News from the Garden

Over 100 blueberry bushes are planted in the garden

Tomatillos are coming on….
We do not grow tomatillos every year as they spread aggressively.

Hazelnut brushes are budding….
There are 3 large hazelnut bushes growing outside the fence NE of the garden. The squirrels get the nuts before we do.

Refugees from LSI Global Greens are back in the Garden :
Refugees from Congo, Jordan, Myanmar, and Nepal now join us in the garden on Fridays. They will be with us on most Friday mornings through the summer. Many of the refugees depended on communal gardens in their homeland. Now they still like to grow their own food and talk with friends while doing something they enjoy.

Harvest and donation results through June 20, 2023

Fruit/Vegetable?Pounds Donated

Asparagus 15
Cabbage 15
Garlic 95
Kale 65
Lettuce 353
Mustard 115
Radishes 50
Spinach 230
Swiss Chard 110
Turnips 292

Total Harvested 1,340

Donation sites
Pounds Donated
Lutheran Scvs 30
Trinity UMC 530
Johnston Food Pantry 185
WDM Human Services 595

Total Donated

1,340

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.

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 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.