PUMPKINS???
Just imagine it! Less than a year from now the plot of land next to the Community Garden will be…creepy!
Over the last several weeks the plans to have our own little pumpkin patch have been finalized and formalized. The land adjacent to the Garden is under contract with a developer, but is currently owned by the Chester Redevelopment Authority. With hats off and gratitude to the CRA, we have sealed a deal to use the land for the next year. Given that it’s only a year, it would not be prudent to use our resources to develop a raised bed garden.
Have you ever heard of creepers? I hadn’t. Not until a couple of weeks ago when the leaders of the Garden schooled me…”Creepers, as the name suggests, are plants that creep on the ground. They have very fragile, long, thin stems that can neither stand erect nor support all their weight. Examples include watermelon, strawberry, pumpkin and sweet potatoes.”
To create the perfect spot for our creepy pumpkin patch, the only major work will be laying a barrier down and covering it with mulch and soil. Not only is this better for the plants, but it serves as an extra safety measure lest there be things in the soil not fit for consumption.
Just imagine…a jack-o’-lantern contest, home made CEI pumpkin pies, a pumpkin sale to raise funds for the Garden, and watching our Phoenix children and youth take part in it all! And if all of that is not good enough, just imagine what it will mean for those with whom we share the Garden…
In this season of harvest, gratitude, and fellowship spurred by abundant meals, may the expansion of the Community Garden remind us that potential and possibility surround us each and every day. Let us open ourselves to recognize, rejoice, and receive opportunities for expansion and growth – and then be faithful planters of those seeds.
Peace,
Andy