Cultivating community

by Wanda Combs
Editor

“People have already been promising things and we’re barely off the ground,” said McCabe Coolidge of the new gardening project on which he and other citizens are working.
In the works is a community garden, which will be located on leased land near town, and several individuals and businesses have either expressed an interest in helping or contributing toward the project.
Last Friday, a group met at Coolidge’s and wife Karen Day’s Wildfire Pots/Plenty! in the Winter Sun building. Special guest was Doug Steger, who works for the Town of Pulaski and is coordinator of a community garden there. Steger said that garden, which has been in existence for only two years, started out with 12 people gardening in 6,000 square feet and has gone to 52 gardeners working in a 22,500 square foot space. “It really took off, and we’re getting ready to expand this year and put in another half acre.” The garden also has a waiting list of more people wanting to garden. “Everything is a plus. There are no negative comments. It’s a wonderful thing.”
The idea for the Floyd garden came from Marcie Stout of Heavenly Mountain Acupuncture, adjacent to the garden site. She contacted David Larsen, owner of the land, and his FAIRS organization donated the land. Plenty!, which gathers and distributes food to residents in the county throughout the year, then was contacted and agreed to help to maintain the garden.
Coolidge said the Floyd Nazarene Church has already asked for a plot. He said hopefully other groups and organizations, as well as individuals, will want to garden there. “A lot of people don’t have the space where they live or they don’t know how to garden.” Coolidge added that veteran gardeners could also share their knowledge in mini-gardening lessons on site.
Farmers Supply has donated seeds for the project, and they’re sitting in boxes on shelves at Plenty! Good Food Good People is contributing seedlings. Rain barrels are also being built. One man has signed on to build at least one raised garden, which would be more suited to some people’s needs. Anne Vaughan Designs has made a monetary donation.
Benches for the site were also suggested, and Stout said she hoped they would be natural structures. She added that since the property is adjacent to her business, it would hopefully be a “quiet” retreat for the gardeners.
The group is hoping to involve local Scouts, 4-H’ers and others as volunteers. Coolidge said they will provide transportation for any resident at Pine Ridge Apartments who wishes to participate.
Master gardeners, including Debbie Fulbright, have already joined the effort.
Needed are such things as a backpack sprayer, tool shed and tools, benches, hoses, and soaker hose, building materials for raised bed, and signs. (Call Day at 357-5657 or email plenty@swva.net if you can contribute or volunteer.)
Steger said Friday that the group may be starting with one garden site, but to not be surprised if they need to expand. Coolidge said that they could possibly grow into a variety of sites in the county in the future.
Planners said the Floyd community garden, which will be organic, could also be an ideal activity for a group who wants to garden together or a church who wants to grow food to share with neighbors. The aim, they add, is to improve health and reduce hunger in Floyd County by increasing access to local, healthy food and building community links.
The participants meeting last week each gave their own reasons for wanting to participate.
Coolidge said he liked the “community” aspect.
Lori Kaluszka, who works in the local library and school, remarked she liked to see involvement in nutrition.
“I like to give service. I’m a doer,” commented Virginia Neukirch, a local resident.
Day said she envisions a “beautiful garden entryway to the Town of Floyd.”
Gini Cooper with NRV Community Services is excited about volunteer activities for people in the garden.
Day has written a grant to Nikolodean for money to work with children in the garden. She also wants to submit a grant to Fiskars, which gives away $1,000 for tools.
Steger suggested making a map of all the garden plots once assigned and getting everybody’s name and phone number and giving a copy to all involved. He also suggested in bigger gardens, a 10-foot right-of-way between plots to allow people to drive in to their garden site. Steger, who worked in the greenhouse business for many years, also shared his organic deterrent for deer. The recipe, which he uses once a week on the garden in Pulaski, costs about 50 cents a gallon. It includes: one gallon of water, one cup of regular milk, 1 tablespoon of Wesson Oil, one tablespoon of Ivory Liquid, and one egg (with the white “tail” inside remove so the sprayer will not clog). He said the mixture also cuts down “on a lot of insects. Aphids are non-existent.” Steger uses a 25-gallon sprayer “to spray to wet” and rides in a golf cart to tend to the garden.