News from The Faith and Grace Garden – Production is slowing down as the weather turns cooler and heat-loving plants like tomatoes, eggplant and melons start to wilt. We will be harvesting sweet potatoes in earnest soon and look forward to a large crop. Brassics (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, etc) and peppers like cool weather and continue to produce well.

We are erecting a new ‘critter-proof’ fence around the north end of the garden. The new fence is 71/2 feet high and intended to keep deer out of the garden while the bottom two feet of the fence has a smaller one-inch square mesh to keep out rabbits.

In the picture at right, Dick and Mark are adding a tensioning wire to the top of the fence to keep it taunt.

We hope to finish the fence this month.

Tools Wanted

This has been a hard year on many of our garden tools, particularly garden forks and drain spades. If you have forks or spades in good condition (wooden handles preferred) that you would like to donate, please drop them off at the picnic table by the parking lot north of St. Timothy’s.

Garden Harvest Dinner Tuesday, October 24th 2023
Much of what we accomplished in the garden this year, as in years past, is due to our dedicated volunteers.

Please join us for an evening of fun and fellowship as we thank our garden volunteers at the Faith & Grace Garden Dinner.  This celebration is a potluck, so bring your best dish to enjoy! Details are below.

Tuesday, October 24 2023                                                                                             
St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church Parish Hall
Doors open at 5pm. Dinner at 5:30pm.
Register & sign up to attend go  HERE. Then scroll to the bottom of the landing page and click the button below.

NICHOLAS BYRUM

Nick is a junior at Dowling Catholic High School who volunteered in the garden nearly every weekday this summer.
Nick is a hardworking young man and was a joy as a garden volunteer.
Nick will be honored for his service at the Faith & Grace Garden Dinner on October 24.

On average, about 300 people volunteer in the Faith & Grace Garden annually. Some of our volunteers are students earning service hours. Others are part of a church, civic, or corporate service team. More than a few of our volunteers are community members or neighbors who love to spend time in a garden. While we cannot thank all our volunteers enough, we can recognize a few of our volunteers and organizations here.

Covenant Presbyterian Church (Right- Kids) has been a partner in the Faith & Grace Garden for over 10 years.

Part of the Faith & Grace Garden sits on Covenant property. The church also supports the Faith & Grace Garden with many volunteers and financially. Children in the Covenant Kids program volunteer in the garden at least four times per year.

Des Moines University Students (Left)  Evan and Elizabeth have volunteered in the garden several times this year.

Evan and Elizabeth are just two of over a dozen Des Moines University students who have been volunteering in the garden since early in the spring.

Des Moines University students have volunteered in the garden for over three years.

Revision Church Volunteers (Right) can be found in the Garden on the fifth Sunday of the month (4 x annually). The volunteers are part of the ReachDSM ministry at Revision Church.

We look forward to being joined by Revision Church volunteers on October 29 as we ready the garden for winter.This picture was taken when church members helped mulch the garden in April.

Milton (Left) is a volunteer delivery driver on Mondays and Wednesdays for the Faith & Grace Garden.

Milton picks up produce just after it is harvested in the morning and takes it to WDM Human Services or Trinity Los Americas where it is distributed to hungry people usually the same day.

If you would like to help deliver garden produce, please contact Tim Goldman at timothyjgoldman@gmail.com

Bill Summers (Right) has been a faithful volunteer in the garden since 2009.

You can find Bill in the garden on Monday mornings.

When Bill is not in the garden, he is often painting nature scenes in watercolor or watching birds and other wildlife.

Joe (Left) is an avid gardener who keeps his own garden as well as volunteering in the Faith & Grace Garden.

Joe has been a garden volunteer for about 10 years.  Joe also makes some of the best tasting garden salsa on the planet.

Ken (Right) is now in his second year as a garden volunteer. He started in March helping transplant. Through his help and the work of many other volunteers, we had enough plant sets for our garden and 20 other local donation gardens. We also had two plant giveaways and provided free plant sets to the community. Ken also helped us in the garden this summer.

African eggplant, commonly called ‘African egg’, is new this year in the Faith & Grace Garden. When harvested, it is preferred to be about the size of a hen’s egg. It is a staple in central and west African cuisine and often used in curries, soups and sautes.

Nutritionally, the African egg contains fiber, potassium, beta-carotene, ascorbic acid, iron and calcium.

Culturally, African eggs were considered a sign of fertility in folklore, and often given during weddings and child naming ceremonies.

The African egg is becoming more popular and has been introduced in the Caribbean, Central and South America, southern Europe and the United States.

Red Okra. Photo by Pat Prijatel.

The food pantries we serve report a growing demand for okra.

Before the pods form, okra is one of the most beautiful flowering plants in the garden.

Next year we will plant more okra and some new varieties.

Become a Garden Volunteer…feed the hungry…..love your neighbor….live your faith….could it get any better?!

Volunteer hours are now reduced as we near the end of the season:

• Mondays and Fridays only 9 am – 11 am

No experience necessary to volunteer in the garden. 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, too.

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

Large groups can 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.

Volunteer times revised for Tuesday evenings.
Gardening on Tuesday evenings is canceled until September 26.
Name That Vegetable Contest 2023 – Our Annual Contest is Back!
Can you identify the vegetable below? If so, please reply to this message. First person to correctly guess will win a prize. The winner will be announced in our next issue.
(Hint: It’s actually a fruit.)

Sweet potato greens – Delicious and Nutritious – Have you tried them?
Soon we will be harvesting a large crop of sweet potatoes. Their beautiful vines and leaves occupy a large section of the garden.
We are not donating sweet potato leaves to the food pantries yet. Most food pantry patrons do not know how good sweet potato leaves are to eat.
If you would like to pick some sweet potato leaves, please come to the garden during our regular volunteer times and help yourself.

Sweet Potato Greens Stir Fry
Ingredients
1 bunch of sweet potato leaves
1 tbsp cooking oil
3-5 cloves of garlic, smashed
Salt, as desired
1 tsp Fermented bean curd (optional)
Wash sweet potato leaves and cut off the stem area, leaving only the leaves and a bit of the tender parts of the stem.
Instructions

Wash sweet potato leaves and cut off the stem area, leaving only the leaves and a bit of the tender parts of the stem.
In a wok or cooking pan, add cooking oil and smashed garlic, and cook on high heat for just about a minute.
Add the sweet potato leaves into the wok/pan and stir fry until veggies are halfway wilted. Add the fermented bean curd (optional) and salt to taste.
Stir fry until veggies are soft, and then remove from heat immediately to avoid overcooking.

Sweet potato greens nutrition: Macronutrients

Carbohydrates, protein, and fiber
Low in saturated fat and cholesterol
Omega 3 fatty acids, which contribute to all tissues in the body functioning normally, including the heart, lungs, blood vessels, immune system, and hormone production
Sweet potato leaf nutrition: Micronutrients (vitamins and minerals)
Vitamins: A, C, K, B1, B2, B3, B9
Minerals: calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium. Also contains zinc, manganese, copper
Low in sodium

Become a Garden Volunteer…feed the hungry…..love your neighbor….live your faith….could it get any better?!

Regular volunteer hours for individuals and small groups:
Monday through Friday 8 am – 10 am through September 15
Monday through Friday 9:00 am – 11:00 am from September 18 through October 27
Tuesday evenings 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm from September 26 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 repellent 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.

Hot week underway…

There is plenty of watering and harvesting to do in the garden. We expect to be harvesting over 2,000 pounds a week in August, so your help will be really appreciated.

Mark Marshall (6’0”) standing amongst the shoulder-high tomato plants. We have some 800 tomato plants growing in the garden.

Here are harvest and donation results through July 22

Fruit/Vegetable Pounds Harvested

Asparagus 15
Beets 308
Broccoli 83
Cabbage 285
Cauliflower 155
Collards 185
Cucumbers 437
Egg plant 66
Garlic/Garlic scapes 102
Kale 167
Lettuce 453
Mustard 115
Radishes 50
Spinach 230
Summer Squash 580
Swiss Chard 240
Potatoes 40
Tomatoes 835
Turnips 292

Total Harvested 4,780

Garlic harvest 100% complete.
Tomato and potato harvests start this week.

Donation sites/Pounds Donated

Lutheran Services -Re 330
Trinity Las Americas 1,937
Johnston Food Pantry 185
WDM Human Services 2,328

Total Donated 4,780

Become a Garden Volunteer…feed the hungry…..love your neighbor….live your faith….could it get any better?!

Regular volunteer hours for individuals and small groups:
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 repellent later in the season.

To volunteer during our regular volunteer hours please sign-up here. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0a4aa9a82ea6f58-2023#/

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.

Rain over the weekend was a blessing…
The garden received over an inch of rain from Friday – Sunday.

Garlic harvest starts this week.
Mark Marshall holds up to some of the garlic harvested last year. There are over 5,000 garlic plants ready to harvest this week

Pears after the rain. There are apple, pear, plum, cherry and paw-paw trees growing just south of the garden.

Become a Garden Volunteer….sunshine….fresh air…great people…feeding the hungry….could it get any better?!

Regular volunteer hours for individuals and small groups:
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 repellent later in the season.

To volunteer during our regular volunteer hours please sign-up here. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0a4aa9a82ea6f58-2023#/

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.

Planting and Harvesting Underway the Garden

We are finishing up planting about 600 pepper plants today. We planted 43 varieties of peppers; some bells and other sweet peppers, some mild peppers, as well as hot peppers and flaming hot peppers.

We serve diverse communities through food pantries and people like peppers of all kinds.
Next we will plant beans, squashes and melons.

Later this month some 3,000 sweet potato starts should arrive at the garden. The sweet potato starts will spend 7-10 days in a planting medium in our greenhouse in order to develop robust root structures before about 2,000 of the plants will be set out in the garden during the week of June 12.

The rest of the sweet potato plants will be given away to other donation gardens and refugee farmers in the area.

Children from Covenant Presbyterian Church harvested about 25 pounds of spinach on Wednesday evening.

Over 60 Waukee High School students helped mulch the garden on Thursday!