GLORIOUS GARDENING QUARTZ HILL WOMAN WINS CROP OF PRIZES.Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer LANCASTER - Since May, Rita Fox has been putting in an hour every morning and an hour every night watering and weeding and spraying in her garden at her home in a former Quartz Hill almond orchard. Her effort paid off with the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley Fair's gardening sweepstakes award, her second consecutive win. ``I've been very very blessed with produce this year,'' said Fox, wife of a retired firefighter, mother of two grown children and grandmother of eight. ``I call it My Father's Garden. He's the one who gives us the sunshine to grow our vegetables, and he blessed our garden.'' Fox's 64 entries of apples, almonds, kohlrabi kohlrabi (kōl`rä`bē) [Ger. partly from Ital.,=turnip cabbage], plant (Brassica caulorapa, sometimes classified as var. caulorapa , watermelons, raisins, egg plants, pear tomatoes, green onions and other fruits and vegetables won 14 first-place ribbons, plus second- and third-place ribbons to give her the sweepstakes award sponsored by the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County Farm Bureau. Multiple past sweepstakes winner Ben Goldman was second and Felice Apodaca was third. Judge's choice went to Linda Martin Linda Martin (born April 17, 1947) is an Irish singer, and TV presenter who started off her musical career when she joined the band Chips in Belfast in 1969 while she was still in school. of Palmdale for white onions. Second place judge's choice went to Lorraine Rodrigueqa of Lancaster for eggplants, and third place to Judy Swanson for yellow corn. The fruit comes from 16 trees on the Fox's five-eighths acre home lot. Most of the trees were planted by the Foxes since they moved in 26 years ago. But some are decades-old almond trees from one of the orchards that gave Quartz Hill its annual Almond Blossom Festival The Almond Blossom Festival is an annual arts, social, and entertainment festival held every year on the first weekend of August at Willunga, South Australia, Australia. . Fox's garden is a 16-foot by 8-foot former pig pen. She replaced the soil, added Gro-Mulch and fertilizes her plants with Miracle Grow. Among her tips for Antelope Valley gardeners: sunflowers. She plants sunflowers around the garden and they shade her other vegetables from the harsh summer sun. Fox started entering vegetables in the fair as a way to keep up a fair connection that started with her children, son Sean - now a Los Angeles County Fire Department Not to be confused with Los Angeles Fire Department. The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD), serves unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, as well as 58 cities and towns that choose to have the county provide fire and EMS services, including the City of La paramedic par·a·med·ic n. A person who is trained to give emergency medical treatment or assist medical professionals. paramedic - and daughter Kelly - now a teacher. Sean and Kelly had raised pigs for the fair as youngsters. Daughter Kelly also was worked with horses and sheep. Husband Rick was a volunteer worker in the fairgrounds n. pl. 1. same as fairground. swine barn. ``My children were grown and I wanted to do something I could contribute to the fair. I missed the fair lifestyle after my children were gone,'' she said. SCHEDULE TODAY Junior livestock auction, 9 a.m. Hours 4 p.m. to midnight. Admission and carnival rides $1 each. FRIDAY Figure-eight stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing found mainly in the United States and Great Britain held largely on oval rings of between approximately a quarter-mile and 2. , 7:30 p.m. Hours 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Fair admission is $12, which includes carnival rides and figure-eight races. SATURDAY Rural Olympics, 6 p.m. Grandstand seating included with fair admission. Hours noon to 1 a.m. SUNDAY Professional bull riding, 7:30 p.m. Grandstand seating $15, which includes fair admission. Hours noon to 1 a.m. MONDAY Demolition derby, 7:30 p.m. Grandstand seating $15, which includes fair admission. Hours noon to 11 p.m. DAILY Carnival rides, farm animals, flower exhibits, handicraft handicraft: see arts and crafts. display, photo exhibit, gem and mineral display, petting zoo. IF YOU GO ADMISSION: General admission, $7; children 6 to 15 and seniors 55 and older, $5; children under 6 and active-duty military personnel with identification, free. Grandstand event tickets include fair admission. PARKING: $3. LOCATION: 2551 W. Ave. H, Lancaster. INFORMATION: (661) 948-6060 or www.avfair.com. CAPTION(S): 4 photos, box Photo: (1 -- color in AV edition only) Rita Fox shows three pomegranates, just a small part of her garden bounty. Fox won 14 first-place ribbons, plus second and third place ribbons. (2 -- color -- ran in AV edition only) Rita Fox's garden still includes some almond trees, leftovers from an orchard. Now, the garden produces a cornucopia cornucopia (kôr'ny  kō`pēə), in Greek mythology, magnificent horn that filled itself with whatever meat or drink its owner requested. of other delicious foods. (3) Rita Fox shows some of the ribbons she won at the Antelope Valley Fair. She won enough to earn her the sweepstakes award. (4 -- ran in AV edition only) no caption (chili peppers) Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer Box: (ran in AV edition only) FAIR SCHEDULE (see text) |
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