Feeding the Body

Look at the beautiful worm we found on Sunday! This picture does not do justice to it's length and shininess. We are fortunate to have soil that is full of these little (and big) guys, but what a strange picture to start this harvest-oriented post with! Or maybe not...

This past Friday, we harvested our first 'crop' of the season. If you ever come work in the garden during the week, it is likely that you will meet a handful of passersby and neighbors who come to ask questions, give feedback, and look at the progress (and beauty) of our garden.

On this particular day a man approached Elizabeth F and I as we were preparing the zucchini bed and asked us, "Do you have any worms?" To which one of us said something along the lines of, "Oh, yes. Lots!" And then we didn't quite know what to say next. I figured he was a slightly awkward garden-lover wanting to make conversation.

Within a short time, however, it came out that this man actually loves a worm-loving pet turtle! He carries around a small jar to collect treats for his beloved pet (much to the horror of his wife who hates worm, but it seems like they've figured out ways to work around this). So of course we went scouring around for some nice plump worms and came up with a small harvest for him to bring home. (It turns out it is very difficult to find worms when you're looking for them. They're sneaky creatures.) So, in the loose sense of the term, the garden has had it's first 'harvest' of the season!

I am really, really, really excited to let you know that this coming Sunday we will have our second harvest! The lettuce, arugula, parsley, and radishes are getting pretty big, and this Sunday at coffee hour look for a simple, super fresh first  First Church Garden salad. It'll look something like this one from my own garden, but LOTS bigger:

I hope to see you there!