It’s safe to say that we had the best Earth Day ever yesterday! The day started bright and early (and chilly!) at Carpenter Place, where we gathered with a generous team of volunteers to plant vegetable gardens.

Last month, we learned that we’d be receiving a $1,000 grant from Kalso Earth Shoes to fund an Earth Day project. We chose to plant vegetable gardens at Carpenter Place, a local organization in Wichita, KS that provides residence and rehabilitation for young girls and women. Their budget doesn’t often allow for fruits and vegetable beyond those in cans, so by planting two gardens full of a variety of produce, we can ensure they’ve got healthy food all summer!

We had about 20 volunteers, including Carpenter Place residents, friends from the Wichita community, Brownies from Girl Scout troop 40693 in Andover, Kans., and a few of us from DIR. The wind was sweeping down the plains yesterday, but armed in hoodies and warm cups of coffee, we got to work, and in less than three hours gave the ladies of Carpenter Place more food than they’re going to know what to do with. We promised to take some off their hands if they get too much!
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We are less than 48 hours away from planting our vegetable gardens at Carpenter Place, and we’re really excited!

Last month, we won a $1,000 grant from Kalso Earth Shoes to fund an Earth Day project. We chose to outfit a local organization with fruit and vegetable gardens.

A garden center that has been in the Wichita community since the 1920s stepped up and has been a tremendous help. Johnson’s Garden Center has provided a 20% discount on our purchases, as well as made their incredible staff available to us to answer 101 questions. They’re even delivering everything to Carpenter Place for us completely free. We got pretty lucky with those guys.

I was there on Wednesday this week picking up seed potatoes and a few vegetable seeds, as well as making a game plan with Marty, one of the owners. Yesterday, I chopped the seed potatoes, per their careful instructions, so that they are ready for planting on Sunday morning. We’ll be planting Yukon Gold and red skin potatoes for the Carpenter Place girls.
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If you have ever tried to grow your own food, you know how much work is involved. From building beds to pulling weeds, gardening is a task that requires a lot of strength and stamina, not to mention flexibility. There is no greater feeling than the satisfaction of knowing where your food comes from, but some days an achy back, neck or knees can trump your homegrown glory faster than a growing sprout on a warm spring day.

To prevent fatigue and energize your body, it is important to take periodic stretch breaks. The following yoga inspired stretches will help relieve bodily discomfort brought on by spending hours in the garden. Plus, you may even get a second wind and get more done.

Half Forward Bend

Your knees may begin to feel stiff and tired after squatting or kneeling over your sprigs of future bounty. To refresh your body, stand up and straighten both legs. Next, fold forward until your spine is parallel to the dirt. Place both hands on your shins just below your knees. Keep your back and legs straight. Hold for 20 seconds and then come up. Repeat as often as necessary.
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This is no small undertaking we’ve gotten ourselves in to. When we were selected by Kalso Earth Shoes to receive a $1000 grant so that we could plant vegetables gardens at Carpenter Place on April 22, we thought we’d buy some seeds and dirt and soon serve our friends fresh vegetables. Like anything else, there’s a bit of work involved between now and then.

We’re working closely with Jennifer White, a Carpenter Place house parent, to pull off this exciting Earth Day project.

Last week, I sent out a survey to the residents of Carpenter Place to make sure we planted exactly the fruits and vegetables they would want to eat. No sense planting asparagus if no one is going to eat it, right? We’ll probably plant some new things for them, in hopes that they’ll try them!

Tomatoes were a unanimous choice for fruit, followed by melon and strawberries. The herbs were pretty widely accepted, with basil and cilantro being the most popular. We gave a very generous list of vegetables to choose from with about a dozen receiving unanimous selection, including beans, cucumbers, greens, okra, onions, peas, bell peppers, squash, zucchini, potatoes, and peppers like serrano and jalapeños.

We’re still confirming what can actually be planted in the Kansas soil, but feel pretty safe with this list.
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Earlier this month we learned that Kalso Earth Shoes was giving three $1,000 grants to three sites who aligned with their vision but ultimately who could do a whole heck of a lot of good with that money to celebrate Earth Day. The deadline was on a Thursday, we got wind of the promotion on a Tuesday. I was out sick, like at home, in bed, sick. But, I knew I wanted this for DietsInReview.com and I also knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. So I sucked it up, and against the wishes of my beloved caretaker, knocked out an article telling Kalso about DIR, about how thinking green is second nature to us, and how there was an organization that we really, really wanted to help with this money.

Working through a sick day paid off, because DietsInReview.com was chosen! This month, we’re receiving a $1,000 grant to do an Earth Day project. Just as we described in our Earth Day project application, we’ll be using the funds to build vegetable gardens at Carpenter Place, and we’re more or less stoked about it! We’re not alone, though. We already let Carpenter Place in on our little secret.

“We are so excited to have DietsInReview come help us with gardens for our campus!” Jennifer White, a Carpenter Place house mom, told us.
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