God is good. We have to respond!
God is good all of the time! We have to respond to God’s goodness!
Working in the St. Mary’s garden is an Act of Mercy because we are doing our best to feed our hungry neighbors.
The garden has finally had an abundance of rain. We have too much stuff laying around. Our crops are growing fast. We are blessed. And we are called to be good stewards so please read on…
To help at the St. Mary’s garden:
-We need to find ways to reduce rodent shelter. Let’s find ways to use the leftover wood stash to make things that will help the soil. What comes to mind? Edges for growing areas to keep soil from washing out. Or just dispose of old wood supplies. We are open to ideas. Please be creative and help us find ways to reduce their shelter.
-Let’s also work on the weedy areas near the north side of the garden. We need lots more cardboard. Maybe we need some mulch. What do you think about getting some mulch? Would that make things better or worse? Feel free to let me know.
-We need to reduce food sources: Let’s work on the compost and weed piles. I have a few ideas. Let me know your ideas. I wish we could find a way to get the tomatoes off the ground, but the trellis did not hold up again this year. We need to figure out what’s wrong with our tomato trellis for 2023. I wonder why it worked in 2020, but not in 2021 or 2022.
-If you harvest, please tally your harvest in the notebook. We use these tallies to help us find out if our growing decisions yield good fruit.
-If you harvest flowers, please tally the bunches in the notebook. Share the flowers with people that you love and share His bounty!
To help at the Isidore and Maria garden:
The winter squash vines are HUGE! Some of the weeds got really big especially the “Lamb’s Quarter”. This past week a few of us got down there and weeded little by little. As of last night it looked really good. I think the big vines will keep most of the weeds down in the main growing areas.
Next up at Isidore and Maria: -Keep weeds managed
-Prepare harvest storage areas (it’s going to be a big harvest).
-Get ready for fall cover crops (make a plan and order seeds)
Work days and times:
Evenings are hot, but it’s when I am off work so Jason will work on Monday evening ~6pm this coming week. If you want to get in there and work during the morning cool weather, here are some things to do:
-Harvest cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, peppers and maybe green beans. Make sure to record the harvest and get it into the cooler. Contact Jason for help with this.
-Weed: The areas in the back end of the garden and the front under the compost tumbler need the most attention. If you find lots of cardboard, feel free to spread it over weeds. It will help reduce the overall problem.
The pantry is closed this week, so we do not need to deliver on Wednesday morning.
Please harvest any time you are available. Tally your harvest and follow procedures from previous postings. Communicate if you have questions.
Project leadership opportunities:
—We want to build a Johnson-Su Bioreactor. If this is something you want to help tackle, please stand up and volunteer. We have some funds and supplies and lots of ideas and a few laborers to get started. This might help us control rodents, too. Please step up and pitch in!
—Does anyone want to organize a Saturday morning work time? There is so much to do that you could just let us know that you will be there and I will send out a message to the Google group.
We have almost reached $2000. If you would like more detail about specific crop quantities or productivity over time, please ask Jason S.
Please be the first to harvest zinnias. I have heard that we can cut them and they will continue to produce more and more flowers.
The zinnia patch is just to the right after you enter the garden.
When the pantry is closed, we bring the food to the church narthex and offer to our parish family.
