Our Work is Paying Off

It was a lot of work at the beginning to plant, to lay down tons of cardboard and mulch, but all that work is paying off! The garden is beautiful this year. I was working last night tying up tomatoes to stakes and looked around an almost weed-free garden. I almost cried when I saw the squash and other vines looking so pretty in the middle of the patch, blooming and putting forth fruit. The grapes vines are covered with grapes this year. The herbs are overflowing their containers and the corn is already tasseling. Broccoli is coming along nicely and the cabbage plants are beautiful. I think all the potatoes we planted this year will feed the whole neighborhood. Everywhere I look, there is a potato coming up.



The strawberries are done except for an occasional berry tucked under the leaves. But, I picked green beans, squash and an onion to cook for supper. Thanks to the dedication and all the hard work from our gardeners, this year is the best garden ever. And thanks to God for all the rain we have had this year so far. We have not had to spend a day watering the plants like last year at this time. Gardening is enjoyable and rewarding when the harvest starts coming in.

SPRING GARDENING

Big dark clouds didn’t stop our dedicated gardeners. They trickled in one by one, no one empty handed. Some brought cardboard and kneeling pads, others brought plants and fertilizer. Within a few minutes of our starting time everyone was there and eager to get to work. We dug trenches, cut and laid cardboard, covered the cardboard with straw, weeded the raised beds, and planted over one hundred broccoli, Brussels sprout and cabbage plants. In less than two hours, we were done. Everything was cleaned up, put away and our gardeners left one by one. Again, no one was empty handed. We left with bags full of parsley, rhubarb, thyme and chives.

But most importantly, we left with feelings of accomplishment, hope and excitement for what this gardening season holds.

Chives in blossom.

Sweet corn popping through the soil.

Below is a recipe recommended by Dianna for the rhubarb in the garden.

Rhubarb Meringue Squares

Crust
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling
3 cups fresh rhubarb
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Topping
2 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flaked coconut

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 8x8-inch square baking pan.

Crust: Beat butter and sugar in a bowl until smooth;beat in egg and vanilla. Sift flour, baking powder and salt and mix into butter/sugar mixture until a stiff dough forms; press into bottom and 1/2-inch up sides of prepared pan. Bake until firm, about 15 minutes.
Filling: While crust is baking, in a saucepan over medium heat, mix rhubarb, sugar cinnamon and 2 tbsp water. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and cook until rhubarb is soft, about 10 minutes. In a cup mix 2 tbsp of water with cornstarch, add to saucepan, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens. Spread over baked crust.
Topping: In a medium bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually beat in sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over rhubarb layer. Sprinkle with coconut. Bake 10 minutes or until meringue is golden brown. Cool completely. Cut into squares.

The Frost is Over!

Even the little ones enjoy planting!

We had to put off planting the rest of the garden this past weekend since the last frost of the season was last night! Now we can get the tomatoes, peppers cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower in. Not much else to report on the garden except that I think it will be our best ever! Thanks so much to all who have put in time and energy into making this season a success.

The Garden is Almost In!

Teaching the next generation how to plant potatoes.

We have spent the last week putting in all the seeds. There was no reason to think that it would really frost another time when the weather has been so warm and nice. But it is suppose to dip below freezing Saturday and Sunday so we held off on planting the tender plants like tomatoes and peppers and some flowers.

The garden before planting. Thanks to Jay and Dave it looks great.

The good news is that we got the potatoes, squash, melon, corn, and beans planted so that when the weather turns warmer next week they will grow quickly. Planting wasn't just a matter of putting seeds into the ground. No, no, no. It was laying out boxes around the plantings and then piling on straw and compost to hold the boxes down and give the weeds no room to grow at all. That is why it took just a little longer to plant the garden this year, but we hope that it will save many hours in pulling weeds later. Even though we have worked hard, it has been good to spend time talking and getting to know each other.

The strawberry patch with flowers already coming on.

Apple trees in blossom.

The Garden is Growing!

Asparagus pushing up thru the ground.

The main part of garden is plowed up and looking good, ready for planting thanks to our friend Farmer Dave Reed. Yesterday we had a chance to plant sweet potatoes, melons, and squash. Since there isn't a chance of frost anymore, the next thing to do is spend a day planting all the vegetables and cover every inch of ground with straw or leaves before the weeds start growing. Right now it is perfect planting weather and the ground is perfect to plant in too.

Rhubarb ready for picking.

Everything we planted last week is coming up right on schedule. I love to visit the garden to see all the new sprouts! Every time I go to the garden it looks different. The asparagus bed is producing this year but we have to wait one more season before we can sample to goods. Several people picked the rhubarb yesterday. It looks like it's going to be a good year for the garden this year.

The sweet potato patch planted by a very sweet lady.

Working Together to Build Community
(and Grow a Garden in the Process)

Yesterday didn't start off as such a nice day to be outside, but it ended up being a perfect day to build a garden plot as well as to grow a community of people. We were just strangers to each other just a month ago. Where else could you get a high school student, a couple of grandmothers, a mother of 4, and kids of all ages together and have fun on a rainy day? Well, it's at the SouthPaw Unity Garden where we tend relationships as well as plants.

As far as the garden is concerned, we made a bed for red raspberries, repurposed old tires into planters for flowers, planted Brussels sprouts, and uncovered the strawberry bed to find more than just strawberry plants! We found a nest of new-born bunnies. How cute they were. Well, we have to think about what they will be like when they grow up and want to eat all of our lettuce and cabbage in the garden. It's a dilemma about what to do with them. We left them for now and hoped their mother would move them outside the garden. What would you do with them?

We are still waiting for a couple of dry days so Farmer Dave can plow our main garden plot. We are getting anxious to plant the rest of the garden. It's kind of funny the way we think. We pray for dry weather now and pray for rain in July. We are never satisfied are we? It's a life of faith. A person must put their trust in the One who made the universe and who orders all things. It is an exciting life but a life where we are not the ones in control.

More Spring Cleaning!

Rhubarb coming up nicely.

What a lovely afternoon spent with new friends cleaning up the Unity Garden at The Oaks. I want to thank all the people who helped today. Welcome to Lisa, Patience, Christian, Olivia and Dad as our first-time gardeners. We hope to see more of you throughout the summer.

As the smaller kids made forts in the woods and played in the stream, the rest of us finished spring cleaning the garden. We filled the new raised bed, planted it with onions and kale, spread TONS of bark chips on walkway areas, pulled weeds and generally had a great time getting to know each other. The seeds we planted last week are coming up nicely as well as the rhubarb and some asparagus! It's so fun to see new life springing forth. God has been good to us in that every Sunday afternoon this month has been sunny and warm enough to work. We are just waiting for the ground to dry enough to get it tilled, but all in good time. We can't wait to get the rest of the garden planted but we'll have to wait for the frost to stop.

The gardeners after an afternoon of work.