Our wonderful “pop-up” produce stand: July 2nd
We keep getting all this fresh produce from local farms through The Gleaning Project to give away — and we are blessed people are coming to our new produce stand. On Saturday, July 2nd (today) we are offering free produce from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Come and stock up on your fresh vegies! We’re on the corner of Prince St. and Martin Avenue in Shippensburg.
We’re doing it! We’re giving away the food we have grown: June 27th
We are very excited that we have been able to give away salad greens from our gardens to our neighbors and friends who come to our Monday community meals. It is wonderful to hear people’s stories as they tell us how their mother used fresh herbs in her cooking, or to get to know them over a bag of potatoes, or to see their faces shine with delight that they were given more than they had expected! It is a gift to be able to offer the blessings from our gardens to others!
Update: Buying the plants and seeds: May 6th
With our lists in hand, and with 1498 plants to buy, off we went to Taylor’s Greenhouse, which is a marvelous place to be. After a few hours of putting plants on our carts, running in the rain and mud to the next greenhouse and driving over the foggy mountain, we arrived at Grace Place with much of what we needed. We still have a bit more to purchase, but we’re close — it was fun, faithful, and wonderful work, even with the rain. Our spirits were high … even though our bodies were drenched from the rain.
Update: Putting the soil in the raised beds: May 6th
Well, Mother Nature did not cooperate so well. On the day when we rented a bobcat to help put the soil in our 26 raised beds, it poured. We all were saying, “Rain, rain, go away”. Mike Stitt, Ford Brooks, and Bill Hutchinson worked gallantly for a number of hours, with the bobcat getting mired in the mud, and finally called it a day. But hopefully, all the beds will be filled on Wednesday when we have sunny weather.
Update: Choosing the Plants May 5th
We gathered to choose the many plants we will grow so that we have much to share with our neighbors. We are using the Square Foot Gardening technique, so we fit a lot of plants into each of our raised beds. It’s quite exciting to imagine all the produce we will get from these garden plots. We invite you to come and help us tend the gardens, harvest the produce, and offer it to others. This is what we are called to do — be present in our neighborhood and bring healing, in many ways. Here’s some photos of our work:
Update: Building our Raised Beds
Many of gathered to build our raised beds where we will plant our seeds and seedlings which will produce fresh produce and beautiful flowers which we will share with our neighbors. It was an exciting day of being together with like-hearted people who want to do something good and purposeful, who come together to create something that has an impact beyond themselves, and who knows the joy of working on a project with others, especially outside.
Here are some photos of that glorious day:
What this is all about: our call from God to SOW.GROW.SHARE.
We are very excited that part of our Shaped by Faith Project Plan is to grow fresh produce to feed others. All that we produce will be shared with our neighbors on the Mondays when we serve our community meal.
There will be three sources of fresh produce: 1) Our own gardens at 3 locations, 2) people’s home gardens (Grow a Row for St. Andrew’s) and 3) a garden plot on Orange Street. We plan on having 26 raised beds, mostly with vegetables, but some with fresh cutting flowers to add beauty to our neighbor’s homes or porches.
We have a new group called, “Spiritual Creative Consultants” who have been working on creating the garden plan (so it is attractive, provides a restful place for everyone, and a safe children’s play area), adding prayer stations, and imagining worship services in the beauty of our gardens.
The most exciting and creative idea is the shape of a Celtic Cross which will be formed and found in the negative space of the garden beds. In the pouring rain, our group gathered to lay out the beds, using marker flags, so we can see where and how everything will fit and to see the larger visual– here are some photos that tell the story. Some of our the Grace Place Garden and some are of the area by the parking lot, which will be our cutting flower bed. Enjoy …. and catch our excitement!
If you would like help design the gardens, be on a gardening team to tend the gardens, “grow a row at home”, or help can and freeze fresh produce for distribution throughout the year, please see Ford Brooks or Kathy Hettinga.