Howdy everyone! Frank N. Foode here, with some exciting news. It has been a hot and dry summer for a lot of plants and people around the country, but we managed to come together and decide which of you people really love your plants. Get ready for the results of our recent gardening community contest (#6), and then, a special scavenger hunt for some amazing news that we just can’t wait to tell you all about! Everyone’s a winner!
We asked you to talk about your gardens in the forum, and what was at stake was a tote bag, book from our prize page, and ten tins of homemade beeswax hand salve. And six of you entered! Here are the entries:
1. Canadian Garden, by Richard R
2. Massachusetts Garden, by MaryM
3. First time raised bed owner, by JPlovesCOTTON
4. Pennsylvania Garden, by GregH
5. Seattle Garden, by Rachael Ludwick
6. Illinois Garden, by willb
They talked about peas, carrots, troubles with rabbits, and of course, tons of varieties of tomatoes. Hundreds of people have visited each entry already, some offering a little advice, or even realizing that they should keep a closer eye on what tomatoes go through their garden soil! A little ingenuity on tomato cages was shared, along with lots of pictures in the forum, and links to them on other sites. Truly, you people love your plants.
How to pick who would be the winner of this contest? We narrowed it down to 2 first place winners one early adopter and one newcomer. One photo-savvy entrant and one garden planting updater. Drum roll please…
The winners of our 6th community contest are Rachael Ludwick and Richard R! Give them a round of applause! They will each get a Tote bag, their choice of book from our contest prize page, and a tin of hand salve to help with the harvest this year, and planting next year. Books are first-come, first-serve, so pick it quick! We know everyone’s got a prize book already in mind when they enter, right?
OK, so that means that MaryM, JPlovesCOTTON, GregH, and willb will each also get a tin of hand salve. You silly humans don’t produce a good coat of wax to block moisture like we plants do. Well, now you can have your own beeswax-based cuticles, too! I hear it also softens beards. Winners will receive an email with details on how to claim your prize(s).
So that’s six hand salves going out, but we had ten to award. What to do? Well, it turns out that we recently had the intimate details of one other [large] ‘garden’ plot described, discussed, and defended here on this blog, which also graced the forum. The importance of genetics, research, and difficulties with a bit more than mere rabbits was talked about. It started when four UK scientists went on Youtube to defend their research on genetically engineered wheat, and it felt more like someone was threatening to tear out their backyard gardens! Truly, some big plots of plants are just as much a labor of love as the smallest patch of struggling strawberries, and so it is my pleasure to report that these four intrepid scientists will also receive a tin of hand salve as honorary winners of our gardening forum contest. Congrats to everyone!
There you have it, thank you everyone for participating, and don’t forget to let us know how big and delicious your harvests are. We’re looking into a forum plugin update that might make it easier to include pictures as well, to make this go much more smoothly next year. Oh yeah, there will be another, so start thinking about that patch of dirt or grass with hungry eyes. 
Speaking of winning…
These ten people are not the only winner this week. The Biofortified Blog has some big news to report, which is only just barely becoming public. Something happened this last week, something big, awesome, and a game-changer for reaching people with scientific facts. The news is out there, and it is even already on this site, but you’ve got to find it. Inklings have been expressed on twitter, and the official announcement is pending. But you’ve got a chance, if you simply can’t wait until next week, to find this out for yourself. If you are interested, here are your clues.
- It involves the Biofortified Blog and is totally awesome
- It involves another organization, much bigger than Biofortified
- It was announced today (Friday) at a scientific conference
- It is now already mentioned and explained somewhere on this site
- I’m thinking of a number greater than 1
Those are the hints! Feel free to leave cryptic guesses in the comments. For those who can wait, fear not, for you will know soon enough!
Frank I’m so happy to hear about the ________. It’s so cool to have an organization like that value _______ and grasp the need for ________.
The only thing I can’t figure out is how to blame it on ___________.
And thanks for the salve! Might need it for some upcoming typing….