Well the summer is officially over in terms of school. Friday afternoon was the last 
calm one I’ll experience for quite a while in the school building. The staff comes back on Monday followed by the students on Tuesday. Granted a number have already been back. Primarily the good teachers. The shitty ones seem to wait till the last minute with some strange sense of only showing up for the obligatory days. I’ve never quite understood that attitude and how it helps children but hey what do I know I’m just an evil administrator.
The garden has been a smashing success. I’ve lost a few battles to raccoons but I’ve 
enjoyed sweet corn, home made salsa, salads, cucumbers, tomatoes, and endless supplies of peppers. I have some big plans to expand next year and will begin work on the expansion this fall.
This morning was the Ukon Gold potato harvest. I took my tire stack apart and was able to harvest around 15 lbs of potatoes. I fried up a few for breakfast and committed another chunk to mashed potatoes that I’ll enjoy over the next few days.
On Jake’s little garden he was able to harvest his first round of green beans today that I’ll boil up for lunch this afternoon. He’s now planted, grown, tended, and will soon eat his first crop. This has gotten Gabe in the mood and I’ll take him out this afternoon to plant some fall green beans in place of where my corn was. Hopefully a warm end of August and September will produce another fun fall crop of green beans of the french variety.
All the gardening has perked my interest in sustainable urban farming. Urban farming is essentially using small plots of land to produce rather large quantities of fresh, local food. Some noble minded groups have even targeted economically depressed parts of town for these developments to bring fresh produce to these neighborhoods that are often under served by grocery stores. It’s an interesting concept and one I imagine that will continue to grow in popularity. Below are some videos that explain the concept.
