Saturday was a work day at the University of North Carolina Greensboro's Community Gardens on McIver Street. The gardens were established Fall 2010. The garden started with about 18 raised beds and has grown to around fifty. While each plot is a mere 4X8', with careful planning, a great deal can be planted. Susan Andreatta, Associate Professor of Anthropology, and Guy Sanders, Associate Director of Housing and Residence Life, oversee the project. Dr. Andreatta brings twenty five years in the study of farming systems and work with community gardens to the project. UNCG's Garden Club members are also very involved in this initiative.
Noteworthy is the involvement of UNCG's Dining Services employees at the UNCG Community Garden. They maintain nine of the nearly fifty plots and have actually been able to use harvested items- especially herbs, chard, watermelon, mixed greens, and cherry tomatoes- for special events.
Saturday's workday brought a great mix of people from the UNCG community. From faculty and staff to students, from people who have a specific plot to people who simply wanted to give of their time to some folks who were "doing" time for course requirements, there were people from all walks of life. Even those who were initially less than enthusiastic gained a greater appreciation of working together to provide a local food source.
Hopefully, all of the cold weather greens that were planted on Saturday will like this rain we've had in Greensboro and produce vegetables soon. It's still not too late to get some cabbage and mixed greens in the ground. And, if you have as little as a square foot plot of soil, you can grow produce.
Read more here.
Makes me want to have a raised bed? Just how difficult could it be?
Posted by: Jane Mitchell | Monday, September 17, 2012 at 10:17 PM