Where Did the Time Go?

L to R:  Lauren, Sophia, Charlie, Tammy,
Meghan, Hannah and Lisa.
(click to enlarge)



L to R:  Tom Sanders, Joe Hinman,
Henry Simmons and Tom Wendt
(click to enlarge)

Today we not only had some ALC students in the garden, but this was the last summer field trip to the garden for the SPIN kids this year. Oh No!!!!

The students from St. Croix Valley ALC were here by 9am and did more mounding of our potatoes, weeded the lettuce, and removed the pea pod plants that have finished for the season.

Everyone began the harvest when the SPIN kids arrived. Corn, beans, eggplant, Swiss Chard, tomatoes, cucumbers, tomatilla’s, zucchini, lettuce, and the big attraction of the day? HOT PEPPERS! We had a little friendly competition between student Joe and one or our Project Mangers Bob. After picking a jalapeño with lots of striping, which indicates heat, Joe told Bob that if he ate it, he would try a bite.

Now Bob has a reputation at Retail Construction of never having enough hot sauce or never enough hot peppers on a dish! The pictures of the pepper challenge show Joe’s reaction after taking his bite of the dreaded pepper! A picture is worth a thousand words!



The Pepper Challenge!  (click to enlarge)

Then the three brave SPIN souls of Sophia, Meghan and Hannah decided they wanted to try a slice! Let’s say that water was first on their list. We taught them the trick of eating tomatoes to cool down the heat and that worked very well. So well that Sophia used an open Sun Gold Cherry tomato to rub on her lips to cool them down! Needless to say, we had a good laugh with the seeds all over her face!

Sophia's Sun Gold Cherry tomato cure for burning lips!
(click to enlarge)

When the 115 lbs of produce was picked and weighed, the students were treated to two pizzas made with ingredients from the garden.  Thank you Toni and Mary for making these great pizzas!

We will miss seeing the red and white school bus pulling into the parking lot; miss the laughter, the “Oh gross, it’s a slug” comments, and much, much more.

While the ALC will be back until the garden every Friday until the garden is put to bed this fall, we take our hats off to the SPIN kids and share a sincere “THANK YOU” for all of your help in the garden this summer. Because of your efforts, the food shelf has some wonderfully fresh produce to share amongst the St. Croix Valley residents. “YOU” made a big difference in the lives of so many people. What an amazing group of kids you are!

“Thank You”