Greetings fellow gardeners and welcome to September. The season has flown by. We still have veggies on the menu just a little less, but our fall produce is chugging right along. Tomatoes are still producing but at a much lower rate. The last of our Roma  tomatoes will be picked this week. Green peppers are still coming in some are turning red. Our fall planting of string beans is in full flower WOO HOO even with the deer nipping off the tops of the plants, in about 10 to 12 days we will have string beans. Our pole string beans are about 5 feet up the trellis on their way to 7-8 feet. Eggplant and Zucchini are still showing up. I noticed our cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower had a few cabbage moth loppers, so I took care of those pests. Sunday August 25th the garden sponsored Rev. Dr. Matt Lenahan from Lancaster the director and coordinator of the Wittle farm.  Matt talked about how man was created by God from the land. We have become separated from the land and do not know where our food comes from or how to grow our own food. Afterwards I took Matt on a tour of our garden. It was great to talk "SHOP" with someone who does what we do. We discovered we both know someone who works at a farm dedicated to donating their produce. Small world!  This week we will be doing a lot of the same, pick, weed, repeat. Our Sweet potatoes are almost due I think next week we will dig them up.  Last year the deer chewed them down so much they never produced. This year I covered the beds with netting keeping Bambi at bay. Last weekend Lory and I were able to visit our grand kids down in Virginia. Thank you to all the volunteers who showed up and kept the produce flowing while I was away. Steve 215-872-6616 [email protected]

Greetings fellow gardeners, well we go from 99 degrees 100% humidity to the 50s in a week, wow does this feel good. The garden is still chugging along. This past week our Roma tomatoes hit full stride and I was picking by wheel barrow full each time out.  Some of our round tomatoes have reached the end of the season but a few will hang on until fall. Peppers have slowed down and we pulled our summer string bean plants just too many bugs they really did a number on the plants this year. I was too late in treating them. This week was SALSA week. WOO HOO last Sunday a hardy group cleaned and cut up tomatoes, green and hot peppers, onions and a little garlic. Monday morning the batch was delivered to Bauman's in Sassamansville. I picked up the jars Tuesday and we will let the volunteers decide Saturday how hot or mild it is.  Thank you to Lory Blank, Donna and Steve Barndt for their help with the prep work and delivery. 

This Sunday we have a special event planned and you are all invited. 

The Salford Mennonite/Advent Lutheran Garden will host on Sunday, August 25, 2024. Around 11:30, garden volunteers and other congregation members from both congregations will enjoy each other's company in the Gathering room at Salford for a picnic lunch (bring your own) and presentation. 

The presentation will be led by Rev. Dr. Matt Lenahan. He is an ELCA pastor in Lancaster as well as director of the Wittel Farm (Elizabethtown). He has advocated for connecting with Christian stewardship of God's creation to the call to feed the hungry. His research includes understanding agricultural science and business practices. 

​The event will include a presentation and picnic lunch (brought by each attendee), with beverages and dessert supplied. We will also try and include a tour of the garden. (Check out the new shed) If you want to attend, please get back to me, Jean Godsall Myers or Brad Alderfer so we know how much to prepare and set up for. Thank you, Steve 215-872-6616 [email protected]

Greetings fellow gardeners, this week was peak time for tomatoes. Including todays harvest we picked over 1,400 lbs. of toms this week. That's a lotta BLTs! But with 3 3/4 inches of rain last Thursday/Friday, the tomatoes started to split and with the damp weather they are more susceptible to diseases. String beans are on their last hurrah, but our fall planting is flying right along! The cucumber beetles have finally done in the Zucchini. Our summer plants are slowly fading into the Summer sunset. I do have a few cucumber plants that I hope will produce in September. Hot and Green peppers continue to be plentiful. The tropical storm that moved through last week had some high winds that knocked over our wedding trellis.  I have Bird house gourds planted there this year. They have grown so big and heavy we had to retie the trellis to posts and brace the sides with wooden boards. There are quite a few gourds on the vines. Our fall plants are looking good, but a few insect pests have found their way into that part of the garden, but a little TLC took care of that problem. Summer is slowly winding down; fall will be here before you know it. Think about it we are only 60 days away from our average first frost date. My how time fly's. Thank you to everyone who worked in the garden so far this season, this year we have had a fair amount of rookie volunteers. GREAT to see! always enjoy a new face. Steve 215-872-6616 [email protected]

Greetings fellow gardeners last Saturday was a hot and humid morning in the garden. That did not stop our volunteers from finishing one last big project. After we harvested all our potatoes and onions, we had 2 - 230-foot rows of weeds. I roto-tilled as much as I could but the bulk of the weeds had to be raked up and hauled out by the wheelbarrow full.  After the weeds were removed I roto-tiled the 2 rows one more time, raked them smooth and planted 2 rows of string beans. What a surprise this Wednesday as I discovered almost all the beans had spouted or were pushing up dirt trying to get some sun. WOO HOO. We also planted turnips and red beets. Both are looking good. The biggest story of the week be sides over 600 lbs. of tomatoes harvested, is our new shed arrived Thursday morning. After many years of planning the garden has its own place to store its equipment and supplies. There are a lot of people to thank for this. First all of the garden lovers who donated a record amount of funds at our annual fund raiser this year. That overwhelming response put us in position to start the process. Thank you to Salford Church Board for approving the remaining funds needed for purchase. Gene Kropf gets a big thank you for his patience in obtaining our work permit from the Township. Our new shed sits on a gravel pad that was installed by an outside company who specializes in this type of work. When I ordered the shed the price for the pad was added into the final cost. When the pad installer surveyed the site where the shed would go, they discovered the area had a small slope and that would increase the cost of installation. Money, I had not planned on spending. But to my surprise and with great gratitude I was told a donor, who shall remain anonymous, paid the extra cost. No questions asked. WOW! It will take a few weeks to sort out all our stuff maybe install some shelving.  Thank you to everyone who had a hand in making our new garden shed a reality. There are housewarming parties maybe we should have a garden shed warming party. Steve 215-872-6616 [email protected]

Greetings fellow gardeners, last Saturday we planted our fall plants. Cabbage, Cauliflower and Broccoli. Then this week it turned into a scorcher again. Young seedlings are very susceptible to heat. I have been watering as much as I can to keep the young plants from frying in the high heat. So far out of 630 plants we may have lost 3 so far. I will continue to water as much as I can until we get a little rain.  The planting was a big job along with harvesting. We dug up the last of our potatoes, over 160 lbs. And they are really nice. We trimmed the onions and somehow fit all that into our small cooler shed.  The onions got a little wet and we have been losing a few to spoilage. I will have to come up with better solution to dry them next year. Tomatoes are looking really nice. I have not watered them in a couple of weeks and along with no rain the splitting has all but stopped. I will eventually have to run the water at least to give their roots a wash.  Even with a good group of volunteers we were unable to finish all of what I wanted done. Just too much work to go around. We did not plant our red beets, turnips or fall string beans. I am hoping to get that done this week. The summer string beans are in full flower again, hopefully that will lead to a second harvest from these plants. Eggplant, Lima beans, Green peppers and Zucchini round out the harvest menu. You may have noticed our new pad next to the garden. This is where our new shed will be placed next week. 

Thank you to everyone who worked in the heat and humidity to get our fall planting done. August can be a hot one too, I am very thankful for the volunteers who are willing to put in the time when the heat is on!  Steve 215-872-6616 [email protected]

Greetings fellow gardeners, last week was another productive harvest in the garden. We harvested over 900 lbs of produce last Saturday. Leading the way was our Yukon Gold potatoes coming in at over 350 lbs. We also found another small patch of red potatoes at 30 lbs. This week we dig up the last of our potatoes, 120 day Lehigh. Saturday we also plant for fall. Cabbage, Cauliflower and Broccoli plants all go in the ground this week. Beets and turnips also are on the schedule. After the potatoes are dug up, I will rototill the 2 rows and plant our fall crop of string beans. We will be trimming our onions this week too. They have been laying out under a tarp for 2 weeks drying out a little. I laid them out under our big maple tree to help keep them out of direct sunlight. Tomatoes are finally showing some life and turning red WOO HOO! Over 200 lbs harvested this week. But I am also seeing a lot of splitting. Not much you can do about that. I cannot give them away, a split tomato will usually rot before they are distributed. That's gardening. Can only control so much. Mother nature has the upper hand sometimes.  This week will be a heavy workload. Planting and harvesting the same day.  If you are interested in the garden but have never been out on a Saturday morning, this week would be the week. Just about everything is on the menu this week. The more hands that help the faster the work goes. Thank you to everyone who faithfully shows up each Saturday to help make this mission run as smoothly as it does. We will continue to grow good food for those who need it most. Steve 215-872-6616 [email protected]

Greetings fellow gardeners, this week was a warm one, but it looks like it could be a little less hot the next few days. We had rain this week several t-storms dropped about 1 1/2 inches of rain on the garden. Last Saturday we had a large crowd of volunteers, I stopped counting at 26 WOOHOO!  Our first potato dig was on the list, we dug up our red potatoes. Over 450 lbs WOW! That is amazing. We will dig up our Yukon golds this Saturday and the last potatoes will be the Lehigh. I am not getting too overconfident, but it looks like we could set a record with potatoes this year. This week will be the last harvest of cabbage and red beets. The beds will be reworked and next week we plant for fall. Tomatoes are just starting to turn. Harvested about 5 lbs this week. Starting to see a few splits already. Splitting happens when the tomato decides it is finished growing and is ready to turn. Then it rains and the plant sends water to the fruit and the skin splits open. Zucchini are still coming in along with eggplant. I took a walk down our Lima bean row looking for limas and there they were looking back at me. Not fully beaned out but they are well on their way.  The red corn is now over 8 feet tall and has started to tassel. Soon it will push out ears. This has not been the best year for our string beans. Only picked them 4 times and they are really suffering. Each year we have our victories and our disappointments. Gardening is never 100 % but we will still have a great harvest. Thank you to everyone who worked in the heat and humidity to get the harvest in. Steve 215-872-6616 [email protected]

Greetings fellow gardeners and the end to another hot and humid week. I have been running water everyday somewhere in the garden hoping to drag our plants through the heat. Some veggies are doing ok others are struggling. Last week we harvested our first green beans of the year. But I am afraid the beans will be short lived this year. The plants were stunted by excess water early in the spring and the smaller plants do not have the root system to pull in enough water to hold off the 90+ degree days. We will be planting extra beans for fall, hopefully with better results. This Saturday we start our potato harvest. We dig up our 90-day red potatoes. We planted 50 lbs. of Norland red seed potatoes in a 230-foot row and 25 feet in another row. Next week we dig up our Yukon gold. The last potatoes will be our Lehigh 110-day spuds. Our onions will be pulled this Saturday too. Eggplant is now on the menu as we wait for the tomatoes to decide to tun red. Red cabbage was harvested last week, we still have plenty of green cabbage waiting to be picked. We have about 2 weeks left of our spring veggies, then we redo the upper end and plant for fall. Usually, the last week in July or first week in August. 
​
Thank you to everyone who helps out each week in the garden. Many hands make the work go fast even in 90-degree weather. Steve 215-872-6616 [email protected]

Greetings fellow gardeners, last Saturday I was not able to be at the garden. My son Micah and his fiancé Rachel were married. I had to jump into a suit and behave myself for a few hours. I had sent my volunteers a list of projects to accomplish, I was getting e-mails and texts telling me to relax they have it covered "We got this". Zucchini, cucumbers, red beets and cabbage all plentiful right now. This week we add string beans to the menu. Not really happy with the bean plants, at a very critical time we had a big 2 inch rain about 4 weeks ago. That soaked the area of the garden the beans are in. Beans do not like their feet wet and they sat in water for a while. The wet ground stunted their growth so about 3/4 of the green beans are short and not very bushy. We will harvest what they give us. We will dig up a bed of carrots this week too. Next week we start our potato harvest.  The early red potato plants are almost all dead and getting ready for digging. Always a fun time. We will harvest our onions next week to. I was able to pull all the old broccoli plants this week. Those beds will be reworked and replanted later this month.  Tomatoes are still green and do not want to ripen as fast as I would like. Always big anticipation waiting for that first ripe tomato! 
​
Maybe it is looking through the fog of anxiety, uncertainty,  day to day hustle and bustle that I fail to see just how blessed I am and I fail to count the many blessings that have been given me. Last Friday was one of those days. We arrived at the Venue ,where my son would be married, with several cars packed full of stuff for the weekend. How is this going to work? But to my surprise we had people come from everywhere to help. My sister in laws, extended family and My wife were outstanding in their prep and hard work to make this occasion a success. My garden volunteers pulled off a Saturday morning with no hitches. I cannot be more thankful.  In Isaiah we read "But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint" WOW was I lifted up. Thank you to everyone reading this e-mail who helped out last week (garden and wedding prep) or attended Micah and Rachel's wedding. I am truly blessed to have this support group that surrounds me.  Steve 215-872-6616 [email protected]

Greetings fellow gardeners this week was another hot one in the garden. Monday was very windy; the wind really tore up some of the garden. I ran water everyday somewhere in the garden. Thank you, Jant L, for water duty this week. Last week we harvested over 130 lbs. of cabbage NICE! This was our early cabbage. Zucchini have really hit their stride with over 200 lbs. harvested so far. Cucumbers are picking up the pace and this week we add green peppers to the mix. Red beets are still plentiful. Our potatoes are starting to really die off now. The plants are telling us it will soon be time to dig them up. I think maybe 2 weeks. We may pull our onions at the same time. String beans are flowering, and I will be watching them closely waiting of the first stringers to show up. The seeds our peace campers planted last week have sprouted and I am watering them as much as needed to help keep them going in this heat. Every year we have volunteer plants that show up on their own somewhere in the garden. This year we have a huge pumpkin plant in my compost pile. A few sunflower plants and ground cherries have made their annual appearance. But the champion is our volunteer potatoes. Last year was the first year we planted potatoes on our boxed raised beds. In all the excitement of harvesting them a few were left behind.  These sprouted this spring and I have been digging them up as we harvest what was planted this year. So far, I have dug up over 20 lbs. of volunteer potatoes with more to come. WOW! 
Thank you to everyone who helps out in the garden. Steve, 215-872-6616, [email protected]
​