We had a lovely day for our Garden Gala this past Sunday. Sun & warmth allowed us to put tables in the courtyard. MCHS staff and board members scurried around ahead of the event, decorating and building temporary exhibits.
During the event, Erik Warner explained how he came up with his idea for The Soul Patch community garden and presented a slide show that illustrated the progression of the garden through the summer. The Soul Patch has produced over 850 pounds of food for the Morrison County Food Shelf so far. By the end of the growing season, that number will likely increase to over 1,000 pounds.
After Erik’s presentation, Jan Warner led a discussion about how gardening has changed over time, asking those gathered for their memories of gardening. People mentioned potato bugs and canning, the Little Pig Market and the Community Cannery in Little Falls.
During the annual meeting segment of the event, 3 board members, Gary Block, Laura Block, and Camille Warzecha, were re-elected to the board and members reviewed and approved the minutes of the last annual meeting and the Treasurer’s Report.
Following the annual meeting, we broke out the food … mountains & mountains of food … all containing some element of fresh produce. Here’s the list of what we had (mostly to aid my memory, but also to make your mouth water):
Orange zucchini marmelade, organic carrots, zucchini bread, organic veggie bread, zucchini relish, zucchini currant bread, chocolate zucchini cake, organic tomato basil bread, apple butter, zucchini pickles, pumpkin bars, sorghum cake, apple cake, corn salsa w/chips, gooseberry preserves, zucchini brownies, and carrot cake.
You’ll notice that people were pretty creative with zucchini.
In case you missed the event, we have pictures of the day’s decor, taken before anyone showed up.