Garden laid by for the winter Jan 8, 2011

Victory Garden Sleeps For the Winter Jan 8, 2011

“…I got a peaceful easy feeling…” ~ The Eagles

We laid by the Victory Garden on Saturday with a foot thick layer of ground up leaves, and Sunday, Mother Nature covered it with a half foot of snow. The garden has been put to bed for the winter. I have a peaceful easy feeling this morning.

Snow is both Mother Nature’s insulation from bitter cold expected this week and a drip irrigation system letting water slowly seep into the ground.

We finished the last winter harvest for the year just before mulching the garden. We pulled turnips and rutabagas to give to the Food Pantry and some lovely elderly ladies who live south of the tracks. This beautiful sustainable garden consists entirely of raised beds of loose dark humus made of in_place composted Dragonville leaves and grass.

While hidden from our eyes, the garden lives on. The thirty-one varieties of garlic, the yellow onions, and collards, will bring new bounty in spring. The collards already have new small leaves.

We were blessed in 2010 with a bounty of 3,666 lbs of fresh tasty produce grown sustainably and all donated to the needy. We have begun 2011 with 161 lbs.

We have been blessed seeing the joy of many children helping and learning in the garden. Status reports and links to pictures: http://www.colliervillevictorygarden.org/
The lady with the rutabagas is Somer Greene, VP Community Service Hutchison School.

We were blessed by the good people of Collierville Christian Church for letting us use their property and generously supporting us with infrastructure and valuable water. And we were blessed by a generous donor who took care of our funding needs for the near future.

We are honored having been designated a Tennessee Demonstration Garden. We are open 24 X 7 X 365 and have walking paths. You can schedule a tour by contacting me or go on your own. There is always something worth seeing.

We volunteers are already planning the early spring garden. We need and welcome more volunteers, both novice and experienced. Our primary objectives are education and demonstration of sustainable practices, providing fresh produce to the needy, propagating and raising landscaping plants for Habitat For Humanity, and having fun.

Lord willing we will work Saturday mornings in mid March and mid April planting the spring garden and the summer garden. Come join in the fun and receive the greater blessing of giving.

Aint God good!

Carl Wayne Hardeman mymaters@yahoo.com 901-485-6910