This past year has been a joy to work with some people who needed a little help, and to those that knew what they were doing. It is one of the best years that we have had in all the years I worked in this job.

Towards the beginning I was worried about how it would all work out, but I got the best surprise at the end of the growing season: I have gardeners who grew the prettiest cauliflower. It was as white as snow, like nothing I have ever seen in the supermarket. One gardener grew a lot of celery, and another grew four watermelon. The smallest watermelon were over eighteen pounds. Several gardeners grew beautiful cantaloupes and all four were over thirty pounds.

I really don’t know what made them want to grow watermelon and cantaloupes, but some even grew pumpkins. That is grandparents for you, growing their own pumpkins to carve for Halloween. Several gardeners left them on the vines until it gets closer to the Holiday. These gardeners also grew a lot of vegetables, and they canned or froze over eight-hundred jars of food (not including what was frozen).

I have had a few members tell me they probably won’t plant a garden next growing season with as large as they have been; their age and health have taken its’ toll. I understand age and health make a difference in your body. We also have plenty of people who are waiting to join our group.

I really wish in my younger days that I had this job instead of some of the others. I believe I would have been a great gardener. I enjoy this job; I have learned a lot myself from some of the older gardeners. My dad was a great gardener. We always had a huge garden and a lot of canning and freezing to do in the summer, but we always enjoyed summer and had good holidays.