Gardening Ministry

Mission: To provide liturgical herbs for the church, fruit and vegetables for donations to the church’s charities and the ELC, flowers and a gardening education/experience for the congregation and the ELC, as well as ensuring maintenance of the plantings around the church.

Vision: To celebrate and share the beauty and bounty of God’s creation while fulfilling our parish mission of service to the community.

Guiding Principles:

• All produce will be raised for the church from seed.
• Will employ natural fertilizers and soil development principles.
• Adhere to the mechanical removal of problem insects.
• No use of herbicides or insecticides.
• The ministry members will meet to plan crop rotation and what is grown.
• Recommended plant donations for trees and shrubs will be posted each quarter.
• Whenever possible the congregation will be invited to participate in each planting and harvest.
• Maintenance, improvement, and care for the garden grounds is the responsibility of the parish under the guidance of the garden ministry. It is the Church family’s garden.
• Plants will not be planted in the garden area unless approved by the garden ministry to ensure that existing plantings are not damaged and that the cultivation requirements can be met.
• The harvest will be provided in baskets to Fr. Louh for a blessing on the altar during Sunday service and presentation to the congregation before they are donated to City Rescue.
• Outreach ministry to provide landscape support to house-bound parishioners when requested in concert with other youth ministries.
• Monthly classes for the congregation will be provided in the Cafenia at 10:00 on the first Monday of the month. Will include an overview of gardening priorities for Florida for that month, a class on one of the following subjects, and a plant donation and/or pick up if any are available followed by garden maintenance.

Recommended courses are:

• House Plants 101
• Fertilizer basics
• Soil development and composting
• Permaculture basics
• Butterfly garden and Birds in the landscape
• Vegetable Gardening
• Lawn maintenance in Florida
• Citrus and Fruit Trees
• Florida Friendly Gardening
• Pruning do’s and don’ts
• Easy Orchids
• Integrated Pest Management