How do we expand the variety, availability, & affordability of local foods produced by sustainable methods? Create a community garden program which empowers individuals to produce and consume good clean food, and to have fun while learning from educational events!
Welcome to an innovative community garden project!
In partnership with Harvest Farm & Preserve, New Pioneer has created a prototype community garden called Earth Source Gardens. The Co-op offered 60 garden plots to 74 members in 2010. The gardeners paid $50, agreed to garden using sustainable methods, to plant annuals, and to share tools, water, compost, and mulch.
The Co-op provided fencing materials, and several truckloads of mulch and compost. Co-op Education and Member Services Coordinator Theresa Carbrey and Co-op member Roxane Mitten conceptualized the educational Co-op garden plots; Theresa oversees the administration of the project as part of her work with the Co-op community.
Julie Decker and Doug and Linda Paul of local non-profit Harvest Farm & Preserve
(www.harvestpreserve.org) agreed to lease two acres of land for the garden for two dollars. The site, near the corner of N. Scott Boulevard and Rochester Avenue, was formerly a cow pasture. Harvest Farm agreed to plow and disk the land, to mow, and to put up fencing. They have also provided water.
Do you want an Earth Source Garden Plot in 2011?
Earth Source Garden's 2010 was a great deal of fun for the participants, who grew a remarkable amount of food. Thank you to all who have inquired about gardening at ESG in 2011.
We have sixty plots available in 2011, each ten by fifty feet. The Co-op, in conjunction with valued garden partners Doug and Linda Paul of Harvest Farm and Preserve, will see that the plots are tilled, and the area is fenced.
Cost will be $50 per plot; one plot per family, please. The gardener must be a member of the Co-op, and able to receive and respond to information by email. Start date will depend on weather conditions. Successful gardeners (who complied with the garden agreement) from 2010 will have a plot reserved for them.
Limited water, compost, and mulch will be available. Gardeners will be asked to garden using sustainable/organic methods, to stay out of one another’s beds, to garden only within their own plot, and to use resources moderately (as coached by the garden coordinator). Guidelines also suggest, among other things, that you be prepared to share gardening tools or bring your own, and to leave the pets at home. Click here for the complete list of “Earth Source Garden Guidelines.”
It is possible that more than sixty member households will want a plot. To distribute the plots more fairly, we will ask all prospective gardeners, new and old, to express their interest March 1 – 18 by emailing agnade@newpi.coop. You may also call Allison at (319) 248-6407. We will conduct a drawing on March 25, and inform applicants of their status shortly thereafter.
Selected applicants will be asked to show up in person at the end of March to complete paperwork, pay the $50, and have any questions answered. We look forward to another great season! Thank you to Harvest Farm and Preserve for their enthusiasm and support.
Pictured above: Roxane Mitten with giant kohl rabi, and Doug Paul of Harvest Farm and Preserve.
Below, Theresa Carbrey, Earth Source Gardens Coordinator, harvesting peas.
For more photos of Earth Source Gardens, check out our Flickr site.
Thank you to our sponsors:
Iowa City Landscaping & Garden Center, Lenoch & Cilek Ace Hardware, Midwest One Bank, Earl May Seed & Nursery
Hills Bank & Trust Company, Paul's Discount of Iowa City, US Bank