news-record.com

Free money. It’s not often that you hear those two words without a catch. In this case, the catch is healthy for everyone involved. 

The Rockingham County Cooperative Extension Service has received funding from the Reidsville Area Foundation to establish community gardens in our county.

Think about that for a minute. Would your neighborhood, church, women’s shelter or school group like to come together to grow a garden?

Whether you’re interested in growing vegetables, fruits, herbs or flowers, money is available to fund your project.  

We’ve been covered up with snow lately, but now is the best time to organize your group and plan your garden.

“This is very flexible,” said Brenda Sutton, director of the Rockingham County Cooperative Extension Service. 

“There are no stipulations that the groups have to be nonprofit or formal,” she said. “As long as people have a good plan, they can be funded. A group of neighbors qualifies.”

Sutton said the Extension Service will even help groups put their plans together. Groups can apply for money to build raised beds, buy seeds, mulch and compost, install drip irrigation systems, or anything else required for their dream garden. 

“What seems to be most necessary is a passionate person to take on a leadership role for a group and make the community garden a priority,” she said.

There is no specific deadline for applying for the money, but peas, onions, lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower and other cool-weather crops need to start going into the ground in mid-March.

“Now is the time to get started,” Sutton said. 

I spoke with Del Perry, organizer of the West Salem Community Garden in Winston-Salem. His neighborhood association started a garden five years ago, and when he missed a meeting, his wife volunteered him to head up the project. 

With his farming background, it was a natural fit. Piedmont Baptist Church donated the land for the garden. This past summer, the group had 25 people working in 17 different room-sized plots.

“One of the advantages of the garden is that people work together who normally wouldn’t meet or spend time together,” Perry said. “And people who normally wouldn’t have access to fresh vegetables can get them. They are very appreciative.” 

The garden is at the corner of Bank and Greene streets, and people from the neighborhood  tend the plots.

Perry said the gardeners take “maybe 10 percent” of the produce and put the rest out for anyone to take who needs the food. 

“I’ve been in convenience stores in the area, and an employee, probably a minimum-wage worker, would tell me they had taken vegetables from the gardens and thank me,” Perry said.

“The first year, we provided food for about 175 meals,” he said. “The last couple of years, we’ve provided enough for more than 300 meals each year.”  

A neighborhood volunteer who owns a tractor tills all the plots each spring. The group has a small tiller available to make garden rows. People who work the plots decide what to plant in them. 

“It’s fun, preparing the ground and planting,” Perry said. “The hard part is keeping the grass out and keeping it watered.” 

Perry lives right next door to the garden and runs a 100-foot garden hose from his property to supply water.

Your group might want to organize your garden differently. You may give away the produce or keep it. Your group can even raise a market garden.

It’s all up to you.

Joni Carter lives in the Bethany community. Contact her at writetojonicarter @gmail.com