Garden Harvest Night for Wednesday July 18th

I am writing you about tomorrow night's(July 18th) harvesting. We are without Ray and Mary Van Leeuwen for 2 Wednesdays while they visit their family in California. This is a big loss to our Wednesdays. So it is that we need all of you willing people to come out tomorrow! As always please join us even if you must insist you are no gardener. All who fit in that category can simply combine abilities to make one composite gardener between us : ) If you come to the garden you have a great chance of really becoming a gardener which could be fun. Come when you can and stay until you need to go. 

Tomorrow we will have iffy weather so I am making a few adjustments. I will be there unless it is actually raining. Hadley and I will be there at 5pm this time to start the picking and harvesting in case the weather comes early. Hopefully we can get to the bigger items that way even if we get rained out for the herbs. Please join us at 5 or 5:30-p as usual. Jeff will come and fire up the grill at 5 45p when he arrives from work. We will provide hot dogs and drinks. Please bring a dish to share if you are able to and a chair or blanket to sit on. 

I have not been over to see the tomatoes in the past few days so we will only be picking those if they have suddenly become ready. There is zucchini and peppers, okra, a few more green onions and maybe one more batch of beans. We should have lots of need for people to pick herbs as well. The garden is enormous now. If you haven't looked in awhile, you will be amazed. The efforts of a small army of APC's kids helped to make that happen this year and that is exciting.

We will have the sprinkler out with the heat so come in your suit and bring a towel and change of clothes. I often forget one of those last two things for my own child so I am writing that to myself!

We are always collecting gently used clothes and shoes for all ages to take down to Calvin Presbyterian's clothing closet. The clothes will be taken down at the same time as the vegetables on Thursday mornings. We have been made aware that Calvin will be starting a daycare for 2,3 and 4 year olds in the fall. We have taken one load of toys. learning items and books down already. They were really delighted to receive them. We hope we can help and encourage them further before they launch in the fall. If you would like to purchase or donate a usable toy, game, puzzle, book(etc) to this effort, we could accept that from you at the garden or at church on Sunday. As most of you know our own church and also Calvin also operates a food pantry. Both are needing donations at all times of the year. Please bring any donations to our own church office or any donation for Calvin to the garden and we will get it down there. We are always available to pick up these items from your homes. We mean that. We know it can be too tricky to transport things for a variety of reasons. Let  Jeff or Karen Barnes know in person or at i2thee@hotmail.com.

We are having many good times at the garden this summer as we find we have a mission field right on our church property and certainly right up the road. Come join the harvest and the chance to show the love of Christ to our neighbors and the body at Calvin Presbyterian. We pull the vegetables with the hope that someone will know God cares for their present situation but also that their neighbors(us!) care for them as well.

Blessings,

Jeff and Karen Barnes

Summer Garden Fellowship -- Now with Sprinklers and Picnic Table

Hello all,

We write to invite you to join us at the garden this Wednesday. So many vegetables are coming in now there is plenty of harvesting to be done. All the weeding and watering are adding up to great things. I believe Mary may have a few more weeks of watering and weeding the garden that need covering. Let us know if you or your family is interested. There are people to show and explain what needs to be done. I use as proof that it is easy enough for anybody the fact that our family has done it : )

We have received the generous gift of a picnic table from the Rickenbach family. We are grateful. If anybody else has any lawn chairs they would like to donate to the get togethers, we would be glad to hear from you. 

In case you haven't made it out to a Wednesday night recently we have also had the generous gift of a fun sprinkler from the Hipszer family. Wear or bring your suit and cool off. This has been a fun addition to our get togethers.

We will have the hot dogs and drinks. Please bring a side or dessert to pass or share if you are able. If you are not able, come without. This is no problem.

If you have a chair or a blanket it might be nice. We have a fair amount but if it gets to be a big showing you might be glad you brought them.

We start at 5:30p and have been wrapping things up between 7-7:30p. Come when you can and stay until you must go.

The produce from the garden is continuing to be brought down to Calvin Presbyterian church in West Philadelphia for their community lunch on Thursdays at noon. This church which is a part of our Philadelphia Presbytery, also has a clothing closet and food bank available at that time. This is really three ministries in one. Mary VanLeeuwen is a great source of more information on this Matthew 25:35 project, as it is called. I am a less knowledgable but very excited about it resource as well. If you have questions or would like to come down to see where the work of the garden goes, just let someone know. Churches are joining forces to do more in West Philadelphia(minutes from here) than could be done apart. It seems to be a promising model.

This is a great ministry to invite a friend to. That includes a friend from our own church! : )

Jeff, Hadley and I look forward to seeing many of you this Wednesday.

Wednesday Garden Summer Fellowship

Hello all,

We write to invite you to join us at the garden this Wednesday. So many vegetables are coming in now there is plenty of harvesting to be done. All the weeding and watering are adding up to great things. I believe Mary may have a few more weeks of watering and weeding the garden that need covering. Let us know if you or your family is interested. There are people to show and explain what needs to be done. I use as proof that it is easy enough for anybody the fact that our family has done it : )

We have received the generous gift of a picnic table from the Rickenbach family. We are grateful. If anybody else has any lawn chairs they would like to donate to the get togethers, we would be glad to hear from you. 

In case you haven't made it out to a Wednesday night recently we have also had the generous gift of a fun sprinkler from the Hipszer family. Wear or bring your suit and cool off. This has been a fun addition to our get togethers.

We will have the hot dogs and drinks. Please bring a side or dessert to pass or share if you are able. If you are not able, come without. This is no problem.

If you have a chair or a blanket it might be nice. We have a fair amount but if it gets to be a big showing you might be glad you brought them.

We start at 5:30p and have been wrapping things up between 7-7:30p. Come when you can and stay until you must go.

The produce from the garden is continuing to be brought down to Calvin Presbyterian church in West Philadelphia for their community lunch on Thursdays at noon. This church which is a part of our Philadelphia Presbytery, also has a clothing closet and food bank available at that time. This is really three ministries in one. Mary VanLeeuwen is a great source of more information on this Matthew 25:35 project, as it is called. I am a less knowledgable but very excited about it resource as well. If you have questions or would like to come down to see where the work of the garden goes, just let someone know. Churches are joining forces to do more in West Philadelphia(minutes from here) than could be done apart. It seems to be a promising model.

This is a great ministry to invite a friend to. That includes a friend from our own church! : )

Jeff, Hadley and I look forward to seeing many of you this Wednesday.

Garden Fellowship on Wednesdays

Hello all now and future APC gardeners!

This is a note to say we hope you will join us this Wednesday at the garden right behind the church for some great food(really!) and fellowship. We have been meeting for several weeks now and we are having a good time. The garden is coming along nicely. We've had Keenagers, younger people, single people, families, pastors and even new visitors to our church attend. You will fit in well. If you have chairs or blankets please feel free to bring those as we add to the supply at the Parrish House. We have hot dogs and (veggie burgers upon request) for the grill and drinks supplied. People have been bringing a side, chips or dessert to share. You don't have to bring anything but we have enjoyed eating everyone's delicious food. 

Do you ever drive through west Philly and feel some despair? Do you cross City Line Avenue and wonder what is to be done about this place so close to where we live? Come to the garden and see. This is fresh produce, grown and given in Christ's name to our neighbors who otherwise would not have access to it. Your kids will understand this idea of feeding hungry people and you not feel so helpless. The company in good and the tasks are not hard- I promise. Mary Van Leeuwen will show you just how to do it all:)

We will be out there every Wednesday unless it is pouring rain. Come for a little while or come for the whole time. We will be excited to see you.

Please pass this email on to anybody else in the church who you think might enjoy this event. This is going out to the families list but all are welcome.

Blessings,

Karen and Jeff

PS.  If you cannot garden, whether because of the health or interest,you have to be somewhere without dirt on you afterwards,etc please join us anyway. we would love to have your company, regardless.

Garden Fellowship, Wed at 5:30p

Hello potential gardeners,

We will be at the Ardmore Presbyterian Church garden this coming Wednesday, May 16, at 5:30p to weed and pick what has already come up. We had lots of people come help last week, and we will be glad to see even more this coming Wednesday. We'll be there with the hot dogs and drinks. Feel free to bring anything else your family would like to eat or something to share. It would be helpful for people to bring chairs or a blanket to sit on as we do not yet have enough of those for everybody. Let us know if you need a vegetarian option and we will have it for you. We found that many hands make light work and left lots of time for fellowship.

Blessings,
Karen

P.S.  If you cannot or choose not to garden because of physical limitations (or something else) please feel free to join us still. Come watch some adults and kids (very cute) pull weeds and have a hot dog. Come smell the herbs. I think you will enjoy watching the garden come to life this summer. What it produces will be a blessing to many. It is a mission of our whole church and all are welcome to come and spend time together.

(Y)Ardfarmers Update: Matthew 25:35 Project

AN UPDATE AND REQUEST FROM THE MATT. 25:35 PROJECT:

The Matt 25:35 Project ("For I was hungry and you gave me food ...") is a joint project of Ardmore, Overbrook, and Calvin Presbyterian Churches, and is located at Calvin Presbyterian, at the corner of 60th and Master Street in West Philadelphia.  Many of you will remember that Calvin Church's 'Care Closet' was the recipient of the bounty of the APC vegetable garden last spring and summer (see the APC 2011 annual report for details) and will be again this year. 

The Matt 25:35 project has now expanded to include a nutritious, sit-down, family-style meal each Thursday noon at Calvin Pres., which now attracts over fifty people.   It is called the Heavenly Harvest Meal at Calvin's Kitchen. Prepared by a professional chef, with much of the food donated by local supermarkets, this meal is accompanied by  conversations on healthy eating, which will soon be supplemented by formal presentations from the Penn State University Extension Service.  In addition, APC's Sherina Poorman is teaching a children's after-school group the basic gardening skills that will prepare them to start a vegetable garden at Calvin Presbyterian Church this spring.

The Thursday lunch project is staffed by an enthusiastic crew of volunteers, but has been so successful that they could use a few more!  Needed are people willing to come between 10:30 am and about 1 pm to help prepare the food, serve it, and clean up.  There will be a brief orientation for any new volunteers, then a task will be assigned.  A big part of the project is the participation of volunteers in fellowship, so they are also encouraged to sit down and enjoy the meal with the guests.  No one needs advanced culinary or serving skills -- just a willingness to learn and help.  Calvin Pres. is easy to get to -- only about 15 minutes drive from APC, straight east on Lancaster Avenue, across City Line to 60th St., then less than a mile south to 60th and Master St.

If this project fits your schedule and seems to be part of God's calling for you at this time, send a email with your contact information  to Kristin Jacobson at Overbrook (kristinsjacobson@gmail.com) with a copy to Mary S. Van Leeuwen at APC (mvanleeu@eastern.edu).  If you do not have access to email, fell free to call Mary Van Leeuwen or speak to her at church.

APC Garden Update and a NY Times Article

Hello (Y)Ardfarmers:

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.

(Y)Ardfarmers Garden Report August 2011

1. Produce: In the ten weeks since we started harvesting (at the end of May) we have delivered the following amounts of produce to the Calvin Presbyterian Church 'Care Closet' in wssest Philadelphia each Thursday morning:

• 22 gallon bags of salad greens
• 3 gallon bags of spinach leaves
• 6 dozen radishes
• 24 8-oz. bags of parsley
• 194 4-oz. bags of other herbs (sage, rosemary, basil thyme, mint, oregano)
• 10 bunches of chives
• 10 qt. bags of green beans
• 53 zucchini
• 6 pint bags of jalapeno peppers
• 6 qt. bags of banana peppers
• 11 qt. bags of frying peppers
• 14 sweet peppers
• 65 lbs. of plum tomatoes
• 39 lbs. of beefsteak tomatoes
• 27 lbs. of cherry tomatoes.

2. Labor: Church members have responded well to requests of help with watering and harvesting the garden. Watering continues to be done by weekly teams of volunteers, and Wednesday evening harvesting by ad hoc volunteers responding to email and church bulletin requests. The four-barrel rain capture system has benefited from recent rains, and continues to be used as available for watering the main gardens and the tire-container herb and potatoes beds.

3. Matt. 25:35 Project: A.P.C. (Y)Ardfarmers continue to help develop the Matt. 25:35 project (also known as the Tri-Church Table Fellowship) with Overbrook and Calvin Presbyterian Churches. With the end of the Barry School roof garden project, Sherina Poorman has volunteered her skills (and those associated with the Build-It Bus) to the Matt 25:35 Project. She brought the Build-It Bus to the July meeting of the project committee so that committee members of the other two churches could tour it. (They were very impressed). She also made suggestions for how a youth gardening project could be integrated into the larger project via the summer camp and after-school programs at Calvin Presbyterian Church. A.P.C. (Y)Ardfarmers continue to discuss how and when raised beds like our own might be erected in the enclosed sunny side yard of Calvin Pres. Most recently, we forwarded to them information from the Philadelphia Presbytery regarding available grants from the Michelle Obama-inspire 'LET'S MOVE!" program for the setup of urban gardens. They are considering applying for such a grant.

4. Finances: At present, the garden fund has a positive balance of $1537. 39. Now that the garden is established, we anticipate that a $500.00 annual budget will be sufficient for all expenses (seeds. cuttings, herb plants, tomato cages and other plant supports, organic insect and mildew repellents, fence repairs, etc) in future years.

Thank God for such a Bountiful Harvest

Hello (Y)Ardfarmers --

Just a reminder that we will be harvesting tomorrow (Wed. Aug. 11) at 6 pm.  Come if you can!

FYI, Here's what we've taken to Calvin Pres. Church in West Philly since the end of May:

27 gallon bags of salad greens

2 gallon bags of spinach

6 dozen radishes

20 8-oz bags of parsley

83 4-oz bags of herbs (sage, rosemary, basil thyme, mint, oregano)

6 bunches of chives

47 zucchini

3 8-oz bags of jalapeno peppers

6 qt bags of banana peppers

7 qt bags of frying peppers

36 lbs, plum tomatoes

23 lbs. beefsteak tomatoes

12 lbs cherry tomatoes

God be thanked for such a bountiful harvest!

FYI, I've also [providing a link to a] recent article form the U.Penn alumni magazine, which talks about a project at Penn for planning a network of green spaces in the city.  Among other things, it mentions that in 2008 alone, community gardens in Philadelphia produced an estimated 2 million pounds of fresh produce, valued at almost $ 5 million.

Cheers!

MSVL

APC Community Garden - Watering Info Update

Hello Again (Y)Ardfarmers:

As our first garden crops mature, we're learning how to adjust our watering technique.  The soil mixture in the beds is relatively soft compared to most of our home gardens, so when we spray-water, they tend to flop over more easily.  And as summer heats up, it's better in any case to water at the roots, rather than from the leaves down. Therefore, we have decided to go for the 'trickle method' with both of the big beds.  Here's how:

1. I've attached a two-way connector to the wall faucet at the back of the Parish house.  So now there is ONE hose leading to the middle of one of the large beds, and ANOTHER hose to the middle of the second bed.  (I also removed the nozzle from the one hose, with the help of much spray lubricant!)

2.  When you come to water, turn the wall faucet on NO MORE THAN ABOUT A THIRD OF AN INCH.  This will result in a modest but steady trickle to each of the big beds.  Leave the trickle  on for about half an hour -- you don't have to move the hose, as the water will gradually disperse to both ends of each bed.

3. While the two big beds are being trickle watered, fill the watering can with water from the rain barrels, and put one can on each of the tire beds (herbs AND potatoes).  (If the barrels have run out, you'll have to wait till the large beds are done, and fill cans of water from a hose attached to the the wall faucet).

4. If you like, bring your Bible or other reading material, bring the lawn chair(s) on the P.H. back porch down on the lawn,  and enjoy God's summer bounty as you wait for the big beds to finish being watered (Psalm 104 is a great creation psalm to contemplate as you do that!)

5.  We have to be careful not to over-water (as well as not to under-water!).  So if someone from your team has gotten there ahead of you, and the soil is wet and malleable, DON'T water again -- wait for two days (and co-ordinate schedules with other team members!)

As a reminder, I've reproduced  below the watering schedule below (with one addition for September).

I'll be in San Francisco visiting son and grandson from June 30 to July 7, but look forward to seeing some reddening tomatoes when I get back!

Blessings, and thanks again for everyone' enthusiastic participation in this project.

MSVL

Watering Tips for the APC Community Garden

Hello (Y)Ardfarmers & Friends:

Thanks to all who have signed up to weed and water the APC vegetable garden this summer!  Actually the garden foliage is so lush now that there won't be much weeding to do -- but below I'll give you some hints about watering.  

 

You might be interested to know that Jim Young and I took 4 gallon bags of salad greens, plus 10 8-oz and 30 4-oz ziplock bags of herbs to the food pantry at Calvin Presbyterian Church  in West Philly this morning.  They were enthusiastically received, and we also had a good meeting with representatives of Calvin and Overbrook churches about the three-church food & nutrition education project of which APC is now an affiliate.  Stay tuned for further details!

We have families or groups of friends who have volunteered for  watering/weeding duty for every week up through the 10th of September --that's great!  We could still use volunteers for the week of  Sept. 11 and Sept 18.  Shoot me an email if you're interested in doing either of those weeks.

Now: some tips about watering during your assigned week.

1. Plan to water every other day (unless it rains, then you can skip a day!)

2. We now have a 3-barrel rain recovery system set up on the Parish House back porch, with spigots attached to two hoses.  If there is water in those barrels you should use it first.  You'll find that a hose from the system leads to each of the two garden beds.  The pressure from the system (when you turn on the spigots) is not great -- and you may have to lay to watering end of the hose on the ground while the pressure is building up.  But once the trickle begins, you can just lay each hose in the middle of the bed and let it run (it will disperse gradually to each end).  While that is happening (you should leave the hoses on the beds for about 20 minutes if there is enough water in the system), you can fill the watering can by the regular wall faucet, and put a watering can full on each of the five herb beds in the tires by the P.H. parking lot, plus a watering can full on each of the two 'tired potato' stacks by the Bleddyn Road Hedge.  We've also put a couple of summer lounge chairs on the P.H. back porch for you to take down and relax in while you then wait for the rest of the garden to be watered!

3.  If you run out of rain barrel water, you should switch the hoses from the rain barrel system to the regular spigot on the wall  by the P.H. back porch.  This of course will have better pressure, so you can just do a regular spray watering.

4. Please don't hesitate to contact myself or Jim Young if you need more information, or if you'd like someone to come over and help you get started on your first watering.  And thanks again for your help!  So far, we've had a great growing season.

Blessings,

Mary S. Van Leeuwen

(Y)Ardfarmers' Chair