Hello Garden Friends:
Well, the spring rains have finally come!……..along with the wind, hail, etc. I hope your garden, yard, and house are undamaged. Here’s what’s happening in a garden near you:
Agape Garden, 7384 NW 16th Street in Ankeny (Next to the Faith Chapel and close by John Deere) There is a “Big Event” at the Agape Garden on this Saturday starting at 8 am and going into the afternoon. We will be planting 34 fruit trees courtesy of the Trees Forever program. Some fruit trees and some shade trees. We will have a bobcat with 30-inch auger but need help planting and filling in. Bring shovels, rakes and gloves. Food and drinks will be provided. Volunteer hours in the Agape garden are almost every Tuesday and Thursday evenings around 6:30 to dark and Saturday mornings around 8:30 til noon. Call Craig Crist to verify time and dates @ 515-577-8260 leave message if no answer. The Agape Garden always needs help.
Faith & Grace Garden. Corner of 24th & Ashworth, WDM, just west of St. Timothy’s, park in the lot north of the church off 24th Street.
Volunteer Training Day – Saturday, April 21 at 10:30 am, in the Parish Hall at St. Timothy’s
Adult volunteers, old and new, are invited to this opportunity to learn about how to be a great garden volunteer. We will have lots of students and children in the Faith and Grace Garden this year. Adult volunteers are needed to help and guide them. At this training session you will learn how the Faith and Grace Garden is organized and operated so that volunteers can have a rewarding, productive, and safe experience in the garden.
Earth Day Celebration Weather permitting
You’re invited! St. Timothy’s Faith and Grace Garden Open House
Earth Day, Sunday, April 22, 1 pm – 5 pm
Please stop by and enjoy a pleasant afternoon and some refreshments. Tour the garden and learn about our plans for this summer. (Hint Hint… A children’s garden and hoop house) Wear your “grubbies” if you would like to do some gardening, or view a demonstration of organic gardening methods. We will be mulching the garden with newspapers and wood chips on both days. On Sunday, we will demonstrate the use of worm castings and worm tea in the garden. There will be a demonstration of how to make an inexpensive home worm tea brewer for use around your yard and garden. Students from Dowling High will be on-hand to help with garden tours. Bring garden gloves and a hoe. Questions? Call Tim Goldman at 515-745-9842
St. Anthony’s Garden of Eden
Volunteer hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings starting at 11 am running through May.
The Garden of Eden Project (GOEP) uses nearly ten acres of land spread out across the south side of Des Moines. We have 16 raised box gardens (4 x 12), 8 back yards, and 5 acres we are allowed to use for the Garden’s purposes. This land allows us to produce literally tons of fresh fruit and vegetables for the hungry in our Metro area.
For information about the Garden of Eden, please contact John Piper or by calling 515-240-3146.
St Francis of Assisi Garden
The garden is located across the street to the North, from St Francis of Assisi church in the North-east corner of the playground.We are putting up fence and planting potatoes. For more information, contact Jan Hoeman. We meet on Sunday evenings 6 pm – 7pm in the garden and as things get going, also on Wed mornings at 9pm.
Urban Harvest Garden
An outreach of Urban Heights Covenant benefiting the Urbandale/Windsor Heights Food Pantry – 7605 Aurora, Urbandale, Iowa 278-1371This is an exciting week at Urban Harvest! Last weekend Acacia fraternity from Iowa State came and put up all the fencing and helped build a three bin compost bin. Cub Scouts from Pack 98 helped cut up seed potatoes. If it dries out enough (rain gauges reported close to three inches of rain last Saturday night.) we will do some initial planting on Wednesday night. Saturday will be a big push AND we will be planting 6 fruit trees with the help of Trees Forever. Join us anytime! For more information Like us on Facebook or call 515 -314-2114
If you would like to read more about the garden join us on Blogger/Urban Harvest. This year we are hoping for weekly posting with thoughts from the garden, the latest activities and a recipe. For up to the minute garden happenings join us on Facebook at Urban Harvest. If you would like to donate to Urban Harvest you can send a check with a designation on the note to:
Urban Heights Covenant – 7605 Aurora Urbandale, Iowa
You can go to the church website at desmoineschurch.org to donate using PayPal. All donations are tax deductible. ALL produce is donated to the Urbandale/Windsor Heights food pantry. You can also connect to the blog and Facebook there. For further information contact Garden Manager Beth Rydberg at 314-2114 For information and best times to garden, please email Beth Rydberg
Three Free 55-Gallon Garden Rain Barrels – Email Tim Goldman
More interesting websites from our friends at the Lord’s Acre:
Food Storage, Vineyard Design, Organic Disease Control Strategies and so much more: http://fromhere.org/events/
The Garden Rant: Funny, sassy, edgy, entertaining, educational garden site hosted by four women gardeners: http://www.gardenrant.com/
Label reading pointers – where to find GMOs; what does ”natural” vs. organic mean?
There is a short blog post on Stonyfield’s site to help consumers navigate the supermarket –It’s a quick and easy review of confusing labels, and how to spot GMO ingredients, plus there’s a place where you can add your own comments about how you personally navigate the supermarket. The post is part of Stonyfield’s ”I will know my food” campaign. http://www.iwillknowmyfood.com/#tips
Growing Power – Aquaculture: Milwaukee’s Growing Power, a community-based urban food center, is using plants as natural water filters for raising yellow perch.
Food Justice From the Ground, Up: http://foodandcommunityfellows.org/blog/collection/food-justice-from-the-ground-up-stories-of-change
The Town Without Trash: http://gimundo.com/news/article/the-town-without-trash-kamikatsu-japan/
Who Remembers Jack Lalanne?
Actual Creative Garden Club Names: One Foot Now – Six Feet Later, Rake and Bake, Grateful Deadheaders, Hearts & Spades and The Back Achers
See you in the garden!