A moment of silence please...

Our squash plants didn't make it.  We harvested one, count it, one squash which I delivered proudly to the Forest Park Ministry Center this week.  There is some type of worm that lives to invade and kill squash and other gourd plants and those little assassins found our garden.  (Insert heavy sigh.)  Good bye squash, we appreciate the effort.

On a positive note, we have quite a few blooms on our cucumber and tomato plants.  Bell peppers and Banana peppers are growing well.  It is our first year to have Gypsy, Poblano and Cubanelle peppers and they all seem to be doing well also.  We'll call this the summer of the peppers.  =)

On a stinky note, we are always accepting raw vegetable and fruit peels, coffee grounds, egg shells and grass clippings for our compost.  If  you have anything to donate to the compost, please see me or Ms. Ginger Cofty.  Thank you Boppin' Bluebirds for your consistent donations to the Heritage CDC Learning Garden compost!

Mistakes = Experiments

It's that time of year again in the Heritage CDC Learning Garden, spring 2013.  We have planted something old, something new, something borrowed but I don't think there is anything blue.  We planted 3 different hot/sweet peppers, 2 banana peppers, 2 green peppers, 2 cucumbers, 2 tomatoes and 2 squash.  We moved the celery we were attempting to re-grow to a smaller pot to make room for the cucumbers.  The DandyLions also helped plant pink Begonias in our flower boxes and then helped water everything!  The helpers were rewarded with an opportunity to grow something for themselves...garlic.  Don't know if anything will come of the attempt to grow garlic in small pots but as we've come to learn, any mistake made in gardening is really just an experiment.  And while we are on the subject, we've "planted" 20oz soda bottles in the containers as well.  After making holes in the bottoms we placed them in the soil hoping that when we fill them with water the water will go straight to the root of the plant.  Couldn't hurt to try, right?

Once again, we pray for rain to fill our rain barrel so we can use good water to water our plants and we pray that God will bless our efforts so we can help others.

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Another winter has passed and we have once again harvested and delivered cabbages and carrots to the Forest Park Ministry Center.  This winter we tried to grow broccoli and cauliflower to add to our garden bounty.  Due to a certain "farmer's" inexperience, the broccoli and cauliflower did not make it to harvest but as always every experience is a learning experience so we'll try again next year. 

We are trying something new with celery this spring.  Check it out if you get a moment!
http://chickensintheroad.com/farm-bell-recipes/re-growing-celery/


As I am typing this I am listening to "Come Thou Fount of Blessing" by Mumford and Sons. This song is a great reminder to us to remember to praise our Father for not just our blessings, but the opportunities to praise Him in sharing our blessings with others.  Thank you God for the opportunity to share blessings with others. Please find our gifts pleasing to you. 

Come, thou Fount of every blessing,
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
mount of thy redeeming love.