The
2006 gardening season generated 13,075 lbs of fresh produce,
followed by 7,170 lbs in 2005 and 4,316 lbs in 2004. The Lord
has blessed us with the space to grow the vegetables and herbs
and the volunteers that have made it possible!
This year our harvest included
strawberries, raspberries, cantaloupe, casaba melons, cucumbers,
cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, radishes, turnips, beets,
zucchini and patty-pan squash, peas, beans, lettuce, spinach,
chard, kale, onions, leaks, carrots, eggplant, sweet and hot
peppers, sweet corn, acorn and butternut squash, pumpkins,
gourds, and a variety of herbs including basil, oregano,
parsley, rosemary, lavender and thyme plus a few sunflowers for
the birds. Currently the garden is about 1/3 acre of with 12
permanent “box style” raised beds and the remainder in “dirt
mound” raised beds. We use a drip line watering system
supplemented with hand watering and mulching for water
conservation. There are two cinder block composting bins, a
vegetable washing stand and a garden shed for tool storage. The
garden is not organically certified, but we strive to use all
organic compost, fertilizer, seeds and gardening methods. Once
the garden begins producing, we work Tuesday and Friday evenings
harvesting the fruit and vegetables and on Wednesday and
Saturday mornings distributing our harvest in conjunction with
the Barnabas Food Pantry
In the year 2006 we had 44
volunteers sign up to help in the garden and out of the 44
we had 25 participants who worked approximately 2300 hours
to produce 13,075 lbs of fruit and vegetables. This included
a couple of Prayer groups that came out to help after their
meetings. All of the produce needed for your family is
available as a Thank you to each person who worked in the
garden this year! Current Schedule: “is weather permitting”
In preparing the garden for next spring, we will schedule
work parties for Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. until noon. If you
would like to help, please contact Bill Meeker
boisehomesidaho@cableone.net or call Bill at 344-2474 or
the church office at 377-1477. During harvest we will need
volunteers on Tuesday and Friday evenings from 6PM until
dark and on Wednesday and Saturday mornings from 9:00 AM
until 12:00 noon for distribution to low-income individuals
who are served through the Barnabas Food Pantry. We
coordinate work party notification via email and by
telephone. Please don’t hesitate to contact Bill Meeker if
there are other times that you would like to volunteer your
time or materials that you are interested in donating. This
is a God giving mission you can get involved with and see
the apparition on the precipitants face when they receive
the fresh vegetables every Wednesday and Saturday mornings.
God’s garden is a blessing to all. Looking forward to seeing
you in God’s Garden God Bless All
