What we did on Sat.
We have climbed to a new high in the garden! We are now processing tomatoes into sauce right in the garden. We distributed 8 quart bags by the end of the session on Saturday. What fun! Thanks Suzanne for coming up with the idea. I had to leave early but the next to the last corn patch was taken down. Harvesting and selective watering was done by Ingrid, Steve, Ron, Deb, Geri. Molly, Ingrid, and Suzanne helped with the tomatoes. Molly was so excited.
What we need to do this Wed.
Harvest and water, as always. We will be starting to prep plots for planting garlic and shallots. Check with Debbie. As soon as our chores are finished we can help Suzanne set up for the potluck. I’m hearing about some wonderful dishes coming in….no rules or regulations, just bring something to share. Hope to see there! jjh

On Wed the 23rd we were pleased to find that the garden had received about 1/2 inch of rain in the previous two days which meant that we didn’t have to water. Steve, Molly, Cathy, were all busy harvesting when I arrived, Amber and family and Erin and family also were helping with the bounty of tomatos, green beans, squash, peppers, eggplants, chard, kale, okra, and corn that we picked. Ingrid was there and picking enthusiastically as was Jeany, Desiree and Claudia, Debby, and Geri. The old corn patch was cleared and turned over to prepare for the garlic that will be planted soon. So nice to have such a large group to work with. After everyone took their produce we boxed up the surplus and Amber was gracious enough to take it to Laura Bittner at the extension office, thanks again Amber. Oh head, Linda was also there helping with the harvesting! See you Saturday, I just received the tomato mill and I will give it a test run before bringing it to the garden on Saturday. Also don’t forget the potluck on Wed. We have several melons to pick and prepare for all to share! Suzanne

Suzanne’s report says it all. Don’t forget our potluck on Wednesday, probably about 11:30 if we are finished with our chores. We have extension cords and an electrical outlet if you have crock pots to heat up. Please let us know if you are not getting a notice about this update from Word Press, who runs our web/blog. You should be able to click on your email address from then and go directly to the valenciacommunitygardens.com page. If you have gmail check the social and promotions folders for the notice, and lastly check your span folder. This will be the last time I will send an update to your email address. jjh

What we did on Sat.
Ron and I harvested tomatoes and thought we found them all but Suzanne found a bunch more. Since there were only six of us we all watered and harvested. Suzanne agreed to study several catalogs and Amazon to find the best tomato mill, which can use in the garden and we can save buying canning jars. Patricia, Deb, and Geri watered, tended plots, and found more to harvest, including a sweet little cantaloupe in the compost. Cover crop seeds have been ordered.
What we need to do On Wed.
I’m wondering if Tomé got rain last night and today. Extensive watering may not needed but harvesting tomatoes, corn, squash, green beans, melons, Padron chiles is needed. Suzanne will be taking my place. I may be bringing back the green tomatoes I have been hatching since I didn’t have time to freeze them this weekend. Check In with Suzanne or Deb. jjh
PS. THIS UPDATE WILL BE POSTED ON OUR WEB BLOG, valenciacommunitygardens.com and all of the above should be getting a notice of a new posting.

10 whole peeled green chilies
1/2 Monterey Jack cheese (I use less and use different kinds as well)
1 C grated cheddar cheese
3 eggs
1/4 c. flour
3/4 c. milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
dash of liquid hot pepper sauce if desired

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay chilies in 8″ X 8″ or 8″ X 12″ greased pyrex dish. Slip a strip of Monterey Jack in each. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Beat 3 eggs with flour till smooth. Add milk, seasoning and pepper sauce. Carefully pour over chiles. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes or until knife inserted in custard comes out clean.
You can separate the yokes and whites, beat the whites and gently fold into yokes, but I haven’t ever done that.

What we did on Wed.
Ron, Steve, and Kathy were harvesting when I arrived and the table was almost covered with tomatoes. We are all so amazed at how much the garden is still producing: corn, squash, tomatoes, green beans, still even a little broccoli, a few eggplants, Big Jim chiles, Padron chiles and a few melons.
Claudia found a few more squash bugs. Those guys do not give up….nor does Claudia. When Debbie and Jeany arrived the watering began. Kathy decided she could sort out and stack the tomato cages while I retrieved the donated cages from Jan’s yard. Ron and Steve carefully rolled up our plastic grid fencing. Suzanne found more things to harvest and Steve took out more of the old corn patch. Even though we are still harvesting and the days are warm, Fall is in the air. We need to think about planting garlic and shallots in a few weeks, And what do we want to plant for cover crops……and where?
What we need to do Sat.
We need to decide if we can afford a food mill to process tomatoes. We could use it right in the garden and send workers home with plastic bags of tomato paste to freeze and use at home. Or people could take it home to process tomatoes. BTW, we also have a dehydrator and canning equipment that people can borrow.
More equipment can be moved to the other side of the garden. Harvest and water, as always.
Our Padron Chiles traveled all the way to Austin, TX via Ingrid to share with her friends.
And one last thing. This update will be on our web page, valenciacommunitygardens.com
Eventually, if you subscribe, you will all get an email message that there is a posting on the web page and I won’t be sending these messages through email. See you at the garden! jjh

Take a look at some of these talks about alternatives to industrial agriculture:

http://www.bioneers.org/restorative-food-systems/

Check out the variety of truly raised beds here (with schematic building instructions):  We might try one of these for folks who have trouble bending over.  Without the shelf and a little lower, it would be wheel chair accessible.

http://www.naturalyards.com/planters/standing

We should wait until late September but harvest our butternut squash before the first frost.

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/squash/butternut-squash-harvest.htm

Hello to all,

I have been working to enable notifications so that subscribers to this website are notified when a new post is added to the website.  It seems to be up and running now.  Thanks to all for your patience as this was a bit of a technical challenge for me.  Be sure to check your junk folders to make sure that your email is not filtering out the notifications as junk or spam email.  Once you let your email service know that the updates are not junk or spam, you should receive an email notification in your inbox whenever a new post is added to the VCG website.  Thanks again for your patience and let me know if anyone is having problems with the notifications either through Joyce or Geri.

Emil