It’s Spring Planting Time! We’re Looking for Green Thumbs and Big Hearts
The Witherell’s Culinary Wellness Garden is about to enter its 2nd year of providing fresh, locally grown produce to Witherell residents under the expert guidance and direction of Alan Gorkin, a Greenwich agronomist. Locals may know Alan from Sleep Cat Farm here in Greenwich.
The kick off of the 2019 season will begin with our first volunteer day to prepare the garden for spring planting on Saturday April 13th, weather permitting, and Sunday, April 14th, if needed. This year’s spring planting will include lettuce, spinach, carrots, beets, zucchini and green beans.
The Culinary Wellness Garden provides a wonderful bounty of delicious vegetables that go from “field to fork” to be enjoyed by our elderly residents. Each year the garden has supplied nutrient rich vegetables like lettuce, Swiss chard, cucumbers, heirloom beans, zucchini, eggplant, and squash. The quarter-acre garden was the vision of Bob Willis, a long time Nathaniel Witherell volunteer and his business partner, Harry Shea. Dedicated volunteers prep, plant, and harvest, and local businesses donate supplies to support the garden.
“The Culinary Wellness Garden has been a wonderful source of healthy, nutritious vegetables that offer delicious variety to the meals we serve at the Witherell,” says Allen Brown, executive director of Nathaniel Witherell. “We’re grateful for the expertise of Alan Gorkin, Harry Shea, and the dedicated volunteers who make it happen, and we look forward to this year’s harvest!”
Recruiting for volunteers is now underway. As English historian, lawyer and poet John Hayward famously said, “Many hands make light work!”
If you’re able to lend a hand (or a green thumb) in April or at any point during the season, please contact Harry Shea at gardenangels@WillisSheaGroup.com
