Gardening for Good: McKenna's story (August)

We're following Denver gardener McKenna as she grows from seed to donation. McKenna will be donating homegrown produce to Kaizen Food Share through the Fresh Food Connect app, and is excited to share her garden adventures with our community!

"When I brought them to the donation center, some people didn’t recognize them with their purple skin and carrot tops still attached. It was fun getting to talk with folks about how they might use these unique carrots for their own cooking, or use the carrot tops to make homemade pesto." 

August Garden Update: Grasshoppers, Giant Zucchini, Purple Carrots, and Donation pickups

The hot weather has persisted throughout the summer here in Denver and has made the grasshoppers relentless in their garden destruction. They seem to favor munching on bean plants, potatoes, and certain salad green varieties. The DIY garden spray wasn’t doing the trick so we bought netting to place over the impacted plants. I’m hopeful this solution will work as I’d love to share some of the unique bean varieties I’m growing through the app.

As I’m sure most home gardeners experience, I’ve had plenty of zucchini to donate this month. The trick is making sure you turn over each leaf so you don’t miss any hidden zucchini. I’ve made the mistake already of leaving a zucchini just one day too long on the vine and returning the next morning to find a behemoth waiting for me.

A few carrots were also ready for donation this month. When I brought them to the donation center, some people didn’t recognize them with their purple skin and carrot tops still attached. It was fun getting to talk with folks about how they might use these unique carrots for their own cooking, or use the carrot tops to make homemade pesto. Gardeners wanting to plant commonly requested items can use this resource to see the produce most folks want to have fresh at home. I read that beans of all types are commonly requested, so I planted a few different varieties for the first time this year. None of them are ready for harvest yet, but I’m looking forward to donating an item that people are eager to try.

I’m fortunate to have a schedule for now that allows me to bring my produce directly to the donation site. For people who don’t have such flexible schedules, certain parts of the city can now participate in a produce pickup option. A bike courier will pick up produce donations on Tuesday mornings and take everything to Kaizen Food Rescue’s operation. I’m excited about this new opportunity and am hopeful this will encourage even more gardener participation.

More about McKenna

Check out the amazing list of plants McKenna's growing this year

June: Why I'm planting with intention to share my harvest

July: Volunteering at a food distribution event

September: How individual donations of homegrown produce come together to make a difference

McKenna is also a Fresh Food Connect "Giving GNOME"! Check out her G.N.O.M.E. chat and Join our Giving G.N.O.M.E. program here.