What's Happening In the Garden

Kaci Picked a bunch of Radishes

Peas need trellises

Water is flowing well

Digging the weeds in the squash rows. 

A great crew!!!  We made short work of digging the weeds in the squash beds.

A spinach salad that Traci made from the spinach we grew in the garden! 
It's already paying off!

More Sprouts!! (some good, some...not so good)

Bermuda Grass---not good

Corn!---Good!!!!

I went out and looked over the garden today.  It's kind of fun to leave for a few days and then get to see how things change when you come back.  There are corn sprouts already!  I am pleasantly surprised by that.  Really didn't expect to see any corn for another week of so.  But, these nice warm days have really warmed the soil and jump started our seeds!
But... The warm weather and moisture has also jump started the bermuda grass.  There is a lot of grass coming up.  Of course we have been expecting this, and the mutual consensus has been that we need to get ahead of it ASAP.  The grass doesn't have much of a root system right now, which makes it especially easy to pull out of the ground.  But, if we wait more than a few days to start pulling, it will send out roots and make our work a lot harder.  So, this Saturday we need to have a major weeding party.  Please bring your kids and shovels and whatever other tools you may have for pulling up bermuda grass.   I have talked before about what kind of work it will be during this first year of establishing a garden.  This is one of those times when we will get to find out.  Of course, with the numbers of people that are coming out to help, the work will go a lot faster and be far less of a burden on everyone.  So please spread the word, bring your buckets and tools, and get ready to pull some grass! 

Also, those of you who have said that you are able to come out on the weekdays, but not on Saturdays, please feel free to come out and work.  There is plenty of grass to get rid of right now.  Just pick a row and start working your way down it. 

Water!!

I think the biggerst question that I've heard about the garden project is, "where's the water?'  Well...here it is!   

The Planting Continues!

For the past 2 evenings a few of our fellow gardeners and myself have been planting.  So far we have planted 100' of peas, 400' of beets, 400' of carrots,  100' of radishes and 350' of beans!
There will be a planting party this Saturday at 8:00am.  Also, a compost bin will be going up.  Almost all of the seed will be in the ground Saturday. 

We are waiting another week to plant the tomatoes and other vegetables that are already started.  I need everyone to start saving their empty milk jugs.  We need them to cover the tomato plants for a few weeks after they are transplanted.  The jugs act like mini-greenhouses and help to get the tomatoes off to a good start.  We will need about 200 jugs, so drink lots of milk! 

On the 19th we will plan on putting stakes in the ground to support the tomato plants.  We will also be building trellis for the peas. 

With spring coming on, we will be mowing our lawns again.  Please start bagging your grass clippings for the garden.  We will be needing clippings for compost, and also to use as mulch around the tomatoes and squash plants.  Mulch helps to prevent weeds, and keeps the much needed moisture in the ground. 

Thanks again to everyone for all of their hard work!  This project is really starting to take shape. 

Farmer Jennifer

Jennifer driving the tractor while Joe Zerkle and I act as "Counterweights" on the furrower.

Some of the new furrows ready for planting.

After all of the hard work that Jennifer Fiso put in with a rake and shovel, I thought it was about time for her to see how much fun it can be to let the tractor do all of the work. 

Starting to see the "Fruits of our Labors!"

This is not bermuda grass!  These are CARROTS!

PEAS!

One of our new onion sprouts!

I went over to the garden today to see how things were looking and this is what I found!!!  It's not much, but everything starts out small. 

The Shade Awning Completed

Tomatoes Sprouting

Waiting To Be Planted. 
I Can't Wait To See Them When They Are 6 Ft. Tall!

Almost Ready to Plant!!!

It's been too long since I have posted anything on here.  Garden project is coming along nicely.  The top half of the garden is ready to plant.  I finished tilling and furrowing the bottom half a week ago.  We need to rake the lower half and continue picking grass out of the entire garden.  I know this sounds like a daunting task considering the size of the garden plot, but with the number of people that we have had coming out to help, the work becomes a whole lot easier. 

The rain has obviously been an huge blessing.  I was thinking about how nice it would be to have seeds in the ground with all of this rain.  But, by keeping us from planting, we have also not lost any plants from frost. 

We will have water coming on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  With the rain, we won't be needing water for another week or so.  But the water will be there when we need it. 

The garden seeder has arrived, so planting will be a breeze!  Here is what we have for plants at this point...
Tomatoes!!!!! Lots and lots of tomatoes!   We have approx. 200 plants.  I got a deal on some from the nursery.  Also Stephanie Vogel and I have a bunch of tomatoes sprouted at home.  There are a number of varieties as well.  We have anything from Beefsteaks to Romas to Cherry tomatoes.
We also have...
Beans
Beets
Carrots
Corn
Cucumbers-pickling and slicing varieties
Garlic
Melons-Sugar Baby, Cantlelope, Tiger Melons, and Vine Peach
Onions-red and yellow
Peas-Sugar Snap
Peppers-Annaheim, Jalapeno, Habanero, and others
Radishes
Squash-Zucchini,Yellow, Butternut, Acorn, Spaghetti, Hubbard, and Pink Banana.
Tomatillos
Turnips,
and Potatoes

The First Planting Project!

We had a nice group of people show up this morning to work on the project.  We were able to dig some trenches, lay out rows and get some seeds in the ground.  Today we planted carrots, onions, garlic, beets, peas, and spinach. 

Working the Ground

Well, this afternoon we got a few people together and got the garden plot all tilled and ready to start working by hand!  It's looking really good. 

We also set a bunch of gopher traps.  So hopefully they won't be an issue when when the veggies start coming up. 

I picked up a variety of seed in St George today.  Tomorrow I would like to mark off a section of the garden to plant.  We will need to pull all of the grass clumps out, dig some ditches and make our rows for planting.  Because of the size of the plot, it is impractical to try and plant at once.  Also it's too early for some of the above ground plants.  By working in smaller sections over the next few weeks, we can get all of the grass clumps out, the furrows dug, and the planting done in a more manageable manner. 

Hope to see you all tomorrow.  This project is getting really exciting! 

Plowing

Just wanted to let everyone know that the garden plot was plowed on Monday!  Looking forward to getting it ready for planting on Saturday.  There will be a lot to do, so be sure to bring shovels and rakes. 

Composting

Here is an article about how to compost and the importance of it.  One of the first orders of business as we get this project started is to build a compost bin to handle grass clippings, leaves, old news paper etc. 
http://communitygarden.org/docs/learn/articles/how_to_compost.pdf

This is what the potential of our garden has!

Our Future Garden Site