A woman from Bad Axe (keeping her anonymous for now for privacy reasons) called me before Christmas to share with me her idea for a dream gardening project. She and her mother possess a very large amount of mostly vacant acreage West of Bad Axe in a high-traffic location. She said that her and her mother would make this land available for use for people that wanted gardening space but maybe didn’t have it at home. This space would be a wonderful space for a community garden.
So far, here are some of the things we’ve got in mind for the garden:
- Growing a wide assortgment of vegetables and possibly herbs and flowers.
- Keeping the garden as organic as possible; no pesticides, herbicides, chemicals, etc.
- Using a rainwater collection system to supplement with watering to conserve water
- Participating with the local ProjectFRESH proram to serve as an outlet for fresh produce
- To donate the fresh produce to needy families and/or those that will come help with the garden
- Setting up a produce stand to sell some of the produce roadside or possibly at the farmers market.
My friend is already purchasing some seeds to get things going, but it would be nice to have as much participation as possible to ensure success. I haven’t known her very long, but I can tell she is a great woman and mother and very passionate about healthy eating, gardening and our community.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
- Join in and help form the group/committee for helping form the garden
- If you have a tractor or other farm implement to help work the land for us
- Use you gardening knowledge and expertise to help choose the best crops
- You can volunteer your time and labor to help maintain the garden and property
- Suggest ideas and activities that you might enjoy at a community garden
- Donate seeds or help raise funds for the gardening project
- Network with your contacts and connections to help advocate the community garden
- Think of anything we didn’t think of to make sure all bases are covered
Please call 989-856-8190 or e-mail: revolutionarygirl1@yahoo.com or post a reply to this blog with comments, questions, or to receive more information on this or any other projects.
hi, i just saw your blog entry – i grew up in Michigan and am now out in Washington State, where i’m working on/blogging about a new community garden along similar lines to what you’re talking about. I’d be interested to hear what you’ve done so far and exchange ideas, if i can help!
Micah
msewell at gonzaga.edu