Field Work on the Farm

The hardworking members of the Murray Utah YSA and Draper Utah YSA volunteered today, generally, replanting   cabbage, raking the field and planting carrots.

Early in the Season

The dedicated volunteers from the Sandy Utah Hillcrest and the Draper Utah Eastridge Stakes planted  cucumber  transplants  and weeded.

Rainbow at the Farm

Tuesday night turned out to be a rainy night at the farm. We spent the night indoors working on the greenhouse and organizing items in the shed.

When the rain finally stopped, I took a moment to walk outside and saw the  brilliant sun starting to peek through the dark clouds. The bright rays of the sun lit up the whole farm for a few minutes and was just gorgeous! We then saw a beautiful rainbow touch down in the distance. Love the beauty we saw tonight.

Saving the Tomato Transplants

Sister Wilde was busy in the greenhouse today saving the tomatoes. Apparently a few of them didn't do so well so she came to the rescue and is transplanting them again for a second round. 

Here are the leftover tomato plants that were the weakest in the group. We only take the cream of the crop for planting. We're going to see if we can revive the ones that weren't doing so well by putting them in their own pots to grow.

Sister Garvoille was busy sifting soil to help the tomato plants.

Snack Time with Brother Wilde

Brother Wilde enjoys sharing his homemade grape juice and Jerusalem artichokes with the team. He's brought them in several times for us all to enjoy. We finally got a picture of him with his wonderful treats. 

We LOVE this pure all-natural grape juice with no added sugars. It goes down so easy and tastes amazing.

Here we have a cooler full of Jerusalem artichokes. 

If you haven't had a Jerusalem artichoke before, it tastes like a raw potato. It is known for having a wonderfully low glycemic index that barely affects blood sugar levels.

Wind, Rakes & Donuts

We expected rain on Saturday, but it held off until the afternoon. A wonderful group from the Sandy YSA ward came this morning to help out. They even brought donuts, juice, and breakfast burritos to make the morning more enjoyable.

Earlier in the week, we covered several of the beds with a cloth to protect the veggies from birds. Unfortunately, the cloths flew off during the night and needed to be fastened more securely. A plan was made to string a long cord through the wickets to provide extra support on top for the canopy cover. 

Binder clips were used to fasten the cloth to the wicket.

Here is the group out in the field raking. 

And a couple other volunteers helped finish off the onion planting.

And the onions needed a hair cut, so they got a good snipping today.

Some of the yummy treats they provided today.

Broken Pipe

One of the large irrigation pipes was found to be all cracked. After assessing the situation, it was decided that the pipe must be dug up and replaced. Here are some before and after shots of the switch.

A new pipe is laid to rest.

Planting a Potent Trio

Today during our preparation meeting Elder Haynes said he would be teaching all of us how to plant garlic, onions, and leeks. He advised that even though these plants were all similar and would go in the same box, they each had different planting needs. He asked that we gather around Box 42 later on in the evening for his planting demonstration. 

Here is the wonderful garlic that is ready for transplanting. Look how tall and proud this garlic stands.

                       

Elder Haynes begins his planting demonstration of the garlic.

A few missionaries jumped in to help with the garlic planting.

Observing the steps.

      

Recording the lesson for future missionaries.

Next up was the onion demonstration.

      

     

And now we're getting to the leeks. Do you know what a leek is? We learned that it's a cross between a garlic and onion. A real hybrid plant that's been around a very long time.