August has been another very busy and productive month at the Episcopal Church of Our Saviour’s gardens.  We produced almost 1000 pounds of produce, all of which has gone to Madison County soup kitchens and to low income families and individuals. We have battled bugs, cucumber disease, and the usual weather issues but our hard–working core of seven volunteers and Martin, our garden assistant, have persisted. The volunteers alone worked almost 200 hours in August and are planning to continue through at least November.

Martin with Tomatoes

We are harvesting and distributing on Mondays and Thursdays and more often, as needed.  The Migrant Head Start children have harvested radishes, green beans, tomatoes, and peppers and shared with their families.  They are looking forward to more tomatoes, peppers, and yellow squash in the coming weeks.  They are learning that their work pays off in good, healthy food.

The Salvation Army youth group garden is flourishing and the kids are learning that the garden doesn’t weed and water itself.  The raised beds are producing tomatoes, beans, squash, and potatoes. The kids particularly liked the looks of the “spaceship squash”–not sure how they liked the taste!

spaceship squash

Five of our volunteers attended a class on Food Preservation 101 at the county extension office and are discovering tried and true ways to preserve and enjoy produce throughout the year. We hope to pass some of this knowledge along to the Migrant Head Start and Salvation Army families.

We recently planted corn, sweet potatoes, melons, and more squash at the garden annex and are ready to prepare low tunnels at the church garden for the cooler weather crops.  Always looking ahead to the next phase!