Hang on to Your Hat!
by Solomon West
The official start of summer blew in with an extremely gusty Memorial Day Farmers’ Market which was certainly one of the windiest in the recent history of the event. I’m told that wind gusts reached 60 mph! I may or may not have seen a small child lift off the ground during an especially strong gust. Vendors up and down the line were clinging on to their merchandise and shade tents, desperately trying to keep them from blowing into space and joining the Dragon rocket for a space station docking. As exciting as it would have been for the Youth Garden Project (YGP) to have our produce become the first self-propelled vegetables in space (it’s probably happening somewhere people), we managed to keep all our merchandise within a recoverable distance from the booth.
The summer season is upon us and things are really starting to pop up here at the garden. The first Farmers’ Market of the season we were only able to offer a bit of mixed salad greens, a lonely bunch of radishes, and various fresh herbs. Already, just three weeks later our inventory is really starting to bud. Visitors to our booth this last weekend were treated to fresh salad greens, beet greens, kale, garlic scapes, sugar snap peas!, arugula, spinach, fresh eggs, an assortment of fresh herbs, and the always exciting selection of pickled veggies, pesto, and homemade jams (the nectarine basil is a real treat)!
It has been a rewarding experience to watch the hard work put into the garden pay off with progressively more plentiful harvests. Nearly every row in the garden is planted now and different plants are popping up all over the place. The Moab Farmers’ Market patrons will surely be treated to a smorgasbord of fresh YGP veggies as the summer rolls on. As always, if anyone wants a sneak peak at what is growing and soon to make an appearance in the next market, Weed-N-Feeds happen every other Wednesday—the next one is June 20th.
The Farmers’ Market is just one of many examples of how YGP is connecting and contributing to the local community. In my short time here at the garden I have been blown away by how involved in the community this organization is. Everyone who is a part of YGP is completely dedicated to keeping the community connected, helping the local youth bud, and continuing to grow deep strong roots for the organization so that the entire community can continue to benefit from its existence for many years to come. It really is more than just an impressive vegetable garden.
- Written by Solomon West
Solomon served as a garden intern at YGP in the spring of 2012. Originally from Wyoming, Solomon is now working seasonally in Oregon.
