Gardening Contest

Hey! I've been devouring the seed catalogs Jenny ordered for me. Let's have a gardening contest this summer. Now don't say "Oh, Steven or Cathy will win so why bother." We can have all sorts of prizes : Most produce, best patio garden., most creative use of space, Learned the most, etc. It would be a good way to get the kids involved and could really cut into the food bills.

I've seen climbing zucchini squash and cherry tomatoes, pole peas and beans grown in large pots on patios that could be fun. Any body game?


And now for the family history story about gardening. My Mom, Hamy, and her sister, Emaline, decided to stay in a little log cabin in Paragonah one summer between college terms, to save on living expenses. To further save they planted a garden thinking that they could grow lots of fresh vegetables. Not long after they planted it they noticed their neighbor's chickens that were running loose scratching up the seeds and eating them. They shooed them off several times and did a little replanting but the chickens just wouldn't stay away.
Finally they decided on a plan. They took needle and thread and sewed little pieces of paper to corn seeds leaving a three or four inch piece of thread between the seed and the paper. They scattered a few of these in the garden. Sure enough the chickens snatched up the corn and when they went home that night they had little signs hanging out of their beaks that said, "I've been scratching in my neighbor's garden!"

The neighbors were not amused as Mom recalled. But they did keep the chickens home for a few days so the garden could get a good start.