Monica Knudsen is the Garden Coordinator for The St. Charles Borromeo Community Garden

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News from the St. Charles Community Organic Garden

by Monica Knudsen

Our garden is located next to the Dorothy Day Center, and is part of our food sharing ministry. In 2016, through a generous grant, we have built 18 new garden beds built by Fertile Grounds OKC. The focus of the garden has changed from past years. Each bed has been adopted by an individual gardener who is responsible for maintaining and harvesting their crops. Through our agreement with the Regional Food Bank, the organization that provides plants and seeds, gardeners agree to share half of their harvest with the Dorothy Day Center or other food pantry. The rest is theirs to keep. All are invited to stroll through the garden to watch things grow but please respect and honor the hard work that gardeners have done and refrain from picking their crops. Also, for local folks, there is a daily watering schedule so if you are not on the list, please do not water the garden.

Another important role of the garden is to demonstrate and teach.  You, too, can use the design of our community garden for your own back yard.  It is low-maintenance, easy to water, requires very little weeding, and fits in compact, sunny places.

Rising food prices and an awareness of the superior nutritional value of home-grown foods make this a ministry whose time has come.  Our grandparents and great grandparents knew it. In the days when most Americans lived on farms or in small towns, kitchen gardens were commonplace.         

If you would like to adopt a garden bed, no experience is necessary as there are also garden classes, field trips, and expertise aplenty from experienced gardeners. Announcements at the beginning of each season will be made in the church bulletin and the Dorothy Day Center's Facebook page. Whether or not you are a gardener, please do come by to relax, pray, and admire the Creator’s handiwork.

Finally, as spiritual people, our little green oasis is much more than a collection of plants and a food source.  God created the first garden, and His Son suffered in one at Gethsemane.   Gardens can be a place of holy significance, where we can bring our joys and sorrows, and spend time in prayer and reflection.

  “Let us press on to know the Lord. . . He will come to us like the rain, like spring rain that waters the earth.”   Hosea 6: 3