Garden opening 09

After nursing seedlings in my bedroom for the past 3 months, I was anxious to get them in the ground. This year they are starting off with some pros and cons. Pro: we now have a water tower and hoses so that we do not have to water the garden by hand and I was able to put carpet remnants between my rows to cut down on the amount of weeds. Con: I am working 40+ hours/week, so it will be much harder to get to the garden and take care of problems such as pests like I did last year (when I pulled them all off of my plants by hand rather than use pesticides).

Making Salsa and Friends

This past Friday I had a chance to go bowling in celebration of Kristen Cambern's birthday. I was pleasantly surprised to meet a couple of German tourists who were visiting friends in the States and joined us in a couple of rounds of bowling.

In other news, the Garden Project had an open house this weekend so I was able to show people from the neighborhood around our plots. They had a lot of fun ideas for potential improvements to our garden including a compost pile, bee hives, and even a water tower! On Thursday I had attended a Salsa making workshop, so I was able to offer our visitors some homemade salsa and tortillas. Another benefit of the workshop was that one of the other participants invited me to her home to can with her. I am looking forward to learning from her experience.

The biggest news of the week, however, is that my new roommate has officially moved in. It is great to have her here.

LSJ Garden Project Article

The Lansing State Journal published a Front Page article about the Garden Project yesterday and, more or less, quoted me. You can read it here.

gains and losses

This past Friday my friend Anita was kind enough to cut my hair for me. All 15 inches of it will eventually be bundled up and sent to Locks of Love. I think that this is about the 5th time that I will have sent my hair in. It would be cool to see one of the wigs made out of it some day.

Many of the plants in my garden, however, have gained well over 15 inches in growth since I planted them upon my return to the States. I currently have tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, zucchini, green beans, squash, pumpkin, onions, cabbage, lettuce, sweet and hot peppers, collard greens, cauliflower, and melons in my garden. They are even hosting a free workshop on how to do canning in a couple of weeks. Although I read a book on the subject, I am looking forward to being able to ask some questions at the workshop. I love the Garden Project!

In other gains, I helped my parents with a garage sale this past weekend and we were able to sell quite a bit despite a very rainy Saturday. The proceeds should help me to pay a bit of my tuition at LCC this fall.

Coolest Garden Ever

Wouldn't it be great if every office building looked like this?

Growing

This past weekend I went up to Cadillac, MI with my parents for a family wedding. Before heading back home this Sunday, they helped me with my community garden plot. It is 625 ft^2 and has been taking a couple of hours of my time each evening. This is due in part to it's size, and partly because it is an organic garden which requires a bit more tender loving care. Please pray that it produces a bountiful harvest, not only for myself, but also for the local soup kitchen which will get all of the excess.

In other news, I am still looking for a full-time job and have started taking classes at LCC in anticipation of applying for nursing programs this fall.