Hummm, strange color for a webpage. This is about the color of our soil at McKuster Ranch. It is a sandy-loam soil (flooded out of the draw across the road from our ranch) which is not the same as river bottom soil that is all around us. When it rains, or is irrigated our garden soil turns deep black. Currently our garden plot is 120' x 300', roughly the size of a football field. We use NO petrochemicals/ fertilizer on our produce. We use only ORGANIC neem and garlic oils to control pest and fungi. We started breaking ground on our garden in 2003. Since then we have put in nearly 5000' of drip line irrigation, and have had to fence out grazing deer and cows.

If our growing season goes well we hope to be selling a good quantity of all natural fruit and produce from the garden in 2007. We irrigate with Walla Walla River water, fertilizing with horse manure and compost. Our one-acre garden now grows vegetables, herbs, berries, flowers, garlic, and we have recently started a small home vineyard. We grew about 3000 row-feet of gourmet hard neck garlic in 2006. We sell this garlic to area restaurants and to the general public at the Walla Walla Farmers' Market every Saturday morning, from our roadside farm produce stand, and will market via the internet in 2007. In 2007 we will offer our fresh picked in season produce; lettuce, tomatoes, corn, Swiss Chard, green beans, artichokes, garlic, herbs, etc. from our roadside vegetable stand here at the ranch on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoons. We hope you will drop by to see us at 54795 Walla Walla River Road.

Mulched & tilled with drip tape - ready for planting	in May - Aspargus and Garlic Scapes for dinner	3 varieties of Strawberries for spring/ summer/ fall
Beans	overview - spring crops gone/ summer crop coming	Corn
Cucumbers	Tomatoes & Peppers	Lettuce- summer and winter Squashes

 
Our dinner for two, on a hot August night... having been picked during the cool morning breezes coming from the Blue Mountains.

	Dessert of berries and melons on the side.
Beans are left whole, place in large pot, drizzled with olive oil or bacon drippings, dashed with fresh course ground black pepper and steamed for 8-10 minutes. In the same pot, while the beans cook we place the Corn to steam for 5 minutes on top of the beans. Tomatoes are quartered (nice with herbs and/ or garlic powder sprinkled over them - let stand 5 minutes). At the table real butter is patted onto the corn, and all is lightly sea salted & peppered. Beans are also good when sprinkled with Parmesan Cheese at the table. KISS	Berries and Melons are washed. Berries are capped, put into the melon divided on the half shell. Strawberries also eaten as a yummy side dish. Breakfast we add yogurt and/or granola to our berries. We thank the Great Spirit Creator of All for a fruitful garden.
Dinner is ready in 10 minutes.

Our garden and garden page is still under construction for the next year or two.
You are invited to keep an eye on this site as we learn how to grow crops in the desert.

Last update: September 2006
Webmaster: D. McKain
Web design: mckaincomputergraphics