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

Join us in the Garden!

 Just a brief update on the garden potlucks.  More news of what's growing to come soon!

The dates for the Urban Harvest Potlucks are being switched from Friday evenings to Sunday evenings.  In doing so, we can pick produce on Sundays and have it at the Urbandale Food Pantry by Monday mornings…much fresher than doing it on Friday nights. 

The first time change will be this week—the Urban Harvest Potluck will be on Sunday, July 24 with work in the garden starting at 4:00pm and the meal to be served 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.    Next potluck dates will be Sundays, August 7^th and 21^st.

Again, this potluck is open to everyone so please pass this message on to other garden lovers that may not be on thie email list or afollower of the blog.  

Contact: 515-278-1371 for more information

Wild and Woolly Weather!

Wild and Woolly weather kept us out of the garden last night.  No not here but the wild weather that kept me sitting on the tarmac in the middle of nowhere Texas while a storm blew through Dallas.  We will plan again on tonight at 6:30.  Please bring a hoe or trowel if you have one.

Remember to mark you calendar for the first garden open house on Friday, May 27.  Potluck at 6 if you would like join us!

Eat your peas and Carrots PLEASE!

Last night we plannted 300 ft of carrots and 200 feet of collard greens.  Seems like a lot!  Hope that they grow.  I will definately be looking up some recipes!

 Rain is predicted for late Thursday , Friday and into Saturday morning.  We will plan to plant again on Monday night at 6:30.  Hope you can join us.

Mark your calendar for our potluck/open house, May 27 at 6 pm.

Parsley ,Sage,Rosemary and Thyme....

.............And chives and stevia and few more herbs.  The herb bed is full of wonderful smelling herbs.  I love cooking with fresh herbs and have dried dill before to use all winter. The chives are starting to bloom  so I thought I would include a recipe for chive blossom vinegar

                                                     Chive Blossom Vinegar

2 cups white vinegar
2 cups fresh packed chive blossoms

Bring vinegar just to boil, but do not boil. Pour over chive blossoms. Let stand in crock or large glass bowl or bottle in cool, dark place one week.

Strain vinegar, discard blossoms.

Transfer to bottles and add sprig of fresh chive blossom to each bottle.

© Copyright 2004-2011 Gifts From Your Kitchen

Tomorrow night we will focus on squash,cucumbers and zucchini.  Work will begin at 6:30.

Rain,Rain go AWAY!

I know I talked about how garden perfection could be attained if it would just rain but maybe I should have clarified that a little more.  A garden perfection type of rain would have been a nice gentle shower of about an inch-not days of rain that include near freezing temperatures again tonight.  Ah the life of farmer!

Saturday we worked with volunteers from Troop 98 and Dowling.  They took the tops off from all the collected milk jugs and laid a newspaper path in the back half of the garden.  We also took a chance and planted some more herbs.

This week we will try to work on Tuesday and Wednesday night to get some more planting in.  If you are not sure if it seems dry enough, give me a call at 314-2114. Please bring a trowel or a hoe if you have one.

In other Urban Harvest news, mark your calendar for our first open house on Friday night May 27.  We have been working on getting the word out to those in our community and would love to have a chance to meet fellow garden fans.  We will be working on fliers and  signage to get the word out.  We will also have posters.  If you would like copies that you can print and distribute, please email me at  brydberg@mchsi.com

And It Really, Really Works!

Last Friday night we tried out the garden seeder and guess what ? It works great!  After John and his dad put it together he planted a hundred feet of beans in about 20 minutes. 

We also planted green onions and big slicer onions.  With all of this heat things should be popping up soon! If it would rain it be garden perfection.  Now on for the big push!

This weekend we will plant tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers and whatever other fun things can find in the seed box.  Plans are to work from 10 -2 on Saturday.  Bring a hoe,trowel and a lunch if you want. 

We are also planning on taking down some dead trees in anticipation of  establishing a section of prairie so there is plenty to do.  Invite a friend!

Questions please call Beth at 314-2114

Watch for information on the Urban-Harvest open house coming soon.