Vegetables for Families in Need

The company I work for has a volunteering reward. Each year, if you volunteer your time, the company gives you a paid day off. So last week I volunteered with some co-workers to build a vegetable garden for a low income family through the Growing Places Garden Project organization.

We met at the home of the recipient at 10am. Since it was in Westford, I had a nice short commute to work for a change! When I arrived, Nikki from Growing Places was there, unloading tools from the truck. I started helping, and the others started arriving. MB was next, and she started pitching in. Then SL arrived. We were making a raised bed garden, so Nikki directed us to position the three 4 ft. by 8 ft. bed frames, and start laying newspaper on the lawn inside the frames. No digging up the sod for us! BJ arrived and then MR, and they helped finish laying the news paper. And then it was time for the heavy lifting.

A load of compost had been delivered to the front of the house. The garden was in the back, about 100 ft. away. So, with 4 wheel barrows, we started moving the compost to the back. When the first bed was about 1/2 full, Nikki and MB stayed to mix in vermiculite (to help hold water) and chicken manure (to add microbial activity and nutrients). BG showed up and helped us lug more wheel barrow fulls of compost. And more. And more. When the second bed was 3/4 full, I stayed to help mix in the amendments, while SL attached a wire fence trellis to the back of the now full first bed.

And the compost kept coming. I kept mixing and spreading, while the others finished bringing the compost back. Then they filled the wheelbarrows so we could move the remaining compost off the lawn, once we asked the homeowner where she wanted it. At about this time, a man pulled up in a truck. He was the homeowners nephew, and was worried about his aunt, since there were so many cars at her place. We assured him that we were just there to build a garden for her, and he went in to ask about the extra compost.

When all 3 beds were full, I helped SL put a trellis on the back of the second bed. BJ and MB were putting nails int he frames to attach twine to. The twine made up 1 ft by 1 ft squares, to help the homeowner know where to put the plants. And MR, BG, and Nikki started putting up a wire fence around the garden. When the trellis was done, SL and I helped with the fence. B was unrolling, SL and MR attaching it to the posts, and I was pounding them the rest of the way into the ground with a 5 pound beater. Fun! During the fencing stage, another truck pulled in. This time it was Cindy, one of the founders of Growing Places. She'd brought the vegetable seedlings by.

When the fence was up, a group went to move the compost while the rest of us picked up tools. Nikki remarked how we had the fastest garden completion time this year, we were done in an hour and a half! When everything was picked up, we took a group picture, and then my coworkers and I headed off for a celebratory lunch, on the company. Another perk of the volunteer program!

So at this point, you're probably saying, hey, wait a minute, you forgot to plant the vegetables! It turns out that's a separate part of the program, a mentor helps the homeowner plant the vegetables and gives them tips. It usually occurs when the beds are set up, but since the homeowner wasn't feeling well, they'd scheduled to plant on another day.

So, next time you're in the gardening mood, but don't have anything to do in your garden, consider building a vegetable garden for those in need!