I spent most of the month of April out of town, so I missed a lot of real-time activities that have occurred at the pantry garden. Now that I am back and up to speed, here is a recap.

Hannah White, manager of The Seed Farm, spent April 9 at the garden, delivering supplies and building two new raised bed boxes near the fence closest to the Ironton Rail Trail. Compared to the side rails on the beds we already had, these are giants!

White also brought chicken wire to attach to the exterior of the fence to help keep out groundhogs and other critters and a new weed whacker. Thank you to volunteer Tom Noctor for opening the garden and assisting White.

Thank you to Whitehall Township Public Works Department for reassembling our rainwater catch system for the season. With the amount of precipitation we have had recently, our tank is filling nicely.

The week of April 22, Noctor joined Grant Dieter, WCHI board member, and volunteer Jeff Warren to rototill many of the existing beds and the real estate underneath the new raised bed boxes. The group removed many of the existing bed rails and combined several of the small beds into larger beds.

As I have mentioned in my previous articles, the pantry garden is located on the Mickley-Prydun Farm, and the soil here is rich farmland. As a result, all the tilled beds look great and are ready to be planted.

I was back in town and able to join garden operations April 27. I cut the grass while others rototilled, then we worked together to disassemble the rails of our existing “U” bed. Our plan is to rototill this odd-shaped bed into one large bed that will be more usable and easier to maintain.

We have been discussing whether we want to reinstall the rails around all our new, larger beds. Rails require extra weed whacking, so we may forego rail reinstallation in favor of easier property maintenance.

Join us 6 p.m. May 28 for our first weekly work night at the pantry garden. We are targeting one hour to plant, weed and water. However, the first week may take slightly longer. No experience is needed, and clearances are not required to volunteer at the pantry garden.

We have gardening tools, gloves, kneelers and watering cans, but you are welcome to bring your own favorites. Use the address 3540 S. Ruch St. for your GPS. When you see the “this area under surveillance” sign, you are at the right place.

Continue down the gravel road toward the farmhouse and the garden. If you have any questions, call 610-379-6823.

We will be planting seeds and seedlings from The Seed Farm May 28. If you are in the market for vegetable and flower plants and want to support a good cause, The Seed Farm will be holding its annual plant sale May 11 and 12 at 5854 Vera Cruz Road, Emmaus. Check their website - theseedfarm.org - for more information and sale hours.

Have you considered volunteering with Whitehall-Coplay Hunger Initiative but don’t want to garden? We have daytime and evening volunteer opportunities at our food pantry. Give me a call at 610-379-6823 to schedule a time to visit the pantry and learn more about these opportunities.

Editor’s note: This column was written by Gwen Herzog, Whitehall-Coplay Hunger Initiative pantry garden chair.