Ellington

Crabtree Farms, a research and educational program promoting sustainable agriculture, is helping area groups get started on planting community gardens with From the Ground Up workshops.

“Crabtree put together a dynamic program,” said Lori Vaughn, a member of the St. Andrews Center Community Garden Advisory Board. “The guest speakers were very knowledgeable about irrigation options, prepping soil, organic gardening, and how to do things affordably.”

Workshop participants learned how to locate a site, construct beds, and develop a plan for organizing a community garden. The workshop also involved field trips to community gardens in various settings, providing differing perspectives on typical concerns and examples of how others choose to deal with particular issues, she said.

East Brainerd area gardens will be planted at Graceworks Church and Hope Springs, which is a project for area home-school students being coordinated by John and Shelly Morgan.

Each gardening group has unique needs, limitations, and possibilities to consider as their plans begin to take form this spring. Issues with funding, site location, water, and upkeep are all factors affecting the gardens in differing degrees.

Judy Hixson of Graceworks Church community garden said the group had its fill dirt and its delivery services donated free of charge, saving them a total of $1,300.

“Anytime you talk about a community garden, people get excited and donations just start to happen,” she said.

To curb start-up costs, all groups are offered contractor pricing and a $150 gift certificate from Austin’s Garden Center. Gardeners can also participate in a seed exchange held at Crabtree on April 18, said workshop leader Melanie Babb.

The groups will remain connected and receive continuous support through monthly meetings held at Crabtree Farms, which offer additional opportunities to learn skills from experienced speakers as well as through interaction with other community groups.

Held on the first Thursday of the month at 5:30 p.m, meetings are open to anyone interested in participating in or learning about community garden projects.

Participants choose their own meeting topics based on specific interests that arise or problems they encounter as their gardens progress, said Babb.

To assist with communication between the different community groups, Crabtree Farms plans to add a map to its Web site pinpointing the location of each garden with a list of contact information, said Babb. Multiple calendars for keeping track of community garden events and a listserv for exchanging ideas are also in the works, she said.

Once harvest begins, the groups plan to hold the monthly meetings at the different gardens to see how each has applied the skills learned at the workshop. They also proposed vegetable swaps and potlucks to share favorite recipes using the produce.

For those interested in learning more about gardening, Babb suggests volunteering at Crabtree Farms as they begin planting this spring.