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!!