I’ve never really been much of a gardener; keeping the one plant alive in my kitchen is basically the extent of my expertise. So when Michael and Caesandra began discussing having gardens around the ReSOURCE, I was totally psyched by the idea, but with my lack of veggie planting experience I never thought I would be helping plan them and making them happen.

Well, I’m happy to announce that we have officially started our community garden project! Two weeks ago, with the start of the summer youth program, Michael rented a rototiller and we ground up the soil and planted rows and rows of squash, watermelon, strawberries (that will come back in the next years), and flowers. They had all been growing in their respective containers for a month and we finally transplanted them. We’ve slowly been adding raised beds which contain eggplant, carrots, radish, beets, tomatoes, hot peppers, many types of beans, spinach, lettuce, and more and more delicious veggies! Everyday things are growing and producing vegetables that we can eat! Just yesterday I checked on the eggplant and it’s now two inches in size!!

Community gardens are amazing. They provide a place of hope and beauty in the neighborhood and the plants growing everyday highlights the great sense of pride we can find in growing our own vegetables and in turn pride in the community that helped to produce those vegetables. Community gardens are also a great place for socializing. Even on the first day I was talking to people from the neighborhood who were curious about what we are trying to accomplish. People I have never talked to before have started stopping by; it’s a great way to build a community and make friends. For example, I am now good friends with the neighbors across the street who generously supplied water when we didn’t have access to our own water supply yet. And the woman down the street stopped by to tell me she would like to spend time working on her own little plot in the garden too!

It is our hope that the beginning stages of this garden will blossom into a fully functional garden next spring and provide a food source as well as a source of pride for the area’s residents. Already I can see this happening; all it took was a little dirt, some seeds, and some TLC to liven up a former empty lot. Fingers crossed that there will be enough of a harvest this year and then we can invite the community out to enjoy all of the veggies, cooked in various ways. Perhaps a small harvesting celebration is in order so we can enjoy both the vegetables and each others’ company. Anyway, I hope you come for a visit or volunteer in our patchwork garden. It’d be great to see you there!

Our community garden is funded in part through material donations and a collaborative grant awarded by The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo