The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings. —Masanobu Fukuoka

Today was a quiet day, as we had only three kids join us, but we got a lot done since we could direct them and work with them more one on one. We go a bunch of cucumbers and lettuce planted, cut out some mistletoe, and are seeing much more diversity of crops growing in the garden. It was great to see the kids focusing and actually accomplishing tasks rather than just messing around. I really enjoyed that we could just have calm and thoughtful conversations while we worked, and it made me realize it is not only the garden that is becoming more mature. 

—Noah Schlager

Caring for Creation

Thank you Missio Dei!  On Sunday, a half dozen members of this local fellowship met at Campbell Park and put their hands to work.

They weeded and cleaned our beds, helping our tomatoes and eggplants and greens feel more spacious in the soil where they grow.

They blessed our garden with care and prayer and gave themselves the opportunity to perform the hope they feel.

From our very beginnings, Missio Dei has been there, supporting us with their mission, sending hands to our gardens, carrying in us in their thoughts.

The faith they placed in the Peace Patch mission at our outset made the many sacrifices that keep this organization afloat possible and willfully performed.  They have asked us to show the way and to provide the means, and we have daily delivered.

Thank you Missio Dei for your faith and for your hands.  Thank you for allowing us to serve.

Kip Curtis

Founder and Executive Director

What I stand for is what I stand on. —Wendell Berry

So often all we do it talk. We all know how we are going to change the world, yet it seems so few of us truly believe it enough to act. Talk is fun, talk engages the mind, and I am not above talk. I'll be the first to admit I'd rather grab a book or debate with my roommate then grab a shovel or put myself on the political stage. Yet if talk does not lead to picking up a shovel then all we've done is add more carbon to the air. Today I had little choice but to talk and think, as an out of season thunderstorm made its way through St. Petersburg. It kept me inside at my desk drinking homemade Moroccan mint tea and reading on soil amendments, with my window slightly cracked to hear the rain patter. I'm not going to lie, I was a bit relieved that I had a day by my desk rather than in the garden. As much as I love the boys we work with, working with them is one of the greatest challenges I've faced in my life. It is also one of the most rewarding, but that does not change the fact that it remains a challenge. Its kind of reminds me of myths I've encountered around working out or hard labor. There seems to be a myth that you eventually reach a point when the work out or labor comes to you so naturally that it no longer causes strain or resistance. I have never found this to be true, and certainly don't think good work is done without strain. Without strain you are just one of those people who strolls on the treadmill while salivating over the food network playing on the wall. You can get accustomed to it, but the strain and involved in good work never just disappears. Thus, while I am happy to have a rainy day, to support these boys and our garden we all need to remember the work we must put in. Then we wont need so much talk, as a garden full of strong minds and hardy plants says it all.

—Noah Schlager

Sun Flowers at Campbell Park

       This afternoon at Campbell Park elementary, Kip, Noah and I worked with some of the toughest fifth graders on the planet to build space in the garden for the fourth grader's Sunflowers. Some of us worked on building a trench by the back fence long enough to fit a bit over 20 plants. The others helped filter mulch so we could have a layer of it under the flowers before planting them. This is what the trench looked like with mulch and some baby sun flowers below.

        When the trench was built and the filtered mulch was ready, the fourth grade class came out with baby sunflower's in plastic cups. Kip then showed all of us the right or rather great way of planting these flowers from the cups onto the earth. For the first time in a while, I saw our 5th grade gardeners really proud of what they had built, their sense of work rather than leisure was clear because we created a collaborative goal. It is because of days like today that I feel really proud of these guys and of the peace patch, as well as lucky to be part of it all. Nothing like dirty hands for a clean soul. Below I've posted some pictures of the fourth graders and their sunflowers, and another of everybody who was out there today except for Kip who had to take the picture! Thanks Kip, thanks peace patch.

-Luciano A. 

"Resist much, obey little" —Walt Whitman

The Boys at Campbell were as energetic and hectic as usual today. It is hard to get them to focus on anything for very long, but it is really great seeing that, if only by seconds, they are increasing their focus. These kids are wicked smart and not lacking in desire to learn, but it is a challenge to maintain even basic order with them. Any opening  to fool around is taken, any direction questioned. That said, amidst the chaos someone always can recite at least part of what we are trying to get across. There is a bit of a personal challenge in demanding their attention. I respect that they are resisting being molded into perfect pieces, but also there is a practical need for cohesion to get anything done. They do remind me of myself in many ways, as at their age I had a very difficult time focusing on things for very long and was quietly defiant of authority. In a way its a bit like the  itself garden, finding that balance between the wild and the civilized to produce life that is both beautiful and prosperous. 

—Noah M. Schlager