This was the 6th year of the St James Lutheran Church Garden near Elliot Prarie in rural Canby. In past years Sue and Jack Hammond on behalf of St James have donated as much as 4000 lbs a year to local food banks in Molalla, Woodburn, and Silverton. This year our produce has gone to the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon HIV Day Care Center at 2941 NE Ainsworth in Portland.
The Center provides on a daily basis meals, recreation, medical and alternative medical support, massage, and most importantly a place for the Center's clients to just hang out. The kitchen also provides meals through it's HIV meal delivery program to clients who are homebound. Our vegetables also were used to feed the homeless at St Francis Church as well as low income folks at the Patton Home. These are also programs of OMO.
This is the first year that the Day Center has had access to fresh vegetables on a steady basis. The Day Center's employees, volunteers, and clients have been extremely appreciative. And it has been very rewarding to us. We are happy to report a total delivery to the Center of 3,472 pounds of fresh vegetables this season.
Many thanks to Diane Dorn, Margie Antico, Pastor Andersen, and Don and Judy Nielson and of course Father Jim Galluzzo for their hard work in helping to make this possible.
The Center provides on a daily basis meals, recreation, medical and alternative medical support, massage, and most importantly a place for the Center's clients to just hang out. The kitchen also provides meals through it's HIV meal delivery program to clients who are homebound. Our vegetables also were used to feed the homeless at St Francis Church as well as low income folks at the Patton Home. These are also programs of OMO.
This is the first year that the Day Center has had access to fresh vegetables on a steady basis. The Day Center's employees, volunteers, and clients have been extremely appreciative. And it has been very rewarding to us. We are happy to report a total delivery to the Center of 3,472 pounds of fresh vegetables this season.
Many thanks to Diane Dorn, Margie Antico, Pastor Andersen, and Don and Judy Nielson and of course Father Jim Galluzzo for their hard work in helping to make this possible.
Plowing is always a very big day. Our friend, Clem Meyerhoffer, has been doing this for us for 26 years. He is an artist! Plowing was extremely late because of the wet spring which local farmer's said was the latest planting for 50 years. We acquired starts a month before we plowed and kept them in our greenhouse. By the time our tomatoes were planted they already had green fruits.
Clem plowed 1 acre. A very empty vegetable field. Now we must fill it up!
We buy a great variety of vegetable starts from some friends who operate a nearby nursey. They wondered what we were going to do with all the stuff.
Planting starts but weather remains cold and wet. Our starts have been in our green house for a month or more and the cold comes as quite a shock.
Tomatoes growing in mud.
Oh, it's cold out here!
When are things going to grow?
A Miracle- things start growing! We are way ahead of local farmers.
Green and Blue Cabbage
Cauliflower
Tomatoes
Squash, cucumbers, and pumpkins
Red beets and cabbage
Santiam Blue Lake Beans, eatable pea pods, with Illini super sweet corn in background
Our first harvest! The Center is delighted!
The dining room at the Center. We made our first delivery before the clients arrived. The Center serves 3 meals a day to as many as 100 clients.Our good friend, Father Jim Galluzzo helped me bring in our produce on this day. His Urban Spirituality Center has provided key support to the HIV Day Care Center since its inception.
Sarah Whiting, Head Cook, in front of her kitchen.
Hooray! Fresh Vegetables!
Our next delivery. Things are picking up!
The weather gets warmer and the vegetables are really coming on. We have a very good and deep well which provides ample water for our crops.
Tomatoes on steroids! Actually it is Alaskan fish fertilizer
Weeding is always a challenge. We do a lot of hand weeding and also our rototiller does over time duty.
Sue and our next harvest.
Jack and our next delivery. This put us over 750 pounds. A lot of variety
Cauliflower coming on.
Tomatoes of many different types
"Bill"guards the squash!
" Hillary" checking out the cabbage and beets.
Blue Lake Green Beans
Illini Super Sweet Corn.
Atlantic Pumpkins. These big boys may top 400 pounds in October.
Don Nielsen's Iowa Corn. Legend says it grows to a height of 17 feet. Maybe not this year.
Labor Day. Up early to bring in the crop for delivery tomorrow morning. It comes in at an astounding 564.5 lbs. including 75 lbs of Blue Lake beans [ took Sue 3 hours to pick], 8.5 lbs of peppers, 16 lbs of summer squash[ we had a lot more but they are oversubsribed from last week, 16 lbs of cucumbers, 16 lbs of cauliflower, 15 lbs of green cabbage, 32 lbs of purple cabbage, and 364 lbs of winter squash. We were going to add beets but where to put them?
The early Morning Breakfast Crowd.
Things are hopping in the Kitchen!
You mean there is still more to pick?
The day's bounty.
On September 25 these hearty folks [ Pastor Andersen, Margie Antico, and Don and Judy Nielson] braved rains and soggy soil and joined Sue to harvest that week's bounty. Jack was AWOL fly fishing on the Great Barrier Reef. The results were fantastic! 601.5 pounds harvested including 307.5 pounds of Illini Sweet Corn, 156 pounds of tomatoes, 51 pounds of cauliflower, 25.5 pounds of cabbage, 12 pounds of lemon cukes, and 47 pounds of squash. The HIV Center put it to very good use, both there and at St Stephen's which feeds 300 homeless people daily.
Toasting Great Corn!
The harvest of October 2. This totaled an additional 551 pounds which brought our seasonal total to 3,021 pounds. Delivery was October 3 and we again were welcomed by staff and clients who were waiting for us. Sarah reported the corn from last week was a great success as was the acorn squash which she cooked and served the prior day. Pumpkins today caused a lot of excitement!
The early morning of October 11. The weather is getting cooler and things are slowing down a bit. 171 pounds total here but peppers are flourishing. Now time to weigh and bag the vegetables and drive to the Center for delivery. There we are welcomed as usual by friendly staff and clients who quickly help us unload our week's harvest.
And the rains came and the end of a wonderful season is just about upon us- but stll a couple more cauliflowers to pick!
The sweet corn has come and gone- rave reviews from the clients at the Center!
Pumpkins ready for Trick or Treat!
Big Boys! Atlantic Giants- way to big to move.
A sea of winter squash- after curing in a cool dry place- they will be great for Thanksgiving Dinner!
Hot Peppers coming on in the cold
Beautiful grapes- in their prime
Our last harvest of the season. 273 pounds delivered on October 24. Still plenty of winter squash which are curing in the garden house. This makes a total of 3,472 pounds delivered to the HIV Day Care Center. We are a bit tired but the smiles and thanks we get every time we make a delivery make it all worthwhile. Our thanks to Diane Dorn, Pastor Andersen, Margie Antico, and Don and Judy Nielson for their invaluable assistance in planting ad picking.
HAPPY HALLOWEN AND THE END OF ANOTHER GREAT HARVEST SEASON!
Leaves from over 100 oak trees are brought to the garden for mulch.With the decomposed remnants of the garden they will be turned under by Clem in the spring. A new cycle of planting and harvest will begin again.
Hearty Peppers hang on- for a bit. Pick 'em soon!
Tomatoes Last Stand
Frost on the Pumpkins
The Garden goes to sleep until next spring
Goodby- for now. See you next year.
October 26, 2011. First hard frost of the year. Footsteps to the garden.
