The Final Harvest

September 29, 2012. The final harvest of the Spring/Summer Crop. Whoa! There is so much more than I expected. The plants really camouflage their fruit. The way the program is designed, the first year we follow the plan, just like it's given to us. (pretty much) So, the plan says to pull out the spring plants to make room for the cool weather plants. It was pretty much finished anyway but look at everything that we harvested!

Canning Workshop

One of the optional projects that graduating La Meza Verde familes chose was food preservation. So, last Friday Sylvia came down from San Francisco with her husband, Bill, and brought all the things that we needed.

Laura, Sylvia, Debbie, Patty



Laura, Dora, Sylvia

Sylvia, Dora and the stuff.

Sylvia, teaching as usual.

We had the workshop at my house. Because it's so close and  there's a stove it fit the criteria. Altogether there were 10 of us if you count the boys. That's the most people that I've had in my house in a long time.
I spent 3 days giving my dingy kitchen a much needed cleaning!!I had been nervous but by Friday AM it felt so good to have everything decluttered and clean. Luis pitched in and cleaned and painted(?) the bathroom and washed the outsides of the windows, even though it was his birthday.      
By the end we had made pickeled jalepenos with carrots and veggies, strawberry and blackberry jam. It was so much fun to cook with other people! Sylvia was awesome! I was inspired!         
Since then I've made a birthday cake with the strawberry jam in the middle, canned a jar of green beans, made zucchini parmesean and I might make biscuits tonight to go under the blackberry jam!

Malin, Debbie, Sylvia

My idea of canning involved bushels of fruit or veggies, steam, sweat and so much time. It never occured to me to just put up 1 or 2 jars at a time. What a concept. Thanks Ladies.

Check it Out!->->Slideshow!!! ->->

My computer is back! At least for now because there are still issues. When they are resolved I'll tell you where I took it because I had it back the same day for a very reasonable price. But, it's only reasonable if they stand behind their work because like I said, there are still issues. At least it turns on now.                                     
The week that it was down was sort of a relief because I've been a little bit discouraged with the blog. I guess that I had this vision that everyone I know would drop what they were doing and tune in every day like I had invented gardening. I'm more realistic now, and I really should be writing for myself first anyway, but I've also had more visitors thanks to CrazyforCrust's Facebook Exchange Party. I listed this blog and the Facebook Page and then looked around and visited other pages, etc. Anyway, there were a lot of people visiting around and some of them checked out this blog and on the Facebook page there are 7 new likes! That's a total of 13! (the other 6 being my Family (either forced or hacked) and their close friends (guilted))                                
With people looking at it of their own free will, I feel I'd better step it up!                            
I'm kind of joking because actually the blog has 724 total views. Lots of people have told me that they've seen it and they've said really nice things, so Thanks!!!
OH!!! I almost forgot, FINALLY figured out how to put a Slideshow on the blog. It wasn't how they said to do it on Picasa or Blogspot, but by trial and error it works. I'm a regular techie.

Well, I need to get busy because I'm making Zucchini Parmesan with zucchini from the garden(my friend Melanie's idea) The sauce I made from about 6 lbs. of tomatoes from the garden. So there you go.

Red in the Garden and Visitors



It's happening!! In a sea of green, I'm finally seeing...RED!!

 The garden is in full swing now! There is now color in the green! The Pocket Farmer (www.thepocketfarmer.com) said it perfectly today with this picture on Facebook.
I've been a little camera lazy lately, but I have gotten some people pictures.
I feel so fortunate to get to meet so many people who are working to change the way we see and grow our food.

Thanks to Tim and Helen from Ag Innovations (info@aginnovations.org) for coming by last week.
" We care deeply about creating a more economically viable, socially just, and environmentally sound way to grow and distribute food."
This is from the home page of their website, and it seems to be the common thread connects most all of the visitors who want to visit a La Mesa Verde garden family and to learn more about our unique program.
Thanks again to Sacred Heart Community Service for providing the opportunity to make a difference!

These ladies visited from the San Jose Garden Club (sanjosegardenclub.com ) They answered so many questions, like how to reseed lettuce. It can be as simple as just letting them flower and drop their seeds back into the soil.
Every visitor leaves me feeling like a super star gardener. Diva, if you will, even though it's all pretty simple so far.

Gabriel Valle

It's 54 degrees this morning here in San Jose Ca. It's July 15th. Just sayin'.
But the air is crisp and clear and just wait 'til afternoon, probably be crying about the heat.
 I have two points. 1.) I will complain about anything. 2.) This is some tiempo loco!

Crazy weather!
Thanks for visiting the La Mesa Verde gardens, Gabriel Valle! He's a graduate student at the University of Washington in the Sociocultural Anthropology PhD program and has an interest in alternative food movements.

Morning Bounty!



Gutter Garden

Gutter Garden

Not mine. Yet.

Garden Week 10

Planting day was 4/28/12 so we are in the 10th week, the beginning of the 3rd month. It's actually only about 3 months until the winter planting! (not to get ahead of ourselves)


There are DOZENS  of cherry tomatoes coming.




These were sweet and delicious!



The lettuces are "bolting", which means that they are starting to flower and that flower will produce seeds that we can replant.



Mutant cucumber!

These tomatoes and lots more like them look like they are going to be soo good.

4# zucchini, before stuffing.

Green beans today, 7/5/12

Jalepeno "tree". We planted this in 2009, so this is the 4th year.

The garden is so much more than just growing food. It's a way of connecting to so many different people and things. There's an awareness that comes along with watching something grow from a tiny seed or plant. I am enjoying much more than I had even expected!