A Good Hay Day and a Rabbit-Proof Fence -by Erica at High Rocks

Stylishly dressed for the office, the managing editor of the Pocahontas Times, Jaynell Price-Graham, climbed up on her old John Deere tractor to expertly place a round bale of hay in our truck.  Just another example of the varied talents found in the people of our county!  We delivered this donated mulch hay to four participant gardens.  It felt good to cover the bare ground before the heat of late summer sets in.

We also sent of some samples of some spotty tomato leaves to WVU for culturing and diagnosis.  We didn’t see late blight here last year, so we are hoping for good news.  In the meantime, we’ve advised our gardeners to use Serenade preventatively. 

Today we visited the community garden at the Family Refuge Center Shelter to deliver rabbit fencing.  Their garden looked lush and well-cared for.  The FRC Shelter is a temporary home for families who are victims of domestic violence.  The children who recently stayed at the shelter were enthusiastic green bean pickers.  Some never before had green beans that didn’t come from a can.  Brenda, their garden coordinator, said she had a glut of summer squash and the families staying there weren’t eating it.  She took it to a local restaurant and sold it for $10—money that will go back into the shelter’s operating budget.  As we stretched the fence around the perimeter, she showed us the watermelons and pumpkins that the Girl Scouts started and planted—a future treat for families in need of a little more sweetness in their lives.