Why Urban Gardens?

Imagine the taste of a tomato fresh from the vine in a mixed green salad that was picked just a few minutes earlier or homemade salsa. Imagine not having to worry where the tomato was grown or what chemicals were used on it or whether the workers who picked it were paid fairly for their labor.

Not only will a garden provide you with healthy food to eat, but it will provide you with a more financially responsible lifestyle. 3 tomatoes from Kroger cost just under $4 and a seed packet that costs $1 will produce $1000 worth of tomatoes!

This is also about our communities. Gardens are more welcoming than lawns. People are afraid to cross lawns to talk with one another, but when someone is in a garden, you are almost compelled to talk with them. People will talk to you, but given the chance that upon harvest, you have too many tomatoes to handle, you will talk to neighbors or co-workers to try to unload some of your bounty. Gardens, no matter how you look at it, create conversations.

This applies directly to the church too. How much green grass do you have that isn’t being used? Every day people in our community struggle to afford food. Where are they going to get a healthy meal? The church can help. Build raised beds, and rent them or share them for free with the community. Have the youth care for a handful and sell the produce as a fund raiser for their trip or yearly activities. The possibilities of gardening and the church are endless. We are called to be caretakers of creation, and to care for the poor. This is an opportunity to do both with a space that is being cared for, but isn’t being fully utilized.

My company, Urban Harvest, will come to you. Evaluate your needs and develop a plan on what we can do to help you. We will build raised gardening beds, bring in the soil, and even teach you how to garden using the “Square Foot Gardening,” technique. It’s easy and should only take an hour a week to maintain an attractive, productive garden.