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."

First planting day.....

Saturday morning 4/12 started off cloudy & warm, not hot - perfect for sowing seeds and planting seedlings, onions and potatoes. Fifteen eager community gardeners clad in orange Fiskar's Project Orange Thumb tee shirts gathered around, ready to dive in to the tasks at hand at the first “official” workday of the Seagrove Community Garden. We all posed for commemorative group photos with our clean shirts and tools - all shiny and new! After the pictures we formed a circle and held hands as the Rev. Bob Dowling led us in a prayer and blessing. We went around the circle and introduced ourselves. Susan gave a brief introduction to the group of our organic gardening methods and the square-foot garden idea, demonstrating visually with a square foot grid made from wood strips. She explained the intensive planting design that discourages weed growth and promotes plant health through diversity and companion planting that discourages pests.

The first task at hand was to grab a rake or hoe and break up some of the larger dirt clods in the three beds we planned on sowing. The gardeners broke into smaller groups to accomplish a number of goals. In the next few hours, we planted 8 - 4’ beds of Kennebec, Cobbler and Yukon potatoes that should be ready to harvest mid-July. 128 lettuce seedlings and 144 spinach seedlings were transplanted to begin our salad days. One flat of marigolds was evenly distributed among the 3 rows. We planted a bed of beets, a bed of carrots and lots of radishes. We hope to get at least one picking from 4 - 20’ rows of sugar snap peas by mid-June and we put in over 300 each of yellow and white onions. We should have our first salads in about 7 weeks! Several members took on the job of planting new seed trays for successive planting and seeded 5 trays of nasturtiums, marigolds and romaine lettuce.Three hours later we began to call it a day as we finished filling the majority of the intended three 50’ x 4’ rows. Hot, dirty and tired but full of satisfaction from a job well done we parted ways after high fives, hugs and a sense of camaraderie. As soon as we left, God in his infinite wisdom gifted us with a perfect shower of gentle rain.

In the news.....

Today's edition of the local newspaper, the Courier-Tribune, ran an article about our garden. The article was in reference to a grant we received from Fiskar's, and a presentation to the Seagrove town council by garden committee member Venetia Smith. Images and more about the Fiskars grant coming soon.