Lettuce Feed Others

12/05/2025

Successes of 2025:
* donation: 4000 pounds of healthy produce to the community
* abundance: green beans, peppers, tomatillos, onions …
* new crops this year: turnips, delicata squash
* and many more!

Lessons learned:
* grow more of what the pantries request
* interplanting and companion planting for pest-control, disease-control, and optimal plant production/ taste
* our rabbit issue takes a multi-pronged approach
* and many more!

We had many thankful moments throughout the growing season, but most of all we want to express our gratitude to Judy Swafford for her leadership, dedication, and countless hours at the garden!!

11/16/2025

For Iowans in need of extra food this month …

Our November and December markets are a week early because of the holidays. See you on Wednesday!

11/11/2025

Thanks to many helping hands (especially those of Dedi Walker and Kathy Duys), 238 jars of salsa were canned! These are available in original, as well as in mild and hot versions in the Saint Andrew atrium. Suggested donations are $10 for one-pint jars and $5 for half-pint jars.

11/07/2025

IT’S SALSA TIME! Sunday (11/9) after the St. Andrew worship service and Monday (11/10), 9am to ~1pm.
Selling our salsa is our major fund-raiser for our gardening the next year. Helping make the salsa is so much fun (and you get to do some taste-testing as well)!
Edited to add more pictures!

11/05/2025

THANK YOU to all who have come out over the last several days to help finish off our gardening season at LFO!

10/20/2025

Let your friends know about this opportunity this Wednesday, October 22nd, 8am - 7pm. St. Andrew only has this one time per month.

Come shop this Wednesday! We’ll be open 8am-7pm.

10/18/2025

Time to put the garden to bed!
Saturday, November 1st 9:00am - 12:00

Come for part or all of the time: big and little jobs to do!

What would I be doing at the LFO garden clean up?

1. Remove diseased plants (tomato plants) and chop up /cut up plants to put in red bin (Bin is compliments of RU green)
2. Empty 3 wooden compost bins and chop up all contents
3. Spread contents of chopped up material from compost bins
4. Stack up tomato cages/clean up fencing/pick up garden
5. Harvest remaining produce
6. Spread landfill compost /soil
7. Spread cover crop seeds
8. Cover beds with leaves

10/13/2025

Thankfully, our garden just keeps on producing! Much of this late-season harvest will be made available to shoppers at Saint Andrew’s Food Market next Wednesday, 10/22, 8am-7pm.

10/02/2025

Can you identify these flowers from around the Lettuce Feed Others garden?

09/10/2025

Food Insecurity in Johnson County, Iowa!
According to the HealthyJoCo website,
19% skipped or reduced the size of their meals due to cost
8% went a whole day without food in the last month

This is why we do what we do.

09/06/2025

Signs of autumn in the garden!

08/26/2025

Thankful for our pollinators (and other friends) at the garden. Special gratitude to Kathy Duys for coordinating our flowers at LFO!