Planting Party

Today and yesterday garden volunteers planted corn, cabbage, pumpkin, watermelon, muskmelon, onion, potato, tomato, bell pepper, hot pepper, carrot, radish, acorn squash, daikon radish, summer squash, zucchini, butternut squash, and bush bean. Next week cucumber, lettuce, kale, more carrot, swiss chard, spinach, and eggplant will go in.

Picking Rocks

Just when you think you've picked the last rock a whole new crop of rocks emerges.

Tilling the Soil

For some of us this was our first experience using a rototiller. And we have the bruises to prove it. Yikes!

The Garden Begins!

Last year a group of friends who work at Blue Cross of MN noticed the lawn at our corporate office was kept lush and green throughout a summer drought by a magnificent sprinkler system. One of the friends, Joan, noted that that water would work just as well on a vegetable garden as it did on a lawn. The friends mused . . . and after a few presentations and a little tiny bit of begging, got permission to dig up 1600 square feet of sod and plant vegetables.

But what to do with the produce? Well, down the road and around the corner stands Lewis House. Lewis House provides a safe haven for victims of domestic violence. The budget doesn't allow for a variety of fresh vegetables and fruit. Perfect solution - we will have produce, and they need it.

Many volunteers from BCBSMN have adopted a crop and will be planting, weeding and harvesting. By the way - all the seeds and equipment have been donated, and the gardening is on the volunteers' own time.

We'll post pictures of the garden as it grows. In the meantime, to learn more about Lewis House, visit the Community Action Council Web site and choose Services.