The 2005 Left Field Garden Project ... a series about a fruitful endeavor

The Big Dig - May 27th

There were a number of “firsts” this past Wednesday at the 5th Annual “Big Dig”. For starters, it was the first time the gardeners were welcomed back with a snow shower - followed by a rain shower and then by sunshine. Secondly, the sheep manure, provided by Farmer Rick arrived in neatly packaged feed bags (How does he get the sheep to cooperate like that?). We also thought this was the first year we turned up earth worms in the garden, but a peek back at the 2003 notes indicated that this wasn’t the case.

The spring ritual brought out 10 enthusiastic gardeners, in spite of the cool, wet weather, who couldn’t wait to get their hands dirty again. The motto of the garden, which is also known as “The Left Field”, is "to teach and inspire". Its intent is to create a green space for the parishioners and the neighborhood to enjoy. It is also a social gathering place to come together and learn about gardening and to share the produce with parishioners and the neighborhood.

Jim and Patty Schoeller have agreed to coordinate the garden efforts this year. They will send out periodic emails about garden activities. It’s a loosely organized group and new ideas about how the garden can be enjoyed are always welcome. In past years, the group has organized several events, such as coffee and cookies at the garden after Mass, a farmer’s market in the fall, as well as visits to other gardens including the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

This past week, on May 4th, we planted cold weather crops, which included lettuce, spinach, beets, snow peas. The garden will be divided up into sections for flowers, herbs, and vegetables.

If you would like to be put on the garden email list, please send a note to Jim & Patty Schoeller at pattyschoeller@comcast.net.