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MBPC Community Garden - Growing To Feed The Hungry
It is our hope that those in our area will join us and volunteer to help with the garden as we improve it each year. As so many generations before us have known, there is great joy and hope in seeing seeds become sustenance in the renewal of the season.
See our Community Garden on youtube.com as it developed in its first year:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzTEJygBUFU
We also hope you will visit our FaceBook page and join us. Search - Mountain Brook Presbyterian Church Community Garden
Learn more about our Community Garden friends, partners and advisors: Jones Valley Urban Farm http://www.jvuf.org/
Magic City Harvest http://www.magiccityharvest.org/
CAWACO (Cahaba-Warrior-Coosa Resource Conservation & Development Council, Inc.) http://www.cawaco.org/
Alabama Cooperative Extension System http://www.aces.edu/
This year we plan to make our garden even more fruitful by making some changes recommended by our friends at Jones Valley Urban Farm, CAWACO and ACES Agent, Sallie Lee. We are planning to increase the production of our garden by: having two growing seasons, specializing in vegetables which are easier to grow in our area, and offering ways for others to learn what we’re doing so that those who are hungry can learn to feed themselves. Watch for updates here concerning our plans and for ways to volunteer. This is a fun way to help others, make new friends and learn how to grow better food that’s better for you.
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Mountain Brook Presbyterian Church is blessed in many ways. One of the most obvious gifts is its site with ten beautiful acres on
, June 2010 The garden is producing! Thanks, Charlie, for all that you do.
, "TO DO" April Weed Control - layer newspaper around each plant - shovel mulch on top of newspapers Helpful Maintenance - turn the handle on the composter a couple of times , April 14, 2010
Thanks to all who helped on Good Friday! Garden II is now in its way. We have formed rows for nearly half the garden, established one bed of tomatoes with a trellis fence, installed our water system, planted broccoli, lettuce, cabbage and some green beans. More planting will be coming. Our soil is better than last year after being worked for a season. Charlie Griffin is doing a great job in assisting volunteers and in maintaining an ongoing presence at the garden.
As a result, we are now a resource for other people interested in learning about gardening. The day before our initial planting, students from The Highland Day School brought seedlings they had grown at the school and planted them in the garden. They will monitor their plants with tags showing each student’s name.
Recently we were contacted by Sarah Warren on behalf of The Puzzle Piece Boys who are high functioning autistic children ages 5 to 11. These boys will be assisting Charlie, hopefully on a weekly basis to get experience and add their efforts to the garden. As the weeks go by, of course the tasks increase. We recently had a load of new composted mulch delivered. This process seems to never end. We will be placing newspaper around the plants and over the watering system, on top of which we will place the composted mulch. Mulch will also go in the rows between the beds. Newspaper is in the boiler room. These are tasks that need to be done now and will be needed throughout the summer as our crops rotate and the mulch deteriorates. Over the next weeks, we will be continuing to plant to get the whole garden planted and then rotate our crops to maximize production. Please post your time on the board.
Once again this year, Magic City Harvest will be picking up our produce and redistributing it to the many agencies they serve. Thanks again to Charlie, Edwin Martye and Jones Valley Farms and all the other many participants in this effort. You might notice also we have a compost tumbler located next to the garden. If you are by the garden, give the tumbler a few turns each time. That helps the compost in it to deteriorate more quickly as we get batch after batch from the tumbler.
, March 30, 2010 The day is almost here! This Friday, April 2, is Good Friday - the long-awaited start to our second year in community gardening. If the weather report holds true, the garden will be in good shape for preparation and some planting. Come at noon, ready to dig in! The work that needs to be done includes shaping of the beds, installing the watering system and preparing the soil. The tomato seeds/seedlings are standing by! Please remember to sign in on the garden's bulletin-board sign-in sheets. This is so very important - the total number of hours volunteered in 2009 was the basis used in a grant application for this year. I know it's easy to skip this step, especially if you are weary from your gardening, but please try to remember that EVERY VOLUNTEER HOUR COUNTS. Please send me your suggestions. I don't actually do much gardening but I will do my best to keep everyone informed. Sally Speaker, Volunteers Coordinator
, Community Garden IISpring Planting For volunteer opportunities For groups interested in helping Lots to do and many hungry folks!
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