It is a summer seasoned with many blessings in the Garden of Concord!

Greetings garden friends.  

Praise God for the abundant harvests of food, membership, and fellowship in our garden this year!  Our summer season is in high gear and filled with God’s Goodness!  Despite the early season of chilly wet weather turning into hot and dry days, our plantings have been amazing…thanks be to God!  We are presently harvesting (lots of!) potatoes, cucumbers, basil, beans, blueberries, and tomatoes!  All of the garlic and onions have been harvested with lots more curing to be shared later.  We have just begun harvesting some eggplant and yellow squash with zucchini soon to be.  The sweet potato plantings are beginning to vine and the butternut squash (under row covers) will surely be fine!

We are very thankful for our interns this summer, Chris Grimmet and Andrew Hammond!!  They have been so helpful in participating in nearly all of our garden workdays/tasks, leadership, and extra projects on the “to do” list to include the building of our new bamboo bean tunnel!  We only wish they could stay planted with us for many more seasons!

We are especially thankful to be able to share God’s many blessings of food to our local food pantry, S.A.F.E.  as we join together in our common mission of empowering and feeding the hungry in our community by taking care of God's creation (which includes His people) all while sharing and witnessing the love of Jesus Christ.  It is my passion and prayer that in providing fresh produce from the garden, "family members" will be empowered to eat healthier as well as wanting to learn how to grow their own food either at their home or at a community garden!  We have been coordinating extra efforts in our donations to include washing, packaging, and enclosing garden info cards (with tips and recipes!) inviting “family members” to grow with us and learn how to grow their own food while helping to feed the hungry in our community. 

A committed membership or fee is not required for the family members at S.A.F.E.  We do, however, encourage them to grow with us, work for an hour during any garden work day/night (many levels of tasks available!), for a share of that days harvest.  We are so thankful for the several family members that have joined our garden family both on a regular and occasional basis.  They all have expressed their joy in being able to give back what God has blessed them with.  And how they have enjoyed growing as a community, making new friends, learning how to eat and prepare healthy foods, and ever so thankful for God's abundant harvests.

Our growing partnership with S.A.F.E. includes the tentative plans of offering a dinner/cooking class later this month (and possibly ongoing) in order to further empower our neighbors of how to eat healthier and cook the foods shared by the food pantry (and the garden).  Thank you Andrew Hammond for leading this endeavor!  More details will be shared soon.

Also this month, we look forward to enjoying that first ripened tomato sandwiched in between some Duke's mayo (and a little pesto:) at our annual Tomato Sandwich gathering to be held again this year in conjunction with our Vacation Bible School celebration luncheon on Sunday, July 27th at 12:30 pm.  Mark your calendars with more details to follow!  Invite your friends!

Thank you everyone for your prayers and support of our garden.

It WILL be good!

-Donna Poe

Garden Coordinator

Many May Blessings in the Garden!

 Hi everyone.   

Despite the crazy weather we have been experiencing, our garden is growing and filled with an abundance of God’s Goodness!  Our early planted veggies are now prospering and producing to include spring mix, Romaine lettuce, kale, turnip greens, Swiss chard, spinach, asparagus, strawberries, and radishes! Very soon we will be enjoying some some broccoli, beets, carrots, and sugar snap peas!     Our potatoes, onions, leeks, and garlic are all doing great along with our recently planted tomatoes (really looking forward to that first ‘mater sandwich!), eggplants, peppers, and cucumbers.

We praise God for His many blessings to include His leading several new garden members to join our ministry as well as many returning members..and garden angels!  We also give praise and thankfulness again to God for our wonderful garden intern this past year, Melisa Peebles!  We are so happy that she has decided to come back often to work in the garden and worship with our church family!  We are also looking forward to meeting Andrew Hammond, our new garden intern next week along with Chris Gimmett who are both joining our church family as Duke Divinity interns for the summer.

Thank you everyone for your continued support and love for our garden! 

It WILL be good!

-Donna Poe

Garden Coordinator

Spring (finally!) and many warm blessings in the garden!

Greetings garden friends.  The presence of our Lord is warming the hearts of many as we enjoy our long awaited spring weather (despite the continued cold days here and there!) and new growth in the garden and membership!   Praise God for the many friends that joined us at our  “Wake up the Garden” event this past month followed by productive days of bed preppings, plantings, and additional new/renewed garden memberships. We have been blessed with several garden angels that enable all who want to garden to do so.  We continue to welcome new members to grow with us along with garden angels to help us grow!  Thank you to all!

Our garlic and strawberries are looking great and we have enjoyed a modest harvest of overwintered spinach.  Also planted for spring are several beds of spring mix, potatoes, onions, carrots, romaine lettuce, kale, beets, turnips, sugar snap peas, radishes, and broccoli.   Later in the month, we look forward to planting our first tomatoes, leeks, and zinnia transplants, along with seeds of marigolds, cucumbers, and squash. 

Our 6^th year beginning brings continued thankfulness and faith in God’s will and purpose for our garden ministry as we dedicate our efforts to feeding the hungry in our community through sharing our harvests.  We celebrate the connection of church and community as we work, learn and care for God’s creation together while experiencing Christian fellowship, love, joy and unity.

We are also so thankful for the love and leadership of our garden intern Melisa Peebles.  Our garden has been abundantly blessed with her beautiful spirit and care for God’s creation; and we pray for a harvest of happiness throughout her continued stewardship in the many “gardens” of her life.  We love you Melisa!!

Thank you again everyone for your prayers and support of our garden…It WILL be good!

“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow…The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor”. (1 Corinthians 3:6,8)

It WILL be good!

-Donna Poe

Garden Coordinator

Thyme to Wake Up the Garden!

After many COLD months (and still experiencing!), it is Thyme to Wake up the Garden!

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!” (Psalm 118:24)

Garden greetings everyone!  By the time you read these words, the garden will be officially awake and blessed for our New Year beginning!  After a very wet and chilly winter the past few weeks, we are so thankful to be welcoming back spring as well as to our gardeners and new friends! 

If you haven’t already, please consider growing with us!  There are many tasks for every level and like!  Our garden workdays have remained the same to include Saturdays from 9-noon and Tuesdays and Thursday evenings 5:30-7:30pm (beginning 3/11).  The annual membership per family per season is only $10…or $25 for all three growing seasons (Spring, Summer, Fall).  We also have “Garden Angel” memberships available for those that do not wish to garden, but want to support those that do (thank you thank you!!).  Any and all donations towards our ongoing expenses to grow and share God’s love in fellowship and fruits are greatly appreciated!

Thank you everyone for your continued support and prayers for our garden!

Below is a lovely poem shared by one of our garden members (thank you Shirley Pierce!!)  Hope you enjoy. 

“God Gave Me a Garden”

Each flower and leaf,

Each plant and each tree

Are miraculous treasures

The Lord gave to me.

Though I planted the seeds

In the rich, fragrant earth,

By the hand of our Lord,

They were all given birth!

Though I tended and nurtured

Each plant with such care,

Blessed by the Creator,

Each plant blossomed there.

Though I tended each flower

With patience and love,

The garden that grew

Came from Heaven above.

-Elizabeth B. Delea

“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.” (1 Cor 3:6)

See you in the garden!  It WILL be good!

-Donna Poe

Garden Coordinator

We are still harvesting!

Garden greetings!

While our garden is finally settling down for its winter slumber, we are still sharing plentiful harvests of Swiss chard, Kale, Salad mix, Spinach, Turnips, Radishes, Arugula, and Collards; Thanks be to God!  We are continuing to meet Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, along with Saturdays mornings to harvest and work on final garden tasks for the next couple of weeks. 

We look forward to our “Final Fruits Luncheon” on Saturday, December 14^th at 12:30pm as we celebrate God’s many blessings this year in our garden.   Join us as we fire up our new brick oven, bake lots of pizzas, and enjoy tasty sides!  We are hoping for good weather but will also have the church basement set up for “Plan B”!  Any donations will be most appreciated to help pay for pizza ingredients. 

Our 2014 Garden calendars have been ordered and will be arriving soon!  A limited number have been ordered so please let me know if you would like to have one (or more!) saved for you!  Your donations of $25 per calendar will provide many seeds and supplies for our garden next year.  Any additional donations are always welcomed as we remain completely self-funded through garden memberships and individual donations. 

We are committed to continuing our mission of feeding the hungry in our community through shared harvests while experiencing Christian fellowship, love, joy, and unity by working and taking care of God’s creation.   Over 750 lbs of fresh produce has been donated to S.A.F.E. since their opening and we look forward to substantially increasing our donations for next year.   We have also been offering free memberships to all S.A.F.E. families and we are thankful for the several dedicated families that have joined our garden.  With our garden plantings now focused on meeting our local food pantry’s needs, it is our hope and prayer that we will continue to increase in garden memberships as well as funding in order to provide an abundance of fresh produce to our neighbors.

Come grow with us!  We are now accepting new members for the 2014 garden season; still only $10 per season or $25 for the year with a commitment to work one hour per week for a share of the daily harvest.   You don’t have to have a green thumb (or even get your hands dirty!) to be a member!   Prayerfully consider joining as a “Garden Angel” for $50 to help support our garden ministry. There are many parts and positions to the planting process! 

Thank you all for your continued support and prayers for our garden!

It WILL be good!

-Donna Poe

Garden Coordinator