Scarborough Community Garden
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A Song for Tomatoes

7/31/2021

 
For the third summer in a row, Blue Point Church is growing tomatoes for the Scarborough Food Pantry.   A project originally funded by Project G.R.A.C.E., our church Mission Committee will be pleased, once again, to deliver fresh tomatoes for our neighbors experiencing food insecurity.  You’re invited to stop by and talk nicely or sing sweetly to help them grow!

For the beauty of the earth, for the splendor of the skies,

For the love which from our birth over and around us lies,

Lord of all, to you we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise.

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Garden Harvest Totals: 2018

11/1/2018

 
St Nicholas Community Garden Growing Season
12th June 2018 to 25th September 2018  (shorter by 6 weeks than 2018 season which ran 5/21/17 to 10/10/17)

406 Pounds  (7% more than last season)

Biggest Crops by Pounds
25%   103 lbs      TOMATOES
13%  54 lbs         LETTUCE, CHARD, KALE, GREENS
13 %  51 lbs        BEANS
13%  51 lbs         CUCUMBERS
4%     15 lbs        EGGPLANTS

Other crops included: beets, radishes, carrots, peppers, herbs and a variety of greens.

Harvest Totals - May & June 2017

6/29/2017

 
JUNE TOTAL: 48 pounds
WEEK FIVE (June 27 & 29)
12.9 lbs - red and green lettuce
1.75 lbs - spinach
1.4 lbs - Swiss chard
2.32 lbs - kale
1.5+ lbs - chives
1.5+ lbs - parsley
8 oz - garlic scapes
4.2 lbs - beets
0.5 lbs - radishes

27 1/2 pounds
WEEK FOUR (June 20 & 21)
6 lbs - lettuce, kale, spinach, bok choy, herbs
1.5 lbs spinach
2 lbs green lettuce
1/2 lb parsley, chives, thyme

10 pounds
WEEK THREE (June 13 & 15)
2 lbs - bok choy
3.6 lbs - red & green lettuce
3 lbs - spinach
2 lbs - kale and Swiss chard

10 1/2 pounds
MAY TOTAL: 4.5 pounds
WEEKS ONE & TWO (May 21 & 29)
2.0 lbs - Chives
2.5 lbs - Chives

4 1/2 pounds

Harvest Total (2016 Season)

10/28/2016

 

482 1/2 pounds
October 2016 - 22 pounds
September 2016 - 121 pounds
August 2016 - 113 pounds
July 2016 -- 101 pounds
May & June 2016 -- 125 1/2 pounds
Where is all that food going?

To our neighbors at the Scarborough Food Pantry!
Recently Overheard at the Pantry:
"I haven't had these in such a long time, they are so expensive." (talking about just-picked fresh green beans)

"Wow, that all looks really nice. It's great for someone like me - I'm a vegetarian." 

"Thank you, gardeners, you keep on growing. It's wonderful what you are doing. I'm diabetic, and I'm trying to eat right."

"The kids really love these." (talking about cucumbers)

"Having a recipe is really helpful. I haven't tried that before." (talking about kale)

"This must be really fresh; it still has some dirt on it!" (talking about beets just pulled from the garden)

August & September Harvest Totals

8/2/2016

 
SEPTEMBER TOTAL: 121 pounds
AUGUST TOTAL: 113 1/4 pounds
WEEK EIGHTEEN: September 20 & 22
41 lbs tomatoes
8 lbs carrots
9 lbs kale, sw chard, mustard greens
5 lbs zucchini, squash, cukes, eggplant
3 lbs green and yellow beans
3 lbs sweet and hot peppers
1 lb herbs

70 pounds
WEEK SEVENTEEN: September 15
16 lbs tomatoes
4 lbs beans
9 lbs cukes, squash, eggplant
3 lbs carrots
2 lbs peppers
3 lbs kale and chard
1 lb herbs

38 pounds
WEEK SIXTEEN: September 6 & 8, 2016
11 lbs kale and chard and herbs
2 lbs mixed vegetables

13 pounds
WEEK  FIFTEEN: August 30 & September 1, 2016
20 1/2  lbs mixed vegetables and herbs
8 lbs tomatoes

28 pounds
WEEK FOURTEEN: August 25, 2016
17 lbs mixed vegetables
2 1/2 lbs kale and sw chard
1 1/4 lbs herbs

20 3/4 pounds
WEEK THIRTEEN: August 16 & 18, 2016
2 1/2 lbs kale
1 1/2 lbs sw chard
1 lb lettuce
7 lbs mixed vegetables
1/2 lb herbs

12 1/2 pounds
WEEK TWELVE: August 9 & 11, 2016
3 1/2 lbs beans
9 lbs kale
9 lbs sw chard
6 1/2 lbs eggplant, squash, cukes, peppers
1/2 lb basil

28 1/2 pounds
WEEK ELEVEN: August 2, 2016
8 lbs yellow and green beans
4.5 lbs garlic
4.5 lbs mixed vegetables (cukes, peppers, beets)
2.5 lbs kale
2 lbs chard
2 lbs basil

23 1/2 pounds
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July Harvest Totals

7/28/2016

 
JULY TOTAL: 101 POUNDS
WEEK TEN  July 26 & 28, 2016
5 1/2 lbs green and yellow beans
5 1/2 lbs cucumbers
10 lbs zucchini
8 lbs chard
7 lbs beets
4 lbs lettuce
7 lbs kale
2 lb peppers (sweet and hot)
1 lb mixed herbs (basil, thyme, cilantro)

50 pounds
WEEK NINE: July 19 & 21, 2016
5 lbs kale
2 lbs beans
2 1/2 lbs chard
6 lbs mixed veggies (zucchini, squash, cukes, peppers)
5 1/2 lbs beets
2 lbs lettuce
1 1/2 lbs mixed herbs (a lot of basil) and garlic scapes

24 pounds
WEEK EIGHT: July 14, 2016
2 lbs Swiss chard
2 lbs kale
3 1/2 lbs mixed vegetables (beans, peas, peppers, zucchini, cucumbers)
4 1/2 lbs beets (!)

13 pounds
WEEK SEVEN: July 7, 2016
7 lbs kale
4 lbs Swiss chard
2 lbs assorted vegetables (zucchini, peas)
Mixed herbs

14 pounds
Counting the pounds at each harvest is fun, but we'd rather pick the squashes and zucchinis when they are small - they just taste better that way.

The Garden is Growing for Maine Harvest for Hunger

7/1/2016

 
Maine Harvest for Hunger is a program of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension that encourages gardeners to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to hungry people in Maine. The Scarborough Community Garden weighs our harvests each week and reports the totals to Maine Harvest to Hunger. Did you know: Maine ranks 17th in the nation and 1st in New England in terms of  food insecurity (hunger). 24%, or nearly 1 in every 4 children, are food insecure.
To learn more about Harvest for Hunger, click here!
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We think Master Gardeners are awesome -- they helped us get our garden ready to plant last year, and this year awarded a seed grant to help us keep growing. Thank you!
Click here to learn more about hunger in Maine, in our communities, and why we grow for the Scarborough Food Pantry. There is a great link to PBS videos, including "Portraits of America's Hungry".

Harvest Totals (so far...)

6/30/2016

 
MAY & JUNE TOTAL:  125 1/2 pounds
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WEEK SIX:  JUNE 30 & 28, 2016
9 lbs kale
13 lbs Swiss chard
1 1/2 lbs beans, broccoli, cucumber
1 lb assorted herbs (basil, parsley, thyme, dill) and garlic scapes

24 1/2 pounds
WEEK FIVE: JUNE 21 & 23, 2016
6 lbs Bok Choy and Asian Greens
8 lbs kale
6 lbs Swiss chard
7 lbs romaine lettuce
1/2 lb broccoli
2 1/2 lbs mixed herbs and garlic scapes

30 pounds
WEEK FOUR: June 14, 2016
23 lbs assorted red and green lettuces
15 lbs Swiss chard
3 lbs kale
15 oz parsley, chives, basil

41 pounds
WEEK THREE: June 7, 2016
2 1/2 lbs Swiss chard
8 lbs romaine and red leaf lettuce
5 lbs spinach
assorted herbs

15 1/2 pounds
WEEK TWO: May 31, 2016
4 1/2 lbs spinach
2 lbs Swiss chard
3 lbs lettuce
20 oz parsley and chives

10 pounds
WEEK ONE: May 24 & 26, 2016
Spinach! 

5 pounds

Harvest Totals (2015 Season)

9/30/2015

 
June to September 2015 Harvest Total: 147 pounds
WEEK THIRTEEN: September 29, 2015
6 lbs beans
2 1/2 lbs kale and chard and lettuce
1 lb mixed veg: peppers, broccoli, cherry tomatoes
1 lb red and yellow beets
3 lbs carrots!!

17 pounds
WEEK TWELVE: September 22, 2015
tomatoes, cukes, peppers, greens, beans

15 pounds
WEEK ELEVEN: September 15, 2015
2 1/2 lbs beans
3 lbs greens, kale, chard
1 lb peppers and cukes
1 lb squash
1 lb herbs
8 lbs tomatoes

17 pounds

Read More

First Harvest!

6/16/2015

 
Our very first harvest was delivered this morning to the Scarborough Food Pantry!  A basket of kale and tub of red and green lettuce were picked and rinsed by garden volunteers. From plot to plate, about 30 minutes! Fresh!

The delivery included a recipe card for how to make a delicious kale salad.
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Choosing What to Plant

4/20/2015

 
We have a pretty good idea about what we want to plant...what we may be successful growing. But we also wanted to know what our neighbors would like us to grow. So we polled patrons of the Scarborough Food Pantry to tell us which veggies were their family's favorites, and which were often too expensive to buy. Many asked for tomatoes, beets, and green beans. Also lettuces and salad greens, herbs, and carrots. 
The Steering Committee is developing a plan for planting sequential, dense plantings and to focus on easy to grow and high yield vegetables and herbs for the first season. Crops that most closely fit the bill include: peas, lettuces, green and yellow beans, summer and fall squashes, tomatoes and peppers, spinach, Swiss chard, kale, spring onions, herbs (basil, thyme, parsley, cilantro, oregano, dill, etc.), as well as beets and carrots. 

Gardeners Feed Maine's Hungry

12/5/2014

 
The following summary from our friends at the Maine Cooperative Extension Service / Maine Master Gardeners shows how necessary and impactful our own gardening effort will be! The goal for our garden is an ambitious 800-1,000 pounds of fresh produce for our neighbors.
Maine Harvest for Hunger - 2014 Summary

Food insecurity in Maine continues to be a significant reality for many Mainers. According to the Feeding America, 206,000 Maine citizens or 15.5% of the population experienced some form of food insecurity in 2012; a 50% increase in the number of Mainers facing hunger since 2004.  What is striking is that thirty-six percent of food insecure Mainers do not qualify for food stamps or other government programs and therefore must rely on charity to have enough to eat.

Historically, diet quality was not an important component of food security. However, the obesity and chronic health issues currently plaguing the country has resulted in a national rethinking of the value of a calorie. Perhaps energy-dense yet nutrient poor calories shouldn't be the default offerings at food pantries and other emergency food outlets.  In response, Feeding America, the national umbrella organization for all food banks aims to increase its distribution of fresh fruits and vegetables from zero pounds twenty years ago to 1.5 billion pounds by 2016.

The Maine Harvest for Hunger program is making a significant contribution to this goal. Since its inception in 1999, over 1.8 million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables have been donated via our program to food pantries, soup kitchens and directly to people without access to fresh produce. 2014 was our most successful year yet - 240,937 pounds of fresh produce were donated to 104 organizations from York to Piscataquis involving 304 volunteers and thousands of hours of volunteer time. According to Feeding America, one meal is equal to 1.2 pounds of food, so, in 2014 Maine Harvest for Hunger single-handedly provided enough food for 200,438 meals. 

SOURCE:University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Maine Master Gardeners, Harvest for Hunger Project

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