inspiration

some of you know that we have built a little free library and gleaning gardens in front of our home. the gleaning gardens are about the same square footage as a standard 4'X4' SFG box, but instead of square, they are long. i planted them specifically so we could donate food to a local organization. we do not eat from these boxes, we only glean and deliver. in the boxes are four tomato plants, an eggplant, some various bean plants, two squashes, some herbs, some peppers, and a few random bits of this and that for the purposes of companion planting.

i'm going into a little detail on it because i want to demonstrate what is possible with such a small commitment of space and plants.

we have reached the height of the food production season here in nashville. for the past month and a half we have been able to donate a half bushel of food each week. today when we walked our donation up to the gleaners collection site, my little girl took her dollies along for a stroll. we harvest and deliver twice a week, which means that so far we have donated three bushels of produce and we still have at least another six weeks to go before our average first frost. not bad for 16 square feet of growing space!



i bring this here because i hope that more gardeners will appreciate what a difference they can make. the expansion of this project is that i have recruited several neighbors to start their own gleaning gardens. my goal is that eventually howard avenue will become a donating CSA for our local hunger advocates. but it gives me great pleasure to see my child's pride in having done something tangible with her own hands to make her community a better place for those in need.

Great idea!!!

Rowena, you are an inspiration! Thank you for sharing!

cheyannarach wrote:Rowena, you are an inspiration! Thank you for sharing!

I echo that sentiment.