Good Day to everyone. This is Gail Mills, the Project Coordinator for the Grow Appalachia Garden Program at Project Worth in Menifee County, Kentucky. As we enter the home stretch of the gardening season I would like to share a few thoughts with everyone.

First of all, the sun has finally made an appearance and actually hung around for a few days in a row. What about that? Our gardening program took a severe hit this year due to the terrible weather we experienced in our region as I’m sure many of the gardens did across Appalachia. We had many gardeners completely flooded out, some of them twice. We had a couple gardeners lose their garden to weeds because it stayed to muddy to enter the garden. We actually had some gardens lost due to wind damage. As you can tell we experienced a number of issues with gardens therefore, all of our harvest numbers are down somewhat this year and we hope and expect to rebound somewhat. But you know, it was a pleasure to witness the perseverance, determination and compassion of our gardeners. Those gardeners that had the good fortune to have a bountiful harvest did not hesitate to share with those that did not. It really warms the heart to have watched this group take care of one another they way a family does and make no mistake our group of gardeners became a family. It just goes to show you even with the many obstacles we face in our gardens we work as a team to overcome them as a family.

Our Means’s Organic Produce Market has been a pleasant surprise this year. We really didn’t really know exactly what to expect but it has really been well accepted by the community. We had to turn buyers away due to the fact we had already sold everything we had on that particular day. Several times this happened after the first hour. Later in the gardening season there will be potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips and many types of greens.

As we run out of Summer and Fall is approaching everyone will be reflecting on the past growing season. Nothing can be done about the gardens that were lost due the extreme weather this past year but we can make the most of what our gardens did produce. Do not be discouraged and DO NOT GIVE UP. Maybe next year will be better. The weather can make or break a garden. In closing, I would like to request and encourage for someone, anyone, to email me their recipe for corn pudding made with fresh corn. My email is literacy@mrtc.com. Thanks a bunch and let’s finish this garden season with a bang. Gail Mills.