The Hard Season

Just two nights past October's harvest moon filled the night sky.  The last two mornings frost has decorated pumpkins and windshields. Almost the last of the frosted garden plants are pulled and tucked into the compost bin.  At home I'm cutting and stacking a winter's worth of firewood and draining and rolling hoses. 
Its a hard time of year for me.  The urgency of spring and summer seem long ago.  The trees that just a few days ago blazed with fire are bare and stark. The dark increases daily and my heart wants to know where is the promise of resurrection?   My logical mind knows the hope is in the composer, the soil, the ragged deer-bitten strawberries.  But I am still filled with grief.

Saving string

When I was a kid, my mom saved string.  Every time she opened a sugar bag, she tied the string ends and rolled the new length onto the ball that lived in our kitchen cupboard.
I must have inherited some of her frugality because I save every use able piece of orange twine previously trellising tomatoes or beans or peas.  I never know when I might need a short length of twine for another project. Recycle.  Good stewardship. Reducing waste. Habit.

Coriander.  This zesty seed is used for seasoning sausage, brewing Belgian beers.  And guess what?

Coriander is the seed of the Cilantro plant!  In our gardens, some of the cilantro didn't get harvested to use in salsa or???? and left to grow leafy and tall, it first flowered with tiny white flowers and later produced round ridged beige seeds - Coriander.  We didn't really intend to grow coriander but got it anyway.
How many times has a mistake or something that didn't get done lead to something good - perhaps even something better than what was intended?  Isn't this grace? This God-thing?  No matter what, maybe even in spite of what we do or don't do, something good can come about.  The unharvested tomatoes become compost.  The green beans that didn't get picked become dry beans that can be eaten all winter.  The radishes that went to seed produced yummy seed pods for feisty salads.

Soon I will be brewing a batch of Belgian White Beer - with grace-filled coriander.

Thursday gardening

I will be at UTS gardens today a little after 10 am.  Stop by to chat or get your hands dirty.

Once again - planting seeds

It's community day at UTS and once again we are sowing seeds.  Planting tiny bits of hope into rich soil and expecting - anticipating a harvest.  In the gardens - and in this new class of students.

Rain rain rain

Rest and repair maintenance day.

Rain

When it rains most farmers switch gears.  Rather than field work rainy days make time for tool and machine repairs and maintenance, planning ahead and rest and renewal to be up to the tasks ahead.  This rainy day what is it you need to do? 

September new beginnings

By the time the gardens get to September, much of the harvest is complete.  The compost bin is piled high with decaying plant detritus. And it is time to plant new seeds hoping for a fall crop.  Meet at the gardens at 10:00 am Wednesday to seed salad mesclun mix, snap peas and kale.

Cosmic Compost

We are constructing a compost bin this morning.  Join us at 10:00 to help and also join in discussion about salvation, resurrection, the cycles of life and death: cosmic compost.

the Cycle of the Garden

Early spring Cascadia Snap peas come down to be the high nitrogen start of the newcompost pile.   In a couple weeks as night time temperatures continue to drop we will start some cool season fall crops - maybe even more peas.

August Abundance

With no rain for several weeks, watering the gardens will be today's main work.  The heritage tomatoes will need a deep soaking as will the pole beans and squash.  I'll be there at 10 wed morn. 

Gardening day!!! Today 10-noon.

There's colorful Swiss Chard and Scarlet Queen turnips ready for harvest today.

Growing, growing, growing

Heat and rain and sun combined with tender care makes the gardens GROW.  This is our version of the 3 sisters garden: Back Turtle beans, Guatemalan Blue Banana squash and Painted Mt. Corn.

Growing abundance. With all the rain and heat I think our garden plants have doubled in size in one week.

Radishes anyone?

Stop by the garden and harvest a few radishes.  They are on both ends of the farthest south bed.  Enjoy.

Farming is an extreme sport!

Rain

Too much of any good thing is not good.  So many farm fields are not getting planted this spring due to bring underwater.  Farming is not for the faint at heart.
At our UTS farm our raised beds and new strawbale gardens are a great choice for both holding and then releasing excess water.

The things it takes to grow

Lots of rain, lots of sun, hot humid weather - perfect conditions for the seeds we've sown to germinate and grow.
What seeds have you tenderly tucked in good soil - trusting that in God's time they will grow?

Fwd: The things it takes to grow...

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Robin Raudabaugh" <rrgsbf@gmail.com>
Date: Jun 10, 2014 9:50 AM
Subject: Fwd: The things it takes to grow...
To: <rrgsbf.farming@blogger.com>
Cc:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Robin Raudabaugh" <rrgsbf@gmail.com>
Date: Jun 10, 2014 9:30 AM
Subject: The things it takes to grow...
To: "Robin Raudabaugh" <rrgsbf@gmail.com>
Cc:

Hot humid weather, lots of rain, lots of sun perfect conditions for the seeds we've down to germinate and grow.
What seeds have you tenderly tucked under good soil - trusting that in God's time they will grow?

Fwd: The things it takes to grow...

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Robin Raudabaugh" <rrgsbf@gmail.com>
Date: Jun 10, 2014 9:30 AM
Subject: The things it takes to grow...
To: "Robin Raudabaugh" <rrgsbf@gmail.com>
Cc:

Hot humid weather, lots of rain, lots of sun perfect conditions for the seeds we've down to germinate and grow.
What seeds have you tenderly tucked under good soil - trusting that in God's time they will grow?

Moving dirt and sowing seed.

The 12 yards of black dirt have been shoveled and wheeled and dumped and leveled into the planting beds.  Squash, beans, turnips and chard and cilantro and more have been seeded.  Strawberries have been planted.  Let the abundance begin!.

Air stapler makes lining the growing beds with plastic faster and easier.

GOOD SOIL is on my mind. 

Rich, black, smelling of darkness and decaying things - 

the promise of abundance to come. 

Get the dirt at United Theological Seminary urban farm project. See you Wed 10:00 to 12:00.

The planting beds are constructed!  Ready to fill with soil and plant.  We'll be moving lots of dirt on Tuesday noon through early afternoon.   More dirt moving and planting seeds on Wednesday starting at 10am.  


If you want to help, please do.  More farmers equals more fun.

Mei Qing Choi, kohlrabi, turnips, greens mix, sugar snap peas, pole beans and carrots....  

The freshly sawed oak boards are ready to be  drilled and screwed into 8 raised bed growing spaces.  This is your opportunity to use POWER TOOLS!   We could use help this Wednesday, May 14, from 10:00 am to 12:00 with cutting boards to length with a chop saw and/or circular saw, predrilling holes with power drills and putting in construction screws with power drills.

If you want to help but that time doesn't work for you, please text Robin at 651-216-9012 to set up other times.  The 8 growing beds will be lined on the sides with plastic and on the bottom with recycled Kraft paper animal feed bags.  Our good rich black topsoil with arrive in time to be moved into the beds next week, Wednesday, May 20.  And then  on to Planting!!!

FAITH, FARMING AND FOOD is an exciting new venture that has been germinating for some time at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities.  This spring, following a long, cold, snowy winter, and an even slower to arrive spring, we will begin construction of a small ‘farm’ on the UTS campus.  As we build and grow and create this small sustainable farm on the UTS campus, we will be intentional about the multi-layered inter-connections between our faith practices, our farming practices and our relationship to the food we eat.

“See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs forth….”  Isaiah 43:19

The large stretch of lawn behind the McMillan Center on the UTS campus, will soon be the site of a small ‘farm’ where several raised planting beds will be constructed and filled with rich soil.  A variety of vegetables and herbs will be planted and tended, harvested and eaten.  As with any sustainable small farm system, we plan to begin small and expand as energy, resources and interest grow. 

WHO CAN GET INVOLVED?  You.  

Every Wednesday throughout the summer and fall, beginning mid-May, from 10 am-12 am. we will meet at the farm site for a work/learning activity such as building raised beds,  shoveling dirt, planting, constructing a drip irrigation system,  building trellises, constructing a compost bin, making pesto, canning dilly beans ....  We will meet, rain or shine.  You may sign up for one or more or regular Wednesday work shifts.  There will also be additional times posted for other work and fun projects as the farm evolves. 

Please follow this BLOG site to watch our progress and find out all the ways you can get involved.