WRJ Community Garden

Well August is here. The season is changing. Plants are in their fullest form right now and the harvest is abound. This year at the community garden we have had lots of good things happening and we've learned some important lessons about what makes a community garden work.

The garden was expanded this summer to include three additional new plots. Some neighborhood friends felt inspired to build and plant these plots so that the vegetables grown could be donated and available for the wider community. When the time finally came, they walked around town distributing their produce into the hands of many a people.  We also hosted a cooking class with The Junction Teen Life Skills Center using a Jamaican recipe for Bok Choy. The result was coconut deliciousness that was served to class attendants at the garden. We also made kale chips with the youth. Karen Ganey from The Center for Sustainable Practice joined us as a teacher in this project. Building community partnerships was one of the goals for the garden this summer and it has been fun to share the riches that garden offers.

In the future, I think the notion of having "community plots" where all people are invited to have free produce is a great idea. People always have extra seeds and seedlings lying around in the spring time! In the community garden there will most likely be some extra space to plant so it should be taken advantage of in a way that brings people from ALL walks of life together. Keep in mind what you're planting. Cooking with some vegetables can feel foreign to some people. This is why we focused on holding classes. Also, have a plan for distribution. We found that inviting the towns people to pick up their free vegetables at the community garden, just walking distance from town, was not successful. Maybe having a central location once a week with signs all over town would create a stronger interest. In transition town it's all about metaphorically planting the seed and watching it grow. I think next year will be even better!

Harvest for the Haven

We also held FREE monthly classes in the garden taught be the infamous and generous Cat Buxton from Cedar Circle Farm. She voluntarily came and shared her knowledge. The farm also donated a whole bunch of seedlings in the beginning of the year to grow in the Haven Plots. The Junction also started some of these seedlings. Everything harvested from here was either donated to the Junction, the Haven or the Good Neighbor Health Clinic.

Plant Medicine

 

 

A medicinal garden was established this year in between the old box elder stumps. We have a variety of good, resilient medicinal plants. Yesterday we had our first FREE medicine making class. Women of all generations, from newborns to grandmothers, sat under the willow tree canopy and learned how to make echinacea tincture. This echinacea was harvested from the perennial garden. Everyone who attended the class will receive a vial of the tincture. Once the plants are all well established, after a winter of hardening, we hope to have many more classes.

In just a few months the gardens will be covered in snow again. Before winter we hope to have a class on making sauerkraut and the benefits of fermented foods and a few more work party's to get the garden to bed. All in a growing season, boy does it pass by fast. It will be nice to have the winter to spend some time planning events for next year. Stay tuned!