MOTHER NATURE, WHY ALL THE WATER?

I ALWAYS THOUGHT APRIL WAS SUPPOSED TO BRING SPRING SHOWERS
AND MAY WAS TO BRING MAY FLOWERS?

SO FAR THIS SPRING WE HAVE HAD MOSTLY WET WEATHER, SNOW AND RAIN.

WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?

During the first spring of this year (March 15th)
Luana planted the tulips Janaye gave us last year
in hopes of an early showing.
At first we thought they had not survived our
third winter(April 3rd) because the HOA tulips
started to bloom around April 22nd
and we had nothing to show for her work.

But alas, a week ago they began to pop out
of mother earth, and today they are just about
to open up and show their true colors of
white, pink, and orange.

That brings us to this years garden.

So far nothing has started to grow
mainly because of the snow and all around
bad weather, I guess only time will tell.
So far, about the only thing growing
in the garden area is weeds
and there are truly lots of those.

I have always been told, 'plant them and they will grow' so I have done just that.

Perhaps I will need to put out my favorite sign in the garden to

encourage it to have a little respect and to show us how it is done.

For 2011, -- HERE IS TO THE GARDENER IN ALL OF US!
Just remember, it does not matter how small the seed,
Mother Nature always prevails.

HERE IT IS THE MIDDLE OF APRIL

AND I STILL HAVE NOTHING TO SAY
.
EXCEPT
.

• JARON IS LEAVING ON HIS MISSION IN MAY,
• LAURA IS GOING HOME FOR THE SUMMER,
• ANNA IS STAYING AT BYU FOR THE SPRING SEMESTER,
• JAYBEN HAD HIS TONSILS REMOVED LAST WEEK,
• LUANA HAS A WEEK OFF FOR EASTER VACATION
• BRITTANY IS GOING TO GRADUATE FROM WEBER
  

AND

• I STILL HAVE NOT PUT MY GARDEN IN.

HERE IT IS THE END OF MARCH
AND I STILL DON'T HAVE
ANYTHING TO BLOG ABOUT.

THIS IS WHAT OUR GARDEN LOOKS LIKE WHILE
WAITING FOR THE WINTER WEATHER TO SET IN.
SO EMPTY. SO ALONE. SO NOT GREEN. SO SAD.

By the way, our HOA charges us $50 if we don't totally clean up our garden spots by November 12, plus we would not be able to rent a spot for next year as a bonus.
Most of us cleaned up our garden areas by the due date but I counted 6 or 7 plots that were not cleared, and these families will not be with us next year to try their hands in the community gardens. Too much work to finish the job I guess.

One thing I noticed this year was the number of people who went to the effort to rent, clear, fertilize, plant and water all spring long, and then just as the plants start to show their little green faces through the soil, the work stopped, the weeds took over the garden, and everything died, such a waste of time and effort to just give up like that.

It does give me pause to think about all of the farmers of the World and for all they do for each one of us each day. It may be just a job for many of them, but it gives us a chance to partake of their bounty.

THANK YOU FARMERS EVERYWHERE.

LADYBUGS ON THE LOOSE AT DAYBREAK
BIG EVENT OF THE YEAR 2010

This year DayBreak released about 40,000 ladybugs into the five garden areas on June 4th at 6:00 pm. We were a little late getting to the event this year but not to worry, there were plenty of ladybugs to go around because each of the children at the event were given containers full of ladybugs and told to put ladybugs everywhere throughout the garden area. Every once in a while you would hear a little child start to scream because a ladybug got on them, but soon the parents would come to the rescue, and then all was well in Zion again.

Last year we missed the whole event and missed all the fun watching the kids trying to keep the ladybugs from crawling on them.

See the guy in the white shirt, well that is not me but the garden behind him is ours. Our 2010 garden (note the white PVC pipe) is now under construction. This year we planted more than just five tomato plants, a few carrots, radishes, and peas. This year we added green onions, peppers, and cilantro. Guess what I am going to make this fall with all the goodies from the garden?

When we first walked over to the garden there must have 250 people running around, talking, laughing, and flicking ladybugs off their children. Even at 7:00 pm when this picture was taken there were lots of people still in the area. All in all, it was a fun evening.

2009 IN REVIEW

And who can forget those famous words that all great farmers repeat each year:

I hope to keep everyone informed on the garden progress again this year, after all, you were all so interested in what came down last year that I just don't think I will be able to contain myself again this year. Just stay tuned to this blog and watch the garden grow. Then when the time is right, come and partake of the bounty.

GARDEN TIME
IS PAST TIME NOW

The Garden is all but gone and the tomato plants are looking sad,
but the carrots are ready to harvest. One good thing is I don't see a lot of creepy crawly things in the garden at this time, Yes the bugs can just stay away forever.

The weather was getting cold so I removed the automatic timers from the garden area and the flower pots on the east side of our home.

WHERE DOES IT ALL GO

This is what happens to the plants once the first frost sets in. We remove the dead plants and place them in the compost area where they are removed to the county green waste area and turned into mulch for next year. Good bye my plant friends please come back and visit us next year ol' buddy.

GARDENING IS GREAT FUN

BUT IT IS FOR SUMMERS ONLY

Next year I hope to get an earlier start so we can plant and receive more goodies. Luana wants us to try a four square garden next year so it is going to be fun learning new ways to turn a good garden into a great garden. This winter we will be checking the internet out for ways to make the four square gardening more productive, then it will be up to us to make it happen next spring.

A NEW DIRECTION IS IN THE WORKS

Wish us luck because this years harvest produced lots of tomatoes but not much in the way of peas and hot peppers, and the melons and pumpkins were all eaten by squash bugs. There is one bright star from this years garden, there are two very good looking mini gourds. Luana was very happy about them too. They look very good on the mantle over the fireplace.


So, next year we are going to do what we know best and keep to planting tomatoes, peas, carrots, chili peppers, and of course more gourds.

KILLER SALSA

This year I made two small batches of my killer salsa, and one gallon of Jay's fantastic spicy spaghetti sauce, it is super hot but it is very good. Eat your heart out Prego.

By the way, I did clean up the kitchen after I had turned it into one of the worlds worst disaster areas. If the Environmental agency had known what it looked like I am quite sure I would have been fined for creating a public hazard.

PLANS FOR THE NEXT YEAR

Who knows, next year I just may introduce cilantro into the garden just to spice up my culinary creations.

Here is a toast to next years garden:

ON TO BIGGER AND BETTER THINGS

HA HA, MADE YOU LOOK.
I AM JUST GOING TO WAIT FOR SOME COMMENTS FROM MY CHILDREN.

P.S. WE HAVE LOTS OF TOMATOES FROM OUR GARDEN.
COME AND GET THEM.

REMEMBER, THE GIRLS FROM BYU WILL BE AT OUR HOME
FOR THE FORTH SUNDAY DINNER.

OUR GARDEN IS LOOKING GOOD.

MAY 11, 2009

The weather is a little warmer now so most of the neighbors started planting in the community garden last Saturday. I think our area has the best looking soil(see above).

Now if I could only make the plants want to grow I would be a lot happier.

I HAVE A COUPLE OF GOOD IDEAS!

If I take my guitar out to the garden area and sing happy songs to all my plants, maybe they will be so happy and content they will grow faster.

Or maybe I can just put a subliminal suggestion around the plants and they will respond with a positive reaction (see below) .

If I remember correctly, it worked at our house in West Jordan.
.
It is worth a try.

















Many of our local Suburban Farmers planted their tomato plants and then put the WaterWalls around them to protect them in case it got cold again (below), which was a very good idea, by the way.

The best part of having so many personal gardens in one area is there are just as many suggestions on how to have a great garden as there are gardeners. I am no exception, and for sure I am not the best gardener in the field, so I need all the help I can get. My parting suggestion to my garden is:------------

GROW FASTER *&($#@!
------------------------------

.
.
.
.

THE GARDEN GOES IN
APRIL 27, 2009

READY TO GROW

The sprinkler system is in, the garden has been tilled, the stepping stones are laid, and the peas have been planted, now all we have to do is wait for the weather to do good things so we can plant the tomatoes, peppers, and other goodies.

If you look real close you can see the strings running along the side of our plot. The area between the lines is all we get to plant in. Hey, it ain't much but it is ours.

By the way we have the best looking soil in the garden area right now because Luana and I spent Saturday afternoon putting two inches of real dark compost all over our garden, and we did it during a pouring rain. We hope the compost will help protect the growing plants from the heat and keep the moisture in once the hot hot sun decides to come out with a vengeance.

Some farmers test fate by planting before May, and if past experience is any indicator, the weather will not freeze so hard all of their efforts will be in vein. Protect yourself against inclement weather by covering your plants with plastic bags like my neighbor did, good luck with that. As for me and my house, we will wait just a little longer and hope for the best, after May 1st.

PLANTING VERY EARLY .

WHAT OUR PUBLIC GARDEN LOOKS LIKE

(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

ITS GARDENING TIME
APRIL 23, 2009

MY LITTLE GARDEN SPOT

As soon as the last major frost of the season is gone, all of the would be farmers at the Daybreak community grab their hoes and shovels and head to the community gardens to dabble in some personal horticulture. Each mock farmer pays a small fee for an even smaller plot of land to use for his own family garden. it is up to the individual to prepare, plant, and then maintain his own area. If he lets his own area go to weeds, the HOA will remove his garden and fine him for the removal work. This is how the HOA controls the weed problem.

As you can see (picture above) I have tilled the ground, turned in four bags of manure, measured the plot for my own watering system creation, and now it is time to complete the start up process by planting.

Of course, I am not the first to set up my garden, in fact there are

some 10 other farmers that have set up theirs before me. The HOA has about 100 plots available in this area (East Lake) to plant in and most have already been selected.
Most of our neighbors like to work in their gardens in the evenings when it is cool and lots of other families wander out to work and of course talk gardening horror stories.

HARD AT WORK

Monday I went to the South Town School ( by our old house) and picked up a number of different types of tomato plants and some chilies to adorn our garden with. Right now the plants seem to be very happy just sitting on our side porch area because I water them twice a day and they get a good smattering of the afternoon sun.

PLANTS ON THE PORCH

This year we will be planting tomatos, peas, carrots, spinach, flowers, and other goodies too. If you plan on coming over to our house for some free veggies, you will probably be out of luck, Luana and I plan on eating everything we grow as we pick them right from the garden. After all, our neighbors will be out working in their gardens too, and they will also be picking and eating the fruits of their labor while visiting with other gardeners. Community gardens are all about friendships not just food.

Perhaps we can rename our garden area to:

THE DAYBREAK GOSSIP GARDEN