First day of Spring

Today is the first day of spring. Of course that is spring according to the calendar. The lower 48 has spring. But as I write this it is snowing. We are supposed to get 2 to 4 inches today and another 2 or so tonight. Sure doesn’t seem like spring or look like spring. But things are still happening in the with the garden if not in the garden.

Harvested Birch

Seed starting equipment has been bought as well as seeds. I hope to have planted seeds for the congregation and others who wish to raise in their homes until we are able to put them in the garden in May. In April we will take delivery on a storage shed. We will construct compost bins. Hopefully I will be able to take soil samples so I can send them in for analysis. I will put together a calendar and let everyone know what tasks will be undertaken and when so you can come by to help out if you wish. We will also have a couple of seed tape making parties so planting carrots, parsnips, beets, and other things will go more quickly and there will be less thinning as the
plants emerge. Be watching for the schedule.

Rough Bowls

We did have a small veggie harvest last fall. We also had a large harvest during the summer. We harvested a log of birch trees. All of that wood was not burned or just left to rot. In the time since that harvest I have turned at least some of the wood into wooden bowls. It started with rough turning the wood into bowl shapes. They were left to dry for the deep winter months. This month I started turning those rough bowls into the finished product. Most of the bowls are in the 4 to 7 inch range, heavy on the 4 inch end. Some, though no many, will be as large as 10 inches. The trees were small so the bowls are as well.

Bowls Nearly Ready

The bowls will probably be on sale on Easter at the Lutheran Church of Hope at 1847 W. Northern Lights Blvd. They will also be available at Alaska Synod Assembly the last weekend of April (St. Mark Lutheran Church on Lake Otis Pkwy). The proceeds from the bowls will go to support the garden and I will receive none of the proceeds. Pricing of the bowls has not been determined yet but the small ones (4 inch) will be in the $7 range and the larger (7 inch) ones $12 to $15 with reduced pricing for the purchase of 4 of the same size. There may be a few that are more expensive because of special designs or larger size.

Spring really is coming. Be patient and it will happen.

See you in the garden.

Bleak Midwinter in the Garden

February, the midst of a miserable winter. There has been little snow and less sun. Lots of clouds and rainy weather. We have also suffered the injury of a vandalized building. The garden looks like it may never produce. But looks can be very deceiving.

February has been a banner month for our fledgling garden. On the 17th of February we received word from the ELCA we have been awarded a grant for 2016 in the amount of $3000. Along with the $3500 that had been pledged by the congregation we are well on our way to seeing growth (yes, pun intended) in our Memorial Garden in 2016.

On February 24 I received word from the Alaska Synod that I will be able to sell bowls at Synod Assembly made from the trees that were taken down on the plot. I will be very busy finishing bowls during the next couple of months so I will have wares to sell. My goal is to sell $500 worth of bowls. They will be priced from $10 to maybe as high as $50 depending on size. It’s difficult to say right now as I don’t have any of the finished product yet. The bowls will also be available at the Lutheran Church of Hope if the church council will permit me to display and sell them there as well.

I will need some assistance at assembly so if anyone has some free time April 22-24 please let me know. Assembly will be at St. Mark Lutheran Church on Lake Otis Blvd. You can call the church office or send an email to leave a message for me. The church phone number and email  can be found at HopeAK.org on the web. There is also a link to this blog there as well. I will get some pictures posted of the bowl turning process as soon as I get started on them.

Be sure to check out the wish list that is on right side this page. The wish list does change so be sure to check back often. There are many things that can be ordered from Amazon, Inc. If you have Amazon Prime there is often no shipping charged even to Alaska.

If you have any pictures available of people we can put on our picture gallery of those memorialized in the garden please send them to me or the church office so I can incorporate them into the blog’s picture gallery. Digital pictures are the best but I can scan photos as well.

Thanks for reading and there will be another post soon so keep coming back.

Peace be with you all.
 

Getting Started

The seed that started the garden at Lutheran Church of Hope was Alaska Synod of the ELCA Assembly in Wasilla, Alaska in April of 2015. The emphasis of the Assembly was essentially feeding the hungry throughout the state and the world. As the Assembly moved forward I attended many sessions on food, gardening, and feeding the hungry. For many years one of the things that was talked about at Lutheran Church of Hope (LCOH) was planting a garden behind the church to help feed those in need in Anchorage. I felt the call of the Lord and decided to undertake this project.

We now have five elevated boxes constructed, three have been filled with soil, and those three have been planted. There are still two to fill and be planted. Hope to get this accomplished this weekend with the help of the congregation.