We are very proud of our community. Many families have been growing their own vegetable gardens this summer. Many have had successes beyond their wildest dreams. However, some had hoped for more, while others are a bit disappointed. The food-to-table goal is to collapse the number of players involved in the supply of your family’s food from the garden to the dinner plate – the simpler and more direct, the better. Bringing a tomato in from your backyard is about as seamless as you can get!

We know you have many excellent choices for healthy food this summer. Procuring beyond your backyard, there are farmers markets just about every day of the week throughout Fairfax County and surrounding areas. There are excellent organic, grass-fed, pastured, whole plant supermarkets and grocery stores just a short drive away, and the local supermarket has added organic produce to satisfy your family’s requirements. Further, there are also delivery services that provide all the ingredients for a farmers-market quality meal all boxed up and proportioned and delivered right to your door.

AND THEN THERE IS US … Great Falls’ own in-town community farmers market. We like to think of ourselves as a “boutique” – we do not have everything a grocery store or larger farmers market would have, but everything we have is unique and special – and carefully curated with your family’s best interest in mind. We strive to create a place where “community” – a sense of our very special “semi-rural village” - is felt and experienced.

This past May 13, the Saturday before Mother’s Day, we gave our “farmers-market kids” a plant to take home and plant for Mother’s Day – either a watermelon, a cantaloupe, or an herb. It would take 75 days for the fruit-bearing plants to bear fruit. We haven’t heard any reports back on successes. However, I do have one success to report: I had three plants left over and I set them on the ground in the sun and dumped two bags of organic soil over the top of their roots (i.e., I did not dig a hole – I guess you would call this a raised bed.) I did keep my eye out for sufficient water, sunlight and room to spread out, but my expectations were very modest. To my amazement and delight, I have some baby watermelons on the way – my very first crop ever! I am so excited, I am beside myself! We look forward to hearing about other successes…let us know if your plant grew.

Summer is the season when farmers market shoppers particularly desire fresh fruit. This summer, most fruits and summer vegetables were harvested late due to the changeable spring weather and the wet summer. Visitors came to the market craving sweet fresh fruit. You could sense their memories of past delightful fruit experiences and their longing to experience that ultimate sweetness once again.

One lady was looking over the multi-colored baby carrots with her son. She turned around and her t-shirt read “The Fruit of the Spirit” – “Love Joy Peace Patience Kindness Goodness Faithfulness Gentleness Self-Control” (Galatians 5:22:23) (The T-shirt was made by Cherished Girl). It was a long time since I had reflected on the fruits of the spirit and what it takes to cultivate such spiritual fruit. The blossoming of spiritual virtue requires that we “garden” our thoughts, words and deeds, correcting ourselves to align with spiritual guidance. The practice of virtue is like checking for the right amount of water and sunlight, while eliminating weeds and pests that halt progress. It requires consistency and personal accountability.

THE BOTANISTS DEFINITION of a fruit is a seedbearing structure formed after flowering. Edible fruits propagate with the movements of humans and animals in a symbiotic relationship – as we are nourished by eating the fruit, we also disperse the seeds in different places, ensuring the long-term survival of the fruit. Similarly, as we cultivate the fruits of the spirit by tending to, and seeking to correct our thoughts, words and deeds to align with spirit – we participate in the spreading of spirit’s fruits within our community. This summer, it seems that many have lost their bearings. Let’s remember the divine sweetness of spirit’s fruits and start a spiritual orchard!