Another Saturday, another amazing day at the Eastpointe Community Garden! The weather might still be playing hard-to-get with temperatures in the 50s, but hey – no rain means garden time, and we’ll take it!
First Harvest Celebration!
The biggest excitement of the day? Our FIRST HARVEST of the season! Katie harvested 2.5 pounds of beautiful rhubarb, officially kicking off our 2025 growing season 🥳 This wasn’t just any harvest – it was the perfect opportunity to test our brand-new harvest tracking app that I worked on all winter. The app allows gardeners to log harvests with optional photos while displaying daily totals and historical data. Best of all, it automatically syncs with our impact dashboard, helping us track our community contribution in real-time. Watching Katie use the app for the first time was a special moment that made all those winter coding sessions worthwhile!
Familiar Faces & New Friends
We were thrilled to welcome back Darren from Colorado, who jumped right in like he’d never left! That’s right, the ECG is a national attraction 🙌 It’s amazing how quickly peeps become part of our garden family. Speaking of family, our regular crew was out in full force despite the cooler temps. While some members (looking at you, Kat!) took a well-deserved day off to rest up for Cola’s Dexter themed birthday party, others like Stefanie popped by during her lunch break to water beds and keep things growing.
Sign of the Times
Jeff and Darren tackled our wayfinding signs, adding those super cool weather vanes to the tops. Of course, nothing in gardening ever goes exactly according to plan! The vanes didn’t quite fit, but Jeff worked some quick “subtractive methods” (fancy talk for “made it fit anyway”) and they look FANTASTIC. Katie made sure the horse-topped vane found its perfect home in the U-Pick garden, and now everything lines up perfectly with the sign designs. These little touches really make our garden space special for everyone who visits.
Getting Our Hands Dirty
While the sign crew was hard at work, Bill, Jen, Tim, and Nick focused their energy on various projects around the garden. Bill was especially productive, finishing the second A-frame, cleaning up cement chips, working on the potato beds, and even helping load the dumpster. Jen tackled the potato beds too, planted cabbage, direct-sowed peas, and started a cozy fire that became the perfect lunch spot later. Tim and Nick got their own beds started, weeding and planting for the season ahead.
The berry bed transformation continued with multiple hands pitching in. Katie, Darren, Craig, and John all worked to clean up the long-neglected area – pulling weeds, removing old wood, and prepping for something new and wonderful.
Over in another corner, Jen shared that the pumpkin and melon patch is taking shape, with Lisa potentially joining that project soon. Every section of the garden was buzzing with activity!
Infrastructure Update
Big news from last Sunday too – our friends at US Concrete returned to finish the concrete block bins! This project has been in the works for a while, and we’re excited to share a separate post soon with a short video documenting the entire process from start to finish. These improvements help build the backbone of our garden for years to come.
Flying Our Colors Proud
One of my favorite traditions happened early in the day – raising our flags for the season! There’s something special about seeing those colors flutter in the breeze, signaling to everyone passing by that the Eastpointe Community Garden is open and ready to welcome new friends.
Join Us & Support Our Garden!
Our garden parties happen every Saturday from 10 AM to 2 PM, and everyone is welcome! No experience needed, no sign-ups required – just show up with whatever energy you have that day. Some folks read books under our shade trees, others dig in the dirt, and some (like Bill and Jen) enjoy lunch by the fire – everyone belongs.
EXCITING NEWS: We still have rental beds available for the 2025 season! Want your very own piece of garden paradise? Claim your bed directly through our website – it takes just minutes to secure your spot, and we’ll help you get growing!
HELP US GROW: We’re currently fundraising for our new shelter – a space where we can gather, learn, and celebrate regardless of Michigan’s “creative” weather patterns! Every donation helps, whether it’s $5 or $500. Check out our fundraiser page to contribute to this community-building project.
Whether you’ve got two green thumbs or can barely keep a cactus alive, there’s a place for you here. Come as you are – we’re just growing community, one Saturday at a time.
#UrbanSeed #EastpointeCommunityGarden #GrowingTogether #MichiganGardening #Gardening #Nature
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Great work y'all! hope I can make it there someday soon when I'm in the area!