Martha's Date Farm has 8,000 date trees and this crop is gaining popularity because of its super food properties. We have become converts. Not only is the date milk shake very tasty but it is fruit full of nutrition (particularly potassium) and there are lots of recipes out there to try. We took the 2 hour tour and learned that the Medjool Date came to America from Morocco in the 1940's when a disease ravaged their trees. They brought 18 trees over, placed 6 in Yuma Valley, 6 in Coachella Valley (Palm Springs area) and 6 other in the desert near Las Vegas (I think) --those in Yuma and Coachella thrived in the soil and weather--not so much in the desert. If you ask for dates from the sister trees (they are the surviving original trees--4 of them), these dates are supposed to be most spectacular. A 10 year old date palm tree produces enough dates to harvest commercially. A 50 year old tree is too tall to get product efficiently. Interesting indeed.
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Nels at Martha's was our delightful tour guide and son of Martha.
Those are Date Palms behind him- a little different than regular palm trees. |
The next tour was offered by Western Arizona College and Yuma Visitors Center and called "Field to Feast". We got up early (7am and went to the hard to find visitor center --go to California, over the bridge and then under said bridge) and hopped on a 50 person bus and first went to a farm where area farmers, in partnership with the college, grow semi-organically a variety of vegetables. We heard from their Master Gardener, their quality control (poop and pest expert) and an area farmer who makes his living growing veggies and getting them to market. Then we got to harvest some veggies: one bag for the college, one bag to take home. Last year they had an E.coli out break in their lettuce and it about did the industry in Yuma.
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| Artichoke plants weren't ready to harvest yet or I would have been all over them. |
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| Lettuces, a beet, cauliflower, broccoli, and that little purple thing that is supposed to taste like a mild radish |
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| Farmers must wear hair nets |
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| They had a feast with the fresh veggies we picked and topped it off with a date bar |
The good the bad and the ugly: Men Vols BB -good/great, Lady Vols BB- the bad/ugly. Grant Williams, Admiral Schofield, Jordan Bone and company are putting on a clinic on the basketball court and hold the no. 1 position in NCAA Basketball. They sure are fun to watch. On the other hand, the girls are not doing so well. They do not seem to have any energy and lost their first 6 SEC games --ugh.
Along with the Yuma sunshine the end of January brings Katie's birthday and this year is special--she turns 40! Sally texted me and said what is this? she is catching up to us. Well what a 40 years it has been for me and her Daddy. She is so bright, such a great mother and loving daughter. How blessed we are.
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| She was the cutest baby! |
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| And she makes for a truly lovely 40 year old |
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