Thankful

Here at the Giving Garden we are thankful for all our wonderful volunteers! During this year's growing season we harvested over 1,200 lbs. All of which went right back into the community. Some of it even went for a cruise! How is that possible....well, have you heard about the ELRC Mobile Food Pantry?  It is an innovative approach to hunger relief that brings food support into neighborhoods. To learn more, check out the Eagan and Lakeville Resource Center (ELRC) website.

Blue Cross volunteers and Eagan and Lakeville Resource Center (ELRC)  leadership celebrate the inaugural delivery of the ELRC Mobile Food Pantry. During the Minnesota growing season, some of the produce delivered to food shelf recipients in Dakota County comes from our very own Blue Cross giving garden.

Fruits of Our Labor

Oh my...I can't believe we have been away from the blogging world since August! The garden has definitely kept us on our toes this growing season.

Since we last shared an update, we have held two events. One was our fall clean up while the other was an Ice Cream social. Of course, after enjoying a few scoops of ice cream harvesting was in order!

We will be back soon to hopefully share some photos of our fall clean up event and our year end harvest total. Stay warm!!

First Pumpkin Harvest

We surely are on a role over here. Yesterday's delivery topped the scale at 76lbs! Even more impressive, take a look at that 32.5lb pumpkin =) Many thanks go out to the fabulous volunteers who stopped out for a little weeding therapy yesterday. The garden looks green and beautiful!

Growing and Growing

The heat and rain sure are paying off over here. We harvested over 25 lbs in the past few days!

8 pounds cucumbers

2 lbs kale

4 lb 12 oz carrots

12 lb 11 oz summer squash

7 oz swiss chard

2 oz spearmint

3.5 oz onion

and a few ounces of dill

Oh and did I mention we have a huge pumpkin growing in the garden?

Yummy!

Despite the heat wave this summer, the garden is off to a successful start. To date we have harvested and donated 47.10 lbs! Don't those raspberries look delicious?!

Celebrating our Volunteers

"Volunteers don't necessarily have the time; they just have the heart."

-Elizabeth Andrew

It was a perfect day for a celebration in the garden. We enjoyed fresh veggies, recognized our volunteers and enjoyed the company of our special guests.



Before and After

BEFORE

AFTER

Getting Started

Ever wondered how you could get started with your own Community Giving Garden? Well, look no further and check out the new "Tips for Getting Started" fact sheet. We hope you enjoy!

Radishes!

The radishes are almost ready to pick, and we can hardly wait!  Okay, we didn't wait. 

Try this tasty recipe (courtesy of Food Network) for roasted radishes and carrots:

1 bunch small to medium radishes, about 12

12 baby carrots
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lemon half

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Place the radishes and carrots on a baking sheet and toss with the olive oil, thyme, salt, and pepper. Roast until tender yet firm in the center, about 20 minutes. Squeeze with a little lemon juice and serve.

Our strawberry patch has produced scads of berries for delivery this spring!  We've alternated deliveries between Lewis House and Eagan Resource Center for the past few weeks.  Thanks, Strawberry Team!

Though admittedly less enjoyable than picking strawberries, we do have some fans of rock picking.  A geologist might find our garden interesting and certainly productive.

Nothing better than a salad with spring onions and strawberries!  Use fresh spinach or your favorite lettuce, chopped green onions, fresh strawberries, add walnuts if you like, and toss with your favorite light vinaigrette.

New Fence

We've upgraded from our original bent up chicken wire fence to a nice new fence which will be easier to put up and take down each year for tilling.

Cory Benson from Cortland Construction donated his time and expertise to construct our new fence with the help of  Lynn one of our garden steering committee volunteers.

Thanks to Cory and Lynn we have a great looking new fence just in time for planting to help keep the bunnies at bay!