How our garden grows
A team of Messiah College students and staff dedicate countless hours to the College’s quarter-acre, community organic garden located in the heart of campus. Produce harvested from the garden is sold to shareholders in a community-supported agriculture model. These photos demonstrate how a barren patch of land can become a bountiful garden through the hard work and commitment of a few dedicated gardeners.
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Community Garden student volunteer Rita Testa talks about the garden’s growing season after a hot, dry summer.
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| May 21: The land had been prepped and many of the seedlings had been planted, but the garden was a relatively barren landscape with little visible growth. | May 28: Markers tell what is planted in each row. |
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| May 28: Strawberries, one of the season’s first crops, begin to show color. | June 3: This turtle is a permanent resident of the biology department and usually spends his days in the College’s greenhouse. Occasionally he roams the garden. |
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| June 11: What a difference a few weeks make! The garden is looking greener and a bountiful harvest seems more promising! | June 18: Blossoms are a common sight! |
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| June 25: Plants are healthy and thriving. | July 8: The summer is hot and dry, and student volunteers make efforts to water in the early morning and evening hours. |
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| July 15: Hard to believe that this was just a barren plot of land a little less than two months ago. | July 30: Ripening melons and squash demonstrate that the student volunteers’ hard work is paying off. |
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| August 10: Blossoming sunflowers are a sure sign that summer is winding down. | August 10: Cherry tomatoes aplenty! |
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| August 19: Students sort a week’s harvest. The campus’ dining services operation gets the largest share. | August 19: A few newly planted peach trees brim with fruit. |
Photographs by Kelsy Myers `11
Video by Scott Markley `12
