Goodnight Garden



I just pulled the stakes from the church garden.  The remains of our tomato plants are now sitting in a brown nest  waiting for me or some other church member to remove them.  They will return as compost for next year's garden when the cycle begins again.

I have written about this garden earlier (I will post the link at the bottom).  It was a new project for us.  It meant breaking up the lawn a bit but was worth it.  As a symbol it showed the community what are about.  These old New England churches so often look...well...old and empty.  They seem stiff and formal, right out of some imagined past populated by our taciturn relatives.  It is hard to imagine them being occupied by the warm, funky, religious liberals who make up the congregation today.  The garden kept the summer congregation together when so many other members were away.  It literally fed us and it gave us a chance to connect with the earth.  I loved it.

The food went all over the place and to a variety of people.  The caretaker of the week and other members of the Garden Committee would take some for themselves.  Then the produce would end up at the church on Sunday morning (frequently as the primary pulpit decoration) and folks would fill a bag to bring home after church.  Finally, leftovers (and some weeks were quite bountiful) would be delivered to the local food pantry.  So we managed to feed, self, friends, family, neighbors and strangers from our two little raised beds.  Not bad.  Not bad at all.

While working I did notice that we have a few carrots left.  The garden keeps on giving.  I will take some of them home and leave the rest.  Maybe it is time to put them in a heavy bean soup.  It is colder now.  The leaves are falling.  It is time to shift gears until the spring comes again.

Here is the link to the garden article at the beginning of the garden year....

And here is a picture (courtesy of Carol Hildebrand) of one of our more epic hauls...