Dishing the Dirt: April 2025 Newsletter

Hello my friends!

How is it the end of April already??? And what an April it has been! There have been days this month that we have worn heavy coats, hats, and gloves while working in the garden as well as days that we’ve been sweating in our short sleeves. It has been such a beautiful month! The flowers are blooming, the leaves on the trees are popping out, and the birds have been busy building their nests, sometimes in rather unexpected locations!

April has seen us very busy in the garden. Thanks to a very generous donation from Bonnie Plants, we planted cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower early this month, and have now begun to plant some of the warmer weather crops including tomatoes and peppers. It’s a little early (fingers crossed that we don’t get any more frosts) but we were gifted SO MANY PLANTS! It is a nice problem to have. Thank you to our volunteers who have helped get everything in the ground! We have also planted potatoes, carrots, beets, snow peas, onions, lettuce, spinach, and kale. Cucumbers and squash coming soon! These are the foods that the food pantries told us people want, so that is what we want to grow!

We also received a generous donation this month from The Hedgelawn Foundation which will fund the purchase of a push mower for the garden. It may sound funny that we “mow the garden”. What we actually do is use the mower to help us rotate our crops. When one row of plants is done producing, we mow it down and turn it under. All that plant material will decompose, feed the soil, and encourage a healthy worm population. Then we will replant a new row of plants, and continue producing food. It is a wonderful cycle that will help our garden feed our community.

Also happening this month, we received a very “egg-citing” package in the mail. That’s right! We have welcomed baby chicks and ducklings to Sandy’s Garden!! By late Fall, they will begin to lay eggs which we will donate to the food pantries in addition to the produce grown in the garden. But right now, they are sweet little balls of fluff. We decided to share the joy by holding a meet & greet at the Chestertown Farmer’s Market. People of all ages came by to meet and hold and snuggle with these precious little creatures. It was a wonderful day for everyone involved. In the few weeks since they have arrived, the chicks and ducklings have more than doubled in size! It’s really quite remarkable.

Speaking of remarkable, the seeds which were planted in the greenhouse have grown like crazy! In this month of April, we have been able to donate 107 pounds of lettuce, spinach, kale, and green onions to the food pantries in Butlertown, Chestertown, and Rock Hall! It truly amazes me how one tiny little seed can grow into a large plant that can feed a person. It is a good reminder for me when I start to get overwhelmed by the problems in the world. It may seem that the problems are so big and what we can do to help is so small. But then I think of that small handful of seeds that has grown into 107 pounds of food- food that has filled hungry bellies, given energy to do a day’s work, and hopefully given someone the reminder that there are people out there that care. And that’s big.

On that note, I will close. May is right around the corner- our bees will be arriving, the plants will be growing, more food will be donated, more joy will be experienced…and shared. May we all remember that no matter how small it may seem, we can be a source of joy to those we meet. Thank you for sharing your joy with us.

Joyfully,

Sandy Zappia

Executive Director