Hello Gilbert Stake!

Welcome to July! 2024 is already half way gone. Let’s keep up the momentum!

For the gardeners, the harvest of many vegetables has begun. Tomatoes, squash, peppers, onions are coming in and being used. I love the taste of the first tomato every year. The flavor is amazing compared to what is purchased in the stores. Now, with the temperatures so high, your garden may need some extra care and attention. Make sure to water and keep the ground moist (not saturated). Provide shade. We always put up some sun shade netting. It costs a little, but we re-use it each year. Your plants will love the protection from the intense sun.

For some, me included, how do you know when a fruit or vegetable is ripe and ready to pick? I know I don’t like harvesting too soon, but I also don’t like to wait until the fruit is past its prime. Here is a link to help with those harvesting questions. I found it very useful.

Guidelines for Harvesting Vegetables | Piedmont Master Gardeners

If you’re into canning your bountiful harvest, whether from your personal garden or the farmers market, now is a great time to start.

My wife and I made a trip to the farmers market and came home with apples, green grapes and cherries. We like to mix them all together when we juice them so we get an amazing flavorful blend. And just like last month with the peaches, when the juice was done we whipped up the pulp in the blender and have a fantastic blend of apple, grape and cherry sauce. We don’t add anything to the blend, just the fruit and it is yummy. It is important to note, we cored the apples, pitted the cherries removed the grapes from the vines prior to juicing. That way the only thing left is pure pulp. The juice was processed in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes and the sauce processed for 20 minutes.

Here is a link to a steamer juicer very similar to the one we use. We purchased a couple of these last year and gave them to family members for Christmas. They are really easy to use and work great.

Amazon.com: Cook N Home Basics Canning Juice Steamer Extractor With water/cooking pan, juice pan, strainer/loading pan, lid, and hose with clamp , 11-Quart, Mirror Satin, Stainless Steel: Mehu Liisa Steam Juicer: Home & Kitchen

Here is some great thoughts from Elder Bednar to help us in our spiritual preparedness.

“Some Church members opine that emergency plans and supplies, food storage, and 72-hour kits must not be important anymore because the Brethren have not spoken recently and extensively about these and related topics in general conference. But repeated admonitions to prepare have been proclaimed by leaders of the Church for decades. The consistency of prophetic counsel over time creates a powerful concert of clarity and a warning volume far louder than solo performances can ever produce.

Just as challenging times reveal inadequacies in temporal preparedness, so too the maladies of spiritual casualness and complacency inflict their most detrimental effects during difficult trials.

…

“Thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more.”¹¹

I invite each of us to “consider [our] ways”¹² and “examine [ourselves], whether [we] be in the faith; [and] prove [our] own selves.”¹³ What have we learned during these recent months of lifestyle adjustments and restrictions? What do we need to improve in our lives spiritually, physically, socially, emotionally, and intellectually? Now is the time to prepare and prove ourselves willing and able to do all things whatsoever the Lord our God shall command us.”

We Will Prove Them Herewith

By Elder David A. Bednar

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

To help in your quest to follow the Prophets council, here are suggestions to help build your storage in June:

Week 1: Jams or jellies. Make a batch of freezer jam or try making some cooked variety.

Week 2: Water jugs or buy some bottled water. Don’t forget bleach or other water purification.

Week 3: Ready dinners: ravioli, pasta, oriental, boxes or frozen. Get what your family will eat.

Week 4: Canned goods! Chili, soups, canned meats, beans, etc. Buy what your family likes.

May the Lord bless you in your endeavors to live providently.

Need help with any or all of these topics, no problem. Just reach out to your ward’s Preparedness Specialist. If you ward does not have a specialist, contact your ward Elders Quorum President and/or your Relief society President.