Thursday, August 14, 2008
The Seed
Have you ever seen a seed? Of course you have!!! How amazing is God, that from the tiniest little speck a plant emerges and bears fruit. As many times as I've planted seeds, I don't think I will ever not be affected by how amazing God's design is!!! I think of the geneology of Christ, and how God placed people in the right place at the right time to bring about the birth of our Savior!!! That Christ was both of the seed of David and the seed of God...fully God and fully man!!!
No matter the effort we put into this garden, we know that it is God who ulitmately makes the increase. Everything is growing so beautifully here. It is our prayer that our garden can continue to serve the people of Chester, and create a context in which people can witness the glory of God through the wonderful work of His hands!!!
No matter the effort we put into this garden, we know that it is God who ulitmately makes the increase. Everything is growing so beautifully here. It is our prayer that our garden can continue to serve the people of Chester, and create a context in which people can witness the glory of God through the wonderful work of His hands!!!
Monday, August 4, 2008
The Way of the Worm
Worm composting might just be one of nature's best kept secrets. Did you know that certain types of worms can break down your organic waste matter into all natural nutrient rich fertilizer? I didn't....that is not until I met Morgan Martin aka "The Highlander." I met Morgan almost two years ago, and my life was never the same. He immediately schooled me on "the way of the worm," demonstrating to me how God has provided us with little red wiggler worms that work together with micro-organisms to transfrom our waste into "black gold" that can improve the quality and taste of our produce.
Providentially, God brought Julie, aka "the worm girl" to our garden. Ever since, Julie has spear headed our worm composting operation here at 12th and Central. Not before long, the Lord brought Kanti, "The Worm Doctor," to our garden to help us build a thriving environment for our worms. Working with our kids in Chester, we managed to turn an old chester drawer into a thriving worm ecosystem. The key to a healthy worm environment is temperature regulation, that is keeping the worms nice and cool, and giving them lots of food to eat, like paper shreddings, watermelon, and apple cores. I'm constantly amazed at the beautiful things that can happen when communities work together to live in harmony with God's design.
Providentially, God brought Julie, aka "the worm girl" to our garden. Ever since, Julie has spear headed our worm composting operation here at 12th and Central. Not before long, the Lord brought Kanti, "The Worm Doctor," to our garden to help us build a thriving environment for our worms. Working with our kids in Chester, we managed to turn an old chester drawer into a thriving worm ecosystem. The key to a healthy worm environment is temperature regulation, that is keeping the worms nice and cool, and giving them lots of food to eat, like paper shreddings, watermelon, and apple cores. I'm constantly amazed at the beautiful things that can happen when communities work together to live in harmony with God's design.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
All The Colors!!!
I remember when the students seeded the onions. For two weeks nothing happened. I had given up on them. Then, when I least expected it, they sprouted, and now they are beautiful and hearty ready for harvesting. Plants are a lot more resilient than you'd think. It's almost like the color is buried deep down inside the soul of the seed fighting its way into full expression before God and the rest of creation. I look at the garden and marvel at all the colors bursting into life. As I watch Rebecca harvest the onions, I think of the millions of women all over the world who harvest their own food, and I somehow feel connected to all of them. I love our garden!!!!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Helping Out in the Kitchen
There's nothing quite like eating fresh vegetables you've grown in your own garden. After harvesting the cucumbers, spinach, and peppers, we all came inside and got to work making an epic salad!!! Encouraging kids in Chester to make healthier food choices can be a real challenge, especially when they're used to eating poorly and there is a lack of healthy choices. God has used our garden in providing healthier choices for these kids. By including them in the joy of growing food, they are taking a more active interest in where their food comes from and how what they consume effects their body and the environment. We strive to find more ways to use our garden to serve this city and bring glory to God!!!
The Spinach Harvest
Harvesting is no doubt one of the most rewarding parts of doing this garden, especially when you can share the experience with friends. Kasan, Tomas, and Kamari were a huge help in harvesting the spinach. It's awesome to pick off the spinach leaves and put them straight into your mouth. The kids were reluctant at first, but I think they were surprised at how good vegetables can taste when you've helped in the growing process. It's doesn't get more fresh and more local than that!
The Cucumbers
The Cucumbers have been our most successful crop by far this season. We're all blown away by how prolific our plants have been producing. At first, we started off with three little plants, but then before we knew it they outgrew our beds. Candy suggested that we build them a trellis, which turned out to be the best idea. The trellis is looking beautiful every day, and it seems like we're always finding new cucumbers. It's been fun finding creative ways to use the cucumbers: we've made cucumber sandwiches, salads, or sometimes we just each them right off the vine. Candy and Rebecca like putting slices in their water. It's actually really tasty!!
Saturday, July 19, 2008
The Cabbage
We're all really excited about how the cabbage is growing. Cabbages love for their leaves to be wet...so during these hot summer days we make sure to keep the beds well watered. It's amazing to think that vegetables are mostly water. Sticking to a consistent watering schedule is key for a healthy garden, but how easy it is to over water. Tomatoes, for instance, will start splitting if watered too much.
We've all learned so much as we research how to properly care for each crop. Each plant almost has it's own personality, producing and flowering in it's own unique way. Humans and plants are more similar than you'd think. We all need to be cared for and nutured, and under the right circumstances, we can thrive and produce seemingly beyond our potential.
We've all learned so much as we research how to properly care for each crop. Each plant almost has it's own personality, producing and flowering in it's own unique way. Humans and plants are more similar than you'd think. We all need to be cared for and nutured, and under the right circumstances, we can thrive and produce seemingly beyond our potential.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Trellising Tomatoes
Trellising is an art. It's like weaving together an artifical spine for the stem of a plant. Some plants, like tomatoes, need extra support because the fruit weighs the plant down. We decided to stake the plants with bamboo. It actually looks really cool. The idea is to get the bamboo close enough to the stem to support the plant, but not too close that it disturbs the roots.
Men of Mission
As you can imagine, after cutting down all those trees, there was a lot of debris and tree waste. Disposing of it all quickly became a problem. The city wouldn't pick it up, hiring someone to take it all was too expensive, and we didn't have the means to dispose of it properly. In come the Men of Mission!!!! The Men of Mission is an amazing community outreach organization that has a strong history of doing service in Chester. After a couple phone calls, the Men of Mission offered to help us dispose of the debris. After several hours and a dozen truck loads, the debris was all gone. God Bless You Guys!!!!! You have no idea how much your help means to us.
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