Gardening

Actual photo of my garden plot!

One would think that it would be easier to care for a garden located at home rather than somewhere else, but I am finding the opposite to be true. A few months ago our church put a plan to create a community garden into action. There is a vacant field across the street from our building, property our church owns. People labored hard to put in sturdy raised beds, and now irrigation is being put into place over there. The plots are 20 feet by 5 feet. Our family shares a plot with another family, and several friends of ours own neighboring plots as well.

About a month ago, we filled our bed with all kinds of plants. We have squash, zucchini, okra, tomatoes, tomatillos, cucumbers, onions, carrots, eggplant, as well as many herbs and flowers. Because these beds are in full sun, the plants have just taken off! I've never seen such large foliage and height from plants like I see in our neighbors' plots who planted a bit earlier than us. Ours are well on their way to catching up! Because we share the responsibility, I am not always up there watering. But, I do enjoy the times I get to visit the garden and tend to it. There is almost always another person present tending their plot during the time I am there. It is truly a community area. Many people are donating the fruits of their garden (those squash and zucchini that were planted a few weeks before ours are ripening by the basket full right now!) to our church food pantry which serves hundreds of people a month.

I love the idea of using this vacant land to grow food and relationships. It has really become something beautiful, and I am so happy to be a part of it. Tonight there was a big kick-off party for the project (Project Eden). There was great food, community leaders present, and people of all ages mingling and having fun together. What a perfect way to spend a summer evening.