Peaceful Woods Shares!

We’re dedicating this blog entry to one of our 350 Victory Garden Challengers – Peaceful Woods. Peaceful Woods is an example of the Victory Garden spirit of sharing. Send your stories to director@VictoryGardenFoundation.org.

I started out the first year, doing the containers with vegetable seedlings to hand out. All these pots (and hundreds more) came from the Landfill folks who saved them for me (in exchange for brownies!).

What I found, was that I could not fit a large number, in my vehicle. So, I wasn't helping a lot of people. But the large container IS good for the very elderly and disabled, who most likely cannot handle a garden in the ground. 

I don't know if this is right or not, but to make the pots easier for the fragile seniors to move around, I put some styrofoam peanuts in to lighten the load. Our hospital donated bags of the peanuts. 

So, I met Dawn at a Farm Seminar and she was selling the styrofoam trays at an incredible price, compared to what I had seen locally. http://www.kyburleymoldings.com/products.html and you have her email address.

Here is another idea..set up a long table at a Food Bank, or a Senior Center, or near the Unemployment office..ask a local charity to donate the potting soil and to buy the styrofoam trays..bring popsicle sticks like you get at the craft store..

Set it up so the people needing help can fill a tray with the potting soil, then pick out from an array of seeds..to put into ONE styrofoam tray. Identify the rows of a certain vegetable with the popsicle stick. Let them take it home and float it in water till ready for planting. Make sure to give one page instructions for each vegetable.

Another idea..Wal-Mart, Target do community work..ask them for funds to buy small kiddie pools..which you give out one kiddie pool to a family (they cost $10.00) So they can take it home with the styrofoam tray and they have enough to get started with a very nice garden.

We have a large nursery that donated potting soil, but they ALSO let us have all the used potting soil we wanted. That saved us a lot of $.

This would be a good project at school..teaching the kids about growing a garden..they keep part to take home and plant..and they donate part to help others. Good Community Service. 

I missed my opportunity to do this project this spring, in time for planting. One of my cows accidentally tipped me over and I broke 3 rib, so I got a late start. At present, I am growing seedlings hydroponically, and I have transferred them to raised beds at my farm. I have talked to our Hospital Administrator at work about offering this opportunity to the employees who are not in the high income brackets..like "helping our own family". I am hoping he will see it is the right thing to do, and we can do it for Fall Gardens.

I actually heard of a housekeeper who was telling me they had been foreclosed on, were now living in a rental, and the husband was missing his garden..So I went to my hydroponic table and picked out a selection of seedlings that were ready, put them in a $1.00 shoe box, and gave it to her. Enough for a garden, and it cost hardly anything. I think we should call them "Shoe Box Gardens".

My biggest challenge is figuring out WHEN to start planting the specific vegetables and herbs in my trays to start growing what grows when. I am in Central Florida. I would like to focus on vegetables that are perennials, heirlooms, and could be grown easily.

If anyone is interested in doing something similar; I believe there are funds out there that will be available. Local Foundations are very interested in making sure people have food and if a group or an individual would do a COLLABORATION with someone like the United Way; they would be more successful in being heard. Even the schools have Grant writers.

Thank you for listening. Feel free to use any of these ideas, and folks can contact me.

Respectfully,

Susan Lancto, RN CCRN