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| Matt in our personal plot of onions. |
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| Matt in the personal plot with the common ground off to the right. |
For gardening and homemaking inspiration we need go no further than our community garden. That collection of individuals is amazing. What a wealth of knowledge to be had!
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| Common ground veg which will be donated to the needy in our community with the gathering picnic crowd in the background. |
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| A beautiful individual plot...I don't remember who it belonged to. |
Want to learn how to grow thousands of pounds of produce? Need help organically combating insects? Want to learn how to keep chickens? Or start brewing your own kombucha? Want to infuse oils, balms, and vinegar with herbs? Or how to can, freeze, or dry your garden bounty? Want to try gardening by the moon phases and signs? Or raising green manure cover crops? Need more info on how to manage a home compost pile? Or another great recipe for a rhubarb dessert? Want to learn a great method for caring for garden tools so they last a lifetime? Or how to make plant markers that won't fade or run in the rain and sun?
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| The garden even provides veg burgers at the summer picnic. And, to my delight, there were three different fruit salads. And, of course, chips! I almost never buy chips and so they are such a treat. |
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| The gardeners digging in to a good meal. |
These things and more we've learned about in varying degrees of detail from our fellow gardeners.
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| The tables loaded with potluck goodness. |
We joined the community garden out of desire to garden and necessity (limited garden space at our rental) and stay with them now (even with our fairly large home garden) just because we love it. We enjoy the company of the other gardeners and all they have to share and show us and vice versa. We enjoy being a part of feeding the less fortunate in our community good, fresh, organic produce--more than 3,000 pounds last year. We like the relevant seminars and the sense of community and friendship at the summer picnic and harvest dinner.
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| Common ground onion crop. |
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| Common ground garlic forming scapes. |
Women and men, toddlers and seniors, young families and childless couples, those with full time jobs and those in retirement, wealthy and poor, those radiating health and those who can do just as much as their ailing body permits, Presbyterians, Baptists, Quakers, Unitarians, Agnostics, and a wide range on the spiritual spectrum, friends and relative strangers, the laid-back and the formal, and on and on. Its a wonderful, diverse section of humanity that is a powerful--albeit quietly so--a powerful force for inspiration and goodwill within my community and I am so thankful to be a part of it. I've learned so much...and not just about gardening.
That's a huge garden. And awesome to see so many people coming together to share knowledge and help one another.
ReplyDeleteIt is AMAZING to be a part of. And quite large indeed!
DeleteWe are lucky enough to have enough land of our own, but there is a fantastic allotment in our village and a community garden in the village next door. Both are great for all the reasons you said. Gardening alone is like meditation but gardening together is a journey. Both are good.
ReplyDeleteVery true. How nice that your region has such options for those who aren't so blessed in land! I can totally see what you are saying, too. Gardening at the church is a very difference experience than in the garden behind out home. Both are great, but they certainly are also very different experiences.
DeleteWhat a wonderful Community project. There really isn't anything like it in our city... shame really.
ReplyDeleteThat is a shame. I think its a brilliant idea, especially for a church. They usually have the land and the people and a mission of service. I wish every church in town had one, but, alas, ours is the only one like it around here. We lucked out in securing a space. There is a waiting list every year.
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