Herb Harvest

Thank you to everyone to who joined us on Saturday morning for garden work.  If you couldn't join us, here is a summary of what you missed.

1.  Spring Vegetables are hitting the end of their growing season and it is time to prepare for fall planting.  If you haven't already done so, please pull out any dying plants,  and prepare your garden beds for fall by turning over the soil, adding some fertilizer and putting in some fall vegetables.  There is organic fertilizer in the storage bin- please feel free to use some in your garden bed.  Directions are on the back of the bag.   Fall vegetable plants are arriving in garden stores- leaf lettuce, cabbage, collard greens, broccoli, and cauliflower are all great options!

2.  If you do NOT wish to plant fall vegetables and would like to turn your garden bed over to the girl scouts to plant vegetables for MUST Ministries, please let me know at your earliest convenience.  The girls are excited to continue their efforts in the garden and would love to provide some healthy food to those in need around Thanksgiving.

3. Our next garden meeting and workday will be Saturday, October 2nd at 9:00.  We are also planning a Scarecrow Contest and Potluck Dinner for Sunday, October 17th at 4:30 pm.  John and Donna Kappers will be offering a cash prize to any group or class that submits the winning scarecrow to the contest!! 

4. Herbs are doing very well right now.  I prepared a few simple recipes using fresh herbs and will add them to the new recipe tab on the blog. 

Happy Gardening!!

Growing Community

Thank you to everyone who came out and joined us on Saturday morning.  A special thank you to Sam and Brittan Burton from East of Eden Farms for joining us and sharing your expertise with us.  I can't wait to see what everyone decides to plant this fall!!    I'd also like to welcome Jennifer Ciarletta who will be gardening with us this fall.  Jennifer's family has been a part of Ford Elementary for many years and we are excited they will be joining us! 

If you were unable to join us, here is a brief update on what's ahead:

Fall Vegetables- As the days get shorter and the nights get cooler, it is time to start looking at some fall vegetable planting.  The estimated  first frost date in Cobb County is November 13th so you will want to time your planting so that your vegetables can be harvested prior to that date.  Bottom line, is that you want to have your plants in the ground by September 15th.  It is recommended that you start with healthy plants instead of seeds.  All gardeners will need to provide their own plants- please let us know if you need any assistance!! We are here to help!

Good options for fall:  Greens- lettuce, spinach, kale, collards, mustard , and chard
Broccoli, cabbage, radishes, beans, cauliflower, and carrots are all good options as well.

If you decide against fall vegetable planting, we ask that you kindly clean out your garden bed no later than October 15th.  Please remove all cages, stakes, twine, markers, etc. 

Our next community garden work day with be Saturday, August 28th at 9:00 am.  I hope that you can join us!

Community Garden Meeting/Work Day- July 31st at 9:00 AM

The next Seeds of Hope Community Garden Work Day will be held on Saturday, July 31st at 9:00 AM.  We will discuss the planting of cooler weather vegetable gardens, have the opportunity to meet other gardeners, answer any questions, and work in the gardens.  This meeting is open to anyone who is interested in learning more about our community garden or would like to volunteer with garden clean up.

Growing Girls

We are so fortunate to have such a dedicated group of girl scouts and their families who regularly tend to our gardens. Led by Liz Yeager and Patricia Slade, these 12 girls and their families volunteer on a weekly basis to harvest mature vegetables to donate to MUST Ministries. During the harvest process, they also assist with garden clean-up and watering.   So far, we have donated close to 200 lbs. of fresh vegetables to families and individuals who are in desperate need. 

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony- May 2010