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Public housing sows community gardens
(by Joan Demirjian - June 04, 2010)
Public housing sows community gardens
By JOAN DEMIRJIAN
Community gardening is so popular at Chagrin Falls Park Community Center in Bainbridge, the activity is taking root and blooming elsewhere in Geauga County.
Geauga Metropolitan Housing Authority is using the community garden model at its public housing, according to Nancy Sadler, GMHA executive director. The gardens will be growing at Scranton Woods in Newbury, Cloverdale in Middlefield and at Murray Manor and Harris House in Chardon, she said.
Residents at GMHA's Strickland Arms apartments in Chagrin Falls Park already have access to gardens at the community center. The gardens are behind the center and have expanded over the last few years.
"I was so impressed with the gardens at the community center," Ms. Sadler said. Gardening can help families stretch their budgets by being able to grow and preserve their own food, she said.
Helyne Walker, of Chagrin Falls Park Community Center, said the popularity of the gardening program is growing each year. She said people work and talk, and they give vegetables to the next person when they have more than enough. "It makes a stronger community," she said.
"You meet in the garden to have a conversation. It's not just about pulling carrots.
"The gardens help motivate people to go forward in life, and they reduce stress," Mrs. Walker said.
By growing some of their own food, the gardens help them with budgeting, she said. "They can grow their own salad ingredients."
Many of the gardeners bring their children, who learn about growing their own food, she said. Some kids have never seen a carrot in the ground, she said. They then take the produce home and cook it.
Volunteers at the center teach children 6 to 7 years old how to garden, Mrs. Walker said. "They put the love of gardening into the kids."
Last year, six more garden beds were added at the community center, and the fence was extended. The fence keeps some animals out, and children made flags to hang on the fence to deter the deer. "The entire garden is fenced, and we share some space with rabbits, but that's OK," Mrs. Walker said.
They garden in squares. By doing that, they get more planting space, she said. "You use every square foot of garden." Each bed is about 4 by 12 feet, and there are 17 gardens, Mrs. Walker said.
"And if you don't have land, you can grow in pots," she said. "The sky is the limit. You can do anything with a pot and a sunny window.
"It's fun. We have one lady who is gardening for the first time, and now we can't get her out of the garden."
Pat O'Conner is an adult learning about gardening for the first time. He began planting his garden last week.
"You start slow, and you work your way up," Mrs. Walker said.
She has been working on the gardening program with volunteer Jane Hogan, who started from the beginning and has been involved ever since.
Breezewood Gardens in Bainbridge and Chagrin Pet and Garden in Chagrin Falls are supporters, providing plants and seeds. Star Products in Auburn has donated tomato stakes and helped purchase a refrigerator for the food pantry at the community center.
"People in the community bring in pots, used tools and seeds," Mrs. Walker said. Someone donated a table with chairs where gardeners can sit and talk. A mailbox contains books on gardening to share, and tools are stored at the gardens for everyone's use.
Jeri Ray, director of public housing and the Family Self Sufficiency program at GMHA, is coordinating the pilot gardening program at the agency's apartments. There is a raised garden for the residents in wheelchairs, she said.
After seeing them at Chagrin Falls Park Community Center, she knew the gardens would do well at GMHA facilities, she said.
Residents will be learning how to freeze and preserve the produce as well, Ms. Ray said. "It's a budgeting thing, and saving money." Children are participating as well, she said.
A representative of Pioneer Farms is providing support for gardeners at Scranton Woods.
"Everyone is enthusiastic, and we want to make it a really pleasurable experience for them," Ms. Ray said.
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