Saturday Oct 1st at 10 am!

ATTENTION GARDENERS: We will meet this Saturday, Oct. 1 at 10 am in the garden. We have lettuce and kale to plant and raspberry cane tie-up to finish. The Little Diggers will meet at 10:30. We have some cleanup to do and, as well, we have to pick our pumpkins. You can pick your own pumpkin for Halloween. All are welcome.

Thanks to all, & winners

From Jim:Our first Fall Fair is now history. By all accounts it was a great success and on behalf of DIGS, I’d like to thank everyone who made it a success ...those who entered an exhibit, the judges, the registrars, the crafters, the book sellers, the race officials, the chauffeurs, the water taxi operator, the bartenders, the tent putter uppers and taker downers, the ribbon makers, dancers, the kids and their parents, visitors to the island and island residents.

Special thanks to the band. Trish, Geoff, David and Rick gave us 3 hours of foot stomping, hand clapping, patient clear dance instruction, immensely enjoyable music!

And the judges, all 8 of them, who gave generously of their time and experience.
And my wife, Margaret, who kept me focused and came up with all the good ideas

Finally, congratulations to the winners! (names used to appear below, but now saved elsewhere.)

Photos from the Fab FALL FAIR!!!

Dear Islanders,
Feast your eyes!!


(double click and choose full screen slide show!)

The Fall Fair was Fantastico!
At night there was DANCING!
It was the most amazing music EVER!!
Thankyou everybody!

More photos from Marg (click to enlarge) of all the folk to thank.

Vendors


Musicians and Dancers:


Wonderful square dancing and "Sasha! Sasha! Un-deux-trois" Ukranian wild stomping and even "Havva Negila"! (sorry about my ethnic-phoenetic spelling problem!)


Racers & Watchers:


Winners:


Exhibits:



Thank you to everybody! We love this whole gardening THING, don't we?

hahahhahaha.

Best, Jen (any more photos, send to us, thanks.)

You've come a long way, baboo!!

From Sept 2011 Digs

Fall Fair Update

We are in the final stretch now...only a week and a bit before our first Fall Fair on Friday, Sept. 16 and Saturday, Sept. 17. It’s not too late to put together entries in any of our 16 categories. Who knows? Maybe that jam made from a distant relative’s recipe may bring home a coveted blue ribbon.
The judges for the Baking and Preserves category will be using the Manitoba Food Rules. Click on the link: Standards for Judging Food

See catagories on earlier Fall Fair post below.

There have been questions about the Barn Dance on Saturday evening (7:00 pm at the Lighthouse). Yes, we will be trying some square dancing and, yes, we will have a fiddler and caller but, no, you do not have to wear a crinoline. What we need is raw enthusiasm and a willingness to give it a “go" !

Finally, on Saturday afternoon (starting a 12:00) the doors will be open for the public to come in and view the displays at the lighthouse. As well, local vendors will be selling such things as books, marionettes, hand painted glassware, jewellery, purses and scarves, knitted goods, as well as jackets and totes and other sewn goods such as dolls. Various CD’s from local musicians will also be available.

Apple pressing (to make apple juice) will also be happening on the back lawn of the Beacon Houses and kids’ races will be taking place on the lower field (starting at 2:00)

If you have any questions contact email Marg Harris at meharris@telus.net

Fall Fair Food Judging Criteria

Judging for all the food entries in ourFall Fair (Sept. 16 & 17) will be based on the Manitoba Food Rules criteria. If you are submitting an entry in this category please check out the following link: Food Judging Standards.

Saturday this week!

Attention Gardeners and Little Diggers:
We will meet this SATURDAY, Sept. 10th at 10:00 in the garden.
We have another bed to plant with fall rye and a potato tower to harvest.
The Little Diggers meet at 10:30 on SATURDAY as well.
This week we will talk about fall fairs and discuss what they might enter.
All are welcome.

Sunny September photos

Dear Garden lovers,


The last two Sundays the Little Diggers made veggie kababs, and also harvested the potato tower.
To make the slideshow bigger, click on photos then choose "full screen".

News: Gardening time now switches to SATURDAYS, starting Sept. 10th.No more Sundays til next summer. Come on Saturdays at 10 am instead; all welcome.

Some other bizarre incidents also occured these past two weeks.

Last year's Onion Master (previous winner of the giant onion contest) drove by singing at the top of his lungs that no one could possibly grow an onion any bigger;
a strange pumpkin grew in a strange land;
and a sleepy insect from a magic sky decided to nap on a garden stake.

Have a look for yourself in the above photos(although the Onion Master was too quick to capture on film - he may be back!).

Best, Jen

Fall Fair Sept 16th & 17th!!

Digs Fall Fun Fair and Barn Dance


Plans for the upcoming DIGS Fall Fair (Sept. 16, 17 at the Beacon House) are well underway.

Eight experienced judges have agreed to judge the various categories. All the ribbons have been designed and printed. It's time now to think about your entries.

1. Visual Arts: - best painting/sketch - best photograph
2. Horticulture:-3 vegetables of same size and type - biggest zucchini - 3 fruits
-most unusual vegetable - mixed vase of garden flowers
3. Baking/Preserves: - best pie - best bread - best sweet loaf - best pickle - best jam/jelly/chutney
4. Wines: -best homemade white wine - best homemade red wine
5. Junior Category: - best scarecrow
6. Giant Onions: – single heaviest onion

You may enter as many categories as you wish. Each entry must be accompanied by a $1.00 fee and must be presented at the Beacon House Friday night (Sept. 16) or Saturday (Sept. 17) before 10 am. Judging will take place Saturday morning between 10 am and noon by a panel of highly qualified local judges and ribbons awarded in all categories. The doors of the Beacon House will be open to the general public to view all the entries at 12:00 noon (after the judges have finished evaluating the entries).

The exhibits will remain open Saturday afternoon for viewing by the public. Other activities will take place outside. Also at 12:00 several island vendors will be selling their wares on the back lawn of the Beacon House. Jim H. will be pressing apples and making juice on the back lawn as well. Bring a container and you can take home some fresh apple juice.

On the lower field Veronica, Josephine and Guy will be organizing different races for the kids – sack race, egg and spoon race and three legged race. Outdoor events will start at 2:00pm. On Saturday evening (7 pm)the fall fair “wraps up” with a “barn dance” in the Beacon House featuring a live band complete with a fiddler and a square dance caller. Entry fee is a plate of appetizers for the food table.


Dates:
Friday, Sept. 16 for submission of entries and Saturday, Sept.17 for the public to view entries (from 12:00 noon on), fun and games outside, apple pressing, local crafters selling their wares and a "barn dance" in the evening - all taking place at the Beacon House

As a finale there will be a Barn Dance on Saturday evening starting at 7 pm. (Yee-Haw!)
Admission is a plate of appetizers.
Dress is somewhat farmer-like.
Now is the time to start planning your entry so that you can join in the fun.
Good Luck!

What's up at Digs this week?

Dear Garden Lovers,

Just a quick look at "What's Up?" in the garden.


If you click on the slideshow you can get it to play full screen.

What a lovely place, even in the (welcome) rain! Enjoy!
P.S. Is it just me, or have we got some really good looking veggies?!
Jen

Aug.14th beach minerals

Here is a slide show from August 2010:



What we did today:

This Sunday, Aug.14th at Digs:

Little Diggeroos - Anne M. led the Little Diggers on a geological tour of the beach looking for and identifying various minerals. Totally excellentay!

Weird item of day - Yes, some birds can pierce right through bird-netting with their jet-propelled sharp long beaks. Reports of more birds zooming through like misiles, breaking into the netting, in order to eat berries. Don't doubt it; there have been a number of sightings/witnesses. :>)

Gardener's meet - At this morning's meeting we discussed possible new signage we might need to try and communicate to visitors which beds are NOT TO BE PICKED, because they are family allotments, and belong to the families who work on them

(ie: Please please don't pick family's tomatoes or little digger's giant-onion-contest onions please please!)

Vegetables and fruits that are for people to take will always be put out on the table outside the fence.

New to the Garden? If you need a tour to know where "tasting is encouraged" and where not to pick by accident, come down any Sunday at 10 am or meet with Jane afer 4:30 on M-W-F, and someone will be happy to give you a garden tour.

Harvested some of these today - Bush beans (green/yellow), carrots, (some had split from too much delicious water!) kohlrabi, cucumber, leeks, small onions, dill, and misc. lettuces.

Planted today - Cauliflour and cabbage transplanted into bed no. 1, and winter rye was planted (keep moist) in the x-garlic beds, which are now fallow.
The option still exists to put remay white cloth over the sprouting rye to stop the birds from whooping it up and having a party.....it's the best kind of bird-party-pooper choice, mayhaps. :>)

Other chores - Brussel sprouts got new, doubly attractive stakes, and were tied up to them; tomatoes received some small pruning, and kale and winter lettuce plants were potted up a size.

A fine day for gardening. Thanks to all who come out and get diggy!

Best, Jen

garden maintenance and harvesting ..

for any who are interested .. i will be at the garden monday, wednesday, and friday afternoons, from about 4:30 to 5:30-6:00 .. (just in time for dinner) .. if you would like to join me in maintaining the garden, and checking what's to harvest, please do ..

jane