Madison Avenue Community Garden at Story Church

A big thanks to Jason Kraft, Summer Sprout, Backyard Missions team, Next Steps Ministries, Captain Dan McNelly from Fire Station 23, Cahoon Nursery, and the Parrs.

Donations from each have moved the Madison Avenue Community Garden @ Story from a city lot with grass to a city lot with garden plots ready for planting.

Jason mowed the grass to be as short as possible, the Summer Sprout program tilled the grass, and the Next Steps Ministry Team raked the tilled area to be smooth and removed garbage and large rocks.

Then Next Steps, along with the Backyard Missions Team, drove sixty stakes into the ground to create 4x8 plots. To keep weeds out, cardboard secured with rocks covers the paths. Captain McNelly provided a lesson on how to open a fire hydrant to access water for the garden.

The Backyard Missions team, led by Roy McKinney, laid pipes, valves, and hoses for watering.

Cahoon Nursery donated plants and seeds for late summer planting and fall harvest, and the Parrs donated plants and fertilizer.

All this work created gardens that are now being planted, watered, and cared for by Story Church members and neighbors.

We are waiting for wood chips to be delivered to cover the cardboard paths and are continuing with plans for construction of benches, raised beds, and clearing additional areas to plant.

If you are interested in assisting in any way, please email Diab Dar-Issa, the garden leader, at garden@storychurchcle.org.

Questions? See Lorraine Riebel or Jennifer Schwelik!