Fall Hopes Spring Eternal: Community Garden Update

Cock-e-leekie Soup Anyone?

An old teacher described every horrible event as a "learning experience." We've learned plenty this summer, about gardening, about the weather, and about how blessed we are to have farmers who operate, day in, day out, no matter what. Thank you, Lord, for the people who grow our food. May they be blessed a thousand fold!

Yes, first the rain, then the drought, and now millions of predator bugs have plagued us. Hardly anything grew as expected. Still, we've had some successes. Our early potatoes grew well and, before the bugs arrived we managed to harvest lots of squash of many varieties. Then, there is the Little Sprouts Garden which was a success at almost every level. Dawson Stice dropped off a watermelon yesterday (literally) and we enjoyed its sweetness a whole bunch after last night's supper.

We also have a pretty good bed of leeks, and you are welcome to go and pick some. If you don't know what to do with them, Google cock-e-leekie soup and you'll find a fine chicken and leek soup recipe to try out.

Maybe there will be tomatoes...maybe not...?

It has been difficult to resist tearing our pathetic tomato vines out of the earth and consigning them to the burn pile (it has been too hot for them to set fruit), but experienced gardeners have counseled patience. As you can see from the photo above it is possible that we may yet get some. If we get some please free to go into the garden and pick any that become available.

Apple trees rebound!

One bright spot has been our apple trees. The drought nearly killed the poor things--which hadn't been doing all that well to begin with. Consequently, we vigorously cut them back (at exactly the wrong time of the year) and lo and behold, they rebounded and look better than ever. Next year will be year three for these dwarfs: maybe we'll see some apples.

UPDATE:

Today, (August 23rd) we planted our FALL GARDEN. This included carrots, bush beans, lettuce, spinach, onions, kale, and chard. We're not exactly sure what chard is: one of our gardeners picked up a packet of chard seeds while in Zimbabwe where they apparently eat the stuff. If it grows I guess we'll eat it here too. See: always something to look forward to.

Finally, the potatoes we planted three weeks ago are now officially AWOL. If you see them hanging around town tell them to get back on the job. In the mean time: Thank you, Lord, for teaching us about how things grow, about how everything fits together, and for the steps big, and small, that we take in our walk toward You.

Pulling the Plug

The drought has gone on so long this season that our plants have not been able to set and production is almost nil. It is the nature of gardening--no pun intended--to cope with and ultimately triumph over adversity; but this year, nature is winning and we've decided to stop watering the Community Garden because what is being produced isn't worth the water we're using. So: after a good long soak yesterday (July 27th) we won't water again until a cover crop (probably oats) is planted in September.

It is possible that with some cooler weather and regular rain we could get some tomatoes; the verdict is still out on the potatoes we planted two weeks ago. And, despite an incredible number of Japanese beetles munching on them, our blackberries look pretty good and should bear fruit next season.

The good news is that The Little Sprouts Garden has been doing great. Hats off to Jill, Jennifer, and all the Little Sprouts for a fantastic first year!

Potato? Pahtahtoe?

We've had good luck with spuds this year.

It has been an odd gardening year. We've had plenty of everything we need--sun and rain--but they came at the wrong times and in unexpectedly big doses. Now, it has been about 100 degrees all week and we're feeling a bit wilty.

Last year we had plenty of tomatoes. This year we're not doing so well. It has been either too wet or too hot for the blossoms to set and consequently fruit has been slow to form. We initially took this problem personally--surely we did something wrong!--but we're hearing the same story from lots of folks, some of whom are experienced gardeners. Long story short: it will be late August before we see too many decent 'maters.

Our squash situation is different this year as well. Because we lost almost ALL of our squash last year to squash borers we over planted this year and now have squash coming out of our ears. We keep waiting for the bugs to show up, but so far we've been lucky. Anyway, be prepared for piles of crook necked squash this month.

Flowers have been a success. Mrs. Hudspeth has produced what look like State Fair winners in the Sunflower category and the zinnias are beautiful. One of the blessings of working in the garden is to walk past these flowers and seeing thousands of bees and butterflies going about their business so efficiently and perfectly.

We had good luck with potatoes, especially since we planted them in the least productive beds in the garden. Consequently, and against the advice of nearly everyone, we replanted potatoes this week in hopes of a fall crop. We did that for three reasons:

1. potatoes are easy to plant and produce satisfying foliage
2. everyone in the congregation seems to like potatoes and they all get eaten
3. Jim Long, the famous Ozark Gardener, said that we could get a fall crop--so we'll see.

We also have some beans growing and next month we'll plant some more spinach and lettuce for fall. Since this year was mostly a future building year--building up the soil and adding infrastructure--we planted fewer plants and have produced less stuff. Next year, year 4 in the history of the garden, we'll really ramp up and have already started planning. Hope and faith, as you can see, are the main products of the garden.

Lost in the Details

Sometimes we get so busy and "lost in the details" of what we're doing that we fail to notice the small and large things that other people are doing. Light bulbs get changed, grass gets cut, the hungry are fed, and social contracts are formed and nurtured, often without notice. Frequently, these are things that we just take for granted.

At First Christian Church we know there are many ways to serve the Body of Christ, and many ways and traditions to express and celebrate that service. We thank all of our members, and all of our Ministry Leaders and volunteers, for the many ways in which we are sustained as a Church Family through your efforts, large and small, seen and unseen.

You are not taken for granted!

Wedding Bells?

If you are planning a wedding this Summer or Fall, and are interested in an affordable, tasteful, and traditional setting in which to have it, contact First Christian Church in Berryville for information about how we can help.

First Christian Church has a wedding planner on staff who would love to help you in many ways, from simply arranging space to complete plans.

For more information contact Susan Krotz at 870 654 2107.

The Lord Giveth...

Deader than Lincoln's mother.

"The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away" Job says (1:21). He wasn't thinking specifically about our Community Garden's tomato plants but his general principle has held true. Fourteen fairly mature plants bit the dust this week from a combination of a whitefly infestation and a home remedy gotten from a local organic farmer who--well--maybe got his recipe mixed up.

This afternoon we'll pull the old plants out and pop in some new ones. Sadly, the new plants won't be from local seeds but time is, as so often in gardening, of the essence. If we want 'maters in a few weeks we'd better hustle.

We'll also do some weeding. One of the Community Gardeners finds weeding an excellent form of meditation on his sins and character flaws. Each weed represents a malefaction past and, regrettably, not so past, and each successful weed pull a repatriation of a sort. Lots of weeds; lots of pulling.

On a happy note the plants in the Little Sprouts Garden are healthy, robust, and as lively as the children; it is great fun to see that garden sprout produce...and angels.

Onward & Upward in the Garden

A load of mulch is delivered by Carroll Electric

Folks are probably wondering why in the world we got another load of mulch, but no-till gardening and farming means you can't have too much. Lots of mulch keeps the weeds down and the water close to the surface where plants need it. The end results include less stooping and pulling and lower water bills. What happens to the mulch next:

There is a squash bed directly adjacent and north of the Little sprouts garden. At the moment it is covered with black plastic and the plastic is held down by some recycled lumber. We will:

1. take the lumber off the plastic and stack it (neatly) on a pile by the white storage shed.
2. take the garden fork and poke LOTS of holes in the black plastic.
3. apply mulch about 12 inches deep over the plastic being careful not to disturb the squash plants.

Next year, the we'll have this area fenced for watermelon and as a chicken run for the 4 chickens we plan to raise.

Zucchini squash about fruit.

If all goes well we'll dodge the evil squash borer and have plenty of zucchini, crook necked, and acorn squash. Sadly, mulch does not deter bugs from their appointed rounds so--it is nip and tuck time.

Many thanks to Bill Hudspeth for causing the mulch to arrive!