THE PARTNERSHIP GARDEN

One of the first projects that St. Noel and St. Augustine embarked upon as Church in the City Partners was to work together gardening to provide food for the St. Augustine Hunger Center. Father Joe McNulty, the pastor of St. Augustine Church, donated use of a city !lot adjacent to Walsh Hall on W. 15 th St. The first major undertaking was to clear rocks, concrete blocks, bricks and rubble so that Ohio State University Extension, Urban Gardening, could plow, roto-till and work the soil with leaf mulch. This was accomplished in late Spring, 1999 and on June 20, 1999 , we planted seeds donated by OSU Extension: beets, turnips, turnip tops, lettuce, carrots, mustard greens, spinach, radishes, watermelons and cantaloupes. Many told us it was too late to plant and that we would not see a harvest this first year. But again, we planted donated plants on June 24, 1999: tomatoes, collards, peppers, cucumbers and cabbage. Workers the first year were few but effective and the garden flourished with an abundant harvest. It was appropriately named the "Miracle Garden." Following harvest we cleared the land of used vegetation and roto-tilled the soil to prepare for the winter rye planting.

Success brought enthusiasm, new volunteers and more land to farm in Spring of 2000. We were granted access to two acres of farmland in Montville, where the owner plowed and prepared the land. A call from a Tremont land owner to OSU Extension netted an additional one and a half more acres of land. The wet Spring resulted in delayed planting of these four acres and therefore, though successful, harvest was less than had been anticipated. The original garden on W. 15 th St, though only 35' by 100', was again bountiful and overall production from the three sites resulted in:

200 cucumbers
60 lbs. beets
10 bushels lettuce/spinach
9 bushels mustard greens
40 lbs. hot peppers
2 bushels corn
375 lbs. tomatoes
300 potatoes
60 lbs. carrots
200 lbs. green beans
100 heads cabbage
20 bushels collards
150 green peppers
30 lbs. onions
12 egg plant
9 bushels turnip tops
5 bushels turnips

Most importantly, although two people from St. Augustine and two people from St. Noel did most of the work in 1999, our group of "farmers" grew to over thirty in 2000, about equally distributed between the two parishes. Many friendships were made among the produce, weeds and dirt, friendships that endure beyond the growing season. We all take pride in the accomplishment and the knowledge that hundreds upon hundreds of people were served wonderful meals from our labors in the gardens.

As part of putting the gardens to bed for the winter, Lake Farmpark, a part of the Lake Metroparks system, brought two beautiful Percheron draft horses to the 1 1/2 acre Tremont property and plowed more than an acre of the land. This was attended by about 60 third grade children from Tremont Elementary and 20 special needs students from an area school. Each child was allowed to plow one furrow behind the horses and then was given packets of seeds to plant in the Spring.

We welcome calls to 440-975- 9753 with your suggestions or if you wish to become involved with this ministry.

2002 St. Noel/St. Augustine Hunger Center Garden

23 People working 514 hours have harvested:

Lettuce 16 Bushels
Mustard 35 Bushels
Collards 46 Bushels
Zucchini Squash 196
Cucumbers 9 Bushels
Turnip Tops 5 Bushels
Turnips 29 Bushels
Green Beans 23 Bushels
Banana Peppers 11 Bushels
Sweet Peppers 19 Bushels
Beets 2 Bushels
Tomatoes 32 Bushels
Corn 3 Bushels
Cabbage 1 31 heads
Onions 1/2 Bushel
Carrots 2 Bushels

As of 10-23-02

2003 GARDEN RESULTS

In 2003, fewer workers were available and the garden size was reduced to 50' by 100', the original size of the garden. Disappointments are few but we had a poor harvest of bell peppers and reduced tomato crop due to a fungus which may even affect next year's harvest.

Success was abundant, 18 people working 236 1/2 hours harvested:

Lettuce 10 bushels
Turnip Tops 2 bushels
Mustard greens 3 bushels
Banana peppers 7 bushels
Cabbage 72 heads
Tomatoes 5 bushels
Cucumbers 111 cucumbers
Collards 10 bushels
Beans 9 bushels
Carrots 4 bushels
Beets 1/2 bushel
Bell peppers 1/2 bushel

This size garden was manageable for the six people who regularly worked it. The harvest was all used by St. Augustine Hunger Center and one of their volunteers willingly accepted the responsibility of watering the garden regularly.

Tastes have changed in the Hunger Center and next year the plantings will reflect those changes.

Click here for Pictures from 2003 Garden Partnership