Monday, August 22, 2011

Many hands make light work!

Sunday night was a great night in the garden.   We had a great turn out for the potluck and then moved out to the garden to harvest and plant.  The green beans are finally producing and looks like there will be more over the next weeks.  Barb picked some tomatoes that were as big as two fists.  ( Ok I have little hands, but they were huge)  The rabbits are attacking the cabbage so out came the rest of them!  Bruce was able to make fast work of the planting and put in spinach, lettuce and swiss chard.  The beets we planted last Wednesday are already popping through the ground!

John Kopal continues perfecting his rain barrel project.  We have adjusted the sprinklers and added some more posts. Hopefully we will have better coverage and be able to give the beans a much needed drink!

Come join us on Wednesday night at 7.  We will be planting  the last of our fall plantings and probably harvesting a few acorn squash in addition to tomatoes. 

And last but not least  a big thanks to Tim Goldman who took time out from Faith and Grace Garden(sorry Mark!) to come work with us.

Look for us on Facebook @ Urban Harvest.  There are several but we are the only one in Urbandale!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Potluck on Sunday !

The Urban Harvest Potluck is this Sunday, August 21,
at Urban Heights Covenant Church at 6:00pm.
Meat, drink, and table service will be provided. 
Please bring 1-2 dishes to share depending on the size of your family.
Then after you’ve eaten, plan to help in the garden with the weeding
or picking of fresh produce (unless it is too wet).
If you are unable to work in the garden, still feel free
to come to the potluck and enjoy watching the garden grow.
Contact: 515-278-1371

You are welcome to come and weed in the garden at anytime
that it fits in your schedule but if you’d like to work together
with others come every Wednesday evening at around 7:00pm.
Hopefully, fall planting will be done this week.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

I Spy Tomatoes!

Last Wednesday night we played "I Spy" in the garden.  Savannah and Avery found tomatoes,zucchini and potatoes.  They were amazed to discover that potatoes grow underground in the dirt! 

This week we plan to plant fall crops. The seed should be here in the next day or so I hope! We are planting more of the fantastic salad bowl mixed greens, beets, Swiss chard and spinach.  The ground is pretty well ready after the Moving On Up kids cleared the old crop off.

Join us Sunday afternoon at 6 for a little more harvesting and Wednesday night at 7 to begin planting.  Come check out the rain barrel project that is underway to provide supplemental water.

We now have a Facebook  fan page were you can check for garden updates too!  There are other Urban Harvest's in facebook world so be sure to join the one with the correct address. We are hoping to get pictures uploaded today.  The beauty of a fan page is that you can check it even if you don't have your own account.  Check us out!

Questions? Call Beth at 314-2114

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

This and That

Back to the garden and the blog after surgery for a torn rotar cuff!  I picked beets with my left hand and all is well.  In the mean time a wonderful group of volunteers  kept things looking great.

This week the garden hosted students transitioning to the middle school.  They tore out the old,worn out peas and our lettuce that produced an incredible 5 crops before bolting in the heat last week.

The food pantry has been supplied with beets,spinach,onions,cucumbers,zuchini,and some acorn squash. We also have started picking tomatoes and by  the looks of things will have enough to keep the pantry well supplied.

Come check out the sweet potatoes.  These little tiny slips have grown into big,beautiful vines.  The women of the Congolese fellowship group which meets at Urban Heights has been picking small quantities of the leaves for a wonderful taste of home!

John Kopal will begin this week in his Eagle project. His rain barrel project will bring supplemental water to the garden.(Wednesday and Thursday evening)

Garden T-Shirts will be available soon.  The shirt will feature the garden logo on the front and a list of the friends of the garden on the back. Cost will be between $10-12. If you would like a shirt call the office at 278-1371.

Harvesting continues on Wednesdays and Sundays weather permitting.  Weeders welcome anytime.Questions ? Call Beth at 314-2114