We had a very successful outreach during the Ministry fair after the Sept. 11 church service. Many people stopped by, picked up paper bags of garden produce, and expressed amazement at the statistics on our first year's garden yield.
In the weeks to follow, here is what we need to keep on our radar screens:
1. Once the frost sets in (probably around mid to late October) and the garden is no longer fit for gleaning, we'll need to schedule a Saturday morning cleanup, to get the old plants into the compost bin. (This will be a lot quicker and easier than filling the beds was last year!)
2. Also later this fall, I'd like to invite (Y)Ardfarmers to potluck supper at the Van Leeuwen (spouses and children also welcome), where in addition to having fellowship, we can discuss what we've learned from this first year's efforts, and what we might want to change, add, subtract, etc. next year. My suggested possible dates for this supper are: Fri. Nov. 11, Sat. Nov. 12, Fri. Nov. 18, or Sat. Nov. 19.
3. Among the things we'd need to discuss is our ongoing part in the Matt 25:35 project (with Overbrook and Calvin Presbyterian Churches). The other two churches are so impressed with our garden involvement so far (and with Sherina Poorman's willingness to weigh in helping to train kids in garden skills at Calvin) that they have asked us to be a full partner (not just an affiliate) in the project. The project already has $15,000 in a presbytery grant for an ongoing nutrition project at Calvin Pres., and leaders at Calvin have expressed a wish to start a garden (in CPC's sunny, fenced yard --which would easily accommodate two raised beds like our own). Wisely, they have decided that it would be best to start modestly -- with rubber-tire beds -- next spring (2012) then apply for further presbytery (or other) grant money to erect raised beds ready for use in the spring of 2013. That way they can teach church members of all ages how easy it is to START growing in a small space -- at church and/or in their own yards. Jim Young has suggested that getting these tire beds organized and set up might make a great joint-church youth project (something else we can talk about).
4. All in all, we can praise God for the great start we've made with the garden itself, its harvest, and the good connections we've made with OPC and CPC for food distribution and opportunities for food an nutrition empowerment in the CPC neighborhood. AND: Click on the link below for a very interesting NY TIMES article on the current boom in vegetable gardens!
Blessings & thanks,
Mary S. van Leeuwen
(Y)Ardfarmers Chair
Vegetable Gardens Are Booming in a Fallow Economy
By SABRINA TAVERNISE
Rural residents are relying more on locally grown food to save money - or earn it. Some see health benefits, too.
