Let's Plant a Row for the Hungry with #WinterSown Seeds! #plantarowforthehungry

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"Anyone who thinks gardening begins in the spring and ends in the fall is missing the best part of the whole year; for gardening begins in January with the dream."

 -Josephine Nuese 

We  made it to the Twelve Days of Christmas!  I do enjoy the season of Advent but also find it quite stressful with all the activity and preparations - but now, the days between Christmas Day to the Epiphany are my most cherished of all when we come to recognize the newborn Christ as King.  I'm sending prayers for everyone who visits this blog for continued blessings throughout the rest of the Season.  Thank you for stopping by today!  

On Christmas Eve, I received my packets from WinterSown.org from the request I made to grow produce for our local food bank.  I received several seeds packs to get planted by the #Wintersown method over the next few weeks.  

The pack also included some flower seeds which will be appreciated too!  I'm sure that packets vary but here is what was in the one I received:  

Basil, Beets, Broccoli Raab, Cabbage, Carrots, Celery, 

Chamomile, Chervil, Cilantro,  

Cucumber, Green Beans, Lettuce, 

Lima Beans, Onions, Parsley, Hot Peppers, Sweet Peppers,

Pumpkin, 

Radish, Sage, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Thyme, 

Tomatoes, Watermelon,

and Zucchini 

I'm quite pleased with the variety I received and doubly pleased that many of the seeds are from donations that other gardeners wanted to share.  I am trying to stay with open-pollinated varieties and heirlooms when I can.  There is so much value in the plants that are able to adapt and pass those traits onto their offspring without the interference of large companies manipulating the product.   I'll be letting a plant of two of each variety go to see so I can donate seeds back to Wintersown to keep this great program going.   

My garden plan for 2015 is to provide for my family and friends, of cours.  I am also going to follow the Plant a Row For the Hungry Program so I can provide fresh vegetables to our local food pantry.  The Plant a Row for the Hungry Program asks gardeners to plant just a little extra with the intention of donating the produce to a food bank, food pantry or soup kitchen in your local area. 

The program was started in Alaska by Jeff Lowenfels who asked readers of his garden column to plant a row of vegetables for a soup kitchen in Anchorage.  The program was wildly successful and the spread nationwide.  

In the first five years of the campaign, one million pounds of produce was donated.  Within two more years, it was another million donated.  To date, it is estimated that over twenty million pounds of produce has been provided by gardeners in America to help feed the hungry.  With each pound of produce providing up to four servings, 80 million meals have had the benefit of fresh vegetables added to provide nutrition to our most vulnerable populations.    

Some food banks have suggestion lists for plantings but, of course, will gladly take what a gardener wishes to donate.  The suggestions include:  

Spinach, Kale, Cucumbers, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Carrots, Peas, Green Beans, Tomatoes, Sweet Peppers, Eggplant, Summer Squash, Winter Squash, Zucchini, Beets and Garlic

I'm so looking forward to the garden season to come and I hope you are too.  Let me know if you decide to #PlantARowForTheHungry, I would love to hear about it!  

Tomorrow is Skills Saturday over here at Estle Schipp Farm and the topic is Staying Warm Without Electricity.  We all should have a plan just in case the weather turns bad and power lines get compromised.  I hope to see you then....

Peace be with you, 

Star Schipp 

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