At our April 29 community conversation on hunger, Kathy Curry of the Kingston Farm and Garden Co-op joined us to give perspective on their Giving Garden, which benefits local residents in need.
Before Curry was introduced, attendees wondered if such an effort existed in our community, letting us know that as much as both organizations have tried to spread the word about the Giving Garden, for many it is still unknown.
It deserves to be better known. In 2014, the faithful Giving Garden regulars gave their all to grow, transport and donate 2,325 pounds of fresh produce for distribution to ShareNet clients. Clearly, they don’t do it for the honor or the recognition, because there’s been very little of that, but because they believe in helping hungry people and in giving their hearts (and aching backs) to the effort.
The Co-op is a great organization well beyond the Giving Garden, and has a very informative website detailing their efforts supporting our community: www.growkingston.org.
The community conversation on hunger was intended in part as a volunteer-recruitment event, since ShareNet and the Giving Garden are consistently short of volunteers. The event was well-attended but fell short of our goals to obtain more volunteers.
Someone asked whether those in need could work in the garden for food. Like anyone in the community, recipients certainly can volunteer in the garden, and later receive a share of that food via ShareNet, but our federal contracts, as well as those with Northwest Harvest and Food Lifeline, prohibit mandated work for food. The good news is, recipients often do return to contribute, especially when their own lives have become more stable.
We’ve heard that with more volunteers, the garden could quadruple its yield for those in need. The Giving Garden has a work party scheduled regularly from 10 a.m. to noon Saturdays. If you can’t make that time, they will be glad to have you contribute when you’re able. Snacks and lively conversation follow each work party and are additional incentive to help. Generally, the work party is cancelled in inclement weather.
The same devoted group since the garden’s inception is hard at work on spring planting: Laura Lyon; Kinley Deller and Patti Pearson, with their daughters Nara and Ameena; Paul Bradley; Nile and Andy Clark; and Curry herself. Again, this year, they are appreciative of support from the Kingston High School Honor Society.
If you’re in a position to donate equipment, the Garden needs trowels, rakes and small-scale wheelbarrows. The Garden continues to amend the soil where the original was removed during high tunnel construction. Tomatoes are in, and snap peas will be added in July.
In the larger crop area, manure was dropped off during the winter and has been tilled under, with the expectation that this soil enrichment will improve yield. This area will be planted in sweet corn, summer and winter squash this year.
In the mixed vegetable area, garlic planted was aided by compost. Peas, beans and onions are up, and the chard patch is almost ready for its first harvest. The over-winter kale has bolted and will now be used for compost. New plants are sprouting in the kale bed. A new strawberry bed has been planted; production is expected to be low, with better results next year. The group has been on schedule in setting up irrigation lines, and will be using all-drip irrigation. This should mean using less water in a better-targeted way.
Look for ShareNet and Kingston Farm and Garden Co-op on May 30 at Stillwaters’ EcoFest 2015.
— Mark Ince is executive director of ShareNet. He can be reached by calling 360-297-2266.
ShareNet is located at 26061 United Road, Kingston. The food bank is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday and Friday. The thrift store is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
