Spinach, Please!

The other day my four-year old asked me to make sure his pasta had spinach in it and not meat. A momentary payoff for all my gardening! My goal for the past several years has been to grow spinach the size of palm fronds. Not literally, but big enough to fan yourself with on a hot day. Well, we have succeeded. We planted it in February, in April it appeared to freeze (it all looked like glass plants from Munchkin Land in the Wizard of Oz), and then it survived and thrived. The last couple years we have fought leaf miners, so this year I ordered a bolt of tulle from walmart.com for under $25 and created a floating row cover. We covered 250 square feet of spinach. Of course the little flies still found their way in, but I think we cut the problem by 85%. (There is a math problem in there I'm sure). Now with all this spinach we had to invent recipes. First, blanche and freeze for future lasagna and quiche (I make my quiche  ala Florentine AND Lorraine. I see no point in leaving out ham/bacon or spinach. They need each other). We also made Gateau de Crepes ala Florentine (a laborious effort  that required dancing to the oldies while using the crepe maker as a microphone) and Bee Bim Bop. Of course fresh spinach is delightful too. And for the grubby leaves: Chickens enjoy "meat" with their spinach salad.

Ladybugs & Rain

Season's Bounty: Ladybugs, Salad Greens and Rain. If April showers bring May flowers, what do we get from May showers? Apparently we get mud, weeds, radishes, salad greens, happy ladybugs, and behind-schedule peppers, squash, tomatoes, beans and cucumbers. And we're hoping for a lower water bill plus copious potatoes, sweet potatoes, kale, onions, garlic and strawberries.

Love for Gardening

Fighting weeds starts in February!

Spinach and Chicken Gnocchi soup (garden spinach, onions, garlic, carrots) http://www.cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com/olive-garden-chicken-and-gnocchi-soup-copycat/

Valentine's found a few of us tilling and planting. We love gardening for various reasons. Mine is twofold: I like digging in to the soil and I like digging in to home cooked food.

The Beet Grows On

Whether the weather or the leaf blanket, this leafy green "beets" all in its comfy bed! Planted last September, our beets, arugula, spinach, collard greens, kale, carrots and parsnips are enjoying the mild winter and cozy leaf cover. Last year began a tradition of digging carrots on the last Saturday in January. This past Saturday morning we had a dozen helpers of all ages "digging the beet" (and carrots), "flipping" over leaves, and attempting Yoda-speak when asked if they like kale: "Like kale I do." If you don't catch my puns, that's okay, they're rather corny:) Sonny and Cher ( pronounced "Sunny and Share")may not be your taste (or you've never heard of them?!), so maybe you'll appreciate this spin off of Charli XCX: "Beans snap! The artichoke heart. The Beet grows on and on and on an onion. Cukes snap! They're tasty and good. Come join CG! Come join CG now! Peas snap! The celery heart. The Leek grows on and on and on an onion..."

Somehow I doubt Weird Al will "gopher" this rendition (and yes, we have a new gopher friend).

2014 Season Wrap-Up

With winter officially here and a moment of "free" time, I can finally share an update.

Thank you to the Lowell Bennion University of Utah Day of Service!

Thank you to the Utah.gov United Way Day of Caring!

BEFORE 150 hours of help from 50+ volunteers

AFTER

Annual Fall Fest Potluck



A Smorgasbord of Color & Flavor



Craft for Kids at Fall Fest

Two-thirds of our gardeners showing off some of the harvest

 

We harvested over 3,100 pounds of food, put in over 1,600 hours of our time, and harvested every month of the year.

The Key to Happiness

 A couple months ago, my second son lost our spare house key. We searched in the area where he heard it drop, but no luck. Then recently my third son pulled it out of a bag of compost while we were gardening at our school garden. Of course I couldn't pass up the symbolism. The key to our home was hidden in a bag of old life that had been turned into nutrients for new life. And we only found the key because we chose to add those nutrients to the garden together. I just heard today of a study saying that vegetables not only help your physical health, but your emotional health. To that finding I add my own observation: tilling, planting, watering, weeding, harvesting, cooking and eating our food together builds a foundation for happiness. The key? Using our past--the good and bad--to nourish a healthy today.

 Purple beans from the Children's Garden! Can you spot the hummingbird in our Texas Hummingbird Sage?

A variety of peppers, squash and tomatoes. We are also harvesting corn, melons, cucumbers, herbs, eggplant and more.

Still Growing Strong!

Work began whole hog in mid February and we are still going strong. Here are some recent pictures, including our 2nd annual Pioneer Party, held July 21st

Over 60 guests enjoyed this free event. Fiddle music, by one of our young gardeners, set the perfect tone for the evening. People of all ages enjoyed a variety of activities. We churned butter and sampled it on bread donated by Fiana Bistro. Local volunteers taught how to spin wool, make yarn dolls and save heirloom seeds. We played the clothespin drop and stick wrestling. To top it off we ate hand-churned ice cream, old-fashioned candy and watermelon donated by Smiths and a local candy maker. Of course we included the event that sparked this tradition: planting our pioneer crop. Why? In memory of the Mormon Pioneers who entered Utah in July of 1847, we plant near that date to see if we would have had food to eat, were we in their shoes (for those who still had them--and some eventually had to eat those too!)
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