Spring planting

Spring this year has continued to be cool and wet here in North Carolina. Our earlier planted crops have been growing well.  In between we also weeded and mulched the blueberry patch near the church on a Saturday morning in April when the garden beds were too saturated to work in.

Blueberries starting to form

Finally the weather permitted us to get the tomatoes in this

month.

Tomato plant

Planting Tomatoes

The Food-Faith Connection

The Food-Faith Connection
There is a moral, spiritual implication re: our food choices.  Our garden is the best!  I am so very glad to be affiliated with Koinonia!!!   In your spare time (ha) listen to this podcast.  It underscores the connection between our food and our faith.
-- Jane F.
http://www.seedbed.com/connection-between-food-faith/

Why garden?

Why Garden?

I suspect the answer to that question may be different for each of us.  I grew up in a city and lived in an apartment as a child.  I remember going to visit my aunt and uncle every summer who lived in Michigan. They had a small hobby farm, complete with a big red barn and a haymow, apple trees for climbing and a large organic garden with compost pile.

At the age of seven, I was set down in this space and taught to pull weeds.  It was all so amazing-- tomatoes growing on vines, zucchini squash, carrots and strawberries!  From that came a lifelong love of gardening and growing my own whenever possible.  So now, being retired and living in an apartment, I jumped at the chance to join a community garden. --Deborah G.

So, why do you garden?

Share your thoughts in the comments below. 

After a slow start, planting at last

Spring has been a bumpy ride as it is wont to be! With a very wet winter and rain continuing into early spring we had a hard time getting in our spring crops. April 9^th proved to be a challenge for Day Manager, Kris Weigle and company as they valiantly sowed carrot seed in 25-30 MPH winds with gusts of 50!  But as of April 16 we have pulled the spring beds and planted all the planned seed except for the onions. Because of a seed shortage delay we have missed the window to plant green onions for Spring. But no worries—onions can just as happily be planted in the fall! 

There was some switching of what got planted in which beds because of soil arability of newly pulled beds, but other than that we planted: 2-3 types of kale, scarlet Nantes Carrots, Bloomsdale Longstanding Spinach, Rainbow Swiss Chard, English peas, four different types of lettuce, cilantro and my all-time favorite—radishes “on the end”!

Black-eyed peas and collards at New Year's

Collard soup, kale crackers and black eyed pea cakes

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016! 

I hope all are well rested and healthy having traversed the highways, byways and flyways to be with family and friends this Christmas. To mark the end of this decadent season and the start of 2016 my dinner with family will be a purgative meal of collard soup with kale crackers and a side of  black eyed pea cakes with roasted red pepper sauce. This is just a version of the traditional black eyed peas and collard greens we have all come the expect if not love. Enjoy your Veg however you like it best!

Looking Back at 2015

2015 was an amazing year at Koinonia Community Garden. In October we celebrated our garden with a dedication service. 

Dedication Prayer

"The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn; the bird waits in the egg. Dreams are the seedlings of realities."-- James Allen

This past Sunday afternoon a group of people from two congregations came together on a brilliant October day to dedicate the Koinonia Community Garden.  The ground where we stood overlooking beds of kale and collards was a wooded area one year ago.

Honey bee visiting flowering buckwheat

Much was accomplished by many people who worked together over the past year to bring this day into reality. There were many gifts and donations given by generous, caring people in our churches and community. It could not have come about except for the efforts of many who joined together, youth and adults.

Youth work day installing deer fencing

But it all came about because of a vision that one woman had thirty years ago. Pat Horton is a local gardener who shares much of her own garden produce with others.  But Pat was concerned
about those in our area who are living in a "food desert."
 One purpose is to provide fresh produce for the church food pantry that serves persons in a food desert.  Yes, hard to believe in 2015 but one in four households in our counties are lacking enough food.  One of five children in our schools are hungry. Just google "hunger in North Carolina" to get an idea.

"But he (Jesus) answered, 'You give them something to eat.'" --Mark 6:37

Thanks be to God for the bountiful harvest, the blessings of our working together, and the opportunity to serve our community. Koinonia is a labor of love and the witness of our faith.

Bok Choy and Chinese Cabbage

Raised beds

Cucumbers and Spinach

Hello and Happy New Year

Greetings, and welcome to our blog.