GARDEN NEWS-MY HAPPY PLACE
in 2017 when i moved here to santa barbara i started gardening at this community garden
several months before we moved here i was in santa barbara to scout out a community garden to garden since we were going to live in an apartment complex or condo
i would need a place to garden
so
i found this garden below
i did a one hour tour of the place and told my wife she this is where i want to garden
i rented the plot a few months before we moved
the day after we arrived i planted my first plants in my garden plot
malabar spinach multiplying onions both which i brought with me from texas tomatoes peppers squash
originally i had one plot then i moved to two plots
i has 400 square feet of garden space
i have moved to a more sunny location in the garden to where i am now
originally before covid i volunteered once or twice a week in the garden
the number of volunteers were probably around 5 a week
after covid i became more involved with the garden doing more volunteer hours
i became sort of the back up garden manager
in this article linked here from california grown there is a link to this video and to a well written article on our gardens titled
a garden that gives back
the person in the video is our previous garden manager
she was a graduate student doing this is a part time job
she has now moved on now that she has finished school
when i and others interviewed her for the job we knew we wanted to hire her
when you watch the video you know why
i was the backup garden manager so i took over when she left
i now am the volunteer garden manager for this beautiful well kept secret community garden
last year we raised over 7000 lbs of produce we donated to several groups
like
an organic soup kitchen a hospice program for the underserved a half way house for women a half way house for men homeless shelters and a few food banks
we now operate with about 20 volunteers a week that do all our work
i probably volunteer 15-20 hours a week here
its my happy place
my grandkids all four of them love to come here and roam around the 2+ acres
we have over 900 feet of garden rows that we grow organic vegetables
we grow tomatoes peppers several different squashes green beans kales lettuce carrots beets swiss chard malabar spinach collards broccoli cauliflower fava beans onions leeks sweet peas celery and more
we have around 40 fruit trees like lots of citrus probably around 20 varieties guava papaya mango cherimoya jujube bananas avocados mulberries passion fruit sugar cane and some fruits i cant spell or pronounce
all of this gets donated to those in need
i get the privilege of managing all of this
i am the volunteer manager
i also am the chair of the committee that runs this place
we operate from grants and donations and fund raisers
one new grant source is seedmoney.org which happens in November for a month
it is a crowdfund source for community gardens
we do fundraisers like plant sales twice a year and have an evening in the garden in september and do educational classes
some folks donated via their ira end of year charity donations and others donate during the year
when it all adds up we get enough funds to keep the garden financed
we also run a fall educational program for about 500 local elementary students that is a 2 hour program that starts in our front pumpkin patch then to the rainbow food section then the session about bees and nature under the big ole pepper tree then a walk through the banana grove and finally ending on a session on seeds
kids love this program and each gets to pick their own baby pumpkin to take home
we also do a lot of tours each year eg we recently did a one hour tour of the garden with a girl scout troop who got to plant our squash seeds and our green bean seeds for our garden
they also got to take home fruits and veggies and worms and rolly pollies and feathers
so this is my happy place
each day i get to go there and play is a good day
im happy
the organicgreen doctor
We need to come visit y’all and the garden 🪴 🍅
ReplyDeleteThey’re so lucky to have you! I’d love to see it one day!
ReplyDeleteAmazing!
ReplyDeleteWe missed you in Austin!
ReplyDeleteWe missed you in Austin!
ReplyDelete