Working on the Garden

So we were breaking ground for the garden behind the school. Just getting to that point was something. We couldn’t find a tractor, plow, or rotavator in the same place. I could see that was not going to happen. I was about ready to break down and do it with a hand tiller. Possible, but back-breaking. I’ve double-dug small gardens, but there was no way that was going to happen here.

Then Pablo Bailey calls Bobcat and they’ll cut us a deal on a bobcat with a tiller attachment. I was pumped, because there’s hardly anything as fun as driving a bobcat. But that fell thru, because the person who had it before we were slated to get it broke it. As a fall back, they gave us a Dingo, a small tractor. That was pretty fun, too. Dustin Crowe rode it for us, and really got a tough job done.

Dulaney Wood reminded me that I was talking about big gardens to get fresh food to people years ago. Maybe it’s the only consistent thing in my life! Most of it is genetic, I guess—family from the Salinas Valley, the breadbasket you don’t know about and can’t do without!

I am making friends with a Greek guy in the neighborhood, a fellow who when I first visited him told me there is no God, etc etc. We went round and round. He’s the fellow who warmed after we helped Big Doug’s family. He invited me into his house a second time while I was waiting for the tiller. He was showing me how he was fixing it up slowly but surely. Good stuff, long way to go. His wife is a Christian, from India. Their little boy, Akhilles, is such a sweet boy. Forti, the Greek guy, asked me what we were doing across the street.

“Putting in a garden,” I said.

“But that’s madness,” he said, “the school will be building there soon.”

“Yeah, next year, but for now, we’ll use it.” I realized he thought I meant something like a flower garden. When I told him it was for vegetables, he said, “Why?”

As we got into the why of this (there’s not very good access to fresh vegetables in the community) Forti said that cucumbers at Kroger are $1.15, 2 lbs of tomatoes $5, etc etc, so no wonder people eat junk when it’s cheap and right around the corner. His mind and maybe his heart, or his heart and maybe his mind are changing.

Then, while we were breaking the ground up, another fellow walked up to me and asked if the School District was starting to build. I said no, I’m the pastor, this is a garden, etc. We had a good conversation about building up the neighborhood. He’s a young fellow, late 20s, grew up in the house he lives in now, is putting money into remodeling it, one of the guys who is making this a better place to live. He was pretty pumped about something pretty growing on 5 vacant lots.

Before we even put a seed in the ground…