Here We Grow!

Well. Last Friday I spent about 20 minutes with the owners of the vacant lot next to our house. Our house is the one on the left (the weeds are gone but the paint looks about the same). There may be a painting party this summer but I digress. I then spent about 5 minutes at the county clerk's office filing the deed and became the new owner of 191 Glenwood Avenue.

191 Glenwood Avenue is the first official field that we will cultivate beginning this spring. The lot is 32 feet wide and 192 feet deep, huge in comparison to most city lots.

Sunday morning we traveled to Harris Hill Mennonite Church where a couple, who happen to be recently retired farmers, offered to grow 100 tomato seedlings for us! The plan is to produce a tomato sauce for easy preservation, distribution and outreach. For those unfamiliar with the farm, follow the Queen City Farm link for the long description. The short description is this:

Our faith in Jesus has brought us to an abandoned corner of our city to join those struggling on the fringes of society and to learn, teach, grow, find and reflect Christ. The central piece of this effort is the cultivation of vacant land in the heart of the city to grow food for the hungry. We like to think of it as a back to basics approach to Christian discipleship.

We couldn't be more excited but we need to pull together a long list of materials. Take a look at the list and see if you have any extra tools that you can donate to the cause. We are in desperate need of everything on the list but we value relationships even more so feel free to join us any Saturday or contact me to schedule a visit. Grace and peace to all.

Farm Materials Needed:
• Compost/soil
• Soil/compost transportation from municipal composting facilities
• Seedlings/seeds
• Seed starting trays, soil
• ½” PVC and florescent shop lights for seed starting racks
• Roto-tiller
• Seed planter
• Gardening tools
• Chipper/shredder
• Chainsaw
• Organic/natural/sustainable agriculture experience
• Lattice & fencing materials
• Materials for vermiculture bins - Organic matter for worms to eat
• Canning materials/expertise - Canning jars
• Canning labels/label making materials
• Quilting materials/tools/expertise
• Knitting materials/tools/expertise
• Woodworking tools/materials/expertise - Planer, Lathe, Router bits, Joiner, Clamps, Drill press, Work benches, wood, etc.