It was another hot one out there this week but we had A LOT to visit.  With the amazing job that Frank and Diane has done watering quite a bit has grown and I needed the kids help checking it out and of course, keeping it watered.

Before I get too far into what happened that day I want to make sure you all saw that ‘Kids in the Garden’ made the news!  A really nice article was in the Poynette Press last week.  Click HERE to read it!

To see more pictures be sure to check out the ‘Kids in the Garden’ flickr group I started HERE.  If you’re participating in our little program please feel free to upload your pictures to the group as well!

Frank and Diane were on vacation for this weeks ‘Kids in the Garden’ so that left Lisa and I to run the show – I think it went well (I hope at least). 

Lisa’s daughter, Ashley, was a great help and was our photographer for the day.  She did a great job! 

We started at the duck race garden and checked our little rain gauge gnome. Can you guess what we found – yup – no water, 0 inches, still.  So, all the kids got some cups of water and started to water our lusciously growing garden…which is only luscious because it’s being watered.  We also took a closer look and saw that our tomato plants have started to grow some tomatoes!  They’re still really green but I’m guessing it won’t be too long before we have tomatoes for our snack! {water break}

Next we headed to the jungle gym to see what was growing – looks like beans and gourds to us!  They’re really starting to climb! Again – the kids got their cups of water and helped with some of the watering for these beautiful plants.  Once we had a water break it was time to head out to the pumpkin patch.  We hadn’t visited this patch yet so it was definitely time.  I love the picture Ashley got of the kids on the search for pumpkins. 

They were delighted to find LOTS of pumpkins in all shapes, sizes and stages.  We picked four pumpkins that we’re going to keep track of their circumference as they grow.

Survey ribbons were tied to the stems of the pumpkins we’re measuring so we can find the same ones again in the weeks to follow.

• Yellow Ribbon: 12” circumference
• Red Ribbon: 24” circumference
• Blue/Black Striped Ribbon: 27” circumference
• Black Ribbon: 20” circumference

I can’t wait to see how much they grow before next weeks class!

On our trek back from the pumpkins we had our snack for the day – Blueberry Stuffed Raspberries.  A delicious creations that one of our kids came up with actually last season.  See how to make this wonderful treat HERE.   {water break}

Next we went to visit the garden by the wood stove.  The kids found some weeds and helped me pull them.  Then we looked to see if anything was growing.  YES!  We found watermelon, cantaloupe, honey dew, yellow crooked neck summer squash, zucchini, cucumbers, patty pans and yellow zucchini.  This garden is really starting to produce some fun things!

With the heat, water is SO IMPORTANT, so once again, the kids grabbed their cups and they got our garden watered.  We had three more gardens to visit.  We headed by the goats and chickens to check out the garden back there.  {water break} I’m excited to report that we were able to see peppers growing, onions, a flourishing tomatillo plant, ground cherries, chocolate cherry tomatoes and so much more.  This garden is going to really help us make some tasty salsa when things are ready! In the picture at the very top of the page you can see one of our kiddo’s, Jason, with his two onions – one for him and one for his dad.  I guess he REALLY likes onions (too cute!) – and we’re going to support that as much we can!  I hope they enjoyed them!  In the midst of visiting the ‘Garden by the Goats’ Lisa’s other daughter, Sarah, our chicken whisperer, helped get a loose chicken back in the pen. (We are now penning them with the goats…they like to eat all the berries and veggies too much this time of year.)  I’m very glad she was there because as I’m sure most of you know – I’m not super good with animals.  When the emus escaped last year the first thing I did was grab the camera…

{water break}

After the chicken was safely back in the pen and the kids were happy with what they saw at the ‘Garden by the Goats’ we headed out to measure our sunflowers.  This is one of the gardens that we are NOT irrigating or watering.  We’re just going to see what happens (you can only do so much…) with this one and we’ll take whatever we get.  Amazingly, the sunflowers have grown quite a bit.  We measured three and took the average so our sunflower’s are at about 26-inches tall on average!  AND, seeds that were planted AFTER the last rainfall are actually starting to grow…no idea how it’s happening but we’ll take it!Before heading back to the sheds to cool off I couldn’t resist bringing the kids to our tomato patch.  It is GORGEOUS!  Deep, dark, luscious green leaves and LOTS of green tomatoes are growing.  You can see Amy and Savannah above taking a closer look while the others take a little walk through the patch.   {water break} {water break} {water break} {water break} {water break} {water break}

It was time for our final {water break} .  The kids ran around, played on the playground and in the sprinkler we had set up.  The mom’s cooled off in the shade.  It was another HOT day but a successful, fun hot day.  I can’t believe we’re already half way through the program.  I’m excited for the things we and the gardens still have in store for the kids!And…a picture of my bounty of the day.  One Crooked Neck yellow squash, a green zucchini and three cucumbers.  I forgot to pick the patty pans but I snagged them the next day.  My bounty of fresh veggies keeps getting bigger!

Stop by again net week so see how Week 5 goes! (Diane will have to report…I’m missing next week…)

Take a look back at earlier this summer:

• Week 1
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week – Fourth of July