Returning to Our Roots

Dear friends of the Sharing Gardens, near and far, 

Well, winter Solstice has come and gone and the days are becoming imperceptibly longer as we inch back towards another growing season. Chris and a handful of other dedicated share-givers (volunteers) have been harvesting, sifting and bagging the worm-compost we 'grow' in our greenhouse paths. We've removed all of last year's plants from the greenhouse beds and gently dug in a combination of the worm-compost, coffee grounds and wood-ash so these they will be ready for 2022 plantings. 

As of January 7th, we've already begun to plant the first cold-tolerant seeds in the greenhouse beds: beets, carrots, green onions and spinach. This will be our third year that we grow food without the use of commercial soil amendments, animal by-products or manures. At a time when supply-chains are challenged and petroleum-based fertilizers and amendments that must be mined and shipped around the planet are becoming more scarce and expensive, we are grateful that we've found ways of generating soil-fertility from waste products and locally sourced materials. 

We've had an amazing windfall happen over the last month which is the main purpose of this post. Llyn's mom, Judy (left) has decided to make an annual gift to our charity which will adequately cover all the project's expenses as well as provide surplus for us to use on infrastructure upgrades and to help others in our community. With this generous donation and the financial security it brings we've decided we will no longer offer the CSA (What is a CSA?) and return to the roots of the project.

Sun-Ship greenhouse - 2021

For the first nine years of the Sharing Gardens all our expenses were covered through grants, gifts, and our own savings. We created the CSA four years ago when our financial resources were beginning to thin out. We saw it as a way we could use the infrastructure we'd already built to cover expenses, but it always felt like it was a compromise from our original intent to "give without thought of receiving" and trust that we would be provided for. 

So, in 2022 we will return to the original form for the Sharing Gardens and simply grow food to share with those who volunteer or contribute in some way. The sizable surplus will be donated to food charities in our area. 

If you live near us and you'd like to get your hands in the dirt, you're welcome to come help in the gardens and take home some of the day's harvest as our way of saying "thanks". (Volunteering at the Sharing Gardens). 

Help in the garden, share in the harvest!

 We wish you good health and inspiration and a sense of fulfilling purpose in the year to come. Thank you for all the ways you help make this world a kinder place for all.

Warmly, Llyn and Chris