Anathoth Community Garden Newsletter

May 2007

Greetings,

Our 1st person account this month comes to us from our intrepid carpenter-in-residence, Peter Kramer:

 Though not a member of Cedar Grove United Methodist Church, I felt very bad when it was lost to a fire a few years ago. My wife Susan and I were acquainted with a lot of the members and knew the church to be the center and focal point of the community. I told John Hughes, a social work colleague in the Orange County Schools, to let me know if I could ever help with rebuilding efforts.
     Though I never got to work on the new building, John told me about the Anathoth project in the early fall of 2005. My first volunteer efforts were building the vegetable beds in November, '05, but a few months later I got to do a real love of mine, i.e., rank-amateur outdoor carpentry.  Early in 2006, under the guidance of Randy Harris, a few of us started on the large garden shed, which was completed in time for the May '06 public dedication and open house. With music, prayers, and good food the world, or at least our small part of it, was introduced to this vital, innovative project.
     Since then I've been able to work on other Anathoth needs: the massive deck (with Shane Jernigan), some chairs and benches, the bridge over the creek to the garden started by Charlotte Hughes, birdhouses, et. al. Teenagers coming out on Saturday mornings have helped with most of these and they've been fun to work with. Every step has also been aided by the resourceful and talented Fred Bahnson.
     Anathoth offers all of us the opportunity to work hard, to give food to those who need it, to do the good which we are called to do, and simply have fun. I hope that the shed and deck will see music festivals, parties, and picnics in the coming years. I've spent time just relaxing there, especially down by the creek. It's a good feeling to look over the stream up to the red-roofed shed, to see the red-clovered field which divides the bountiful rows and projects-in-progress, e.g., the greenhouse. I'm grateful for Anathoth and the people who work and play there.
                                                                    -Peter Kramer

New Summer Workday Schedule:

• Tues. 4-7pm with pot-luck following. Wed. 8-12noon. Thurs. 4-7pm. Fri. 9-12noon. Saturday 9-12noon, pot-luck following. Please bring a dish and your own plates and utensils.

News:

• Spring Harvest—strawberries, strawberries, and more strawberries are coming in, and my are they tasty. Mmm, mmm. People have been harvesting, but most berries don’t even make it to the car. They taste better when they’re fresh from the field and still warm from the sun. We also have 7-8 varieties of head lettuce, as well as Winterbor and Red Russian Kale. Baby carrots will arrive in several weeks, and you can look for loads of garlic by the month’s end.

• Farm Tour a success!—the Carolina Farm Stewardship Assoc. 12^th annual farm tour came to Anathoth on April 21^st and 22^nd. On Saturday we had 42 people visit and 50 on Sunday! Thanks to all of you who volunteered, gave tours, baked cookies, and gave of your time.

• Blueberries Need Love, Too—It doesn’t take a green thumb to know that there is a direct correlation between the preponderance of weeds in the blueberry patch this summer and the paucity of blueberries in the next, i.e. more weeds=less berries. All the weeders must still be in hibernation though, because none have come forward to claim a row. Remember the story of the old hen? You know, the one who asked the other animals for help planting the wheat, harvesting the wheat, grinding the flower, baking the bread, etc. None would help her. But when she said “who will help me eat the bread?” everybody stepped up. The old hen is still around, and she knows that when the blueberries come in next year there will be many hungry mouths lined up to eat. But she wonders, how many of those mouths will have done the thankless-though-much-needed work of weeding? The old hen needs you—will you sign up to keep a row weed-free this summer? Only an hour every other week and you’re guaranteed a seat at next year’s blueberry banquet.

• Reading Recommendation from Farmer Fred--Ever wonder what the Farm Bill is all about? In the following article Michael Pollan argues that it should really be called “the Food Bill” because of its affect on the way all of us eat, not only in this country but around the world. Here’s a quote from the article: “The farm bill essentially treats our children as a human Disposall for all the unhealthful calories that the farm bill has encouraged American farmers to overproduce.” http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/magazine/22wwlnlede.t.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5070&en=21a1c58f763d5c1d&ex=1178164800&emc=eta1

Upcoming Events:

• Cedar Grove Ruritan Club—Thurs. May 3^rd Fred will tell the Anathoth story and show slides to the Cedar Grove Ruritans.

• Interns—Thurs. May 17^th  two of our three summer interns arrive from the U. of Portland. Andrew Williams and Zach Clute-Reinig will be with us for 8 weeks this summer, learning how to grow food and grow community the Anathoth way. We are looking for someone to loan them either a car, two bicycles, or both so that these fellows can have transportation. See Fred if you can help. We also will host a third intern, Larry Rogers, who will be commuting from Burlington.

• Hispanic Outreach—Saturday May 19^th at 11am we will host an informal info session in Spanish. This will take place during our regular Saturday workday at the garden. We will be inviting Hispanics in our area to attend and become members at Anathoth. We are working with Heifer Project to coordinate this outreach. This is your chance to learn Spanish and perhaps teach English, and but most importantly it’s your chance to welcome our Hispanic neighbors into the Anathoth Community. Please bring extra pot-luck food and plates for our guests on this day.