HARRISON — Parishioners at Mary Mother of God Church have noticed the success of the crops in their community garden seems to be closely aligned with the tastes of their pastor, Father Gregory Hart.
Volunteer gardener Mark Scouten explained that some vegetables — green beans, tomatoes and potatoes, for example — usually thrive. But when the volunteer gardeners plant vegetables that Father Hart doesn’t care for, such as eggplant, they invariably fail.
They’ve learned, Scouten said, to not tell Father Hart when there’s something different in the field. By now, he may have learned there’s a new variety of squash in one small section of the garden, but it’s already looking robust — perhaps it’s too late for him to influence its survival this season.
Actually, it doesn’t look like much has failed in the garden, located just a few yards outside the church’s side door. By early July, potato and onion harvests were already complete.
The yellow crookneck squash was growing so fast, Scouten was having difficulty picking it fast enough — and he said he was hopeful someone had helped themselves to the stuff between the thrice-weekly picking. There were zucchini and cucumbers, and the okra and sweet corn were coming along nicely.
This community garden, known as St. Isidore’s Garden, has supplied parishioners and several community charity groups with an abundance of produce since it was started four or five years ago.
The garden is named for St. Isidore, the Farmer, patron saint of the National Rural Conference in the United States. Father Hart said he chose St. Isidore because he’s one of the lesser known saints.
"Everyone knows St. Francis of Assisi," he said.
According to www.catholic.org, St. Isidore was born in Madrid, Spain, in the latter half of the 12th century and spent most of his life working on farms outside the city. He was canonized in 1622.
Tradition holds that while St. Isidore prayed, angels pulled his plow through the fields where he was working.
Father Hart said he has always enjoyed gardening. It was a hobby he shared with his mother while he was growing up. At previous parishes where he’s served, including St. Michael Church in West Memphis and St. Peter the Fisherman Church in Mountain Home, Father Hart has had at least a small garden.
The Harrison church has a spacious location where there’s plenty of room for a garden, which seems more like a field with rows as long as 100 feet. Father Hart seized on the opportunity and created an activity for parishioners to feed the hungry — both churchgoers and the needy.
"It’s a good form of recreation and gets me outdoors," Father Hart said about the garden. "My idea is to get parishioners to know each other, too."
He noted that most parish programs take a break during the summer. He said he has seen young people in the parish as well as older ones help out on occasion, but "it’s a faithful few who do a lot."
Scouten and his wife, Elisabeth, are chief among the volunteers. Scouten, who works for Harrison Public Schools, calls himself "a harvester" and Elisabeth Scouten, the church sacristan, oversees the garden’s flower production.
Zinnias and gladioli supply altar flowers throughout the growing season. Father Hart said he hopes to plant a few sunflowers for the season to supplement those that came up voluntarily this year.
The Harrison garden is usually planted during the first week in May but rain delayed that this year, Father Hart said. The plants went into the ground just about the time of St. Isidore’s feast day, May 15.
Parishioners are welcome to enjoy the harvest and there’s usually something in the church vestibule.
"We keep a stash of Wal-Mart bags that we recycle" just for that purpose, Father Hart said.
Local charities that have benefited include Ozark Share and Care and Cornerstone Kitchen, which feeds the homeless.