Fall Fest pics and see you next year!

Our 2012 season came to a close on a beautiful, cool day in October and we were lucky enough to celebrate it with our third annual festival in the garden.  This year part of the fun included the kids picking lots of colorful veggies and playing in the garden.  (I think we adults enjoyed it as much as they did). :)

You can check out some pictures of the fun here:

There's still plenty of life left in our garden but as the days are getting cooler, we'll be planning to close down for the winter by the end of October.  (Stop by at the garden if you'd like to pick your own abundant harvest with your favorite kid).  We hope you enjoy these cozy days and some great family meals made with the amazing local produce grown in our area.  Soup, anyone?

Have a great holiday season and check back at the blog and Facebook page in the Spring! ~Marykaye :)

Class this Saturday cancelled but save the date for our Fall Festival 9/29

Hello! Hope things are going well with you at the beginning of the new school year! Warm, sunny weather is keeping things going full-swing in the garden. We apologize but we are canceling this Saturday's children's class, "Eating the Colors of the rainbow" due to the forecast of inclement weather.

Please save the date for our Fall Festival in the garden: Saturday, September 29th at 1pm. It's always a fun day with great food, music, pumpkin painting and crafts.

Until then, get out there and enjoy these gorgeous last days of summer!
~Marykaye

What's cookin'

Well, the glorious abundance of late summer is here and delicious fresh-picked garden vegetables are a big part of the fun! We've been enjoying huge harvests every week with plenty to share and are constantly (and pleasantly) surprised by what we find.

Here's an update from Angie:
We picked an impressive harvest of hot peppers, bell peppers, carrots, tomatoes, eggplants, and squash last evening. We also have pumpkins! Several pumpkins are developing in the curcurbit patch. They're green right now, but of nice size. The corn is coming along nicely, too. I picked an ear last evening to gauge its progress, and it was well developed with no bugs. The turnips and radishes are going NUTS. While I was thinning the radish seedlings, I found several helios radishes that were cherry tomato size, to boot. I didn't realize radishes grew this fast! :)

So what do we do with all that produce? Fresh veggies are a perfect inspiration for trying new recipes. Here are some of the ones we've enjoyed:

corn, tomato and zucchini salad with honey-lime vinaigrette (click this link for recipe)


grilled Asian salad with seaweed rice


Al's baked beans and rice with rainbow garden tomatoes

Why not try something new for dinner this week? Stop by the garden to pick up some fresh vegetables to inspire your creation. Or if you are hankering for a fresh tomato sandwich (the epitome of summer "cooking"), we've got them too. :)

Enjoy!
~Marykaye

Save the Date: Eating the Colors of the Rainbow class moving to September 8th

We wanted to let you know that we'll be rescheduling our next children's class in the garden "Eating the Colors of the Rainbow" to Saturday, September 8th. (The class originally scheduled on Aug 11th is now cancelled).

Hope we see you in September for more learning and fun in the garden!

Discovery Garden

Well, our first class in the garden was a wonderful success! Kristen led a fun and educational tour of the garden and everyone had a chance to meet many new friends (kids and bugs alike). ;)
Snacks, activities and stories made it a lovely day all around. It's so great for us to have a chance to invite lots of little ones into the garden to explore and be inspired!

















For more pictures of the fun day with our Bug Detectives, check out this link: garden detective slideshow


And insects aren't the only thing that can be good (or challenging) in a garden. If you've ever had a garden, you know that the same goes for "weeds". Did you know that a variety of plants that we call weeds are edible? Check out this link for more on tasty edibles like dandelion, purslane, lambs quarters, nettles and more: Wild edibles

Hope to see you one day soon in the garden. Until then, happy hunting!
~Marykaye

Bug detectives!

Join us this Saturday at 10am in the garden for our next children's class: Bug Detectives!
Are bugs good or bad for a garden?  Children will learn which bugs are helpful to a garden and which bugs are not.  With magnifying glasses in hand, the kids will explore the garden to find these little critters and make some new friends!  (This class was a hit last year).  Class is free but RSVP is welcome.  Just let us know by leaving a comment, sending an email or posting on our Facebook page.

We hope you can join us!  Check out our Events page for other fun activities coming up in the garden...

Happy Hunting!
~Marykaye

Remembering cooler days

How are you staying cool on these 90+ degree days?  Gardening in this heat can be a challenge, so we're taking cues from the experts.  Watering in the early morning or late afternoon/evening is best.  Resisting the urge to skip breaks in the shade and staying hydrated with homemade fruit-infused waters or agua fresca helps too (click for recipes).   They say the lycopene and carotenoids in the brightly colored fruits also help us handle UV radiation a bit better as well!

Looking over these pictures from our Grand Opening Festival in the garden a few weeks back is another way to dream of cooler days!  We were blessed with a lovely breezy day and plenty of umbrellas and sun shelters kept everyone comfortable.  Such a fun day...

Here are some of the pictures:


Plants that love all of this sun include the nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, eggplants) but make sure to pick and enjoy those fresh lettuces; very hot sunny days tend to make them bitter if you grow them outside during this stretch of the summer.  For more info on which veggies and fruits love sun and shade, check out this link from ehow.com.

Hope you stay cool and have fun!
See you soon. :)

~Marykaye