thinking of starting my own ministry...

[wesw]

I have been thinking of expanding the "garden of eatin" , next year.

the plan is to grow as many veg as I can, to load them on my old truck, and to drive to the poorest neighborhoods and to give the veg away

(small donations of weed may be accepted if the drug dealers like my produce)

the expense will be minimal, as seeds are cheap. mostly they will be free after the first year, as I save them myself.
getting enough ground tilled will be the hardest part, as I am not too fit anymore. if I do do this I am sure that the lord will provide a way to accomplish the tilling.

any legal ramifications to this, lawyers? (not that I am too bothered about the legality, just curious)

this will be a MD , DE affair, if I can do it.

[oldr_n_wsr]

any legal ramifications to this, lawyers?

Salmonella is not your friend.

[Scooter]

Good on you wes for doing this.

I don't know how much land you are talking about; my mother has a garden plot of about a tenth of an acre and a university student who runs a summer landscaping business comes to till it for her for the equivalent of about $75 U.S. I would think you could find some enterprising person who could do it for you (or you could make a job for one or more of the folks you will be growing the vegetables for).

[wesw]

I am a dirt and water gardener, oldr. no chemicals at all. my main fertilizers are deciduous leaves, which I turn into my soil every fall and which are free. no manure. I have a rain barrel system which can be easily and cheaply expanded.

scooter, I have done nothing yet except give away our excess veg. it is a shoestring operation and I get great satisfaction from not incurring expense. I will be employing no one. pretty sure that I can rope some kind soul into driving their tractor to town and tilling for free in a good cause tho.

75 bucks would not get a fraction of 1/10 acre tilled around here....

I don t do anything at all to earn money, as I am afraid of losing my SS/disability , and I am unsuited to deal with the red tape involved with doing it by the books. I have great guilt because I receive any benefit at all, but since I am unable to provide without it, I have humbled my pride (or had it humbled for me) and accepted my lot. we don t apply for or receive any other benefits for which we might qualify.
I did pay in for thirty years so I guess I m not a complete leech on society.

either way, I just want to make jesus smile, Lord knows that I ve made him cry often enough...

thanks for the encouragement.
Wes

[kristina]

wes,

Good for you! Is there a food pantry in the area who might want the food? You might be able to arrange for them to pick up, if getting the stuff to them is a problem. Here's a link to an organization in my town that (among other things) collects excess from local farms and backyards. http://www.petalumabounty.org/programs/bounty-hunters/

Another thought...if there is a branch of FFA (Future Farmers of America) or the 4H nearby, they might be able to direct you to a teenager who'd be willing to help with some of the projects involved.

[wesw]

thanks Kristina.

our church is only blocks away and they have a Christian kitchen food give away every Saturday, so getting the food out won t be a prob.

my idea is to go into the "straight up hood" tho. to the really poor drug neighborhoods and to the really trashy trailer parks

some of the folks who go to the regular give aways may, or may not be truly destitute or have access to fresh clean veg., they may just be smart shoppers.....

the church has that pretty much covered.

the youth group at the church (which my daughter recently joined) may be useful tho....

[Guinevere]

any legal ramifications to this, lawyers? (not that I am too bothered about the legality, just curious)

this will be a MD , DE affair, if I can do it.

I'm gullible *and* condescending. Why would you ask for my advice??


Oh and seriously delusional, too....

[wesw]

I still like you.

it would bother me greatly if you tried to seize my gun and I had to shoot you.

....and that was econo...., tho I must admit that I agree with him.

anyone who would believe a word that comes out of Hillary s mouth is obviously delusional..., or stupid, and you are not stupid.

I was wrong tho..., I thought that you would be too smart to take the bait.

...now I see why people get annoyed when I mix threads....

I really should take you off ignore. I overlook too many of your posts when you are on ignore....

[oldr_n_wsr]

my main fertilizers are deciduous leaves, which I turn into my soil every fall and which are free.

AKA a compost pile. Manure works but care needs to be taken to let it cook into the compost pile.
I usually have 5 one yard compost piles at various stages of "cooking" going all the time but this year I have been slacking. I usually collect the leaves in the fall then collect the grass clippings during the summer and mix them all together. I mulched the lawn this year so only chopped up leaves were in the piles. I didn't even put in the veggie food scraps this year. 5 yards decayed into only one yard of dirt. Gotta sift the dirt and put into the "finished" bin for use next spring.
Good luck with your project. Check with the local Boy or Girl Scouts for help. I think there is a badge to earn for this kind of work.

[wesw]

thanks older.

I mixed a lot of grass clippings in too. I use them for weed control as the crops grow. a white mold tends to form beneath them tho, and it will ruin pepper plants if you mulch to close to them. (I ruined all my sweet peppers last year)

as far as the leaves, I just run my mower over them as they accumulate in the fall and dump the shredded leaves into the empty garden, then I till them into the first few inches of soil. I let that digest over the winter and work the soil again in the spring, bed by bed, as I plant.

I add clean wood ash from my firepit as well, I may put down some lime this winter....

watermelon rinds and other veg is added thru out the year as well.

[Joe Guy]

I have a chipper/shredder and it is one of the best investments I've ever made. My compost heap thanks me every time it hears me start the engine.

And it's American made....

[wesw]

I just felt a thrill run up my leg....

GROG LIKE CHOP CHOP!

[Joe Guy]

One time (and only once) my former neighbor complained about the shredder's noise...

[wesw]

yeah, I prefer to avoid loud noise myself these days. big tools still get me excited tho... (insert joke here) (insert second joke here) (darn this is a viscious cycle of setting myself up) (hee hee, I mis spelled vicious and set up yet another joke!) (I m HILARIOUS!!!)

[Lord Jim]

I have a chipper/shredder and it is one of the best investments I've ever made.

Hmmm...

That explains all those stories in The Chronicle over the past few years about 'suspicious" disappearances in San Mateo County....

[oldr_n_wsr]

Nothing like the sound of gasoline powered power tools in the morning.
Sound of Victory......









Gardens.

[RayThom]

Damn! No wonder mine gets clogged so often.

[wesw]

ear trumpets are under utilized in today s society.

who wants an uncomfortable hearing aide stuck in their ear canal when they could just use an ear trumpet as needed?

kids these days.....

[oldr_n_wsr]

And lets not forget about ear hair. Lose hair on your head, gain it in the ear.
Isn't growing old great?

[Joe Guy]

That reminds me of a friend of my brother who had a mustache that very clearly included several extended nose hairs.

carry on...