Garden Details
Garden Details
Jesus tells us repeatedly in the New Testament that one of the greatest commandments is to love your neighbor as yourself, and he guides us with examples of how to do this by helping people whose lives are a little harder. Through the Garden Ministry we try to follow Jesus’s message by growing a variety of fresh vegetables and fruits for people who are dealing with food insecurity.
The garden was founded as an Eagle Scout project with the help of local URI-trained master gardener, Barbara Melone, who led the garden committee for many years. Barbara moved on in 2019 and we lost one of most dedicated long-time volunteers, Don Cerullo in early 2021 to COVID. Despite these changes, the garden committee has continued to work with the aid of students from our parish school, and scouts from our parish troop. The garden was dedicated to Don’s memory in 2022 with the renewed commitment to helping those in need by providing fresh produce.
Everything we grow is given to the food pantry at West Bay Community Action, or to the Mother Theresa Ministry in the SS Rose and Clement parish for their free meals program. During Covid when the meal program had to adjust to the pandemic’s challenges by providing pre-packaged meals instead of family style sit-downs cooked by the group, we sold produce at our farmer’s market and the funds were given to the Mother Theresa Ministry to buy those pre-packaged meals.
If you’d like to volunteer, there’s no need for a green thumb, just an open heart for working with others, learning about gardening, and a desire to help others in need. Everyone is invited.
Garden Practices
Garden Practices
The garden is currently organic- no pesticides are used. We rely on donated compost and wood chips. the original wooden raised beds are all approaching 20 years old. They are being transitioned to long beds made of concrete blocks with soaker hoses on a timer. The wood chips paths are too labor intensive to maintain so they are now mostly grass paths which are mowed.
The garden operates are a very small budget. Freed seeds are obtained from the Ocean State Job Lot/University of Rhode Island seed program. We buy potatoes and onion sets using funds we have raised for that purpose.
Tomatoes, peppers, green beans, peas, potatoes, onions, garlic, blueberries, zucchini, summer and winter squash, pumpkins, and eggplant as well as asparagus.
The all-volunteer garden committee works with the St. Rose of Lima school and the parish cub scout troop along with occasional volunteers such as confirmation students. You don't need to be a member of the parish, or even Catholic, to volunteer. All are welcome. We also accept donations of produce, seeds, and equipment and monetary donations which are used to buy needed items.
Additional Information
Additional Information
Weeding, large repairs, keeping invasive plants such as bittersweet from taking over areas, maintaining the paths, keeping out wildlife such as groundhogs and bunnies. Last summer we lost all of our squash, which is usually very prolific, to a groundhog. Watering (we only have one water source inside the garden). Another problem is finding enough volunteers to keep the garden in good shape.
The garden committee needs more adult volunteers who regularly go to the garden. Our current committee consists of members who have been with us for many years and are getting older. Many of the "bigger"projects can't be accomplished by students so we need young adults under the age of 40 as well as more people in general- many hands make light work. With our original structures now over 20 years old, there are repairs and improvements needed.
Despite the enormity of challenges over the past several years, the garden continues and every year, through God's grace, a new miracle occurs to keep us going.
