Springtime in Crescent City. It seems we've made it through the rain and we're starting to see our flowers and vegetables really grow as we prepare for summer. Along with all the happy plants, the number of community gardens is also growing. Last month we all saw the community come together to create an amazing raised bed garden at the Wellness Center, but at the same time, a new garden is taking shape on Elk Valley Rd.
Our newest garden is the Elk Valley Community Garden, located in south Crescent City, across the street from Hambro Forest Products. With a generous donation of land from Hambro, we were able to transform the previously vacant field into a roto-tilled and ready-to-work garden patch.
Unlike our other community gardens in Crescent City, this space has no raised beds; instead, gardeners are working and planting directly into the soil. Eco Nutrients kindly donated 25 yards of their dirt fines, along with gallons of their fish and kelp fertilizers. Staking out their own family-sized plots in the dirt, the gardeners have utilized the dirt and fertilizers to amend the soil and prepare it for the variety of food crops that have already begun to grow.
Initial inspiration for this garden came from members of the Hmong community who were looking for space to grow food for their families. Their gardening traditions don't include raised beds, so we wanted to provide a more culturally-appropriate space. A core group of families helped from the early stages with organizing, planning, and implementing efforts to make the garden a reality. Although most of the gardeners so far are Hmong families, the garden is open to all residents and there are still plots available. We look forward to this garden being a shining example of the collaborative efforts our diverse community is capable of in the name of providing healthy, local food!
No comments:
Post a Comment