Well the weather has sure been a blessing for the garden. We harvested another 17 pounds of spinach, lettuce, some great turnips, and more cabbage. Thanks to Thomas Gill, Lori, Andy and Josh Mangum and Nancy, two more garden beds were planted with radishes and turnips. There was almost a water fight, but no one really got wet. We must keep planting if we expect to harvest, right?
Also, the garden has been tilled for the water line. We weren’t able to lay the pipes out last Saturday, but that should be the first thing we do this coming Saturday. We need a lot of people to help so if you can spare about three or four hours Saturday morning, we’ll start at 9am. We are so blessed to have the resources we have that make it possible to feed so many people!
Several people have indicated they would like a garden bed. So we will have sign-up tables before all worship services this coming Sunday and the next Sunday. Garden beds are $35/year and because we don’t want money to keep anyone from leasing a bed, there are options! So please come by one of the tables and let us know what garden bed(s) you want. Some seeds and plants can be planted mid-February so now is the time!
The tip of the week this week is that it is a good idea to start seeds in small pots before you plant them in the garden bed. If you plant seeds directly in the garden bed, it is important to follow the instructions on how far apart each seed should be. Too many in one spot must be thinned out or growth will be stunted because each seed has to compete for space in the bed. If you plant starter plants, they are easier to space and the vegetables will be able to grow to their biggest size. So let’s go play in the dirt! It’s fun!!! Willie Redmon
Harvesting Hope Community Garden is a ministry of First Christian Church, Arlington.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Garden Notes
So there I was sitting on the bench donated by Ken and Beth Simon. The only light was the soft glow of the fire in the fire pit. Around the fire I was surrounded by my wife Nancy and other church family. They were singing songs and the kids were off playing in the garden. We all enjoyed the s’mores and hot dogs and the company of each other. The marshmallow roast was an overwhelming success that we will most definitely do again, and soon.
In the garden this week besides the marshmallow roast, there was a good turn out for the work day as well. We harvested 38 pounds of vegetables, had four visitors, and we logged 29 work hours. We mulched brush, harvested, turned compost, took the harvest to Mission Arlington and planted onions, spinach and radishes. Gino Fenoglio and I marked where the new water line will be laid and we are trying to get it trenched this week.
This week I will be going to the Boys and Girls Club to teach the kids how plant vegetables and show them things about gardening. We also will be meeting with Katey Rudd to go over things for the up coming year.
Last year, Tyler Johnson was kind enough to create a blog page for the garden. You can find all of the articles from the beginning of the garden at http://fcc-hhcg.blogspot.com/ or simply go to the www.fcc-arlington.org website and click on Ministries. We hope to see you there soon!
This week’s tip is to start getting your garden beds ready for the spring planting. You can start putting compost and soil amendments in your beds. Some seeds such as potatoes can be started as soon as the middle of February. So if you have not picked out your seeds yet time is getting short.
Willie Redmon
Harvesting Hope Community Garden is a ministry of First Christian Church, Arlington.
In the garden this week besides the marshmallow roast, there was a good turn out for the work day as well. We harvested 38 pounds of vegetables, had four visitors, and we logged 29 work hours. We mulched brush, harvested, turned compost, took the harvest to Mission Arlington and planted onions, spinach and radishes. Gino Fenoglio and I marked where the new water line will be laid and we are trying to get it trenched this week.
This week I will be going to the Boys and Girls Club to teach the kids how plant vegetables and show them things about gardening. We also will be meeting with Katey Rudd to go over things for the up coming year.
Last year, Tyler Johnson was kind enough to create a blog page for the garden. You can find all of the articles from the beginning of the garden at http://fcc-hhcg.blogspot.com/ or simply go to the www.fcc-arlington.org website and click on Ministries. We hope to see you there soon!
This week’s tip is to start getting your garden beds ready for the spring planting. You can start putting compost and soil amendments in your beds. Some seeds such as potatoes can be started as soon as the middle of February. So if you have not picked out your seeds yet time is getting short.
Willie Redmon
Harvesting Hope Community Garden is a ministry of First Christian Church, Arlington.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
National day of Service
These some pics from our National Day of Service event we had back in September.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
Garden Notes
Well folks, God blessed the garden with another great weekend. The weather was like a spring day and we had a great turn out of gardeners and volunteers and visitors again this weekend. The day started with a slight chill in the air but by 9:30 we had to ditch the jackets and by the end of the day Nancy had a slight sun burn.
Thanks to Tim White, Chris Clark, Matt Everett and Drew Mangum we got the kiosk moved to its new location out in the open so now our rain gauge will actually be able to catch rain because it is not under a tree. We were able to get our compost area cleaned up so now the Ulster project people can get to their shed. We did some more shredding for the compost bins and we added compost to some of the beds. Drew Mangum mowed the lawn in and around the garden which was no small feat. Then there was the harvest, WOW again this week we harvested 70 lbs of produce for charity and we harvest another 15 lbs for private use. That means we have harvested for the first two weeks of the year 140 lbs of vegetables for charity. Nancy Redmon, Amy Clark, Skyler Clark, Chris Clark, Matt Everett and Carrie Alexander did the harvesting. If you have not come out to harvest you need to try it sometime! I will try to put in this article when we will be harvesting so you can come out and try it.
Monday, Gino and I will be marking where the water lines will run so we can get the trenches dug. We are having a company come out and do the trenching for us; that should save some backs. Next Saturday we will have our garden work day from 9 am to 2 pm. We love to have visitors in the garden! We are all proud of this beautiful garden God has blessed us with and we like to show it off. Saturday evening (01/21, 5:30p) we will have a marshmallow and wiener roast so come on out and enjoy yourself! We’ll provide marshmallows and s’mores fixin’s; you bring the hot dogs. We are really looking forward to trying out our new fire pit.
The tip for this week is to do a little book work. It is time to start identifying what type of vegetables you will want in your garden this spring. You can start seeds as early as the end of January and early February for some cold tolerate plants. The Farmer’s Almanac can help you find what plants to plant and Almanac.com has even more information. I know folks in the garden are already choosing what they are going to grow: can you say potatoes, okra, onions, watermelon, and cantaloupe. Have a blessed week everybody.
So let’s go play in the dirt; it’s fun!!!
Willie Redmon
Harvesting Hope Community Garden is a ministry of First Christian Church, Arlington.
Thanks to Tim White, Chris Clark, Matt Everett and Drew Mangum we got the kiosk moved to its new location out in the open so now our rain gauge will actually be able to catch rain because it is not under a tree. We were able to get our compost area cleaned up so now the Ulster project people can get to their shed. We did some more shredding for the compost bins and we added compost to some of the beds. Drew Mangum mowed the lawn in and around the garden which was no small feat. Then there was the harvest, WOW again this week we harvested 70 lbs of produce for charity and we harvest another 15 lbs for private use. That means we have harvested for the first two weeks of the year 140 lbs of vegetables for charity. Nancy Redmon, Amy Clark, Skyler Clark, Chris Clark, Matt Everett and Carrie Alexander did the harvesting. If you have not come out to harvest you need to try it sometime! I will try to put in this article when we will be harvesting so you can come out and try it.
Monday, Gino and I will be marking where the water lines will run so we can get the trenches dug. We are having a company come out and do the trenching for us; that should save some backs. Next Saturday we will have our garden work day from 9 am to 2 pm. We love to have visitors in the garden! We are all proud of this beautiful garden God has blessed us with and we like to show it off. Saturday evening (01/21, 5:30p) we will have a marshmallow and wiener roast so come on out and enjoy yourself! We’ll provide marshmallows and s’mores fixin’s; you bring the hot dogs. We are really looking forward to trying out our new fire pit.
The tip for this week is to do a little book work. It is time to start identifying what type of vegetables you will want in your garden this spring. You can start seeds as early as the end of January and early February for some cold tolerate plants. The Farmer’s Almanac can help you find what plants to plant and Almanac.com has even more information. I know folks in the garden are already choosing what they are going to grow: can you say potatoes, okra, onions, watermelon, and cantaloupe. Have a blessed week everybody.
So let’s go play in the dirt; it’s fun!!!
Willie Redmon
Harvesting Hope Community Garden is a ministry of First Christian Church, Arlington.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Garden Notes
What a great week for the garden! Harvesting Hope just keeps on producing. We harvested 70 pounds of produce Saturday. That means in the last 2 weeks we have harvested 120 pounds of produce. We also welcomed a new volunteer to the garden named Ishan. He is a student from Sri Lanka and came to help in the garden. We all had a great time.
We not only harvested but we raked and shredded more leaves for the compost bins. Andy and Mary Ruth added compost to their beds and Drew did some trimmer work around the garden. The Everetts brought their boys; who did a great job collecting bugs and worms for their private collection at home. Thanks to Andy, Matt, and Ishan we now have a fire pit in the garden. Now we can have a marshmallow roast and a wiener roast. This week we will be marking the location for the water lines to be installed so we will be able to run a water service to every bed. This will be a great addition so we won’t have to run a hose all over the garden.
I would like to invite anyone interested in having a garden bed to come on out and join us. It is so much fun! We supply the bed, soil, amendments, water and water hoses. We also supply the seeds or you can bring your own. We do our best to try and make it a good experience for all. The best thing about it is knowing that you are doing God’s will by helping feed those in need and getting to know your neighbor.
This week’s tip may seem a little odd. But I would like to talk about the need to harvest. While it’s great fun to plant seeds and watch them grow, it’s also important to harvest the crops. First, the crops need to get to people for food, and second, the garden beds need to be cleared so new plants can take root for more harvest. We harvested a turnip about the size of a softball Saturday. And two plants of kale were huge! And delicious (we tasted a couple of leaves)! So make sure you harvest your produce before they are overgrown. They taste great and some veggies loose their taste or become too tough to eat if you let them get too big.
Willie Redmon
Harvesting Hope Community Garden is a ministry of First Christian Church, Arlington.
We not only harvested but we raked and shredded more leaves for the compost bins. Andy and Mary Ruth added compost to their beds and Drew did some trimmer work around the garden. The Everetts brought their boys; who did a great job collecting bugs and worms for their private collection at home. Thanks to Andy, Matt, and Ishan we now have a fire pit in the garden. Now we can have a marshmallow roast and a wiener roast. This week we will be marking the location for the water lines to be installed so we will be able to run a water service to every bed. This will be a great addition so we won’t have to run a hose all over the garden.
I would like to invite anyone interested in having a garden bed to come on out and join us. It is so much fun! We supply the bed, soil, amendments, water and water hoses. We also supply the seeds or you can bring your own. We do our best to try and make it a good experience for all. The best thing about it is knowing that you are doing God’s will by helping feed those in need and getting to know your neighbor.
This week’s tip may seem a little odd. But I would like to talk about the need to harvest. While it’s great fun to plant seeds and watch them grow, it’s also important to harvest the crops. First, the crops need to get to people for food, and second, the garden beds need to be cleared so new plants can take root for more harvest. We harvested a turnip about the size of a softball Saturday. And two plants of kale were huge! And delicious (we tasted a couple of leaves)! So make sure you harvest your produce before they are overgrown. They taste great and some veggies loose their taste or become too tough to eat if you let them get too big.
Willie Redmon
Harvesting Hope Community Garden is a ministry of First Christian Church, Arlington.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Garden Notes
It is the start of a new year and there is a lot of excitement building in the garden. But before we get to that news lets look back at how we finished the year. We established the Harvesting Hope Community Garden and went from 6 beds to 63 beds in less than a year thanks to the generosity and hard work of a lot of people. We finished the year with 30 garden beds leased. Six hundred fifty pounds of produce was harvested for charity. Overall it was an incredible year considering we started a garden in the hottest, driest year in Texas history.
The New Year holds many exciting things as well. We will have our garden group meeting on January 10th, everyone is welcome to attend. This is an open meeting to the public. If you plan on having a bed in the garden this year we strongly recommend you attend. Some 2012 calendar events are: on January 21st we will have a marshmallow roast in the garden! We will start at 4:30 pm and all are welcome to come and share the fun (and S’mores!). In February we will have a class on composting. April we hope to host our first breakfast in the garden with an Easter egg hunt for the kids. In May or June we plan on having another fund raiser at El Chico; it was a really great success the first time. The goal is to have at least one event in the garden every month so look for coming events.
For those of you that plan on donating your bagged leaves to the garden for composting, we ask that you make sure that there are no metal objects, plastic or paper in the bags. Also twigs are okay for shredding but limbs and sticks will harm the shredder as well as cause possible injury to the shredder operator. So in a nutshell, bagged leaves and small twigs are fine, but please make sure they are free of other debris.
The tip for this week is about education. If you have not purchased a Farmer’s Almanac before, this is a really good book to have. The almanac has a great deal of information on when the first and last frost are, when the sun rise and sunsets are as well as information on when and where to plant your veggies flowers and herbs. The almanac also has recipes in it as well as much more useful information.
So lets go play in the dirt; it’s fun!!!
Willie Redmon
Harvesting Hope Community Garden is a ministry of First Christian Church, Arlington.
The New Year holds many exciting things as well. We will have our garden group meeting on January 10th, everyone is welcome to attend. This is an open meeting to the public. If you plan on having a bed in the garden this year we strongly recommend you attend. Some 2012 calendar events are: on January 21st we will have a marshmallow roast in the garden! We will start at 4:30 pm and all are welcome to come and share the fun (and S’mores!). In February we will have a class on composting. April we hope to host our first breakfast in the garden with an Easter egg hunt for the kids. In May or June we plan on having another fund raiser at El Chico; it was a really great success the first time. The goal is to have at least one event in the garden every month so look for coming events.
For those of you that plan on donating your bagged leaves to the garden for composting, we ask that you make sure that there are no metal objects, plastic or paper in the bags. Also twigs are okay for shredding but limbs and sticks will harm the shredder as well as cause possible injury to the shredder operator. So in a nutshell, bagged leaves and small twigs are fine, but please make sure they are free of other debris.
The tip for this week is about education. If you have not purchased a Farmer’s Almanac before, this is a really good book to have. The almanac has a great deal of information on when the first and last frost are, when the sun rise and sunsets are as well as information on when and where to plant your veggies flowers and herbs. The almanac also has recipes in it as well as much more useful information.
So lets go play in the dirt; it’s fun!!!
Willie Redmon
Harvesting Hope Community Garden is a ministry of First Christian Church, Arlington.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Garden Notes
This week we were able to get some needed clean up work done and did a little maintenance on the rain barrels. And we the chipper shredder as part of the donation of the ‘Big Build’! It is a commercial grade machine that has 15 horse power and chips limbs up to 4 inches. This shredder will allow us to make our own mulch and make compost quicker.
We will not be having a garden work day Saturday the 24th or 31st so we can all be with our families on these special days.
You know I was out at the garden Saturday it was about 8:00 am. There was frost on the ground and a little bit of a chill in the air. The squirrels were enjoying acorns that were on the ground and the birds were starting to sing. I started looking around and really noticing how wonderful it is to just sit and listen and watch God’s wonderful creation all around me. It is so inspiring to experience God’s artwork in his garden from the green plants planted in the bed to the playful animals throughout the garden. What a wonderful gift he has blessed us all with!
The tip for this week is about Christmas. Sunday after second service I was standing in the foyer watching everyone exit the service. There was hugging and hand shaking going on. It was great to see all the families from out of town back to celebrate Christmas. Having the families come to celebrate Christ’s birth makes it even more special. How great God’s love for us must be for him to have sent his only son into a world that can be so uninviting. There will never be a more precious or more perfect gift for after all. He truly is the greatest gift ever given.
So from all of us in the Garden Group, Merry Christmas and have a blessed New Year!!!!
We will get back to playing in the dirt and having fun after New Years!!!
Willie Redmon
Harvesting Hope Community Garden is a ministry of First Christian Church, Arlington.
We will not be having a garden work day Saturday the 24th or 31st so we can all be with our families on these special days.
You know I was out at the garden Saturday it was about 8:00 am. There was frost on the ground and a little bit of a chill in the air. The squirrels were enjoying acorns that were on the ground and the birds were starting to sing. I started looking around and really noticing how wonderful it is to just sit and listen and watch God’s wonderful creation all around me. It is so inspiring to experience God’s artwork in his garden from the green plants planted in the bed to the playful animals throughout the garden. What a wonderful gift he has blessed us all with!
The tip for this week is about Christmas. Sunday after second service I was standing in the foyer watching everyone exit the service. There was hugging and hand shaking going on. It was great to see all the families from out of town back to celebrate Christmas. Having the families come to celebrate Christ’s birth makes it even more special. How great God’s love for us must be for him to have sent his only son into a world that can be so uninviting. There will never be a more precious or more perfect gift for after all. He truly is the greatest gift ever given.
So from all of us in the Garden Group, Merry Christmas and have a blessed New Year!!!!
We will get back to playing in the dirt and having fun after New Years!!!
Willie Redmon
Harvesting Hope Community Garden is a ministry of First Christian Church, Arlington.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Garden Notes
This week we were able to get some needed clean up work done and did a little maintenance on the rain barrels. And we received the chipper shredder as part of the donation of the ‘Big Build’! It is a commercial grade machine that has 15 horse power and chips limbs up to 4 inches. This shredder will allow us to make our own mulch and make compost quicker.
We will not be having a garden work day Saturday the 24th or 31st so we can all be with our families on these special days.
You know when I was out at the garden Saturday it was about 8:00 am. There was frost on the ground and a little bit of a chill in the air. The squirrels were enjoying acorns that were on the ground and the birds were starting to sing. I started looking around and really noticing how wonderful it is to just sit and listen and watch God’s wonderful creation all around me. It is so inspiring to experience God’s artwork in his garden from the green plants planted in the bed to the playful animals throughout the garden. What a wonderful gift he has blessed us all with!
The tip for this week is about Christmas. Sunday after second service I was standing in the foyer watching everyone exit the service. There was hugging and hand shaking going on. It was great to see all the families from out of town back to celebrate Christmas. Having the families come to celebrate Christ’s birth makes it even more special. How great God’s love for us must be for him to have sent his only son into a world that can be so uninviting. There will never be a more precious or more perfect gift for after all, he truly is the greatest gift ever given. So from all of us in the Garden Group, Merry Christmas and have a blessed New Year!!!!We will get back to playing in the dirt and having fun after New Years!!!
Willie Redmon
Harvesting Hope Community Garden is a ministry of First Christian Church, Arlington
We will not be having a garden work day Saturday the 24th or 31st so we can all be with our families on these special days.
You know when I was out at the garden Saturday it was about 8:00 am. There was frost on the ground and a little bit of a chill in the air. The squirrels were enjoying acorns that were on the ground and the birds were starting to sing. I started looking around and really noticing how wonderful it is to just sit and listen and watch God’s wonderful creation all around me. It is so inspiring to experience God’s artwork in his garden from the green plants planted in the bed to the playful animals throughout the garden. What a wonderful gift he has blessed us all with!
The tip for this week is about Christmas. Sunday after second service I was standing in the foyer watching everyone exit the service. There was hugging and hand shaking going on. It was great to see all the families from out of town back to celebrate Christmas. Having the families come to celebrate Christ’s birth makes it even more special. How great God’s love for us must be for him to have sent his only son into a world that can be so uninviting. There will never be a more precious or more perfect gift for after all, he truly is the greatest gift ever given. So from all of us in the Garden Group, Merry Christmas and have a blessed New Year!!!!We will get back to playing in the dirt and having fun after New Years!!!
Willie Redmon
Harvesting Hope Community Garden is a ministry of First Christian Church, Arlington
Monday, December 12, 2011
Garden Notes
This was a great week in the garden! We were able to put the finishing touches on the new shed! Now we have one shed for the east side of the garden and one shed for the west side of the garden. This will make it more convenient for our gardeners. They will not have to trek all the way across the garden to get tools and supplies. We were able to do a little clean up also, stacking the pallets and concrete blocks and picking up trash. Some of the dead plants were taken to the compost bins ready for composting.
This week we expect to receive the new chipper/shredder, which means there will a lot of shredding going on next Saturday. We will be doing more harvesting and believe it or not there will be some planting going on also. There are still vegetables that you can plant for a spring harvest! If you have taken a garden bed and would like to plant seeds for spring harvest, come on out Saturday from 9a to 12noon.
In the coming weeks we will begin the installation of the water lines to the beds. If you would like to be a part of the installation let us know. We will have the trenches done by a private company and will be putting the pipes in ourselves. So if you ever wanted to know how to put in a water line come on out. We have a list of volunteers and there is room for more! After we get the water line in we will begin the garden path that will run throughout the garden, making it more accessible to those in wheel chairs and walkers. This spring we hope to have ‘accessible’ beds for those that are in wheel chairs and walkers. So as you can see it maybe winter but the garden is still a busy and growing place.
We would like to thank all the new gardeners that have signed up for the spring season! We welcome you and we will do our best to help make your gardening experience a great one. If there is anyone that is thinking about gardening this spring feel free to contact me or Nancy or one of the other gardeners. We would love to have you join the garden party!
The tip of the week is about protecting your plants. I know I may have mentioned this before but thought since the weather is turning colder we would revisit how to protect your plants. Smaller plants you can use a can or a milk jug with the top cut off it. Simply cover the plant when the temps get below freezing. For larger plants and beds you may need to use a sheet or plant fabric. By the way, gentlemen another helpful tip: be sure you ask your wife before you use the sheets! Sometimes they get upset when you use the wrong sheets. When using the sheets, make sure you try to keep the fabric from touching the plants. The frost can wick trough the fabric and ‘burn’ your plants. You can use stakes or sticks to keep the fabric off the plants.
So let’s go play in the dirt! It’s fun!
Willie Redmon
Harvesting Hope Community Garden is a ministry of First Christian Church, Arlington.
This week we expect to receive the new chipper/shredder, which means there will a lot of shredding going on next Saturday. We will be doing more harvesting and believe it or not there will be some planting going on also. There are still vegetables that you can plant for a spring harvest! If you have taken a garden bed and would like to plant seeds for spring harvest, come on out Saturday from 9a to 12noon.
In the coming weeks we will begin the installation of the water lines to the beds. If you would like to be a part of the installation let us know. We will have the trenches done by a private company and will be putting the pipes in ourselves. So if you ever wanted to know how to put in a water line come on out. We have a list of volunteers and there is room for more! After we get the water line in we will begin the garden path that will run throughout the garden, making it more accessible to those in wheel chairs and walkers. This spring we hope to have ‘accessible’ beds for those that are in wheel chairs and walkers. So as you can see it maybe winter but the garden is still a busy and growing place.
We would like to thank all the new gardeners that have signed up for the spring season! We welcome you and we will do our best to help make your gardening experience a great one. If there is anyone that is thinking about gardening this spring feel free to contact me or Nancy or one of the other gardeners. We would love to have you join the garden party!
The tip of the week is about protecting your plants. I know I may have mentioned this before but thought since the weather is turning colder we would revisit how to protect your plants. Smaller plants you can use a can or a milk jug with the top cut off it. Simply cover the plant when the temps get below freezing. For larger plants and beds you may need to use a sheet or plant fabric. By the way, gentlemen another helpful tip: be sure you ask your wife before you use the sheets! Sometimes they get upset when you use the wrong sheets. When using the sheets, make sure you try to keep the fabric from touching the plants. The frost can wick trough the fabric and ‘burn’ your plants. You can use stakes or sticks to keep the fabric off the plants.
So let’s go play in the dirt! It’s fun!
Willie Redmon
Harvesting Hope Community Garden is a ministry of First Christian Church, Arlington.
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