Sunday, April 7, 2013

Harvest Sharing Gardens

The Campbell Community Garden was set up with three garden plots dedicated to growing produce to give away, plus a perennial herb garden for the gardeners to use part and and give away part. The idea behind the dedicating sharing gardens was to establish a system of giving away produce early on, so that when gardeners had excess veggies in their individual plots, it would be easy for them to give them away rather than let them waste away unharvested. We call these gardens the Harvest Sharing Gardens.

2012 was the first year for the Campbell Community Garden, with the first seeds and starts planted on June 1st. We didn't set a harvest donation goal, since we had no idea how much food we would be capable of growing. We ended up harvesting 861 pounds of food to give away to neighbors in need  in 7 short months!

Kale, Collards, Parsley, lettuce and Radishes were harvested on March 27th
Our goal for the Harvest Sharing Gardens for 2013 is to give away 2,000 pounds of fruits and veggies. So far we have given away 76 pounds!
In late February, garden volunteers started seeds started in pots to replace the over-wintering crops in the Harvest Sharing Gardens. Snap Peas, Kale, Arugula, Mustard, Beets, and more.
Thanks to Sun Gro Horticulture for the donation of Black Gold Seed Seedling Mix potting soil to get our seedlings off to a great start; and to Tempus Dictum Inc. for their financial support of two Harvest Sharing Gardens in 2013!

This spring we will be adding a 25 foot row of Rhubarb and 12 Blueberry bushes to our Harvest Sharing Gardens; so who knows how much we will be able to give away in 2014. If you want to support us in our efforts, please contact garden director Sarah Smith at 503-653-0015 or send an email to hectorcampbellnda@gmail.com

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