On of my more favorite job activities is to help get a vegetable garden up and running. It can be backyard, urban farm or community gardening but I really enjoy the process as well as it is one of my areas of specialization –> Local Food Production. I always say the best local food is the food you grow yourself.
I was referred by a colleague to Laura Nadeau, Site Lead, at Hocking County Peer House in Logan, a part of Integrated Service. Laura besides being site lead is the resident chef, den mother, gardener and overall saint who keeps Peer House moving and she asked if I would come over to help them get a vegetable garden plan going. They grow vegetables that can be used in the food service , right up my alley.
First thing is that they have some great spots to grow flowers and vegetables. Two nice half sun beds in the front and a perfect full sun, south exposure spot in the back yard off the deck. So we made a plan.
Laura sourced some flowers and seeds(and started some transplants herself) and with some volunteer and resident help we got the beds planted.
This bed got flowers, the other front bed got roma tomatoes, the back beds are mixed veggies
You should see it now! Harvest is on for tomatoes, zucchini, green beans and cucumbers with peppers and pumpkins on the way.
They even won an award for it.
A garden spot does not need to be large to be productive. Contact me if you have a space you wish to garden in and I will help you get started on the path to creating your own local food.
We couldn’t have done it without your guidance, Tim! Thank you for helping us get the most out of our space. Last week I used 4 of the pumpkins from our patch to bake amazing pie for our Thanksgiving Feast!
You did all the hard work! It was my pleasure to work with you and your group.