A Garlic (and Life) Update

In the fall a little over a year ago I planted garlic in the community garden at Our Savior Lutheran Church (read my blog post about it if you don’t remember: Doing a Dumb Thing).

When I planted the garlic I was so worried it wouldn’t make it through the winter.  I thought the garlic would just have to make it through the winter and then I would be able to take care of it and I would be able to ensure it would grow and turn out well. But plans change.  I left my staff position at Our Savior last spring, which meant to a certain extent I was around to take care of it, but I wasn’t able to give the garlic the attention I thought I would be able to give it. 

Other people are now in charge of the garden and the care of the garlic and all the other wonderful things that grow in that garden.

Planting the garlic in the fall required a lot of trust that everything would turn out ok.  Then I found myself in the spring when I thought I would be able to regain some control actually having even less control.

I had to trust that other people would take care of the garlic.  Above all I had to trust that what I planted was not planted in vain.

The garlic is perhaps the most physically evident part of the work at Our Savior that I started and then entrusted to other people.  Ministries I started or deeply invested in have and will continue to morph, change, and end. 

We all know change is hard.  For so many reasons and in so many ways life usually doesn’t go as we thought it might or imagined it could.  We are given the choice then to defiantly grasp on to what might have been, or we can release that and learn to embrace all the blessings that are to come.

I would be lying if I didn’t admit that it was SO HARD to release what I had given so much of my time, energy, and passion to.  It was so hard to concede that I couldn’t do everything.  To come to terms with the fact that I won’t always be able to see the harvest (literally and figuratively).  To accept that this season of my life was ending. 

But as time as went on I realized that by no means was it an end…more of a transition than anything.

I have seen the building of ministry continue at Our Savior.  I have seen people rise and take on new or bigger roles.  I have seen the love and compassion of Christ continually displayed in and through people at Our Savior.

Through mourning and releasing what was and what could have been, I have found so much freedom and joy in discovering what God has in store for me in this next season of my journey!  

And as far as I know, the garlic did well.

The garlic in late May growing!

Doing a Dumb Thing

Today I may have done one of the dumbest things I’ve done in a while.  I planted garlic. 

I’ve never grown garlic before but they say the way to grow garlic in northern climates is to plant it in the fall before the ground is frozen.  You plant the cloves about 6 inches deep in the soil and then cover it with dead leaves or other mulch and let it be over winter.  In the spring you remove the mulch and the garlic will sprout and then the bulbs of garlic can be harvested in the summer.

If this winter in the Midwest is going to be anything like “they” are saying it’s going to be (worse than last year), I’m pretty sure that garlic doesn’t have a chance.  Why did I just put perfectly good cloves of garlic into the soil?  This goes against all common sense and logic.  Put something into soil that is going to freeze very soon, be covered with inches and inches of snow for months, and then expect it will grow and flourish in the spring?  Yeah right.

There is so much going up against the garlic: bugs and worms and other critters that may disturb the garlic over the winter, the soon to be frozen ground, feet of snow, sub-zero temperatures for weeks.  And then there are all the challenges the garlic will face in the spring and summer: making sure no one accidently plants something else where the garlic is before it sprouts, getting the right amount of water and sun, weeds, being harvested at the right time, more bugs and other pests. 

And to top it all off, the garlic has absolutely no control over any of these external factors.  It can only do what it can with the environment it is put in.  Honestly I feel really bad for that poor garlic.

And yet garlic was created to do exactly what good sense would tell us it cannot do.  Garlic was designed to withstand and overcome all of what we think would prevent it from growing and developing beautifully.  It was made for this. 

This may sound weird, but I realized as I was putting the garlic into the soil that I have far more in common with that garlic than I ever would have thought: the immense obstacles, patiently waiting for the right time, not being in control, doing what may seem illogical, needing so much and yet so little to develop.  I was made for this.

I really, really hope this garlic story has a happy ending.  

Just Call Me Farmer Melissa

This week I became a farmer!

One of my dreams is to become a farmer (see my blog post from a couple of years ago: Dream #4) and while there are still many ways in which I can become more of a farmer, at the basic level I’m a farmer!

Here’s how I became a farmer:

I’ve been a pretty serious gardener for a few years now and I’ve learned a whole lot by reading and by trial and error in my own garden and in the community garden at my church. 

The community garden at my church was started three years ago- we started with 2500 square feet of garden.  The first year we grew about 900 pounds of produce that was donated to the local food pantries and last year we grew 1350 pounds of veggies for the food pantries.  This spring with the amazing help of a boy scout from my church, we expanded the gardening area to about 7000 square feet.  He added an awesome compost bin, put up some sturdy fences and gates, made a whole bunch of heavy duty tomato cages and put up trellises for beans, cucumbers and peas, and we planted some perennial plants- rhubarb, raspberries, and asparagus.

Just part of the garden...

Back when we only had the 20 x 125 foot garden we struggled to get enough volunteers from the congregation to care for the garden.  Caring for the garden is very labor intensive- planting, weeding, picking hundreds of pounds of tomatoes and other veggies, watering for hours, etc.  We wanted to be able to grow more fresh veggies to donate to the local food pantries, but without more volunteers we just couldn’t do it.  As we were thinking about this my church was becoming more aware of the needs of people who are homeless in our community.  One of the greatest needs is for employment.  Many people who are homeless do have a job (they might have only a part-time position or aren’t making enough to make ends meets), but many people who are homeless face many barriers when trying to get a job.  

So, then we thought why not hire people who are homeless to work in the community garden?!?  We could provide jobs for people who are homeless AND we could provide more fresh veggies to the food pantries!   But then there was the whole obstacle of “So, how will we get money to actually pay people to work in the garden?”  This is where the wonderful folks at Wheat Ridge Ministries came in.  I applied for a Burst Grant for to be able to hire the homeless and they gave us a grant!

This spring we accepted applications, interviewed people, and hired two people who are homeless to work in the garden.  They have been working part-time in the garden since May.  They have planted, weeded, watered, and harvested.  The garden workers along with volunteers from the congregation and community have done a phenomenal job of caring for the garden.  It is a gorgeous garden and it is producing so much!  The vegetables are amazing, but the most beautiful part of this has been the blessings that the garden workers have experienced and been a part of.  I hope to share more soon about the positive impact and transformation I have seen in garden worker’s lives.

Now back to becoming a farmer….

The thing that separates a gardener from a farmer is a farmer sells what he or she grows.  Last week we set up a little farm stand at my church and sold some of the produce that we grew in the garden!  We’re farmers!

The money we make from the farm stand will allow us to take a step toward the garden becoming a self-sustaining ministry.  The grant money will run out, so if we want to continue to provide employment for the homeless and fresh produce for the food pantries we will need to raise money.  We are piloting the farm stand idea this summer to see if it’s a viable way to raise the funds we need.  We had quite a few people stop by the stand last week, hopefully more people will come this week!

Stop by if you’re in the area (my church is at 1244 W Army Trail Road in Carol Stream, right now we will have our farm stand on Wednesdays 5:00-7:00 pm)!

Acorn Squash

As I mentioned in an earlier post, a surprise acorn squash grew in my garden.  Well, there were two squashes that grew, but one was still pretty small when the squash vine died prematurely, so I’m not sure if that squash will be any good. 

I have to confess that I am not a huge fan of squash.  With the exception of pumpkin, I would normally turn down any offer to eat any kind of squash.  Some are far too sweet, some are stringy, some are slimy, some squash is just mush with no taste.

However, the squash that came out my garden was the best squash I have ever eaten.  To cook it I cut it in half, removed the seeds, and then put the squash halves upside-down in a 350 degree over for 30 minutes.  Then I took it out, turned over the squash halves, put about two tablespoons of brown sugar and one tablespoon of butter in the hole of each half, and put it back in the oven for about 30 more minutes.

This squash made my mouth so happy.  It was perfectly sweet with a complex and delicious taste I can’t even describe.  I sure am glad that squash grew in my garden.  Maybe next year I’ll consider actually planting some on purpose.  Maybe. 

Cucumbers!

I enjoy cucumbers.  I obviously wouldn’t grow them if I didn’t like them.  If you grow cucumbers, you have to know how to be creative in order to use them (or you have to have friends and neighbors that you can give cucumbers to),  because there always seems to be lots and lots of cucumbers. 

So, here I would like to share all the things that I have done with cucumbers so you too may enjoy cucumbers

I started out just eating the cucumbers cut up on salads.  Then I put cucumber slices on sandwiches with other veggies. 

Then I made a cucumber salad. 

To make the cucumber salad, slice up a cucumber along with about ½ cup of sliced onion.  In into the cucumber and onion about ¼ cup each of mayo and sour cream.  Add a little salt and pepper to taste and some dried or fresh dill.

Then I made taziki sauce.  

This one is a little more complex, but I have made it quite often so it is becoming easier.  Buy a big container (32 ounces, I think) of plain yogurt.  Take a colander and line in with a coffee filter.  Dump the yogurt into the coffee filter lined colander with a bowl underneath.  Liquid will drip out of the yogurt- let it drain over night or for a while.  Now the yogurt is thicker.  Add to the yogurt a shredded cucumber, ½ cup finely chopped onion, 2-3 cloves minced garlic, fresh or dried dill, and salt and pepper to taste.  You can use this as a dip with pita chips or pita bread.  Put some on a sandwich or in a pita or wrap.

I sliced up half a cucumber and sprinkled some salt and lemon juice on the slices.  It might sound a little strange, but it is a very tasty and refreshing cucumber creation.

Then I made pickles, which is going to have to be a post all by itself.

Garden Update- the good, the bad, and the ugly

I think I’m done writing about El Salvador for a while. There are a couple other posts that I’m working on related to El Salvador, but I want to think and reflect on them some more before I post them. So, I will now return to posting random posts about my everyday, less exciting yet good life back in the US.  Mostly I'm going to post about the fruits of my vegetable garden and what I'm doing with those fruits.

So, my vegetable garden hasn't done as well as I would have hoped.  I'm going to blame it on the fact this was my first year growing plants from seeds, a late spring, really hot dry weather, and a lack of proper care while I was away in El Salvador.  

The good: The cucumbers have done well- I've picked at least 15 and there will be probably about 6-10 more.  The jalapenos are doing excellent- lots and lots of pleasantly spicy peppers.

Look at all those nice jalapenos!

cucumbers!

this poor cucumber is oddly shaped because it decided to grow through the trellis fence 

The bad: Tomatoes.  The cherry tomato plant I planted did ok.  I've picked about 20 little tomatoes and they are really yummy, and there are still some more green ones growing, but there should have been so many more.  The regular tomatoes have made me very sad.  The plants grew very slowly to start with.  I started growing them inside, but I started too late.  I thought they would grow really quickly when I put them outside in the nice soil, but they didn't.  I eventually bought some organic fertilizer to give them.  When I got back from El Salvador the plants were huge and I was really excited.  But I didn't see one single tomato on them.  About a week later there were finally some little green tomatoes on the plants, and now there are more little green tomatoes.  I don't know if they will grow to a decent size or if they will have time to get ripe before it gets too cold.  We'll see...

A couple almost ripe cherry tomatoes

the pathetic little green tomatoes

the tomato plants look good, but there just aren't any tomatoes

The ugly: I had planted some cilantro in a couple of pots, and they clearly did not get watered and they were very dead when I got home from El Salvador.  And the broccoli plants grew and grew, but no heads of broccoli ever formed.  I guess broccoli likes cool weather so I think I planted them too late and it got really hot too soon in the summer.  I just pulled the broccoli plants out of the ground and planted some cilantro where the broccoli had been. 

A nice surprise: Acorn squash!!!  I didn't plant acorn squash, but when I got home from El Salvador I found 2 acorn squashes growing amongst the cucumbers.  I'm not sure how the acorn squash grew- maybe there was a seed mix up at the seed factory (but I'm pretty sure that all the seeds I planted looked like cucumber seeds) or maybe a bird stole a seed from somewhere and brought it to my garden or maybe there was a seed in some compost I used.  Or maybe it was a miracle.