Family Home weeding and share the harvest taster's delight

We are in the crucial maintenance portion of the gardening season. Everything is up and growing nicely, including the weeds. We are pleased to say that we have reached the fifty person participation level. We must not let up now. When you are coasting you are going downhill.

Some one suggested that it would be a wonderful thing if every family dedicated one family home evening a month to helping in the ward garden. It has even been suggested that we call this the monthly family home weeding. What a wonderful way to teach service and enjoy the fruits of your labors. This garden is a special garden. It is the Lord's garden. It is the ward's garden. It is your garden. We have already heard faith promoting stories from those who have contributing in any of a number of ways. Some great friendships have been made. It is exciting to see nature unfold from a weedy patch, to a scruffy dirt pile, to faithfully putting in seeds, watching them emerge and grow under your watchful care.

Families, farmers, couples, young men and women and others have given of their time and resources. Due to Brother Hebdon's travel and work schedule we have asked the Derricott's to coordinate the Family Home weeding project. Let them know which Mondays you would like to assist and they can make sure that we have even coverage and also let you know what tasks are needed that week.

And the best is yet to come. Wait until the Relief Society gets involved and shares with us how to process, serve and store our harvest. It has been suggested that we consider a Taster's Delight, and Share the Harvest event at the end of the season and invite individuals to pot luck with the rest of us their favorite dishes using the ward garden produce. Think of it!! corn on the corn, mashed, fried, and baked spuds, green bean casserole, stuffed peppers, chili, salsa, pickles, baked squash. and the recipes are almost limitless.. If the weather is good, the Gills would love to host such a gala event. We would probably want to have an indoor or covered back up. I get goose bumps thinking about the potential good that can come from this project.

If the produce continues as we hope it well, we will need to make sure that we get the produce to those who can use it. Home teachers and visiting teachers could surely share with those that they teach. There can be processing parties where the Relief Society helps "put up" the stuff we grow. All those who work should put up some produce to remember long after the season is over what it was all about. Feel free to suggest anyone in need who could benefit from our produce.
I am thinking we may need a special committee to help with the distribution. I would like to see if we could have representatives from the Bishopric and Relief Society and other auxiliaries help us with this.

If you haven't seen the garden yet, get out this week and see it. There are two sites. One is next to Lyman Jensen's home and has pole beans, cucumbers, squash, onions, potatoes, corn, peppers, tomatoes and onions. The other is a corn patch behind Chris Bailey's home.

Extra plants available...

Molly Maughan has about 40 or more tomato plants and about 35 green pepper plants for anyone who would like to have them. They can call Molly or comment on this post and I will let her know. Thanks for your help.

Garden Update June 20, 2009

Undaunted by predicted rain later I the after noon, a few brave souls took to the garden to get work done before the storm.
Chris Bailey’s plot now has all the corn planted. There has also been roto tilling between the rows.
On Lyman’s plot, the remaining corn has been planted and the corn that was up has been side dressed with nitrogen and some within row weeding has begun. The pole beans and cucumbers have been hand weeded and the peppers and squash have been weeded and fertilizer worked in around the plants.
Byron Rawlins will fertilize the pole beans and cucumbers this week. Alan Ohweiler will instruct us on weeding, hilling and fertilizing the onions. The potatoes are flourishing, and Steve Woolfe will let us know if we need to begin hilling the plants up.
Brother Faucette feels the tomatoes have enough nutrients on board from planting to last another couple of weeks. He will let us know when and what to use when it comes time to fertilize again.
The corn that is growing in Chris Bailey’s place needs side dressing and within row weeding. The Wengreens have learned the system and can be used as resources. It is recommended that the YM/YW take on this responsibility and try to get this assignment done this week. It should be able to be done in an hour or so if there are six or more workers.
Brother Gill will try to roto till Lyman’s site later this week. Brother Hebdon and others are keeping on top of things at Chris Bailey’s place.
The Derricotts will be maintaining the weeding of the squash patch. Please join in for weeding and maintenance, as we want this project to represent the ward and the Lord. Again contact Brother Hebdon or scheduling
Thanks for all you do, Noel