Garden work day.....

Latest images.....

Images by Susan Greene

Work day.....

The warm day, the warm earth and the fellowship of other gardeners brought the promise of another bountiful garden season. It was a joy to be back in the garden, preparing it for the new growing seasons. What a joy to harvest the winter crop of spinich, to share with others, and to taste it's delicious flavor. God is good and we are blessed. Debbie Dowling

20 people arrived Saturday morning 3/7, at 10 am to help kick off the Seagrove Community Gardening season. We welcomed returning members; Tom and Slate Gray, Tim, Susan and Jeffery Greene, Bob and Debbie Dowling, Venetia Smith, Bonnie Burns and granddaughters Lexi & Emma, Donna Brown, new member Alexa Modderno, and appreciated the support from nearby Stargarden’s Anne & Adam, Andreas and Lyza, also Gail and Brenda from Wilmington and Jeff, Slate’s cap worker. We enjoyed coffee and conversation in the fellowship hall before gathering tools and heading over to the garden.

The objective of the day was to clean up the fall debris, pile up all the garden stakes, tomato cages and trellises. We moved piles and piles of withered tomato vines and okra tree stems to the compost. It had been too wet the previous week due to an all day rain followed by 4 inches of snow to get a load of the lovely composted cow manure/top soil mix from our supplier Barry Brown. Fortunately, we still had half a load left from last year to be spread.

We did weeding in the beds, thinned spinach for harvest and layered shredded paper and compost mix on top of beds. We also built one untreated lumber, 4’ by 8’ by 16” H raised bed and filled it with a mix of shredded paper, leaves and composted soil. We plan to put in several more of the raised beds to make it easier on backs and knees.

After several hours we headed back to the fellowship hall to enjoy a lunch of baked ziti, Mexican vegetable stew, fresh bread and an Asian inspired spinach salad with spinach from the garden that was planted last October. Chocolate cupcakes, and other sweets topped off the meal.

All in all it was a great beginning to what promises to be another productive year. We are grateful for all we learned last year and thankful to be so much further along than we were this time last year, with the majority of our rows now ready to be planted. Pastor Bob has already filled row 10 and part of row 11 with spring plants-broccoli, cauliflower, English peas and sugar snap peas. Bonnie plans to fill row 4 with turnips, greens, lettuce, and edamame. Beth will be filling row 6 with cut flowers and herbs. Barbara will be planting tomatoes, cucumber, squash and peppers when it warms up a bit. Donna will be planting roses in the middle of row 3. We will continue to harvest our spinach until it gets too warm and begins to bolt. Hopefully, by then the Amish paste tomatoes and California Wonder bell pepper that Susan started this week will be ready to go into the ground.

Pre-planting.....

We hope to have quite a bit of activity in and about the garden over the next 2 Saturdays. Saturday morning the 28th. at 10 we will meet to assign "parcels" of garden space. This year we will be doing things a little differently in order to decentralize responsibilities. Although the produce will still be shared communally, individuals, families or small groups will "adopt a bed" and be responsible for planting, weeding and otherwise caring for that space. If it rains we will meet in the back lobby of Seagrove United Methodist Church.

On Saturday March 7th. at 10 we will start rebuilding the beds using leaves, shredded paper and topsoil/manure mix. As it stands right now people are coming from as far away as Wilmington, a group from Covenant Garden in Fuquay-Varina, and hopefully even some college kids from UNCG. We will start by tilling up the old beds, then applying the compostable materials and finally the soil/manure mix. If you wish to join us and have a wheelbarrow, shovel, or hoe, please bring them along. We will gather in the Seagrove United Methodist Church parking lot at 10, and later have a covered dish meal around 12 or so.

Lasagna gardening.....

Tony Garner and I spent part of the morning building up one of the eleven beds in the garden before the rain ran us off. We're using a concept called lasagna gardening, or lasagna composting. The raised beds can be made with layers of any compostable material---leaves, shredded paper, manure and straw mix, imported top soil, etc. We started by hand tilling the existing beds to "fluff them up," then added a layer of shredded paper, and finally a layer of cow manure/topsoil mix. This bed is the furtherest away from the soil mix and bags of shredded paper, so the next ten beds shouldn't take quite so long to build. As it is in the bottom of the garden, bottom meaning the lowest area, we built it up higher than the other beds will require, just to ensure better drainage. We also extended both ends of the bed, which added another approximately forty square feet of area in which to plant. By the time we finish with the other ten beds we will probably have added another two hundred square feet plus of space in which to plant. All in all it was a great morning---good friends, good stories, a good workout, and an opportunity to be part of something bigger than ourselves. Just a little over two months and we'll start our seedlings indoors for next springs garden. A reminder to anyone who wanders into the garden---PLEASE do not walk on the beds! One more thing---a big thanks to Fiskar's and Heifer International who provided us with mini-grants to buy tools, deer fencing and an irrigation system.

Food conferences.....

There are four different food conferences going on in North Carolina over the same time period in February and early March. If you are any type of foodie, community gardener, have concerns about the hungry, or are a food revolutionary of any sort, you should find a conference somewhere in this great state where you will fit right in.

(1) Come to the Table - Feb. 25th. - Garysburg - Feb 26th. - Boone - Feb. 27th. - Charlotte.
(2) Read Food Real Medicine - February 27th. - March 1st. - Chapel Hill.
(3) The Hunger Conference - February 27th. and 28th. - Raleigh.
(4) Food Summit - March 2nd. and 3rd. - Raleigh.

We hope you will check out the different conference links, find a conference that is calling your name, and will attend.

Vespers.....

Sunday afternoon the Seagrove Community Garden hosted a service of thanksgiving for the garden's bounty, and a serpentine prayerful/contemplative walk through the garden, all followed by a chili supper at the Seagrove UMC's fellowship hall.

Vespers --- in this case, 2 hymns, 2 psalms, a story and a prayer.

Prayerful, serpentine walk through the garden's aisles, reading the quotes on peace and reconciliation.

Pastor Bob.

The mayor of Whynot, the honorable Bill Spencer, pontificating.

Venetia Smith, garden's head cheerleader, flanked by her son Tim, and daughter-in-law Susan.

The honorable Mrs. Mayor of Whynot, Sue Spencer, the lady whose formidable task is to keep the mayor on track.

Stacye and Slate.

Thanksgiving/prayer/chili.....

On Sunday afternoon October 26th., at 3:30 PM, we will be hosting a short service of thanksgiving, a silent, prayerful, serpentine walk-thru of the garden, and a chili supper in the fellowship hall of Seagrove United Methodist Church. We hope you will be able to attend.

Prayer vigil follow up.....

Last night we held a prayer vigil inside the boundaries of Seagrove Community Garden. It was a silent, serpentine walk through the garden, where passages of scripture and quotes about peace and reconciliation could be read and contemplated. There was also a space for Eucharist. Approximately 25 people joined us. The much needed rain showed up about an hour before the vigil, and let off about 15 minutes before it was to begin. The following images of some of the quotations, and the vegetable and flower images at the bottom, were taken the morning after the vigil. We hope that they will impact your heart as they did ours.
We have had a bumper crop of several varieties of tomatoes over the last month or so, and still have some clinging to their vines.

Winter squash, still a few weeks from fruitition.
The moon and stars watermelons have been a big hit, in fact, we have a fall crop too, just starting to produce fruit.
Before long we're going to need a ladder to harvest the okra!
Sunflowers as high as a man's head.....
Our organic basil makes the best pesto!
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God in heaven, thank you for the rain, and for the people who joined us in prayer. Amen.

Prayer vigil.....

We invite you and your families and neighbors into a healing place - the Seagrove Community Garden, 323 N. Broad Street, next to the Dairy Breeze. On Monday night, August 25th, drop in any time between the hours of 7:00 pm and 8:30 pm. Park at the Dairy Breeze, walk next door, and join us in silent meditation and reflection for the healing of our community.

Mission Statement
In faithful partnership with God and one another, the Seagrove Community Garden is an agent of Christian hospitality and sharing.
The garden community will:
*Enrich the soil and preserve the land through hands-on gardening practices.
*Produce fresh, high quality vegetables and fruits.
*Teach each other sustainable gardening techniques, healthy ways of meal planning, cooking and preserving whole foods.
*Encourage the building of cooperation and friendship among members and guests.

Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes.....

Tis the season, for tomatoes that is, and cucumbers, and chili peppers, and okra, and cantaloupe and watermelon. I think we have 4 varieties of tomatoes in our garden, and 3 out of 4 are ready to be picked this week. The cherry tomatoes are almost a pain in the patoot as they are so abundant, and very good at hiding. The Roma's and Amish Paste have been plentiful as well, and the German Johnsons are turning pink but not quite there, in abundance anyway. The image is of Bonnie, Slate and Melissa picking cherry tomatoes.

Although the Japanese beetles seem to love the okra leaves, we are still harvesting quite a bit of okra. It was prepared and served on the spot at our ribbon-cutting last week, and very much appreciated. Okra is pretty good at hiding too. Donna and Luther are seen here prying them away from their hiding places.

Sometimes the easiest way to keep the perimeter and aisles manageable is to just jump on a riding mower and have at it. Benjamin sure does love riding around on his equipment!

Ribbon cutting.....

Beth Norris - "The garden was beautiful and so many folks turned out for the ribbon cutting. It has been such a joy to have so many people active in this project. The right people show up at the right time. Usually just enough
gardeners turn out every time the garden is open. And our purpose, to grow healthy food and to feed others is coming true. We are growing stronger as a community because of the garden. The Fiskars grant has made that possible. We would not have been this far along in this project without this grant and I am so grateful that they as a company are right there with us. Thanks Fiskars!"

Gina Garner - "It was a great event. The garden, though challenges being faced from time to time, is truly one of God's handiworks."

Debbie Dowling - "I am so grateful to be experiencing the Seagrove Community Garden. On the night of the ribbon cutting the garden's vision was a reality with organic vegetables and fruit for a delicious feast, herbs to share, neighbors visiting with each other, time for reflection, a covered shelter, tables, chairs, and cooking on the site. The bounty of the garden was enjoyed in so many ways. I caught a father and daughter enjoying each other's company while they strolled down the garden paths, new and old gardeners learning about the benefits of nasturtiums and marigolds, a handicapped van driving up the path to see what was going on with our garden. It was a night to remember."

Susan Greene - "A great write up in the Sunday paper. Watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumber and onion with dill and sour cream salad, ratatouille, sautéed swiss chard with onion and garlic, chopped swiss chard stalks with pasta in a cream reduction sauce, zucchini bread, homemade bread, tomato, cucumber and onion salad vinaigrette, sautéed okra, fried okra, herbs and flowers in a local potters vase, the mayor cutting our ribbon with giant orange handled shears, a town council woman, friends, love, community members all together, all in our garden, all from our garden, great food and fellowship, sustainable agriculture sustaining us all. It was a memorable night indeed."