The garden is ready and planting has started!

We spent Monday evening preparing the garden for planting.  Jeff put down fertilizer and tilled it in and got the ground all smoothed out and ready, with some help from Paul. Jim and I kind of supervised and admired the progress.

The garlic is coming up!

More planning going on....

Paul gave Jeff a break and ran the tiller for awhile.

It sure looked nice when they were done!

Last night (Tuesday), Jeff, Jim, Paul and Jake helped get some things in the ground before the rain that is predicted tonight.  They planted 350 hills of potatoes, head lettuce and carrots.  Jeff also started preparing the ground for an asparagus patch.  I had no idea it was as labor intensive as it is, but hopefully, it will come back year after year!  I plan on stopping up tonight and see if I can get my hands dirty doing something!

Potatoes are in the trench!

The decided to use a furrower attachment behind the tiller to
plant potatoes. Apparently, it worked great!

Although the winds were blowing terribly tonight, I stopped at the garden to check on the progress and see what Jeff was up to.  He was digging the second part of the trench for the asparagus patch. After I saw what  he was doing, I decided I wouldn't be able to handle it in my flip flops!

Jeff digging the trench for the asparagus patch.

They planted potatoes in seven rows from these pink flags to
those all of the way down almost to where Jeff is standing.

While they were planting potatoes, they made trenches
for everything else, too! Hopefully, next week, cabbage,
 broccoli and cauliflower!

I left Jeff to continue his trench in the crazy wind...

We are all excited about the promise of spring and everything that brings.  This weekend is Easter.  A time of new beginnings.  We are so blessed that we are able to experience another new beginning in our garden this year.  We pray for a good year for the garden and look forward to passing those blessings on.

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

James 2:26

It may be cold outside, but....

Year four of the PCUMC Seeds of Hope Food Pantry Garden is underway!  It's hard to believe with the arctic blast we are experiencing outside!  Here is what the garden looked like this week:

Although you can't tell from this picture, but the garden is already thriving!  Jeff has planted hundreds of seeds and they look great!  Here are a few pictures Merri shared with me!

Jeff and Merri purchased a "little greenhouse"
for the seedlings.  (Merri won't have to sacrifice her dining
room table this year!)

These little guys are stretching to the sun!

I'm not sure exactly what this is, but
it seems to be thriving!

       

 And Jeff, our own plant whisperer, himself!

     

Here's the full greenhouse

Jeff said so far he has planted cabbage, broccoli, peppers, lettuce, cauliflower and tomatoes.  This project would not be possible with out the dedication and hard work of people like Jeff and Merri. They continue to keep us inspired and excited even when it's 3 degrees outside! :)

The garden conversations in the church kitchen have been going on for a few weeks already. It's great to have something to look forward to this summer!  So, until then, think warm thoughts!!

Blessings to you from the garden!

Big things happening!

I can't believe it has been over a month since my last post!  We have been busy in the garden with the excellent weather we have been having!  We have garden harvest every Wednesday and Sunday evenings and have only missed one due to rain.  Unbelievable!  We have had a great turnout of volunteers since we have set regular harvest times.  We would have never been able to keep up without them!

Here are a few of the highlights from the last month!

The year of the potato....

Apparently, well timed rain and mild temperatures are just what we need to grow the most beautiful potatoes I have ever seen!  The "largest" potatoes we had last year are about the size of our small potatoes this year! We have delivered over 20 - 5 gallon buckets of potatoes to the food pantry so far this year.


Here are some pictures!

Purple potatoes

New crew helping with the potatoes!

Resting up after picking up potatoes.  :)

The onions are great this year, too!  In fact, pretty much everything has exceeded our expectations.

Onions have been really popular at the food pantry!

The peppers are coming on like gangbusters!  Here are some pictures of the different kinds we have growing

Aren't these purple bell peppers beautiful?

Banana Peppers

Green Bell Peppers

 











 The jalepeños are HUGE!

This is last night's harvest!  Four large cloth grocery sacks!

We have had a lot of fun watching the watermelons and cantaloupe grow from tiny, miniature melons to full-sized.  Now we wait for them to ripen!

 

   

In the past, we have had trouble with rabbits eating the green beans and other plants.  We haven't seemed to have a problem with them this year.  We may have figured out why....

  

One night, we had a visit from the local newspaper reporter.  He was working on a story about the food pantry and our food pantry garden!  He took a lot of pictures and talked to us for quite a while.

 

I told my husband, I think we need to buy a truck! :)

As you can see, the garden is doing great this year!  I am so blessed to get to deliver all of this produce to the food pantry.  Many times, I get to meet the clients and hear how much they enjoy the fruits (or vegetables, in this case!) of our labor.  The joy this garden has brought not only to those in need, but to those digging in the dirt, is immeasurable.