A Community Garden at Community Seeds, and me

I keep getting sucked into these things. Only this time it’s something that I think can really make a difference in this town. The only thing that can keep it from working out is if the folks that really need it don’t participate.

What I’m talking about here is the community garden that Community Seeds is trying to get going. Coop pulled me into it because I think someone told him I like to garden. I do. My back, my knees and my feet don’t, but I really do. I also have all kinds of ideas, have found some really neat web sites and other information sources dealing with gardening and, yes, even farming. The reason I haven’t been able to put much of that into practice on my land is obvious to anyone who knows me. A serious lack of funds coupled with an even greater lack of people power. You see, a lot of the idea’s I’d like to see used require a lot of standing, walking and bending. All things I can no longer do very well or very much of.

Then along comes Coop with Community Seeds and this idea for an organic community garden that he hopes will: 1) produce enough food to help feed some of the folks here in town who are hungry, 2) will teach them, through participation in the gardening, how to grow their own, and 3) will also teach the local youth to be able to feed themselves and others by getting them involved as well.

This past fall Community Seeds set up an area for square foot gardening. It’s a small plot out behind the old school house at the end of College Street. There are nine, four by four little plots ready to be filled up with soil, compost, seeds and a little water. The only other thing needed are about eight families to act as caretakers for these plots and enjoy the harvest from them. I say eight because I’ve got my eye on one of them!

There are also plans afoot to till up a good deal of the rest of the land back behind the school for row crops. If you know about farming in this area, if you know what kind of edibles grow best here, Community Seeds can sure use your help and/or your suggestions. Just remember this is to be an ORGANIC garden. That means no pesticides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers. Yes, such can be done. The Amish farmers do it all the time. It also makes for safer and tastier food.

Folks who have piles of already composted horse, cow, goat or chicken manure can help us out as well. That stuff makes great fertilizer! If you happen to be a Master Gardener or be trained as a Permaculture Designer that kind of help would be invaluable. After all, while I have pretensions in those area’s I am neither a very good gardener nor a Permaculture Designer. That last, in particular, requires some expensive training that I have neither money to pay for or to get to as the nearest place I could get it is in Ft. Worth. That boils down to the simple truth that while I can talk a lot about this stuff, and even might think I know about it, in reality I don’t know, well, you know what.

I am, however, dear readers, still quite full of it and will continue to voice my opinions as if I actually knew what the heck I was writing about.

Community Seeds will be working on the community garden this Saturday, the 26^Th starting at one in the afternoon. Come on by and help out. With me on board they will need all the help they can get.

As I post this, I am recovering from nearly a half day spent bending over helping to spread some beautiful soil in the nine plots mentioned above. Reverend Coop had obtained a lot of cold weather plants and seeds to put into that soil. I, and two other folks who actually garden and know what they are doing, were there along with about eight or ten teens from one of the local churches youth groups along with their adult leaders.

During the three or four hours of hectic activity, all of the plots were planted, seeded and watered. Now all we have to do is wait and let nature take it's course.