Why not take the idea of community gardens and apply it to the entire community?  The town of Todmorden in the UK has created a program where gardens have been started throughout the town and are being used to feed the entire town.  The concept is ‘brilliant’. Think about having garden in everyone’s yard.  You can grow things that you like and share extra produce with others.  What if you had chickens and could trade the eggs with your neighbor for fresh rosemary, tomatoes or potatoes? Maybe the elders in the community who have had experience tending gardens and growing vegetables and herbs could use their experience to teach others.  Retirement communities could even become classrooms for teaching.  And, in turn, school yards become laboratories for learning.  Think about all of the partnerships and collaborations that will develop. Parks, fire stations, libraries, churches and other properties should be considered. I know in my small hamlet of Medford, we have started a garden at our church to feed the needy.  All of the produce raised is donated to two homeless centers.  The vegetables were raised, in partnership with the Middle School students.  We have just expanded the garden to include garden plots for other gardeners to help grow vegetables. These are truly community Therapeutic Gardens.  Check out the Incredible Edible web site at   http://www.incredible-edible-todmorden.co.uk/projects

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Reading an article in the paper yesterday made me think about how we have been expanding our vegetable gardens and reducing the size of the lawn.  The article talks about how residential developments are being planned around working farms.  Well, how about re-thinking your yard to consider the whole area as a garden?!?  Why limit the tomatoes and chives  to the vegetable garden?  Why not mix the vegetables and herbs in with the traditional shrub plantings.  How about adding more fruit trees in with the other ornamental plantings.  Pots, planters and raised beds are all opportunities for expanding our gardening talents and vegetable crop yield. This is a great time to get started.  Garden centers are having end of the season sales.  Plant prices are reduced and there is still a good variety of plants to choose from.  You can still plant vegetables and have a crop to harvest this fall.  We just planted beans and spinach and they are starting to come up.  This generates interest and definitely adds to the conversation. There are other great ideas for thinking outside of the (garden) box in the Wall Street Journal article “An Apple Tree Grows in Suburbia”  by Stephanie Simon http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903392904576510492421141056.html?mod=ITP_thejournalreport_0

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Even though the temperatures may deter us from venturing outside for any great length of time, there are breaks that give us a short window to escape outside to start to plan and dream of spring. There are chores to do like picking up fallen branches, cutting back the ornamental grasses and pruning the trees and shrubs while they are dormant.  It is also a  good time to look at your vegetable garden.  This is a good time to expand the garden or reorganize what you planted last year. So, on the colder days, we can retreat indoors and forage through the seed catalogs and gardening web sites.  This is the time to plan what vegetables you want to plant for the coming year.  What has worked well and what new varieties do you want ti try in 2010?  Some of the ‘new’ varieties may actually be vegetable plants that have been around for years and just forgotten until recently.  They are the ‘Heirloom’ plants that offer more flavor and are interesting to grow because of their unusual colors.  There are green tomatoes such as Aunt Ruby’s German Cherry and Emerald Green.  The Rattlesnake pole beans are fun to grow because of their green pods with purple streaks. Be adventurous and include these or other heirloom varieties in your garden this year.  The results will surely make your garden the talk of the neighborhood.  Not only will you have some fum new vegetables to try at dinner, they will make the meal look more interesting.

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According to a recent Wall Street Journal article by Neal Templin, growing our own vegetables is cost effective.  The article “How much Green Can Growing A Vegetable Garden Save You?” (4-16-09) highlights the ability to achieve a sizeable return on your investment. “The nonprofit National Gardening Association just produced a study — sponsored by ScottsMiracle-Gro Co. — that found the average family with a vegetable garden spends just $70 a year on it and grows an estimated $600 worth of vegetables.  George Ball, chairman and CEO of seed giant Burpee, can rattle off the savings for dozens of homegrown crops. Green beans will generate $75 worth of crops for each $1 you spend on seeds, Mr. Ball calculates. Even the lowly potato will generate $5 of spuds for each $1 you invest in seeds.” The trick is keeping your capital costs down. Lori Bushway of Cornell University’s Department of Horticulture says a garden can be as simple as digging up a few square feet of your lawn and sprinkling lettuce seeds in the dirt. Most anywhere grass can grow, lettuce will grow, she says. What about fertilizer? Not needed. What about weeds? Plant the lettuce tight enough, and there won’t be room for any. This simple garden will fill salad bowls for about six weeks. Ms. Bushway advises planting four square feet of lettuce per person in your household. “You can easily triple your investment,” she says. That’s better than any of my mutual funds have done lately. Break out the olive oil. The link to the article is at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123983924976823051.html

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The interest in community gardens is growing.  This has been shown by surveys conducted by the Garden Writers Association.  It appears that there approximately 3 million people would like to participate in a community garden in 2009.  To help meet this demand, the U. S. Department of Forestry has announced that it will create community gardens at all of it’s facilities world wide. According to the report, “the USDA community garden project will include a wide variety of garden activities including Embassy window boxes, tree planting, and field office plots. The gardens will be designed to promote “going green” concepts, including landscaping and building design to retain water and reduce runoff; roof gardens for energy efficiency; utilizing native plantings and using sound conservation practices.” Additional information on this program, and to find out if there is an opportunity to participate, go to the USDA’s web page for more information on their community garden program: http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2009/02/0042.xml

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Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, has taken an important first step in helping to recognize the importance of people creating their own vegetable gardens.  The Secretary helped to tear up a driveway at the Department of Agriculture in Washington, DC to plant a garden.  I assume that this is a part of the 19% increase in gardens being created in 2009, as reported by the Garden Writers Association. A special ceremony that was held on Feb. 12, 2009 for the beginning of the People’s Garden Project on the Bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth at the Department of Agriculture in Washington, DC.   The plans for the garden were unveiled and the press was there to record the event.  Pictures of the event can be found on the USDA’s web site: http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=garden_pg0004.xml According to the Collective Roots web page, “the new garden will add 612 square feet of planted space to an existing garden traditionally planted with ornamentals. The garden will showcase conservation practices that all Americans can implement in their own backyards and green spaces. The garden plot is adjacent to the site of the USDA Farmer’s Market.  Additional information can be found on the Collective Roots web site: http://www.collectiveroots.org/usda_community_gardens I will be sure to visit when I am in Washington and I will post pictures on this blog.  The next step is to create a Community garden on the grounds of the White House.

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According to recent research data collected by the the Garden Writers Association, there will be a 17% increase in vegetable gardens in 2009 (www.gardenwriters.org).  There were 36 million people in 2008 who had a vegetable garden in 2008 and it is anticipated that in 2009 the number of gardeners will grow to be 43 million people.  The gardens that people are working in are not larger, either.  The average size is 100 square feet and people are interested in raising primarily vegetables, herbs and fruit. People are interested in starting and maintaining a garden for a variety of reasons.  Yes, one reason does have to do with the economy.  However, this is not just a current need.  The interest in having a garden has been growing stronger in recent years for many other reasons.  People are looking for hobbies, this is a way to socialize and to also spend more time at home.  There is also the interest in knowing where your food came from and growing it yourself is a way to insure that it is the best quality possible.  Being able to grow organic produce is another big consideration.  Whatever the reason or reasons, the trend is increasing significantly each year. An important consideration in being able to raise all of this produce is to be able to help others.  The Garden Writers Association has created a program called ‘Plant A Row’.  Gardeners are encouraged to plant an extra row for the homeless and needy.  Food banks, soup kitchens and other service organizations who help the needy will benefit from your generosity.  Please consider raising extra vegetables, herbs and fruits in your garden this year.  Additional information on this program can be found at http://www.gardenwriters.org/gwa.php?p=par/index.html

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The Recreation Department of Medford Township had the vision to create several raised planters as an addition to the very successful Community Garden Program.  There are approximately 36 (20′ x 20′) garden plots and they are in demand each year.  In fact, there has been a waiting list since the Community Garden Program was created.  There are three hose bibs located throughout the area to help gardeners keep their plants growing strong and healthy.  Some of the gardeners are into production, maximizing every square inch, while others are into creating some colorful displays. The Recreation folks did not want to forget about the older gardeners who want to continue participating each year.  Raised planters were constructed and installed for the 2008 growing season to help them access their garden areas easier.  The planters are created from recycled boards and measure 4′ x 8’x15″ high .  The planters are not too ‘deep’ to allow a person to reach into the center of the planter.   The reactions have been very positive and encouraging thoughts were offered for the 2009 season.  (Details of the raised planters can be obtained by emailing Jack at jpcarman1@comcast.net) I had an opportunity to talk with some of the gardeners who utilized the raised planters.  “They are easy for us to work in and are absolutely marvelous” was one of the comments offered.  Another participant exclaimed that ‘they are easy to weed and to keep the pests out’  (always a challenge for the on-grade gardeners.)  One of the gardeners who is shorter in statue indicated that  ‘I could sit on the edge and work because I am only 5′ tall.’  The gardeners who were garden testing the raised planters were satisfied overall.  They have actually asked for additional planters.  The Township is considering installing more this year. Additional information on the Medford Twp. Community Gardening Program can be obtained from the Township’s web site at http://www.medfordtownship.com

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