Back to the Garden 2015

The May 'two-four' weekend is past. We had one evening with a frost warning and now it seems we are in full gardening weather!

This year marks the 6th year for our Shalom Teaching Garden, that not only teaches children and adults about growing food organically, it also creates a beautiful living backdrop for our summer services in the Garden. This summer we plan to have even more outdoor services to enjoy together.

Watch the Temple calendar to make sure you do not miss this special events!

We are now seeking donations for items needed to grow a wonderful garden this year:

Those Big Yellow Bags

You've seen them at your neighbour's house. Maybe you've had one delivered to your own home. In Hamilton, Ontario the Big Yellow Bag can be ordered with various types of soil and mulch and delivered right to your home...so easy and tidy!

Last week the Shalom Teaching Garden received its delivery of 2 big yellow bags of black garden soil and 2 big yellow bags of wood chip mulch. Receiving a delivery at Churchill Park was quite a spectacle and children at the nearby playground were amazed to see the truck unload the 4 bags!

Then came the hard work!

With the help of some able bodied teenagers the soil was shovelled into wheel barrows and distributed into the various beds in the teaching garden. The rich black soil is a wonderful addition to top of our beds and we even created a new garden bed! Our central star garden got a complete overhaul by digging up all the existing, overgrown plants and weeds and a filling with fresh soil, new plantings and a generous covering of mulch! How happy everything looks!

Now the long sunny days will nurture our plants and nudge them along their growth cycle. Our team of waterers will visit daily to make sure our plants are never thirsty.

Come by and visit our Shalom Teaching Garden, behind Temple Anshe Sholom at 215 Cline Ave North, Hamilton, Ontario.

Ask how you can help in the comments below!

2014 Shalom Garden Season

Thanks to our generous supporters the Shalom Garden is getting some special additions next week.
A top up of soil and compost, a new sign, upgrades to our star garden bed, a sunflower bed and more.
Another change in the garden this season is the plantings done by students of George R. Allan school and Kehila Jewish Community Day School. In the two raised beds the students have planted parsley, tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, eggplant, peas and beans. They built a deer fence to protect their young seedlings and every day they monitor the growth of their growing plants.

Our Shalom Garden makes a beautiful setting for outdoor services over the summer. Join Temple Anshe Sholom for Kabbalat Shabbat Garden Services on Friday, July 25th and Friday, August 22nd. Bring a dairy/vegetarian dish to share and enjoy Shabbat Dinner outdoors in Churchill Park after the service.

Four Years of Learning to Love the Earth

Our teaching garden is waking up and we are hoping for another wonderful season of vegetable and herbs, learning and discovery.
We cannot embark on our fourth year of growing without the support of people like you!
This year the STG needs:

1. Four cubic yards of growing soil ($129 each)


2. Twenty-four bags of composted manure ($240 total)


3. Seedlings (basils, squash, beans, peas, carrots, tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, assorted herbs and more)
 (any amount)

4. Lumber to create two large raised beds ($200 total)

5. A new Shovel, Steel Rake and Hoe  ($150)

6. Contributions towards a Permanent Labyrinth (any amount)

If you can help with any of our garden wish list items this season, the Temple Office can issue you a tax receipt for your donation. We will acknowledge your gift formally in the summer issue of the Temple Bulletin. You can also honour a loved one through your donation to the Shalom Teaching Garden.

To volunteer for summer watering and weeding please email pbaruch@anshesholom.ca
Thank you for contributing to growth, learning and food to share. Our young people benefit tremendously from learning about where food comes from and how it grows!

Services in the Garden

 One of our favourite services of the year is Kabbalat Shabbat in the Shalom Teaching Garden. We schedule two of these services over the summer. Our first one, in July, was rained out so we gathering in a large circle in the Frank Auditorium for what proved to be a very memorable and meaningful service. On August 24, the weather cooperated and we congregated beside our garden in the lovely Churchill Park behind the Temple and enjoyed the warmth, the sunset and the Kavanah of praying outdoors with our Temple family.                                                

Many friends came out to enjoy this service and sing along with Jonny on guitar and Paula leading the prayers. Rabbi Jordan told a beautiful story and we all enjoyed a potluck dinner, picnic style as the sun set on this glorious Shabbat evening.

Here's to many more services in the Shalom Teaching Garden!

Garden Visitor

Our Shalom Garden waterers snapped this visitor to the garden. You never know what critters will show up at the garden! This is a Spicebush Swallowtail...nice find!

The SHALOM in our Garden Project

Most people know the word 'Shalom'. It is typically translated as 'hello', 'good-bye' and 'peace'. It's arabic equivalent is pronounced 'Salaam' and has the same typical translations.

When we founded the Shalom Teaching Garden in Churchill Park two summers ago we were a small group of educators and community leaders who wanted to make better use of a scrubby corner of the park that nestled up against the back perimeter fence of Temple Anshe Sholom. Yes, Sholom is the germanic spelling of that same word.

Members of Temple Anshe Sholom were keen to enter into the environmental movement with a hands on project where we could, literally, get our hands dirty alongside of our young people. The Kehila Jewish Community Day School, that rents our building and fills it with exciting learning and exuberant young people during the school year, was also keen to enjoy this project. We approached George R. Allan School right next door for more interest and volunteers. Over the summers we have been growing in the park, neighbours have come to visit and ask questions. Park recreational 'suppies' have brought children over to watch and help with planting. All of our visitors have enjoyed the lawn labyrinth we mowed in our space.

It would not have happened without the help and support of Brian McHattie who connected us with the correct city departments, helped us through signing a lease with the city and RBG who steward the park land we work on. The work continues this season. We have plans for a three sister's garden, an herb spiral, star garden of sages, and of course our signature strawbale veggie garden.

We'd love your help. Aside from the typical translations of the word 'SHALOM', the root of this semitic word is WHOLENESS. If you love gardens and gardening and want to support garden education please get in touch. Our team won't have wholeness without you and we welcome your participation!
shalomteachinggarden@gmail.com

Garden Friends

The Eyed Elater is a wonderful garden friend recently seen at the
Shalom Teaching Garden. The 'click bug' has false eyes to confuse predators and the ability to flex the elongated shield on its back in such a way that it produces a loud click and creates a force that propells the bug several inches away from the spot it was sitting.
These facts would make the Eyed Elator an entertaining friend, but the click bug is a great help in the garden because it eats large amounts of aphids and larvae that would munch away our garden plants. We were very happy to see that the click bug has made the Shalom Teaching Garden it's home!

Planting Chickpeas @ STG

Garden Hero

One of the joys of a teaching garden is the impact it has on young people. Many of the lessons in the garden are planned, but just as many happen in surprising and unexpected ways.

This past weekend our Shalom Teaching Garden was vandalized. The beautiful Star of David bed had most of its gorgeous strawberries, basil and lush herbs ripped out and strewn about the park. It was a harsh reminder on Monday morning that not all people are as willing to embrace and care for the garden's potential.

I walked my kindergarten students out at morning recess and they helped me search for and retrieve missing plants. Like mini-CSI partners they tried to imagine what happened and why anyone would harm a garden in a park...especially one they worked hard to create, build and plant in. Why would someone with footprints that big do something so mean? One student placed her hand on my shoulder as I was replanting a wilted strawberry plant and said "I feel so bad because I know how hard you worked on the garden". If only her incredible five year old compassion could be shared with the perpetrators.

Later today I had a phone text from a parent who's son (grinning ear to ear in the above picture) was struggling after school to make sense of the senseless. It was he who during the earnest but ultimately fruitless search for the remaining plants stated "well, maybe they needed the plant more than we did". Again....Wow...wisdom and compassion in the garden from a recently turned five year old. This same little guy and his mom took the above picture for me at a local nursery where they went after school today to purchase replacement plants for the Star of David garden bed.

Shhhh....it's supposed to be a secret. Tomorrow morning when he scampers in with these beauties it will be hard not to weep with pride! As usual the student has become the teacher.

Waking up the ShalomTeaching Garden for 2011

Spring has arrived at long last in Hamilton, Ontario and the May 24 weekend is nearly here. It's now time to move forward with our many ambitious plans for the Shalom Teaching Garden in its second year.

This year we will rearrange our straw bale beds to make room for some new additions. The 'Garden of Sages' is a Star of David raised bed containing fragrant plants suitable for Havdallah b'samim. We hope to complete this beautiful addition to our garden by mid June 2011. An herb spiral bed will also be created as part of our garden. Vegetable plants will grow in our strawbale beds again this year, with the produce being donated to our local food banks.

We need your help to make it all happen!

Considering the following ideas:

• volunteer to water the garden one day a week throughout the summer months (we have subs in case you can't make it)
• bring a potted herb or vegetable plant to the Temple office for the Shalom Teaching Garden
• share a plant from your garden (sages, ornamental grasses, berry plants
• donate a bag of soil and a bag of compost (the perfect mix for our beds) or the financial equivalent (donations to TAS Social Action Committee)
• help us build a double compost bin from chicken wire and wooden flats
• contribute a spade or rake
• bring us the push mower you spotted at a garage sale
• let us reuse the garden shed you are replacing
• visit the garden and give the plants some love!

We look forward to growing with your help...

see you in the Garden!

Sukkot in the Garden

There is no better time to visit the Shalom Teaching Garden behind Temple Anshe Sholom then right now...at Sukkot time!

Our garden, even in this first experimental attempt to establish a garden is lush with success. We have three gorgeous eggplants, many tomatoes, some zucchinis and cucumbers. Along with the edibles there are some wondrous smells...coriander, lemon balm, mint, lavender, rosemary...just a pinch away.

If you haven't been out to the garden lately, do come by as part of your Sukkot, to enjoy the sights and smells of our garden before we put it to sleep for the winter.

We have truly been blessed with rain in its time, with sun and with thoughtful gardeners who have tended the Shalom Garden.

The Beauty of Soil

Sometimes when I'm watering the garden I am mesmerized by the plant life; the variations of leaf types, stems, pollinating flowers, fruiting bodies. But yesterday my attention was drawn to what was the common denominator in the garden.

At the base of all that living plant matter is soil. Dirt, earth, adamah - in hebrew...it's the carbon based topping of our material planet from which all life springs forth. Look close and it's not just dark brown stuff. It's a complex combination of sand, organic matter, pulverized rock. What G!d used in our creation...soil and the breath...ruach.

As I am breathing in and out, gazing at the soil that is home to our community garden, there is a moment of deep connection;

Shema Israel Adonoi Eloheinu Adonoi Echad

In our community garden Oneness abounds.

Pinching Back Plants

Since our amazing garden planting party on June 27th, our new plants have take to strawbale living very nicely. Thanks to our roster of dedicated waterers, our plants are getting that daily dose of H2O they desperately need to survive these hot summer days.

A combination of heat and a fertile place to grow has inspired a few of our herbs to bolt to seed. The talmud teaches that every blade of grass has it's own angel whispering 'grow, grow'. In this case I imagine the plants hearing, 'oy...is it hot, maybe time to make flowers and more seed for next year'! In any case, this week it was time to pinch back some of the plants.

Pinching back plants involves your thumb and forefinger placed firmly on a longer leggy stem on the top end of the plant and squeezing it off just under some leaves. This sends a signal to the plant to activate the dormant buds beneath and sets them off resulting in a much bushier plant. In the case of herbs, such as basil, this is a very desireable trait.

I couldn't help thinking of my own growing places as I was conducting this time honoured garden ritual. I found myself recalling times in my life where I had leapt ahead impulsively yearning to get to some new situation or experience...and life pinched me back. Looking back now I have to marvel at the plant's wise reaction and recognize how those experiences forced me to dig deeper, and grow myself wider and more stable. Nobody likes to get pinched...but it's good to know how much stronger we grow through life's little lessons.

Nasturiums

Happy Canada Day!

At our recent gathering to plant the Shalom Teaching Garden there was an informal discussion about what to do with the extra spaces left in our garden.

One great suggestion was to plant Nasturiums. There is still time to plant from seed and enjoy this cheery flower with amazing benefits.

Did you know that Nasturiums:

• are edible with the flowers mildly nutty and the leaves rather peppery?
• discourage aphids from eating neighbouring plants?
• have a natural antibiotic property?
• have seeds and flower buds that can be pickled and are like capers?

Feel free to pick up a pack of Nasturium seeds and plant them around the Shalom Teaching Garden. Consider it a 'random act of beauty' in honour of Canada Day!

Our Garden Planting Party

Garden Reflections by Anne

It was a perfect day for planting, a bit overcast, not too windy, with rain sure to fall. I was surprised to see so many friends show up, some with plants purchased locally, and some people bringing plants from their own gardens.

We planted lots of herbs like basil, mint, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and lavender. We have tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, arugula, cucumber, and leaf lettuce. Everyone seemed to enjoy digging, watering, and planting the plants they bought.

Now we can watch and tend the garden - and we'll reap the benefits in just a few months. I hope to plant some nasturtiums in the coming week; they'll brighten up the bales and can be eaten in salads. I can't wait to see what happens as the straw bales become better seasoned.

The lemonade and sandwiches were enjoyed by everyone. I thought the jazz music was a perfect touch to the gathering and I'll bet our little plants benefited from the good vibrations bouncing around our little corner of the park.

I was glad to see some old friends and to meet a few new ones. I can't think of a better way to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday. I liked the way the project for the 2010 season was described, waking up the garden in the spring, putting the garden to bed in the fall, and in the summer - water, water, water.

~ contributed by Anne Dolina

Getting Our Hands Dirty

Gardening has always been something that feeds my soul. There are such miracles in the garden!

• Seeds that have all the encoded information to produce a particular plant and...more seeds!
  
• Tendrils on climbing plants that reach from side to side looking for support on their journey upward.
• Flowers that turn to face the sun as it travels across the sky.

Watching our friend, Rhonda, getting her hands dirty planting lettuce, was one such miracle today. "It's the first time I've ever planted anything", she shared with us, with joy and awe on her face.

This is what the teaching garden was built for. So folks young and old could experience the wonder of the earth and the plants and food that it produces. G-d creates and people partner with creation and miracles happen.

Come visit the Shalom Community Teaching Garden.

First Planting

Friday morning, June 25th, 2010 was humid and sunny. I was fortunate to have my eldest son, Jacob, home for a few days and willing to help schlep stuff for his mother and help prepare the Shalom Teaching Garden for its first event! He was also great at taking pictures and short videos and promised to perform that important job at the Sunday party.

We've invited quite a few people to a Sunday Planting Party at 2pm. We have asked everyone to bring a plant, either vegetable or herb, either dug up from their own garden or purchased. So far, I've heard back from nearly 20 people who are coming for sure! I'm delighted. Being goal oriented I set 20 as my target for success and I'm pleased that there were willing supporters to come out and kick start our garden.

Some people who could not attend were even so kind as to bring in plants early! Friday night at the oneg, another interested member told me she is bringing LOTS of plants because when she told the nursery about our project they slashed their prices and even donated some plants for us. With wonderful supporter promoters at large in the community, soon everyone will be hearing about our little garden and its mission.

PS. I'm going to have to convince this special person that she needs to be on our planning committee. Her name even evokes a plant!

See you by the garden Sunday at 2pm.

The Garden Simmers

It`s Father`s Day and I couldn`t help thinking how proud my Dad z`l would be to learn about the Shalom Community Teaching Garden.

Dad was a farmer and so were his parents and his grandparents. Like our people in biblical times, he had an intimate relationship with the land, its rhythms and seasons. Dad believed that everyone should know how to grow their own food from the land.

I used to bring my school friends home to our farm and Dad was always shocked when they didn`t know the difference between HAY and STRAW. `Hay is for eating and Straw is for bedding`, he would explain to my city friends, shaking his head in amazement. Dad only had the chance to attend school up to grade 8, but he was worldly wise and able to coax our rocky Grey-Bruce acres to grow all manner of abundance and care for all kinds of livestock.

I had my first teaching experience in the Shalom Garden this week. There`s not much there yet except 34 strawbales fermenting and some soil on top of the well done ones! So my first lesson was teaching the difference between HAY and STRAW. What a great way to honour my father!

Kehila students participated in planting some ground cover into the sides of our strawbales. We`re not sure if they will take off, but if they do our bales will be covered with greenery by the end of the summer. Luckily it rained this morning so I didn`t go in to water.

Come and see the garden simmering. Next Sunday JUNE 27th is our planting party. We hope you will join us and bring a plant (vegetable and herbs please) to add to our garden.

HAPPY FATHER`S DAY