I read this interesting article in today's Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Love the innovation of using (donated) refrigerated trucks to take fresh produce to folks who need it, right where they are. Apparently, storing fresh and frozen produce is a problem, space and money-wise for most food banks, so the mobile pantries are a smart solution.
Also, I was reminded that so many people in our area are willing to stand in line for hours for fresh food for their families. That's something to think about. Right here, in our neighborhoods, in our schools, and in our churches, people are having to make tough choices like whether to pay the utility bill or buy food.
Please continue to pray for our communities, for God's continued blessings on our garden, and that we may be a true service and a ministry for those who are in need.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Happy Plants and Happy News
This Sunday, Pastor Jim announced the joyful news of our garden in all three services at church, and several folks expressed interest in building beds and helping in various areas.
Viv has signed on to be our treasurer, and Kim will be our note taker. Colleen and Russell are pioneering a winter bed, and we have plans to build a compost bed with some donated pallets from our sister garden in Arlington. Thanks, Willie!
You can check here for the latest news, and I'll start putting information in the church newsletter and weekly bulletins. We'll also reach out to our neighborhood association and nearby communities to make this a true community garden.
Also, we have happy news from the TAFB Garden Coordinator, that Tarrant County Public Health is interested in funding a portion of our project. So, please add that to your prayers, that the funding would go through and that we'd see continued support and leadership throughout the process.
Yesterday, I walked our dogs up to church to water the garden. I was able to water the plants with our new, ginormous hoses, and the dogs enjoyed playing in the sunshine. I even saw a dragonfly enjoying our marigolds! I tried to catch a picture, but the dragonfly sort of blends. I promise, he's there.
Also, this week's happy plant award goes to Cauliflower. Doesn't it look pleased to be part of our new garden? (The plant isn't actually upside down, that's just more of my spectacular photography skills.)
Viv has signed on to be our treasurer, and Kim will be our note taker. Colleen and Russell are pioneering a winter bed, and we have plans to build a compost bed with some donated pallets from our sister garden in Arlington. Thanks, Willie!
You can check here for the latest news, and I'll start putting information in the church newsletter and weekly bulletins. We'll also reach out to our neighborhood association and nearby communities to make this a true community garden.
Also, we have happy news from the TAFB Garden Coordinator, that Tarrant County Public Health is interested in funding a portion of our project. So, please add that to your prayers, that the funding would go through and that we'd see continued support and leadership throughout the process.
Yesterday, I walked our dogs up to church to water the garden. I was able to water the plants with our new, ginormous hoses, and the dogs enjoyed playing in the sunshine. I even saw a dragonfly enjoying our marigolds! I tried to catch a picture, but the dragonfly sort of blends. I promise, he's there.
Also, this week's happy plant award goes to Cauliflower. Doesn't it look pleased to be part of our new garden? (The plant isn't actually upside down, that's just more of my spectacular photography skills.)
Saturday, October 1, 2011
The Test Bed is Born!
Today we built the first test bed for the Alliance Community Garden. We met at the church at 8:15 a.m. and had the planter built, full of soil, planted and seeded by 12:00 p.m. Way to go, teamwork!
For supplies, we used:
*52 cinder blocks from Home Depot
*3 yards of premium soil from Silver Creek
*5 bags of concrete-grade sand from Home Depot
*2 bags of mulch from Home Depot
We built the beds in a rectangular formation (4 blocks wide, 9 blocks long, 2 blocks high), lined the bottom with newspaper (free--the Colemans are proud Star-Telegram subscribers) and added a layer of sand to help thwart the weeds. We had additional bags of sand available in case we needed help for leveling the first row of blocks. Thankfully, the patch of land we picked was fairly level, so our sand use was minimal.
For plants, we brought several starters we had planted at home and transplanted them into our new garden. Though we're a bit late in the season to start, we wanted to see how far we could go with radishes, beans, okra, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, and spinach. To help ward off unhelpful bugs, we planted a row of marigolds to surround the bed. For fun, Dan added a few sunflower seeds to the very edges: that boy has grown sunflowers since he was itty bitty.
For irrigation, we attached two super-hoses to our existing waterline, and have plans to build a water-saving rain barrel soon.
Many thanks to David and Beth Fitzpatrick (and helpful pooch Romo), Kern and Dan Coleman. We hope this test bed will be "a sign unto us" and an encouragement to those who would like to join us for spring planting. We'll have details on how you can reserve your spot in the garden soon.
And for those attending the AUMC Lord's Acre Festival on October 29th (you're all invited!), we'll have special opportunities for future gardeners.
Again, if you'd like to participate in the garden, please let me know!
Cheers and Blessings,
Britta
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