Volunteers Needed! – Garlic Will Be Ready for Harvest – Week of June 21 – Celebrating 25 Years of Feeding the Hungry!

Each year we harvest about 300 pounds of garlic. The garlic is planted in the fall and harvested in early summer. We forecast that this year the garlic crop will be ready right on schedule. The garlic needs to be dug up, cleaned off, and then spread on screens to dry. We hope to gather about 20 volunteers to complete the task over a few hours in one day.

Please text Mark Marshall at 515-988-5381 to volunteer in the garden. This would be a great project for your corporate team, church group, or service organization.

When volunteering in the garden, wear clothes that can get dirty and dress for the weather. Bring garden gloves if you have them; otherwise, we can provide them. We have all the tools you will need.

Large groups volunteer by appointment. School, church, civic, and corporate groups are always welcome in the garden by appointment. Send a message to timothyjgoldman@gmail.com to learn about volunteering that fits your group’s schedule.

Garden volunteer Sheila is sporting a new garden hat for 2026.

The Garden Needs You!

Rain has sloooowed us down in the garden and volunteer opportunities exist for many tasks.
The blueberry patch grass needs to be mowed.
Portions of the weed fabric need to straightedged and folded for further use this summer.
Leftover plant material from last summer needs to be piled up for delivery to the mulch pile with the tractor.
Vines need to be pulled off some of the fences where we grew tomatoes last year.
Transplanting!! We have soooo many plants in the greenhouse that need to move into the soil. Cabbage and tomato plants in particular. That should have started last week, but it hasn’t happened yet. Too much rain.
We need to lay plastic mulch between the potato rows and are working on this task when the sun is out.

BELOW: Dick and friends in the greenhouse

Garden Giveaway: May 9

We are giving away warm weather vegetable starter plants again this year at the Faith and Grace Garden Greenhouse.

Saturday, May 9 from 10 a.m. until noon

Come by and select from the following free vegetable starts: Tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, eggplant, melons, herbs, and onions.

Please bring a box to take home your plants. Donations accepted, not required.
Experienced volunteers will be on hand to help you with your gardening questions.
Park in the lot north of St Timothy’s Episcopal Church, 1020 24thStreet in West Des Moines.

How To Become a Garden Volunteer
We Always Need Volunteers!

Please text Mark Marshall at 515-988-5381 to volunteer in the garden.

When volunteering in the garden, wear clothes that can get dirty and dress for the weather. Bring garden gloves if you have them; otherwise, we can provide them. We have all the tools you will need.

Large groups volunteer by appointment. School, church, civic, and corporate groups are always welcome in the garden by appointment. Send a message to timothyjgoldman@gmail.com to learn about volunteering that fits your group’s schedule.

Thank you for your help! Thank you for reading!

Update On Cool Weather
Vegetable Set Giveaway

In our last garden newsletter, we unintentionally left out the mention of Brussels sprout sets being available at the Garden Giveaway this weekend. Thank you to those who noticed the omission. Here is the complete list of cool weather plant sets that will be available this Saturday and Sunday.

You are invited to come by and choose from a variety of free organic vegetable starts, including Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, lettuce, kale, onions, spinach, and Swiss chard. Donations are welcome but not required. Please bring a box to carry your plants home.

Saturday, April 11 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Sunday, April 12 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.

The Faith & Grace Garden Greenhouse: Please park in the lot north of St Timothy’s Episcopal Church, 1020 24th Street in West Des Moines.
Experienced volunteers will be available to answer any gardening questions you may have.

Garden Planting Is Underway

Potatoes, onions, garlic, and broccoli have already been planted, and more cool weather crops are being added daily as the weather allows.
BELOW: Mark Marshall and Sheila Rouse planting broccoli at the end of March.

Become a Garden Volunteer in 2026

We are seeking volunteers to help in the garden starting now and continuing through October.

Individuals can volunteer in the garden from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. To schedule your visit and help us plan for your volunteer experience, please text Mark Marshall at 515-988-5381.

School, church, civic, and corporate groups are also welcome to volunteer by appointment.

Summer is Humming Along, Fall Planting Begins

The garden is humming with activity, and we don’t mean just the bees! During the week ended August 16th we harvested and donated 4,796 pounds of organic fruits and vegetables to feed the local hungry. Tomatoes, beans, summer squash, cabbage and peppers require harvesting nearly every day now. The potato crop looks good and is coming on strong, too.

We will begin our planting for fall this week. We will plant sugar snap peas immediately after harvesting the potatoes. Lettuces and root crops will follow.

Photo References: A young volunteer surveys some of the 48 varieties of peppers growing in the garden.
Volunteers at the end of a busy morning in the garden.
Sheila Rouse holds up a bitter melon, which is prized in Asian cuisines for its many health benefits.

Produce Donated Through
August 16, 2025

Produce Weight
Apples 40
Arugula 30
Beans 160
Beets 115
Bitter Melon 39
Cabbage 2,766
Collards 280
Cucumbers 285
Edamame 30
Eggplant 425
Garlic 245
Kale 250
Lettuce 280
Onions 240
Potatoes 1,795
Peas 350
Peppers 450
Radish 185
Spinach 92
Swiss Chard 295
Tomatoes 4,075
Tomatillos 10
Zucchini 1,340

Total 13,777

Donation Sites
CFUM 2,517
Johnston 949
LSI 715
St Marks’ Fridge 670
Trinity 4,090
WDM 4,836

Total 13,777

Become a Garden Volunteer
Beat the Heat with an Early Start

Plenty of volunteer opportunities are available Monday through Friday, starting around 7:30 a.m. (note our new earlier start time) with time out for lunch and then again in the afternoon. No experience necessary. Text Mark at 515-988-5381 to let him know you are coming and to volunteer and aid in our planning.

When volunteering in the garden, wear clothes that can get dirty and dress for the weather. A hat and water bottle are good to bring with you. Bring garden gloves if you have them; otherwise, we can provide them. We have the tools you will need.

We are off to a great year, thanks to good weather and great volunteers. Special thanks to more than 30 volunteers from the Aptia Group who helped with the garlic harvest last Friday. Below is the first ripe tomato from the garden this season in a photo taken last week. We expect the tomato harvest to begin in earnest next week. There are approximately 1,000 tomato plants growing in the garden.

Plenty of Sun, Rain and Volunteers
Sheila Rouse shows off some of the zucchini we started harvesting this week.

Mary Bartusek and Celeste Egger staked up the pepper plants on Monday as they are growing fast.

Permeable black plastic fabric is an important part of our weed control strategy. After the fabric laid down, we cut holes in it and plant our vegetable sets. Then we cover the weed fabric with about four inches of mulch to retain water.

Produce Donated through July 8, 2025

Arugula 30
Cabbage 290
Collards 140
Garlic 135
Kale 75
Lettuce 280
Onions 240
Potatoes 200
Peas 325
Radish 185
Spinach 92
Swiss Chard 120
Zucchini 210
Total 2,322

DONATION SITES
Children and Family Urban Movement 120
Johnston Food Pantry 172
Trinity Las Americas UMC 955
West DM Food Pantry 1,075
Total 2,322

Become a Garden Volunteer

Plenty of volunteer opportunities are available Monday through Friday, starting around 9 a.m. with time out for lunch and then again in the afternoon. No experience necessary. Text Mark at 515-988-5381 to let him know you are coming to aid in our planning.

When volunteering in the garden, wear clothes that can get dirty, and dress for the weather. Bring garden gloves if you have them; otherwise we can provide them. We have the tools you will need.