Happy Monday everyone,
WOW! We made it to June! I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day and is staying safe in this interesting time we are living through together. I want to thank all the regular and new individual volunteers who have been joined by teams from the National Charity League, Boy’s Team Charity, Young Men’s Service League and Girl Scouts for braving the heat and the rain to help move the garden into Summer production. The number of of folks who have been able to come out has been growing steadily. This past Saturday we had 33 people out to help – about 14 more than I was expecting – but we got tons done while wearing masks and social distancing as best we could. We did have to share a lot of tools but we made it work. Please remember to sign up early for the shift you want to work so everyone can get the attention they deserve.
Since my last note, you all did a great deal to move the garden into Summer by preparing 33 more beds, only 16 more to go. You bed-preppers have moved 10 cubic yards of compost – about 15,000 pounds worth. Wondered why you were sore? We also got 14 of the prepared beds planted with 605 seedlings from the seeds we started in April and May. Plus this weekend, we also started another 345 seeds to cover seeds that failed to germinate. I am hoping we can get the rest of the garden prepped and planted in the coming weeks.
Eleven of the 16 beds left to prep are home to the last of the Winter crops (onions, shallots and third plantings of beets and rutabagas) for us to harvest. From the 33 beds we gleaned and prepped, we harvested 705 pounds of fresh vegetables plus 488 pounds of red burger and sierra blanca onions to share with our neighbors in need. So far this year, we have been able to share 6,095 pounds of produce with our community.
Beyond all this garden work, a lot has changed in the garden. Victoria resigned, we miss her creative and organizational skills and wish her luck in her future endeavors. Zane has been joined by Jessica, who returned to help out on Saturdays, and Govinda, who joined us to help out during the weekday shifts.
As always, my sincere and heartfelt gratitude to all you essential and extraordinary heroes! Thank you all for coming out to help the garden take care of so many of our neighbors. It is heartening to know that there are so many folks who are willing to give of themselves to take care of their neighbors, especially in these trying times. Fertile GroundWorks couldn’t do what we do without each and every one of you. THANK YOU!
Until next we meet, do stay safe and keep loving the ones you are with.
Giant cosmic hugs
Brenda
