Meghan Luecke wanted to create a garden as a summer project with her three children. However, their historic home had too much shade from the neighborhood's mature trees.
The Wesley United Methodist Church Pinwheel Community Garden was the answer.
With her children - Brynn, 6, Cameron, 4, and Andee, 1 - Luecke has planted sunflowers, tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow squash, chard and watermelon in a 20-by-20-foot plot, one of 28 offered on the church's property.
"I've never done a garden before," she said.
She used the University of Missouri Extension website to research best practices, like planting times and spacing.
However, she attributes most of her beginner's "luck" to the good soil provided at the church lot.
Luecke has found fellow gardeners to be a good resource, too.
For example, when she discovered a hornworm in her tomato, David McAllister, the church's community garden coordinator, informed her that was not a welcome visitor.
The Luecke family then removed the insect from the garden by taking him home and naming him Joey.
Although the children may not have ended up as thrilled with gardening as Luecke had hoped, she has discovered a satisfaction in the exercise.
"We might be back (next year)," she said. "It's rewarding to grow your own food, and it's budget-friendly."
The half-acre of land was plowed in the fall of 2013 and opened to the community for the first time three summers ago, McAllister said.
It was an outgrowth of the denomination's "healthy churches" initiative.
"This was one way to reach out and be part of the community," McAllister said. "We're very pleased.
"This is the most significant ministry I've been involved in."
More than 20 of the plots are tended by non-church members coming from diverse backgrounds. And they have planted a variety of produce from okra to squash to African corn.
The name Pinwheel Community Garden reflects the church's goal of "diversity in motion," he said.
"It's given me the opportunity to meet a number of people in Jefferson City I would not have crossed paths with otherwise," McAllister said. "It's been a real blessing to me."
Last fall, the church received a grant from the Missouri United Methodist Church Foundation to purchase a garden shed where shared tools are stored. Combined with the direct water line installed with donations to the church's annual garage sale, the site makes it easy for novice gardeners, like the Lueckes.
A couple of church members and a Sunday school class also have produce growing in the community garden. They bring their harvest to the church's "farmers market" Sunday mornings, where freewill offerings in exchange will help buy a permanent sign for the garden, he said.
"This is a good environment to visit and share produce," McAllister said. "It's relaxing and a lot of fun."