Thanks to everyone who braved the cold last Saturday to put in the first batch of peas. We were able to put the stakes in as well and do the necessary repairs on the deer fence.

We will meet again this Saturday, April 2, to plant the second batch of peas and to assign plots. If anyone is interested, you can lay out your plot then and plant some cold hardy vegetables.

Next Saturday, if the wind does not do it in, you will see our newest structure, a polytunnel. We are experimenting with this homemade contraption to see if we can extend our season at both ends. As Ted wisely said “Rube Goldberg has nothing on us!”

Just a reminder that all membership forms must be turned in by April 15. After April 15, we will open the remaining plots to non-church members

The St. Paul's Community Garden met on March 19 for our first Season 2011 meeting. We discussed some changes to last season's plantings and some additions for this year. For Season 2011, we will eliminate planting gourds and pumpkins and add more butternut squash, patty pans and cut flowers for the church.

We reviewed the new Garden Bylaws and discussed how we are planting some early row crops such as lettuces, turnips and asian greens. The "square foot" gardening method will be used when planting the individual plots. We will continue this year with the collection of garden recipes but will use the St. Paul's website if possible to post the recipes. The website will also be used to keep the church community and the garden members informed about work schedules, yields and community contributions.

The next scheduled meeting will be March 26 at 8:30am in the Community Garden (510 West Allenton Road). We will be planting peas, cleaning up and making any repairs to the fence. Please note that all membership forms must be turned in by April 15. After April 15, we will open the remaining plots to nonchurch members.

If you have any questions, please send email to garden@stpaulswickford.org We look forward to seeing everyone on Saturday, March 26 at 8:30.

The Green Team at St. Paul's Church is happy to announce the start of our own parish community garden. Through the generous act of one of our parishioners, we have been allowed the use of a parcel of land on West Allenton Road. This land will be divided into shares, much like a typical Community Sponsored Agriculture cooperative. We anticipate, however, that the St. Paul's CSA will have much lower membership costs since it will not be for profit. Some of the harvest will be made available to those less fortunate in our midst. We plan to begin preparation of the ground very soon and hope to harvest the first crops by late spring of next year. This is an excellent opportunity to work together to grow inexpensive, healthy organic produce and to provide an example of environmental stewardship, cooperation, and tithing to the community around us. Please consider joining us!

Since the membership costs will be based on the number of participants, if you are interested in a membership, please let us know as soon as possible so we can get an idea of what the membership costs per share will be (contact information below).

The planning phase for the garden is well underway, and we are still putting together the team. If you have gardening skills (green thumb or not), we can use your help! But we also need folks who are interested in planning, coordinating volunteer schedules, and sorting the harvest. All ages and experience levels welcome. If you have an interest in any of these or related areas, there will be a meeting on Wed Dec 9 at 7 pm in the Common Room. If you are unable to attend the meeting but are still interested in being part of the team please contact us via the email/phone listed below.

As this is a work in progress, more details will become available and will be posted here for your information.

Any questions about this project can be addressed to garden@stpaulswickford.org (note: email sent to this address will be forwarded to email address on the printed flyers, this is to reduce the problems with spambots harvesting addresses from this web page) or call Ted Seymour.

Please complete this form and submit it to the church office, Ted Seymour or Rini Georgekutty. Becoming a member of the St. Paul’s Community Garden means you have agreed to follow the Garden By-Laws.

The membership fee includes organic seeds.

Please check the appropriate box and submit with payment (cash or check). Please make checks out to St. Paul’s with Garden in the “Memo.” Forms are due by April 15