Hello everyone! My name is Kristina Ralston, and I am the volunteer coordinator for the Giving Garden this summer! My family and I (husband, Andrew, two children, Sylvia (12) and Gavin (10), and our cockapoo, Finnley) live near Mendota Heights, and are happy to be attending church again at Gloria Dei. I look forward to being a part of the gardening community at Gloria Dei and to contributing back to our community in this important (and delicious!) way. Truth be told, I am more of an aspirational gardener than actually having a green thumb to speak of, so I welcome any tips, tricks and tactics you have to encourage the growth of tasty – and not too droopy! – vegetables in our garden beds (I signed up to plant one myself). Thanks in advance to all of the volunteers who have offered their time, energy and resources in making this horticultural experiment a success – we so appreciate all of you!
Spots are still available for our Giving Garden and we would love your help with planting, weeding and harvesting vegetables this summer. Our custodian, Clayton, will do all the watering for you (thank you, Clayton!). We donate all produce throughout the summer to the Francis Basket Food Shelf in Saint Paul. They are looking for tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce/greens and fresh herbs as their primary/desired items. And, don’t be afraid to try a new veggie and/or throw a few pollinator plants into your garden for the bees!
Sign up online and give gardening a try this summer! We promise it’ll be easy, fun, and a unique and impactful way to give back to our community, as we donate all produce through the summer to the Francis Basket Food Shelf in Saint Paul. If you have questions before you sign up, please email Kristina.
