Vegetables

Grow
more than just
Community Gardening
Fostering a sense of
community ownership,
involvement, and identity
Community gardens offer a collective garden
with individual and communal plots. Many
participants live in apartments or dont have
access to a gardening space. For a small annual
fee, gardening newcomers can rent a plot, grow
food and learn along the way.
Ellensburgs
three community
gardens offer growing
space for those with green
thumbs, or who may be
green when it comes to
gardening experience.
Please visit:
www.chicagocommunitygardens.org
for more information
Community
gardens
ofer space
for green
thumbs
A growing space
downtown
The Ellensburg Downtown
Community Garden, on the
northeast corner of First Avenue and Pine Street,
takes up three parcels of city-owned land, leased to
the garden. The grassy lot is populated by 20 4-by-
8 foot raised beds. Of course we want to build
more, we have lots of room, she said. I want there
to be twice as many plots. Its $10 to rent a plot
for a year, an amount manageable to everyone so far,
Haven said, adding the goal is to make it possible
for everyone. Elmview also is a fscal sponsor. We
want to include everyone whos interested in growing
their own food, she said. The garden is all organic,
and some gardeners are growing tomatoes, squash,
lettuce and peppers, with some fowers for decoration.
Its veggie madness down here, she said.
People are on their own to manage the plots, but
there are shared tools and wheelbarrows available.
Lowes donated a shed to the garden to store tools
and seeds. Theres been one work day so far this
season, with another coming soon for management
of growth between plots. Haven said shes pretty
happy where things are. Little by little, we get it done.
Two wheelchair-accessible plots were built from a
lumber donation, with help from Dan Witkowski of
Central Washington Universitys Disability Resources
Established roots
By 2009, the larger plots were established
and by 2012, so were the six small raised
beds. Right now there are about 25 members.
Some people have a couple plots, Bugner
said, but there is still one raised bed left to rent
out. The growing season is underway at the
garden. Its kind of an assortment right now
of greens such as spinach and kale, tomatoes,
radishes, some watermelons, and later will
come cucumbers, beans and squash, Bugner
said. Theres a compost pile, to which members
can add their kitchen scraps, and fruit trees and
fower beds. A shed houses shared tools and
donated seeds from Irish Eyes, the Ellensburg-
based organic seeds company. Garden meetings
are once a month, with a fall potluck to see how
season went, Bugner said. Members are required
to perform 12 hours of service to the garden, such
as weeding pathways and maintaining common
areas. Another way to earn service hours is to
maintain the food bank area, a section of plots set
aside to grow food for FISH food bank. Planted
now in the food bank area is broccoli, cabbage,
eggplant, tomatoes, peppers and garlic, with plans
to plant beans along a tall fence. Freshly harvested
are radishes and spinach.
offce. Haven said
Witkowski also
helped build plots
and planted shrubs. I
feel like were doing pretty
well, Haven said.
The garden has two plots designated for the
food bank. Last year, food bank volunteers
helped manage them, Haven said, and this
year, families in need garden themselves. The
Ellensburg Public Library also has a plot, and
librarian and avid gardener Sue Hart brings kids
down, Haven said. Haven said its never too late
in the season to start. You dont need to know
much, at end of day, to get started, she said Well
learn together.
Campus garden
Meanwhile, at Central Washington University near
the Wahle Hall complex, theres Centrals community
garden, a large open space behind a chain link fence
near an old playground. Theres a padlock on the
gate, but the key is kept in the lock. We want to be open
so anyone knows, were here, said coordinator
Rebecca Pearson.


Bringing people
together and fostering
sustainability