picked Kale from The Marcus Garvey Liberation Garden (MGLG). The MGLG is a local community garden located two blocks away from Sunshine. The garden was created to increase the access to fresh and sustainable food in the neighborhood. The two establishments have worked together to deliver fresh, chemical free and locally grown Kale. While supplies last, the famous kale salad will prepared from kale harvested the day before! You can’t get much fresher, healthier, and environmentally friendly produce in many other places.
 

In addition to Kale, Red Clover is another crop that is currently abundant in the MGLG. Red Clover is a blood purifying herb with special benefits for women. Red Clover has been scientifically proven to decrease the symptoms of PMS and menopause. The herb has also been proven to decrease the chance of breast and prostate cancer. More information about Red Clover can be found here. All these medicinal benefits and Red Clover makes a smooth and refreshing tea. Red Clover Tea will be available for tasting.

Plant of the Month: Beets

Beets are considered root crops and they are very easy to grow. In Texas they grow very well during cooler seasons like most root vegetables. Beets are a very productive crop because you can eat, and use both the beet tops (beet greens/leaves) and the actual beet (the root). Before the root is large enough for harvest, you can snap off the beet greens/leaves to eat. The beet leaves will reproduce while the beet (root) continues to grow. Therefore, you can eat from each beet more than once.

Since beets are a cool season crop, we will be picking our remaining beets throughout the month of May in order to prepare for other summer crops such as sweet potatoes. 

The nutritional benefits of beets are astounding! Beets have been proven to protect against cancer and prevent birth defects in newborns. In some countries beet juice alone is used as a treatment for cancer. Beets are also a natural source of a high amount of Vitamin B (Folate). Folates are beneficial to pregnant women because it is necessary for the critical development of the fetus. The deep colors of beets come from a compound named betacyanin, which has been noted by scientists as a tumor-fighting agent.  In comparison to lean beef, beets can provide similar amounts of iron and can help prevent heart attacks and strokes.

Raw beets are high in carbohydrates and low in calories, which mean they are a natural energy boost. Beets also contain high volumes of phosphorus, sodium, magnesium, calcium, iron, potassium, fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and biotin. Biotin (commonly referred to as Vitamin H) helps to convert food into fuel. It is also recommended to help strengthen hair, nails, and skin.

If beets are this beneficial, shouldn’t you be eating more of them??? Come by The Living Grocery Store (MGLG) for your fresh beets during the month of May to improve your health and satisfy your taste buds. The Living Grocery Store is open every Sunday at 11am – 2pm., 5317 M. L. King Blvd. Houston, TX 77021.

Second Greater Houston Urban Garden Festival

For Immediate Release



April 1, 2012 – Houston, TX



Divine Leaders Incorporated and Shrine of the Black Madonna is proud to host “The Second Greater Houston Urban Garden Festival”. This historic event will be take place Saturday, August 18, 2012 at the Marcus Garvey Liberation Garden (MGLG); 5317 Martin Luther King Blvd, Houston, Texas 77021.


As a part of the festival there will be a Tour De Hood Bike Ride, Hands-On Gardening Tips, Ujamaa Marketplace, Community Small Business Awards, and The Black August Concert. There will also be community awareness activities and presentations on healthy lifestyles & emergency preparedness strategies for families. The intent will be to encourage parents and children to make an adjustment to a more sustainable and less stressful way of living. To aid in this goal there will be an emphasis placed on exercise, conservation, better eating habits, and more cooperative living amongst Houstonians.

The Black August Concert is a phenomenon sweeping across the country in minority neighborhoods encouraging support of locally owned businesses, and to raise awareness of legal injustice against members of minority communities. Presentations of how to circulate funds within low income communities will be made along with acknowledgement of successful minority businesses, and business owners in the Greater Houston Area.

Lastly, this event is to celebrate and raise funds for the harvests of the “Marcus Garvey Liberation Garden”. This is the third full season the garden has flourished enough to benefit the community through the growth and distribution of organic foods to both the volunteers who assisted as well as local community households in need. The MGLG is not the only garden that will be acknowledged during the course of these activities. Information on how to participate in gardening organizations across the city will be distributed to patrons as well as information
on how to start a home garden. This event will also mark the official beginning of the 10,001 Home Garden

Challenge. This is a challenge to influence 10,001 households to install or expand home gardens within the next 2
years.

Your attendance, participation and support of this event would be greatly appreciated. We are excited about this upcoming festival, and we look forward to you being a part of the experiences. For more information please contact a Divine Leaders representative at divineleadersinc@gmail.com or 713-396-0001.



www.mglg.net

www.facebook.com/divineleaders

www.twitter.com/divineleaders

Summer Gardening Class

Saturday, May 12, 2012 from 9am to 12pm  Divine Leaders and Prairie View A&M Cooperative Extension will be conducting a summer gardening class at the Marcus Garvey Liberation Garden. Lessons will be given on how to build raised beds, grow sweet potatoes & receive tips on how to care for your crops through the Texas heat.

Other topics that will be covered:
 How to organically grow summer vegetables
 Varities of vegetables that do well in Texas
 Water Use and Saving Techniques
 Season Extension

Join us at this event. Visit our facebook event page for updates.