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. 
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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! 
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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]