Revenge of the Squash Bugs

Marcos Terrazas

Friday July 31, 2019

On this day in the O’Keeffe garden it started off as a cool morning we all split into our groups. Group one consisted of Adam, Danielle, and I. We started off by checking beans for bean beetles and their larvae. There hadn’t been any squash bugs but today I was the first to notice that we had some eggs on the innards of the plants. Adam also noticed that there were tiny spiders, which Rique confirmed that they were baby squash bugs. They were so tiny and had a blue tint to them.

 After we had moved on to cultivating the garden and we had to rebuild the mound for the corn so the corn wouldn’t fall over.

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We weren’t able to cultivate last week because of the rain we got, so it was very crucial we did so. Group 2 which consisted of Jaide, Kaitlynn, and Santiago were picking up all the fruit that had dropped over the weekend. Group 2 also planted peas, rutabaga, kale, mustard, and some pinto beans. They mostly filled in the bald spots where the plants hadn’t come up. For some reason the carrots nor the kale has been coming up this year. This is the third time we try to plant so hopefully we can get some sprouts.

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After this we all took and small water break and talked about what we were going to do next. Group one started off by weeding around the greens and in between them. I did the wall but did not have time to finish. Group 2 went back to finish planting and watering the things they planted. Adam and Rique also went to pour olive oil over the corn to help get rid of the worms. Before time was out we all put our tools and snacks away and helped pick some more fruit. Misty then gave us our apple sauce, fruit rollups, and apricot jam that we had made Monday. At the end of the day we were all tired. But overall it was a productive day.

Canning Workshop

Kaitlyn Terrazas & Santiago Chacon

July 29, 2019

The day started off nice and slow. Right away, Jennifer (who was in charge of this project) had us start with preparing the apples for apple sauce. The process was having two interns peeling the skin off of the apples, having another intern cutting the apples into fourths and deseeding them, and the final intern cutting the apples up into little squares to make it easier for them to get soft. Four of the interns were a little early, so she had us doing that.

After every one got there, that’s when we officially started. We went around in a circle and introduced ourselves. Once that was done, we were then told what we were doing for the day. The foods that we were making were apple sauce, fruit rollups, and apricot jelly.

While we continued with the apples, the other interns started preparing the apricots for the jelly and fruit rollups. What they would do is get an apricot, split it in half, and put it into a pile. After doing what they were doing for a while, we switched jobs.

fruit roll ups

Preparing apples

With both fruits prepared, we would then take them to a blender to be made into liquid. The apples would then be heated up and made into apple sauce, while half the apricots would be put flat on a sheet and heated (with a much more dry heat). We learned that it takes five hours for them to dry, so we would not be taking some home today. However Jeniffer brought us some of her own homemade fruit rollups for us to have, which was very nice. There were two different flavors, one with plums and the other with apricots and pineapple. They were a little tart but they tasted surprisingly good.

After doing all that hard work, it was time for lunch. There were various sandwiches that we could make with different breads and lunch meats. Not only did we have that, but Adam also brought some snacks from the farmers market like plums and peas. It was really a nice time to take a little break and hang out with each other.

Once our little break was over, it was time for some more work. With the rest of the apricots, we made some jelly. With both the jelly and apple sauce, Jennifer chose to can them. What we did was get a jar, have the jelly or apple sauce heated, pour said heated item into the jar (just right), put the lid on the jar, and boil them to create pressure for a tight seal. This is done so that way we could save it for later. She mentioned we could always reuse the jars and rings but would need new seals.

Canning apple sauce

Perfect amount

In summary, today was a fun day that we had where we made some sweets and learned something new. It was nice to get out of the garden for a while. Now all that we have to do is enjoy our new creations, hopefully extend our knowledge to our families, and have fun.