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.