Let me be honest with you – today was brutal. I’m talking “surface-of-the-sun” brutal. The kind of heat where even thinking about going outside makes you sweat. The air quality was garbage, the UV index was through the roof, and stepping onto the parking lot’s broken asphalt felt like walking into a furnace.
A lot of our regular volunteers made the smart choice and stayed home with their air conditioning. But you know what? Sometimes the best garden parties happen on the worst weather days, because 12 of us apparently forgot to check the weather.
The Heat Warriors Assemble
I rolled up to the garden around 10 AM, already questioning my life choices. But Bill and Jen were already there, because of course they were. These two are usually first to show up and last to leave. Jody was there too, already hard at work filling up our water barrels – because somebody’s got to do the stuff on our weekly list.
Shortly after I arrived, my firbuddy Rory showed up with her handler Jeff, and they jumped right into harvesting duty. Coley was there too, ready to dive into the endless bean harvest. And can I just say – there were SO. MANY. DAMN. BEANS. Like, an unreasonable number of beans. Jeff later described it perfectly in our group chat as feeling “a bit like we were trapped in a bean-based Groundhog Day.” Every time you thought you’d cleared a section, there were three more beans hiding behind the leaves.
The Best Kind of Surprise
But here’s where the day got really special. Remember Alia, who stopped by our produce stand two weeks ago? Of course you don’t 😆. Anyway, we gave them some free veggies a few weeks back and she mentioned coming back to volunteer. Honestly, I never expect people to follow through on stuff like that – we’ve all got busy lives, and good intentions don’t always translate to action.
Well, Alia showed up. And she didn’t just show up – she grabbed snippers and a bucket and dove right into harvesting beans like they’d been doing it for years. She stayed with us all the way until 2 PM when we closed everything down. Making new friends like Alia restores my faith in this crazy world.
Family Visits and Cucumber Melons
Around midday, something really sweet happened. Bill’s mom and sister came by the garden. Now, Bill has been heading this project for over a decade, but his mom had never actually been to the garden in person. So getting to watch Bill give them the grand tour – showing off all the beds, explaining our systems, introducing them to everyone – that was pretty special. If you’re reading this -hi mom 👋
And then there were the cucumber melons. Oh man, these things! They’re called “cucamelons” and they look exactly like tiny watermelons – about the size of a green grape. But plot twist: they’re actually cucumbers with this slightly sour, tangy taste. Jen was so excited about them, and she even got me to try one (which is saying something, because I am ridiculously picky about new foods). As soon as I got home I took a photo with a Lego Shay and sent it to everyone.
Jen explained to Alia how we discovered these little weirdos – we use a program called Vegplotter to plan out our entire giving garden season, plotting everything using square foot gardening and succession planting. They have been a huge supporter of our efforts, donating access to the program for multiple years now. Anyway, when Jen was planning for 2025, she was laying out cucumbers and saw cucamelons in the dropdown list. She looked them up, thought they seemed fun, and decided to give them a shot.
Are they going to add much to our total harvest weight? Probably not. But they’re perfect props for our social media photos, and they’re an instant conversation starter with new volunteers. Sometimes the novelty items are just as valuable as the practical ones.
The Numbers Game
After we finished all that harvesting (which took us from 10 AM until about 12:30 – seriously, there was a lot), Jeff and Alia took charge of weighing everything from the giving garden. It was pretty cool watching Jeff explain how our digital produce log system works, and how it tracks all the analytical data and visualizes it in our Impact Dashboard.
Alia made a comment about how impressed she was that the garden was so “high-tech” and that we could keep track of all this granular data. Today’s haul? 61.90 pounds from the Giving Garden alone. That brings our August total to 237.31 pounds so far, and our year-to-date total to 649.53 pounds.
For context, we donated 1,659.48 pounds total in 2024, so we’re well on track to blow past that number this year.
Tea Time in the Garden
And then Molly showed up and absolutely made my day. She brought a literal ceramic teapot – who does that?! – filled with her homemade lemon basil tea blend. Picture this: we’re all sweaty and exhausted from harvesting in 90-degree heat, and Molly sets up this impromptu tea party in the middle of our suburban garden. It was like something out of Alice in Wonderland.
I didn’t get to try the tea myself (remember, I’m picky), but everyone who did was raving about it. There’s something magical about someone caring enough to bring actual teaware to a community garden. It’s those little touches that remind you why this place is special.
Problem-Solving and Pump Puzzles
The afternoon brought its own challenges. We spent a good chunk of time working on the solar pump system for our bog. Coley jumped right into the bog project too, bringing both a battery and a toolbox to help solve our pump puzzle. That’s the kind of thing that makes me appreciate our garden family – everyone finds a way to contribute. Unfortunately, our current pump just isn’t strong enough to push water up to the elevation of our filtration system.
We took the whole system apart and dug it down another foot into the ground, trying to reduce the distance the pump had to push the water. But even with that modification, it’s still too much for our little pump to handle. Jeff summed it up perfectly: “We need a bigger pump!” If you can, toss us a few bucks so we can invest in a larger one.
While we were all crowded around the pump, troubleshooting and getting progressively more frustrated, the new homie Alia was doing her own thing, turning all of our compost. She just grabbed a fork and got to work. Next time I might do the same because she wasn’t stressed out even a little.
The Secret Sauce of Misfit Gardeners
Here’s what I keep coming back to: we had 12 volunteers show up today, in weather that would make most people hide indoors. We helped 13 families at our produce stand. We harvested over 60 pounds of food for the community. Bill’s mom finally got to see the garden that’s been such a huge part of her son’s life. Alia proved that sometimes people really do follow through.
But you know what really sets us apart? Most community gardens are run by the government or some rigid hierarchy that absolutely kills the whole vibe. They struggle to get volunteers and support because nobody wants to deal with bureaucratic nonsense when they’re just trying to grow some tomatoes.
Our little slice of the pie? We run on a flat hierarchy. Everyone’s voice matters. New perspectives and wild ideas are welcome here. Everyone is equal, whether you’ve been here since 2012 or this is your first day with dirt under your fingernails.
And here’s the thing – when everybody gets an equal say in what we’re building, the buy-in is incredible. People don’t just show up to help with someone else’s project. They show up because this is theirs too. This is for the community, by the community.
Not too bad for a bunch of misfit rebel gardeners, right?
This garden sits right off Nine Mile Road, in the middle of suburban Eastpointe. Our parking situation is a disaster right now because of construction on the main road. It was hot enough to melt your face off. And somehow, while you’re here, it’s easy to forget where you are. It becomes its own magical little world.
I still can’t believe we’re having this much success with new volunteers and participation, considering how inaccessible our location is right now. But maybe that’s the point – when something matters to people, they’ll figure out a way to make it work. I’m proud of what we’ve built.
Looking Ahead
Jen’s planning shows we’ve got more zucchini coming in (because apparently the universe hasn’t decided we’ve had enough zucchini yet). And Kat has some bush beans, kohlrabi, and peppers that’ll be ready for a midweek harvest.
The thing about community gardens is that there’s always something growing, something that needs attention, some new project to tackle. Even on the hottest day of the summer, with half our regular crew staying home, we still managed to have one of those days that reminds you why we do this.
Join Us Next Time
Our Saturday garden parties run from 10 AM to 2 PM at 16425 Nine Mile Road in Eastpointe. No experience necessary, tools provided, and yes – even when it’s blazing hot, amazing things happen. We’re always making new friends, trying new projects, finding ways to decompress from our busy lives, and sometimes even trying cucamelons for the first time.
Fair warning: the parking situation is still a mess because of construction. But if you can find us, we’d love to have you. The soil doesn’t judge, and neither do we.
Sorry last Saturday because of the road/parking problem I could only honk the horn for someone to come out to get the pizzas. I hope this road gets fixed soon and I hope the pizzas were good!!