Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Michael Streeb. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Michael, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Gods Garden, a Christ centered garden, was established in 2000 and became a 501(c)3 non-profit in 2016. It was started because we became aware of a significant need: a lot of people could not afford to buy fresh vegetables. We began with a fairly large garden, 10,000 sq. ft. After several years, we increased it to 38,000 sq. ft. In 2019 we transitioned to the new garden. From the start the garden was run more like a farm (using rows to plant in) – raised beds were not used – and the food was always given away to those in need. The goal is to keep providing fresh organic vegetables free to local food pantries and other worthwhile organizations, to increase gardening knowledge in the community, promote healthy eating and reduce food insecurity, to increase yields by improving the soil with manure & gypsum and to keep expanding the garden. The new main garden began with 1 row in 2019 (586 Sq. Ft.) + now it is 0.73 acres. We are constantly expanding as funds allow. The garden continuously operates with 2 growing seasons/year to maximize production. We serve a multi-cultural community, and we grow some crops inherent to their cultures. We have provided information about how to prepare the different crops to food pantries to pass along to their clients. There are two areas in which we evaluate the garden and its production. We assess crop successes and failures and then choose vegetables based on these items and plant production. Each season we plan what to grow and where in the garden it should be grown, rotating the crops so the soil can recuperate. Rotating crops can disrupt pest cycles and improves soil health. We have a proven track record. There is an intrinsic value which cannot be measured which is the satisfaction on the part of volunteers including children who help with watering, weeding, harvesting, planting, etc. A lot of people have said the garden is a place of beauty and peace. We believe in having a personal relationship with the person in charge of each food pantry we serve and stay in touch regarding the timely delivery of crops.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Michael spent his summers working on his Grandfather’s land both in Oklahoma and the panhandle of Texas. After high school, Michael pursued and was awarded a B.S. degree in Botany at Oklahoma State University. He has been gardening essentially his whole life. He also has a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Lorraine spent some of her youth at her great-grandmother’s farm in the country up the river from New Orleans. Her father and uncle planted crops to sell. Her father planted vegetables in their backyard, too, and so she became familiar with gardening from an early age and has been an avid gardener ever since. Lorraine has a degree in Mechanical Engineering as well. Michael is the one with the vision, skills, knowledge, methodology that was required to take a grassy patch of gumbo soil and turn it into a highly productive garden. Both are dedicated to ensuring the garden continues to serve the community. Lorraine does a lot of the planning, planting, harvesting and photography (hence she isn’t in any of the planting or harvesting photos).
What sets Gods Garden apart from the community gardens in our area is that we use farming methods such as growing vegetables in rows and not in raised beds as is typical in the Houston area. We have flexibility in changing the width of a row to accommodate the size of various crops.
We grow vegetables that produce in quantity so that the food pantries and other worthwhile organizations (such as Family Promise, Ft. Bend Seniors, Ft. Bend Women’s Center, etc.) have an abundance to share with those in need in our community. For example, from January to August 2023 Gods Garden gave 22,502 pounds of vegetables to these types of organizations. We give God the glory and the honor for the garden’s production.
We also teach people the fundamentals of gardening (it includes planning, planting, watering, weeding, maintaining, and harvesting), what varieties of vegetables grow well in our area, the insects which are beneficial and which ones are not, companion plants to increase good insect activity, what to use to amend clay soil, what enhances the soil and thus its productivity, and water conservation methodologies. The benefit is people have access to quality, nutrient packed vegetables, with a harvest to table time reduced compared to vegetables bought in groceries.
We welcome groups of all types (Girls BSA, BSA, American Heritage Girls, Young Men’s Service League, Church groups, Sathya Sai Group, Groups from corporations, etc.) to help in the garden. We teach volunteers how to harvest, how to prepare compost piles, and give advice on how to prepare the vegetables, some of which are unusual.
We sent a soil and water sample to Texas A & M. They recommended we use gypsum to amend the soil, which we did from the first and have continued to do so. Gypsum applied to the soil allows the plants to take up calcium and Sulphur which are essential for plant growth. Gypsum is a naturally occurring mineral.
We have incrementally increased the garden size by laying down gypsum and adding 1 ft. of horse manure on top as grant funds are provided. The garden has now grown to 0.73 acres.
What gives us deep satisfaction is knowing that we are doing what God called us to do and that we are feeding those in need. We have been given a wonderful peaceful location in which we can garden to the fullest God given potential. We hope the garden inspires others to grow their own vegetables and donate them to food pantries, too.
Anytime God gives you a purpose He also provides the way. He has been providing for Gods Garden since its inception.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

The following are some of the daunting details of starting a new garden from scratch. When we began the new garden in mid-2019, our first challenge was to clear the land which took a while as there were lots of weeds, vines, scrub trees, debris and clay which had to be removed. A lot of the debris and other items were removed by hand including a chain link fence and concrete pieces. We used an echo trimmer with a steel saw to cut down the trees. This effort took about 1 year. We determined that the trees should be 15 feet away from the garden so that the tree roots would not interfere with the garden by using up all the nutrients in the soil. The following are some of the other difficulties we have dealt with. One issue was mowing 6 acres of land with an echo trimmer which took 10 days at 4 hours a day to do. We finally received a donation about a year later to buy a lawn mower to do the same job in less time.
The next challenge was learning how to write grants. After repeated failures, we prayed concerning the issues we faced and discovered that it was to our advantage to do a photo essay showing pictures of what was to be done on the land, including how the gypsum was to be laid down. After doing this we started to be successful in grant writing. This is one of the ways we have been able to pay for gypsum to expand the garden. Allowing God to provide the guidance and direction needed to be successful is what helped us with grant writing.
Another challenge was finding sufficient quantities of horse manure. After additional prayers, we were able to find a horse stable that provides large amounts of manure free of charge which is reasonably free of debris. Due to lack of funds, we moved the manure one pickup load at a time which was very time consuming and physically taxing. The bags of manure we filled weighed about 100 pounds. Later it became apparent that using a trucking company to move the manure in large quantities was the best method. Due to the slow amount of donations that trickles in during the year, it takes a long time to afford the cost of moving the manure from the stables to the land.
In the beginning, we watered the garden using gallon jugs. After 3 months, we progressed to using a semi-trash pump with 2-inch diameter fire fighter type hoses taking water from the retention pond. This was demanding in that moving a 2-inch diameter hose full of water was extremely heavy. We had to move it all over the garden. After a time, the hoses could not reach the farthest part of the garden. It took about 1.6 years to have enough money to pay for the 5 hp Honda agricultural pump we currently use. Starting in Spring of 2022, we began using drip (tape) irrigation instead of the fire fighter type hoses to water the garden (using the pump) as we continue to expand it. The benefit? Less gas and water are used, and we can do other work while the garden is being watered. It also takes less time to set up and take down than the other pump with the hoses.
We had to design a pump stand from scratch so that the pump would remain stable and level on the slope of the berm. If the pump isn’t level it can lead to destruction of the pump because the level of the oil is at an angle and the engine is starved for oil. In addition, we had to determine the appropriate place on the berm to put the stand so that it was far enough out of the water level but close enough to the water to be able to take suction from the pond. We found out that when I stepped on the platform, the pump and platform and I went down the berm (no one was hurt and the pump wasn’t damaged). From that lesson, we learned we needed to put in 4 pieces of rebar steel to make the platform stable. Also, we learned we had to add an additional 20 ft. suction hose to the original 20 ft. suction hose due to the changes in water levels. That problem has been resolved.
The next difficulty was and is finding volunteers to donate their time to help us in the garden. We need people with a commitment. The spring/summer garden starts producing in the late April and goes through about mid-August. During this time, we are typically harvesting 2 to 3 days per week or more. Note that the food pantries are not open on Saturday when most people are available to volunteer. We also need people to transport the harvested vegetables to various organizations. The fall/winter garden harvest typically starts mid-October and goes through the end of March.
Other tasks are making ditches for and applying fertilizer, helping with the set up/take down of the pump for watering, planting, harvesting, weeding, laying down gypsum/manure, and more. We have a volunteer form on the website: godsgarden.us for those interested. Volunteers have an impact on the community and most feel their involvement is beneficial to them and to those who are helped by Gods Garden. Most of our volunteers talk about the peace and beauty at the garden.
We also had to come up with a method to calculate the total area of the land to determine the next irrigation sections to be installed. To resolve the issue, we came up with geometric diagrams of the various areas as some were very odd shaped. Now we can determine what areas we want to expand to grow crops on, and we have a design for the next phase of irrigation system which needs to be installed in the future.
As you can see from the above, we have faced many obstacles and have found new ways of resolving issues.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

We started a garden at our church in 2000. Originally the idea was to grow vegetables to give to the church members and people in the community. We increased the size of the garden, grew typical American vegetables as well as growing vegetables that were a mainstay of people from other countries such as bitter melon, sorrel, Indian cucumber, Mung beans, lab lab beans, Chinese okra, Opo squash, Malabar spinach, Asparagus long bean, pigeon peas, Chinese Michihili cabbage, Malunggay tree, etc. People were allowed to harvest when they wanted to without restriction or cost. The community was very happy with the way we handled the garden and the produce. Occasionally, we took vegetables to a local food pantry. The garden was about 0.87 acres. However, in 2018, the church could no longer sustain itself and was closing. We were put in a position where we had to harvest the entire winter garden in approximately 2 week’s time. The vegetables were given to several local food pantries. The church closed and was sold to a buddhist group. We decided to trust God and to cast our concerns regarding a future garden on Him. We spent time reading the Bible and praying. After 15 months, we spoke with a land owner who took us to 3 different sites to see if they were suitable for gardening. However, each was less than an acre and they had cement on them. So, they weren’t suitable for gardening on a large scale. He then took us to a property (the one we are on now) and told us to start gardening there because he was told by the Holy Spirit to do this. He has allowed us to use the property and the pond for watering without constraints. Because we trusted God, He provided the way and the resources we needed for this garden. We began gardening there in June of 2019. As of now the garden is 0.73 acres and we are expanding. We plan to increase it to 6.5 acres.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sites.google.com/godsgarden.us/godsgarden/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/godsgardenfortbend/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/godsgarden.fortbend
• Other: https://nextdoor.com/