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.
|
What we grew |
Lbs |
What we grew (con’t) |
Lbs (con’t) |
|
|
Apples |
40 |
|
Peppers |
472 |
|
Asparagus |
50 |
|
Radishes |
195 |
|
Beets |
215 |
|
Spinach |
33 |
|
Bush Beans |
130 |
|
Summer Squash |
385 |
|
Blueberries |
60 |
|
Sweet Potatoes |
950 |
|
Broccoli |
65 |
|
Swiss Chard |
185 |
|
Cabbage |
3,599 |
|
Potatoes |
5,236 |
|
Cauliflower |
50 |
|
Tomatoes |
2,225 |
|
Cucumbers |
1,510 |
|
Turnips |
230 |
|
Garlic/ garlic scapes |
120 |
|
Total Harvested |
16,993 |
|
Kale |
198 |
|
Where Donated |
|
|
Lettuce |
390 |
|
Trinity Los Americos |
7,533 |
|
Mustard |
75 |
|
Johnston Food Pantry |
2,113 |
|
Onions |
500 |
|
WDM Human Services |
7,347 |
|
Pears |
80 |
|
Total Donated |
16,993 |
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.