St. Peter’s Community Garden

If you put your head really close to your computer screen, you can see the silly shapes of these potatoes – It’s amazing enough that you can take a piece of potato, stuff it in the ground and a few months later there’s a new bunch, but when you look at some of the creations that come out of the ground, you really wonder what in the world is happening down under.  Tonight we had several that looked like little people, and one that had a bit of a mickey mouse look to it.  The unexpected surprises that come from the potato patch…

Hopefully next year at this time, we can be sitting under the big overhang some Tuesday evening after working in the garden, and see the bats flying overhead snatching up mosquitoes by the dozens.  The bat houses are installed and ready for tenants.   To put your mind at ease, here are a few facts about bats:

1. Less than half of one percent of bats become rabid.
2. Bats are not agressive and will not attack people
3. Missouri bats do not feed on blood – those bats live in Latin America

to learn more, visit the University of Missouri Extension website – link below

http://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=G9460

Hello All:

As you well know the garden was well watered yesterday…but I wanted to share with everyone the joy I feel when handing out the produce…I have handed out most of the broccoli and all but one head of cauliflower, more peas, huge amounts of greens and lettuce and even had takers of Kale, along with some of the larger beets.  We have an open bed for round two of some more plantings!!!  The people we serve are thrilled, absolutely thrilled (and impressed!) by the goodness of the garden in its food and atmosphere.  Only two elders couldn’t walk it, but all the other clients went through with me and were amazed!!  (Which means we need to plan on fixing the path so it is better on that hillside, I think we are going to need to make a short wall and even it out…something more to do for the future!!)  I want you to know how wonderful you are and feel the fruits of your labors and success…I have a huge pan of cherries today too, so I will ask if there are any takers…I babble in my excitement!!!

Peace…and thank you for all you do…you make a huge difference for the less fortunate with healthy and nutritious alternatives, but you also make St. Peter’s a wonderful place to pray and have extended family…

God loves you and me too!!!

Peace,

Ray

At long last there’s things to pick.   I know for some folks this is the most exciting and fun part of gardening, so if that’s you, now’s your time to shine!  In the coming weeks, there will be lots of beans, peas, potatoes and squash to pick, as well as blackberries, blueberries and raspberries.  SO, if you’ve been putting off volunteering at the garden waiting for the veggies to arrive, your waiting is over…     See you in the garden – 7am on Saturdays, 6pm on Tuesdays.

Tonight at the garden I experienced an explosion of sorts – on the one hand, much of what was planted a week or two ago is popping up – peas, chard, lettuce, beets (still waiting to see the kohlrabi).  There’s even some things that I’m pretty sure survived the winter and are making a go of it this year.  That’s a good thing.

On the other hand, there’s another “crop” that is a little more troubling, and it definitely falls in the “weed” category.  The dandelions are trying to take over the green space and making a pretty good showing.  It’s cute (as long as it’s happening in someone else’s yard) to see a little toddler pick up one of these furry little flowers and with a puff, send seeds flying, but it’s a little overwhelming to see this “sea of seeds” and think about trying to control it.  This weed could make our tidy garden look unkempt, and I’m good and angry about it. 

OK, I’m not really angry – I don’t really get angry.  I’m an optimist, and like to see the silver lining in every cloud, so I did a little research on the dandelion, thinking “surely, these things must be good for something”.  So check it out… from http://www.pesticide.org/dandelions.html

The dandelion is one of the most common and recognizable weeds. The official name for the dandelion is Taraxacum officinale,(7) which means “official remedy for disorders”.(4) There are many common names for dandelions, including priest’s crown, Irish daisy, monk’s head, telltime, blowball, and lion’s tooth.(4)

Hmmm, official remedy for disorders?   Priest’s crown????  Read on.

Dandelions can be beneficial to a garden ecosystem as well as to human health. Dandelions attract beneficial ladybugs and provide early spring pollen for their food.(1,2) In a study done at the University of Wisconsin, experimental plots with dandelions had more ladybugs than dandelion free plots, and fewer pest aphids, a favorite food of the ladybugs.(2) Dandelions long roots aerate the soil and enable the plant to accumulate minerals,(3) which are added to the soil when the plant dies. 

Not only are dandelions good for your soil, they are good for your health. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a serving of uncooked dandelion leaves contains 280 percent of an adult’s daily requirement of beta carotene as well as more than half the requirement of vitamin C. Dandelions are also rich in vitamin A.(4, 5)

Dandelions are also used as herbal remedies. The white sap from the stem and root is used as a topical remedy for warts. The whole plant is used as a diuretic and liver stimulant.(6)

Well, well, well.  Perhaps instead of plucking these pesky plants, we ought to be eating them while we work!  We could get our daily dose of vitamins, beta carotine, and stave off those unsightly warts all at the same time! 

Dandelion, I think I love you

Tonight the garden was a frenzy of digging and planting, sowing and covering, raking and clearing. Before the storm hit, we were able to harvest and pull the turnips from last season, plant broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, beets, onions and radishes.

After last year’s removal of lots of sod and the cleanup of the garden we’ve got a lot of compost working – anyone with ideas on how to effectively sift the good soil / compost out of the pile?

Helping out tonight: Bebe, Andrea, Christina, and Maria.  Next gardening date – Saturday – check out the calendar and documents on the right side of the blog to keep up to date!

Tonight we had an impromptu planting of potatoes at the garden.   We planted three varieties – Kennebec (white potato) in the West bed, Red Norland (red round boiling potato) in the middle bed, and Norkotah (gold baking potato) in the east bed. 

It was nice to feel the soil in my hands and see what survived the winter.  Valerie’s Garlic survived the winter in great style and is looking really healthy.  Turnips planted last year are up and ready to be harvested for their greens.  We didn’t plan it like that, it just so happened that we never harvested them – I think we were all just tired.  As I think back on last year I remember how much work it is keeping a garden.  Luckily we have a few months to rest and “forget”, so we can do it all again this year.  It’s truly a blessing that we have so many generous people interested in helping out by giving of their time.  I’m looking forward to another great year in the garden.

Just in case you didn’t know, our little garden is a member garden of Kansas City Community Gardens.  Among other things, Kansas City Community Gardens helps lots of people each year, mostly low-income, to grow their own food.  As a member, St. Peters buys its seeds and plants at greatly reduced prices.  This year they were in jeopardy of losing their funding from the city of Kansas City, but folks showed up in large numbers at City Hall to show their support!  Learn more about Kansas City Community Gardens at www.kccg.org.

I was pleased today to learn of a bushy-tailed fox that has taken up a warm spot on a bale of straw left from last year’s garden open house.   It’s a lovely thing to see wild things in the city, a place that we people have made wild in our own sort of way.  It’s a hectic sort of wild, a busy sort of wild,  perhaps an un-natural sort of wild…

I like the thought of this part of God’s creation feeling comfortable in our wild space.

What a difference  a couple weeks makes!  14 days ago we were enjoying the warmth of the sun and wondering why we made coffee on such a pleasant day.  Today the garden crew donned stocking caps and coats and gloves for the work day.  While the weather felt a little like early March, fall definitely has a hint of melancholy.  I don’ t know about everyone else, but I worked a little more slowly today.  It’s a little sad thinking that the season is coming to an end, but at the same time I know that everyone deserves a break for a few months.  This year had a special quality of community and we saw some new faces, planted some new things, and introduced lots of folks to the garden. 

Today we plucked the last of the peppers, harvested some carrots, pulled some of the collards and took out the green beans.  The compost pile is bulging, but will soon break down into a pile of good earth.

Since I forgot to post after the great sweet potato harvest, I’ll add the photo here…it’s a little blurry because it was getting dark when I took the picture, but as you can see, it was a bounty – we estimated 250 pounds pulled that night!

Wow, what a party!  How nice it was to see so many people roaming through our little piece of the earth this weekend, as evidenced by the flattened grass around the beds after the 11 o’clock mass crowd. 

Many, many thanks to the garden crew for all the hours of extra work preparing delicious baked goods, making decorations, brewing coffee, putting posters and signs together, putting announcements together, hauling tables to and fro, talking to interested people about the garden and all the other little things that made this event so successful.   It was indeed a beautiful weekend to spend in the garden.  

Next week we’ll be digging up Sweet Potatoes, harvesting broccoli, and cabbage, as well as cleaning up the squash patch and green bean bed.

Thank you all again for your dedication to the garden – it really showed this weekend!

See you Tuesday at 6pm…