Arkansas Flower and Garden Show *this weekend*

You don't want to miss the Flower and Garden Show that starts this Friday at 10am.  I've been the last couple of years and can't wait to go again this year.  Go here for more details.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

To inspire you, this is a list of what was grown in our garden last year (in no particular order):

Eggplant
Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts
Cabbage
Sweet Potatoes
White Potatoes
Cucumbers
Peppers - multi colors of sweet bell
Banana peppers
Jalapeño Peppers
Anaheim Peppers
Tomatoes - all kinds!
Okra
Peas
Carrots
Onions
Green beans
Watermelon
Cantaloupe
Squash
Radishes
Turnips
Lettuce
Herbs - basil, parsley, cilantro, dill, rosemary
Flowers - zinnia , marigold, sunflowers


And here's a list from the U of A that tells you what and when to plant.

Spring: A Closer Look

Here are a few more pictures from the garden.

Charlotte has many flowers on her strawberry plants.  Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

 Bob Baxter admires his garden with a visiting young lady (I didn't catch her name.)

 The Aults have been busy.

 And two new signs in the garden...

Work Day in the Garden

We had a great turnout of volunteers for today's work day.  The kids certainly had fun in the dirt (and I have laundry to prove it. :)

 Several new boxes were built.

And several people did some "spring cleaning." (Steve Faubel on left, Jim Ault on right)  Mulch was spread between the boxes.

Others have plants in their boxes.  This reporter was a bit distracted by a certain 3 month old so I only took 3 pictures.

The garden is transforming.  Be sure to stop by and admire all the sweat equity.

Some of you asked about the red beans and rice recipe I served at lunch.  It is super easy to make and you can make enough for a crowd.  If you have leftovers, it freezes well.

Garden Expansion

We're starting to plan for more garden boxes.  Below is the site plan (green boxes are existing, purple ones are future).  I have begun to assign new boxes.  Contact me if you're interested in gardening this year.  luvmyhub AT gmail.com

A few of us met to talk about the gardens yesterday.  Cary Cox (POA President) is on left and Randy Ripley (architect and garden designer) on right.

Jim and Margaret Ault were working on their plots yesterday.  They gave me a nice mess of spinach and lettuce.  It made a yummy addition to my dinner.
The Aults also shared spinach with the Ripleys.  Below Claudette is helping herself.

I planted seeds (spinach, onions and lettuce) last week but they've yet to germinate.  I hope they didn't wash away in last week's downpours.

Suckers

When you hear the word "sucker" what do you think of?

-lollipop

-gullible person

-gardening

-all the above?

Growing up on a farm in Kentucky, when I heard the word sucker it caused me to groan.  Sweet treats were not headed my way that day.  Instead I would be walking through a field breaking off shoots of tobacco.  It was sticky and definitely not sweet.

Thankfully, when gardening on a small scale, pinching off the nutrient sucking shoots is not a miserable task.  Do it now before those suckers steal your joy.  Below are pictures from my tomatoes.

See also this article on pruning tomatoes.

People Have Been Workin'

Our fearless leaders - Randy & Claudette Ripley.

Bo Baker is filling one of the "C" boxes with edible as well as non-edible plants.  He'll trade you pots for plants.

The Ramsey family is jumping in with both feet.

I (Julie) have decided to use a grid this year for the first time.  I'll put tomatoes in the two foot sections.

The below box belongs to Jim and Margaret Ault.

Bill Burgin now has the stakes upright (but I forgot to take a picture.)

Charlotte is putting us all to shame!  Her box looks wonderful.