July has been a busy month with harvest for the participants. Majority has been potatoes, lettuce, and onions. One of our participant, Bennette harvest a 16 lb head of cabbage. I was able to complete all the home visits. This time of year is my favorite because I get to go out and see the progress everyone is making with their gardens. Debbie came up with the idea to reuse pallets and had her husband to build all of her raised beds about 4 foot tall off the ground because she was having problems with bending.

This year we have 3 of our participants dealing with honey bees. I find it just amazing that some people are able to work with honey bees and not be scared. Jesse and Glenna enjoyed showing me there homemade green houses. Jesse talked about how he carried rocks from the creek to build the bottom part and he used refurbished wood and windows to build the upper half of his greenhouse.

Last week we just finished our canning classes. I was glad to see so many came out to participate in the classes, with the water bath everyone made strawberry jam and during the pressure canning class we all made green beans. This weekend is going to be our 55th anniversary reunion here at St. Vincent Mission. Everyone is working hard to get prepared. Even a few of our garden participants have donated produce out of their gardens to help feed everyone. We are planning for 150 people to attend.