Warm hellos from the Hindman Settlement School! This is Jacob writing – I’m new to Hindman, and completely in love with the place. I’ll be picking up where our last volunteer, David, left off. While we were sad to see David leave, we’re excited for whatever his next steps will be – and I’m thrilled to be throwing my weight into the work here!

What’s in your fall garden? 

While the summer season is quickly winding down, we’re looking toward fall and getting our final fall plant starts in the ground. There will (hopefully!) be peas and broccoli, cabbages galore, all sorts of greens, and cauliflower and turnips to keep us fed and learning. At our most recent group meeting with participants we spent some time learning about preparing our fall gardens (or covering them up for winter!), but the exciting part was being able to share stories and excitement about the summer’s harvest! We’ve had some seasoned gardeners, but also a few newcomers that have been trying this out for the first time.
It sounds like there’s been a lot of food to be shared with family and friends, a few hundred quarts of food preserved for later, and a lot of meals made even more special with fresh, homegrown produce.
From one wonderful woman at the end of the evening: 
“I want to thank you all. I know my garden’s a lot smaller than most of yours, but… I’ve hardly had to buy anything all summer, and I’ve had so many tomatoes and things… I’m just really grateful.”
We’re grateful too. Grateful for new friends and what we’re learning in the process of building up this program. Grateful for fresh ideas, and grateful for the chance to pick a little more food to grace our tables before winter.
PS – If anyone has resources or connections to information or funding for setting up community canning kitchens, let us know! We’re trying to put some effort into getting one up and running for next year!