Planting is winding down this month

If the weather cooperates, we should be finished with most of our planting by May 19.
We still have peppers and lots of row crops to get in, but with help from our volunteers, the work has moved along quickly.
Once we have the garden planted our focus will turn to water…water….water as the weather warms up.

Last Thursday, we planted nearly 300 tomato plants.This year we will have 41 varieties of mostly heirloom  tomatoes in the garden.
On Sunday, volunteers from Revision Church once again helped us out in the garden by mulching around all the new tomato plants.

The only vegetable left to plant in June will be sweet potatoes.
Due to their nutritional value, long storage life, and presence in the diets of many of the ethnicities we serve, sweet potatoes are probably the most important plant growing in the Faith & Grace Garden. We will plant 1,000 – 2,000 sweet potato starts during the week of June 5 or June 12, depending on when our shipment arrives.

Can your group help us in this important work? Call Tim Goldman at timothyjgoldman@gmail.com or by calling 515-745-9842 to plan this volunteer service project for your work, church, school, or civic group.

Warm Weather Vegetable Plant Giveaway – this weekend!
Grace Garden Greenhouse
1020 24th Street (park in lot north of St Timothy’s Episcopal Church)
Saturday, May 6, 9am – 3pm
Sunday, May 7, 11:30am – 1:30pm
FREE Warm weather organic seedlings: tomatoes, peppers, herbs, squash, melons ready for your garden
Donations gladly accepted – cash, check or online at: sttimothysiowa.org/donate

Regular Volunteer Hours for Individuals and Small Groups

Monday through Friday 9:00 am – 11:00 am through June 2
Monday through Friday 8 am – 10 am from June 5 – September 15
Monday through Friday 9:00 am – 11:00 am from September 18 through October 27
Tuesday evenings 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm starting May 2 through August 22
Tuesday evenings 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm from August 29 through October 24

No experience necessary. Bring a hat, water bottle and garden gloves if you have them. Wear clothes that can get dirty and hard-soled shoes. Sunscreen is a good idea as is bug repellant later in the season.

To volunteer during our regular volunteer hours please sign-up here. 

Planting and Harvesting Underway in the Garden

During April we focus on planting cool weather crops in the garden. So far, we have planted potatoes, cabbage, kale, Brussel sprouts, Swiss chard, lettuce, onions, garlic, spinach, turnips, beets. We have more cool weather crops to plant. Next week, we hope to start planting warm weather crops; first tomatoes and peppers. We are also harvesting spinach that was planted last fall and a little asparagus.  Volunteers have planted about 5,000 onions in the past 2 weeks. We grow a purple variety of asparagus. It’s really tasty….

Regular volunteer hours for individuals and small groups:

Monday through Friday 9:00 am – 11:00 am through June 2
Monday through Friday 8 am – 10 am from June 5 – September 15
Monday through Friday 9:00 am – 11:00 am from September 18 through October 27
Tuesday evenings 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm starting May 2 through August 22
Tuesday evenings 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm from August 29 through October 24

No experience necessary. Bring a hat, water bottle and garden gloves if you have them. Wear clothes that can get dirty and hard-soled shoes. Sunscreen is a good idea as is bug repellant later in the season.

To volunteer during our regular volunteer hours please sign-up here. 
Please sign our Risk Management Policy Here: https://www.growthefood.org/volunteer-today/

Large groups volunteer by appointment. School, church, civic, and corporate groups are always welcome in the garden by appointment. Contact Tim Goldman at timothyjgoldman@gmail.com to volunteer as fits your schedule.

All of the food grown in the Faith & Grace Garden is donated to feed local hungry people. Last fall we doubled the size of the garden from one acre to two acres.

In 2023, our hope is to double the amount of organic fruits and vegetables we donate each year. Last year we donated 17,000 pounds. In 2023 we aim to donate over 30,000 pounds of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables to local food pantries.

Its Planting Time in the Garden

Planting time is upon us! Yesterday Mark Marshall planted 300 pounds of potatoes using our new potato planter.  Today we will start planting onions….we need your help!

Here is how you can help in the garden:

Regular volunteer hours for individuals and small groups during 2023 are Monday through Friday, 9:30am – 11:30am.No experience necessary. Bring a hat, water bottle and garden gloves if you have them. Wear clothes that can get dirty and hard-soled shoes. Sunscreen is a good idea as is bug repellant later in the season.

To volunteer during our regular volunteer hours please sign-up here.

Large groups volunteer by appointment. School, church, civic, and corporate groups are always welcome in the garden by appointment. Contact Tim Goldman at timothyjgoldman@gmail.com to volunteer as fits your schedule.

Celebrating 23 Years of Feeding the Hungry – Looking Back at the 2022 Growing Season

Last year was a challenging one in the Faith & Grace Garden with plenty of hot days followed by the devastating hail storm in August.

Appraising the damage after the hail storm, chief gardener Mark Marshall said, “It was as if the whole garden had gone through a blender.” Mark estimated the garden lost all of the 1,000 tomato plants and 800 pepper plants growing in the garden.

Fortunately, our root crops were spared by the hailstorm, and we were able to harvest some of the tomatoes, peppers and other above ground crops prior to the hailstorm. We finished the year donating a total of 16,993 pounds of organic fruits and vegetables to feed the local hungry as shown below.

Looking Ahead to the 2023 Growing Season

While gardeners always tend to be hopeful about the next growing season, we are especially excited about 2023 as we will nearly double the size of the Faith & Grace Garden – to almost 2 acres!

We are adjusting our sites now and hope to donate 30,000+ pounds of organic fruits and vegetables in the coming growing season to feed the growing number of hungry people in central Iowa. It’s a lofty goal for us but with the continued efforts of our volunteers and our financial supporters we believe it’s possible.

Work is already underway; a tract of approximately one acre north of the present garden site is cleared, tilled and manured. We are fundraising now to fence in the area. In the spring we will plant the new area.

In addition, the Faith & Grace Garden Greenhouse is now brimming with about 70,000 onion, garlic and shallot starts. Some of these plant starts will go in our garden, but many (most) of these plant starts will be donated to other church, school and refugee gardens. Some will be given at no charge to our community neighbors for their gardens.

In February, we will start more cool weather plants like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and Brussel sprouts in the greenhouse. In April, we will start warm-weather plants like tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant in the greenhouse.

Mark Marshall on the Mend

As some of you know, chief gardener Mark Marshall fell on the ice while walking his dog two weeks ago, and broke his leg and ankle. Mark is mending now, but will be in a boot for awhile.

Notes of care may be sent to Mark at:
5617 Orchard Drive in West Des Moines, IA 50266.

Thanks to the volunteers from Walnut Creek Church and Revision Church for turning out over the weekend and getting so much planting and mulching done!

The next volunteer time will be on Wednesday from 5pm – 7pm, please join us.

To volunteer in the garden, please sign-up here.

Why sign-up? It helps us to plan our activities and to communicate with you, especially when the weather looks bad and we need to cancel.

There are also opportunities to volunteer in the garden by appointment, contact Mark Marshall at 988-5381 or wdmmarshall@msn.com to arrange a convenient time.gloves if you have them. Gloves are also available at the garden if you do not have

Volunteers should dress for the weather and wear hard-soled shoes. Hats, sunscreen, and water bottles are also good ideas.

If you cannot volunteer your time, consider a financial donation to continue this important work. Send your check to St. Timothy’s, 1020 24th Street, West Des Moines, IA, 50266. Please note Faith & Grace Garden in the memo line.