Let’s be honest, we’ve all got something. Something we want to change, shift, make different in our lives. By this time in a regular year, we would be finding out if New Year resolutions are sticking and if we can make the changes we were hoping to. But this is no normal year. We are coming off the end of a year that was unlike any we have experienced before. A year with extra stress, challenges and maybe even some opportunities.
Have you ever known someone who could kill a plant just by looking at it? Or have you ever heard of a person who knows nothing about growing food starting a vegetable garden that produces over two tons of produce per season? I know a person like that. That person is me.
lthough I had no gardening knowledge, I did have great appreciation for the ruler-straight rows of corn, tobacco and soybeans in the beautifully cultivated croplands of Fuquay-Varina and surrounding areas. I had that, and also a deep compassion for the plight of homeless people. I never expected these two passions would come together.
In 2013, I worked in an area of Raleigh that had a large number of homeless people. I often spent my lunch hours sitting in the car eating and sadly observed these people in need. Being a poet, I journaled what I was seeing, and my concern for the plight of the homeless grew. I began to research homelessness and discovered a PIT (point in time) count of the homeless in Wake County on January 1, 2013, was 974 people (likely a low number). Based on my observations and research I was moved to write a book of poetry entitled Sleeping Rough. All of the proceeds from this book are used to help feed the needy. But I wanted to do more to help them.
The more came when a friend and I noticed an amazing garden tucked behind a church in North Raleigh. Rows of vegetables were neatly sown over a quarter of an acre. Following our curiosity, we visited the garden and discovered that it was a community garden run by the church. I was inspired and knew then what I needed to do—start a garden in our community, a garden that would donate all of its produce to the homeless and to those in need of food.
Almost immediately, confirmation came from every direction. Sermons with messages like: “Step up and do the things God has called you to do.” Even the Sunday bulletin had a confirming scripture: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go I am sending you. . .” I knew for sure I was the one being sent.
I met with our pastor, Steve Gordon, about starting a garden at our church. He was excited about the idea, noting that the founding of Piney Grove Baptist Church had its roots in gardening. He related how our church founders used the proceeds from a garden to finance the original church building 200 years ago.
With the pastor’s blessing, I assembled a small group of dedicated people who also caught the vision. Among them was Bobby Stephenson, a retired farmer with 45 years’ experience behind him. He would become our garden manager who would guide us through everything we needed to know about growing crops, along with a big helping of old farmer stories and priceless wisdom.
We started laying the groundwork for the beginning of what would be called “The Garden of Eaten,” sending out questionnaires to several community gardens, gathering information, and visiting gardens in our area.
At the end of all our research and committee presentations, we were given a tract of land at Piney Grove Baptist Church measuring approximately a quarter of an acre on which to build The Garden of Eaten. Garden funding came from a variety of sources including church members, businesses and individuals who shared the vision. Proceeds from Sleeping Rough were donated to the garden; but more importantly, the poetry raised awareness of the plight of homelessness. People related how they identified with certain poems in the book either through personal experience or witnessing someone in the situation a particular poem depicts.
Planning, building and planting the Garden of Eaten took many talented people, and everyone involved used their unique skills and knowledge to bring the garden together. Garden design, water sourcing, fencing, construction, operating plans—all of these considerations and many more had to be worked out. But with everyone working diligently together, the garden was built and began growing food in in 2014.
The garden consists of sixteen internal raised beds surrounded by continuous beds that line the perimeter of the garden. In the center of the garden is an octagon-shaped pollinator garden surrounded with seating. The garden is enclosed by 7-foot-high deer fencing.
While the Garden of Eaten is a beautiful place, it is not just another pretty garden. It is hard-worked and extremely prolific. Most vegetables found in the produce section of a grocery store have been grown in the garden. Since its beginning, most years it has produced up to 2 tons of food per growing season, some seasons exceeding 2 ½ tons. One hundred percent of the food has either been donated to local organizations who distribute or use the food to feed those in need or has been given directly to individuals and families in our community needing food. Recently, during COVID-relief food distribution at Piney Grove Baptist Church, The Garden of Eaten provided the fresh produce. In addition, the garden provides for any needs brought to attention.
The garden has had many challenges over the years. Last season it was under siege by a sizable nutria with a voracious appetite for squash and tomatoes who kept breaching the fence by chewing holes in it. Despite rodent fencing, each year we find a nest of newborn rabbits tucked away in our carrot bed or hidden in the cabbage patch. Birds swoop down and scoop bites out of melons. Potato bugs devour potato plants. In addition to animal challenges, water systems clog up and pumps break down. But with the collective skills and persistence of our workers, all of these challenges are met and overcome.
If you pass by the garden any Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m., you will see diligent laborers already in the field. When the plants start producing in abundance, there is also a mid-week harvest. The garden is worked by people of all ages from the community and beyond. Many families have come out together. Kids are never too young to learn the lessons a garden could teach—where food comes from, and that it is a good thing to help others who are in need. One gentleman who came out was unable to work, but he sat in the garden and prayed for each bed of growing vegetables.
Anyone is welcome to come out to this beautiful, peaceful and productive garden to work each Saturday morning beginning at 8:30 am. There is always something that needs attention, and always something new to learn in the Garden of Eaten.
