Brrrrrrr . . .

It's nearly December and we've got FREEZING weather! The nice thing is that the cole crops do just fine in the cold weather! The beets, carrots and onions are doing well, too!

If you want to spend a few minutes in the garden, hoe some weeds by the block wall, or put compost on the remaining beds.

We'll be starting up with planting peas and transplanting onions in mid-January, so Merry Christmas, and ENJOY DECEMBER!!

DE-STRESS IN THE GARDEN. . .

Thanks to the cooler temperatures, we're entering a new season in the garden: DE-STRESS SEASON...not to be confused with DISTRESS!!! With the beauties of Fall around us, the garden is the perfect place to come for relaxation and therapy of a different kind! Spending 30 minutes with the EARTH is very soothing, and helps provide a great atmosphere for thinking and sorting through "things."

The garden is the CHEAPEST THERAPY AROUND!!! Come enjoy this beautiful spot of ground and you'll come away with more than carrots, beets, broccoli and cauliflower!!

Things that need done:

1. Rake the tomatoes and leaves off the beds and put in trash cans

2. Put piles of compost on the empty tomato beds; rake out evenly

3. Weeds need hoed or shoveled (meaning use a hoe or a shovel to remove the weeds) throughout the walkways and around the perimeter of the garden.

4. See any obviously dead plants...pull them and toss in the trash cans.

Call Patrice if you have questions. 673-6733 or 632-6733 (area code 435)

FALL CROPS ARE GREAT!!

It's Fall in Dixie and there's all kinds of things to do in the garden!

The broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage are taking off like weeds!! We've thinned and transplanted, and still need to do more.

The tomatoes are putting on tons of GREEN fruit...we'll have plenty for fried green tomatoes, green tomato preserves, etc., etc!! I wonder if they make good brownies??? ^_^

The peanuts got soaked with all the rain the past several days, and started to mold. Hopefully we rescued them in time and they'll still roast well.

The fall planting of onions, beets, carrots and lettuce is doing really well. Come help pull some weeds, wheel some compost onto beds, or anything else to help and share in the fresh produce, too!!

Fall crops are GREAT!

Corn and green beans!! The BEST!!!

Cooling off?

THE CORN IS DELICIOUS!! And it's pretty amazing that our squash and zucchini is (or is it "are") STILL producing.

The little bit of cotton we planted as done beautifully...

The spider was rather fascinating, but I wasn't sure if it was poisonous, so I "disposed" of it, after I apologized to it. ^_^

We're starting to get the new watering lines in, slowly but surely. That will be great to have ready by next spring!

Jumping the gun. . .

From Garden 9-11-10

The broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage that was reseeded the first of the week is coming up BEAUTIFULLY! So, we learned a good lesson. DON'T PLANT FALL KOHL CROPS THE FIRST WEEK OF AUGUST... ^_^ oops!

We reseeded a bunch of onions too...hopefully they will do great now! Unbelieveably, the squash plants are still producing, but at a slower rate. The cooler weather is making for some beautiful peppers. We got some volunteer potatoes that we're going to let go and see how they do in the cooler weather.

If you're missing eating fresh tomatoes, you need to get over to the garden! Simply lift up all the green branches that are growing into the walkways and you'll find an abundance of tomatoes. Take the vines, put them on top of the plant in the bed, and that exposes the tomatoes underneath. PLEASE PICK AND ENJOY THEM!!!

GREAT corn growers!!

Everyone sure did a good job helping get this corn growing...and NOW look at how beautiful it is!!! I can almost TASTE the succulent sweet kernals already!!

Coming Along...

Thanks for all the help with the garden! It's Labor Day weekend and time to get your kohl crops in if you are going to. We will be replanting our broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage!! For some reason VERY little of it sprouted when we planted in August. Maybe we were jumping the gun a bit. So we live and learn!!

We will also be planting lettuce, onions, and beets and carrots...

Our squash is still producing a bit...miracles never cease!! And the okra is doing great, and the tomatoes are still producing. Our corn is all tasseled out, and the ears are forming with the silks coming on! The bees are extremely happy and going to work!! Corn pollen is sacred in the Navajo culture. And we feel grateful that our corn is doing so well!!

Rod and I are improving in our mobility, but still need all the help we can get!! Thanks!!

Garden life...

Look closely and you'll see some of the little creatures, and their life cycles, that inhabit our garden.


The large green & speckled horn worm in the background, seems to be watching as a baby horn worm is trapped and eaten by a garden spider.


There's are all kinds of cool things to see and do at the community garden. Don't miss out!! Some of the Scouts will be doing a project there on Wednesday. Then we will have a work party -- planting, weeding, and doing general maintenance things on Friday and Saturday (Sept. 10-11). Call if you'd like an assignment!! Thanks! 673-6733

"HELP - HELP" is right!!!

From Dad and Mom 8-2010

In case you didn't know, Rod had shoulder surgery (his OTHER shoulder!) on Tuesday, August 24th, and I had foot surgery on Thursday, August 26th. Therefore, the sign truly says it all. . . "HELP!!"

So, here's what we can use help with in the garden:

**Puncture burrs (weeds) need lots of ATTENTION!! The rain has really inspired them to grow! Please help me be a GOOD patient...and pull some weeds!


**The cantaloupe bed needs pulled and everything dumped in the trash cans. Please put the trash cans out on the street so the garbage collector will empty them.

**If you notice some of the corn stalks curling up, that area isn't getting enough water. Use the hose to give them an extra drink!

**PICK THE OKRA!!

**PICK TOMATOES!!

** PICK SQUASH!!

**PICK PEPPERS!!

Do anything else you can think of!

THANKS!!

From MOM'S SURGERY

Work day. . .

So we put compost around the corn, leveled out a couple tilled beds, pulled weeds, got rid of a lot of rocks, picked okra and cantaloupe, AND HAD FUN GETTING WHEELBARROW RIDES!! It was another great day at the garden!!

Even Josh Benson helps in the garden!

Yep, it's true! Josh managed to make his way (with a little help...) to the garden where he actually did a LITTLE rototilling...before being whisked back to his "sick bed!" THANKS, JOSH!!!

From Josh

August 9, 2010

YOUTH GROUP RETURNS!!!

These kids had so much fun last week, they opted to come finish the work they started!

The Armenian cucumber patch didn't stand a chance against these hard workers; neither did the weeds!!

Corn rows were hoed, beds tilled and raked, and then the planting began!! We put in broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, more beets and carrots, and another bed of green beans!!

Thanks, Kayla, for helping the kids experience some new things!!

YOUTH GROUP HELPS A TON!!

We had a youth group from the Volunteer Center in St. George come to the garden this morning. They were a HUGE help!! We pulled up 4 beds of zucchini and yellow squash, the watermelon bed that had TONS of bio-mass to dispose of, they helped cart compost to the newly emptied beds, spread it out, helped till the beds with the rototiller, raked them smooth, re-strung the perimeter lines, dug out rows, AND PLANTED green beans, onions, carrots and beets!! THANK-YOU SO MUCH KAYLA AND ALL THE KIDS INVOLVED!! (And thanks to the "regular gardeners" who came to help out, too!!)

Enjoy the slideshow!!

Waterlogged Garden!!

Amazing what can happen in a matter of a few minutes of pounding rain and ice!! But in JULY...in the DESERT?!?!? Unbelievable!!!

Rototiller Repair

HURRAY!! WE DID IT!!

Our rototiller engine replacement is paid for thanks to so many of you helping!!

From Tiller

Cost of Engine & Shipping: $306.00
DONATIONS THUS FAR:

MSN - $25
JMM - $20
VB - $20
KJS - $20
JHG - $20
KPA - $15
JTS - $20
MT - $10
BLP - $20
LDH - $15
VAS - $15
HJC - $10
KKB - $20
JKF - $13
RLB - $20
KJ&SS - $50 WOW!! Thanks for putting us over the top!! We'll use the $7 to help pay for Fall seed purchases!!


THANK YOU, EVERYONE!!

BLAST FROM THE PAST

Thought you might enjoy going down memory lane...

BOTTLED SALSA RECIPE

With the TONS of tomatoes we're growing, you might want a good bottled salsa recipe. Check out the RECIPES link (below right)...or click here SALSA!!

Many Hands Make Light Work - Planting Corn!

HOLY SMOKES!! Did we ever get a lot done first thing Thursday morning!! Check out the pictures!
We planted 6 beds of corn, dug a row of potatoes...
Went on a cucumber hunt and picked FOUR BUCKETS FULL!!
AND we didn't even make a dent in the tomatoes and peppers!!
THANKS TO ALL WHO CAME AND HELPED!! IT WAS FUN!!!

BLACK GOLD

What a BEAUTIFUL sight!!

From Garden 7-21-2010

From Garden 7-21-2010

Now that the rototiller is running like a dream, thanks to the Engine Doc (Rick Peirce), we have SIX beds ready to be planted with corn!!

From Garden 7-21-2010

Apparently a spider thinks our garden is the perfect place to spin a web. It was fun to watch for a few minutes!

From Garden 7-21-2010

And a few other pics...

From Garden 7-21-2010

From Garden 7-21-2010

From Garden 7-21-2010

TOMATO TREASURE HUNT

We definitely found lots of tomatoes this morning!! Along with a TON of cucumbers(not quite 2,000 pounds, but it sure seemed like it!!)Lots of tomatoes were taken home by garden helpers, but there was also a PILE of tomatoes left over!!

With the tomatoes Rod and I picked from OUR garden, and some from the community garden, plus peppers (bell, banana, anaheim, and serano) from the community garden, we produced TWENTY quarts of salsa without going to the store to purchase anything!! And there were STILL loads of tomatoes to bless the lives of "passers by" at our little corner of Santa Clara!!

Peppers Tonight...

The Pepper Bed is really doing well with this hotter weather!! There are TONS of peppers. If you haven't used any yet, don't miss out!! There are green and red bell peppers, banana peppers, Habanero peppers, Anaheim and Serano!! Some are mild, some are hot! I used some green bell, and a little (less than half!) of a Habanero, along with a banana pepper all chopped up and added to my "meat gravy over rice" main dish. It was DELICIOUS!!

Of course we had a bunch of steamed veggies, tomatoes and cucumbers to go along with the main dish. Ahhhh, the garden is a great thing!!

We have a garden, a lovely garden!!

BEAUTIFUL RESULTS!!

How can carrots be so vastly different one year to the next?! Last year we had MUTANT CARROTS...5 fingered gnarly things that looked like they belonged in a scary movie!! And this year the carrots have been absolutely BEAUTIFUL!! Maybe soil preparation has something to do with it, as well as thinning . . . and thinning some more!! Whatever did it, we love our carrots!!

From Garden 7-1-2010

This morning we picked an entire BUCKET FULL of Muncher Cruncher cucumbers! And that was after picking a bunch two days ago!! It must be all that loving care the judge has showered on his bed!!

From Garden 7-1-2010

And, of course, the squash, zucchini, and onions continue to do VERY well!!

From Garden 7-1-2010

Growing In Dixie...It's A Wonderful THing!!

We did some good weed eradication and the garden is still looking very nice. THANK-YOU TO EVERYONE who comes and puts in a little time at the garden. It doesn't take much effort when everyone pitches in a little! HOORAY!!

Good-Bye Peas. . .

How can we have so many beautiful days in Dixie?!?! What a perfect time to be out in the garden. Once again we fortified our ranks against the weeds. The good guys are still winning!! However, the Peas have fulfilled the measure of their creation and are about ready to give up the ghost. Sooooo, we pulled all the plants in Bed 1 and stripped all the peas off. I have a BUNCH at my house that I'm distributing. If you want some, PLEASE call me!

Here are the pics from our morning's work. THANKS FOR THE HELP!!

May 1, 2010

April 21, 2010

Thanks to everyone's help, our garden is thriving!!

Everything's Planted...Almost!

Saturday - April 10, 2010

SURE GOT A LOT DONE!! Planted okra and kohlrabi, weeded, aerated, bermed, trimmed, watered, and more!!

Here are some of the pictures!!

April 8, 2010

Our garden is alive and well!!

Sunshine in Dixie

March 27, 2010


With the help of MANY volunteers we got a lot done on Saturday! We even had a family drive down from CEDAR CITY to spend some time in the warm sun, digging in the dirt! Thanks for coming, Fawson family!

Here's what we got planted:

4 beds of tomato plants (Solar Master, Star Fire, Phoenix, Amelia and Roma!)
From Community Garden 3-27-2010









1 bed of bell peppers, anaheims, and jalapeno
From Community Garden 3-27-2010

2 beds of cucumbers (Amenian and Muncher)

1 bed of striped watermelon

1 bed of yellow squash

1 bed of Banana squash

Harvested 1 bed of broccoli and cauliflower
From Community Garden 3-27-2010

Repaired all the hoses and connections. Great work, guys!!
From Community Garden 3-27-2010
Everyone did an amazing job. The girls from the LDS 7th Ward did a wonderful job of planting, weeding, and helping out! (Truly! They were just "resting" here...)

From Community Garden 3-27-2010

Nice way to get a good tan, too!!

March 13, 2010

Another great morning in the garden! Lots of fun people showed up to help in the garden. . .





. . . AND with the brush clean up in the gully.




Some of the kids discovered that broccoli tastes great fresh out of the garden!!. . .

From Garden 3-13-2010

Our benches got a beautiful "facelift" from Rick Peirce!

From Garden 3-13-2010

GET READY FOR MARCH 27th. . . 9:00!!

We will be putting in all of our PLANTS!! TOMATOES, PEPPERS, ZUCCHINI, etc!!

COME JOIN THE FUN!!

March 6, 2010

WHAT A GREAT GROUP!!


In spite of a little mis-communication, we managed to accommodate nearly 40 volunteers! The garden has never looked SO good! And the gully got a nice facelift, too! Thanks, everyone, for all of your help!

By the way, our broccoli is doing very well and tastes better than anything you can buy in the store. We picked the first head of cauliflower, and it was big and beautiful.
The lucky family I gave it to will have to give us a report!


Our lettuce, carrots, and beets are all coming up and look great!
The Swiss Chard accidentally got "re-dug" (forgot we had already planted that bed! Oops!!)
Still waiting (it's been a whole 2 weeks!)for the potatoes to pop up...
and we start REALLY planting in a couple more weeks.


Now, if we could just get our signs to not fold in half when the wind blows really hard!!

In Spite of the Rain

February 27, 2010

A few dedicated souls showed up to show the weeds who's boss!! Nice work!!

February 20, 2010

What a difference one week makes! Last week the sun was shining and sunblock was advisable. Today, we endured wind, rain, (not so much sleet or hail!) and no sunshine as we worked. But we all still had fun, got lots done, AND learned some new stuff!

We planted red potatoes, and a few russets. We got weeds dug up before they could think about becoming a REAL weed. Beds got numbered...and then we drove down to the gully!





We worked hard stacking all kinds of junk lumber that someone dumped in the gully. We found nails, unintentionally! We found rats, unintentionally!! (If you look closely in two of the pictures you'll see them!) And when we were all done the kids even got short rides on some of the horses! Another great day together!

SEED POTATOES!

Seed potatoes are finally in at Kirklands!!  We got 10lbs. today and will be planting on Saturday!  We're going to learn all kinds of good things with this potato patch!! 
  We'll be doing potato planting, a little more weed maintenance and then we're going down to the gully to do some "firewood" stacking by the river bed so the fire department can burn it and clean out the marsh that used to be a creek.  Should be loads of fun.  Just hope the rain holds off until noon.  We'll see!!

If you want to come help with anything, be at the garden at 9:00 a.m. this Saturday (Feb. 20th)!!  Work gloves, work clothes, and a water bottle would be good things to bring!

Early Spring Planting

Everyone knows our peas are coming up beautifully! Should I say it again?!?!  They are BEAUTIFUL!  Now, with all the help we had on Saturday, here's what we got planted:

Transplanted all the onion sets that had grown from the seed we planted last fall.  We had enough to plant 8 fifty foot rows...or 400 ft of onions!  NICE!!

Planted 200 ft. of Detroit Red beets; 200 feet Romaine lettuce and Buttercrunch lettuce; 200 ft. of Rhubarb Swiss Chard; and 200 ft of Danvers carrots.

We're anxious for the seed potatoes to come in so they can get going before it heats up too much.

The end of March/first of April we'll plant 4 beds of tomatoes, 1 bed of bell peppers and chili peppers, okra, zucchini, yellow squash and cucumbers!

So, things to do...but a little here and a little there is all it really takes!

THANKS FOR THE HELP!!

February 13, 2010

WHAT A GREAT DAY!!! Couldn't have asked for better weather, and sure had fun meeting new people. The garden is looking great, thanks to everyone's help!! We now have onions planted in two beds, beets, lettuce, and carrots, all ready to start growing in the beautiful soil!





Check back next week for more pictures and information.

Too Early To Plant . . . NO WAY!

"Houston, we have 'lift off!'"  or in other words . . . the peas are popping their little green heads up EVERYWHERE in the two beds that were planted.  What a beautiful sight!!

By the way, if you haven't heard, Disney is giving away 1 million free tickets to Disneyland.  Click on the following link for more info.:  http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/disneyparks/en_US/WhatWillYouCelebrate/index?name=Give-A-Day-Get-A-Disney-Day

  
We are planting and working in the garden this Saturday (Feb. 13th) at 9:00 a.m.  Come join the fun!

PEAS, GLORIOUS PEAS!

Today we got all of the peas planted! We have 1/3 of one bed in Wando Peas. The other 2/3 of that bed is Snow Peas. Then we have one full bed in Sweet Marvel Peas. We got them in, just in time to let nature do the watering! Let's cross our fingers and hope they don't float away!! Thanks for the help planting, ladies!

What a GREAT day!

Thanks for the help, everyone!! All the beds have compost on them, four of the beds are tilled, ready to plant peas on Monday... Given the rain that's supposed to be coming next week, this is perfect timing for planting!!

By the way, bed adoptions are coming up, so if you want to take care of a bed, please let me or Devon know!

Thanks!!

Patrice

HAPPY NEW YEAR OF GARDENING!!

Here it is January 2010 and it's time to start working in the garden again! Wahoo!!
















Thanks to Steve Condie for hauling our "black gold!!"


And thanks to our 11 year old scouts, and their leaders, for starting the work of putting compost on all of the beds!!

Within the next two weeks we will be tilling all the compost into the beds, and then planting peas, beets, and lettuce, just for starters!

Now is a great time to get your home gardens de-junked and tuned up for the growing season!

HOW THE GARDEN WORKS

This is a community work in progress. Using technology to manage our time well, we will be contacting people via email to delegate responsibilities. e.g., "The Jones Family" wants to help in the garden but has limited time and no financial resources. No problem! The Jones Family would send an email to garden@infowest.com telling of their interest to help and what they might be interested in doing. (Please include a phone number in case we need to call...unless you know that I know your number.)

If you have "adopted" a bed, your responsibilities for that bed include: weeding, planting, rock removal, pest control (as needed or suggested by garden supervisor), and harvesting. One hour a week, caring for your bed, should be sufficient.


Even if someone doesn't have a bed of their "own", everyone is welcome to come help. There is ALWAYS something to do. Bring a rake, or hoe, or shovel, or bucket, and come join the fun!


What we harvest will be divided among those who help. If there is surplus, we will share that with those in need in our area.

If you have already contacted me regarding wanting to help, no need to do so again. If you haven't, be sure to drop me a note. Patrice