Victory Garden status July 29 next work Thursday July 31 7am

What a beautiful day to work in the garden. We got so much done!

Amy, Leah, Latanya, Linda, Kim In Sung, and I mowed, planted the new raised beds with curly mustard and purple top turnips, and harvested 8 lbs of peas and beans and 37 lbs of maters, eggplants, onions, cucumbers, and peppers.

Selby and Jan picked 2 lbs of red string beans and 52 lbs of beautiful lemon cucumbers.

I took it all the the elderly folks in Harris Cv.

Harvest report 2013 to date:
867 lbs + 45 + 54 = 966 lbs Yea!!!!

Next work session is Thursday 7am.

See pix below and letter Carl Awsumb wrote about the McMerton inner city garden (my old stomping grounds).

Ain't God good!

Extravagant Generosity and Inclusivity

I see McMerton Neighborhood Gardens as a crossroad where generosity and Inclusiveness intersect. Where our church's resource of volunteers and financial support meet the opportunity to serve. Where people of affluence and connections can witness the next generation of Memphians who have an abundance of energy and an eagerness to learn. When we open ourselves (make ourselves vulnerable) to these children of god who are new to our society we experience the generosity of his spirit in our presence, drawing us to the moment when we are all one.

kim amy latanya leah linda

new mustard and turnip greens beds

Victory Garden July 27, 2013 Next work day Monday 430PM

What a beautiful day to work in the garden. It was unseasonably cool and an amazing amount of work was done.

 July 27, 2013, Boy Scout Adam Iverstine led a project to build a set of raised wooden beds. Work was very well done and much needed and appreciated!

 

Additionally the team moved 8 cubic yards of soil mix from the parking lot to fill the new raised beds. The soil was donated by Mr. Norman Brown of EPLEX in Collierville.

Next work day is Monday July 29 430PM in the afternoon.

Garden is growing peas, bush beans, pole beans, peppers, cantaloupes, watermelons, and maters. 

RSVP by email if you will be there Monday. If no one replies I will revert to my schedule.

Ain't God good!

cw

Adam Iverstine Eagle Scout candidate

scouts moving dirt

dirt all gone into the new raised wooden beds

beautiful new raised wooden beds

baby watermelon

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Victory Garden status July 25, 2013 Next work day Monday 7/29 730am

Weather is beautiful and perfect for maters to set fruit and for gardeners to work. 

Monday July 22 Arlene, Amy, Patree, Sue, Val, and I watered and did some cleanup. We pickt 13 lbs of jalapeno peppers, bell peppers, maters, and cucumbers and saved to take to the Food Pantry on Thursday. We also pickt 6 lbs of peas and beans which Val took to Page Robbins for them to use in therapy work.

Monday morning July 22 a group from Southaven toured the garden. They wanted to see our sustainable practices and get advice on starting a new community garden.

Thursday July 25 Patree and Arlene pickt maters, cucumbers, peppers, eqqplants, peas, and beans for total of 35 lbs which Patree took to the Food Pantry.

I went to Germantown church of Christ this morning and helped pull thirty dozen ears of sweet corn and a peck of maters and took to the Food Pantry. This is not included in our total.

Laura Ruth and Connie Bogema continue to spread joy at Trinity Hospice, the VA, Page Robbins, Library Info Center, Dove Rehab, etc, with fresh cut zinnias.
 

Harvest report:  2013 to date:

2013 total    813 lbs + 19 + 35  =  867 YTD.

Next regular work day is 0730am early Monday which has been necessary as day time temps have been brutal.

An Eagle Scout candidate will build a set of raised wooden beds in plot 1 on July 27. Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They will fill it with promix we order and pay for. Plans are to immediately plant it in mustard and turnip greens.

Ain't God good!

Victory Garden status July 18, 2013 Next work day Monday 7/22 730am

Victory Garden status July 18, 2013 Next work day Monday 7/22 730am

Another good day in the garden. We continue to make some progress and the weather is nice.  

Arlene, Amy, Patree, Selby, Jan, and I watered and did some cleanup. We pickt 58 lbs of taters,  jalapeno peppers, chard, parsley, bell peppers, maters, and cucumbers. And Jan and Selby did major work in the experimental plot. They harvested 14 lbs of taters from the potato towers. 

Patree took the produce to  Food Pantry.

Next Monday morning July 22 a group of ladies from Southaven will be touring the garden. This is a way to get those valuable Master Gardener training hours.

Laura Ruth and Connie Bogema continue to spread joy at Trinity Hospice, the VA, Page Robbins etc, with fresh cut zinnias.
 

Harvest report:  2013 to date:

2013 total    653 lbs + 58  =  813 YTD.

Next work day is 0730am early Monday which has been necessary as day time temps have been brutal.

Whit is making up plans and materials list and cost list for building more raised beds. 

An Eagle Scout candidate will build a set in plot 1 on July 27. Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ain't God good!

beautiful zinnias

amy

arlene

watermelon

delicious chard

jan dickey

selby

patrees car headed to the food pantry

Victory Garden status July 15, 2013 Next work day Thursday 7/18 730am

A good day in the garden. We continue to make some progress and the weather is nice. Admittedly we are far behind last years harvest total, we are getting some produce.

Arlene, Amy, Patree, Selby, Sue, and I watered and did some cleanup. We pickt 85 lbs of sweetcorn and 17 lbs jalapeno peppers, bell peppers, maters, and cucumbers. We cleaned the last 1/3 of the garlic. And we removed all of the corn stalks to the compost pile. 

I took the corn to Ms Ruth Goodman to share with the other ladies on Harris CV. Patree will bring the other 17 lbs to the Collierville Food Pantry.  

Next Monday morning July 22 a group of ladies from Southaven will be touring the garden. This is a way to get those valuable Master Gardener training hours.

Laura Ruth and Connie Bogema continue to spread joy at Trinity Hospice, the VA, Page Robbins etc, with fresh cut zinnias.
 

Harvest report:  2013 to date:

2013 total    653 lbs + 85 + 17 lbs  =  755 YTD.

Next work day is 0730am early Thursday which has been necessary as day time temps have been brutal.

Ain't God good!

L-R Sue, Amy, Arlene

Victory Garden status July 11, 2013 Next work day Monday 7/15 730am

We had a nice but sweltering day in the garden this morning.

Arlene, Stephanie, and I watered most everthing. We pick 26 lbs of sweetcorn, jalapeno peppers, bell peppers, maters, and cucumbers. We cleaned another 1/3 of the garlic.

Patree took the 22 lbs from Monday and the 26 lbs from today to the Collierville Food Pantry. There was joy in Dragonville.

Tuesday Latanya and I led a tour of 8 kidsand 4 adults  from the Hedgerow Apts in Memphis. I think they learned a lot and took about 3 lbs of maters etc home with them.

Wednesday Connie Bogema took beautiful bouquets of zinnias from our cut flower garden to the VA PTSD unit. Feel free to cut some and take to a place where they will be a joy! Just let me know for our records. Someone needs to cut and take to Dove Rehab and Page Robbins.


ALSO THURSDAY Laura Ruth took 17 vases of zinnias to the Trinity Hospice! Such a wonderful work!!!'

Harvest report:  2013 to date:

2013 total    624 lbs + 26 + 3 lbs  =  653 YTD.

Next work day is 0730am early which has been necessary as day time temps have been brutal.

Ain't God good!

Monday 22 lbs

Zinnias go to VA PTSD

Arlene cleaning garlic

Stephanie cleaning garlic

Todays 26 lbs

Victory Garden status Monday July 8, 2013 and Next work day Thursday 730am

A good day in the garden Monday July 8, 2013.

Volunteer angels were Karen, David, Cody, Patree, Stephanie, Elizabeth, and one more I cant remember her name, and me.

We dug two of the last 3 unplanted rows in plot 3. We pruned the basil. We picked 22 lbs of cucumbers, maters, bell peppers, and jalapeno peppers, which Patree will take to the Food Pantry on Thursday morning.

We also cleaned up all the elephant garlic. And I mowed until my mower quit which was when I was mostly done as was the mower.

Thursday morning 0730am early we plant to harvest more including the corn, and clean up some more garlic.

Harvest report:  2013 to date:

2013 total    602 lbs + 22 lbs 7/10 = 624 YTD.

See our first blue tomato below. Thinking I may star it in a new blues song:

"I got dem old blue mater BLT sammich blues..."

Ain't God good!

loaded BHN602 vine

first blue mater

22 lbs

david and cody 

Victory Garden status July 4 2013 Next wrok day Monday 8am

This morning Whit and Jake the garden guard dog and I finished laying cardboard and mulching all of the walking paths except the first cross path when we ran out of mulch. We also watered the pole beans, maters, pepper plants, basils, and aigplants.  In all honesty Whit, as usual, did 90% of the work.

Next work day Monday July 8 at 8am. I have baseball tournament most every night starting Monday for more than a week. Plan is to harvest some peppers, cucumbers, maters, and corn.

And then - we gotta have a garlic cleaning party. I have lots of dry garlic we need to cut off the roots, clean off any dirt, and crop the stems, and keep them all orderly. Hoping some of you can have a party and do that. I can deliver and pick them up. Has to be complete before next Wednesday Master Gardener meeting.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy Fourth of July, and lets remember whose shoulders we are all standing on who have sacrificed so much that we may live, work, and worship free.

Ain't God good!

freshly mulched waking paths

Jake (on the left) and Whit

Victory Garden status Tuesday July 2 2013

Beautiful cool morning to work in the Victory Garden. We're having fun. 

Whit, Bari, Amy, and I did some weeding, watering, mulching, and planted crowder peas in most of plot 3. 

We found several taters while making furrows to plant the peas. Happens every year. We also found tomatoes 3,4, and 5.

Next we need to get more cardboard and cover the walking paths again with them and the mulch pile.

Otherwise we are in maintenance mode until the peas begin to bear. We should have a few maters, peppers, cucumbers, basil, and squarsh along.

There is lots of basil that needs picking. Each plant can be reduced by half each week as they grows fast. Thanks to Patree for doing that this week.

Our first zinnia delivery is this week to Baptist Trinity Hospice. Thanks to Laura Ruth!!!

Ain't God good!
cw

found a few more taters and maters numbers 3-5

finally a few small bees, see the pollen packs on her legs

L-R Amy, Bari, Whit

Victory Garden status Monday July 1 2013

Next work day is 8-10am Tuesday July 2 in the cool to move mulch onto the walking paths.

Summer's here, we're hard at work and reaping the fruits of our labor.

This morning Whit, Bari, Amy, Patree, and I did a lot of weeding and some picking and mulching and prepared most of plot 3 ready to plant crowder peas in the morning. We got 24 lbs corn, cabbiges, bellpeppers, jalapeno peppers, onions, garlic, cucumbers, taters, and maters.

Tuesday 8-10am we need to plant the crowder pea seeds and put rest of the mulch pile onto the walking paths..

Harvest report:  2013 to date:

      05/13/2013  21 lbs

      05/16/2013  51 lbs

      05/23/2013  94 lbs

      05/25/2013   2 lbs

      05/30/2013  37 lbs

      06/10/2013   2 lbs

      06/14/2013  97 lbs

      06/24/2013  52 lbs

      07/01/2013  24 lbs

   2013 total    602 lbs

Next year we will use landscape fabric and plastic mulch and have no weeds. Also three plans are in the works to get funds to make 3 or 4 more plots into raised beds. 

Ain't God good!
cw

one bnh602

another bhn602

and another bhn602

and two more bhn602

and one mater all vine and no maters

delivery to the elderly ladies on harris cv

glad to be an American

pole beans jus settin there....

one gorgeous sunflower

some of the harvest today, found nuther mater and cucumber ad sevral small cabbiges

worlds best weeders

hard working whit